| This would seem to be one of the more unlikely birds on the state list, but Anna's Hummingbirds, like most Western hummingbirds, are migratory -- at least to some extent. There are three state records: an immature male that spent the winter at a feeder in Charlotte from 29 Nov 1998 - 4 Mar 1999* (Chat 70:41-43); an adult male in New Bern (Craven) 17 Jan - 11 Feb 2011* (Chat 75:72), returning there for its second stay in Nov 2011 (Chat 76:3), (Chat 76:30-31) to 17 Jan 2012 (Chat 76:60); and an adult male at a feeder in Buxton (Dare), 15 Jan - 15 Mar 2017* (Chat 81:44-45), (Chat 82:74). Each bird stayed long enough for dozens, if not hundreds, of birders to see and photograph them, as well as being briefly captured for banding.
A captured and banded hummingbird in Concord (Cabarrus) on 7 Feb 2023 was determined to be a hybrid Anna's x Allen's Hummingbird, a very rare such hybrid report. The bird was present from mid-Dec 2022 to 14 Feb 2023, and is the first confirmed hybrid hummingbird of any combination for the state (Chat 87:34-35). |