![]() Store unused syrup in the refrigerator for up to two weeks. It’s not necessary to boil the water though I do heat it to help the sugar dissolve faster. In your feeders use one part ordinary white cane sugar to four parts water. You can attract Ruby-throated Hummingbirds to your backyard by putting out special hummingbird feeders or by planting tubular flowers. As it turns out banding studies show that each bird tends to return every year to the same place it hatched, even visiting the same feeders. I try to get my nectar feeders out by May 1st because year after year there are a couple of hummingbirds that announce their return by hovering right outside our dining room window as if to say ‘Hello! We’re back!’. Once in North America, migration proceeds at an average rate of about 20 miles per day, generally following the earliest blooming of flowers hummingbirds prefer. This means that a few birds will arrive at any location very early, but the bulk of the population will follow later. The migration is spread over a three-month period, which prevents a catastrophic weather event from wiping out the entire species. With that sort of pressure, this hummingbird migration can begin as early as February in Mexico and finish in mid-May in Canada and Alaska. Their spring migration north, from South America and Mexico up to Canada, is a solitary journey with the goal of getting to their breeding grounds early enough to claim the best feeding territories. ![]() These journeys, which can span hundreds or thousands of miles, require immense preparation and an enormous amount of energy from these small birds – the smallest in the world. ![]() Each year, hummingbirds embark on two migrations – one north and one south. The only hummingbird to be expected regularly in New York State is the Ruby-throated Hummingbird. Hummingbird migration is in full swing and it’s almost time to put out our hummingbird feeders here in the Finger Lakes. Story and photos by Helen Heizyk Article courtesy Finger Lakes Museum. ![]()
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