I am always excited for the return of the hummingbirds, and this time of year I start to get excited about a slightly different buzz in the air. Around mid-June into early July we begin to see our long distance travelers, the infamous orange Rufous bullies, and my personal favorite, the tiny Calliope. I say different buzz, as they both share a distinctively lower toned wing drone as compared to the Broad Tailed species we hear all summer long.

Calliope Hummingbirds are North America’s tiniest bird, and hold the record as the world’s smallest long-distance migratory bird. They winter in Mexico’s central and southwest states, then begin a 5,000-mile roundtrip journey in early spring. These tiny wonders travel as far north as central British Columbia to breed, then begin their return home heading south through the Rocky Mountain chain back to the winter territories.

By the time we see them here in mid to late June or early July, the Rufous and Calliope’s are already slowly making their way home. We can see them in early to mid-August, and while some might nest in the area, many are simply passing through, guiding their little ones to the wintering grounds on their first migration of over 2,000 miles.

It is also interesting to note that the traveling companions of Rufous and Calliopes tend to share a personality trait in their aggression. Rufous are quite famous for their bullying of other hummingbirds in a given feeding area. They will move in and attempt to chase away all other competition for the food. Calliopes tend to be just as aggressive and have no problems squaring off with any other hummingbird species, but in the world of hummingbirds they don’t always come out on top. That said, their aggressions go far outside of the hummingbird communities, and they have been known to harass and chase off birds as big as Red-tailed Hawks. That’s a mighty huge flex for the tiniest bird on a continent!

The identification of a Calliope comes not only from its demure size and wing drone, but also from its distinct gorget (the beard-like feathers on a hummingbird’s neck). A male Calliope has a striped gorget that when flared, shows a stunning iridescent magenta coloring. These flaring displays on all hummingbirds are used to attract females as well as display their irritation and look larger when dueling with other birds.

Seen in this week’s image is one of my visitors from the summer of 2018, my personal best year for birds when I lived in hummingbird heaven. In peak season I was feeding well over 450 birds a day, and the deck saw a good handful of both Rufous and Calliope hummingbirds. With so many birds, the bullying of the traveling companions was minimal, and all seemed to share space without any one bird taking over, as often happens when the Rufous arrive at a less populous feeding area.

That by no means meant that squabbles weren’t nearly constant, and it was quite fun to watch these tiny mights square off with any other bird as though being half as big didn’t mean a lick when it came to a fight. This bold male had no issues showing off that flex for the camera when he came in for some up-close inspection of the paparazzi. There is solid truth in the saying…big things come in small packages!

A source for this article is https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Calliope_ Hummingbird/overview.

For additional information about James DeWalt Photography, check out https://jamesdewaltphotography.com.