PORTLAND, Maine — Hummingbirds are starting to return to Maine.
At least three ruby-throated hummingbirds have been spotted in Bangor, Lewiston and Augusta and reported to the website “Hummingbird Central,” a hummingbird migration tracker run by amateur birding enthusiasts.
The Maine Audubon Society says the ruby-throated hummingbird is the only one that shows up in Maine, but that could soon change.
“Someday, years from now, with climate change, I’m expecting the rufous hummingbird to move more into the east,” Bob Duchesne with the Maine Audubon Society said. “Right now, the entire east coast, for the most part, has just one species. In the west, there are at least a dozen species, in the east, we only have the one. There’s some evidence the rufous hummingbird could move a little bit east, too.”
The Maine Audubon Society says if you’re setting out bird feeders to try and attract them, make sure to keep them clean.
Hummingbirds can safely drink a nectar mix made of one cup of sugar to four cups of water that has been boiled and then cooled before placing into feeders. It is not necessary to color the nectar.
