Hummingbird Migration Begins

I remember in the 6th grade the Monarch butterflies were migrating from Mexico and flew over the playground, there were thousands of them. I had never and have not since, seen anything like that; well now it's time for the hummingbirds to begin heading south. They will head to south Mexico (between the Yucatan and Panama).

These little birds migrate northward in January and February, nest, have babies and now it's time for them to head back south for the winter months. They only weigh about 3-6 grams when they begin their journey and can fly up to 500 miles at a time. By the time they reach their southern destination they may only weigh about 2.5 grams. Apparently there are no peanuts on this flight.

Actually, with the drought right now food for the birds is scarce so if you have a hummingbird feeder it is being asked that you put it out now for the birds to get their fill while on route home to Mexico.

There are a lot of websites that allow you to follow the migration patterns, find out about feeders, get facts and history and more.  It's actually pretty interesting to see the migration patterns and see just how far these little tiny birds travel.

I haven't had the feeder out this summer, just didn't think about it, but I put it out this morning.  I've been seeing the birds in my backyard the last few weeks so I figured I'd help them out with "one for the road".