christie sw MO near Springfield:

Thursday evening, April 19th, 2007--saw her first
There was a sighting on the map on March 30th, 2007 (near Springfield)

20 day wait for Christie!

Stan, in the Nashville area reported:

2005 April 4 (his first sighting)--April 4 first map sighting-->0 days
2006 April 29 (his first sighting)--April 2 first map sighting-->27 days
2007 April 21 (his first sighting)--March 22 first map sighting-->30 days

From Fay H. in Eldon, MO (The Hummingbird Forum)

April 22 2007 (saw her first)
March 29 2007 was the closest sighting on the Migration Map

She saw her first 37 days after the first sighting shown on the map

Posted by susanlynne48 z7a-OKC
Sun, Apr 22, 07 at 20:16--A Ruby-throat male.

It looks like the first map report in the Oklahoma City area was March 26th.

That's a 27 day wait compared to the earliest report.

Yet another from the Hummingbird Forum:

Russ Thompson, a female, on April 23rd, 2007 Louisville, KY.

The first in the Louisville area on the map was April 1st, 2007.

That's a 22 day lag between the two dates.

With exceeding relief and great pleasure, I report my first sighting of a hummer in my yard this year!

Waldorf, Maryland:
Migration map date - March 27th
My actual sighting - April 24th 1:15 pm EDT

29 days difference!

I had a hummingbird last year, it was my first year to live here so I don't know what date.
This year though here is the information you wanted.
2007
Migration Map says Mar 16-31.
My first sighting was Thursday April 19, put out my feeders and I have at least two, one has a ruby throat. They are happy to fight over my feeders. I wanted to make sure they have plenty of nectar since that cold that hit us a few weeks back has pretty much destroyed all the azaleas and all other flowering plants.
I live in NE Alabama 50 miles south of Chattanooga Tn. I also know 2 others that live in this area that have sighted them as well.
Cindy

FINALLY! My first hummingbird arrived yesterday afternoon, 4/23/2007!

Congratulations yardenman, and gardeningmaniac! Thank you for posting here. I was beginning to feel pathetic pulling first sightings threads from all over the place, with no one making reports.

As for me, I'm still hummingbirdless, in the hummingbird no-fly zone of western Pennsylvania. One of these days, pretty soon, one will show up in Pittsburgh, but I suspect it will be a while longer for me--maybe another week or two.

HEYITSMEJUDY!!! Are you reading this? Thank you for your first sighting date, but you forgot to tell me your location and/or the date of the first sighting in your area! By that, I mean the closest dot on the migration map to you and the date that goes along with it. Or, at least tell me your city/town and state so I can figure it out myself. Congratulations on your first hummer!! I'm going to be so excited when mine finally comes.

ksflowergirl near Kansas City reported one on April 22nd, 2007.

finchelover in Kansas City, MO reported the first one on April 23rd, 2007.

Looks like the closest dot on the map shows a return date of March 28th, 2007

That's a lag of 26, and 25 days, respectively.

Here are a couple more from the St. Louis area. I can't wait to add mine to the list, but they are only now beginning to arrive in western Pennsylvania.

--------------------------------------------------------------
missouribob saw his first on Wed, Apr 25, 2007 in Chesterfield MO (close to St. Louis).

First sightings on the map in the St. Louis area were on March 25th, 2007
This was a lag of 31 days.

-------------------------------------------------------------
mizmom also saw her first in the St. Louis area on April 25th, 2006. (Like missouribob, a lag of 31 days).

She reported that last year, her first was on April 6th, 2006.

First map sightings in 2006 in the St. Louis area were on April 2nd.

So, last year she only waited 4 days after the first map sighting.

-------------------------------------------------------------

I'm thinking that given the unusually severe cold snap in early April of this year, this is an atypical year to be doing this survey. Oh well. It seems that many people who had unusually early sightings in their area, and who were then hit by the deep freeze, are only now seeing their first birds. This is probably resulting in longer wait times this year. This must be especially true for people who were at the northern fringe of first map arrivals, and then were hit by the cold weather before they could see their first. This seems to be true in Missouri, Kentucky, Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio, and maybe some other places I haven't noticed.

If anyone has records from previous years, let me know!! I've gotten a few, and scrounged up some others, but could definitely use some more. Records from previous years will provide some balance and a reality check on this year's possibly atypical results.

It occurred to me to do a computer search of letters to family, as I usually mention the first hummer sighting. Unfortunately, I lost several years of letters when my hard drive got fried in 2005. Many of the years in the late 90's, I apparently waited until I saw one before putting up feeders. In 2 of those years, I had a hummer approach me as I was carrying the first feeder out of the house!

But I can add to my report that in Waldorf, Maryland:

2006 - Map date April 1 and my first sighting was April 28.

1998 - Map date March 28 and my first sighting was April 15.

4/25/07 I saw Male Ruby Throated at feeder 4:45pm
zone 6b Matawan, NJ 07747
Migration map 4/10/07
Garden zone has me at 7 but I believe I am 6B.

Yeah!!!!!!!!!!!

Pam

My girlfriend lives in the Desoto/St Louis, Mo area has bunches of hummers. I am in the Scott AFB/Belleville, Il side and have not seen any at this time for Zone 5.

Thanks for the reports, guys. Yardenman, it's nice to have those reports from earlier years.

Here's another from the Hummingbird Forum:

Sarah, from Merion Station, PA, Zone 6B, just reported her first on April 26th.

The first report on the map in that area was on March 27th.

That's a 30 day lag from that first report.

And another....

Pam, in Matawan NJ, Zone 6B, saw her first on April 25th.

The nearest map first sighting date was on April 9th, 2007.

Pam's wait was 16 days.

Zone 5, Scott AFB/Lebanon, Illinois area, male hummer at the feeder this morning!

Kristin,
rthummer here. You were right I am zone 7 and I saw my first ruby throat hummer on April 5th. They are comming in the droves now. I have 14 feeders now, but they are fighting like crazy, dive bombing each other. Have I got them spaced too close together? I do have them by the three patio doors on upper and lower decks so we can sit and watch them. Should I space them futher apart. Advice someone, please. I am a looker or lurker of hummers... maybe I need to stop this practice???

Thanks for the report, pmkgero1, and it's good to hear you've got your first hummer. It's encouraging to hear all the new reports in the more northern zones. It gives me hope I'll soon be seeing one here in zone 6.

rthummer, thanks for the clarification on Zone 7. I don't know if I'm going to try to use the Zone info or not, but it's good to have it.

Your question about feeder placement might deserve a new thread so that more people may see it and respond. Hidden away at the bottom of this thread, I'm not as sure it will be noticed.

Anyway, I think it's a good idea to have at least some of your feeders out of sight of others. That way, less dominant birds can sneak a sip of sugar water without being seen by the "bullies." I don't have so many hummers that it's been a problem. My feeders are in the front, but if the birds grew in numbers and were constantly "dog-fighting," (a nice problem to have!) I'd consider setting up another feeder in the back of the house, which is actually the part closer to the woods. Having lots of flowers located all over the place is also a good solution. A dominant bird may hog a feeder, but has a harder time defending masses of flowers all over the yard.

That's my advice.

Thanks Kristin,
Great idea! I will try that. Now why didn't I think of that!!! Keep those dominant hummers occupied...hee, hee!!!;)

You're welcome! Out of sight, out of mind works for hummingbirds.

Here are some more reports:

From myoneandonly z7VA, in central part of the state saw her first on Saturday, April 28th.

It's hard to decide which map report to use since I don't know the exact location. March 25th seems about right.

That means a lag of 27 days.

In 2006, myoneandonly saw her first 8 days later than this year. That would have been on May 6th.

First map reports in central VA in 2006 were round about April 6th.

That's a lag of 30 days from the first map reports.

-------------------------------------------------------------------

Cookiepa in suburban Philadelphia, PA saw her first this year on April 28th.

First map reports in her area this year were on March 27th.

That's a lag of 32 days.

----------------------------------------------------------------------

Boozie in SW Indiana (Newburgh) saw her first this year on April 28th.

First map reports in that part of Indiana were on March 23rd.

That's a lag of 25 days.

From the Hummingbird Forum, Jenny in southeastern PA reported her first today, April 29th, 2007.

This compares with March 27th this year on the migration map.

That's a 33 day lag between first map sighting and Jenny's first.

Here's another:

jerseyjohn, just south of Atlantic City, saw his first on April 29th.

First map sightings in the Atlantic City area were on March 31st, 2007.

Another long lag of 29 days.

If you look at the average return date in the Atlantic City area over the last 9 years on the migration map, it is about April 11th. So, even if you use that average return date of April 11th, jerseyjohn's return is still 18 days later than that. I think that's pretty typical for a lot of people.

As I mentioned earlier in this thread, I'm beginning to notice that this year the wait between map and actual first sighting was longer than usual for many people. I think that the early warm weather coaxed some birds northward, but then the cold snap delayed everything.

2007
6b
PA, SW Chester County, in SE PA
3/27/07 (within about 10 miles of me)
5/1/07

Thanks, chescobob. It's nice to get an entry. I was starting to feel silly being the only one to keep updating this. It would be so much easier if people would put their entries here.

Here are some more...

Helen, in Z6, NJ, saw her first on April 25th

First Z6 reports in NJ were on April 9th and 10th.

That's a 26 day wait.

------------------------------------------------------------

June Smith, in Wilmington, DE, saw her first on April 30th.

Closest first map reports were in the Philadelphia area on March 27th.

That's a wait of 34 days.

------------------------------------------------------------

Kendra, in Z5 Massachusetts, saw her first on April 30th.

Not sure where she's located, but first reports ranged from April 12th, 19th, and 24th. That averages to April 18th.

That would be about a 12 day wait.
------------------------------------------------------------
Steve, in Martinsville, Indiana, saw his first on April 30th

There weren't any really close map points, but closest seemed to be about March 25th or so.

That was a wait of 36 days!--Steve, if you're reading this, you may have taken the prize so far for the longest wait relative to the first nearby map sightings.
------------------------------------------------------------
Penny, in western NY saw her first on April 29th.

I'm not sure which map dot was closest, but April 21st or 22nd seem closest.

That's a wait of about 8 days.
------------------------------------------------------------

Donald, in Z4, Red Wing, Minnesota just saw his first on May 1st, 2007.

First map reports in his general area were on April 29th, 2007

That's a wait of only 2 days!

I'm in zone 6, Putnam County, Mahopac New York 10541

I saw my first today, May 4th
The closest dot I see on the map is April 14th.

Thank you for the report, Anita, and congratulations!

I'm still waiting for my first.

Here are a bunch more reports from other threads and from people at the Hummingbird Forum.

------------------------------------------------------------
Alice, in East Aurora, NY saw her first on May 2nd

First reports on the map for her area were on April 21st.

That is a 11 day lag.

------------------------------------------------------------
Jolene, in Buffalo, NY, also saw her first on May 2nd.

First reports on the map for her area were on April 21st.

Also an 11 day lag.

------------------------------------------------------------
Doreen, in South Lyon, MI, saw her first on May 4th.

First reports in her area were on April 13th.

That is a 21 day lag.

------------------------------------------------------------
Stephen, Z6B, somewhere in NJ, saw his first on May 3rd.

I'm guessing his closest map reports would be April 9th or 10th.

That would be a lag of 24 days.

------------------------------------------------------------
Don, in Coventry, CT saw his first on May 4th, 2007.

First map reports in his area were on April 23rd.

That would be a lag of 11 days.

He also thinks he saw his first on May 4th, 2006.

First map reports in 2006 in his area were on April 12th.

If he's remembering correctly for 2006, the lag would have been 22 days.

------------------------------------------------------------
Carol, in Z6, Milford, CT, reported several years of sightings.

May 4th, 2007 in her yard--First map report April 14th--lag of 20 days
May 14th, 2006 in her yard--First map report April 11th--lag of 33 days
May 12th, 2005 in her yard--first map report April 12th--lag of 30 days
May 8th, 2004 in her yard--First map report April 19th--lag of 19 days

------------------------------------------------------------
Cindra, in Z5B, Trenton Ontario reported her first on May 4th. (Earlier in this thread, she reported an arrival of May 3rd in 2006)

First map reports closest to Cindra were on April 30th, 2007.

That's a lag of just 4 days.

------------------------------------------------------------
bushleague, in Cape Cod, MA, reported this year's first on May 2nd.

Closest map reports to Cape Cod were on April 24th.

That's a lag of 8 days.

------------------------------------------------------------
irisheyesaresmilin saw the first hummer in RI on May 3rd.

Earliest map reports close to Rhode Island were on April 19th.

That's a lag of 14 days.

------------------------------------------------------------
jfc31 reported multiple years of sightings.

May 4th, 2007--First map report April 14th--lag of 20 days

The previous 3 years were May 1st, May 1st, and May 2nd, but didn't say which year was which. Since they're so close, I'll just arbitrarily assign the dates...

May 1st, 2006--First map report April 13th--A lag of 18 days
May 1st, 2005--First map report April 12th--A lag of 19 days
May 2nd, 2004--First map report April 19th--A lag of 13 days

------------------------------------------------------------
Whew! There are a lot of reports coming in. It's getting hard to keep up. I just hope the day will come when one of them is mine!

From the Hummingbird Forum, Kay in Kalamazoo county, Michigan, just saw her first on May 5th (same as last year). So, that works out like this:

Her first sighting on May 5th, 2007--First map reports April 19th--lag of 16 days
Her first sighting on May 5th, 2006--First map reports April 16th--lag of 19 days

Well, I was lucky. I didn't have to wait as long as some other people who had dots near them, but it still felt like forever.

Kristin Williams, Zone 6, saw my first on May 5th.

First reports on the migration map in my area were on April 27th.

That's a lag of only 8 days. Wow! It seemed much longer.
------------------------------------------------------------

In 2006, I saw my first on May 2nd.

First reports were on April 14th.

That was a much longer lag of 18 days.

Congratulations on your own first actual sighting! :)

2007
Zone 6
Eastern Pennsylvania near Allentown
First siting was May 6, it was a male
First reported siting in region was 3/31

Here's the latest list:

pkguy, 60 miles north of Detroit, saw his first on May 4th.

First sightings this year in that area were on April 28th.

That's a lag of 6 days.
--------------------------------------------------------------
birdsrwonderful, somewhere in zone 6 Tennessee, saw first on May 5th.

Don't know exact location, but March 22nd seems a reasonable first map date in Z6 Tennessee.

thats a considerable lag of 44 days. That may be the longest yet!
-------------------------------------------------------------
auspen, in Ashtabula, OH, saw the first on May 7th.

First map sightings were on April 28th in the Ashtabula area.

That's a lag of 9 days.
-------------------------------------------------------------
I'd like to report Cheri M. from the hummingbird forum, but I only know she lives in Ohio and saw her first on May 4th. Too tough to do a nearest map dot without knowing where she is.
------------------------------------------------------------
I have another entry for Kendra from the Hummingbird Forum for 2006. She's in Zone 5 MA, and saw her first on May 4th, 2006.

First map reports in that area were April 29th.

That's a lag of 5 days.
-------------------------------------------------------------
Lisa in southern WI, saw her first on May 5th, 2007.

First map reports for southern WI average out to April 21st or so.

That makes for a lag of about 14 days.
------------------------------------------------------------
Theresa, in Saugus, Massachusetts saw her first on May 6th, 2007.

First map reports this year in that area were April 23rd.

That's a lag of 13 days.
------------------------------------------------------------
Macy in southeast MI saw her first on May 6, 2007.

First map reports were on April 28th.

That's a lag of 8 days.
------------------------------------------------------------
Birdlegs, also in southeast MI, saw the first hummer on May 7th, 2007.

First map reports, also April 28th.

That's a lag of 9 days.
-------------------------------------------------------------
Verna saw her first in McCordsville, IN, on May 6th, 2007.

First map reports were on March 25th.

That's a huge lag of 42 days.
------------------------------------------------------------
Rusty, in Watersmeet, MI, saw his first on May 7th, 2006. Still waiting on 2007.

The first map reports in 2006 in that area were on May 6th.

That's a lag of only 1 day.
------------------------------------------------------------
Eddie11 in zone 5, southeast MI, saw his first on April 27th, 2004.

First map reports in 2004 in that part of Michigan were on April 14th.

That's a lag of 13 days.
------------------------------------------------------------
Finally, Denise, also in southeast Michigan reported her first on May 8th, 2006. Still looking for 2007.

First map reports in that area in 2006 were on April 12th.

That's a lag of 26 days.
------------------------------------------------------------

WHEW! That was exhausting. I'm so sick of looking up places in Google Maps and Mapquest. Many are from the Hummingbird Forum, and can't be expected to know about my little poll, but I wish the Gardenweb folks would help me out and post their own sightings and nearest map reports. It's so much easier when people do it themselves.

I have no idea how much data I have, but it's starting to get pretty decent. I guess I need to finish what I started and hang in there for at least another week or two until most everyone has seen theirs. I don't know how late they might show up in more northerly parts of Canada, but I don't know if I can last that long. I'm getting worn out!

Bye for now.

dakster in central CT, first seen on May 8th

First map reports in central Connecticut were on either April 14th or April 23rd.

If we use the 14th, the lag was 24 days.
----------------------------------------------------------------
suzyqute 40 miles north of Madison, WI, in Portage, saw her first hummer on May 9th.

First map reports in that part of Wisconsin were on April 12th.

That's a lag of 27 days.
-------------------------------------------------------------
Nate, "The Mighty King Cupheaphea" had a hummer sighting in his SE Michigan yard on May 6th.

First map sightings in his area were on April 28th.

That's a lag of 8 days.
------------------------------------------------------------
Michelle, in Dallas, TX, saw her first on May 1st, 2006. Still waiting on 2007.

First map reports in 2006 in the Dallas area were on March 27th.

That's a big lag of 35 days.
-------------------------------------------------------------
Kathi and Michael Rock saw their first in the Madison, WI area on May 9th.

First map reports in the Madison area were on April 21st.

That's a lag time of 18 days.
-------------------------------------------------------------
Ark, in southern Ontario, near lake Ontario, had a first sighting on May 10th.

First map reports in that general part of Ontario were on April 21st or April 30th. Not sure which is closer.

The lag from April 21st is 19 days.
-------------------------------------------------------------

2007
Zone 6
Northeastern NJ
First siting May 10th, 5:45pm
Female
I'm not sure which I'm closest to, but Western NJ had a siting on April 21st and Long Island NY on April 24th, presumably males.

I forgot to come back and give this years results.
First visit by Male Ruby Throat was on May 4th for me this year.
The female was here on May 6th. In fact there appears to be that are buzzing and hanging around. First time ever that I've had to refill feeders every other day!
Zone 5b, Southern Ontario, Quinte West Area

Cindi

Southeastern New Hampshire Zone 5b
4/23/2007 Migration Map Report
5/13/2007 My first sighting, 1 male and 1 female same day.

Thanks cindra and flutterbug for posting your first sightings info here! Congratulations are also in order.

I've hunted around again and rounded up more of the latest first sightings.

------------------------------------------------------------
jnine did not give an exact date, said "first week in April" in NW corner of MS. I'll just record it as the 4th of April.

First sightings in that part of Mississippi were March 20th.

That's a lag of about 15 days, give or take a few.
------------------------------------------------------------
kevinmona in southwest Arkansas, said the first was "around" April 6th.

First sightings for that part of Arkansas were on March 19th.

That's a lag of about 18 days.
------------------------------------------------------------
Karen in Z5 central IL reported her first on May 13th.

First sightings were as early as March 29th in central Illinois.

That's a lag of 15 days.
------------------------------------------------------------
Rachelleharris in Lansing, MI, saw her first on May 15th.

First map reports in the Lansing area were on April 20th or so, but dates varied widely in that area.

This would be a lag of about 25 days (or at least 10 days if you take the latest dates.
------------------------------------------------------------
pufftrinket, near Lansing MI, had a first sighting "same week" as rachelleharris. I'll assume May 13th.

First map reports in the Lansing, MI area were on April 20th approximately.

That's a lag of approximately 23 days.
------------------------------------------------------------
Also found out that dakster in central CT had a first sighting on May 7th, 2006.

First map reports in central Connecticut in 2006 were on April 12th.

That's a lag of 25 days.
------------------------------------------------------------
judyag44 in mid MO had a first sighting on April 28th.

First map reports in central Mo were on March 29th or so.

That is a lag of 30 days.
------------------------------------------------------------
I believe it is a different Lisa in W MI in the GR (Grand Rapids?) area who has several reports.

May 8 2002, first map report April 16th, lag of 22 days
May 8 2003, first map report April 20th, lag of 18 days
May 8 2004, first map report April 17th, lag of 21 days
May 8 2005, first map report April 20th, lag of 18 days
"last week of May" 2006, first map report April 17th, approximate lag of at least 17 days
May 4th, 2007, first map on April 30th, lag of 4 days
------------------------------------------------------------
hummernut, in zone 5 Michigan, reports first on May 4th, 2007

First map reports are hard to say since I've no exact location, but April 30th is about the latest of the first map reports in zone 5 Michigan.

That would be a lag of at least 4 days.
------------------------------------------------------------
iquilt59 in Benton Harbor, MI, had a first sighting some time in early May, probably somewhere between the 6th and 9th.

First map sightings in that area were on April 13th.

That's a lag of at least 23 days.
------------------------------------------------------------
connie-k, near Romeo Michigan had seen hers "at least 2 weeks." That would be approximately May 1st.

First map reports in that area were on April 19th.

That's a lag of 12 days.
------------------------------------------------------------
cibc in Kemptville, Ontario, had a first sighting on May 15th.

First map reports in that area were on April 21st.

That's a lag of 24 days.
------------------------------------------------------------
Kathy Johnson Rock saw her first on May 9th in Madison, WI

First map reports in that area were on April 12th.

That's a lag of 27 days.
------------------------------------------------------------
Denise, in SE MI saw her first on May 9th of 2007.

First map reports in SE MI were on April 28th.

That's a lag of 11 days.
------------------------------------------------------------
Annie, on Cape Cod, MA, saw her first on May 10th

First map reports on Cape Cod were on April 24th.

That's a lag of 16 days.
------------------------------------------------------------
Joy somewhere in zone 5/6 MI, saw her first on May 12th.

First map reports in zone 5/6 in MI were on April 30th, at the latest.

That's a lag of at least 12 days, but hard to say without exact location for Joy.
------------------------------------------------------------
Bud, in southwest OH, saw his first on May 11th.

First map sightings were on March 30th.

That's a huge lag of 42 days!
------------------------------------------------------------
Eddie11 in SE MI saw his first on May 9th, 2007.

First map reports in SE MI were on April 28th.

That's a lag of 11 days.
------------------------------------------------------------
Rusty, in Watersmeet, MI, saw his first on May 7th, 2007.

First map reports in that part of Michigan were on May 8th.

This is a first. NO LAG. Rusty should be a dot on the map as a first sighting. I guess he didn't report it, or his report was rejected.
------------------------------------------------------------
Jeanne, in western MI reported 2 years.

May 7th, 2006, First map reports April 15th, assuming she's in the western part of the lower peninsula.

That's a lag of 22 days.

May 13, 2007, First map reports April 13th.

That's a lag of 30 days.
------------------------------------------------------------
Kathy, in Shelby Township, MI, saw her first on May 8th.

First map reports were on April 19th.

That's a lag of 19 days.
------------------------------------------------------------
Charlotte, in Middletown, PA, saw her first on May 10th.

First map reports were on March 31st.

That's a huge lag of 40 days.
------------------------------------------------------------
Janice, in Niagara Falls, NY, saw her first on May 11th.

First map reports in her area were on April 22nd.

That's a lag of 19 days.
------------------------------------------------------------
Al Heline in northern IL, saw his first on May 12th.

First map reports in northern IL were on April 22nd.

That's a lag of at least 20 days.
------------------------------------------------------------
Wendelyn Mitchell, in Groton, CT, saw her first on May 13th.

First map reports in that area were on April 23rd.

That's a lag of 20 days.
------------------------------------------------------------
Lisa, (birdgardner) in central NJ, saw her first on May 16th.

First map reports in central NJ were on April 9th.

That's a lag of 37 days.
------------------------------------------------------------
Sherry (pucpuggy) saw her first in SE Mississippi on March 12th.

First map reports in that area were on March 1st.

That's a lag of 11 days.
------------------------------------------------------------

Wow. That was a killer amount of sightings. I'll try to keep up and summarize everything in June.

Please report first sightings, neares first sighting map point, and your location. It's so much easier when I don't have to scrounge around for the info.

Bye for now.

First time at this site. Zone 7, NW Georgia.
2006 - my first siting 4-15-2006;
2007- first siting 3-20-07 (I think)-my siting 5-15-2007. I think perhaps they were here and I have been distracted by other things.
I have kept a diary since mid-season 2005
Hope this will be helpful

According to the hummingbird migration map, first sightings in Northern Virginia were around March 28. Geesh, I can't be THAT unobservant as to not have noticed any earlier, but I saw my first one today. Couldn't tell if it was male or female since it was just a flash.

New to this site. Zone 5a, Kemptville, Ontario, Canada
My first siting 5-15-2007.

I noticed what I thought was something moving out by my feeder (put up May 6th), and sure enough, it was a male. I saw the female the next day. I read the earliest first sighting here was May 6th.

Thank you zebz!! It's so much easier to get the reports this way than to have to hunt around on maps for locations. Congratulations on your sighting.

Natrushka, I'm thinking you are probably the same person as cibc from another forum. If you scroll up a few threads to my previous entry, I think I found you and put your May 15th sighting down. I used a different first map sighting than you, but maybe the May 7th one is actually closer. That would give you a lag of 8 days, instead of 24. Congrats to you, too, on your first hummer!

Also, thanks novice60 for the info from 2006 and 2007. It's definitely helpful, and nice to have data from two different years. I don't have that for too many people.

One of these days I'll get to the summary of all of this. One of these days.....

Hi everyone,

I'm starting to organize the data, and correct any mistakes I may have made along the way. Here's one, just in case anyone noticed. The previous entry was as follows:
------------------------------------------------------------
From Fay H. in Eldon, MO (The Hummingbird Forum)

April 22 2007 (saw her first)
March 29 2007 was the closest sighting on the Migration Map

She saw her first 37 days after the first sighting shown on the map.
------------------------------------------------------------
That 37 days is wrong. It should be 24 days lag time. I don't think anyone but Faye would care, but just want you to know I'm trying to be careful with my number crunching and correct any mistakes.

I'm doing this very slowly, so it may take a few weeks to make sense of it all.

Has everyone seen their first hummingbird and reported it along with the nearest map sighting? This is getting to be your last chance to do so and get included.

A big thank you goes out to everyone who has contributed!

Kristen - you contributed for me but I can include some data from previous years:

2006
Zone 7, Phila., PA (in the city but on the border line of Montco)
Closest first on map = 4/9/06
My first = 4/29/06 (same as this year)
Days diff = 20
--------------------------
2005
Zone 7, Phila., PA (in the city but on the border line of Montco)
Closest first on map = 4/7/05
My first = 6/5/05
Days diff = 59

My very first hummer experience was back in 2004 during fall migration season and I don't have the exact date handy of that (my very first hummer sighting ever), but it was some time in mid-August 2004. The first sighting in the area that year was 4/7/04.

In general, the males tend to come earlier and in 2005, I only had a returning female, who showed up on 6/5/05. But once I got my first 2 juvie males of 2005 and they got a taste of my spot, one of them returned the next year on 4/29/06. The mom returned later on 5/10/06. There were 4 juvie males and at least 3 adult females that summer and one of the 2006 juvie males showed up this year on 4/29/07. One of the females appeared on 5/10/07.

Thanks, Jenny. I'll add those to the mass of data I've got.

Found a couple more little math errors on my part. Something about figuring out the lag time between the first map report and first sighting, and doing it at about 1am, (as I often did) was not such a good idea. I was often very tired when I did these, and made mistakes. It's also easy to get the years mixed up and record it as 2007, instead of an earlier year. I'm being very careful now to go back and correct errors and inconsistencies. Boozie in Indiana was one, and there was another one, too. I've only found 3 such errors, and I'm maybe 2/3 of the way through my first pass.

I'm making progress with the data. I have 113 different data points for 2007, plus others for other years, all gleaned from this forum or from the Hummingbird Forum. Bit by bit I'll work on it and get it compiled into some sort of useful form. It should be especially helpful to resurrect it next spring, when everyone's looking at the first sightings map and wondering anxiously about their hummingbirds.

It's not too late to add your first sighting to this list. It can be for this year or any year in the recent past. Just include your location, USDA climate zone, date of sighting(s), and the date of the closest migration map dot to you.

A huge thanks to everyone who contributed!!!

Here is a link that might be useful: Hummingbird Migration Map 2007

first hummer seen Wednesday May 30th. It has returned every day since around 4:00 p.m. It has a green back and a sparrow colored front.

Here is a link that might be useful: b my friend

I had my first sighting of a hummingbird on May 27th. I live in Levittown Pa which is Zone 6b. The Migration Map shows the first date report closest to me as 3/31. That would be a lag of 57 days. That doesn't mean of course that they were not in my garden on my honeysuckle but maybe that I just didn't see them sooner. How can anyone ever really know. It is so hard to know what the data really means. Up until Memorial Day I was not sitting outside much and the Honeysuckle was at the far back of my garden. It started blooming around Mother's Day.

Hello everyone. I got all the numbers crunched, and made a graph of sorts with the data. Sorry, ghoghunter, I last looked at this thread on June 2nd, so I missed yours. I also couldn't include skye hummerlvr's entry because it didn't have a location and so there was no way to compare it with a first sighting on the migration map.

For the results, see the new thread--Final Results of First Reports versus First Actual Sightings Survey. In it, I'll summarize everything.