Hummingbirds
Hummingbird Migration Update: February 19, 2009

Today's Report Includes:

Please Report
Your Sightings! >>
hummer on slushy feeder What do you wonder about this hummer? >>
Photo: Robert Behrstock
The Migration: Highlights, Maps, and Questions

Highlights: Wandering Winter Hummingbirds?
Is something afoot with our hummingbirds? Just look at all the red triangles on the maps. Let's think. It's still too early to see migrating rubythroats. (But stay tuned in the next week or two!) And rufous hummers are barely starting to migrate up the West Coast. But our data shows that many of the hummers on the map — especially the ones east of the Rockies — have been around much of the winter.

  • Read these observations from Journey North's citizen scientists! >>

How can such tiny creatures get by far north of their normal wintering grounds? Why are more hummers than ever being reported out of their usual range? This week,we'll use stories, photos, and maps to explore these survival questions.

Distribution Map

Rufous
Hummingbird

This Week's Map >>
Sightings >>

Ruby-throated
Hummingbird

This Week's Map >>
Sightings >>

Today's Hummingbird Map Questions (click-and-print handout) >>
Spotlight: How a Backyard Hummer Got Through the Winter

A hummingbird admirer from Texas told us that a female rufous spent much of one winter hanging around her backyard. We know that most of them hole up down in Mexico. So this made us wonder, "How can a backyard habitat allow a little winter visitor to survive?" Please help us figure this out!

  • How a Backyard Rufous Got Through the Winter
    Slideshow >>  OR   Booklet >>
  • Student Handout >>

Journal: Is Your Habitat Ready?

Journal cover & pages >>

After reading the "spotlight" story, think about what hummingbirds need to survive. Do you think hummingbirds could survive in your backyard or schoolyard habitat today?

  • Write your ideas in your Hummingbird Journal >>
  • We'll explore more as the hummers head north!
Explore: Hummingbirds on the Map — But Who Are They?

Picture this: A snow-covered rufous hummer!
Rufous hummingbirds in the East? Rubythroats north of the border in mid-winter? What should we make of these unusual reports? Let's explore!
  • << Rufous Hummingbirds Gone Astray?

  • Ruby-throated Hummers in the States! >>

How can rubythroats survive winter north of the border?
This Week's Hummingbird Resources

Get ready to track migrating hummingbirds by exploring these lessons and resources:

  • Teachers: Get Started with the Hummingbird Migration > >
  • Tips: How to Use Journey North's Live Maps >>
  • Explore: Meet Two Hummingbird Species: Which is Which? >>
  • Predict: Where Will They Arrive, and When? Making Predictions >>
  • Inquiry Tool: Making Sense of Unusual Findings >>
  • Slideshow/Reading: How a Backyard Rufous Got Through the Winter >>
  • Hummingbird Migration Journals (click-and-print journal cover and pages) >>
  • Hummingbirds for Kids (booklets, photos, videos) >>


When bird banders put a tiny tag on a hummer's leg, they hoped someone would find him. Discover what happened!

Slideshow Story >>
Reading (grades 5+) >>

More Hummingbird Lessons and Teaching Ideas!

The Next Hummingbird Migration Update Will Be Posted on March 5, 2009.

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