Every summer, Utah hums with life, in no small part because of hummingbirds.
One moment a flower hangs quietly; the next, there's the unmistakable buzz of wings moving so fast they're almost invisible. A hummingbird hovers for only a few seconds before darting away to the next bloom.
That brief visit is part of a remarkable journey unfolding across Utah.
For wildlife biologists, late summer marks one of the busiest times of year for hummingbird research. Across the state, researchers carefully capture, band, and release hummingbirds to better understand these tiny birds — how they migrate, where they stop to refuel, and what habitats they depend on along the way.
The birds themselves are surprisingly diverse. Brian Maxfield, a wildlife conservation biologist with the Utah Division of Wildlife Resources, says four species make up most of the hummingbirds people encounter across northern Utah.
"We'll catch Calliope hummingbirds, Rufous hummingbirds, black-chinned hummingbirds, and broad-tailed hummingbirds," Maxfield said.
Each has a different story.
Broad-tailed and black-chinned hummingbirds breed throughout much of Utah each summer. Calliope hummingbirds are the smallest breeding bird in North America, weighing in at just 2 to 3 grams — about as much as a dime. They nest in parts of northern Utah while other hummingbirds simply pass through during migration.
Rufous hummingbirds don't nest in Utah at all, but thousands stop here as they travel south from breeding grounds stretching from the northern Rocky Mountains into Canada.
"It's an important stopover as they're migrating through,” Maxfield explained. “It keeps them healthy and energized and ready to keep flying."
Researchers capture the birds using a specially designed drop trap placed around a hummingbird feeder.
“We just reach in and grab them, gently pull them out,” Maxfield said. “And then it doesn't hurt them at "
Once captured, every minute counts.
Biologists measure wing and tail feathers, determine age and sex, check fat reserves, and attach a tiny aluminum band smaller than a grain of rice. Each band carries a unique identification number that allows researchers to recognize that individual bird if it's encountered again.
Sometimes, that happens years later.
"We do get recaptures,” Maxfield explained. “So, we start getting some of that longevity on how long they're alive, and we kind of get a little bit of their migration and movements in that.”
Birds banded in Utah have been found by researchers hundreds of miles away, helping scientists piece together their poorly understood migration routes across the West.
Lisa Young, who works with the Hummingbird Monitoring Network, says Utah is just one stop in a much larger effort.
“Everyone's banding in the same week period,” she said. “You'll be able to see the migration pattern from here, and then down south, and in a couple weeks it'll be busier as the migration moves down to Mexico."
Researchers hope future technology will paint an even clearer picture of hummingbird migration.
“We're hoping to start some bluetooth tags for the hummingbirds so that we can actually track where they go,” Young said.
Previously hummingbirds were only tracked with small light weight leg bands. Because of that, information could only be gathered if the leg bands were recovered, either during a recapture or death.
“They have a lot of resources as they travel,” Young said. “But in the west, it's the resources are farther apart. So, it'll be interesting to see what areas are important during their migration."
The work isn't just about where hummingbirds travel. Scientists also want to know what they're eating along the way.
Ashley National Forest Wildlife Biologist Natasha Hadden says researchers collect tiny diet samples to identify the insects and plants hummingbirds rely on throughout the season.
That information becomes especially valuable in years like this one with increased wildfire activity.
"If there's a fire in the area, we can look at what species the hummingbirds use more often,” Hadden explained. “We can plant those in the seed mix."
Although hummingbirds are best known for drinking nectar, they're also among Utah's most important pollinators. As they move from flower to flower, pollen clings to their heads and bills, helping native wildflowers reproduce. Some flowers depend on them almost entirely.
Utahns can help these tiny travelers, even from their own backyards.
"Planting native plants is a huge one that can benefit hummingbirds," Hadden said.
Researchers recommend planting species like penstemons, gilia, fireweed, and milkweed.
“They are attracted to red, and so any trumpet shape flowers that are red colored,” Hadden said.
If you want to maintain a hummingbird feeder, that can also be helpful, but only if it’s properly cleaned and refilled every week.
A small patch of native flowers or a clean feeder may seem insignificant. But for a bird weighing little more than a penny, it can provide exactly the fuel needed to continue a journey spanning hundreds, sometimes thousands, of miles.
Keep an eye out for Utah's tiniest flying friends, if you blink, you might miss them!
