Interactive Map: Hummingbird migration is underway. Here’s what you can do to attract them

Emily Mikkelsen
·3 min read
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HIGH POINT, N.C. (WGHP) — Many people, not just passionate bird-watchers, look forward to seeing hummingbirds every spring.

These incredible birds spend the winter in Mexico and Central America. They start making their way to their breeding grounds across the southern United States around late January or February, then head a little further north later into the spring.

Clouds expected for New York’s solar eclipse

Hummingbird Central tracks hummingbird migration between January and May every year, with an interactive map to show viewer-submitted sightings throughout the spring as the little birds make their journeys.

According to Hummingbird Central, hummingbirds fly during the day because food sources are more abundant during the day. They also tend to fly low, so it’s easy to find food.

Hummingbirds are experts at using tailwinds to help reach their destination faster. Research suggests that a hummingbird can travel as much as 23 miles in one day. For a bird that tiny, that’s quite the journey.

Ruby-throated hummingbirds dominate the East Coast and are the most common hummingbird seen east of the Mississippi. Males of the species have an iridescent red patch on their throats and are a little smaller than their female counterparts.

Hummingbird Central provides a way for bird watchers to report sightings of the little birds, with its map created from viewer-submitted sightings.

They’ll begin their journey back south in August or September.

How can you attract hummingbirds?

If you’d like to attract hummingbirds to your yard during their journey, Hummingbird Central has a list of hummingbird-friendly flowers you can plant in your garden. They really enjoy the color red, so red flowers are a great way to attract them.

Plants they love

  • Lantana

  • Butterfly Bush

  • Zinnias

  • Pentas

  • Milkweed

  • Batface Cuphea

  • Fire Bush

  • Nasturtiums

  • Coreopsis

  • A beautiful late summer meadow in morning light with Coreopsis tinctoria in the foreground.
    A beautiful late summer meadow in morning light with Coreopsis tinctoria in the foreground.
  • Nasturtium – South American trailing plant with round leaves and bright orange, yellow, or red ornamental edible flowers
    Nasturtium – South American trailing plant with round leaves and bright orange, yellow, or red ornamental edible flowers
  • A fire bush in bloom with long tubular red flowers and vivid green leaves. Photo taken on St. Simons island, Georgia
    A fire bush in bloom with long tubular red flowers and vivid green leaves. Photo taken on St. Simons island, Georgia
  • Monarch butterfly is in the center of this colorful landscape made up of pink flowering Milkweed and Goldenrod.
    Monarch butterfly is in the center of this colorful landscape made up of pink flowering Milkweed and Goldenrod.
  • Pentas lanceolata, also called Egyptian star clusters or star flower, is native from Yemen to East Africa. It blooms all summer long to autumn frost, with clusters of starry flowers. The color of flower ranges from red, pink, lilac and white. It is one of the best butterfly-attracting flowers.
    Pentas lanceolata, also called Egyptian star clusters or star flower, is native from Yemen to East Africa. It blooms all summer long to autumn frost, with clusters of starry flowers. The color of flower ranges from red, pink, lilac and white. It is one of the best butterfly-attracting flowers.
  • Pentas lanceolata, also called Egyptian star clusters or star flower, is native from Yemen to East Africa. It blooms all summer long to autumn frost, with clusters of starry flowers. The color of flower ranges from red, pink, lilac and white. It is one of the best butterfly-attracting flowers.
    Pentas lanceolata, also called Egyptian star clusters or star flower, is native from Yemen to East Africa. It blooms all summer long to autumn frost, with clusters of starry flowers. The color of flower ranges from red, pink, lilac and white. It is one of the best butterfly-attracting flowers.
  • Garden with multicolored gorgeous flowers
    Garden with multicolored gorgeous flowers
  • Pink and yellow Lantana Camara Flowers Orange butterfly feeding on flower.
    Pink and yellow Lantana Camara Flowers Orange butterfly feeding on flower.

Buying a hummingbird feeder?

Find a feeder with a “bee-guard” or one that doesn’t have the color yellow, which tends to attract stinging insects.

Avoid pre-mixed hummingbird food, especially ones with dye. It’s easy to make your own. Just mix four parts warm water with one part sugar (for example: one cup of sugar for every four cups of water). You can boil the water to remove potential impurities and fully dissolve the sugar, but it isn’t always necessary.

Nestle your feeder amongst some nice bushes for hummingbirds to rest on and you’ve created a lovely way station for these essential pollinators.

You can learn more about hummingbirds at Hummingbird Central.

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