Where Do Hummingbirds Migrate in Winter? ;- As winter draws near and temperatures begin to drop, a great number of bird species begin their extraordinary journeys in search of climates that are more hospitable to them. Many of these tourists are hummingbirds, who are distinguished by their brightly colored plumage and their quick wing beats.
Where Do Hummingbirds Migrate in Winter?
Even though they are very little, these birds travel great distances in order to avoid the cold and to ensure that they have a constant supply of food. In this article, the migratory patterns of hummingbirds are investigated. The essay investigates the locations that these interesting insects travel to throughout the winter months as well as the remarkable lengths that they travel.
Hummingbird Migration Basics
During the winter months, the vast majority of hummingbirds that are native to North America migrate to Mexico or Central America. Hummingbirds are rather little birds, so even while their voyages are shorter than those of warblers that are headed to South America, they are still quite remarkable.
This is especially true when one considers the fact that. For instance, the Ruby-throated Hummingbird weighs only a little bit more than a penny, but it is capable of traveling the distance of 500 miles across the Gulf of Mexico in a significantly shorter amount of time than a day.
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Ruby-throated Hummingbirds are endangered. Image courtesy of Shutterstock and Sari Oneal.
Along with other species of birds, hummingbirds go southward in search of food sources such as flowers, insects, and other plant matter.
Many people make this trek during the late summer and fall, not because they are hungry or because the temperature is dropping, but because the number of daylight hours is reducing.
They make their way back to their breeding areas in the United States and Canada beginning in the late winter and continuing into the early spring. Migration to the north provides an opportunity to get away from the tropical regions,
where there is often a lot of competition for food, while also offering a “seat at the table” in the northern regions, where there is an abundance of food sources throughout the summer months.
Once they have arrived in the United States, Ruby-throated Hummingbirds are able to travel up to 20 miles per day, often following the flowers that they find to be the most attractive since they bloom early.
Hummingbirds do not migrate on the backs of geese or other birds, despite the fact that they do sometimes travel in mixed flocks over water. This is contrary to the traditional belief that they do so.
Migrant: Ruby-throated Hummingbird
During the spring, Ruby-throated Hummingbirds migrate northward into the United States and southern Canada, where they have the opportunity to breed during the summer months. Although some adults can start their trek back home as early as the middle of July, the majority of Rubythroats wait until the end of August or the beginning of September to embark on their journey.
The vast majority of them are going to be sent to the southern regions of Mexico and Central America, but some of them will stay in the southern regions of the United States along the Atlantic and Gulf Coasts.
Most people who remain in the United States are migrants from Canada who have already gone a significant distance, which can be measured in kilometers.
There has been an increase in the number of Ruby-throated Hummingbirds in the world as a result of the widespread use of backyard feeders and the birds’ adaptive capacity to thrive in both open and forest-edge environments. This bird is classified as a species of Least Concern by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN).
Migrant: Rufous Hummingbird
Given its size, the Rufous Hummingbird, which is only three inches in length, is capable of making one of the longest migratory journeys in the world of birds. In terms of body lengths, its voyage of 3,900 miles is about equivalent to 78.4 million. In comparison, the journey of the Arctic Tern, which is 11,000 miles in length, is less than 52 million body lengths at a single point in time.
The migration path of the Rufous Hummingbird is a loop that goes in a clockwise direction: Over the course of a lengthy voyage along the Pacific Coast, the birds depart their wintering grounds in Mexico at the beginning of spring and arrive in Washington State and Canada by the month of May.
Following a brief stay in the northern region — some birds start their journey back to the south as early as July – they make their way south through the Rocky Mountains. As a result of the destruction of their habitat, the Rufous Hummingbird population is decreasing, and the IUCN has classified this bird as a Near Threatened species.
Migrant: Black-chinned Hummingbird
Black-chinned Hummingbirds are known to inhabit a significant amount of the western region of the United States throughout the summer months. A wide variety of environments, including urban settings, are inhabited by this species of hummer, making it one of the most adaptable hummers that can be found in the United States.
After they have finished breeding, many adult birds will travel to higher elevations in order to feed on the flowers that grow in the mountains. In the fall, they will then head south.
Despite the fact that some will spend the winter along the Gulf Coast, the majority will go to western Mexico. There has been an increase in the number of Black-chinned Hummingbirds,
which is most likely attributable to the widespread use of hummingbird feeders in backyards and the adaptability of this species to a wide range of environments. An IUCN species that is considered to be of Least Concern is the Black-chinned Hummingbird.
