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, and you may for another week or so.

Now, to add to the migration traffic in our area, hummingbirds are coming through here for the next couple of weeks as they too make a run for the border.

I'll give you the details, and fill you in on how you can make sure hummingbirds pay you a visit year after year as they migrate both north and south.

Rufous-Tailed Hummingbird flying to flower (Amazilia tzacatl) Costa Rica
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Although There Are 25 Different Species Of Hummingbirds In The United States, The Ruby-Throated Hummingbird Is The Only One Regularly Found East Of The Mississippi River

At this point, the hummingbirds that will be passing through Northern Illinois are the hummingbirds that spent their summer up in Canada, but they've apparently grown very disillusioned with hockey, so they're headed out.

The good news for hummingbird lovers around here is that these little birds make lots and lots of stops all along the way for a nectar refill (they eat bugs, too). As the Chicago Botanic Garden points out in a post, these hummingbirds coming through Northern Illinois are looking to put on some weight:

The birds weigh slightly less than a penny but when they’re beefing up during migration, they can weigh as much as a nickel.

No fat-shaming, please.

Photo taken in Chicago, United States
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Here's A Couple Of Notes On How To See Hummingbirds In Your Yard During The Summer, Have Migrating Hummingbirds Stop On Their Way Through, And Better Yet, Make Sure They Come Back Again Next Year

We've had great luck in attracting them to our backyard for years, and they keep coming back year after year. Our method is super easy:

Get yourself some hummingbird feeders, and keep them cleaned and filled. That's really all there is to it, because remarkably, hummingbirds have keen memories for food sources. They remember that we have feeders for them starting early in the Spring, and we keep them going until late in October (in case we have a few stragglers, which we always do).

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Sometimes they need to take a little rest. (Getty Images)
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You've got about two weeks left before the migration is down to a trickle, so it's not too late to get your own hummingbird feeders going so you can enjoy the migration parade in your own yard.

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