My banding partner attempted to catch 2 Buff-bellied Hummingbirds last Saturday, but these wily devils wanted no part of the traps. There were 2 Calliope Hummingbirds and I managed to catch one of them. Interestingly, the first hummer I caught was a female Rufous Hummingbird that had not been seen before and was seen only a few times after banding. The spring migrants are nearly always bright and shining adult males that can be very aggressive toward any other hummers, Last week, when I was banding winterers, I noted a very aggressive adult male Ruby-throated Hummingbird that dominated one area of the yard, making it difficult to catch the other hummers present.

To the trained eye, winterers are separable from newly arrived spring migrants. Banding, by myself and others, has demonstrated that those present during the winter months are NOT part of the local breeding population, but rather they have originated much farther north and for some unknown reason have not continued southward into Central America or southern Mexico in autumn. I have seen earlier and there are without doubt at least a few in Louisiana on every day of the year. My area did not experience much sub-freezing temperatures this winter, so most plants are now putting out new growth. As of now, I have not seen any at my place though there are quite a few flowers available. My first of spring 2022 Ruby-throated Hummingbird was 7 March in the town of St Rose, Louisiana.

Hummingbird migration map 2021