Goodbye summer hummers

Tyler—Every spring, I wait for old friends to arrive. Thanks to years of coevolution, they normally show up when the native coral honeysuckle and red buckeyes are in bloom. By September, however, it is time to start saying goodbye to our beloved ruby-throated hummingbirds.

I’ve been in love with hummingbirds since Marie Daly introduced me to them at her three feeders on Tryon Road in Longview as a kid. She even gifted me my very first feeder. We should all do the same for a child in our lives.

Ruby-throated hummingbirds are the familiar hummingbirds of East Texas. Males are unmistakable with their brilliant ruby-red throats, which can look black when the light hits them wrong. Females and young birds lack the red throat, but all are tiny, energetic, and seemingly always hungry.

Many of the hummingbirds we see now are already traveling south. Adult males generally begin migrating first, followed by females and young birds. At the same time, hummingbirds from farther north are passing through East Texas, so September can produce some of the busiest hummingbird activity of the year.

Their destination is primarily Mexico and Central America, where they spend the winter before making the journey north again next spring. Some cross the Gulf of Mexico in a remarkable nonstop flight, while others follow the Gulf Coast around Mexico. For such a tiny bird, either route is an amazing accomplishment.

There is an old myth that leaving hummingbird feeders up in fall will prevent hummingbirds from migrating. It will not. Migration is primarily controlled by changing day length and internal biological signals, not by whether your feeder is still hanging outside. Keeping feeders available can actually help migrating birds replenish the enormous amount of energy they need for their journey.

I leave mine up well after the main migration has passed. Late hummingbirds sometimes appear, and occasionally other hummingbird species wander into Texas during fall and winter. Keep feeders clean and filled with fresh sugar water made from four parts water to one part plain white granulated sugar. There is no need for red dye.

Of course, feeders are only part of the story. Hummingbirds need flowers and insects too. Native and well-adapted plants that bloom in late summer and fall provide natural fuel for migration. Turk’s cap, salvia, esperanza, flame acanthus, shrimp plant, and other nectar-producing plants can help turn a landscape into a hummingbird rest stop. Avoid unnecessary insecticide use as well because hummingbirds depend on tiny insects and spiders for protein.

Perhaps that is why September hummingbirds seem especially precious. We know their time with us is growing short. Soon the frantic chases around the feeder will become less frequent. One day we will realize that the little bird we watched yesterday may have been the last one of the season.

So, enjoy them while they are still here. Keep the feeders clean, keep the flowers blooming, and wish these tiny travelers a safe journey south. There are few things as precious in our gardening world as our hummingbirds, and I can’t begin to fathom a year without them.

Greg Grant, Ph.D., is the Smith County horticulturist and Master Gardener coordinator for the Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service in Tyler.