Nature's Helicopters

Shell Creek nourishes a rich diversity of flowering plants, which in turn attracts tiny winged visitors. Hummingbirds are noted for their uncanny ability to hover in the air like helicopters. By turning their wings upside-down on the backstroke, hummingbirds create a figure-eight motion that holds them stationary in the air. They can also fly forward, backward, up, down, side-to-side, and even upside-down.Each day these little dynamos eat one and a half times their weight in sugar extracted from wildflowers growing in Shell Canyon. Humans would have to eat the equivalent of 285 pounds of hamburger daily to match the activity level of a hummingbird.It is difficult to distinguish between the females of the 340 known species; males are easily recognized by varying patterns of bright iridescent colors.Broad Tailed HummingbirdThis hummingbird closely resembles the Ruby Throated, but his beating wings produce a distinctive rattling sound or trilling whistle. His chin color is bright pink.Black Chinned HummingbirdThe chin appears deep purple and the bill is much longer than the Ruby Throated hummingbird.Calliope HummingbirdHis chin is rose-purple in color, interspersed with white, above a nearly white breast. He is the smallest bird in North America and his short bill helps to distinguish him from other hummingbirds.Rufous HummingbirdThis hummer arrives at Shells Falls following an arduous journey of 3,000 miles from his winter home in southern Mexico. His dominant orange-red color distinguishes him from his cousins.Ruby Throated HummingbirdThe male is approximately 25% smaller than the female and averages 3 to 4 inches long, and weighs about the same as 2½ paper clips. < Sidebar : >Move Like a HummingbirdHold your arms out with thumbs forward, so arms are slightly ahead of shouldersSwing your arms backwards, while rotating your arms at the shoulders so that thumbs point back.Repeat the movement, so thumbs again face front as you rotate your arms and bring them forward.Now - do it 70 times a second.

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Show me all markers in:  Shell, WY  |  Big Horn County  |  82441  |  Wyoming  |  United States of America

Lifeblood of the West
Carving a Course
Oasis in the Desert
A 4,000 Mile Journey
Forming Waterfalls
Shaping a Canyon
Moving Mountains
Wringing Out a Livelihood
Wildfire!
Copman's Tomb

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