Hummingbirds are incredibly beautiful as they zip from flower to flower in your garden and visit your hummingbird feeders. But if you live in a cold climate and they’ve migrated south for the winter, you maybe asking when it’s time to put your feeders back up for them in spring.
Where you live depends a lot on when you should put out your feeder.
Read on to learn when to put your hummingbird feeders out again after a long winter:
When Should You Put Out Your Hummingbird Feeder?
The tiny Ruby-throated hummingbird is the only one regularly breeding in the Eastern U.S.
“This brilliantly colored hummingbird migrates south each fall, overwintering along the coasts of Mexico and throughout Central America,” says Stephanie Beilke, senior manager of conservation science at Audubon Great Lakes. “While their migratory routes are poorly documented, it is known that some follow the coast, while others will make the astonishing nonstop flight across the Gulf, a roughly 600-mile journey over open water!”
For such an epic journey, they will need a lot of calories, doubling their body weight before making the trip. They’ll arrive plenty hungry at your house, too, so get your feeders ready ahead of time to welcome them back!
In general, follow these recommendations from Beilke for when to put hummer feeders back up:
- Midwest and Northeast: Put your feeder back out in mid-April, which is the earliest Ruby-throated hummingbirds begin to arrive in the spring.
- Mid-Atlantic: Have your hummingbird feeder ready by early April.
- Southeast and Gulf Coast: Put feeders up by end of February. But hummingbirds may also winter in places such as south Florida or along the coast, so you can leave feeders up throughout the winter in these regions.
- Pacific Northwest: The Rufous Hummingbird is the species you are likely to see in this area of the country. Get your hummingbird feeder ready by February for early migrating birds.
Some states, such as California, Arizona, Oregon, Texas, parts of Washington, and southern New Mexico have various hummingbird species year-round. This means you can leave your feeders up throughout the year in these places.
“Putting a feeder out helps hummingbirds have a reliable source of food,” says Beilke. “It can be especially helpful during spring and fall migration when food sources can be less predictable especially with sudden weather changes.” Don’t worry they’re going to rely solely on feeders; hummingbirds know how to survive and will always seek other sources of food, whether or not a feeder is present.
Be sure to clean your feeder regularly, hang it in the optimal spot, and fill it with a simple homemade nectar.
