Migration Map

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

Numbers Dropping Dramatically in the North
According to our observers, the adult males have departed from most of the north and as far south as Virginia. People say the number of hummingbirds at their feeders is diminishing, and the volume of food consumed has fallen dramatically:

"Boy, when they decide to move on, they really move on. Last week I had 15 to 20 hummers and this week I have seen only one," reported a woman in Pennsylvania.

Clues from Behavior
The hummers' behavior often reveals they are visitors migrating through, not the summer residents we know so well:

"The hummingbird could not have been 'ours' because it couldn't figure out how to drink from our feeder! It hovered up and down the clear bottle before landing, then poked all around before finally taking a sip."

Hummingbirds in Unexpected Places
As hummingbirds were finding their way across new territory, people saw them in odd places—in a garage, a house, and even a classroom in Covington, Georgia:

"A hummingbird flew through the front door of our school, down the hall, and into our classroom. The hummingbird hovered and circled. It seemed to like the lights. We drew pictures of the hummingbird and learned that it was a ruby-throated hummingbird. We put out sugar water, a hummingbird feeder, two red jackets, fresh cut flowers, but the hummingbird wouldn't come down from the ceiling. A second hummingbird came into the window, went near our hummingbird and flew out. After THREE hours, we were able to catch it in a butterfly net and let it go outside."

What's next?
The number of hummers has been rising in states like Alabama, Louisiana, Mississippi, and Texas. People are preparing for an exciting time of year:

"Today there were about 30-40 feeding in my yard. I have 8 feeders up right now and will continue to add more daily," wrote an observer in Rockport, Texas, where there's an annual hummingbird festival in mid-September during peak migration.

There were 13 hummingbirds on Saturday in a Port Lavaca, Texas backyard. "The number may be five to ten times as many during the second and third weeks of September," wrote Mr. Aschen from the Texas Gulf coast.

Thanks to everyone for sharing their first-hand, backyard observations of North America's favorite birds! Please continue to tell us what you see.