Hummingbirds Through the Seasons (A Guide For Gardeners)

From spring migration through summer breeding in our gardens to the return journey south in fall, there are plenty of things gardeners can do to help hummingbirds thrive.

If you are eager to know when they will arrive in spring, see the hummingbird migration map here.

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Growing a Hummingbird Garden

Today we’re looking at ways to support hummingbirds throughout the seasons and share some enchanting encounters.

Spring Migration

A favorite milestone in spring is the much-anticipated return of hummingbirds. After wintering in the south, by late winter they begin their great journey north, flying thousands of miles to their summer breeding grounds in parts of Canada and the United States . If you’re lucky enough to live in one of these regions, you know what welcome sight they are.

I consider my first sighting each year as a true sign that summer is on its way.

The timing of their arrival is not by the calendar but instead by conditions and weather. All along the way, they need (mostly) above-freezing temperatures and suitable food and shelter at their rest stops. Storms, wildfires, and unusual temperatures may delay things but eventually, like monarch butterflies, they return.

The journey is even more remarkable when you consider that each hummingbird flies solo, guided by some innate GPS system that we know little about.

When they arrive in your garden could vary by several weeks each year. For my location, it’s anytime from early April to mid-May.

The map on this page is very helpful for knowing when the arrival time is near in the current calendar year.

Hummingbird Feeders

With first arrivals imminent, it’s time to get hummingbird feeders clean and filled.

While there are many types of hummingbird feeders, I recommend one like this (Amazon). This style is easy to clean, does not waste feed, and offers the hummers a place to sit while they feed. They need all the energy they can get for survival, so not having to hover while feeding is a bonus.

The sugar water that goes in the feeders should by dye-free and follow the recipe here mimicking the sugar to water ratio found naturally in their preferred nectar flowers.

If you have had problems with ants taking over your feeders, buy an ant moat or make your own.

If bees fester around your feeders, this has tips for humanely deterring them.

To enjoy hummingbird activities (and antics!) remotely, consider getting a hummingbird feeder with built-in automated camera. The phone app lets you save and enjoy the footage.

Food & Habitat

Along with providing feeders, the most important task is to provide the right natural food and habitat. This means growing—pesticide-free—a diverse selection of plants (trees, shrubs, vines, flowering perennials, and annuals) to provide places to rest, nest, find nectar, and dine on insects.

This guide to growing a hummingbird-friendly garden has more tips on plant selection and strategy.

Charming Encounters

I have had so many unusual encounters with hummingbirds over the years, and while I really try not to anthropomorphize them (i.e., to attribute human form or personality to things not human), from a human perspective they can be enchanting.

• At our former garden, each year a hummingbird would nest in a neighbor’s hanging flower basket by their front door. Countless times, I would come out to work in the front garden and this hummingbird would fly right up to me, perhaps 18 inches from my face, and just hover and look at me. These encounters would last 10-20-30 seconds. It never involved food (or filling feeders)—it really just seemed like curiosity. I’ve heard other gardeners mention similar experiences. After reading how perilous their survival is (they cannot afford to waste energy), it’s hard to reconcile why they do this (when they should be putting all that energy into basic survival) but from a human perspective it’s quite magical.
• The first spring at our current home, I was anxious to find out whether we had moved to a hummingbird summer breeding zone. While hopeful, I had to prepare myself to be disappointed that I might be gardening without hummingbirds from now on.
  
  Imagine my shock and amazement when my first sighting was not just one hummingbird but dozens. I lost count at 30! While this may sound routine to someone living in a warmer climate where hummingbirds co-mingle in droves, this is not expected behavior here.
  
  For starters, they do not migrate here in flocks, but instead travel solo, so it was coincidental that so many would choose to rest in the same location (my garden) on that day. Plus, once they determine their summer breeding location, hummingbirds are highly territorial. If there is more than one male in the garden, you can be sure a chase will ensue! This unusual sighting of so many hummingbirds in one location also skewed my expectations—would this be a garden where they gather in groups? But no, other than that one sighting on that one day, I’ve never seen more than a few in the garden at once—and it always ends in a chase scene.
• One thing that has been consistent from our old garden to this one is how tame the hummingbirds seem. It is not unusual to have one land on my sunhat or shoulder while I’m working in the garden. I just have to stand still for a few moments, and one will flit over. If I move, they fly off to a nearby branch, but if I’m stationary, they remain. I’ve also had them land on the freshly-filled feeder as I’m carrying it to the shepherd’s hook. I am certain they would feed from a hand-held feeder as well.
• One other enchanting experience was the summer when a hummingbird seemed to fall in love with one of our cats. The same way various hummingbirds have hovered close to me—seemingly to get a closer look—there was one hummingbird that would incessantly hover by our cat. The cat was safely inside the screened patio, so there was no potential harm to the bird—but my goodness, it was interesting to witness this behavior day after day. No matter where the cat slept along the windows, the hummingbird would come close to the screen and hover. The cat was barely aware it was happening (and had no hunting instincts) so that, no doubt, extended the one-sided relationship.

Fall Migration

As the days shorten and temperatures drop, it’s time for the hummingbirds to head to their winter homes. While spring migration is fairly easy to track based on our first sightings, we can’t really know exactly when they depart in autumn. We just eventually realize many days have gone by since the last sighting.

If you worry about interfering with their fall migration by keeping your feeders up, it does not appear to be an issue. Research indicates that the hummingbirds leave when the time is right and having the extra energy from sugar water feeders is beneficial.

While there are always reports of stragglers, most hummers will head to warmer climates in fall and stay in various parts of the southern United States, Mexico, and Central America until spring when it’s time to journey north once again.

Resources

~Melissa the Empress of Dirt ♛