Ready for hummingbirds

It's still too early to expect the first male ruby-throated hummingbirds; they've made it up to central Georgia on the most recent map from Journey North, and north GA on hummingbird.net, but the colder weather this weekend will slow them down. Last year, hummingbird.net reported sightings on March 23 and 24 in our area -- probably the earliest scouts! The males come first, to scout out and claim their breeding sites, followed by the females a couple of weeks later.

The males roughly follow an overnight temperature isothermal line in their migration, staying just about the freezing line, according to Operation RubyThroat, managed by Bill Hilton, an active hummingbird investigator and naturalist based at Hilton Pond, in York Co, SC.

Our first sighting last year wasn't until April 13, when we saw a single male. But I've got the feeders ready as of this afternoon.

Here's a young female coming towards the porch feeder last summer.