While people in the north were saying their last goodbyes, hummingbird migration reached a peak last week in the Gulf Coast states. Swarms of hungry hummingbirds appeared in backyard feeders as they poured down from the north. "We have had over 100 draining our feeders for the past week," wrote an observer in Louisiana. "I'm using 3 gallons of nectar per day," wrote another. A Texas observer with 7 feeders has room for 56 birds to feed calmly. "Calmly doesn't happen at my feeders," he noted. "I tried to estimate the number of flying, hovering, diving, chirping, squeaking, squawling birds" and came up with exactly 201. You can follow his math, and read the latest migration highlights below. How do you suppose a toothpick helped one hungry hummingbird?

Please Report Your Hummingbird Observations!

Migration Map: Hummingbird Numbers Falling in the North
As this map shows, the number of people reporting hummingbirds has dropped off dramatically. Only 265 people reported hummingbirds during the past week, compared to 512 the week before and 1,059 the week before that. The map will empty in the weeks ahead as fewer and fewer people report their last sightings of the season.

Some Migration Highlights
You can read all of the observations people have submitted at this link. Here are some highlights:

9/15/09 Ennis, TX
I have had over 20 ruby throats for over two weeks. (See pictures and video clip.)

9/19/09 Port Lavaca, TX
We have had a good west and northwest wind (offshore) and had been guessing that was going to bring to an end the peak of the RT's here along the coast. That kind of wind gives the hummers a tailwind to make their jump from here to the Yucatan or at least to move on down the coast towards Mexico.

9/16/09 Chappell Hill, TX
Hey, Rockport, Texas...Heads Up, most of our Chappell Hill Hummers left town on a fresh NW tailwind this AM after chugging a hearty breakfast. There's a TON of 'em and they'll be ravenous. 'Course as sweet-natured as they all are, I'm sure they'll be nice and patient. OK, I'll try giving you a rough count and explain how I arrived at it. This morning, the heaviest-feeding morning, I had out 7, 1-quart feeders, each feeder having 8 feeder holes. When all holes are single-occupied, that's obviously 56 birds calmly feeding. "Calmly" doesn't happen at my feeders when there's two or more birds present. At breakfast and supper time, there's usually two, and sometimes three birds at each feeder hole...so I estimated that at any given moment, there are (2.5 birds per hole, times 56 holes)...that's about 140 ravenous lil' dudes piggin' out at one time. Then looking beyond all them feeding birds, I tried to estimate the number of flying, hovering, diving, chirping, squeaking, squawling birds who would often fly in and sit on the back of a feeding bird...this number came out to be 60 birds...(just because it tied in nicely with that 140 number)...to produce a round number of 201. (Don't try to understand it, just enjoy.) I refilled those 7, 1-qt. feeders twice a day with a total of 14 quarts of sugar water...that's 3.5 gallons per day. Most of this bunch left right after breakfast on Wed. (Sept. 16.), heading South on a fresh NW tailwind...bound for Rockport, Texas, then across the Gulf on that long flight to Yucatan. Sure hope Yucatan is ready for this bunch. I won't miss all of them since we have a permanent resident bird who has wintered with us for the last ten years. We don't have many freezes, but what we've had, he has somehow weathered them all. We call him "The Guard" and that's

9/16/09 Keithville, LA
I'm still seeing around 30 at a time.

9/17/09 Natchez, MS
We have 3 feeders with around 30 hummers at a time early mornings and afternoons. We started with 2 feeders and about 6 hummers over a month ago. In the last few weeks the number has steadily increased. We are filling the feeders twice a day, 4 cups of sugar a day.

9/15/09 Hillsboro, MO
We had 25 or so 2 weeks ago now there are 5. They're not going to be here long. There are 2 female/mothers with 3 children. So sad to see them go, hope they have a safe trip.

9/13/09 Moretown, VT
We've had both female and juvenile hummers at the feeders in the morning and in the evening. Yesterday we had one who tried over and over to feed underneath the feeder where there aren't any openings. My husband put a toothpick in one of the holes to try to show the hummingbird where to eat. It worked!