8 July 2025
Some of my friends in the Pittsburgh area have noticed a disturbing lack of ruby-throated hummingbirds (Archilochus colubris) at their feeders this year. “I haven’t seen one since April. They should be here by now.”
Meanwhile other friends aren’t worried at all. Their hummingbird feeder activity is normal. What’s going on?
I pulled ruby-throated hummingbird eBird sightings January-to-June for 2020 through 2025 (inclusive) and put them into the slideshow below. Pick a spot to watch on the map and see it change — or not — as the years pass.
Is your home on or near this map? Are you missing hummingbirds this year? Or not? Leave a comment with your answer.
eBird sightings of ruby-throated hummingbirds in the Pittsburgh area
Jan-Jun 2020-2025
p.s. The 2025 eBird map colors the pin drops red if they have recent sightings. I colored them blue for the slideshow so all years match.
We are in Washington County, (but just at the very edge of Bethel Park). We can only confirm 3 hummingbirds (2 females 1 male), and it’s been weeks since seeing a male. Sadly, a neighbor, 4 doors up, said he found 2 dead males at his house a few weeks ago. We currently have up 4 feeders. A female (perhaps 2) visit regularly, but this is definitely the fewest we have had in the 9 years we have lived here.
I thought it was strange. I have only seen one or two. My feeder is usually busy. I live in the South Hills. Thank you Kate for sharing this.
I have at least one male and one female at our feeder. Which is pretty much on par for years past. Elizabeth, PA.
I have frequent male and female visitors to my feeder in Washington County, PA. Mostly in morning and evening with an uptick at dusk .
Normal year for me, up to two females (at least that’s what I see at one time). The odd but consistent observation in my yard is I rarely see a male. Many years go by and I don’t see a male in my yard.
Seem to be having a normal year here in the Irwin area. Gender mix and feeding patterns are the same as they have been in prior years.
I have my 1 male and female. I’m in West Homestead and notice they love my flower planters. My gf in Munhall also has a pair. We invested in a Hummingbird feeder cam that is awesome.
I haven’t had any in Baldwin/Brentwood line. I even put a game cam out to see if they were coming and nothing. I usually had 2 males that came in past years. So sad this year.
I saw a hummingbird in May and again a few days ago. Definitely not a typical year for them. My friends in the area agree. My Rose of Sharon and Hosta flowers are blooming and I’d expected hummingbirds to be flying all over them–not this year.
Having a normal hummer year here in Mt. Washington. Several adult males and females and at least one juvie male at the feeder and flowers throughout the day.
Nope in North Versailles. Usually very active during migration but not this year. I’ll try again during fall migration I have a garden they like late summer ?
We have more hummingbirds than usual this year. We have at least one male and several females. I have refilled our nectar feeder three times since we started seeing them in late April.
I forgot to say we live in Cranberry Township.
Way fewer than usual at my Franklin Park house. But at my farm in Fombell it seems like a typical year.
We live in Murrysville. I’ve seen hummingbirds at our feeder and on our hanging baskets of fuchsia and New Guinea impatiens. This is our third summer in Western PA, and we didn’t have a feeder or flowers the first year, so we can only compare with last summer. I think the hummingbirds arrived later this year, but the numbers seem to be about the same as last year.
We live in the Strip District about 4 floors above ground level. We have always had 1 female hummingbird for the past 8 years. This year and last we have had 1 female that we see about 6 weeks later than usual arrival for this area.
I live on the north side of the city, near Allegheny Commons Park and the Aviary. My place has a tiny courtyard garden and I keep a feeder. At least one male and one female have been regular visitors this year, though I don’t see as much of them when the weather is extremely hot. Last year I saw only females, and they stopped coming sometime in August. We’ll see how long they keep coming this year…
I live in McMurray and my feeder has way less activity. It took a long time for them to even show up.
We have two feeders and at least two or three females and one male. About the same as last year. We live in Regent square close to Frick park.
Interesting. We’ve been missing them, too, in New Bern, NC. Far fewer than previous years.
We have males and females at our feeders in Allison Park, though perhaps fewer than previous years. What I haven’t seen this year is fighting over the feeders. Typically, one would stake out a feeder and chase away everyone else.
I’ve seen the typical number this year in Churchill. I usually spot them around Mother’s Day and that held true. I typically see just a few at my feeders and bee balm. Nothing different this year. I have noticed a lack of butterflies though. I’ve only seen a couple.
I am in an apartment so cannot speak to feeder visitors, but I have not run into many in Allegheny county, except at Crouse Run. I have had more of them in Washington county atlas blocks. There do seem to be less of them, but since I am doing atlasing in unfamiliar places, it could just be that my birding has changed.
I live in Emmaus, PA and have only seen a few… Usually they are busy on the feeders and my prolific flowers that are hummingbird friendly…Not this year
I live in West Mifflin South area. Put feeders up in April, continually changed syrup. Only saw one or 2 females this year and have been feeding them for 7 years. Something just seems ” off”. Drastic reduction.