Here’s when hummingbirds leave Pennsylvania! (to migrate south)
Unfortunately, hummingbirds don’t live in Pennsylvania year-round. 🙁
At the end of every summer, Ruby-throated Hummingbirds (the only common species in the state) depart Pennsylvania to migrate south to southern Mexico and Central America. They spend the winter here in the warm weather before coming back next spring!
So when exactly do hummingbirds leave Pennsylvania?
Ruby-throated Hummingbirds start their southward migration once their breeding season ends. It’s believed that they can sense the changes in the reduced number of daylight hours, flowers, and insects, which triggers their instinct to leave Pennsylvania.
This means that most hummingbirds leave Pennsylvania by the end of August or early September. By mid-September, almost all birds are gone, and they won’t return again until spring.
- RELATED: 38 PROVEN Tips For Attracting Hummingbirds! (UPDATED Guide)
But keep your eyes open for any hummingbirds that started their migration late. It’s not uncommon to see a straggler passing through Pennsylvania towards the end of September, especially if they started their migration from much higher north!
I’m guessing that the reason you wanted to know when hummingbirds leave Pennsylvania is that you were curious when you can put away your feeders for the winter?
Here’s what I always recommend:
Don’t take down your feeders until you haven’t seen a hummingbird for TWO weeks.
Once that happens, you can be very confident that almost all the hummingbirds in Pennsylvania have left for the year!
Trust me; you definitely don’t want to take away the nectar in your yard too early. Hummingbirds migrate a LONG way and need lots of ENERGY, which you can hopefully provide to them.
When do you normally see the last hummingbirds leave Pennsylvania?
Let us know in the COMMENTS section below!
It’s Oct 5th and just had a hummingbird at the feeder 2x. Very surprised, was about to take feeder down since rain has stopped. I’m in Southeast PA north of Philadelphia.
It is October 3 and I saw one at my feeder today. We are in north central PA north of 80! This seems really late. Hope she is OK!
There are still two hummingbirds hanging around the feeder on September 22. I am in southern York county. They are drinking from the feeder much more than normal,so I think they are preparing to leave soon.
Saw the last 3 here on September 20th in NE PA on the Delaware River…. 60 miles southeast of Binghamton NY. Will keep replenishing for another 3 weeks just to help a possible straggler from up north.
It’s Sept. 19 and I live about 50 miles north of Pittsburgh. There was a hummingbird on my feeder today.