-- HUMMINGBIRD Q & A --
Migration #1

• As independent as Ruby-throated Hummingbirds, Archilochus colubris, appear to be on the breeding grounds--chasing each other constantly as they defend territories and feeding stations--it's hard to imagine they would tolerate each other enough to flock together during migration. In fact, what seems to happen is, because the all are migrating at about the same time, they end up being in about the same places. In early September, for example, huge numbers of hummingbirds gather along the Texas Gulf Coast near Rockport, Corpus Christi, and other sites. When they have put on a store of fat and conditions are right, the hummers begin begin leaving a few birds at a time, streaming out across the Gulf on their way to the Yucatan Peninsula. Technically, this is not flocking behavior.

• Occasionally Ruby-throated Hummingbirds, Archilochus colubris, that are ill or weak--or perhaps even some that fledge very late in the fall--will not migrate. Most of these birds are likely to die, perhaps because they are already ill, from the cold, or from other causes. Very rarely a RTHU will spend the winter in North America, but except for those few RTHUs wintering in south Florida or in the Gulf and Atlantic coastal statesmost all winter hummers are Rufous Hummingbirds or some other western species. (See Vagrant & Winter Hummingbird Banding on our sister Web site for Hilton Pond Center for Piedmont Natural History.)

• Ruby-throated Hummingbirds, Archilochus colubris, arrive at different times in different parts of North America, usually showing up in the Gulf Coast states well before appearing in Canada. The map below gives you an estimate of when to expect the first arrivals in a typical spring. Note that hummer arrival dates are not particularly affected by year-to-year differences in local weather. See also Hummingbird Migration.
  
  
  
  
• We suggest you hang one half-filled feeder about a week or two before the expected arrival date for your location. Do NOT wait until you see you first hummer.

4. Do hummingbirds hitch rides on the backs of migrating geese?

• No. See Hummingbird Myths.

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