Slowing Down

Stragglers in the Midwest and Ontario

In the Midwest and southern Ontario, some Journey North volunteers are still reporting Ruby-throated Hummingbirds while others are saying goodbye for the season.

Gesine in Lincoln, ON: “My guy is still here. This morning he was sitting on one of the rings in the rain, all wet, then he fed and flew into the tree. As darkness set in, he fed from the Perky Pet (I took the tube feeder away since it was empty) and then went into the Japanese Maple for the night. Weather is still very nice here in Niagara, Ontario, except it has been raining a lot.” (10/30/2021)

Nel in Flossmoor, IL: “ I haven’t seen her here today. This photo shows the damage to her breast feathers. Today dawned sunny, calm and surprisingly warm. She must have taken the hints—environmental and spiritual—and skedaddled before the predicted cold and winds. I hope.” (10/30/2021)

Arrivals in Florida

Activity is picking up in the Sunshine State. Most of these hummingbirds will continue their journey to Mexico or Central America, although a handful will stay and overwinter in South Florida.

Steven in Naples, FL: “This male just may turn out to be one of a few overwintering ruby-throats that we get each season. He first showed up on the 3rd of October when I reported him as first male of the season.” (10/25/2021)

Peter in Boca Raton, FL: “First hummer of the season, a female at my feeder. Usually 1 or 2 show up in the first week of October. Probably delayed migration as a result of climate change. Unseasonably warm temps in the northern latitudes.” (10/30/2021)

Surprising Reports of Rufous Hummingbirds

Reports of Rufous Hummingbirds east of their expected migration range came in from Oklahoma and Wisconsin. Perhaps these individuals are on their way to the Gulf Coast? Many Rufous now overwinter in this region.

Dan in Milwaukee, WI: “[Rufous Hummingbird] appeared at a feeder a few days earlier and occasionally has revisited.” (10/27/2021)

Joan in Edmond, OK: “Rufous Hummingbird.” (11/01/2021)

Out West

Despite dropping temperatures, resilient hummingbirds are finding valuable calories thanks to Journey North volunteers.

Mary in Summer Lake, OR: “Female Anna’s hummingbird visiting feeder this morning.” (10/26/2021)

Shelly in Liberty Lake, WA: “I am amazed that our little bird is still here! I exchange the feeder every morning for the one I keep inside so it can have a little warmer drink in the morning. It was near freezing last night!” (10/31/2021)

Western Hummingbird Partnership

Thank you to the Western Hummingbird Partnership (WHP) for highlighting Journey North is a recent newsletter. The WHP is a network of partners working to conserve hummingbirds in Canada, the U.S., and Mexico. Explore some of their latest news and resources:

• State of the Rufous Hummingbird Science and Conservation
• Hummingbirds at Saguaro National Park (part of the Mosaics in Science Internship Program, coordinated by the National Park Service and Environment for the Americas)
• An interview (in Spanish) with the authors and partners of the book Gardens and Pollinators

A Note About Our Mapping System

We receive many questions which we strive to answer individually. In this case, we thought we would share an answer to a question posed by one Journey North community scientist worried about how we protect privacy on our public facing maps. Journey North values the privacy of our community scientists and the wildlife they track. We protect privacy in many ways. Journey North only displays and shares geospatial coordinates (the Latitude and Longitude of a sighting) to the tenth decimal. This means that no one can pinpoint an exact location of any one sighting. The Latitude and Longitude coordinates would only indicate a wide geographical area on our public facing maps. Thank you for submitting your observations. We value our community, avian and humans alike.