TAMPA, Fla. — The "hummers" are here!
Hummingbirds are fresh off their trip south from escaping the frigid temperatures of the north. Now it’s time for them to flap their wings and head back this spring.
It’s Florida’s hummingbird season, where some migrate back north from March through to September and others stay back during breeding season.
The likelihood of seeing a ruby-throated hummingbird in Tampa Bay is relatively high, as there has been a total of 60 sightings of the bird in Pinellas and Hillsborough counties, according to USA Today’s participant map.
Hummingbirds have been found from Bartow and Lakeland to towns on the Gulf Coast including Tarpon Springs, New Port Richey and Holiday so far this month, according to Hummingbird Central’s migration map.
The birds are most known for their quick motor movement as their wings flap 15 to 80 times per second and their hearts beat more than 1,200 times per minute. They usually travel alone to areas on the northeastern coast after they’ve spent their winters in Central America and Mexico, experts said.
There have also been sightings across parts of the Midwest and Ohio Valley, even Michigan today, as temperatures continue to warm up across the country, according to Hummingbird Central.
