​     While recording hummingbird sightings, I've been paying close attention to how the migration compares to last year. Even though some people are saying the hummingbirds are much earlier than last year, the overall trend and comparison to 2021 is very similar. I think people are starting to understand a lot more now that getting your feeders out early makes it a lot more likely that they'll see an early male, and this is the key to much greater success. A number of people have it set in their mind that a certain date each year is when the hummingbirds will return, so they place out feeders at that time and then say the hummingbirds arrived on schedule. The fact is that some males are passing through well before the rest and pass through many yards that are absent of nectar. The reason I bring this up is that people throughout different regions of the United States have often times told me that hummingbirds show up in early to mid May in their region. I know for a fact the hummingbirds are well before that, not only by the migration maps that show them scattered across the country, but the fact that we get them in Alberta, Canada in mid-May, and thousands of hummingbirds have to pass through every region of the eastern half of the United States in order to get to our place.
       I mention this all so that people will increase their chances of seeing hummingbirds, increase their chance of having a male set up territory in their garden, and increase their overall population for that season and years to come. The male hummingbirds always have a lead on the females by a few days all the way up to a few weeks, so if you're waiting to see a hummingbird or thinking your normal time is what you think it is, there is a great possibility that hummingbirds are already in and around your region for several days or even weeks before you place out your feeders. Where I live, the arrival of the very first male Ruby throat hummingbirds is fairly consistent, as over the years the earliest hummingbird I've seen is May 13th and the latest first arrival was May 23rd. This gives a variance of 10 days at the most, but in Eastern Canada there have been first sightings as early as late March, and first sightings as late as May 1st. This gives a range of nearly 5 weeks difference. Even though other factors play a dominant role in when hummingbirds migrate, weather plays a major role on their Northern migration as well. If Flowers aren't blooming in your region because of a cold Spring, food will be very sparse, and greatly affecting their movement. The cold temperature itself has less of effect on them because they have a mechanism that helps them cope with these temperatures for lengthy periods of time. The problem lies with the lack of food available, because flowers and insects are also very reliant on good weather and temperatures. As a matter of fact we've had hummingbirds of different species in Alberta, late in the season when temperatures have dipped to minus 20 Celsius. The hummingbirds have survived through this because people have continued to provide nectar. The real problem has been the lack of insects that provide the protein.
       I only mention this so that those thinking the temperature is too cool for hummingbirds to arrive, understand the hummingbirds are far more resilient than we know. The males that are passing through are risking to the peak of their tolerance in order to get to a territory where they can dominate and retain breeding rights for that territory.
 

​       It's perhaps a little bit early in our region to be buying annuals and perennials for the upcoming season, but Spring was definitely in the air. Even as I sit here writing, Canada geese are passing by my window. Just a couple days ago we checked out a nursery in the country for some new ideas. We arrived and opened the car doors, and geese were calling everywhere. It's that sound that just gets me excited for the new season. You could smell the melting snow, the sun was shining brightly and Spring was everywhere. There's so much to look forward to this time of year, and even though some of the drifts in our yard are still 3 to 4 ft high, the Sun is pushing it away fast. The next two months will be a birder's paradise. One new bird after another will show up, gardens will start to color up and every bird will sing their song. It's a time of new life, new experiences and new beginnings. It's a time to appreciate all of creation and it's wonders, and none of it should be taken for granted. Use your time wisely over the next two months to truly soak up all the beauty that is provided throughout nature. Smell the Spring air, listen carefully to every bird and it's song and watch life literally exploding around you. Although I'm a serious hummingbirder, it's never been just about the hummingbirds, but the process that leads up to them that makes the experience unforgettable. 
     This is an image from last Spring. His name is Top Gun, and we slightly shortened it to Gunner. Our hopes are that he'll return and take full advantage of our garden for another season. This image was taken around May 20th of 2021, Northeast of Edmonton, Alberta, Canada.

     The magic doesn't just happen at some point in summer without a large amount of planning well before. Sure, you can limit yourself to a simple setup and be somewhat successful, but to become a serious hummingbirder, trust me, it doesn't start with just hanging a feeder and hoping for great results. Hummingbirds are territorial birds, so they will find a location that meets all their needs before they call it home. If your garden, with limited food sources, is a long distance away from their territory, it'll benefit them in no way to expend an enormous amount of energy traveling to that limited source of food, to gain less than what is needed to travel back. Make it worth their while! 
       I know there are many others out there that start their indoor planting months before the hummingbirds arrive. We plant enough to create a smorgasbord of nectar that spans from one end of our garden to the other. We have about 25 large garden pots that get stuffed with annuals. This also doesn't include the thousands of perennials in our garden that each have their own blooming season throughout summer. To fill 25 large garden pots it can definitely be costly, so there are solutions to reduce that cost, but also to enjoy the process. We start indoor planting in January with a variety of proven annuals that are not only hardy but also great hummingbird attractors. Many plants require 12 to 16 weeks indoors before moving outdoors. Many plants can be directly seeded, and there are a few great choices that can fill many locations with just direct seeding. Scarlet runners and vining nasturtiums are two annuals that I heavily rely on and plant in several locations around the garden just from seed. They don't need as much growing time before they start to flower as the others that are started indoors well before the season. It can be 3 to 4 months indoors and then 3 to 4 months outdoors worth of effort in my region of the continent to develop a garden that's guaranteed to attract the hummingbirds. All I can say is spend some extra time developing extra sources of food, make sure you have numerous feeders hanging throughout the garden, enjoy the process, and you'll soon realize that the extra effort will pay off far more than just hanging a feeder and hoping for great results. Think like a hummingbird, if that's possible, and imagine the possibilities throughout your garden that would make you want to stick around and return to that special place.
       This young hummingbird from last Fall spent half the time feeding from these Delphiniums, and spent the other half of its time defending them from other hummingbirds.  August 2021, N.E. of Edmonton, Alberta, Canada.

       The Ruby throats are well on their way, some that have made this journey several times before, and some trying to remember the path from last autumn when they attempted their first journey South. Every bird now moving North is considered a mature bird and able to breed. Most of us are hoping to see familiar friends from previous years, but the youngest generation of hummingbirds have yet to experience what life has to offer on their first ever journey North. Those first timers are now considered adults, and will have battles ahead of them. The females will have different types of battles, as less competition is required for them. They just need to learn the ins and outs of nesting, in choosing the right location, and how to build a nest that's structurally sound enough to endure the winds and storms, and defend their precious young. The young males will compete for territory that looks enticing. Some will win and some will be forced to look elsewhere. The mature birds are likely to return to a location that previously provided success, while the newest generation are looking for reasons to find a new home for Summer, and Summers to follow. This is where we come into play. All hummingbirds know what feeders are this time of year. They understand that they're an endless source of nectar. Flowers, especially their favorites, will always trigger their instincts and keep them returning time and again. It's absolutely necessary to have feeders up in Spring though, and always necessary to have flowers for when the young arrive after leaving the nest. Flowers always attract the Young, and keep them around until they can figure out the feeders. Feeders provide a source of food that is never ending. If storms hit, if snow falls and does damage to the flowers, feeders will always remain constant. They learn, like every living thing, when food is available, you take advantage of it. Food is survival, and if we give them every option imaginable, you'll give them absolutely no reason to go elsewhere. Provide several feeders, clusters of flowers, water sources, and simply sit back and wait for the surprises of Spring.
       This is a young Ruby throat from last August. It loved the Vermillionaire, but the evidence all over its chin let us know that it was making good use of the Nasturtiums.

For every one out there who has hummingbird feeders in rough shape, don't be so quick to discard them. I give them one last purpose, which sometimes makes them even more valuable than when they were in a new condition. Young hummingbirds will oftentimes reject feeders because they just don't look realistic enough. They admire the color on them but have no clue it's a source of food. I have graduated many young hummingbirds to the adult feeders by simply creating training feeders for them. I make several different colors to suit the surroundings. If the colors are primarily orange in your flowers, use an orange flowered training feeder. If it's a different color use one that's most appropriate to match. In my illustration, one of the feeding perches broke off, so instead of tossing a still good feeder, I convert it into what I consider a training feeder.
1. You can go on the Internet and search out flower shapes. Pick the one that looks best or more realistic and print it out.
2. Copy the shape onto the 2mm craft foam. Cut it out and drill a tiny hole in the center for the feeding port. I use a hollow brass tube from hobby stores as my drill bit, and placed in the drill press. I can rip through hundreds in no time, and they drill the PERFECT hole. You can get various sizes of tubing, but don't go to big to allow honey bees to get access. 
3. Remove the old flower that came with a feeder and simply hot glue the new flower in its place.
The more accurate the flower to its surroundings, the more successful you'll be in converting young hummingbirds to feeders before they leave your garden. 

     It was a battle between two very strong wills, harsh weather in its whitest form and the tiniest feathered firecrackers with an attitude that could scare even winter away. 
    Heavy rain fell, followed by a 4-in blanket of snow, right after the first wave of hummingbirds showed up in Alberta. Two very cool days followed, but the danger fell at night after the snow had melted and the skies cleared. With high humidity and temperatures barely breaking 4C(40F) in the day, the temperature dipped dangerously low at night, leaving a blanket of ice coated blades of grass. The temperature bottomed out at -5C(22F), and even the perennials showed their disgust with droopy translucent leaves. 
     I know that many people of the South never experience temperatures like this, especially during late Spring time, so their fear of hummingbirds being taken by cool temperatures typically brings serious cases of anxiety. What I'm about to tell you may shock you, but it's meant to put your mind at ease. We've had late season hummingbirds in the province of Alberta with temperatures as low as minus 28 Celsius(-20F), and they've survived several nights. What I firmly believe is that cold isn't the real threat, but rather, the lack of food during those frigid temperatures. It's during these colder times that feeders should be available to the hummingbirds because that is when they're most needed.
     Even I didn't want to get up the next morning when I saw the temperature Gauge coated in frost. But upon opening the door, nothing seemed to phase all the new migrants. Every songbird was singing it's tune as if nothing was out of the ordinary. The only unanswered question was whether the hummingbirds could endure the cold night. Well they certainly did. Feeders were active that morning, our dominant male was on patrol, and nothing, absolutely nothing would slow them down. Winter didn't stand a chance against these fiery little creatures, even if they woke up with frosted feathers. Even a couple female Rubies had arrived, the garden began to liven up, and within hours, Winter was no where to be seen. 
Image is our new dominant male. May 21, 2021.

     Many people left off last year with a garden full of hummingbirds, and are fully expecting that many more to return this Spring. There are so many differences from springtime to late summer or autumn. There are so many factors and variables involved that simply don't allow us to compare the two seasons.
     First of all, springtime has all the mature birds, and their purpose is very different. In spring time they've got a purpose of breeding, and nothing will interfere with that. They won't congregate in yards unless they're migrating through. They are very territorial because they want the breeding rights. Later in summer, during the southern migration, they do congregate, but with a little less intensity and anger, and I mean just a little bit less. They still do and will always have fire in their tail feathers. 
     We always start off with a certain number of hummingbirds in springtime and then we end up with nearly double that later in summer. Sadly many of those young birds won't make it till the next spring, but the rest will, and they will be looking for a new breeding ground of their own.
​     Over years of research I tracked the number of sightings every day from the time they arrived in Spring to the time they Departed in late summer, and the results just simply can't be compared. The largest numbers of sightings I recorded in Spring were only 200 to 300 per day. The numbers in late summer when all of the birds including adult males, adult females and juveniles are trying to feed and fatten up for the migration, are somewhere between 2 and 12 thousand per day. This is an increase of more than 10 times. It doesn't mean there are 10 times the number of birds, but rather all of them have a different purpose than in springtime, and that purpose is to feed as much as possible and head south with a fat belly. 
     So ultimately what I'm trying to say is that the numbers in springtime have very little in common with late summer. If you have one or two regular birds hanging around in Spring, or they only show up once a day or even less, don't be alarmed. They've got other things in mind, and food is much lower on their priority list.
Image is a late summer juvenile male Ruby throat hummingbird. N.E. of Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. 

​     We opened the doors of the car, got out and stretched, inhaled the fresh country air, and were alerted to the melody of the song Sparrow. We both looked at each other with smiles on our faces as we simultaneously recognized one of the most beautiful sounds of Spring. This time of year is so precious and so short, that every second must be appreciated. The sights, sounds and smells of Spring are intoxicating, and there's nothing that seems to match it's effect. 
     Still a few weeks away from the arrival of the Ruby throat, we soak up everything in nature that builds up excitement until that very time. Life emerges from the ground, green starts to appear on the trees, and song fills the sky. It's these free things in life that are so fulfilling. It's not the things we buy or the things we want, but merely that which exists around us year after year. It's the countless miracles that brighten our days, including the tiniest little bundle wrapped in feathers. It never gets old. It always provides excitement and it never escapes our memory.
     This is Ziggy. I believe it's the last image I captured of him. He had quite a legacy, before another stepped in to fill his role. August 2018, Northeast of Edmonton, Alberta, Canada.

     People are either receiving their first hummingbirds or about to, so feeders should be going up in many places, if they're not already up.  Here's a general rule we should remember every year.  Place your feeders out 10 days before the expected date of arrival for hummingbirds in your area.  Hummingbirds can be very accurate with their timing, but there are far too many variables to rely solely on them showing up on one specific day.  The fact is that the bird that showed up the previous years may not be the one that shows up this year.  There are many young males and females from last summer that will be breeding for the first time, so many of them will be looking for new breeding grounds, and their times are very difficult to determine.  Weather can play a huge factor in when they show up.  Not only bad weather can affect their time, but the arrival of Spring can vary greatly from one year to the next.  If flowers are not blooming yet in your region, it's less likely the hummingbirds will be in your region.  Hummingbirds are very dependent on the blooming of flowers, and the hatching of insects.  Cold weather delays both of these and therefore delays the hummingbirds.  Don't wait to see your first hummingbird before you place out feeders.  By the time you get your feeders out they could be miles away.  Watch the hummingbird maps, or take a look at previous year's sighting maps to see when they were in your region.  This year, and in future years, place your feeders out 10 days prior to that.  You have nothing to lose but a small amount of nectar costing pennies, but you don't want to miss out on attracting additional hummingbirds, some of which may be earlier.  So keep that 10 day rule in mind.  Be prepared, and be ahead of the migration.  It's better to lose a batch of nectar, than to miss out on a few males looking for a new breeding ground.  The most consistent times for hummingbird arrivals would be in the prairie provinces of Canada, where hummingbirds have about a 7 to 10 day variance from the earliest year to the latest.  Many regions across Eastern Canada can be a 15 to 30 day variance.  The Eastern United States can also have a three week variance from one year to another in certain regions.  In my garden I've seen a seven day variance from the earliest to the latest first arrival, and this is tracking them over the past 16 years.  So follow the maps, and place feeders out before their expected time.  Who knows, you may have an early bird or two.  You may also be very surprised at how many birds pass through before your resident bird shows up.

     In some cases it can be just a matter of coincidence that a hummingbird shows up in your garden. Many hummingbirds just wander about through the skies following a pattern of colors below that just happen to lead to you, but there are so many things we can do to provide greater possibilities, and not depend on the luck factor. The book I've written, Jewel of the North", goes into far greater detail about how to attract hummingbirds in far greater numbers, but here is a much shorter version to get you started. 
1. Feeders are essential! Yes, hummingbirds love flowers and will continue to feed from them, but feeders allow them to get far more nectar, while using up far less energy. Hummingbirds are like just about any other living thing alive, they are opportunistic. They will choose the food source that requires less energy. Place multiple feeders out, spreading them apart so that one dominant bird won't protect them all. In Spring time male hummingbirds are fiercely competitive, and if all your feeders are within his view, he will protect them all and chase everything else away. Place feeders on all sides of your home. This allows hummingbirds passing through to spot a feeder from any side of your house, increasing your chance of attracting them by a huge margin. Personally, I would never go without feeders. Hummingbirds LOVE them once they figure them out.
2. Flowers are important, but good flowers are vital! Not all flowers contain sweet nectar. If you go to the "flower" page on my website, you will see a list of them near the bottom of the page. I like to have variety in my hummingbird garden, but don't overdo it on just any flowers. Go crazy on the essential ones. Give hummingbirds far more reasons to return to your garden over everyone else's. It's not worth it for a hummingbird to travel half a mile or more to your place, only to find a few sprigs with limited nectar. Plant many of the good ones, and they will stick around longer, and show up more frequently. Once again, if you plant clusters of flowers on all four sides of your home, it greatly increases your chances of them seeing your place over the rest.
3. The extras! Feeders and flowers are a must, but it's the extras that turn their stay into a five star review. Hummingbirds love to bathe, so water features with perches or swings nearby are very important. Red is one of the greatest colors to attract hummingbirds, so if there's a feature you are trying to attract them to, then add something like the sparkly red jewels that you can find at Dollarama. They shine, sparkle and reflect light in all directions, almost like red laser beams. 
     The most important thing I always suggest to people is to make your place more attractive to hummingbirds than anyone else's. When hummingbirds have multiple options of food and water sources, they've got little reason to go elsewhere. 
Image is Gunner, our dominant male, who frequented the Salvia several times a day. May 2020, N.E. of Edmonton, Alberta, Canada.