A Very Rare Visitor to the East Coast
Rufous hummingbirds (Selasphorus rufus) have a wide range, and breed farther north than any other hummers. They can be seen from Mexico to Alaska. But they are very, very infrequent visitors to the East Coast, and very rarely seen in New York, let alone Brooklyn. So when one one appeared in Prospect Park in earlly 2024 and decided to hang out for a while, it caused quite a stir. I visited the park on March 18, and waited to see the rufous hummingbird near a sugar-water feeder that had been set to attract the bird. I was not disappointed.
Rufous Hummingbird, Prospect Park, Brooklyn, March 18, 2024
The video shows the bird perched in a nearby bush (I never did see the hummer go to the sugar water). The music is Frédéric Chopin’s Etude No. 2 in F minor from Opus 25, performed by Edward Neeman (obtained from MusOpen.org, a royalty-free music source).