WHEN DID RUBY-THROATED HUMMINGBIRDS LEAVE THIS FALL?
backyardwildlifeconnection by Terry W.Johnson
A few weeks ago, I asked if you would be kind enough to report when you saw the last ruby-throated hummingbird in your yard this year. Responses to my request came from throughout the entire state. Here is a brief summary of what they responses revealed.
Departure days spread over 21 days extending from October 5 through October 25.
A Monroe homeowner last saw a hummingbird October 25.
Unfortunately, I do not have the name of the location where the earliest departure date took place.
Interestingly, most of the departures (47%) took place during a four-day period extending from October 11-14.
Most hummingbird watchers indicated that only one bird was the last to leave their yards. However, one blogger saw two (an immature male and a female) the last time they sighted hummers this year. One blogger even spotted three hummingbirds on the last day of their hummingbird season. My wife saw the last ruby-throated hummingbird in our Monroe County backyard October 12. This bird was nectaring at Turk’s cap blossoms.
While practically all of the rubythroats have now left Georgia, don’t forget we are in our second hummingbird season. If you maintain at least one feeder throughout the winter, you just might attract a rare western migrant this winter.
One of the bloggers responding to the survey wrote that during recent winters, two wintering hummingbirds have shown up in their backyard. One of them was an Anna’s hummingbird.
I want to thank everyone that took the time to participate in this survey. I hope you found the results of this survey fascinating. I know I sure did.
