LIFE'S BETTER IN THE MOUNTAINS

Monday, March 21, 2016

It's Getting Time Here in the East



The much-anticipated 2016 Ruby-throated Hummingbird migration has begun.  A few birds are already reported as far north as North Carolina and Tennessee.  So despite our brief chilly weather Spring has definitely appeared.

You can click to enlarge
Better yet, click on the link provided below to go to the Website

The tracking and reporting interactive map is posted HERE.  Keep in mind these are not scientific reports, but reports from anyone.  If you see a Ruby-throated Hummingbird in your area and it hasn't been reported, you can click on the map and report it.

Watch the map and put out your nectar before the birds have entered your area.  I am not aware that there is any tracking map for other types of hummingbirds.

I am fascinated and frustrated every year by watching the progress of the migration.  Invariably the little buggers are reported to our east and west, to our south and north before we have them.  I think it is because we are only a mile or so from the Southern Blue Ridge Escarpment where the mountains rise up sharply above the land on the South Carolina border.

But come they will and we will delight in their presence.  Something about the tiny birds fills us with joy.


And the humming-bird that hung
Like a jewel up among
The tilted honeysuckle horns
They mesmerized and swung
In the palpitating air,
Drowsed with odors strange and rare.
And, with whispered laughter, slipped away
And left him hanging there.
– James Whitcomb Riley


Hummingbirds in our yard
Arguing over the feeder as they are wont to do

8 comments:

Tara said...

perfect poem! I love the sound of them sweeping through the air.

Lowcarb team member said...

Perfect Poem
Perfect Picture

All the best Jan

Barbara Rogers said...

They are one of nature's delights!

Ms. A said...

I don't see them in my immediate area and don't have that kind of feeder, but we bought my daughter some and they get tons of hummingbirds. She's never been able to get a shot like yours!

Busy Bee Suz said...

I love them so much too. I was shocked a few years ago when I found one in MY yard! I had no idea they went this south and west in Florida. The tracking map is fabulous!

Anonymous said...

Ah spring, and those wonderful birds that make these incredible journeys every year. They remind us of the true heartbeat of the planet.

Arkansas Patti said...

Goodness they are headed for Arkansas. Is it that time all ready? I do enjoy watching the little nectar sucking darlings though they really keep me busy. Peak season I make 3 quarts a day. Oh well, they are worth it.

troutbirder said...

They arrive here practically on schedule according to my phrenologist birding friend and former teaching colleague Mr. Science (gARY