http://www.hummingbirds.net/map.html


- Andrew - Ontario, Canada - Zone 6
- Won't Get Fooled Again ~ The Who.

Thanks Andrew! I just checked about 10 minutes ago and it still wasn't up yet. OK FOLKS we are good to go now....Keep a watchful eye out in the gulf!

Penny
Niagara Falls, NY
USDA zone 6a/6b
Heat zone 4
Sunset zone 39

Hello Andrew,

Thanks! WooHoo!...Ah, yes, doing the the dance of joy!!!

Even though it'll be quite awhile before most of us see any, it's wonderful that the anticipation is building and we can all watch the fun of others seeing them as they migrate.

Oh, to be down on those shores with all of you in FL, AL, LA, TX...even if they don't stop there, but to see them buzz over the waves and overhead...what a thrill that would be!!!


Susan Louise
from Branford CT/ live in Lincoln NE
Zone 5

Susan Louise
Since you are on the border of the Ruby throuated migration path, you should consider watching for some of the western hummers also especially since the western species are already starting to move. If it was me I would go ahead ahd hang a feeder out now....you never know what you may attact especially since so many western birds do overwinter in the Gulf states.

Penny
Niagara Falls, NY
USDA zone 6a/6b
Heat zone 4
Sunset zone 39

Penny I am with you. Just checked and saw it wasn't there. Cleaned up the kitchen and came back and low and behld here it is.

Dianne
Southeast Alabama
Heat Zone 8
Sunset Zone 31

I'm itching to get the feeders up! =)

Zone 7B
North Carolina

Matt I keep a couple up all year round.

Dianne
Southeast Alabama
Heat Zone 8
Sunset Zone 31

Here's a NOAA weather map showing the lower 48 and the gulf. If you put your cursor over wind speed & direction, little arrows will appear showing which way the wind is blowing. As of this afternoon, the wind is blowing out to sea. You can also move forward in time by 12 hour increments and see the forecast for the next few days. It doesn't look ideal right now.

http://www.weather.gov/forecasts/graphical/sectors/conus.php#tabs

Penny,

That sounds like a great idea! I'll probably wait just one more week...or at least wait til Saturday. the temps are supposed to be getting warmer here by then. Last year I think we put them up around the end of March/Beginning of April. But, since you mentioned that, we'll put them up a month early

Susan Louise
from Branford CT/ live in Lincoln NE
Zone 5

Whoo Hoo! Yes finally. Have been waiting for so long to see it. Thanks for posting. Hard to imagine spring is right around the corner with four more inches of fresh snow. Oh well, I have my catalogs to keep me company.

kathy t.
shebly twp., MI
Zone 5/6

Thanks for the link Dianne. don't know why I haven't been able to log on to the forum lately, and I'm glad the map is up. I got my first one last year on March 20th. I should have kept a feeder up all winter, but I didn't. Can't wait for the arrival!!!

Here we go let the fun begin!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Come on little hummers come my way!!

Chris
Burlington County
NJ

-
Cheers,Bob
USDA Plant Hardiness Zone 8b
It's Winter!

Matt
If I were in your location I would already have at least one feeder out. In fact I sould probably leave one feeder out through the winter and only bring it in if the temps went below freezing but as soon as it went back up abouve 32 it would be right back out. In milder winters I leave a feeder out as long as possible.

Penny
Niagara Falls, NY
USDA zone 6a/6b
Heat zone 4
Sunset zone 39

We still have snow on the ground in western PA. These are exciting times with that migration map going up, but I've got to temper that with the knowledge that I've got at least 9 weeks to go before I'm likely to see my first little Ruby-throat. Thank heavens for that. I haven't even ordered my seeds yet! I keep hoping I'll see one in April, but so far it's been the first week of May for me. Thank goodness I still have some time to get ready.

Thanks for puttting it up for us Bob!

Susan Louise
from Branford CT/ live in Lincoln NE
Zone 5

Thanks for the advice, Penny. We do go below freezing every night here in the winter, so keeping a feeder out would be a challenge, or I'd need a light for it. Does anyone else in the NC Piedmont or areas nearby do this? Any advice to share?

Zone 7B
North Carolina

I suess that wind that Kristin was talking about has slowed the hummingbirds down or no one is looking for them. No problem. Just knowing the map is and and the hummingbirds are on the way makes me happy.



Dianne
Southeast Alabama
Heat Zone 8
Sunset Zone 31

Matt
Some folks who have mild days and freezing night actually bring the feeders in at night or have a fresh one to replalce the frozen one with in the morning. They alternate feeders back and forth. Forht this I would use a very small feeder or only put about 4 ounces in a regular feeder.

Penny
Niagara Falls, NY
USDA zone 6a/6b
Heat zone 4
Sunset zone 39

Kristin,



Thanks for the link to that wind map...looks like it'll be favorable for the hummers today. Crossing fingers, we might see some sightings added to the migration map today!

Susan Louise

from Branford CT/ live in Lincoln NE

Zone 5

Dianne, I looked at that map again and it looks like the winds have come around as of yesterday (Tuesday, the 24th). Today, they are blowing into Louisiana from the gulf. Looks like if those hummingbirds are trying to cross the gulf into Louisiana, or thereabouts, they'll have the wind at their backs for the next few days. I guess this means they will most likely land a good ways inland before stopping to feed.

Looks like it could be a good rest of the week for Ruby-throated Hummingbird migration. I'm lookin' for that first dot!

Yes most of the wind is coming in from the SE or SSE at least until Saturday when it shifts to the NE

Penny
Niagara Falls, NY
USDA zone 6a/6b
Heat zone 4
Sunset zone 39

'My' Ruby throats seem to be eating more, so I have to expect them to leave...

Hello All!!!!!

YAY! They're on the map!! They're on the map!!!


June
Wilmington DE
Z 7A

WOW two reports along the Texas coast too already!

Penny
Niagara Falls, NY
USDA zone 6a/6b
Heat zone 4
Sunset zone 39

Yeah!!!!! There are now three sightings!!!! This IS exciting.

kathy t.
shebly twp., MI
Zone 5/6

Zippity Doo Dah...What a wonderful day!!!

Carol
Milford, CT
Zone 6

You're welcome, Susan Louise (about the map, I mean). My previous message crossed with yours because we were typing almost at the same time, so I didn't get a chance to respond to what you wrote.

Just look at all those dots appearing. This is all so exciting, even if I do have probably at least 8 weeks to go! If you look at the wind map again over the next few days, it looks like the winds are becoming more favorable for Florida, and maybe less so for Louisiana and Mississippi. Or, another way of saying it is the winds will be blowing out to sea in the western gulf, but blowing inland into Florida.

I keep reading about winds, weather, and migration and trying to make sense of it, but I still feel confused. I've heard that when the winds blow out to sea, the birds that do land might only barely make it to shore. Others might not make it at all. When winds blow in from the sea, they may wind up quite a distance inland before landing.

With conditions as they are predicted for tomorrow, I'm wondering if a bird could be headed for, say, Mississippi, encounter headwinds, and divert to Florida instead if the winds are blowing in that direction? Or, would they just keep "stubbornly" heading for Mississippi and maybe not make it? I wonder how that works. Maybe no one knows.

Here's maybe a better version of that same NOAA map, with a focus on the gulf. Unfortunately, it leaves out Texas:

http://www.weather.gov/forecasts/graphical/sectors/southeast.php

Alabama is on the map. Looks like down around Baldwin County. It is exciting to watch the movement inland. The earliest record for me is March 13.

Dianne
Southeast Alabama
Heat Zone 8
Sunset Zone 31

And don't forget Journey North, too:

http://www.learner.org/jnorth/maps/humm_ruby_spring2009.html

I went over there this morning to report --- not a hummingbird, but that I'd heard our first Spring Peepers last night about 11:15 pm.

LindaSkyview
Western NC mountains
Zone 6b - Sunset Zone 36 - Heat Zone 4,5,6

How exciting! We just returned from a trip to Cozumel and while traveling I was thinking about the hummingbirds returning and when I need to put up a couple more feeders. I see one is already being reported in South Baldwin County and south Mobile County, AL, probably around Dauphin Island. That's only 30 miles from my house!!!! I guess tomorrow I will be putting out another feeder and start watching for a visitor. March 8th is my earliest date. Last year was March 13.

Patti--Zone 8
Mobile, AL

Amd mpw tjere are 6 reports. They seem to be skirting the gulft more this year than in previous years.

Penny
Niagara Falls, NY
USDA zone 6a/6b
Heat zone 4
Sunset zone 39