Week 31 – Calliope Hummingbird

 

Calliope Hummingbird. Photograph by Neil Paprocki.

Hummingbirds are on the move this time of year, heading south with a lot of other early migrants. Many hummingbirds will eventually land along the Pacific coast of Central America. It is within this relatively small section of the neotropics that they will spend their winters.

Hummingbirds are really amazing little guys. Many live longer than most songbirds 3-times their size. In the case of one Broad-tailed Hummer: a remarkable 12 years of age!

Calliope Hummingbirds are the smallest bird in North America measuring in at a puny 3 and 1/4 inches in length. They are most often found at higher elevations of the Northern Rockies and Pacific Crest. I ended up photographing this individual just south of Idaho City at Alfred Larson’s home along Daggett Creek. No doubt fattening up for the long flight south.

Next time I hope to have more time to catch some nice in-flight hummer shots.

All of the previous 52-week blog posts can be found at the Wild Lens blog or on Flickr.