Hummingbirds
Migration Update: June 6, 2012
Please Report
Your Sightings!		 Report Your Sightings
As the season wraps up, the maps slow down. Most observers have seen their "firsts." Now they can explore how hummers behave and interact with one another, their food sources, and different weather conditions. We hope you'll do the same! Learn more about hummer banding. Enjoy the summer and all the possibilities the season brings. This is the final spring migration update.

Today's Report Includes:

 Image of the Week
female
Credit: Rachael Powless
Is this "Normal"?
News: Hummer Sighting News
If you watch our hummingbird migration animations, you'll see very little change during this time in the migration season. We suspect that most of our observers have already seen their "first" hummers of the season.

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

Scarsdale, New York 05/29/12
Two males and a small female have been regular vistors to my feeders this week. They feed regularly early morning and at dusk when the temperatures are cooler. The males recently displayed territorial combat, flying upwards while facing each other. The female seems to prefer a feeder placed in a different location.

Willowbrook, Illinois 05/29/12
Lots of activity at the feeders. One or two seem to be settling in for the season. First sighting about 2 weeks ago.

Prospect, Kentucky 05/29/12
4 hummers showed up in my backyard last week. One has stayed back and is visiting the feeders regularly.

Sheboygan, Wisconsin 05/29/12
Bright male goldfinch perched on hummingbird feeder to drink. Female ruby-throated hummingbird came from behind and poked the goldfinch "in the butt". When the hummer did this a second time, the goldfinch decided it was time to leave and flew to nearby lupine. The hummingbird stayed at the feeder to drink.

Morehead, Kentucky 05/31/12
Our numbers are extremely low this year and a friend is telling me the same. I only have 4 or 5 visiting my feeders should be over 25. At the end of the 2011 season we had over 50. Are others reporting low numbers? Any ideas?

Newcastle County, Delaware
Where are the hummingbirds in Delaware? Haven't seen any in New Castle County, have had them for years and none have been reported in Bridgeville or Seford areas. Everyone is concerned.

Not seeing hummers, or seeing them in fewer numbers this spring? Reporters from Morehead, Kentucky, and New Castle, Delaware expressed concern. If you have seen hummingbirds from either of these locations, please report your sightings to the map. More from an observer in Houston, Texas...
Explore: A Dot of Paint
A dot of paint on a bird's head is one way of marking a newly banded hummer. Bander Bill Hilton Jr. says that bird banding is probably the single most valuable research tool in studying birds. His research has taught scientists a LOT about hummingbird migration.

Learn more by reading stories told by trained bird banders.
Normal Female?
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 Journey North Annual Evaluation
The is the Final Spring Hummingbird Migration Update.
Please join us again to track the Fall Migration!

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