Here Come The Hummingbirds!

Our very first banding of a RTHU at Hilton Pond North finally came on 2 July 2024. The bird was a female ruby-throat with no sign of red on her throat (photo above). Females always lack ruby gorgets, but so do many young males that often gain a few red gorget feathers as summer progresses. Thus, in early July our latest hummer-in-the-hand could have been a female or young male, but we ruled out the latter because close in-hand examination showed the tip of the bird's #6 primary wing feather was round (see two photos just below); in males of any age this structure would taper to a sharp point—something you're not likely to see on a hummingbird at your feeder!

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HERE COME THE

HUMMINGBIRDS!

Back to previous photo essay; on to next one

All photos, maps, charts, and text © Hilton Pond North

For 40 years back at Hilton Pond Center for Piedmont Natural History in York SC we observed and banded Ruby-throated Hummingbirds (adult male above), keeping track of spring arrival and fall departure dates while learning much about RTHU site fidelity, longevity, and population dynamics. Our earliest spring date was 26 March in four different years, so our rule of thumb for the South Carolina Piedmont was, just in case, to have at least one fresh sugar water feeder up by St. Patrick’s Day (17 March).

All photos, maps, charts, and text © Hilton Pond North

#7: 13-24 March 2025

All photos, maps, charts, and text © Hilton Pond North

In early 2024, after we moved operations 100 miles north—and to an elevation 2,300’ higher at 3,000’ (see maps above)—we suspected hummers would return somewhat later to upper Ashe County NC, a comparison we were keen to study.

Interestingly, John MacConnell—who in the late 1990s built the earth-sheltered cabin we now occupy—was a birder who gave us a head start on our research by keeping track of those very RTHU arrival/departure dates in which we are interested. After John passed away in early 2023, his brother D. Jack MacConnell pored over John’s notebooks to extract valuable info about historical spring dates for Ruby-throated Hummingbirds at what became our new Blue Ridge Mountain study site. We appreciate Jack sharing with us the following from John's records:

2003 Apr 21—no gender reported

2004 Apr 17—male

2005 Apr 21—male

2006 Apr 17—male (2); female on 21st

2007 Apr 22—no gender

2008 Apr 15—male

2009 Apr 21—male

2010 Apr 15—no gender

2012 Apr 06—male

2013 Apr 19—no gender given

With the exception of that very early male on 6 April in 2012, John MacConnell’s sightings suggested a more typical spring arrival date for male ruby-throats at Hilton Pond North as after the second week in April—about three weeks later than what we usually saw back in South Carolina. So what did our own observations reveal during our first spring on-site last year?

Our first sighting came on 12 April 2024—a red-throated adult male at a feeder in full breeding plumage (photo above); he arrived six days later than John MacConnell's earliest sighting of 6 April 2012. And—in support of conventional wisdom that says male RTHU come first and potential mates follow a week or so later—we spotted our first female on 20 April 2024. Although we wanted to start banding hummingbirds right away, out-of-state commitments and a series of health setbacks got in the way.

All photos, maps, charts, and text © Hilton Pond North

As we carefully removed her from our trap baited with 4:1 sugar water, we suspected this was a youngster hatched sometime in 2024. The clinching factor was a series of tiny corrugations or etchings for the entire length of the young bird's upper mandible—visible only through a hand lens. By comparison, an adult hummer's bill is almost entirely smooth.

Obviously, the further north you live the later you’ll get migrant RTHU each spring. As a general guideline, we again offer Operation RubyThroat's widely shared migration map (above), showing approximate early arrival dates for Ruby-throated Hummingbirds in the eastern U.S. and Canada, based on latitude; elevation may also have an effect. Basically, we advise you to have that one feeder up a week or ten days before your average early dateline on the map.

Our ruby-throat also had buffy edging on her head and back feathers (above); this plumage is a uniform dark metallic green in most adults. The really important aspect of all these details news was that a young hummer of either sex in early July was strong evidence ruby-throats were nesting locally!

And now back to the questions of when Ruby-throated Hummingbird might get to Ashe County NC each spring—and when we should have our hummer feeders ready for that arrival. Based on John MacConnell's historical records and our 2024 observations, our advice to fellow hummingbird enthusiasts here in Ashe and neighboring counties in North Carolina, Virginia, and Tennessee is to have at least one sugar water feeder in place not later than April Fool’s Day (1 April)—or even several days before that. Tax Day (15 April) might work some years but could be too late!

Incidentally, your first feeder need be loaded only a quarter or halfway full (as above)—no sense wasting sugar when you just have a hummer or two—but the 4:1 water:sugar mix should still be replaced every week until hummers start draining it. When hummingbird visitors increase you can add more feeders, changing out artificial nectar more often, at least twice weekly as weather gets warmer if birds don't drink all the juice.

Hang at least one feeder where you can watch it often and easily. Early in the season when weather is still cool a sunny spot may help warm the sugar water, but by summer full sun will cause it to spoil faster. (Incidentally, Bees and yellow jackets seem more attracted to feeders in the sun rather than in full shade. They're also more likely to come to feeders with plastic yellow flowers on them.) As long as you can maintain them regularly—and can afford the sugar!—one can never have too many hummingbird feeders