Photograph: Subadult male Ruby-throated Hummingbird – St. Landry Parish – September 2022 by Berchman Soileau
By: Berchman Soileau
Wildlife Photographer and Contributing Writer
Ruby-throated hummingbirds are tiny, fast-flying birds that are commonly seen throughout the eastern United States during the warm weather months. They have many unique characteristics that help them thrive in their range. Although you won’t see them sitting on a branch and singing like your backyard songbirds, they do make sounds. Their calls sound like high pitched squeaks. You will often hear many of these squeaks and squeals as they chase each other.
We had a good number of hummingbirds at our feeders this year. But yesterday I noticed they were all gone. Once fall approaches, Ruby-throated hummingbirds begin to migrate south to lower Mexico and Central America where they will spend the winter. At the start of spring, they make their way back up north to the United States and Canada to prepare for breeding season.
