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Yahoo
16-04-2025
- Yahoo
When do hummingbirds return to Ohio? Interactive map, when to put out feeders, more
April is in full swing, which means it's time for spring showers, blooming flowers and beautiful melodies coming from your garden. That's right, hummingbirds are making their way back to Southern Ohio. These small birds travel thousands of miles each year during spring migration. While en route to their new home, hummingbirds may fly up to 23 miles per day and can go as fast as 60 miles per hour, according to Hummingbird Central. Here's what you should know about these precious flying jewels. For the past 10 years, Hummingbird Central has tracked hummingbirds' northward migration. Ken Freeman, a Hummingbird Central staff member, says the site relies on "citizen spotters" to report their first hummingbird sightings. The project starts in January and continues through May. Reports have already started rolling in from Texas, Florida, Louisiana and California, with the earliest sighting reported on Jan. 26 in Key Largo, Florida. A male ruby-throated hummingbird was also spotted in Union, Kentucky, roughly 17 miles from Cincinnati, on March 9. A mother ruby-throated hummingbird was spotted March 9 in Saint Marys, West Virginia, near the Ohio River. AccuWeather shared a map on Facebook showing when different regions of the country can expect to see hummingbirds. According to the map, hummingbirds will arrive in the southern half of the Buckeye State from April 1 to 15, and the northern half from April 15 to 30. That largely agrees with the dates shown by Hummingbird Central. In 2024, the site's interactive map shows the earliest hummingbird sighting in Otway, Ohio, near Portsmouth, on April 14. Other sightings in the southern portion of the state range from April 15 to 25. Take a look at the 2025 hummingbird migration map to see when you might spot them in Ohio. There are two main species of hummingbirds in Ohio, according to Bird Advisors: ruby-throated hummingbirds and rufous hummingbirds. However, a total of seven hummingbirds are recognized in state bird records. Ruby-throated hummingbirds are a common sight during the summer months. They are bright green on the back and crown, with a gray-white underside. The males also have an iridescent red throat and the females have brownish crowns and sides. Rufous hummingbirds aren't as common in Ohio, but a few do wander this far north in the winter each year, Bird Advisors says. The males have a bright orange back and belly, a white patch below the throat and iridescent red throats. The females are greenish-brown on the back and rusty colored on the sides with a whitish belly. Other rare hummingbird species that you may see in Ohio include: Mexican violetears. Black-chinned hummingbirds. Calliope hummingbirds. Allen's hummingbirds. Anna's hummingbirds. Homemade nectar hummingbird feeders, made with one part white sugar and four parts water, can be placed outside before or around the birds' arrival. Bird Feeder Hub recommends Ohioans put hummingbird feeders outside in mid- to late-April, but other birding outlets suggest they can go up even earlier. Nectar-rich, brightly-colored tubular flowers will attract hummingbirds to your garden, the Old Farmer's Almanac says. Some of these flowering plants include bee balms, columbine flowers, daylilies, lupines and petunias. To make your garden even more inviting to these tiny birds, the Almanac suggests planting flowers with space in between, which gives hummingbirds room to hover, and providing shaded areas. Hummingbirds rely on bright colors to find their food and are most attracted to red and orange hues. If you go the homemade nectar route, the Almanac warns not to dye the mixture red, as this could harm the birds. Instead, use a red-colored feeder to attract them. Their diet typically consists of nectar from flowers and small insects, such as aphids and spiders, per Hummingbird Central. Hummingbirds' average speed in direct flight ranges between 20 and 30 mph. They can fly up to three times as fast during courtship dives, which males do when attempting to mate with a female. The American Bird Conservatory writes that many hummingbird species have adapted to urban environments, including the ruby-throated hummingbird. They can be seen nesting in wires, plant hangers and other human-made items. However, most breeds prefer to seek cover under trees near water. Trees provide shelter for adult hummingbirds and their chicks, while the water keeps the area cool, the site adds. They tend to nest on thinner branches roughly one foot from tree trunks. In the winter, a majority of hummingbird species fly hundreds or even thousands of miles from the northern United States and Canada down to Mexico or Central America, according to the National Audubon Society. Scientists estimate that the journey takes two to three weeks. However, there's one species, Anna's hummingbird, that has evolved to withstand the winter. This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: When do hummingbirds return to Ohio? Everything to know
Yahoo
14-04-2025
- Climate
- Yahoo
Get your feeders ready, hummingbirds are back in Ohio. See where on this interactive map
Get your feeders ready, hummingbirds are back in Ohio after migrating thousands of miles from their winter habitats in Mexico and Central America. Here's where they have been spotted. According to the interactive migration map at Hummingbird Central, hummingbirds were first spotted in the Buckeye State on March 31 in Cincinnati. On April 9, another was seen in Grove City, southwest of Columbus. That's as far north as they've come so far, according to the map. There have been other sightings in southern Ohio, and along the Ohio River in Kentucky and West Virginia. For more than a decade, Hummingbird Central has tracked hummingbirds' northward migration, relying on "citizen spotters" to report their first hummingbird sightings, according to Ken Freeman, a Hummingbird Central staff member. Those reports are then plotted on an interactive map that shows the date and location of the site, and any comments that spotters want to leave. Sightings are color-coded by hummingbird species. Through mid-April, ruby-throated hummingbirds have been spotted as far north as southern Ohio, Indiana and Illinois, working their way northward from the Gulf Coast. Other species have been spotted in Texas, Oklahoma and the Southwest. Some hummingbirds in California and the Pacific Northwest do not migrate, according to the website. The earliest hummingbird sighting reported on the map was on Jan. 26 in Key Largo, Florida. AccuWeather shared a map on Facebook showing when different regions of the country can expect to see hummingbirds. According to the map, hummingbirds will arrive in the southern half of the Buckeye State from April 1 to 15, and the northern half from April 15 to 30. Hummingbird fans rejoice! The ruby-throated hummingbirds are on their way back to the eastern US after spending the winter in Mexico and South America. Posted by AccuWeather on Friday, March 7, 2025 That largely aligns with the dates shown by Hummingbird Central. In 2024, the site's interactive map shows the earliest hummingbird sighting in Otway, Ohio, near Portsmouth, on April 14. Other sightings in the southern portion of the state range from April 15 to 25. There are two main species of hummingbirds in Ohio, according to Bird Advisors, but a total of seven are recognized in state bird records. Ruby-throated hummingbirds are a common sight in summer. They are bright green on the back and crown, with a gray-white underside. Males have an iridescent red throat. Female Ruby-throated Hummingbirds are green on the back and white underneath, with brownish crowns and sides. Rufous hummingbirds are not very common in Ohio, but a few each year do wander this far north, Bird Advisors says. They are bright orange on the back and belly, a white patch below the throat, and an iridescent red throat in the males. The females are greenish-brown on the back and rusty-colored on the sides with a whitish belly. Mexican violetears are extremely rare in Ohio. Some non-breeding Mexican violetears may fly north into the United States, more commonly to Texas. Some have been spotted as far north as Michigan and Ohio but very rarely. Black-chinned hummingbirds have only been seen in 2020, near Columbus. Calliope hummingbirds have only been spotted here a few times around Columbus, 2017 being the last. Allen's hummingbirds have only been spotted in Ohio a few times in winter. They have not been recorded in the past 10 years. Anna's hummingbirds have been spotted only a few times in the state in winter. Hellbenders: They're real, large and live in Ohio, and they showed up on an ODNR T-shirt If you are interested in attracting more hummingbirds to your homes and gardens this spring, here are a few of Hummingbird Central's tips and tricks: Shelter: Large trees, shrubs and gardens help to provide hummingbirds with not only food but also a sense of protection and a place for resting in between meals. Food in nature: The hummingbird's diet includes nectar from flowers, red flowers being their favorite, and small insects. Water: Hummingbirds enjoy shallow bird baths for both drinking and bathing. They tend to especially enjoy water with movement, like a small waterfall. Plants and flowers: Some of hummingbirds' favorite flowers and plants that you can add to your garden include, lantana, zinnias, pentas, salvia, batface cuphea, fire bush, nasturtiums and coreopsis. Hummingbird feeders: Along with flowers and plants to provide shelter, hummingbird feeders are another great way to attract these little birds to your garden. Camouflage: Can you spot this venomous snake hiding in plain sight? It's native to Ohio. Where to find it Hummingbirds are drawn to tubular flowers that provide large amounts of nectar, according to online retailer Rare Roots. They often gravitate to red flowers, per The Spruce, but will visit all colors of flowers if it provides a meal. Some of the more popular flowers to attract hummingbirds include phlox, lupine, columbine, hollyhocks, dianthus and butterfly bush, among others. The typical backyard hummingbird feeder is filled with sugar water. But that's only a small portion of a hummingbird's diet. The sucrose in flower nectar and sugar water gives hummingbirds the energy for their high metabolisms and swift wings, according to The Spruce, but it lacks protein. Up to 80% of their diet is small insects like mosquitoes, flies, gnats, spiders and aphids, reports Choose Natives, which promotes using native North American plants over invasive species to attract the birds. If you want to make your own hummingbird nectar for backyard feeders, use a 4-to-1 ratio of water to sugar, according to the Smithsonian's National Zoo & Conservation Biology Institute. Mix the water and sugar until fully dissolved, and store in the refrigerator between fills. Change the solution in hummingbird feeders frequently. The National Zoo recommends changing feeders every other day and cleaning them thoroughly each time to prevent mold growth. Bird Feeder Hub recommends putting hummingbird feeders outside in mid- to late-April in the Buckeye State. But they can go out even earlier, especially if the migration map shows hummingbirds arriving early. The hum of a hummingbird is the noise generated by their wings, according to Live Science. Hummingbird wings move at around 70 beats per second, or more than 4,000 beats per minute. Unique among birds, hummingbirds' wings allow them to hover. Hummingbirds typically nest in the spring when they reach their breeding grounds, but that depends on the species, according to the American Bird Conservancy. They build tiny nests lined with thistledown, dandelion or other soft plant material, attached to a tree branch using spider webs and camouflaged by lichen or moss. Hummingbirds lay eggs the size of small jellybeans that hatch in about two weeks. The chicks are cared for by their mother for about a month to 60 days depending on the species, after which they leave the nest. According to the conservancy, hummingbird chicks "need a high-protein diet of insects to fuel fast growth and to develop strong bones and beaks." The mother gathers food several times a day and regurgitates it into the babies' mouths. This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Hummingbirds return to Ohio. See where on this interactive map
