Hummingbirds are tiny birds with long, slender beaks designed for feeding on the nectar of tubular flowers. They are only found in the Western Hemisphere, with only a few dozen species spending the winter in Central America or Mexico. After that, they fly from the southern United States towards their breeding grounds in the north from late January or February. Later in the spring, they migrate farther north and may be seen in Canada ’ s breeding grounds. Hummingbird tracking can be done through a website or an app that displays the migratory patterns of hummingbirds across the United States and Canada. To help track their migration, sites like Hummingbird Central host a publicly accessible Hummingbird Migration Map. Each year the site updates the interactive map with viewer-submitted sightings throughout the spring, as hummingbirds fly on, often between late January and mid-May. Every year during the winter, hummingbirds fly across states to warmer parts of the United States and Canada. A hummingbird tracker works with the help of viewers ’ sightings of these birds in specific areas.

Once viewers spot their first sighting of hummingbirds from non-breeding sites, they fill out a form that includes details of the sighting date, the viewers ’ city, state, ZIP code and the species type out of the 15 most common hummingbirds in North America. However, submissions are not instantly viewable on the map, as they are updated periodically throughout the day.

The hummingbirds ’ eventual destination changes yearly, depending on weather and environmental factors. As a result, scientists and hummingbird enthusiasts always look forward to tracking the migratory patterns each year.