Ready your hummingbird feeders: Hummingbirds are back in NH. See interactive map

The hummingbirds are back in New Hampshire and Maine for 2025.

As of April 22, tiny ruby-throated hummingbird have been spotted in New Hampshire and as far north as Portland, Maine.

The first were spotted in New Hampshire on April 18, and spotters reported the hummingbirds were looking for hummingbird feeders and petunia to fuel up.

It’s no wonder they’re hungry. The tiny birds – they weigh less than a nickel – make a huge annual migration every year, from the United States in the summer months to Mexico, Costa Rico and Panama in the winter. They are the only hummingbird that breeds in the Granite State, and their numbers are growing. According to the New Hampshire Audubon, there are about 50% more of than in the 1970s in the state.

They typically arrive in New Hampshire in late April or very early May, with the males arriving first.

In 2024, the first hummingbirds were spotted in New Hampshire on April 20, according to Hummingbird Central.

How to track the ruby-throated hummingbird migration

Hummingbird Central uses citizen science to track the annual migration of hummingbirds, using user-reported sightings to map their progress.

Tips for feeding hummingbirds 

In order to complete their annual migration, hummingbirds consume half their body weight in insects and nectar by feeding every 10 to 15 minutes and visiting 1,000 to 2,000 flowers per day.  

Want hummingbirds? Here’s how you can attract them to your yard.

To help them on their journey, humans can help by providing food sources.  

If you want to set up a feeder for the hummingbirds, Charles Clarkson, director of Audubon Avian Research recommends the following: 

• A mixture that is one part sugar to four parts water. A tip: “Bleached white sugar works just fine, and many individual birds seem to prefer it,” he wrote.  
• Change the feeder every week. 
• When you change the food, clean the feeder with a solution that is 10% bleach and 90% water. Rinse well.  
• Hang the feeder in an open area. “Hummingbirds dart around and maneuver constantly and need the space to accommodate these movements,” he wrote.  

If you prefer to provide a food source by way of plants, Clarkson said to plant natives such as bee balm.

Bird-watchers should be careful where and when to set up their feeders, however — the food inside can attract much larger wildlife such as bears. Residents in areas with heavy bear activity are advised to use their discretion.