When to Put Out Hummingbird Feeders (by State)

When to put out hummingbird feeders depends on where you live. Along the Gulf Coast and in the Deep South, extension services and wildlife agencies say to have feeders up from mid-February to mid-March. Across the middle of the country, the advice moves to late March through mid-April. In the Upper Midwest and New England, it is late April to early May. In much of the Southwest, the West Coast, south Florida, and the Gulf Coast, some hummingbirds stay all winter, so a clean feeder can stay up all year.

The simplest rule is to have the feeder out one to two weeks before the first hummingbirds usually reach your area. Below is that rule with its sources, a state table built only from official and university pages, a regional fallback for states we could not source, and what to do with the feeder while you wait for the first visit.

This guide covers timing for backyard hummingbird feeders. It is not advice on caring for sick or injured birds; if you find one, contact a licensed wildlife rehabilitator or your state wildlife agency.

When Should I Put Out My Hummingbird Feeder? The General Rule

None of the sources we read gives one date for the whole country. Smithsonian’s National Zoo says the timing depends on where you live because hummingbirds are migratory. From there, the sources give three ways to set your own date:

• A week or two before arrival. The National Audubon Society’s hummingbird feeding FAQ says to put the feeder out about a week before hummingbirds normally arrive in your yard. Texas A&M AgriLife Extension gives the same one-week rule of thumb. Audubon’s guide to a hummingbird-friendly yard goes further: check when the first sightings occur each spring and hang feeders a couple of weeks before that.
• When the first flowers open. Penn State Extension says feeders should go outside as soon as the first flowers come out in spring, because hummingbirds follow the blooming flowers north. The University of Arkansas System Division of Agriculture gives a similar cue: look for signs of spring, such as blooming flowers.
• Ask locally. If you do not know when your birds usually arrive, Audubon suggests asking your local Audubon center, chapter, or bird club.

The one-week and two-week versions do not conflict much, and we lean toward two weeks. Audubon notes that migrating males usually arrive a week or so before females at any given location, so a feeder hung a week ahead of “the hummingbirds” may already be late for the first males. Maryland’s wildlife agency makes the same point from the other side: setting out feeders in late March will attract the males to your area.

When to Put Out Hummingbird Feeders by State

Each row below comes from a state wildlife agency, a state university extension service, or a state Audubon organization, and each one links to the page we read. Where a source gives an arrival time but no feeder date, we say so and leave the feeder column as “Not given”; subtract one to two weeks from the arrival time using the rule above. If your state is missing, it is because we did not find an official page with a date. Use the regional guide in the next section instead.

A few rows need context. Some of these pages are years old. The Kentucky publication is more than two decades old, and its mid-April date is later than the Ohio page’s mid-March, even though the two states sit side by side. The Ohio advice is to have the feeder cleaned and ready by mid-March, which matches the earlier-is-better view from Arkansas below. When two sources for nearby areas disagree, we would follow the earlier date.

We also looked for official pages for other states, including Michigan, Wisconsin, Iowa, Nebraska, Colorado, Utah, Oregon, California, Virginia, and New York. Either we found no official page, the page we found gave no spring date, or it did not open for us. Those states are left out of the table rather than filled in with a guess.

If Your State Is Not Listed: The Regional Guide

Two national sources give dates by region, and they fill most gaps in the table. The National Zoo’s approximate guidelines and Audubon’s article When to Expect Hummingbirds at Your Feeders and Flowers This Spring line up as follows:

For the Northeast, the two sources differ by about a week: Audubon says nectar should be out by late April, while the National Zoo’s “farther north” window starts in early May. We would go with late April. A clean feeder that sits unvisited for a week costs only a few changes of sugar water.

Why Earlier Beats Later

Many people wait for a fixed date, and the sources we read push back on that habit. In a University of Arkansas System Division of Agriculture article, White County agricultural extension agent Sherri Sanders says people wait until April 15 or so to put out their hummingbird feeders, probably because they link it with planting warm-season vegetables, and that feeders need to be out about a month before that. Becky McPeake, extension wildlife biologist for the Division, says warm air from the south can push the birds north ahead of their expected schedule, adding that “hummingbirds are going to follow the weather.” Her advice is to put the feeder out early, even if that means cleaning it and replacing the sugar water a few times before the first bird shows up.

Audubon’s spring article points the same way. It says data indicate that Ruby-throated Hummingbirds are leaving their winter homes earlier as conditions warm there, and that it is best to have nectar out by early March in the Southeast and by late April in the Northeast so it is ready for northbound migrants. If an older garden calendar says “mid-April” for a southern state, keep in mind that the Arkansas agents call that habit about a month late.

How to Know Hummingbirds Are on the Way

Arrival dates shift from year to year, so it helps to look at current reports as well as averages. Audubon and Texas A&M AgriLife Extension both point to eBird, a database of bird checklists and sightings submitted by birdwatchers, for first spring sightings and typical patterns near you. Keep in mind what eBird is: reports from people who saw a bird, which tell you the birds are in your region, not that one will reach your yard that week.

The flowers in your own yard are the other signal. Penn State ties feeder timing to the first spring flowers, and Audubon describes hummingbirds in the mountainous West arriving as the first flowers bloom. If the earliest native bloomers in your area are opening, the feeder should already be up.

Getting the Feeder Ready Before the First Bird

An early feeder only helps if the nectar in it is fresh. A short checklist for the first week of the season:

• Clean it first. A feeder that sat in a garage all winter needs a full wash, with the ports brushed out and every part left to dry, before it goes out.
• Fill it with plain sugar water. The National Zoo recipe is one part refined white sugar to four parts water, with no red dye.
• Fill it partway. Penn State recommends a feeder that holds enough nectar for three to four days, because nectar left in a feeder longer will go bad. Vermont Fish & Wildlife notes that a large nectar feeder can be more of a problem than a small one if it is not refilled often. Early in the season, when few birds are visiting, a partial fill means less to pour out at each change.
• Change it on schedule, visits or not. Audubon says to change the nectar and clean the feeder regularly even if you have not seen any hummingbirds. In cooler spring weather, the National Zoo’s minimum is cleaning and refilling once a week; warmer weather calls for more frequent changes.
• Put it where the first birds will find it. Penn State suggests hanging feeders near large clusters of flowers early in the season and moving them gradually later. Shade, height, and nearby windows also matter when you choose a permanent spot.

Cold nights are the other early-season issue in the North. Audubon notes that if nighttime temperatures regularly drop below freezing where you live, you will need to keep the nectar from freezing, and that a sugar solution has a lower freezing point than plain water, so a light frost may not freeze it. Some people who keep feeding through a northern winter switch to a heated feeder.

A Note on the Other End of the Season

Fall brings the reverse worry: that a feeder left up too long keeps hummingbirds from migrating. Penn State, the National Zoo, and Georgia DNR all say hummingbirds migrate in response to changing day length, and Penn State calls the worry that feeders hold birds back from migrating unfounded. Leaving a feeder up late in fall does not stop them from leaving.

If you are buying a new feeder before the season, favor one that comes apart fully: the cleaning schedule above starts before the first bird arrives.

How We Put This Guide Together

We read the hummingbird pages of state wildlife agencies, state university extension services, Mass Audubon, the National Audubon Society, and Smithsonian’s National Zoo, and kept a date only when we could match it to the page we linked. We did not use commercial state-by-state charts, because they rarely show where their dates come from. Where sources disagree, we show both and lean toward the earlier date. Our general method is on the How We Review page.

Hummingbird Feeder Timing FAQ

Is it bad to put a hummingbird feeder out too early?

None of the sources we read warns against it. The University of Arkansas article encourages putting feeders out early, and the only cost it names is cleaning the feeder and replacing the sugar water a few times before birds arrive. The catch is upkeep: change the nectar on schedule even with no visitors, and keep it from freezing on cold nights.

How much nectar should I put out at the start of the season?

Only what the birds can use before it spoils. Penn State’s guideline is a feeder that holds three to four days of nectar, and in cooler spring weather the National Zoo still calls for cleaning and refilling at least once a week. With one or two early birds, a partly filled feeder is enough.

How do I know when hummingbirds have reached my area?

Check recent spring sightings on eBird, as Audubon and Texas A&M AgriLife Extension suggest, or ask a local Audubon chapter or bird club. Watch for the first native flowers too. Expect males first: Audubon says they usually arrive about a week before females.

Do hummingbirds stay through the winter in the South or along the coast?

In some places, yes. Audubon says several species regularly overwinter along the Gulf Coast, in southern Arizona, and in south Florida, and that hummingbirds are present year-round from the Southwest and along the West Coast to British Columbia. Project FeederWatch says its participants consistently report hummingbirds in winter in Texas, Louisiana, Alabama, Mississippi, and Florida, and that winter sightings are generally not expected in the rest of the country. Georgia DNR adds that most winter hummingbirds in Georgia are western visitors. In those areas, a clean feeder can stay up all year.

Final Thoughts

Find your state or region above, take the earliest date your sources give, and hang a clean feeder with a few days of fresh sugar water one to two weeks before that. In the Deep South that means February or early March; in the northern tier, late April. Then keep the nectar fresh until the first male shows up. For nectar, cleaning, and placement guides, see our Hummingbird Feeders section.

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