I'm in Portland Oregon. Anna's hummingbirds are residents in this area... we have them year-round. I used to worry about them during the cold months but they seem just fine. I increase the sugar concentration in winter to keep the feeders from freezing too often, 3-to-1 from 4-to-1.

Rufous hummingbirds migrate thru our area -- I see them about March to November.

They stay May through September here. And I'm pretty sure some are the same ones. Some have different markings and size, some hold their feet differently when they hover, and some have different feeding methods (hovering vs perching). I am sure that some of the same ones come here as many as 3 years.

Here, in NH, I am convinced I get the same birds year to year. Last summer I moved to a new house and first thing, I put up a feeder (August). Then this spring, I had a hummer hovering at the window where the feeder was last fall ... I had not put the feeder up yet and the little guy was all but saying - "hey, lady. Where's my lunch?" Too funny! I do think that if you plant hummer friendly plants, they are more likely to stay around your yard. This spring I planted Cardinal flowers, Canna, Gladiolas and Trumpet vine for them... on top of the bee balm I already had. I still have them at my house although I know their days are numbered - migration will come soon.

I've heard that the majority of our hummers pass through to forest breeding grounds to the north. I'll first see male ruby-throats in late April, with more birds of both sexes showing up into June. Some birds do stay here all summer and mate - most head further north. Then in mid-August the migration south starts. I see far more hummers in the fall than at any other time, probably because we're not too far south of their main breeding areas and we're seeing lots of little guys on their first ever migration before the hazards of the trip start taking their toll. In my humble observation, the number of birds here seems to peak in mid-September, but I've seen them well into October and leave my feeder up until November.

Much to my dismay, I only ever get two hummingbirds, and I'm convinced they are the same ones for the last four years that I've been using feeders.

zee

Here in Tulsa, Ok, I can attest that we get only Ruby Throats. I live in the city and have a good share of them actively chowing down on the four feeders that I have out. In wooded areas around our many lakes the activity, as you can guess, is much more intense and the aerial battles really increase.
The activity runs from May till late Sept. This year I noticed they were a little late because we had an extremely wet June. July is when the activity really picked up.

I'm kind of new to the hummers, which I find fascinating, and have 2 feedersup, in different areas. They are very territorial! I live in the upstate region of S. Carolina...are there others here from this area? Wondering about their wintering...do they migrate south, and when?
Thanks for all your posts.

I just get hummers from april/may to sept. and this year Ive had more than ever before but I have planted hummer flowers which I didnt have before and the hummers have stayed longer than before, time will tell just how long, but like another member mentioned I truly feel my days are numbered. There have been days in august where they have numbered 20plus but most days it is 10-15 at peak feeding. I have noticed an increased desire of the hummers to just sit at a feeder for long periods of time, not drinking just sitting and guarding.

We are very lucky here in Phoenix to have Anna's hummingbirds as permanent, year-round residents. Yes, even at Christmas we could see one! Having grown up in NH, I really don't take seeing them for granted. The Costa's are common in summer but do migrate in the opposite direction of the human 'snow birds'. :)

I just got a new feeder yesterday, and had lots of 'action' (inc. one 'non-hummer' - see my other post). :)

Here in Upstate NY I can usually count on them around Mothers Day. Some years they seem to peak in late July, early Aug. then taper off but this year there are still quite a few. And was surprised to see smaller ones the last few weeks. Now its a waiting game to see how long they stay. I've increased the sugar a bit, to give them plenty of reserve for their long migration. Sandy

I have hummingbirds from March until migrtion is over in late September. Sometimes I have one or two in October.

Check this out and you will get more information about other states and Canada.

Here is a link that might be useful: Hummingbirds

Here in the Chicagoland area we get them in in the 2nd week of August through October. Like clockwork they show up every year! Despite having my feeder out from April-on, and also having tons of hummer-friendly flowers ready by mid-June, I never see any migrating through during the spring or during breeding season. Curious, that!

Sandy :)

I just started having visitors 3 weeks ago. It will be interesting to see how long they come around here. Glad to have found you here btw. :)

Auntie Clara, welcome...

We're near the coast about halfway between Santa Barbara and Los Angeles.

Allen's, Anna's and Costa's are year-round residents here (the first two most common at any time of the year). Rufous, Black chinned and a few others are seen only during migration.

I moved to this house 9 years ago and I have never been visited by hummers that I was aware of until these past few weeks,I was watering the garden and was buzzed by what I thought was a bee but to my surprise was a hummer hovering in the mist right in front of my face. He has been frequenting the hosta blooms several times a day, I had planted some salvia and a butterfly bush a couple of years ago but the blooms are spent. I'm now considering purchasing a feeder.
Rick

I am in South Florida and they arrive here at the end of September, stay all winter and leave in late February or March - we only get Ruby-throats though.

Here in south Texas we have some that are here year round, i.e. buff-bellies mainly. And we have a few older ruby throats and rufous hummers that can't make the migration, and they tend to stay around through the winter.

But we are one of the main migration routes for the ruby-throats and they are coming through very fast now. They come through, thousands of them. They pass through very quickly, but they are generally hear from mid-August until the end of October. Here is some information on the Rockport Hummer/Bird Celebration.

In Southern California, we get a few different breeds...Annas are both resident & migrant, from my observation, Allens are migrant along the coast (Santa Monica Bay), Black Chinned are migrant along the foothills (Santa Ana Mountains).

ps. I don't mean to cause trouble, but did rita_h say, at the top of the post, that she increases sugar to prevent freezing? I know salt retards freezing, but my icecream & orange juice freezes just fine...keep the mix @ 4x1 & bring the feeders in at night if you're worried about freezing...sorry, I had to do it for the best interest of the hummers.

Hi, Scaldude. It's no trouble -- it is, after all, a discussion forum. Your ice cream and orange juice freezes fine because your freezer compartment probably goes down to 10 degrees F. On the coolest setting, my freezer can go down to 0 degrees but I keep it around 15.

"Any foreign substance added to water will cause a freezing point drop. For every mole of foreign particles dissolved in a kilogram of water, the freezing point goes down by roughly 1.8°C. Sugar, alcohol, or any chemical salt will lower the freezing point. Salt is used on roads and walkways because it is inexpensive and readily available."

Anecdotally, the 4-to-1 mix seems to freeze around 28 deg F. The 3-to-1 mix starts getty mushy about 24 deg F. The sugar concentration in 3-to-1 mix is comparable to a few flowering plants and therefore not harmful to hummers, particularly when there isn't much else around to choose from.

For the last 5 years I have kept journal. The ruby throat has arrived sometimes in April and leaves around the end of September. I have, however, seen them in the first part of October. I have also noticed that sometimes they just sit and guard. Not feeding, just sitting and contemplating the meaning of life.

Yes, they do seem to have a lot on their mind, don't they novice6o? Mid-April things start picking up at my place. I did seem to have a good bunch of flyers and then most seemed to move on in one day which was pretty disappointing. Maybe they were moving on North your way hummersteve. Mostly the hummers are gone by mid-October, but I can remember once a bird stopping by the very end of October.