{"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_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":true,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"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":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t