I had read that hummingbirds generally departed our area around October 10, and I remember it being early to mid-October when our resident hummers have left in the past. This year, they skipped town early, at the tail end of September. They left our yard the day before we had all the rain. I think their instincts somehow told them that all that rain would bring on extra stress, and they needed every ounce of energy to make their taxing trip to Mexico.
For their annual fall migration, the adult males leave first, followed by females, and juveniles leave last. Ruby-throated hummingbirds travel over 1,000 miles. Some fly roughly 500 miles nonstop across the Gulf of Mexico, taking up to 24 hours while others take a safer land route around the Gulf through Texas. Their migrations are triggered by changing daylight hours and natural instincts, not by a lack of food.
Hummer enthusiasts therefore keep their feeders clean and full until the little birds depart. Now that they are gone, we can take in the feeders and wait for their return in April and May.
