BASICS


BASICS: "Hummingbirds.....where is the person, I ask, who, on observing this glittering fragment of the rainbow, would not pause, admire, and turn his mind with reverence..." (J. J. Audubon).
This is a blog about my summer life at the Baiting Hollow Hummingbird Sanctuary, at my winter garden, Calypso, in the Bahamas, and aspects of life in general.
This private sanctuary is now permanently closed to the general public, as a result of a lawsuit brought by a neighbor. Only my friends and personal guests may visit (paul.adams%stonybrook.edu).

Tuesday, September 4, 2012

closed today (tues); pollen crown


We are closed today, and will not open again before the weekend (and possibly not at all). however, I will be posting more information and pictures, and possibly a few sneak open times, over the next couple of weeks. Keep reading, and keep emailing me your photos! Hummingbird numbers are well down, and perhaps the southward migration is early this year, just at the spring migration was (hummers arrived on Long Island already in march; late april is typical). However yesterday our sparse visitors all saw several birds, with several 2-hummer-chases, and one 3-hummer one.
The photo is by Mark Schaller. The hummer is feeding at Salvia guaranitica, or Anise Sage, a four star hummingbird plants, and perhaps the best for LI gardens. Notice the dab of pollen on his head.  Most flowers deposit pollen on the beak but cardinal flower (another 4-star plant) has evolved to be specifically pollinated by hummingbirds, and as the bird inserts his bill, the anther snaps down and places pollen on the top of the head. You will often see hummers at the sanctuary wth this "golden crown".
Here is a nice image, by Laura Eppig, of a hummer at cardinal flower (Lobelia cardinalis).


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