Photo by Janet Woodward • This male ruby-throated hummingbird arrived at the home of Janet Woodward on April 3. She resides near the Pamlico River in Bath, North Carolina.

My yearly roundup of the first hummingbird sightings of spring has been a doozy so far. I’ve heard from readers in the states of Washington, New Mexico, Texas, Arkansas and Alabama. Closer to home, I’ve also gotten reports from readers in the Carolinas, Georgia and Tennessee. I’ll continue the round-up next week and will keep fingers crossed that perhaps I will have spotted my own first spring hummingbird at my home in Hampton, Tennessee, by then.
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Mike Haynes saw his first hummingbird in early March, but he lives a tad outside the region in Odessa, Texas.
“A note to let you know we get hummingbirds here in west Texas around March 5 each year,” he wrote in an email.
Mike is apparently not getting visits from male hummingbirds with their bright red throats.
“They all are unattractive gray birds,” he noted. “We get zero pretty birds.”
Regardless, he makes the best of it and pays close attention to their actions.
“They nest high in the trees,” he wrote. “They are here all summer.”
He also noted that the hummingbirds are “very hostile little guys” and noted that in In the hot (108 degrees) days, they drink a lot. “
“All of these guys are very skittish and fly off even if you open a door,” he said. But it’s all we have.”
Mike shared that he grows tons of bright and colorful flowers and plants to attract hummingbirds.
“We bring our feeders in on Nov. 1 each year,” he wrote.
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Patsy Stewart emailed me to report that she saw ruby-throated hummingbirds on March 30 and April 2. The visits took place early in the morning and late in the evening at Patsy’s home in Rossville, Tennessee.
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Wanda Dugan shared that she saw a male ruby-throated hummingbird on March 31 at her home in western North Carolina.
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“I saw my first hummingbird April 1,” Judy Steele wrote in an email. “Possibly he had been here before I spotted him. I have had a feeder out for a couple of weeks and change it every five to six days and notice less feed when I go out to exchange my feeder. “
All doubts were erased on Saturday, April 1, when she saw a visiting male hummingbird. “He stayed at the feeder for half a minute or so,” she added.
Judy noted that she lives in Loudon, Tennessee, close to Watts Bar Lake.
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“Saw the first hummingbird in Gainesboro, Tennessee, today (April 2),” Glenda Stafford wrote in an email. She helpfully noted that Gainesboro is located 100 miles between Nashville and Knoxville.
“We just got our first hummingbird yesterday,” Donna Snyder wrote to me by email. on April 3. “I’ve had our feeders out for two weeks, and I’m so excited to finally have one arrive.” She noted that her family resides in Kings Mountain, North Carolina, in the western part of the state.
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“I saw my first hummingbird April, 2 in Albany, Georgia,” wrote Rena Parker in an email to me.
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Debra Roy reported her first sighting of a male ruby-throated hummer on April 3 at her home in Richmond Hill, Georgia.
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“Saw our first this afternoon (April 3) at 5:57 p.m. central time in Clarksville, Arkansas,” wrote Dr. Buckley T. Foster in an email about his first spring hummingbird sighting.
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Reader Janie Balzano lives in New Mexico, so her first spring sighting was not of the ruby-throated hummingbird prevalent in the eastern United States.
“First sighting on Monday (April 3),” Janie wrote. “The feeders were put out three days prior.”
Janie resides at Seven Rivers, New Mexico, halfway between Carlsbad and Artesia.
“We are seeing three males,” she noted.
She shared that two of the tiny visitors are Anna’s hummingbirds and the third is a rufous hummingbird.
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Elaine Hallgarth, also of New Mexico, shared that she saw two black-chinned hummingbirds on April 3 at her feeders. An earlier sighting by a non-birder on March 31 was also likely a black-chinned hummingbird. Elaine resides in San Lorenzo, New Mexico.
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“The juice is out,” reported Mark Praschak in North Carolina.
“I’ve had my feeder out in New Bern, North Carolina, for a week now,” he wrote on April 3. “No arrivals yet. Their nest from last year is still pretty exposed. Giving it another week or so before the leaves can hide it better. Will advise.”
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Fred Rauh of Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, emailed me to let me know that he saw his first spring hummingbird on March 25 at 3 p.m.••••
Frank Alegria emailed me that he saw his first spring hummingbird on March 30 at his home in Pottsboro, Texas.
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Rufus Milam in Jacksonville, North Carolina, wrote that he put his feeder out last week and saw one hummingbird on Thursday, March 30. On April 3, he also had a visitor at his feeder on and off since about 9 a.m.
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Eleanor Donahue wrote to me to share her first spring sighting.
“Male ruby-throated hummer feeding at our lake home on High Rock Lake, Lexington North Carolina, on April 2 around 3 p.m.,” she noted.
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Cody Songs in Foley, Alabama, shared his hummingbird sightings. On April 3, he saw one male.The following day, two males showed up at his feeder.
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Richard in Williston, South Carolina, reported that he saw his first spring hummingbird, a male, on March 31.
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Lynette Feldbush takes the honors for earliest sighting. She saw a hummingbird back on Feb 28. “I had this one for only two days,” she noted.
Lynette, who lives at Moses Lake, Washington, said she felt saddened when the brief visit ended. Now she is waiting for another hummingbird to arrive. As Lynette lives along the West Coast, her visitor is probably one of about a half dozen different species, including rufous hummingbird, black-chinned hummingbird and broad-tailed hummingbird. In Washington, the Anna’s hummingbird is a year-round resident.
She did share a viideo of her tiny visitor.

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Carl Davenport of Calera, Alabama, wrote me on April 5 to inform me that he has had three hummingbirds regularly visiting his feeders since March 30.
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Janet Woodward also wrote to share news of the first hummingbird’s arrival.
“I love my hummers and can’t wait for them each year,” she wrote. “Last year I was blessed to see then first on my birthday, March 23, but this year my first sighting was April 3.”
Janet shared that she resides near the Pamlico River in Bath, North Carolina.
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Anar Mirkar in Raleigh, North Carolina, shared the news of a first spring hummingbird sighting, which took place on April 4.
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Chris Holroyd in Bridgeport, Texas, has seen hummingbird numbers rising since their arrival. “First noticed March 30,” Chris wrote to me on April 4. “Now we have five!
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Ellen Decker has had hummingbirds at her feeder since March 23 when they arrived at about 10 a.m. “I am in Longs, South Carolina,” she added. “I see them every day now.”
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Cathy Miller in Brevard, North Carolina, got a visit from her first spring hummingbird at 4:45 p.m. on April 5. “It makes me so happy when I see one,” she shared.
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“After reading your article about hummers, we put our feeder out and just spotted our first visitor on April 12,” wrote Rick Newell of Jonesborough, Tennessee,
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Lydia Davidson reported her first hummingbird at 9 a.m. on April 7 at her home in the Sulphur Springs area of Washington County, Tennessee. “This was a week earlier than 2022,” she noted.
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Mary Ellen Higinbotham shared that her first hummingbird arrived at 4:50 p.m. on April 10 at her home on Little Dry Run between Butler and Mountain City, Tennessee.
“I was ready and waiting, thanks to your promptings,” she added.
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Photo by Bryan Stevens • A ruby-throated hummingbird visits a feeder for a sip of sugar water.

“Saw our first hummingbird, a male, today (April 13),” Peggy Rogers of Trade, Tennessee, shared. “Just put the feeder out yesterday.
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Gail Rogers from Enterprise, Alabama, sent me an email on April 10 about her first hummingbird sighting of spring. She also shared a video of the bird, which happened to be a female ruby-throated hummingbird.

https://www.youtube.com/shorts/vTMduRxYrUI

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The Mayfields of Forest Falls, California, wrote about their first hummingbird sighting. The Mayfields live at an elevation of 4,800 feet. “Saw our first hummingbird on Easter (April 9) at 2:30 p.m. How exciting. I filled our feeder immediately.”
Being in California, the Mayfields would have seen a different species than the ruby-throated hummingbird, but they did not specify.
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Carolyn Keifer of Roswell, Georgia, saw her first hummingbird on April 5.
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Linda Vollmoeller in Pittsboro, North Carolina, shared that her first visit from a hummingbird took place April 6. “I’ve put the first of several feeders out,” she wrote. “So excited!”
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Linda Dousharm, who lives in South River, North Carolina, saw her first hummingbird on March 28.
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Theresa Nelson saw her first hummingbird (a male) in Charlotte, Tennessee, on April 3. She also shared a movie of her tiny visitor.
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Denis Young of Morristown, Tennessee, saw the first spring hummer on April 6, the same arrival date that Denis recorded last year. Denis also reported hosting between 30 and 40 hummingbirds each year.
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Linda Gomez of Toano, Virginia, reported two male ruby-throated hummingbirds feeding at her feeder on April 6 at 6 p.m.
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“After reading your column in the Herald & Tribune, we put out our feeder on March 30,” wrote Dan M. Johnson of White Oak Court, Johnson City. “I just saw the first hummingbird this morning (April 8).”
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Jill LeVin of Loudon, Tennessee, spotted her first hummingbird on April 8.
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Dorothy Lane saw a ruby-throated hummingbird on April 4 in Lufkin in East Texas.
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J. saw a male ruby-throated hummingbird in Knoxville, Tennessee, on April 8.
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Shellye Stone of Decatur Texas, saw a single hummingbird on April 5 and saw two hummingbirds the following day.

Photo by TheSOARnet / Pixabay.com • Male ruby-throated hummingbirds usually migrate ahead of females. These tiny birds must cross the Gulf of Mexico, without stopping, to reach their nesting grounds in the eastern United States. The journey across the Gulf can take them 18 to 22 hours, dependent on weather conditions.

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Sharon Underwood of Woodlands, Texas, saw her first hummer feeding on the patio at her home on March 31.
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Donald Frazell reported three families of hummingbirds battling on April 9 from his balcony eight miles from downtown Los Angeles.
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Paul Isgett of Florence, South Carolina, saw his first spring hummingbirds on April 7.
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Steve Ritter shared that his first hummingbird arrived April 9 at his home in Scottsboro, Alabama.
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Emil Kunze reported a male ruby-throated hummingbird at mid-day April 9 in Tuscaloosa, Alabama.
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Cherie Ramsey hadn’t yet seen a hummingbird, but she shared a nice note. “Thank you for the information on hummingbirds,” she wrote. “This year is the first time I’m putting out a feeder for them. I can’t wait to see them feed.”
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Jane Weems reported that she had her first ruby-throated hummingbird on April 6 in Hayden, Alabama. “Beautiful!” Jane wrote.
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Ernest Ragan reported his first hummingbird in Ruidoso, New Mexico, on April 8.
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Val Bennett noticed a first-of-spring hummingbird at the feeder on April 3. Val lives in Walling, Tennessee.
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Cindy Pye saw her first hummingbird on the morning of April 9 at her home in Hephzibah, Georgia.
“So excited,” Cindy wrote. “Waiting for the others.”
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Della shared that she saw a male ruby-throated hummingbird on April 6 in Harriman, Tennessee.
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Diana Fischer, no address provided, noted that a male ruby-throated hummingbird visited her feeders at 10 a.m. on Easter (April 9).
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Nancy Monk has had hummingbirds for awhile at her home in Las Vegas, Nevada. “We have nests with babies,” she wrote. “Babies are two weeks old. Anxiously awaiting flight training to start.”
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Ginger Brackins in Erwin, Tennessee, sent me an email about her first sighting. “I just wanted to let you know that I saw my first hummingbird April 11 on Valley Avenue.”
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“Spotted male at the feeder on April 5 after a rain,” wrote Patty Everding. The bird returned for the next two days after its arrival, she noted. Patty lives in Central Virginia in Appomattox County.
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Lisa Freiss shared that her first hummingbird, a small male, arrived April 7. Lisa lives on William Hawkins Lane, off of Pleasant Valley Road in Mountain City, Tennessee. She also posted her sighting on Facebook. “Then I saw two at the feeder a couple days later,” she added. “Only see them early morning or dusk.”
Of course, the birds were not about to share the feeder. Lisa noted that they chased each other away.
This is the second year her hummers have returned on April 7. She also noted she puts out her feeder on April 5.
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Dale Reynolds, who lives just outside Mountain City, Tennessee, saw male ruby-throated hummingbirds on April 11-12.
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Alicia R. in Tucker, Georgia, had a visit from a male hummingbird at her two feeders on April 8.
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Phillip Jones in Savannah, Georgia, reported in an email on April 8 three sightings of a ruby-throated hummingbird feeding at his feeders during the week.
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“I live in the mountains of Western North Carolina, in Canton,” wrote Debby James. “I have had my feeder up for about two weeks.” She saw her first hummingbird on April 7.
Her tiny red-throated visitor arrived on a cold morning with the temperature at 41 degrees. “I enjoy watching these little birds,” she added. “They are amazing.”
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Sissy in Eddyville, Kentucky, shared a photo of her first hummingbird of spring in an email sent on April 8.

A photo of Sissy’s hummingbird.

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Karen O’Cain wrote that she saw her first hummingbird on April 6 in Nebo, North Carolina, near Marion, North Carolina, in the foothills.
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Rebecca Chester saw her first hummingbird on April 6. “I am in Bethesda, Tennessee. I saw your article and you said to let you know when we saw our first hummingbird,” she added.
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Mark Bronder reported that ruby-throated hummingbirds arrived at his feeders April 6 at his Asheville, North Carolina, residence at Mills Gap and Pinner’s Cove Road.
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The Rogers family of Marshall, North Carolina, reported that the first hummingbird arrived April 6.
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Shelia Boyd saw her first hummingbird on April 6 in Northern Mcdowell County, North Carolina. “It was a male ruby-throated,” she added. “I have yet to spot a female.”
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Starr Yeager wrote on April 12 that she has seen two hummers in Clarktown in Carter County, Tennessee.
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The response has been so incredible I will continue sharing sightings in next week’s column. Keep sharing those stories of first arrivals by emailing me at ahoodedwarbler@aol.com.

Photo by Bryan Stevens • Keep hummingbirds happy with a sugar water solution of four parts water to one part sugar.