I took a trip to the cottage over the past weekend and was gone for 5 days.
I thought about the birds and the fact that I have to take the feeders in at night due to the raccoons and other night stalking critters around here.
Maybe they might forget about my faithful daily vigilance and fly onto greener pastures.
I think most of them did or maybe it's just time for some of them to migrate back south.
The only ones left visiting now are chickadees, nuthatches, bluejays and the pesky grackles.
The friends I miss the most are the ruby throated hummingbirds. This is the first morning in months that I won't put out their feeder because they've gone . . .
I was wondering just where they go so I checked it out.
Here's what I learned:

Geographic Range

Hummingbirds are only found in the western hemisphere, from Alaska to Tierra del Feugo. With approximately 330 species, they are the second largest family of birds in the world. Ruby-throated Hummingbirds are found in North and Central America. They are the only hummingbird species known to breed in Eastern Canada.(my corner of the world)

Ruby-throated hummingbirds spend the winter months in Central America and Mexico. Each year thousands of Ruby-throated hummingbirds are observed migrating past Hawk Watch locations in southern Ontario. The adult males leave first in late July with the adult females following next. The immature hummingbirds are the last to leave in September. It is rare for hummingbirds to linger in Ontario after the beginning of October. Some hummingbirds fly straight across the Gulf of Mexico while others follow the western shore through Texas and Mexico. We don't know which migration pathway is preferred by Ontario's hummingbirds. In the spring, hummingbirds reverse their trip and return to the breeding grounds moving north approximately 25-30 kms each day.

I'll miss them and look forward to seeing them again in a few months. xxx