birdsoup

It is mid-November. Thanksgiving is the just around the corner.  Already had 10” of snow.  This is not the season for hummingbirds, particularly this one – a Rufous Hummingbird has been visiting the butterfly and hummingbird garden at Lenoir Preserve in Yonkers, NY. 

This sighting is unusual for two reasons.  The first, of course, is the time of the year.  It is too late for hummingbirds.  The second reason, however, is more unusual.  Rufous Hummingbirds are west coast birds.  They normally bred in Oregon, Washington state, and British Columbia.  Most  migrate south to Mexico for the winter.  This one appears to have headed east, not south.

While rare, this is not the first appearance in NY.  8 years ago another Rufous was found in the same location.  It even returned the following year.   Could this bird be the offspring of that bird?  Like father, like son.