When to Put Hummingbird Feeders Out in North Carolina

In most of the United States, hummingbirds are summer-time visitors rather than year-round residents. The birds can't tolerate cold temperatures, and most of them spend their winters in the warm climates of Central and South America, venturing north to breed in the summer. The birds' complicated migratory habits, however, along with the mild climate of coastal North Carolina, can bring hummingbirds to the state long after breeding season is over.

The ruby-throated hummingbird is the only hummingbird species that breeds in North Carolina, and its migratory patterns bring it to the state early each spring. Most of the birds leave the state by early fall, but some may remain throughout the fall and winter.

Most ruby-throated hummingbirds spend the winter in Mexico or Central America, but in late winter, they begin to move northward toward their breeding range, which extends as far north as southern Canada. The birds typically reach southern North Carolina in mid- to late March and have reached the northernmost parts of the state by early April. Gardeners who want to put out feeders in time for the spring migration should do so by early March.

Ruby-throated hummingbirds begin leaving North Carolina late in the summer, after the breeding season has concluded and juvenile birds are mature enough for the long journey to the birds' winter range. Most of the birds have left the state by the middle of October.

Many gardeners believe that leaving hummingbird feeders out past the time that the birds should have begun to migrate will entice the birds into staying late in the season when they'll succumb to cold temperatures. The presence of feeders, however, won't interfere with the birds' migratory instinct, which is spurred by changes in the length of days, and available food in the fall and winter can, in fact, save late-migrating birds. Therefore, North Carolina gardeners are encouraged to leave feeders out through the fall and winter.

Most hummingbirds that breed in North Carolina do not remain in the state through the winter, but some birds, both ruby-throats and other species, may appear at feeders throughout the year. Some western species may stray into the state as they make their southward trip in the fall, and the rufous hummingbird in particular often passes through North Carolina on its way to its winter range in Florida and along the Gulf Coast. There is evidence, as well, of groups of ruby-throated hummingbirds spending the winter in various places on the Outer Banks.