2015 Ruby-Throat Hummingbirds

Here they come!

http://learner.org/jnorth/maps/humm_ruby_spring2015.html

Yay! I look so forward to them every year.

the map will not show for me. I was hoping that they would be late because with our 4 ft of snow on the ground they will find nothing. Perhaps the will linger on the way.

The maps indicates that the farthest north they are right now is Mt. Pleasant, South Carolina.

Tell them to stick around there for awhile. We don't melt 4 ft of snow that quickly & if we did there would be a disaster.
The purple finches seem to have left here.

I have been trying for several days to get a pic. Today I did. This one is already guarding the feeders. I saw two others beside this one.

ok That is a long way away, thank goodness. Still a foot & in some places over of snow on the ground.

Way to go Frank!

Saw my first male today. He left before I could get the camera.

Saw the first male yesterday, checking the feeders. I filled the feeders and so it begins.

irisMA,

If you're having trouble getting links to work right now, try going to humminbirds.net. Just type it into your browser. Both hummingbirds.net & learner.org have the best migration maps.

I always put at least one feeder up early, just-in-case, but even when the migration maps show them arriving in my general area, my hummers aren't in the earliest group. Sometimes the maps show them in Canada before I see any.

If you still have a lot of snow they'll most likely stay further south until food becomes more available.

snow is melting, but until 50° or so there will not be any of those plying for them to eat. We have always depended on flower rather than hb feeder as the they are a mess to deal with. Will try your suggestion & see where they are.

I see that they have reached the southern PA border, so that is still far away from us.

Had my first visitor on Friday, the 10th. Always put my feeders out on the first, for the early boys, but I've never seen one so early. He hung around the feeder for a long time, so I was able to snap a pic. Think he must have been starving!

Hope he stays til the girls arrive! Had a nest in my crab apple tree 3 years ago and enjoyed watching the babies!

Yay! So exciting!

Elijablue ~ I forgot to mention something in your other hummingbird thread. You may already be aware of this, but you can report your sighting on the Rubythroat migration map on hummingbirds.net.

Usually by the time I see & report my hummers it's so late they don't actually add it to the map, although they still use it for future reference.

Your hummer is so early that you should be able to see a dot for your location once they update. That's exciting!

If you're interested, here's the link:

http://www.hummingbirds.net/map.html

Nutsaboutnature,
I did report my sighting in the migration map. I always watch that site, so I know when they are in my area. Nothing was showing, except in southern IL, but thought I would give a heads up. I'm always so excited to see my first hummer, even though I've been doing this for years!

what the heck eliza. that is awesome. Never knew anyone who actually had one of the really early fellas.

Mrs. Ed - Never, ever had one so early. He hung around yesterday, but no sightings today. Hope he's not left the area. I'll keep a watch....

I'm like Mrs_Ed. My hummers are never in the early groups even though I start putting up my feeders early.

A couple of years ago the migration map showed them moving north unusually early so I raced out to put up some feeders and waited...and waited. I didn't see a single hummer for over a month. After more research they determined there was an early surge, then a second surge at a more normal time.

Sounds like your little fella is trying to get a head start on the rest of the hummers. I hope he stays in your area.

I always put mine out April 15 since an expert told me to. Never usually see one until May 1-ish. And I don't get them in the summer much. Gotta figure any of them that show up now are moving through anyway. But I'm happy to have any that stop by.

Haven't seen any hummers yet. It makes me chuckle, though, since I wouldn't know anyway unless I happened to be looking out my window at the right time. I doubt that the first time I see one is the first time they visit.

Is yours still in the area, Elija?

Nuts, I was just thinking the same thing. Mae me think that I need to get out the bird camera.

Nutsaboutnature,

Mine is gone :( He was here last Friday and Saturday, but I've not seen him since. I've "camped out" at dusk a couple days, which is when I see them feeding, and no luck. He probably moved further north. I still keep the feeders going though, But probably will be a couple of weeks before the "girls" get here....

Saw a female here yesterday and this morning. Hope some of them are staying but they usually go farther north.

I haven't seen mine lately either.

Hi, everybody! Saw this thread and had to report that we had two hummers visit last weekend. They came up to the window and scolded me for not having my feeders up.

They must be old timers to remember I had feeders because I haven't put them up for two years...good to know they missed me though, so I ran into the kitchen and mixed up a batch of simple syrup and put it out for them.

Happy spring to everyone!

hugs, t.

I see by the map that they are in our area (MA). Some insects are flying around, but that is all I can see for them to eat. Do they like daffodils? We have a few of those.

Tabasco, a hummingbird bander once said to a group. "Imagine you are going on a trip across the country. One you take every year and drive the same way. You plan to stop at certain restaurants along the way. That's a hummingbird."

Mrs_Ed ~ Have you put up your bird cam yet?
Love the great description that bander had of a hummer's eating habits!

Hey...Welcome back, tabasco!

Elija ~ I think we all got a little extra joy...and hope...from your early sightings. I always have my feeders up early, too, but rarely see any before May.

Iris ~ I've never seen my hummers pay any attention to my daffodils. It would be nice since I don't have much else blooming right now. We do have insects, though.

Nuts, no, I haven't set up the camera yet. I suppose I'll get to it eventually. Maybe this afternoon. Ha. I should be having one any day now or already have had. Usually they are here when my neighbor's quince is blooming.

We have HUMMERS!!! We have HUMMERS!!!

I just saw one this morning, exactly...to the day...as last year! And the funny thing is, I knew they'd be here today because I saw an Oriole last night - also exactly the same day as last year and last year's Orioles showed up the day before the Hummers.

How crazy is that...the actual dates last year came out one day later than this year, but the days were the same. The Orioles got here on the 1st Sunday in May and the Hummers, the first Monday...amazing!

Hope you all are seeing your Hummers.

Yeah! Glad to hear nutsaboutnature! I've been keeping a look out for mine, but has not seen any recently. I also have my oriole feeder up, hoping to snag those too!

Neither bird has showed up here. Very few flowers out except dafffodils.

Saw a hummer this afternoon, checking out the oriole feeder! First time since April 11th. Flew by so quickly I couldn't tell if it was a male or female. Will start my vigilant watch now though. Hopefully I'll be seeing them frequently during the day.

Has anyone seen any females?

Where I live I usually don't see any females until about two weeks after the males arrive. The one exception was a couple of years ago when the males were so late, that the females showed up about a week later.

Iris ~ I don't have much blooming, either, except for Daffodils and a few other bulbs, but I do have feeders out. There are probably trees or shrubs around the neighborhood with blooms the hummers like or they wouldn't be around here yet.

I do have some Lamium already blooming and some early Columbine and Salvia with buds about to open.

I'm sure your hummers will come around soon.

Yay! I just saw our first female hummer of the season! It's actually only been about 11 days so they're just a little ahead of schedule, but you sure won't hear me complaining about it.

She was a cutie, too!

Unfortunately, no pictures to post yet.


This message was edited May 15, 2015 11:37 AM

I haven't had a lot of luck with hummer pictures yet, but here are a couple of "dirty window" pics I managed to get.

Wow! Great photos! I've been seeing hummers at my feeders, but think they are all females. Haven't seen the gorgeous red throat in awhile.