I am so excited!
We put up our hummingbird feeder this week, after we read reports of several hummingbird sightings in North Mississippi. Honestly, there are not many things on earth that are quite as amazing as a tiny hummingbird. So, I can hardly wait to see the first one that visits our new little farmhouse here in Blue Springs, Mississippi. It will be a treasured memory for my husband and me.
Most people are aware that hummingbirds migrate to Central America or Mexico for the winter. That autumn migration is a whole other treasured time as well. We love watching the hordes of tiny birds that seem to flock our feeders in the Fall, fueling up for their long flight southward.
But nothing compares to their springtime migration back to the United States, back to their familiar breeding grounds here in the South. Their arrival is the surest sign that Old Man Winter is gone. But for me, it is also a poignant and beautiful reminder of the cycle of life and the tenacity and strength of this tiny creature.
So, those of us here in the Deep South wait with bated breath to spot the very first hummingbird of the season. Lots of Mississippians belong to online bird watching groups that report sightings and post pictures of these tiny marvels as they make their way up from the Mississippi Gulf Coast.
In fact, the very first hummingbird spotted each year in our state is a highly celebrated moment of wonder. Once that first beauty is spotted, some folks continually track the 2026 Hummingbird Sightings on the Official Migration Map at hummingbirdcentral.com. As the hummingbirds draw closer and closer to each person’s home, the anticipation and wonder also grow by leaps and bounds.
And that is exactly the point I am at this very moment. I am just so excited as I await my first hummingbird guest to my new home here in the beautiful countryside of Union County.
As I wait impatiently, it might be the perfect time to share some great tips on “How to Attract Hummingbirds” that I discovered online from the Extension Service of Mississippi State University. Written by Susan Collins-Smith, an Extension Associate, this article (https://extension.msstate.edu/blogs/extension-for-real-life/how-attract-hummingbirds) gives useful, practical, and doable advice on how to make sure we can safely attract these flying wonders to our own yards.
Please read and review this information for yourself, so you can follow the recipe for making nectar, as well as get the rundown on how to best fulfill these four needed tasks for your hummingbird guests:
- Provide food.
- Provide water.
- Provide shelter.
- Provide nesting areas and materials.
Then, when your first awaited guest arrives, make sure to go online to Hummingbird Central and report this arrival. And while you are at it, please post a photo of your beautiful visitor on Facebook, so we can all celebrate the return of the hummingbirds to our beloved state of Mississippi.
