by Dan True Where Do Hummingbirds Go in Winter?
Mexico hosts the majority of hummers that summer in the US and Canda. A few of the breeds that are found only in the southern states winter in our nearest Central America lands such as Guatemala, Belize, and Honduras.
Is it true that these little birds migrate on the backs of geese? With no proof of that, we speculate. Fact: migrating geese fly hours at a time non-stop. Fact: hummers must feed two the three times per hour, every waking hour of their lives. Circumstantial Conclusion: it is improbable that a goose cruising along in formation with wheels and flaps up would listen to a hummer crying it needed to stop and eat every twenty minutes or so. Cute story, however.
So how do they migrate?
At the end of the nesting season, males migrate first. A few days after they leave, females follow with the youngsters in tow. Our best migration show is the Rufous and the Calliope. Males arrive as early as mid-July from breeding grounds in Alaska, western Canada, Washington State, Idaho, and Montana. This little bird holds all hummingbird migration records. In 1991, a three-year old female was banded at Vista Verde Ranch near Clark, Colorado. In 1993, this hummer was found 1,733 miles away at Yes Bay, Alaska.
On May 30, 1984, an adult female was banded at Mud Bay, Vancouver Island, Canada. Forty-three days later (July) this hummer was recaptured near Albuquerque. During its 1,368 mile journey, the bird averaged 64 miles per day between sunrise and sunset, or about 5 miles per hour.
There are two unknowns: 1. How many days did the bird linger in Mud Bay before "taking off," and 2. How many days had it been in the Albuquerque area before being recaptured? There's more to this little guy's story.
The following summer, on June 1, this Rufous was captured again at the site of its original banding on Vancouver Island. Straight line round trip for the bird is 2,736 miles. There is little doubt that when it left Albuquerque, it went to some unknown place in Mexico and spent the winter. From that unknown, it took off for Vancouver Island. Obviously, its round-trip mileage is more than the "known."
The current runner-up in long-distance migrating is the Black-Chinned, New Mexico's common summer visitor. In 1991, a Black-Chinned was the first hummingbird to be banded in the US and recovered in Mexico. The bird was banded in Sonoita, Arizona, in 1988 and recaptured 930 miles away in 1991 near Manzanillo, Mexico.
You may have heard that the Ruby-Throated hummingbird makes a migration flight non-stop 500 miles across the Gulf of Mexico. From my perspective as a pilot, we'll look into that possibility next time.
Happy humming!
Dan True is the author of Hummingbirds of North America, published by the University of New Mexico Press. He is an aviator and former weatherman for the Albuquerque and Amarillo, Texas markets. Visit his web site to learn more. Photo courtesy Dan True.
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