The broad-tailed hummingbirds dart and dive outside my motel room window. I pause to listen to them through the screen. As they maneuver, their wingbeats cut the air with a metallic quaver that crescendoes and fades with each turn. I step outside onto the porch and sink into the chair by the door.
The birds vanish. I wait. A red glass feeder brimming with fresh syrup hangs from the porch roof. Beyond it, the Colorado state flag flaps in the breeze. The American flag droops next to it, twisted around its pole. After a few minutes, having determined that I pose no threat, the hummingbirds zip back into sight. They pause at the feeder and guzzle the sugary liquid. They will need every drop.
Despite the summery weather, a cold snap lurks in the forecast. The night-time temperatures will plunge below freezing. Soon, these little live wires will wing their way south for the winter.
Their journey will take them down the spine of the Rocky Mountains, through New Mexico, and into Mexico. They’ll continue southwards until they reach the peaks of the Sierra Madre del Sur. They will likely shelter in the forests around Volcán de Colima, a 12,533-foot volcanic peak south of Guadalajara.
As I sit and watch them in the late August heat, I miss them already. I think of the long journey ahead and I worry; they are so very small. But the sun is setting, and I must go. I must prepare for my own departure. I stand up slowly. The hummingbirds are used to me now. As they chase one another, they circle my head. I smile and whisper safe passage and see you in the spring.
Sources
Listen to the trill of broad-tailed hummingbird wingbeats here.
View an animation of the migratory path of broad-tailed hummingbirds here.
Broad-tailed Hummingbird, All About Birds. Cornell Lab of Ornithology. (n.d.). Retrieved February 26, 2023, from https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Broad-tailed_Hummingbird/overview.