{"id":92335,"date":"2025-08-23T23:54:08","date_gmt":"2025-08-23T23:54:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/92335\/"},"modified":"2025-08-23T23:54:08","modified_gmt":"2025-08-23T23:54:08","slug":"when-will-hummingbirds-leave-my-backyard-for-the-winter","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/92335\/","title":{"rendered":"When Will Hummingbirds Leave My Backyard for the Winter?"},"content":{"rendered":"

One of the biggest joys of summer is watching wildlife come and go in your backyard. From sweet bunnies<\/a> and foxes to curious deer and the occasional bear (don\u2019t get too close to that one), spring and summer give many of us a front row seat to nature\u2019s most adorable creatures.<\/p>\n

If bird watching<\/a> is a hobby of yours, you\u2019re likely already anticipating the loss of some of your favorite winged visitors to the cold weather. Once temperatures drop in late fall, many birds head south for warmer skies, including a beloved summer staple: the hummingbird<\/a>. <\/p>\n

\u201cThere are more than 370 hummingbird species, distributed across North and South America, and about 16 of these can be found in the United States,\u201d explains Anusha Shankar<\/a>, an integrative biologist and physiological ecologist who researches hummingbirds. \u201cOn the East Coast, there’s only one regular: the ruby-throated hummingbird. It migrates up to the United States each summer from Mexico and Central America. On the West Coast, many migrate between the United States and Canada or Mexico and Central America, including the blue-throated mountain-gem, the black-throated hummingbird, and the Calliope hummingbird.”<\/p>\n

Below, we\u2019re detailing exactly when you can expect your backyard hummingbirds to bid you farewell for the season\u2014and where they go when they leave. <\/p>\n

Why Do Hummingbirds Migrate?<\/p>\n

Like most other birds, a hummingbird\u2019s migration is largely driven by changes in temperature. These shifts impact both their physical safety and their access to food sources. \u201cHummingbirds migrate to avoid cold and food scarcity,\u201d says author, photographer, and ornithographer Dr. Julie Morley<\/a>. \u201cFor example, the Ruby-throated and Rufous hummingbirds both migrate from North to South for winter in warmer regions before migrating back to cooler regions in the warmer months for breeding.\u201d<\/p>\n

Morley goes on to explain that, though most hummingbirds migrate, some do not follow this exact pattern. Some\u2014like the Allen\u2019s and Anna\u2019s hummingbirds\u2014are semi-migratory, traveling up and down the western coast of the United States. Others in Central and South America do not migrate at all. Over time, these birds have adapted to their \u201chome\u201d climate and are able to remain in place year-round.<\/p>\n

When Do Hummingbirds Migrate? <\/p>\n

Hummingbirds will start to seek out friendlier skies a bit earlier than some of their winged counterparts, who stick around longer into the fall and early winter to pick on berries and the last of the seasonal vegetation. According to migration maps<\/a>, hummingbird populations hit their peak in the United States in late June through early August, and taper down significantly by the middle to end of September. \u201cIndividual hummingbirds often migrate between the same two places every year,\u201d says Shankar. \u201cWe know this because researchers have put tiny numbered aluminum leg bands on them, and some individuals return year after year. But how long the process of migration takes depends on their start and end locations.\u201d<\/p>\n

How Long Does Hummingbird Migration Take? <\/p>\n

Speaking of flight time, how long does it take these tiny-but-mighty birds to make their way to their winter destination of choice? Believe it or not, they\u2019re just as fast as birds double their size. According to Morley, ruby-throated hummingbirds can travel as many as 1,200 miles in just a few weeks, often flying for 18-plus hours a day to reach their destination. They\u2019ll have to stop to refuel along the way, which is why many experts recommend keeping up your hummingbird feeders<\/a> (and avoid deadheading your plants) until mid-October, even if you no longer see them visiting your backyard. <\/p>\n

Related Stories<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"One of the biggest joys of summer is watching wildlife come and go in your backyard. From sweet…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":92336,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[26],"tags":[49,48,2910,54159,784,1642,66,54158,323],"class_list":{"0":"post-92335","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-wildlife","8":"tag-ca","9":"tag-canada","10":"tag-content-type-feature","11":"tag-contentid-dc2c09c0-28dc-4091-b623-76246b3e67d8","12":"tag-displaytype-standard-article","13":"tag-locale-us","14":"tag-science","15":"tag-shorttitle-when-do-hummingbirds-migrate-for-the-winter","16":"tag-wildlife"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/92335","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=92335"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/92335\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/92336"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=92335"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=92335"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=92335"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}