TUSCUMBIA-The heralds of spring, the ruby throated hummingbirds are on the way back to the valley. According to the latest migration maps, on March 12, a ruby-throated was sighted near Birmingham.
http://www.hummingbirds.net/map.html
So it won’t be long before they will be coming back to the Shoals area. It is time to get feeders up now.
When feeding hummingbirds don’t use the red dye stuff you find in the store. It’s very simple to make your own. 
Use one part sugar and four parts of very hot to boiling water. Mix well, cool and fill feeders. It’s important to change out feeders frequently, especially during hot weather. If the water becomes cloudy it’s past time to change it. At the first of the spring until I start seeing hummingbirds at my feeder, I’ll use 1/8 C sugar and ½ water. As I have more birds, I’ll start putting more feeders out.
One interesting fact about migration, hummers will travel 25 mph hour while migrating from Mexico across the gulf and up the panhandle. It’s an amazing feat for something that only weighs a few ounces. They don’t ride on the backs of migrating geese as some wise tails have it. The wings will flap 55 times a second. The average lifespan of a hummingbird is around four years.
The nests about the size of a quarter are very hard to find.. Females do all the work. 
Mature males have a flash of red on the throat called a gorget. Females and young males won’t have the red throat. Young males may have a spot of tow of red as they start to mature. Construction of the nest is mostly moss, lichen, and spider webs.
How do you estimate how many hummingbirds you have? Usually you multiple by six for each bird you see at a time at your feeders. In order to have hummingbirds stay around, you also need some of their favorite plants:
Red hot poker
Geranium
Flowering tobacco
Fuchsia
English primrose
Sweet pea
Trumpet vine
Red salvia
Trumpet Creeper
Beebalm or Oswego Tea,
