THE HUMMINGBIRDS ARE COMING! (AND GOING.)
It’s hummingbird migration season — which means that while Ruby-throated Hummingbirds are leaving their northern summer homes, thousands are arriving along the Texas Gulf Coast, stopping to rest and refuel before continuing their extraordinary journey south to Mexico and Central America, where most will spend the winter.
And in Rockport-Fulton, Texas, that’s reason enough to throw them a four-day party!
September 17–20 is the 38th annual Rockport-Fulton HummerBird Celebration, timed to coincide with one of nature’s most remarkable little migrations. And for four days, Rockport-Fulton goes a little hummingbird crazy.
Actually, A LOT crazy.
At the height of this migration, thousands of hummers descend on this small town, where many local backyards can host as many as 200 hummingbirds at a time! Visitors can tour special “Hummer Homes” where yards become hummingbird gathering places, watch public hummingbird banding, take birding and boat trips, attend photography classes and talks, explore ranches, and shop the Hummer Mall.
WANT TO GO?
38th Annual Rockport-Fulton HummerBird Celebration
📅 September 17–20, 2026
📍 Rockport-Fulton, Texas
📞 Rockport-Fulton Chamber of Commerce: 361-729-6445 or 800-242-0071
📍 319 Broadway, Rockport, TX 78382
✉️ tourism@1rockport.org
🌐 rockport-fulton.org/hummerbird-celebration
HUMMER FACTS
The boys go first. Fall migration happens in waves. Adult males generally head south first, followed by females, and then the youngsters.
The babies are on their own. Juvenile hummingbirds don’t need Mom and Dad to show them the way. Their first migration south is largely instinctive, an extraordinary accomplishment for a bird only months old.
They weigh almost nothing. A Ruby-throated Hummingbird typically weighs only about 3–4 grams, roughly the weight of a penny.
Most fly nonstop across the Gulf of Mexico. Ruby-throats can make an astonishing flight of roughly 500 miles across open water, a journey that can take around 18–22 hours.
They fuel up for the trip. Before migration, hummingbirds eat voraciously and build up extra fat. For a bird this tiny, those reserves can mean the difference between completing the journey and running out of energy.
They have an energy-saving superpower. Hummingbirds can enter torpor, a temporary sleep-like state in which their body temperature, heart rate and metabolism drop dramatically. It helps these incredibly high-energy birds conserve precious fuel overnight and during challenging conditions.
Those wings are FAST. A Ruby-throated Hummingbird’s wings can beat around 50–70 times per second during normal flight. Their specialized flight also allows them to hover and even fly backward.
They don’t live on nectar alone. Hummingbirds also eat tiny insects and spiders, which provide essential protein and other nutrients.
They remember where the good stuff is. Hummingbirds have impressive spatial memories and can remember reliable food sources — including favorite flowers and feeders.
So, yes — the hummingbirds are leaving. But somewhere farther south, they’re coming.
Tiny body. Extraordinary traveler. One of nature’s great migrations.
Sometimes the biggest wonders come in very small packages.
Have a great week. Pam
