If you live in South Carolina, you will probably want to know: when do hummingbirds return to SC. South Carolina is a state in the coastal Southeastern region of America and hummingbirds visit this region.
Spring or even summertime is always an amazing time to look forward to in South Carolina. This is because the ever-energetic bird travels down and shows up in their numbers back to the coastal southeastern region state all the way to the north.
The annual migration of hummingbird species to South Carolina is a highly anticipated period for hummingbird enthusiasts.
So, let’s go further to get to know more about when hummingbirds do return to SC.
When Do Hummingbirds Return To SC?
When do hummingbirds return to SC? These lustrous birds tend to make their way back to South Carolina around the middle of March. But note that these songbirds may be seen flooding in the states all through March and April.
The male hummers are always the first to arrive in South Carolina. Then the female hummers follow 10 to 14 days later and the juvenile hummers follow.
How Long Do Hummingbirds Stay In South Carolina?
The most seen species in South Carolina is the Ruby-throated hummingbirds which usually arrive in the state around the middle of March.
The male Ruby-throated hummers usually arrive at the breeding ground first. The male is shiny and has an iridescent color. They have a patch of metallic blood-red feathers on the neck known as a gorget. This is how you can identify a ruby-throated hummingbird on a gender basis when you see one.
Then have it in mind that the female hummingbirds will be seen returning from their wintering grounds two weeks later.
Unlike the males that are blood-red throated, the females are white-throated. The hummingbirds stay till fall which is late August and at most October. This is when they start having hormonal changes due to the length of the day that is already becoming shorter.
Then they migrate back to their wintering grounds around October or even November. The males are also the first to leave then the females begin to migrate two weeks after with the young birds.
When Do Hummingbirds Leave SC For The Winter?
Around October or November, hummingbirds usually prepare to make their way back to their wintering ground in Mexico and Central America.
How To Attract Hummingbirds In South Carolina
In order to make hummingbirds stay comfortable and pleasurable for them, sources of food need to be available and in abundance. This will make them establish their territory in a particular zone especially our SC gardens.
This can be further done by planting nectar-producing flowers and providing hummingbird feeders. Endeavor to plant only varieties of plants that will begin to flower around April through September.
The types of plants are vines, shrubs, flowering herbs, and trees can also attract hummers in your vicinities in South Carolina. Ensure you plant these flowering plants in groups clustered all around the place.
This way, the flowers will become more attractive and noticeable to the hummingbirds. They are mostly attracted to flowers that are red, pink and orange, and tubular-shaped.
Hummingbirds are drawn to different types of species of flowering plants that are usually native plant species. To increase your chances of attracting hummingbirds, avoid using species of flowers that are from outside your state or country.
Hummingbirds are beautiful and fascinating to watch and study. You will always be looking forward to their season and most times asking when will hummingbirds return to SC. It is advisable to make your garden or yard colorful in red against the arrival of the visitors.
Do this early in the season. This way, the early bird’s visitors will notice the feeders and get drawn to them quickly. After the birds have noticed and have been frequently visiting your feeders, you can move the feeders, time after time, to where you would like to have a good view of the birds. It might be in view of your window.
Get the hummingbirds to stay glued to your feeders by choosing feeders that dispense sugar water in the right ratio (4 part water: 1 part sugar). A typical hummingbird feeder has a plastic or glass water bottle-like container.
Feeders are easy to get just choose the ones that are easy to clean. Also, choose the one that enough nectar can be stored inside say for two to three days. But don’t leave nectar in the feeder for too long particularly when the temperature is high. This is because molds can grow in it which is toxic to the birds.
Hummingbirds also need water and most of the water they need is gotten from the nectar they eat. Another source of water for them is from the surface of leaves.
And yes, hummingbirds also bathe. They fly through a fine mist to bathe themselves so you can also set up a birdbath mister.
How To Make Feeder Nectar
Mix one part sugar with four-part of boiled water and stir well. Set the solution aside and let it cool then go ahead and pour it into the feeders. If there’s extra nectar left, store it in the refrigerator.
Hummingbirds won’t find a weaker sugar solution attractive. Likewise, a stronger solution may not be ideal for the birds. So, ensure you mix and follow the right ratio.
Also, ensure not to prepare nectar solution with honey. This can result in a dangerous fungal disease in the bird.
Don’t dye the nectar solution into red just because you want to make it more attractive. The red color of the feeder alone is enough to attract the hummingbirds. Use red nail polish in painting the color close to the feeding openings should incase your feeders don’t have red color on them.
It is not surprising that hummingbirds can be aggressive at feeders. They act this way towards other male hummers that come close to also feed. When you notice such a situation, get another feeder and set it up somewhere out of sight of the previous one.
Conclusion On When Do Hummingbirds Return To SC?
This question: when do hummingbirds return to SC has been so interesting and enlightening so far. Hummingbirds returning to South Carolina are something amazing to always look forward to.
So, getting proper information about their arrival and migration can help with preparation for our iridescent visitors.