This was the closest I have been to a snowy egret. I looked it up in the Audubon bird book and it was definitely one of them, with its orange beak and strikingly black legs. Our ruby-throated hummingbirds have been eating like hogs in preparation for their trip south. We've spotted them all last week, constantly visiting the feeder, but they should be heading off any time now. Most of them winter in Central America, making the 1,000 mile flight from our shores to the Yucatan at speeds of up to 40 or 45 mph.
Hummers generally follow certain routes and often can be seen in sizable numbers.
Diane Waterman must have happened upon a good migration area when she was vacationing in the Allegheny National Forest in Pennsylvania. The campground overnight volunteer had two hummingbird feeders hung from his RV, filled with nectar. Indeed, it's good to have your hummingbird feeders well stocked with fresh food at this time of year. All hummingbirds need is a simple mixture of a quarter cup of sugar to one cup of water. It's unnecessary and its effect on the hummingbird's health is unknown.