Over the last couple of weeks, anyone who has stepped foot outdoors in Mississippi for more than a few moments has surely seen them: The hummingbirds are everywhere, and these beautiful creatures are busy, very busy.
In fact, as I sat outside on my patio early one morning this week, I was prepared to enjoy my coffee and my quiet, devotional time. But it turned out that the hummingbirds had a different agenda. Very quickly, I heard a constant, almost desperate buzzing-chirping sound that was coming from two tiny but powerful hummingbirds. I watched this pair of little beauties flitter back and forth from one tree to another in what I realized was anxious preparation for their upcoming, long migratory journey southward.
Yes, they were busy on a mission to fuel up for their migration, and their single-minded intent amazed me. But I also had to laugh because something so tiny could be so loud–and because these creatures had now totally hijacked my quiet time, much to my absolute pleasure.
Later in that same day, my husband and I drove by to pay a bill, and the first sound that hit us after stopping the car was that same harried buzzing I had heard earlier in the day. And sure enough, there they were, another set of hungry hummingbirds feasting on a fully blooming Rose of Sharon bush. What a joy to behold!
But my hummingbird encounters were not done for the day. I saw several more as we sat on a porch outside in Union County, and watched several hummingbirds flit back and forth only inches away from us, flying from the autumn-tinged trees to waning rosebushes beside the porch.
From the moment they had interrupted my morning quiet time to the setting of the sun, it was a day filled with the amazing beauty and power of one of God’s smallest birds. To be honest, it was a great “morning devotional time” that lasted the entire day.
Luckily, I discovered that the joy of the hummingbirds did not have to end that day.
The first annual North Mississippi Hummingbird Festival is set for September 13, 2025, at the new June Wheeler Memorial Hummingbird Garden at Snowden Grove in Southaven, Mississippi.
A celebration of community, conservation, and the beloved hummingbird’s migration, this event will take place from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Saturday, September 13. Vendors, food trucks, and a slate of free educational talks are part of the day’s agenda. To learn more about the day’s events, the prestigious speakers, and their topics, simply visit the festival’s Facebook page–https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61578284397611.
So, please make sure and come out to celebrate and learn more about this tiny, amazing creature. Let’s make it a great Mississippi-style send-off party for our hummingbirds as they make their way south for winter.
