Hummingbirds
Hummingbird Migration Update: May 28, 2009

Today's Report Includes:

Please Report
Your Sightings! >>

What's strange about this female rubythroat? Explore >>
Photo: Rachel Powless
The Migration: Highlights, Maps, and Questions

Distribution Map

Rufous
Hummingbird

This Week's Map >>
Week-by-Week Animation >>
Sightings >>

Ruby-throated
Hummingbird

This Week's Map >>
Week-by-Week Animation >>
Sightings >>

Handouts: Today's Hummingbird Map Questions >>
This nest is barely the size of a quarter. Where might you find one? >>
Photo: Ed Robertson
Highlights: Behaving Like Hummers!
If you watch our hummingbird migration animations, you'll see very little change this past week. We suspect that most of our observers have already seen their "first" hummers of the season. Low pressure systems with rain and unfavorable winds may also have kept hummers (and observers!) lying low.

Here are some of this week's highlights reported by Journey North observers. What do they tell you about hummingbird behaviors?

"He buzzed around me a few times and landed on my sprayer. He sat for a couple of seconds then fluttered in the water again. After his bath, he went and sat in the tree, shook the water off, and flew away." (Wausau, Wisconsin)

"We saw them snatching insects down by the river bank." (Irons Lake County, Michigan)

"On Thursday, May 21, at 7:30 p.m., I spotted my first ruby-throated hummingbird near our balcony, when I was reading," says 12-year-old Nicolas. "There are flowers that could have attracted the bird's attention." (Saint-mathieu-de-rioux, Quebec, Canada)

"This morning a ruby-throated hummingbird flew to our window looking for food. It is always a surprise to see them but especially after this past week of very cold temperatures in the thirtys and two stormy nights. The hummingbirds have already staked out their territories and claimed their feeders. The hummingbird wars of 2009 have begun. What fun it is to watch them dive bombing anything and everyone who comes near their feeders — including me, assorted bees and wasps, and of course, other hummers." (Fairfield, Iowa)

Some of you say that you don't see hummers in the spring, or that you only see a couple buzz through as they head north. But, you say, you see more of them as they pass through in late summer on their way south. The fact is, there are more hummingbirds that make the journey south. As a class, discuss why you think that is true. (Think of what you learned this season.)

In the meantime, keep your eyes and ears peeled, and join us next week for the final Hummingbird Migration Update of the season!
 Journal: When Do Northern Rubythroats Journey?

In the last month, lots of ruby-throated hummingbirds have been spotted north of the Canadian border. That's a long trip! When do you think those birds left their winter grounds? How did they travel? Think about these possibilities:

1. The "northern" rubythroats left earlier than the ones that breed farther south (closer to wintering grounds).

2. They left later than the others, arriving in Canada when northern flowers bloomed and insects hatched.

3. They left at the same time as the rest of the hummers. They kept heading north as others settled down farther south.

On this hummingbird journal page, write down which of these options you think is most likely. Explain why you made your choice. What clues from this year helped you out?

There is no one right answer that applies to every hummer! Next week we'll tell you what some bird experts think.

The maps show us how the large migration moves. But what about individual hummers?


Photo: Russ Thompson

Teachers: The last migration update is next week!

What Have We Learned?
Hummingbird Migration Assessment Tools >>
Year-end Evaluation: Please Share Your Thoughts! >>
Will you take a few minutes to complete our Year-end Evaluation? (We'll still send one more hummer report.)

With your help, we can we document Journey North's reach, impact, and value. We need comments like yours to keep the program going and growing. Thank you! >>

Year-end Evaluation >>
This Week's Hummingbird Resources
  • JN for Kids Photo Studies: Stunning hummingbird photos and video clips along with observation questions >>
  • Reading/Slideshow: Preparing for a Journey South: Fledging, Feeding, Fattening, Flying >>
  • Reading/Slideshow: Sweet Pea's Long Journey! >>
  • Reading/Slideshow: 22 Days in a Hummingbird Nest >>
  • Photo Study: Two Young Males Tangle >>
  • Hummingbird Arrivals: Rubythroat Chart and Rufous Chart
  • Assessment Tools: What Have We Learned About Hummingbirds? >>
  • Tips: How to Help Hummingbirds and Their Habitat >>
More Hummingbird Lessons and Teaching Ideas!

The FINAL Hummingbird Migration Update Will Be Posted on June 4, 2009.

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