Ruby-throated Hummingbird – 5/17/23

Observer: Josh Simons

Observation Date: 5/17/23

Observation Time: 12:30 p.m.

Observation Location: Moose Hill Parkway

Common Name: Ruby-throated Hummingbird

Scientific Name: Archilochus colubris

Comments: The throat of the hummingbird in the photo looks black, but when it catches the sunlight it flashes bright red.

Ruby-throated hummingbirds are the only species of hummingbird commonly seen in New England. They overwinter in Costa Rica. When they migrate north in spring, they fly several hundred miles across the Gulf of Mexico. They arrive in Massachusetts in late April. That’s a good time to put out a hummingbird feeder. If you’re lucky, and you change the sugar water in the feeder regularly, they’ll nest nearby and visit your feeder all summer.

Hummingbirds make their nests out of lichens and spider webs. They weigh about as much as a nickel.

More Information: All About Birds