Wash your feeders and get your nectar ready, hummingbirds have returned to Ohio.
Every spring, the tiny birds return to the United States, migrating hundreds or thousands of miles from their winter habitats in Mexico and Central America.
And as of mid-April, hummingbirds have been spotted all across Ohio and farther north, including Michigan and Ontario, Canada, according to a migration spotter map.
Here’s what you need to know about attracting them to your yard.
When did hummingbirds return to Ohio?
The Farmer’s Almanac map predicted an arrival in the southern half of the Buckeye State from April 15 to 30, and the northern half from May 1 to 15. That largely aligned with the dates shown by Hummingbird Central. In 2025, the site’s interactive map reported hummingbird sightings along Ohio’s southern border from April 15 to 21.
However in a Facebook post, meteorologist Aaron White in Columbus was forecasting hummingbirds to arrive in Ohio in early April and be throughout the state by late April.
That prediction proved true as Hummingbird Central’s map shows one report on March 27 of a hummingbird in Minford, which is located in Southern Ohio near Portsmouth. Other hummingbird sightings along the Ohio River were reported from April 9 to 16.
This interactive map tracks hummingbirds’ migration progress
For more than a decade, Hummingbird Central has tracked hummingbirds’ northward migration, relying on “citizen spotters” to report their first hummingbird sightings, according to Ken Freeman, a Hummingbird Central staff member.
Those reports are then plotted on an interactive map that shows the date and location of the site, and any comments that spotters want to leave. Sightings are color-coded by hummingbird species.
Through mid-April, hummingbirds have worked their way northward from the Gulf Coast into the Lower Peninsula of Michigan and Wisconsin, along with New England and the southernmost tip of Canada. Some hummingbirds in California and the Pacific Northwest do not migrate, according to the website. The earliest hummingbird sighting reported on the map was on Jan. 1 in Key West, Florida.
What species of hummingbirds will we see in Ohio?
There are two main species of hummingbirds in Ohio, according to Bird Advisors, but a total of seven are recognized in state bird records.
How can you attract hummingbirds?
If you are interested in attracting more hummingbirds to your homes and gardens this year, here are a few of Hummingbird Central’s tips and tricks:
What flowers attract hummingbirds?
Hummingbirds are drawn to tubular flowers that provide large amounts of nectar, according to online retailer Rare Roots. They often gravitate to red flowers, according to The Spruce, but will visit all colors of flowers if it provides a meal.
Some of the more popular flowers to attract hummingbirds include phlox, lupine, columbine, hollyhocks, dianthus and butterfly bush, among others.
What do hummingbirds eat?
The typical backyard hummingbird feeder is filled with sugar water. But that’s only a small portion of a hummingbirds’ diet.
The sucrose in flower nectar and sugar water gives hummingbirds the energy for their high metabolisms and swift wings, according to The Spruce, but it lacks protein. Up to 80% of their diet is small insects like mosquitoes, flies, gnats, spiders and aphids, according to Choose Natives, which promotes using native North American plants over invasive species to attract the birds.
How to make homemade hummingbird food. What’s the ratio?
If you want to make your own hummingbird nectar for backyard feeders, use a 4-to-1 ratio of water to sugar, according to the Smithsonian’s National Zoo & Conservation Biology Institute. Mix the water and sugar until fully dissolved, and store in the refrigerator between fills.
Change the solution in hummingbird feeders frequently. The National Zoo recommends changing feeders every other day, and cleaning them thoroughly each time to prevent mold growth.
When to put out hummingbird feeders in Ohio?
Bird Feeder Hub recommends putting hummingbird feeders outdoors in mid- to late-April in the Buckeye State. But they can go out even earlier, especially if the migration map shows hummingbirds arriving early.
Why do hummingbirds hum?
The hum of a hummingbird is the noise generated by their wings, according to Live Science.
Hummingbird wings move at around 70 beats per second, or more than 4,000 beats per minute. Unique among birds, hummingbirds’ wings allow them to hover.
This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Get your feeders out, hummingbirds are back in Ohio. Here’s where
Reporting by Chad Murphy, Columbus Dispatch / The Columbus Dispatch
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
