Illinois hummingbirds

Spring is in the air, and so are the hummingbirds! Let’s talk about how to attract these feathered gems to your backyard this season.

A yard full of hummingbirds is a delight, but to get them attracted to your house requires having a hummingbird feeder (or lots of flowers that they love). With the weather getting warmer and warmer even though we're in February, you might be wondering when would be the best time to put your hummingbird feeders back up.

I've always heard that you have to take down hummingbird feeders at the right time or the hummingbirds will stay too long and end up freezing to death in Illinois' frigid weather. Let's take a look to see if that's true or not.

There are only 2 species of hummingbirds that call Illinois their temporary home during the spring and summer, but 4 other species have been known to pay us a visit. Here's how to keep those little birds coming back to your yard year after year.

A few weeks back, I told you to be on the lookout for migrating Monarch butterflies making their way through Northern Illinois, then on to the Mississippi Valley, followed by Texas, then on to their winter homes in Mexico. If your yard is like ours, you've probably seen quite a few, a you may for another week or so.