If you’ve tucked away your hummingbird feeders for the season, convinced that every last hummer has headed south, you might be missing one of backyard birding’s best-kept secrets. While it’s true that most hummingbird species migrate to warmer climates when temperatures drop, there’s more to the winter hummingbird story than the conventional wisdom suggests.
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The Migration Mystery Most Backyard Birders Believe
Every fall, millions of hummingbirds begin their journey south, flying non-stop for days or even weeks. The migration is an amazing feat of endurance, but it is becoming increasingly difficult as severe weather events become more common.
Ruby-throated hummingbirds accomplish a nonstop, 500-mile flight along their migration route from Central America across the Gulf of Mexico during their fall and spring migration. Considering that these tiny birds mostly weigh as little as one US penny or less, it’s a pretty impressive journey!
Ruby-throated hummingbirds travel thousands of miles during their annual migration. They spend the winter in Mexico and Central America, then migrate north in the spring as the weather turns warmer.
The Winter Hummingbird Exceptions You Should Know About
Some hummingbird species can be found year-round in certain southern states. For example, Anna’s Hummingbirds overwinter along California’s coast, and Buff-bellied Hummingbirds reside in Texas for their whole life cycle.
Southern states like Arizona, Louisiana, Florida, and New Mexico may host Rufous, Black-chinned, Broad-tailed, Allen’s, Calliope, and other species during winter months when food is available. The milder climates in these states provide adequate flowers and nesting conditions so that hummingbirds can migrate here for the winter.
But around the Chicago area in the winter, you may occasionally see Rufous Hummingbirds, or even more rarely, other western species like the Broad-billed hummingbird and Anna’s hummingbird.
Why Some Hummingbirds Are Staying Put (And Moving North)
The shift toward year-round hummingbird populations in traditionally winter-empty regions isn’t random. Several ecological factors are making winter survival possible for these tiny birds.
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Climate change has produced milder winters across much of the United States, reducing the number of hard freezes that would make survival impossible. In coastal and urban areas especially, winter temperatures now regularly stay above freezing, even at night.
Urban heat islands play a significant role. Cities and suburbs retain heat more effectively than rural areas, creating microclimates several degrees warmer than surrounding countryside.
For a bird that needs to maintain a high metabolism, those few degrees can mean the difference between survival and hypothermia.
Equally important are year-round food sources. Native winter-blooming plants like manzanita, currant, and certain salvias provide natural nectar.
Ornamental garden plants extend the blooming season well beyond what wild landscapes once offered. And of course, hummingbird feeders maintained by informed birders provide reliable supplemental nutrition when natural sources become scarce.
Hummingbirds have also proven remarkably adaptable. They enter torpor on cold nights, lowering their body temperature and metabolic rate to conserve energy.
They seek sheltered roosting spots and time their feeding to maximize calorie intake during the warmest parts of the day.
What to Do If You Spot a Hummingbird in Winter
Use hummingbird feeders with your own homemade nectar solution: four parts water to one part sugar. Don’t use red dye, as there are concerns regarding the safety of red food coloring.
Replace the solution every 3-5 days. You may need to replace the sugar water more frequently during hot weather.
Should You Keep Your Feeders Up All Winter?
To help Anna’s hummingbirds through the winter, you might want to keep your feeders out, especially if you spot a hummingbird still using them. If a cold snap takes away other food sources, your feeder could become really important for that bird!
You don’t have to worry that leaving your feeders up will prevent hummingbird migration. Each bird knows when it’s time to go thanks to its own internal clock, which is triggered by the changing length of the day.
Hummingbirds migrate individually to help them make the best use of the food and resources available. They will go when they’re ready, and your feeders will provide a meal for hummingbirds about to take a very long trip!
Hummingbird feeders can therefore be taken down at night. This can be a good idea in colder regions where hummingbirds are present in winter since this can prevent the feeders from freezing.
Winter hummingbirds at a glance
| Spec | What our writers say |
|---|---|
| Typical fall move | Millions head south, flying non-stop for days or even weeks |
| Gulf crossing | Ruby-throated hummingbirds make a nonstop 500-mile flight |
| Weight | As little as one US penny |
| Usual winter range | Mexico and Central America |
| Anna's exception | Overwinter along California's coast |
| Buff-bellied exception | Reside in Texas for their whole life cycle |
| Chicago winter | Occasional Rufous, rarely Broad-billed or Anna's |
| Southern winter hosts | Arizona, Louisiana, Florida, and New Mexico |
| Nectar ratio | Four parts water to one part sugar |
| Red dye | Don't use it |
| How often to replace | Every 3-5 days, more often in hot weather |
| Feeders and migration | Leaving feeders up will not prevent hummingbirds from migrating |
