National Hummingbird Day in September

Getting Ready to Migrate

The first Saturday in September is National Hummingbird Day, a fitting moment to celebrate these tiny travelers as they prepare for their long journey south. Here in northern Illinois, activity peaks as migration nears, offering brief but memorable encounters before they disappear for the season.

Did you know?

In August 1947, National Geographic published groundbreaking photographs by Harold Edgerton that froze a ruby-throated hummingbird mid-flight. These images were made possible by the invention of the electronic flash, capable of emitting a burst of light lasting just 1/100,000 of a second—revealing wing movements invisible to the human eye and forever changing how hummingbirds are photographed. (Source: Birds & Blooms)

This photograph is available as a fine art print in the Fine Art Print Store, where a curated selection of wildlife and nature images is offered as archival-quality prints.