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Calliope Hummingbird
~2021~

This brilliant and beautiful mural features Calliope hummingbirds as well as Columbine flowers, both native to the Okanogan Highlands. The image was developed using photographs taken by OHA member, educator and outdoor enthusiast, Rose Corso. Located on the north side of Jinnie’s Place, a small business located in downtown Tonasket, the mural is guaranteed to catch the eye of anyone driving, biking, or strolling through Tonasket!

Funders:

USDA Rural Business Development Grant

OHA

Private Donations

The Artist

Muralist Andy Eccleshall of Mural Works, Inc.

Andy Eccleshall painted the Calliope Hummingbird mural in Tonasket over the course of three days in 2021. In that time he also visited with a group of high school artists and many curious passersby, sharing storiesabout his experiences as an artist and insights about his artistic process.

Watch Muralist Andy work his magic! Three days of painting in 3 minutes. The video is set to an original song, “Three and a Half” by local band, Hippies on Vacation.

Address:

316 S Whitcomb Ave

Tonasket, WA 98855

Featured Wildlife

Calliope Hummingbirds: Small but Mighty Neighbors

Don’t let the delicate features and diminutive size of a Calliope Hummingbird, Selasphorus calliope, fool you into thinking they are a timid bird! Calliope Hummingbirds can be fierce in defending their territories – even chasing away red-tailed hawks that blunder too close. They can be flashy – performing high speed dives, displaying magenta throats, and buzzing like a (slightly) oversized bumblebee. They are endurance athletes – migrating from the Pacific Northwest to Mexico and back every year. They are fast – their forked tongues, specially designed to grab drops of nectar, can zip in and out of a flower 20 times per second, while their hearts can beat 40 times per second! 

Because these tiny hummingbirds breed here in Washington (mostly above 4,000 feet), the dedicated, lucky observer has at least some chance of seeing a Calliope Hummingbird nest, which are built in evergreen trees. Like the bird itself, nests are a tiny work of art – two inches wide and one inch high, and are made of lichen, moss, plants, and bark, woven together with spiderwebs. Female Calliope Hummingbirds are responsible for nesting and raising the young. 

For more information about how you can support hummingbirds and other pollinators, check out the Habitat Network at: https://content.yardmap.org/learn/pollinators-at-home-intro-to-pollinator-gardening/

Sources:

The Cornell Lab of Ornithology: https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Calliope_Hummingbird/overview

Audubon Guide to North American Birds:

https://www.audubon.org/field-guide/bird/calliope-hummingbird

Sibley, David Allen. What It’s Like to Be a Bird: From Flying to Nesting, Eating to Singing–What Birds Are Doing, and Why. Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group, 2020.

Before and After

This before and after photo shows what a difference art can make! OHA hopes that bringing nature inspired art to Tonasket will vitalize our community, educate people about the natural world, and bring smiles to faces.

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