Hummingbirds
Hummingbird Migration Update: March 13, 2008

Today's Report Includes:

Please Report
Your Sightings! >>

Roll your mouse over this hummer. Which throat color is for real? Explore! >>
Photo: Russ Thompson
The Migration: Highlights, Maps, and Questions

Distribution Map

Rufous
Hummingbird

This Week's Map >>
Sightings >>

Ruby-throated
Hummingbird

This Week's Map >>
Sightings >>

Handouts: Today's Hummingbird Map Questions
Rufous Questions >                Rubythroat Questions >   

Highlights: Welcoming the Waves
Southerly winds paved the way this week for a flood of ruby-throated hummingbirds (30 new reports). And boy, are these tiny travelers hungry! One observer describes a rubythroat rushing to drink first from flowering shrubs and then from the feeder. After all, the bird had just taken one of the toughest trips of his life. Learn about this amazing journey in this week's slideshow.

Rufous hummingbird reports are strong in Oregon and Washington. Their earliest spring food sources (such as native red-flowering currant) must be ready to bloom there. Other hummingbirds had better watch out. Why? Read more in Highlights from the Migration Trail. >>

As of last week, most of our observers spotted male hummingbirds, but that seems to be changing. Reports of females are starting to show up, too. What do you think is going on? Explore! >>
Journal: Why Are Rufous Hummers Far Ahead?

How can rufous hummingbirds be in Canada already, when rubythroats are still gathered in the southern United States? Are the Rufous hummers faster or more eager? Is this just an unusual year?

Think: Write your ideas in your Hummingbird Journal >>
Discover: Watch this short slideshow! >>

Slideshow: An Amazing Rubythroat Journey!

As ruby-throated hummingbirds enter the United States from their wintering grounds, many hit Louisiana (and nearby Gulf states) first. How do you think they get there? Do they brave the open water or fly over land? Tell us what you think!

  • Handout: How Do Ruby-throated Hummingbirds Get Here? >>
For a long time, scientists didn't know how rubythroats got from their wintering grounds in southern Mexico and Central America to the U.S. Gulf coast. Could these tiny creatures fly the 500 miles over the Gulf of Mexico with no food or rest? It hardly seemed possible. Discover some secrets in this slideshow!
  • Slideshow: An Amazing Rubythroat Journey >>

Slideshow >>
Ask the Expert: Opens Friday, March 14
Meet the Hummingbird Expert >>

Journey North's hummingbird expert (and bander) Lanny Chambers has again volunteered to answer your questions.

Lanny has had a life-long passion for hummingbirds. He researches them and runs an award-winning Web site about their migrations. Here is your chance to ask Lanny questions you haven't been able to answer yourselves.

  • Meet Lanny and submit your questions on the Web >>
  • The deadline for questions is Friday, March 28 (1 pm EDT).

Ask Lanny Chambers Your Questions about Hummingbirds >>
This Week's Hummingbird Resources
  • Teachers: Getting Started with the Hummingbird Migration >>
  • Predict: Where Will They Arrive, and When? Making Predictions >>
  • Explore: Ladies Second: Why Male Hummingbirds Lead the Migration >>
  • Slideshow: An Amazing Rubythroat Journey >>
  • Lesson: When Will Our Hummingbird Habitat Be Ready? >>
  • Hummingbird Migration Journals (click-and-print) >>
  • Hummingbirds for Kids (booklets, photos, videos) >>
More Hummingbird Lessons and Teaching Ideas!

The Next Hummingbird Migration Update Will Be Posted on March 20, 2008.

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