Timing derived from eBird data, 2016–2025

Louisiana's Hummingbird Season at a Glance

One species nests in Louisiana, and it dominates from spring through fall — Ruby-throated turns up on nearly half of all bird lists at its September peak.

How often each species turns up on eBird checklists, week by week — statewide, 2016–2025.

Louisiana's winter visitors are unusually strong for a Gulf state — four species clear 1% of checklists, and they arrive as the breeders leave.

How often each species turns up on eBird checklists, week by week — statewide, 2016–2025.

Louisiana runs a genuinely unusual hummingbird calendar. One species breeds here and clears out every winter; a second species shows up only in winter and is gone by spring; and unlike a lot of states, the Gulf Coast doesn't get a real head start on the rest of the state. Here's how the year actually unfolds, parish by parish.

New to feeding hummingbirds? Start with our guide to attracting hummingbirds in Louisiana for feeders, nectar, and native plants.

Regional Arrival Snapshot

Windows derived from eBird bar chart data (Cornell Lab of Ornithology), 2016–2025, for Plaquemines, Orleans, East Baton Rouge, West Feliciana, and Caddo parishes. "Reliably common" is defined as the first week each parish's Ruby-throated reports reach 25% of that parish's seasonal peak. Northwest Louisiana is less heavily birded than the Baton Rouge–New Orleans corridor, so its lower Rufous numbers are partly a coverage effect, not purely a lower true abundance.

January – February: The Quiet Season, With Winter Visitors Still Around

Ruby-throateds are gone. But Rufous Hummingbirds — Louisiana's most reliable winter species — are still very much present, especially in the Baton Rouge–Lafayette–New Orleans corridor, and Buff-bellied Hummingbirds continue showing up in coastal and southern parishes. If you kept a feeder up through fall, this is exactly the payoff window.

Late February – March: Scattered Early Arrivals, Not Yet Common

The first Ruby-throateds of spring start showing up — a handful here and there, plus any birds that never left. This is the period some sources call "arrival," but our own parish-level data shows these are thin, scattered records, not yet a reliable population. Coastal Plaquemines Parish does not get a meaningful head start here over inland parishes like Caddo or East Baton Rouge.

Last Week of March: Ruby-throated Becomes Reliably Common

This is the real turning point, and across most of the state it happens within about a week of itself — Shreveport, Baton Rouge, New Orleans and West Feliciana all arrive in the last week of March. The exception is the Gulf Coast: Plaquemines Parish doesn't reach the same threshold until the second week of April. By the final week of March, Ruby-throated Hummingbirds are reliably present statewide — this is the point to have feeders up if you haven't already.

April – Late July: Nesting Season

Louisiana's breeding Ruby-throateds settle in and nest. Feeder activity often quiets down somewhat during this stretch as females become secretive around the nest, though it never goes fully silent the way it does farther north.

Late July – October: Southbound Migration, and the Winter Wave Begins

Breeding Ruby-throateds start moving south, with most gone by late October. At the same time, the first Rufous Hummingbirds of the season begin arriving from the west — Louisiana's overlap month, with both the tail end of one season and the start of another happening at once.

November – December: Winter Hummingbirds Settle In

By now the Ruby-throateds are gone and Louisiana's winter specialists — chiefly Rufous, with Buff-bellied close behind — have set up for the season. Both are strongest in the Baton Rouge–Lafayette–New Orleans corridor. This is also when the scarcer regulars (Black-chinned and Calliope, which both clear 1% of winter checklists, plus Allen's, Broad-tailed and Broad-billed in smaller numbers) and the genuine rarities (Anna's, with just two accepted Louisiana records, or an occasional Rivoli's) are most likely to turn up — if you see a hummingbird in your yard in December, it's worth a closer look and a photo.

Pop's tip: Louisiana doesn't really have a "hummingbird season" and an off-season — it has two overlapping populations on two different calendars. Keep a feeder up year-round if you want a shot at both.

Want feeder setup, nectar ratios, and native plant picks for your part of the state? See our full guide to attracting hummingbirds in Louisiana.

Frequently Asked Questions

When do hummingbirds come back to Louisiana?

Scattered early arrivals turn up from late February, but Ruby-throated doesn't become reliably common until the last week of March across most of the state — Shreveport, Baton Rouge, New Orleans and West Feliciana all within a week of each other. The Gulf Coast is the exception, running a couple of weeks later.

When do hummingbirds leave Louisiana?

Breeding Ruby-throated start moving south in late July, and most are gone by late October — by the final week of the month reports are down to about an eighth of the September peak. The winter visitors arrive as they go.

Are there hummingbirds in Louisiana in winter?

Yes, and more than most states. Four species clear 1% of checklists statewide in winter — Rufous, Black-chinned, Buff-bellied and Calliope — with Rufous the most reliable by a wide margin. All four peak in January.

Where in Louisiana am I most likely to see a winter hummingbird?

The Baton Rouge–New Orleans corridor. East Baton Rouge alone records Rufous on over 10% of checklists at its winter peak and Black-chinned on nearly as many — rates that would count as common rather than rare in most states.

What month has the most hummingbirds in Louisiana?

September, statewide, when Ruby-throated peaks at about 46% of checklists. Winter is a genuine second season, but it's a different cast of species.

Sources

We pulled eBird bar chart data for Louisiana statewide and for five parishes — Plaquemines (Gulf Coast), Orleans (New Orleans), East Baton Rouge, West Feliciana, and Caddo (Shreveport) — covering 2016 through 2025, and read the seasonal shape and regional pattern directly off the reporting rates ourselves. Percentages describe how often a species appears on birdwatchers' submitted checklists — a measure of how likely you are to encounter one, not a population count.

• eBird bar chart data, Cornell Lab of Ornithology — Louisiana statewide and parish-level (Plaquemines, Orleans, East Baton Rouge, West Feliciana, Caddo), 2016–2025. Source for all month-by-month seasonal figures and the regional arrival/wintering pattern.
• Louisiana Ornithological Society — Ruby-throated Hummingbird & its "lookalikes". Source for statewide arrival window corroboration.
• Buff-bellied Hummingbird, All About Birds (Cornell Lab of Ornithology). Source for U.S. breeding range and Louisiana wintering status.
• Audubon Delta / Baton Rouge Audubon Society Winter Hummingbird Database (Erik Johnson) and Louisiana Christmas Bird Count records. Source for the Baton Rouge–Lafayette–New Orleans wintering-Rufous concentration.

Event dates and formats change from year to year. Check organizer websites before making plans.

Want feeder setup, nectar ratios, and native plant picks for your part of the state? See our full guide to attracting hummingbirds in Louisiana.