When Will Spring First Arrivals Appear?
Prepare For Spring
The Journey North hummingbird community is preparing for spring by ordering new and nurturing established hummingbird-friendly plants.
From Houston, TX: Beverly commented that the "Rufous are still here with the unusually warm weather... in mid 70's. I have been trying out newly acquired Salvias: Pineapple sage, Rockin purple, Skyscraper orange, Skyscraper deep purple. Old standbys of Aimstead, Black and Blue sages that bloom taller are easier for Rufous to access. Since we are having a warm winter Red Yuccas and Aloes are blooming which attract Rufous briefly. I have hanging baskets of Skull cap (scularia)... his is definitely same Rufous as last year with more orange on it as it matured..." (01/15/2020) Link to report
No First Sightings Yet But Keep Reporting On Resident Hummingbirds
A few Journey North citizen scientists continue to share their observations on resident hummingbird behaviors. Some Journey North observers are even seeing territorial behaviors like diving and chasing.
From Tillamook, OR: Vallie reported that they "currently have two resident male adult Anna’s, each with their own favorite tree and territory, who spar much of the day. We have observed an adult female exhibiting [what appears to be] mating behavior. She was chattering excitedly at a male perched nearby, then made several small dives of about three feet in height. He flew at her and they bumped together in flight several times, then flew away. She must have returned nearby, because I then heard two dive ‘chirps’ nearly simultaneously from two males diving. We also have two recent juveniles show up, both have similar small patches of color on their chins. They spar and chase quite often, then perch near each other. They were observed sparring just above the ground then landing on the ground and preening for at least 30 seconds, then flew off. Weather has been very wet, temperatures in the low 40’s to low 50’s with a couple of frosty mornings over the last month." (01/06/2020)
From New Orleans, LA: Seth was able to photograph an immature male ruby-throated hummingbird "which has been in our yard since 6 December 2019. We still see the immature male Rufous hummingbird which we first observed 1 December 2019. On 31 December 2019, I saw 3 at the same time...suspect immature male Rufous. I believe that most days lately we see 3 hummingbirds..." (01/07/2020)
From Austin, TX: Katherine noted, "watched this hummingbird hovering around a Ashe Juniper tree and bottlebrush bush. It appeared to be a male black-chinned hummingbird...We put up a hummingbird feeder that day." (02/02/2020) Link to report
From Harbinger, NC: Susan remarked, "This Ruby-throated Hummingbird has been here all winter. This morning it was only 37 but he was at the feeder in the sunshine. I was very worried about him during our cold nights that we have experienced off and on. He always comes back!" (02/15/2020)
