Posted by Suzanne Long on September 9, 2006

Q: When do humming birds migrate from Michigan & where do they migrate to?

State: Michigan

A: Michigan is a very "north-south" state so those in the upper peninsula should begin migration much sooner than those in the Detroit area. You'd have to ask people in your immediate area when they noticed that the hummers were no longer coming to their feeders to get a sense of when they left. I live in central New York state and as of Sept 11, still have some coming to my feeder but expect that soon, all will have gone south.

There is only one species, the Ruby-throated Hummingbird, that breeds in the eastern part of North America and these fly to the Yucatan peninsula each fall. "Your" birds migrate to southern Georgia or northern Florida where they stoke up on calories for a short while then head out over the Gulf of Mexico for a 500-600 mile nonstop flight to the Yucatan. Quite a feat for such a small bird.

John Wiessinger ( September 11, 2006)