RUFOUS HUMMINGBIRD: "This tough little species is frequently seen in unexpected places in fall and winter

WINTER CAN BE A DREARY SEASON for those of us who love humming­birds. After the last migrants streak out on their way to the tropics we resign ourselves to waiting until spring to see the little sprites again.

But change may be in the air. Because of surprising geographical shifts among several hummingbird species, some areas are being given a second chance.

In the Southeast and East, after the cold-intolerant Ruby-throated Humming­­birds depart, other species begin to appear.

The most common visitor is the feisty Rufous Hummingbird, a species that nests in the Northwest and Alaska. More than 1,000 Rufous Hummingbirds are reported each year from Alabama to Georgia and throughout the East.

Banding efforts show that many of these birds return year after year to the same feeders in the same backyards, proof that these aren’t merely birds who have lost their way.

“Hummingbirds aren’t the feeble waifs people once thought,” says Stacy Jon Peterson, who monitors winter hummingbird behavior from his perch in Eagle River, Alaska.

Significant numbers of several Western species survive in the Eastern United States each winter, he says. The most common is the Rufous, a species that can, and does, occur in every Eastern state, often annually.

Reports of out-of-season birds are beginning to trickle in from Western states, as well.