Category: Syrup

The Last One For This Year

Ruby-throated Hummingbird (Archilochus colubris). It was while I was eating lunch. October 4th. The last one came through. I still waited. I left the last feeder out thinking there might be one more straggler. One more late little clown coming through. But it didn’t happen. At least not that I know. The feeders are all taken down now. No more hummingbird syrup to watch. Be sure it’s fresh. Be sure there’s enough. No more until next April. Next April will bring the cheery little rays of sunshine. Replacing the joy of snowflakes with the hilarity of jousting mini feathered creatures.

Hummers Heading South

Within the past two weeks the population of Ruby-throated Hummingbirds (Archilochus colubris) here at my feeders, has dropped considerably. I had been putting out two quarts of syrup each day. Now I put out one cup each day. Big drop.

They’re packing their bags. Heading south. Migrating for the winter to Central America and Mexico. And it has been discovered that the Ruby-throated Hummingbird’s winter location is expanding further north to include the Gulf Coast states up the Atlantic Coast to South Carolina.

Ruby-throated Hummingbirds generally live to be between 3 and 5 years old. They learn to recognize the people that feed them, sometimes letting them know if the feeder is empty or needs fresh syrup.

As the Ruby-throated Hummingbirds migrate from north to south and back again they fly alone. They’re solitary birds. Often they’ll return to the same feeders, the same location where they were hatched. I sure will look forward to having them return to their summer home here in the mountains next spring.