{"id":9316,"date":"2013-08-29T03:40:51","date_gmt":"2013-08-29T09:40:51","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/?p=9316"},"modified":"2025-09-19T17:46:04","modified_gmt":"2025-09-19T22:46:04","slug":"calliope-hummingbirds","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2013\/08\/29\/calliope-hummingbirds\/","title":{"rendered":"Calliope Hummingbirds"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"PerchedPerched Calliope Hummingbird – Nikon D300, f6.3, ISO 640, 1\/640, +0.3 EV, Nikkor 200-400mm VR with 1.4x TC at 400mm, natural light<\/span><\/p>\n

I’m exhausted and frazzled. This has been a crazy month for me what with having to move not just my site but four others to a new hosting provider. Day to day life has been wackier that I can remember in a decade and a half.<\/p>\n

Then last night my computer decided I hadn’t had enough and has gone bonkers on me. My regular email program won’t even open and Internet Explorer laughs at me and stalls.<\/p>\n

So, this post is only going to have a few words and be mostly pictures or I wouldn’t have had the energy to do a post today.<\/p>\n

I’m just delighted that is was my<\/em> brilliant idea to stop and look for hummingbirds near some Rocky Mountain Bee Plants.<\/p>\n

Anyway, I believe these are Calliope Hummingbird<\/span><\/a>s but if I am wrong please do not hesitate to correct me, I don’t get upset about things like that.<\/p>\n

I am basing my ID on the fact that the wing tips were slightly longer than the tail which is a key for this species compared to Rufous and Broad-tailed Hummingbirds, whose tails are longer than the wing tips.<\/p>\n

I could hear the hummingbirds before I saw them and knew I might get some nice images of the birds as they fed on the Rocky Mountain Bee Plant.<\/p>\n

\"MorningMorning light and Calliope Hummingbird – Nikon D300, f6.3, ISO 640, 1\/640, +0.3 EV, Nikkor 200-400mm VR with 1.4x TC at 400mm, natural light<\/span><\/p>\n

The morning light made the iridescence of the hummingbirds glow and the flowers did too.<\/p>\n

\"StretchingStretching Calliope Hummingbird\u00a0– Nikon D300, f6.3, ISO 640, 1\/1000, Nikkor 200-400mm VR with 1.4x TC at 400mm, natural light<\/span><\/p>\n

One of the tiny hummingbirds had a favorite perch where it would stretch and flutter its wings before it would head back to the wildflowers.<\/p>\n

\"CalliopeCalliope Hummingbird stretch\u00a0– Nikon D300, f6.3, ISO 640, 1\/1000, Nikkor 200-400mm VR with 1.4x TC at 400mm, natural light<\/span><\/p>\n

And this flying jewel struck some very interesting poses, like this one where it stretched, spread its tail and lifted its wings.<\/p>\n

\"CalliopeCalliope Hummingbird feeding on Rocky Mountain Bee Plant\u00a0– Nikon D300, f5.6, ISO 640, 1\/1250, Nikkor 200-400mm VR with 1.4x TC at 400mm, natural light<\/span><\/p>\n

Some of the hummingbirds chased each other around, but a little too far away to photograph. Others just feed on the nectar of the Rocky Mountain Bee Plants.<\/p>\n

\"RockyRocky Mountain Bee Plant with a Digger Bee- Nikon D300, f5.6, ISO 640, 1\/2000, Nikkor 200-400mm VR with 1.4x TC at 400mm, natural light<\/span><\/p>\n

The hummingbirds weren’t the only creatures visiting the bee plants, there were Monarch Butterflies, a few Skippers, Yellow-jackets, and bees.<\/p>\n

Life is<\/em> good.<\/p>\n

Mia<\/p>\n

Click here<\/span><\/a> to see more of my Calliope Hummingbird photos plus facts and information about this species.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

I believe these are Calliope Hummingbirds but if I am wrong please do not hesitate to correct me, I don’t get upset about things like that.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":156914,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":true,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[511,27,2336,1022,26,5347],"tags":[2464,6513,2399,11978,12026,4040,4052,4122,6043,2652,4104,5064,4444,2337,2315],"class_list":["post-9316","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-antelope-island-state-park","category-avian","category-calliope-hummingbird","category-davis-county-utah","category-utah","category-wildflowers","tag-bee","tag-bees","tag-calliope-hummingbird","tag-desert-island","tag-digger-bee","tag-feeding","tag-flight","tag-flying","tag-hummingbird","tag-hummingbirds-2","tag-perched","tag-pink-wildflowers","tag-rocky-mountain-bee-plant","tag-stellula-calliope","tag-summer-3"],"aioseo_notices":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/calliope-hummingbird-mia-mcpherson-1972.jpg","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p11Mom-2qg","jetpack_sharing_enabled":false,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":9328,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2013\/08\/30\/more-hummingbird-images\/","url_meta":{"origin":9316,"position":0},"title":"More Calliope Hummingbird Images","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"August 30, 2013","format":false,"excerpt":"Yesterday I went back to the island to see if I could photograph more hummingbirds and they did not disappoint so I thought I would share two more images of them.","rel":"","context":"In "Antelope Island State Park"","block_context":{"text":"Antelope Island State Park","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/locations\/utah\/antelope-island-state-park\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Calliope Hummingbird looking up, Antelope Island State Park, Davis County, Utah","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/calliope-hummingbird-mia-mcpherson-2876.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/calliope-hummingbird-mia-mcpherson-2876.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/calliope-hummingbird-mia-mcpherson-2876.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x"},"classes":[]},{"id":9946,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2013\/10\/23\/calliope-hummingbird-and-rocky-mountain-bee-plant\/","url_meta":{"origin":9316,"position":1},"title":"Calliope Hummingbird and Rocky Mountain Bee Plant","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"October 23, 2013","format":false,"excerpt":"Just a quick post this morning of a tiny Calliope Hummingbird feeding on Rocky Mountain Bee Plant that I photographed at the end of August.","rel":"","context":"In "Antelope Island State Park"","block_context":{"text":"Antelope Island State Park","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/locations\/utah\/antelope-island-state-park\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Calliope Hummingbird and Rocky Mountain Bee Plant, Antelope Island State Park, Davis County, Utah","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/calliope-hummingbird-mia-mcpherson-2027.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/calliope-hummingbird-mia-mcpherson-2027.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/calliope-hummingbird-mia-mcpherson-2027.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/calliope-hummingbird-mia-mcpherson-2027.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":15413,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2014\/07\/17\/calliope-hummingbird-cleared-for-lift-off\/","url_meta":{"origin":9316,"position":2},"title":"Calliope Hummingbird cleared for lift off","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"July 17, 2014","format":false,"excerpt":"I never seem to get caught up processing all of my images but I picked this Calliope Hummingbird image to process and share this morning.","rel":"","context":"In "Antelope Island State Park"","block_context":{"text":"Antelope Island State Park","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/locations\/utah\/antelope-island-state-park\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Calliope Hummingbird about to fly, Antelope Island State Park, Davis County, Utah","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/calliope-hummingbird-wing-lift-mia-mcpherson-1753.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/calliope-hummingbird-wing-lift-mia-mcpherson-1753.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/calliope-hummingbird-wing-lift-mia-mcpherson-1753.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/calliope-hummingbird-wing-lift-mia-mcpherson-1753.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":9356,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2013\/09\/02\/female-black-chinned-hummingbird-2\/","url_meta":{"origin":9316,"position":3},"title":"Female Black-chinned Hummingbird","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"September 2, 2013","format":false,"excerpt":"After looking at these images that I took last Friday I am wondering if this hummingbird that I photographed is a female Broad-tailed Hummingbird.","rel":"","context":"In "Antelope Island State Park"","block_context":{"text":"Antelope Island State Park","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/locations\/utah\/antelope-island-state-park\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Young female Black-chinned Hummingbird, Antelope Island State Park, Davis County, Utah","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/black-chinned-hummingbird-mia-mcpherson-3632.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/black-chinned-hummingbird-mia-mcpherson-3632.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/black-chinned-hummingbird-mia-mcpherson-3632.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/black-chinned-hummingbird-mia-mcpherson-3632.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":14300,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2014\/02\/09\/a-black-chinned-hummingbird-to-brighten-a-dreary-winter-day\/","url_meta":{"origin":9316,"position":4},"title":"Black-chinned Hummingbird To Brighten A Dreary Winter Day","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"February 9, 2014","format":false,"excerpt":"The opposite of cold, gray, windy and rainy is summertime in my mind so I thought that today I would post some thing from a warmer, brighter and calmer day and what could be more summery than a Black-chinned Hummingbird feeding on Rocky Mountain Bee Plant?","rel":"","context":"In "Antelope Island State Park"","block_context":{"text":"Antelope Island State Park","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/locations\/utah\/antelope-island-state-park\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Black-chinned Hummingbird and Rocky Mountain Bee Plant, Antelope Island State Park, Davis County, Utah","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/black-chinned-hummingbird-mia-mcpherson-2744.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/black-chinned-hummingbird-mia-mcpherson-2744.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/black-chinned-hummingbird-mia-mcpherson-2744.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/black-chinned-hummingbird-mia-mcpherson-2744.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":9514,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2013\/09\/21\/pretty-in-pink-black-chinned-hummingbird\/","url_meta":{"origin":9316,"position":5},"title":"Pretty in Pink – Black-chinned Hummingbird","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"September 21, 2013","format":false,"excerpt":"Well, I made it through another week. Bird photography has been slow down here in the valley but there are signs migration is picking up. There was a decided nip to the air yesterday morning and I saw some frost on the ground while heading towards Antelope Island.","rel":"","context":"In "Antelope Island State Park"","block_context":{"text":"Antelope Island State Park","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/locations\/utah\/antelope-island-state-park\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Pretty in Pink \u2013 Black-chinned Hummingbird, Antelope Island State Park, Davis County, Utah","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/black-chinned-hummingbird-mia-mcpherson-2690.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/black-chinned-hummingbird-mia-mcpherson-2690.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/black-chinned-hummingbird-mia-mcpherson-2690.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/black-chinned-hummingbird-mia-mcpherson-2690.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]}],"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9316","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=9316"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9316\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/156914"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=9316"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=9316"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=9316"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}