These Migrants Are Pouring Over Our Southern Borders, and There's Something We Can Do About It
Welcoming the hummingbirds is great fun while helping balance our planet's ecosystem
It's my rite of early spring. I'm anxious for their return, so I'm watching and waiting. I stare out my kitchen window, surveying the bright red feeder and surrounding landscape. It's located to afford the best viewing from multiple vantage points.
The males are the first to show, followed, usually in about ten days or so, by the females and other members of their kind. With more than 300 species, Ruby-throated hummingbirds are one of the few that migrate.
I've already made my first batch of homemade nectar, which has proven to be a reliable source of attraction and sustenance for these magical creatures. I carefully measure one part of cane sugar and four parts of water in my glass beaker.
I’ll be more generous with the sugar until they settle in and rest. It’s been a arduous journey. On their long flight from Central America, they travel over 2000 miles at the speed of approximately 20 miles or more daily. These migrants might be from Honduras, Guatemala, El Salvador, or Panama.
