Ruby-throated Hummingbird in June

June is the height of the nesting season. Most resident and migrant species are raising young, migration is essentially over, and bird activity peaks at dawn. By late June the first fledglings of the year are everywhere — clumsy, loud, and constantly begging.

For the Ruby-throated Hummingbird specifically, June is a summer month inside the nesting season — one of the most active and demanding periods of this bird's year. Across the 44 states and provinces where ruby-throated hummingbirds occur, what the bird is doing this month depends heavily on latitude — the details below break it down by band.

Southern states

absent

Mid-latitudes

summer breeder

Northern states & Canada

absent

In June, ruby-throated hummingbirds are absent in the South, summer breeder across the mid-latitudes, and absent in the northern states and Canada. That north–south split is the defining feature of this month: where you live changes which version of this bird you're looking at.

June is inside the Ruby-throated Hummingbird nesting season. Nest: walnut-sized cup of plant down bound with spider silk, saddled on a downward-sloping branch. Clutch 1–3 eggs (usually 2), incubation 12–14 days, 1–2 per season.

The season is broadly synchronized across the range this month. During the nesting months, adults switch to protein-rich foods for their young, become more secretive around the nest site, and often visit feeders in quick, purposeful trips rather than lingering.

• Nectar from tubular red and orange flowers
• Gnats, mosquitoes and small spiders

Change nectar every 2 days in hot weather (under 80°F, every 4–5 days) and clean the feeder each refill. Males defend feeders aggressively; several feeders out of sight of each other help.

Expect to see adults carrying food away rather than eating it — they're feeding nestlings. Fledglings visiting feeders with their parents are a June highlight.

Full Ruby-throated Hummingbird diet guide → · Best feeder for ruby-throated hummingbirds →

In June, the best watching is around food rather than the nest — adults make repeated foraging trips and are most visible at dawn and dusk. Give nesting birds space: if a bird is carrying food or scolding you persistently, you're close to a nest and should back off.

The state guides below show exactly where in your region ruby-throated hummingbirds are expected this month and which native plants hold them in a yard.

AlabamaAlbertaArkansasConnecticutDelawareFloridaGeorgiaIllinoisIndianaIowaKansasKentuckyLouisianaMaineManitobaMarylandMassachusettsMichiganMinnesotaMississippi