Fall 2024 Hummingbird Migration (Canada and United States)

As temperatures begin to drop, fall hummingbirds begin migrating south from parts of Canada and the United States. When it starts depends on where you are in the summer and how far you travel. Find out what happens when these tiny birds make the long, solo flight to their winter homes.

Ready to continue your journey north? Click here for a map of spring hummingbird migration.

Autumn migration of hummingbirds

When do hummingbirds migrate south?

When do hummingbirds start heading south for the winter?

It completely depends on the summer location and how far you have to go. As the seasons change, primary food sources such as insects for protein and nectar for carbohydrates become scarce, indicating it’s time to head to warmer regions.

Hummingbirds are found throughout the Americas, from Alaska through parts of Canada and the United States to the southern tip of South America and the Caribbean.

People living in warmer climates may never migrate.

People heading north to spend the summer in parts of the United States and Canada begin heading south for winter as fall approaches, days get shorter and food sources begin to dwindle.

Unlike spring migration, where you begin to notice hummingbirds arriving in your garden, you should take the time to observe them when they depart in the fall.

Of course, you never see them leave, but instead you only realize days or weeks have passed since you saw them and they must have left.

Hummingbird feeders with automatic cameras like this one on Amazon are a great resource for monitoring hummingbird activity.

The specific timing of heading south in the fall is detailed below.

Where do hummingbirds go in winter?

In winter, hummingbirds stay in the southern and western United States, Mexico, and parts of Central America.

The map below tracks hummingbird sightings during the cooler months.

Monarch butterflies also make an incredible journey south during the winter.

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annual migration

spring migration

One interesting fact that most people don’t know is that although birds are thought to travel in flocks, hummingbirds actually travel alone. True, they travel on the same schedule because conditions are right, but they don’t travel in groups. If you think about it, that’s quite a feat for such a small bird.

This spring hummingbird migration map is useful for determining the dates of each year’s migration.

If you live on the U.S. migration route, the further south you go, the earlier they arrive in the spring. For many people, this is the time between February and April.

In Ontario, Canada, where we live, the first arrival of spring appears in late April to early May. Some people may just pass by. Others will stay and raise their children.

autumn migration

After spending the summer breeding season in northern regions, as winter approaches, hummingbirds once again make their long journey south in late summer and fall.

Even months-old hummingbirds born in the north during the summer end up making this long solo journey south. So how do these young people know their way? No one knows! Science has a lot to learn about these amazing birds.

timing

When they go depends on where you live and how far you have to go. This could be August, September, October, or November.

Unless you see hummingbirds in your garden every day, you may not realize they’re gone until they’ve been gone for days or even weeks.

It’s always bittersweet to know they’re gone, but their return in the new year is the most welcome sign of spring.

It’s not easy for researchers to track these birds, especially during fall migration, but as far as we know they don’t necessarily follow the same routes in the fall that took them north in the spring. It’s not going south. That’s why we have autumn/winter sighting maps instead of tracking maps. It’s an unpredictable journey.

Feeding hummingbirds in autumn

Although some hummingbirds in the western United States do not migrate, most of our white-throated hummingbirds make the long journey south each fall, beginning around Labor Day in early September, to Mexico and Central America, where food is plentiful. I will. It will increase further in the winter.

For those of us in southwestern Ontario, the last frost passes in mid-October, just before the first frost. For those in the United States, sightings will continue until winter temperatures begin.

For many years, it has been believed that feeding with nectar (sugar water) (or other migratory species) in the fall can be harmful and cause the birds to stay there until it is too late to head south. It was considered.

It is now believed that providing this supplemental food source merely helps fuel the journey, not delay it.

The hummingbird’s primary diet is protein-rich invertebrates.

The hummingbird’s primary diet is protein-rich invertebrates such as insects, spiders, and various larvae, as well as nectar from natural sources.

As the days get shorter and natural resources dwindle, hummingbirds instinctively know it’s time to leave.

best hummingbird feeder

No feeder is perfect, but this is the best I’ve found. Easy to clean and provides a perch for birds while feeding.

If you notice ants invading your feeder, an ant moat will deter them.

You can also use these tips to keep wasps and bees out of your hummingbird feeder.

Heading south, some migratory hummingbirds will be happy with the conditions of Texas, Florida and the Gulf Coast, where they will perch for the winter. But most go further south.

Read on to learn more about our journey south.

great journey south

6,000km journey south

It’s quite a journey for Rufous hummingbirds to travel from Alaska, covering approximately 4,000 miles or 6,000 kilometers over several weeks.

Not far behind is the ruby-throated hummingbird, which is found in eastern Canada and even western Canada.

But it could still be thousands of miles for them. Plus, they have to contend with the Gulf of Mexico.

The shortest road across the Gulf is about 600 miles, with nowhere to rest.

In fact, I don’t know if they fly over or around the Gulf, but either way, it’s an incredible journey.

Young hummingbirds all know their way around

Although black-throated hummingbirds can store enough fuel (primarily nectar) to fly long distances under suitable weather conditions, conditions in early fall are often not suitable.

What’s amazing is that a hummingbird that was born just a few months ago and has never been to Central America is making the trip on its own. We have a lot to learn about how they found their way.

Also, despite folklore, geese do not hitch rides on geese. This seems to have been widely believed many years ago. Interesting idea, but no such luck.

So your little friends who came from their feeding grounds during the summer will likely arrive in Mexico and Central America over the next few weeks, where they will enjoy the warmer temperatures as well as the nectar and insects.

Come spring, some of those same hummingbirds will return to their favorite summer nesting sites, so be prepared by filling your feeder with water.

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We hope you enjoy watching these much-loved birds and their amazing migrations.

~Melissa Empress of Dirt ♛