Hummingbirds in Alaska sound like a typo. A bird that weighs about as much as a nickel, in a state where spring is less a season and more a negotiation? And yet every April they show up in Southeast, fly straight past the snow, and start bossing around the feeders. (I respect it. I can't even commit to a walk when it's drizzling.)
So yes, there are hummingbirds in Alaska, and the main one is tough enough to make the trip from Mexico every year. Here's which species to look for, when they arrive and leave, what to do with your feeders, and which plants keep them fueled through a very short summer.
Hummingbirds in Alaska at a Glance
| Species | When you'll see it | How common |
|---|---|---|
| Rufous Hummingbird | Mid-April through August | Common in Southeast and coastal Southcentral, the only species known to nest in Alaska |
| Anna's Hummingbird | Mostly fall and winter | Increasing, now winters every year in coastal Southeast towns |
| Costa's Hummingbird | Anytime, very rarely | Accidental, only a handful of Anchorage records |
Types of Hummingbirds in Alaska
The list of hummingbirds of Alaska is short. The U.S. Forest Service's Alaska hummingbird and pollinator guide says only two species, the Rufous and the Anna's, are known to occur here regularly.
Rufous Hummingbird. This is Alaska's hummingbird. The Forest Service calls it the most common and widespread species in the state, and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service says it's found mainly along the coast from Southeast Alaska to the Kenai Peninsula. Males are a glowing copper orange with a red-orange throat. Females are green-backed with rusty sides. Rufous are famously territorial, which seems fair for a bird that makes a round trip of about 3,900 miles.
Anna's Hummingbird. A West Coast bird that has quietly turned into Alaska's winter hummingbird. It's green and gray, and males have a rose-pink head. More on its surprising Alaska story below.
The strays. Hummingbirds sometimes turn up far from home. A female Costa's Hummingbird, a desert bird from Arizona and California, visited Anchorage's Turnagain neighborhood one October, and the Anchorage Daily News reported it was only the fourth Costa's ever recorded in the city. The Forest Service guide also notes a few documented hybrids between Anna's and Rufous Hummingbirds.
Alaska Hummingbird Migration: When Do Hummingbirds Come to Alaska?
Rufous Hummingbirds winter in western Mexico and fly north along the Pacific Coast in spring. The Forest Service says the first hummingbirds typically reach Alaska by mid-April, with Southeast getting them first. Backyard reports to Journey North show first birds in Juneau, Wrangell and Hoonah around April 12 in 2020, and one Juneau household logged its first male on the exact same date as the year before. (Show-offs.)
Treat these as approximate. They're drawn from agency guides and observer reports, and a cold spring can push them back.
| Region | First Rufous Hummingbirds (approximate) |
|---|---|
| Southern Southeast (Craig, Wrangell) | Early to mid-April |
| Northern Southeast (Juneau, Hoonah) | Mid-April |
| Southcentral (Kenai Peninsula, Anchorage area) | May |
| Interior (Fairbanks) | Very rare, occasional lone birds in August and early September |
Males arrive first and females follow in smaller numbers. Rufous time their nesting to Alaska's peak flower season, and the Forest Service says successful nests start incubating between late May and late June, with young fledging in July.
When Do Hummingbirds Leave Alaska?
Earlier than you'd think. The Forest Service says males begin heading south by July, while females usually stay through July to finish raising their young. The Fish and Wildlife Service puts it simply: by the end of July, it's time to return south. Stragglers and young birds linger into August.
The fall route is different from the spring one. Instead of retracing the coast, Rufous head south through the Rockies, fueling up on late-blooming alpine flowers along the way. So if your feeder goes quiet in early August, you didn't do anything wrong. Your Rufous just switched to the scenic route.
Alaska's Winter Hummingbird: Anna's in Southeast
Here's the plot twist. While the Rufous are sunning themselves in Mexico, a growing number of Anna's Hummingbirds spend the winter in coastal Alaska. According to Audubon's Alaska Christmas Bird Count summary, Anna's are now wintering annually in Southeast Alaska. Counts ranged from zero to five birds a year through 2012, then climbed to 41 during the 2019 to 2020 season, including 20 in Ketchikan alone. Single birds also turned up on counts in Cordova, Kodiak and Seward, with two in Homer. Alaska's first Christmas Bird Count record was way back in 1974, in Sitka.
The Forest Service says Anna's in Alaska don't seem to migrate in the traditional sense, they're not known to nest here, and their known winter spots are almost always near people's homes. Which tells you something about who's keeping the snack bar open.
Rufous almost never try this. Sitka naturalist Matt Goff described one January visitor as possibly only the second winter record of a Rufous Hummingbird in Alaska.
When to Put Out Hummingbird Feeders in Alaska
Based on those arrival dates, have your feeder up by early April in Southeast and late April in Southcentral. Putting it out a week or two early costs nothing, and the first arrivals land while very little is blooming.
When to take hummingbird feeders down in Alaska
For most of the state, once you've gone a week or two in late summer without a visitor, you can bring it in. In coastal Southeast and Southcentral towns, consider keeping one feeder going into fall and winter for Anna's. If you do, swap it out before the nectar freezes. Keeping a second feeder thawed indoors makes the switch easy.
Feeder basics
- Mix 1 part white sugar to 4 parts water, with nothing else added, as the Fish and Wildlife Service recommends. Our hummingbird food recipe walks through it, and red dye isn't needed.
- Clean the feeder at least once a week to keep mold and bacteria down. Our guide to the features every hummingbird feeder needs covers designs that come apart easily.
- This one's very Alaska: the Fish and Wildlife Service warns that a feeder can attract bears. Hang it high, away from the house, and bring it in at night if bears are around.
- Want something easy to carry inside during cold snaps? These DIY hummingbird feeders are basically free.
Add water
Hummingbirds drink and bathe, and a shallow, moving-water source is a draw. Our list of the best bird baths for hummingbirds has options that won't drown a bird the size of your thumb.
Native Plants That Attract Hummingbirds in Alaska
Feeders are the snack bar. Flowers are the full restaurant, and they bring the tiny insects hummingbirds need for protein. In a state with a summer this short, the goal is blooms ready when the birds land. These four natives are our top picks. For the complete list, bloom times and planting tips, see Hummingbird Plants in Alaska: Best Flowers for Rufous Hummingbirds.
Red, tubular flowers are the classic hummingbird signal, so lean into them. Then plant for succession (more on that below).
Fireweed (Chamaenerion angustifolium)
If you plant one thing, make it Fireweed. Its tall magenta spikes bloom from midsummer on, right through the peak of the Rufous season, and you can spot a patch from across a valley (so can the birds). It spreads freely, so give it room.
Western Columbine (Aquilegia formosa)
Nodding red-and-yellow flowers with long nectar spurs, built for a hummingbird's bill. Western Columbine blooms in late spring and early summer, making it one of the first good nectar sources after the Rufous arrive.
Red Elderberry (Sambucus racemosa)
A big native shrub with clusters of small white flowers in late spring, followed by red berries that thrushes and waxwings work over all summer. It's on the Forest Service's list of Alaska hummingbird plants and earns its space twice.
Great Red Paintbrush (Castilleja miniata)
Scarlet bracts that look like they've been dipped in paint, and a reliable Rufous draw. Paintbrush is partly parasitic on neighboring roots, so plant it among native grasses or perennials in a meadow-style bed rather than on its own.
Plant in succession
Pick plants that bloom at different times so there's nectar from the first April arrivals to the last August stragglers. Early-flowering natives matter most, because the gap between arrival and peak bloom is when birds lean hardest on feeders.
Skip the Big-Box "Hummingbird Garden" Display
A "hummingbird mix" grown for a lower-48 garden center was never designed for late frosts, cool summers and a season that ends in August. Alaska's natives were. They also feed the native insects that make up the protein half of a hummingbird's diet, and Rufous need all the help they can get: the Alaska Wildlife Conservation Center notes their populations have dropped 60% since 1974.
So before buying a flat of mystery annuals, check the Alaska Native Plant Society's resources, which include a native seed distribution program and a guide to growing Alaska natives in your garden. For the rest of the habitat picture, see our guides on how to attract hummingbirds and alternative pesticides that won't wipe out the bugs they eat.
Hummingbirds in Alaska FAQ
Are there hummingbirds in Alaska?
Yes. The Rufous Hummingbird nests in Alaska every summer, mainly along the coast from Southeast to the Kenai Peninsula, and Anna's Hummingbirds now winter in coastal Southeast towns. Costa's Hummingbirds have shown up a few times as rare strays.
When do hummingbirds come to Alaska?
The first Rufous Hummingbirds usually reach Southeast Alaska by mid-April, and Southcentral Alaska in May. Most leave by the end of July or August.
Are there hummingbirds in Anchorage?
Yes. Anchorage sits near the northern edge of the Rufous Hummingbird's main coastal range, and Rufous Hummingbirds have documented nesting in the Anchorage area, according to the ADF&G Anchorage bird checklist. Expect them from May, and put a feeder out by late April.
Are there hummingbirds in Fairbanks?
Very rarely. A Rufous Hummingbird photographed near Fairbanks was the first confirmed record for the Interior, and a state biologist told the Fairbanks Daily News-Miner that hummingbirds are "super rare" there. Lone birds sometimes pass through in August and early September.
Do hummingbirds stay in Alaska in winter?
Rufous don't. They winter in Mexico. Anna's Hummingbirds, though, now winter every year in coastal Southeast Alaska, usually near homes with feeders, and a few have been counted around Kodiak, Seward and Homer.
Is that a hummingbird or a hummingbird moth?
If it's hovering over your Fireweed at dusk and looks a little too fuzzy, it may be a moth. Hummingbird hawk moths (Hemaris thysbe) and bedstraw hawk moths are occasionally seen in Juneau, according to the Juneau Empire. Moths have antennae. Hummingbirds don't.
Keep the Snack Bar Open
Get a feeder up before mid-April, plant some Fireweed, and hang everything high enough that the neighborhood bear doesn't think you've opened a dessert bar. And when that first copper-colored bird arrives, remember it just flew in from Mexico on a body the weight of a coin. It's allowed to have opinions about your feeder placement. Spot one? Share it with other Alaska birders on the Sparkbird App.
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