BIRMINGHAM, Ala. (WBRC) - Hummingbirds are showing up along the Southeast sooner than expected, a possible indication of an early spring.
Expert Shannon Greene, a migration tracker and founder of Humminbird-News.com, says there have already been sightings along the Gulf Coast states, including Alabama, Louisiana, and Florida, as well as the Carolinas.
“They are officially three weeks early and that doesn’t usually happen,” Greene said during an appearance on Good Day Alabama Sunday, adding it could indicate an early spring.
With exceptional navigational abilities, hummingbirds are prompted by cues from the weather, according to Greene.
“It does indicate an early spring because the hummingbirds don’t arrive this early,” she said. “So you can almost count on an early spring and nice weather from here on out.”
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Greene is a children’s book author whose love for hummingbirds began with a face-to-face meeting.
“I was standing in front of a fountain one day and a hummingbird zipped in front of my face and stared at me and then zipped around me,” she said. “It was amazing. And I thought, ‘I’m going to write a book about hummingbirds.’”
While doing her research, she became fascinated with them.
As the fastest animal in the world for its size, hummingbirds migrate 2,000 miles from South and Central America to North America.
Greene founded Hummingbird-News.com to track that migration. The site has a live migration map that shows where the birds are and when people can expect to see them.
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As for the states where hummingbirds have already begun appearing, Greene says a hummingbird feeder is the best way to attract them.
“You can get them at any store, a red feeder with yellow flowers,” she said. “Hang those up in your yard with a sugar water mixture - four parts water, one part sugar - and you should see hummingbirds start showing up.”
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