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Backpacker Magazine – June 2010
Natural Wonders: World's Tallest Geyser, North America's Smallest Bird and Best Shade Tree
Discover the world's tallest geyser, North America's smallest bird, and the country's best shade tree on these three treks.
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Tags:
- Natural wonders |
- Wildlife |
- Geysers |
- Hiking |
- Yellowstone |
- Wyoming |
- Florida |
- Washington |
- Adventures |
North America’s Smallest Bird
Glimpse a pinkie-length hummingbird.
The Wonder
Grab a dime. That’s the weight of the calliope hummingbird, a territorial sprite that migrates 6,000 miles round-trip on a four-inch wingspan. In spring, calliopes leave southern Mexico, heading for the Cascades and seeking insects and wildflowers emerging when spring hits the mountains. In the forests and meadows of their Northern Rockies breeding grounds, emerald-and-ruby males entice females with a diving, twittering display. By late August, these tiny migrants take wing again on the two-month return journey to Mexico.
The Way
In June, you’re virtually guaranteed a calliope sighting on the 11-mile out-and-back Fourth of July Creek Trail in Washington’s Okanogan-Wenatchee National Forest. From Leavenworth, take Icicle Creek Road south 9.4 miles to the trailhead. Look for calliopes near the creek in the first .5 mile, and watch them zip among Indian paintbrush, mock orange, and honeysuckle as you switchback for five miles to 7,000 feet. Catch your breath—and Chiwaukum Mountain vistas—at the burn zone on top of the ridge.
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that's a geyser?! when i first looked at the picture i thought it was a cloud or something. I would love to see it with my own eyes (more about me here http://thesudokugame.net/ )
Nice pictures!I've searched every page of this website and it's cool.
This may be splitting hairs, but the Bee Hummingbird (Mellisuga helenae)of Cuba is not only the smallest bird in North America, but the smallest bird in the world. I guess it's a matter of whether you mean on the mainland?
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