When the Hummingbirds Return to Southern Ontario

For those of you looking for the ‘quick answer’ as to when hummingbirds return to southern Ontario: put your feeders up no later than May 1 to catch the ‘early birds’, and take them down no sooner than October 1 to ensure food is available for late departers. And PLEASE – if you choose to feed hummies, be consistent. Don’t let the feeders go dry between fillings and change the ‘nectar’ every few days. The best solution to use is a mixture of 1/4 cup of (white) sugar to 1 cup of water. “Nectar” sold in stores is nothing more than water and sweetener and is a total waste of money! (It’s also not necessarily “good” for the hummingbirds, as there is no way of knowing what’s actually IN it!). NEVER add colouring or use substances like honey or corn syrup – they are DEADLY to hummingbirds! Males will protect their ‘territory’ and allow only ‘their’ females to feed at ‘their’ feeder – and once the eggs hatch, the females will visit far more each day and you may need to refill your feeders every day or two. Hummingbirds are most attracted to the colour red, so buy red feeders, keep them filled, and then sit back enjoy!!!! 

ANNUAL UPDATE: 2021: we’ve had an early spring in southern Ontario (I’m just north of Lake Erie) with several warm days (mixed in with a couple of days of mid-April snow!) I put the (four) feeders up on April 26th and by May 1, three of them were already down an inch (which means the birds were back – I just hadn’t seen them). I spotted the first two (males) on May 2nd. The females won’t be far behind.

San Juan Capistrano Mission

It is fairly well known that on March 19^th each year, the swallows return from their winter home in Argentina to build their nests and raise their young at the Mission San Juan Capistrano in California.  I was fortunate enough to be there with my family one year (in the early ’90s) to witness this marvelous event (for the full story about the swallows’ return to Capistrano, visit the Mission web site).

Closer to home, I look forward each year to the return of the ruby-throated hummingbirds every Mother’s Day. Unlike the swallows of Capistrano, the hummingbirds don’t return on precisely the same day each year; however, it has always been a tradition in my house (as begun by my late mother) that the hummingbird feeder is filled and hung no later than Mother’s Day (this year [2012], due to an unseasonably warm March, the birds’ migration took place a full month early, and while many of us put our feeders out in April, there has been some concern expressed by ornithologists that the lack of flowers for them to feed on, combined with a return to colder temperatures in April, may have put many of the tiny birds at risk. Right now, we’re in ‘wait and see’ mode). 

I hang my feeder (containing a 4:1 mix of water and sugar; you should NOT colour the water or use honey or any other sweeteners – the bright colour of the feeder alone is enough to allow these inquisitive little birds to find it) from a hook above my rear deck and spend a good deal of time watching the birds swoop in, eat (hummingbirds typically feed 5 to 10 times per hour for anywhere from 30 to 60 seconds per visit; when a female is feeding her young, she will visit the feeder even more frequently).  Occasionally one will rest and groom for a few minutes on any of several nearby dead branches and I get to get a close up look (through my binoculars) at one of nature’s most marvelous creatures.

For the past few years, I’ve had two ‘regular’ visitors to my feeder, with distinct personalities.  One is quite ‘cheeky’ and doesn’t seem to care how many people are on the deck, or how close they are to the feeder; she comes, feeds, leaves repeatedly. The other is a little more nervous and prefers to hover while she eats (vs. alighting on the feeder’s perches), and she won’t stay if we don’t remain perfectly still.  So far I haven’t spotted any males at the feeder but I imagine they are nearby (male ruby-throats [see image below] are smaller and far more colourful than the females [seen to the left]; they play no part in the raising of the young).

You might think something that small (a ruby-throated hummingbird is about 3.5” long from bill tip to tail, and weighs no more than a nickel) would be difficult to spot. However, they make a distinct chirping noise when they are flying nearby, and the hum of their rapidly beating wings is loud enough to announce their approach.

Typically the birds arrive in early May and the female builds her nest nearby (nests are built from plant material held together with spider’s webs, covered in moss, and lined with plant down; the nest is no more than 2½” high and 1½” deep ). She lays two eggs (each about the size of a pea) and incubates them for up to 18 days; three weeks later the chicks are ready to leave the nest (in the meanwhile, Mom feeds them regurgitated nectar and small insects that she’s collected non-stop throughout the day).

Hummingbirds can hover in mid-air by flapping their wings up to 80 times per second, are able to conserve energy (when sleeping, during a cold snap, or when food is scarce) by going in a state of torpor (slowing their metabolic rate to 1/15^th of normal), and are the only group of birds that can fly backwards. Their heart beats at up to 1,200 times per minute (while flying) and their flying muscles make up 25% of their weight; they need 10 calories of nectar per day to survive.

On average a hummingbird lives no more than three years but during that time they travel almost 10,000 miles – going 2,500 miles or more to Mexico or Central American each winter (generally covering about 20 miles a day over land, and almost 500 miles [20 days] non-stop across the Gulf of Mexico) and back in the spring.  Quite a feat for something so very, very small.

Today is Mother’s Day and my feeder has been up (and refreshed frequently) for almost a month now. And while I haven’t had any visitors yet, I’m hopeful that these delightful little birds will soon be back to take advantage of the ‘free’ nectar available (when Mom is feeding babies, the level in the feeder can go down as much as 2” per day!)  I’m glad I have the time (and the patience) to sit and wait and watch for them – it’s just another advantage of being on … the other side of 55.