Note: This video is from April 2024.
ST. LOUIS – As we are slowly moving out of the winter season and temperatures begin to increase over the next several weeks, it serves as a reminder of hummingbirds making their way north for their yearly migration.
While there have already been several reports and sightings of ruby-throated hummingbirds in the south and some other species in the west, Missouri isn’t expected to see the birds until mid-to-late April, according to Dan Zarlenga with the Missouri Department of Conservation.
The anticipated timeline of when the birds can come into the Show-Me State could potentially be pushed back if we were to experience an unusually cold spell or snow in early April.
According to FOX 2 chief meteorologist Glenn Zimmerman’s spring outlook for this year, April can expect average highs in the 60s and lows in the 40s, generally eliminating the snow threat. But rain chances are higher than normal, he noted.
For the avid bird-watchers, Zarlenga recommended to put out bird feeders preferably the first week of April to “catch some of the more assertive birds or if it happens to be an ‘early’ year based on favorable weather patterns…(and) if people don’t manage to get them out early, it shouldn’t dissuade anyone from giving hummingbird feeders a try. Even if put out later in the season, they may still bring some hummingbirds in.
Hummingbird Central is an online resource that shows what the kinds of hummingbirds have been spotted so far and where. You can also submit a hummingbird sighting here.