Many people in Wisconsin are reporting that their hummingbirds have already disappeared for the season. As of yesterday I still had three fattening up by sipping nectar from my flowers and hummingbird feeders, and they’ve been more than happy to pose for photographs.
According to the Cornell Lab of Ornithology’s All About Birds website, Ruby-throated Hummingbirds have such short legs that they are unable to hop or walk like other songbirds. But they are amazing flyers and can “adjust their position up, down, sideways and backwards with minute control.” They can reach speeds of 24 miles per hour.
In addition to nectar sources, Ruby-throated Hummingbirds also eat insects including mosquitoes.
In fall most of them fly to Central America by crossing the Gulf of Mexico which takes about 20 hours. In Wisconsin Ruby-throated Hummingbirds usually leave in September and we don’t see them again until the following May.
