Dance of the Sandy Neck hummingbird
Eavesdropping on a ruby throat-ed hummingbird getting a morning fill up at a feeder on Sandy Neck in Barnstable
Steve Heaslip, Cape Cod Times
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.
Hummingbird Central uses citizen science to track the annual migration of hummingbirds, using user-reported sightings to map their progress.
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.
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:
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.
Walpole Police and New Hampshire State Police are investigating a shooting incident at Jiffy Mart in Walpole, N.H. on Route 12. Police report no danger to the community. One person was transported for injuries to Cheshire Medical Center in Keene, N.H.
No other information is available at this time.
CONCORD, NH — The Powerball jackpot for Wednesday night is expected to be the sixth largest in history, according to the New Hampshire Lottery.
The jackpot is expected to be $1.25 billion. The one-time cash payout should be around $572 million before taxes. No one has won the jackpot since Sept. 6, when winners who purchased tickets in Missouri and Texas split a $1.78 billion jackpot.
The odds of winning the jackpot are 292.2 million to 1. The odds of winning the $1 million prize — matching five numbers without the Powerball are 1 in 11.7 million.
Charlie McIntyre, the executive director of the New Hampshire Lottery, said last week, $2.4 million worth of tickets were sold in the state.
“We’ve gone a number of drawings without a winner, giving this Powerball jackpot plenty of time to rise to the sixth largest of all time,” said “There’s still time to make your holiday season brighter with a chance at this $1.25 billion prize — all you need is $2 to play.”
Revenue from the sales, he said, helps the commission “continue our daily mission to deliver the maximum amount of revenue to public schools in New Hampshire.”
Since 1964, more than $3 billion has been contributed to schools in the Granite State.
Deer have evolved to survive the stark winter months, with adaptations like a warm winter coat and stores of body fat they can use for extra energy. The animals also reduce their activity and food intake to conserve energy and migrate to a forested shelter called a deer yard, which can provide some protection from the elements.
“Although people may feel badly for deer and want to help, the Fish and Game Department would like to remind the public to never feed deer as it may actually harm them,” said Becky Fuda, the deer project leader at New Hampshire Fish and Game.
In 2015, 12 deer were found dead around a feeding site in South Hampton, after they were given food they could not digest, according to Fish and Game.
Microorganisms in the deer’s stomach help them to digest food. The natural diet of deer gradually changes with the seasons, and the microorganisms also change over the course of a few weeks to help them digest different foods.
But a sudden shift from a high-fiber woody diet to a high-carbohydrate diet offered by humans can disrupt the deer’s stomach chemistry, making deer less able to digest food, and releasing toxins.
And Fuda said feeding can have other negative consequences for deer, like increased risk of getting hit by a car and increased risk of disease transmission.
“Fish and Game strongly discourages the practice,” she said.
There are about 100,000 white-tailed deer in New Hampshire, according to an estimate from Fish and Game.
This story appeared in Globe NH | Morning Report, a free newsletter focused on New Hampshire, including great coverage from the Boston Globe and links to interesting articles elsewhere. To receive it via email Monday through Friday, sign up here.
Amanda Gokee can be reached at amanda.gokee@globe.com. Follow her @amanda_gokee.
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