By Sally Siko

After missing out on a vagrant Rufous Hummingbird sighting earlier this week, I decided to try my luck again on a second bird which had been spotted in my area.
Happily, I got lucky this morning and found it perched on a winter Honeysuckle bush in Cary, NC.
I was stoked to finally see this tiny feathered gem and as a bonus, actually managed to pull off catching a few nice pics of him to go along with the trip notes.
Sweet!

The reason why seeing this hummingbird was so exciting today is because Rufous’s aren’t normally found in the eastern United States.
Although numbers suggest that a growing number of vagrant Rufous’s are showing up more often here in central NC each autumn, this species (generally) stays put west of the Rockies.

That being said, if you live in North Carolina your best chance of finding one is right now.
It’s immensely helpful to check the eBird North Carolina Rare Bird alert every day to see if they are being reported at local backyard feeders.

Interestingly, these guys make one of the longest migratory journeys of any hummingbird in the world.
During migration, they’ll travel almost 4,000 miles all the way from their nesting grounds in Alaska down to spend the winter months in Mexico.
This is an epic journey for a teeny tiny bird that weighs less than two U.S. pennies!
I think that’s pretty cool.

Photos by @sally_siko of @bestlife_birding on my mighty mirrorless monster, the @canonusa #R5

Exact location to this bird is shown below.

*Address is publicly displayed by the homeowner Eddie Owens via his eBird rare bird alert listing!

https://ebird.org/checklist/S122977873

While Eddie is very accommodating in allowing his fellow birders into his backyard to see this bird, please be respectful as this hummingbird is on private property. He has asked that I post his phone number here so that you can text him for viewing (919)619-3165