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).

Thursday, July 31, 2014

Visiting Reminders; rosebud sage slo mo

Because of the ongoing lawsuit by some of my neighbors, as well as actions by the Town of Riverhead, it's particularly important this august to carefully abide by all the procedures and rules for visits. I wish I could keep it simpler but the US is an extremely litigious place (one of the reasons our healthcare costs are so high compared to other countries, and why there are so many lawyers (per capita 37 times the number as Japan!)
So here are some important ground rules.

1. NO VISITING WITHOUT AN APPOINTMENT AND A SIGNED CURRENT WAIVER. Unfortunately the waiver some of you signed last year is no longer valid; without a current appointment and waiver any attempted visit is TRESPASS.

2. PARK ONLY IN THE DESIGNATED LOT, marked with a large sign "Hummingbird Sanctuary Parking". Do not park anywhere along the length of Terry Farm Road, and above all do not enter any property off Terry Farm Road other than the sanctuary itself (which starts where Terry Farm Road becomes "Hummingbird Way"). Carefully follow the instructions I send with the confirmation of your appointment.

3. Please wear proper walking shoes, not flipflops or light sandals. There are many steep narrow uneven paths with loose pebbles and roots. This is a nature sanctuary not the mall! If you have an appointment but are not a good walker please contact me by email prior to your visit. If you hesitate to go anywhere, please do not go there!

4. The lower garden areas are suitable only for the very fit. These areas are not part of the sanctuary proper, but the garden flowers there do attract hummingbirds. Please ask for permission before descending to these areas.

5. Please respect all signs and do not cross ropes or enter "no go" areas.

6. Do not bring tripods. Photography groups can make a private arrangement to visit with long lenses. But handheld cameras are very welcome, and we will publish the best of your sanctuary photos if you send them to us. No bathroom access.

7. If rain threatens for your appointment, please still try to come: rain will not deter hummers, and you can observe them from shelter. If you do not come to your appointment, you will have to compete with others for a new one.

8. Remember that both my neighbors and the Town of Riverhead want to close down the sanctuary. I believe what I do is legal, safe, quiet, and morally valuable. Please cooperate in helping me continue. Sign the petition.

Here's a recent new video: feeding at rosebud salvia, 4X slo mo.



Wednesday, July 30, 2014

wing beat video; trumpet creeper (**)

Here's another slo mo (4X) video showing the details of the wing motion (1/1000 sec shutter speed). On the left you can just see flowers of the golden trumpet creeper Campsis radicans "Flava", which is a 2 star hummer plant. Below the video is a still of the red version of trumpet creeper.
By the way I forgot to say in my last post what rates 4 stars: a sugar water feeder! (an essentially bottomless well of nectar).



Tuesday, July 29, 2014

Open day opportunities posted; first *** guarantica then *** involucrata.

I've posted the first "slots" for visits to the sanctuary in august, by appointment only. Many more opportunities coming up.
Here's a recent video (4X slo mo) of a hummer visiting first Salvia guarantica (anise sage) then S. involucrata (rosebud sage), both 3 star hummer plants (only one gets 4 stars: I''ll reveal its name in my next post.


Monday, July 28, 2014

First visiting slots posted; perched hummers difficult to spot

We have started to post "visiting slots" - dates/times in august when you can visit (by appointment only) the sanctuary and garden (see to the right of this post for details). We will be adding slots throughout august, but some days we will be closed, for example because an organized private group (birders, photographers, gardeners) is visiting.
Hummers spend a lot of time perching, to conserve energy and to watch the patch  of flowers or feeders they are guarding as their own. A perched hummer can be very difficult to spot: the green back blends with the leaves, and the silver underside with the sky (and tends to reflect the surrounding colors). Usually one has to either see the bird fly to the perch, or know where a favorite perch is situated. The following 2 videos show how difficult they are to spot. The first video starts with the bird dead center, and zooms out to show the flower bed he/she is guarding. The second video zooms back in but the bird is no longer dead center and it's quite difficult to spot him until one is very close, even though one knows roughly where he is.


Friday, July 25, 2014

Rosebud Salvia; first visiting slot posted

Rosebud salvia (S. involucrata) is a superb hummer plant, which I have in 2 forms" "Mulberry Jam", which is smaller, blooms earlier, and does not have the pink young stems of "Bethellii", which grows larger (and can become lanky) and takes longer to bloom. The latter will often survive the winter. Here's a young hummer enjoying "Bethellii" (wonder who Mr Bethel was, and if he was a hummingbird enthusiast).
Notice that we have started to post open "slots" (to the right of this post), times we will be open in august for visits by appointment. Many additional slot times will be posted in the coming days, so don't rush to request aug 1!


Thursday, July 24, 2014

challenging, chasing, fighting

Yesterday it was quite active, with a lot of chasing. Here are a couple of inadequate clips I shot yesterday evening as storm clouds gathered over Connecticut (but not a drop of rain here). This morning things had quietened appreciably, perhaps because the shift of the wind to the north is already triggering southward departures.


Here the action is near the center, just above the treetops.


Here a hummer is feeding peaceably until another arrives and drives him off. Both clips 4X slo-mo.
One of the big problems filming chases is everything happens very fast, often with high speed flying.

Monday, July 21, 2014

Feeding at bee balm, with a fast shutter; Coralita flying backwards

Here's a video showing a hummingbird (probably Coralita) feeding at bee balm Monarda didyma using a 1/2000 shutter speed, which allows the wing motion to be seen. 2X slo-mo


And here's a 2.5 second clip from this sequence played back at 16X slo mo.


Next, a video showing feeding at a video (1/2000 shutter, 2X slo mo). This one has a pure silver throat and is likely a juvenile female, possibly Coralita. At the end she flies backwards away from the feeder.


and here's a clip of the end part, at 16X slo mo.


Sunday, July 20, 2014

Frederico's drop of blood



Last evening, as the light faded, I had to decrease the shutter speed, and filmed this guy. The pattern of the throat is rather different from that on Fredino. In particular there's a dark spot near the bottom left edge. Towards the end of the clip he turns full face to the camera and you can see this dark spot gleaming red - what I call the "drop of blood", a single male throat feather breaking through. So it appears we have at least 2 juvenile males, in addition to Fred (whose still vigorously patrolling and attacking) and Coral (who's almost certainly focussing on her nest(s) and chicks). In fact there's already quite a bit of activity, with a lot of chasing.


Saturday, July 19, 2014

Fredino in slo-mo with fast shutter speed.

Most of you will have seen that my slo-mo movies of hummers feeding and flying have shown blurred wings. I finally got round to using manual settings not just for focus but also for shutter speed. I should have done this long ago, because it seems to do the trick - the video I shot this afternoon is good, despite the gray weather. I'm using the maximum shutter speed the Vixia G20 camcorder allows - 1/2000 sec, or a half millisecond.This should be enough to almost freeze the wings throughout most of the motion, and indeed it seems to. I combine this with 2X overcranking and 2X further slowing via Youtube, resulting in a 4X slo mo. Amazingly, despite the low light today, the camera works well at this very fast shutter speed, though of course the aperture has to be expanded (at full 20X zoom plus the 2X digital teleconverter = 40 X zoom) all the way to F2.6.

Enough technicalities, here are some results, showing Fredino feeding at rosebud salvia (one of the very best hummingbird plants at the sanctuary, if not the best). I call this guy Fredino (son of Fred) because it appears to be a young male hummer, with a dark patch at the base of the throat (though not the classic juvenile male "drop of blood" single gorget feather. In any case it's a distinctive marking quite different from either Fred or Coral.


Bee Balm (Monarda didyma)

A very good native (or near-native - only cultivars seem to be available) perennial and fairly deer-resistant hummingbird-friendly plant is Monarda didyma, or Bee Balm. Here's a clip of one of our young hummers feeding at this plant. I also have quite a bit of Monarda fistulosa ("wild bergamot") but this gets almost no attention - though it's much easier to grow in my dry and sandy soil.






Friday, July 18, 2014

Lucifers and Hyperions All Gone! Attacks! New Waiver required

I've posted recently about the glorious blooming at the sanctuary of the 'Lucifer' crocosmias and the "Hyperion" daylilies, and shown you videos of hummingbirds visiting the former. They were in full and magnificent flower on wednesday evening, when we got a little sun after 3 days of gray wet weather. But by thursday morning they were all gone! Close inspection revealed that every single flower and bud had been cleanly nipped off, leaving the flower stalks, the rest of the plants, and all the other plantings intact. An even closer look revealed deer prints in the beds, especially close to the "wild", bluff side. The loss was particularly total in the upper garden, and slightly less in the lower garden, where I have fewer crocosmia and daylilies, in part because I expect more deer damage there, since I guard it less fiercely. While there are always lots of deer (I saw a pretty faun yesterday morning, in my new "east garden" area, where I treat a few new plantings with repellent), it's very rare that I get them in the upper garden, because of the decks and cottages there, and the steep drop-offs on the bluff side (though they did nibble some nicotiana leaves there a few weeks back).

Here's a video from a few days ago which shows some of the blooms, as well as a hummingbird feeding (in the middle of the image, about 1/8 way down from the top) and then, after zooming out for a broader view, suddenly attacked by another hummer (8X slo mo: in reality it all happens in less than a second).


 Here's a video showing the devastation (to be compared with the "crocs and hypes" video I posted recently, july 12). Only 1 daylily flower left and no crocosmia flowers.



Many of you signed liability waivers for your visit to the sanctuary, others will have received waivers, and still others requested them. However, unfortunately you will need a NEW waiver form for visits this year. The new form will be basically the same as last year, but with a few crucial changes. For example the new form (which has to be approved by more lawyer and is not yet finalized) will be dated by me, to correspond to the appointed time for your visit. As I've explained in recent posts, and in the sections "Visiting Slots" and "Visiting" to the right of this post, visiting this august will be by appointment only. I will post available "slots" for these appointments, and you should choose, and request, a slot that suits you. Please do not request multiple slot times: choose only the available one that best suits you. No slot times have been posted yet, so please be patient.

Here are more videos of hummers visiting the now-vanished "Lucifer" blossoms.



Wednesday, July 16, 2014

Coralita or Fredino? Mating Dance; visiting arrangements

Activity is starting to pick up at the sanctuary, and there are more than one female/juvenile hummers around. But I don't know whether this additional hummer is a daughter (Coralita?) or a son (Fredino?).

In any case here's one of them feeding at Cuphea "David Verity". Notice the dab of pollen at the base of the bill: what it's really all about!


Here's a recent "mating dance" (though it's not a very sophisticated one, and might be an act of aggression instead). You can only see half of the other pendulum movement, the other half is obscured by the vegetation.


And here's something different: a bee clumsily (and upside down) emerging from a trumpet creeper flower, then trying again. The trumpet creepers are now mostly in full bloom.



Lastly, let me reprint the account I gave in my previous post about this year's visiting arrangements: basically by appointment, at times chosen from specific available "slots". No slots have been posted yet, but some will be soon. Please bear in mind that there will be many opportunities throughout august, though individual available slots will only be posted at rather short notice.

"Alert readers will notice that I've made several changes in the blog (the header is slightly different, and I've added 2 new "gadgets" to the right of this post). This is because I'm having to make some changes to our visiting procedures, based on advice from my lawyer Lynn Ingrao. She feels it's important this summer to keep the number of visitors under strict control. While in the past, with the exception of the immediate aftermath of the notorious Newsday article (see link to right) visitation has been almost always very moderate, with no parking outside my rather small lot, and only a few visitors at a time (indeed, often none), the extra publicity triggered by the lawsuit could lead to increased visitation, out of curiosity rather than, as in the past, a genuine love of hummingbirds.
Basically the new system will involve visiting by appointment only, at least until I'm sure that things are back to normal. This does not mean that you should immediately ask for an appointment! Instead, you have to wait until I determine that we will be open on particular days, albeit only to those who have an appointment.
The procedure is as follows:

(1) I post that we will be open at certain specific "slot" dates/times. These will appear under "visiting slots", immediately to the right of the current post.

(2) You decide that you (and family/friends in the same car) want to visit at one of these slot times, which you specify in an email to me.

(3) I  confirm your appointment by email, and I send you a dated waiver form, plus visiting directions/instructions

(4) You, and all those accompanying you, sign the waiver forms, and come during the appointed period (either am 9.30-12.30 or pm 3-5.30)

(5) If you have to cancel, doing so 24 hours ahead will earn you the right to ask for a substitute posted slot. If you simply do not show up, you cannot visit again this year.

(6) You can re-visit, but you must reapply for an available slot, and a majority of your party must not have visited this year.

I've already had people applying for specific dates, despite the fact that I've not yet posted any slot times! Premature requests like this will be ignored - I simply cannot keep track of random requests, and I cannot be sure yet that we will be open an particular dates/times in august. When the quota for a particular slot time has been reached, i will remove the slot posting: be sure not to apply unless you currently see the slot time as available. Currently no slots have been posted, and no slot requests will be processed.

Basically, you will be asking permission to come at times that are convenient for me.

I wish I could simply allow people to show up at posted times, as in the past, but the new procedure will allow me to control visitation."

Saturday, July 12, 2014

Lucifer and Hyperion; Coral in Crocs; Getting ready to open

The crocosmia "Lucifer" and the "Hyperion" daylilies are in magnificent bloom at the moment. While hummers never visit daylilies, they do quite like the brilliant red tall flowers of "Lucifer", as I do too - and the pure yellow of the Hyperions goes well with the glow of the Lucifers. Here's a clip of Coral visiting these crocosmia blossoms (we brits call these "montbretia"). It's not a close up, but you can spot Coral pretty close to dead center.


Alert readers will notice that I've made several changes in the blog (the header is slightly different, and I've added 2 new "gadgets" to the right of this post). This is because I'm having to make some changes to our visiting procedures, based on advice from my lawyer Lynn Ingrao. She feels it's important this summer to keep the number of visitors under strict control. While in the past, with the exception of the immediate aftermath of the notorious Newsday article (see link to right) visitation has been almost always very moderate, with no parking outside my rather small lot, and only a few visitors at a time (indeed, often none), the extra publicity triggered by the lawsuit could lead to increased visitation, out of curiosity rather than, as in the past, a genuine love of hummingbirds.
Basically the new system will involve visiting by appointment only, at least until I'm sure that things are back to normal. This does not mean that you should immediately ask for an appointment! Instead, you have to wait until I determine that we will be open on particular days, albeit only to those who have an appointment.
The procedure is as follows:

(1) I post that we will be open at certain specific "slot" dates/times. These will appear under "visiting slots", immediately to the right of the current post.

(2) You decide that you (and family/friends in the same car) want to visit at one of these slot times, which you specify in an email to me.

(3) I  confirm your appointment by email, and I send you a dated waiver form, plus visiting directions/instructions

(4) You, and all those accompanying you, sign the waiver forms, and come during the appointed period (either am 9.30-12.30 or pm 3-5.30)

(5) If you have to cancel, doing so 24 hours ahead will earn you the right to ask for a substitute posted slot. If you simply do not show up, you cannot visit again this year.

(6) You can re-visit, but you must reapply for an available slot, and a majority of your party must not have visited this year.

I've already had people applying for specific dates, despite the fact that I've not yet posted any slot times! Premature requests like this will be ignored - I simply cannot keep track of random requests, and I cannot be sure yet that we will be open an particular dates/times in august. When the quota for a particular slot time has been reached, i will remove the slot posting: be sure not to apply unless you currently see the slot time as available. Currently no slots have been posted, and no slot requests will be processed.

Basically, you will be asking permission to come at times that are convenient for me.

I wish I could simply allow people to show up at posted times, as in the past, but the new procedure will allow me to control visitation.

Here's another video of crocosmia and hyperions, with Long Island Sound (and at the end a kayaker) in the background (but no hummer).




Friday, July 11, 2014

Fred and Coral Take Turns


All my widely scattered feeders get regular though often infrequent visits by Fred, whose is checking out his territory. He also includes a few flowers on his route. Each visit is very brief - not really for food, but just to see what is "his". Coral lingers more but is more selective and favors feeders near the bluff. Yesterday as I sat near the bluff fairly near a secluded feeder, in a 20 minute period I saw first Fred feed, then Coral, then Coral again. Here are clips from these successive visits (2X slo mo).



Thursday, July 10, 2014

more fireworks, with soundtrack; Coral in extreme slo mo


Usually I "over crank" the camera - runs it at a twice normal frame rate, so that with a normal playback speed the overall effect is 2X slo-mo. This helps see more detail of the very fast hummer movements, as well as extending the duration of some of my very short film clips (often the birds only feed for a few seconds). I have finally discovered that audio recording is disenabled when overcranking, which accounts for the silent sound track in most of my movies (except in those cases I added a musical accompaniment). This is not stated in the (very long) camera handbook, but has been confirmed by a Canon technician. Initially I paid little attention to the sound track, in part because my hearing has still not recovered properly from snorkelling in the Bahamas.
The above fifth of july sequence was taken at normal framerate and clearly has a sound track! This spectacle went on for an hour.

The next Coral sequence shows the other extreme: it was overcranked (no sound track) and then slowed a further 8 times, so the total slo mo is 16 X!  But one still cannot properly see the wing motion. I suspect this is because I'm not using a fast enough shutter speed (I'm using an automatic focus mode). I will experiment further. In principle with 16 X slo mo it should be possible to see the wing movements in detail (they beat at 50 times a second).


Monday, July 7, 2014

Fireworks! Coral in slo mo

The fifth of july fireworks on the beach in front of the front cottage "SeaGull Lodge" here at the sanctuary were as usual, spectacular. Here's just a glimpse, more video to follow.


Meanwhile hummer activity is definitely starting to pick up a bit. While I sat with my lawyer Lynn in the lower garden this morning near the bluff  (very nice lady, with whom I feel both comfortable and impressed) discussing the legal issues, a hummer showed up several times. Here's a slo-mo film of (I think) Coral feeding at one of the feeders we watched (taken yesterday, not during our legal conference!)  Note how she sweeps her wings in a figure eight pattern. Notice also that during her snack several large bubbles float up in the nectar reservoir, showing that she's consuming significant quantities of liquid. Bees often feed at the feeders too, but one never sees bubbles, because the amount they consume is insignificant. Nevertheless whenever I see a bee on a feeder I always give it a good pinch, to scare it away (and sometimes I confess it gets squashed - so far this year no stings. Hummers are very wary when bees are at their feeder.


I'll write more about Lynn's visit tomorrow.

Friday, July 4, 2014

Happy Fourth! Fred enjoys his freedom too.


Today we celebrate, rather wetly, and in my case, as an Englishman, somewhat halfheartedly, American Independence (but the fireworks can be terrific, as good as our  Nov 5 "Guy Fawkes' night"). I've not ventured out much, but here's video from a few days ago showing Fred, our resident male troublemaker, feeding peaceably from Salvia "Waverley". Not much is known about the origins of this salvia, though it's thought to originate, probably via crossing and deliberate selection, from Mexico. Though the little white flowers seem modest,  they pack a good nectar reward. Unfortunately it's not hardy in the northeast, but well worth growing nevertheless. It does very well in a clay pot, since it likes good drainage.

Wednesday, July 2, 2014

Coral bathing slowly

Here's a different clip of Coral bathing in water droplets from a garden hose spray. Here the clip was "overcranked' - shot at double speed, so when played back at normal speed the overall effect is 2X slo-mo, but with no jerkiness. She tries various leaves, and sort of snuggles into the moisture, sometimes half-flying at the same time.

Tuesday, July 1, 2014

Coral Bathing; Where have my hummers gone?



Hummingbirds love the fine spray from a garden hose, especially in dry weather. If they spot the cloud of fresh moisture, they will bathe themselves in the wet leaves, especially those near the periphery of the spray, where the droplets are fewer and less heavy. They usually choose small cup-shaped leaves that contain a tiny puddle of water. Here's our resident female hummingbird Coral bathing in these droplets. Filmed at normal speed (I'll show some slo-mo footage tomorrow).
Many of you are probably wondering right now where the hummingbirds that arrive in may or early june have gone. Of course some were in migration and have moved further north, but others are still here, but feeding rather infrequently, and so less visible. In particular the females are all busy with their nests - either sitting on the eggs, or catching insect for their young (see my posts earlier this year from Eleuthera, about Gumbo, a nesting female Bahama Woodstar I followed and filmed).

The adult male hummers are not involved in nesting or chick-rearing, but they are busy patrolling their territory, and until later this month there are few intruders, and not much need for chasing, or for energy-providing nectar.

It's the same here at the sanctuary: I'm only occasionally and very briefly seeing Fred and Coral, but I know they are still here because I spot them every day. While I saw several mating dances in early june, I've not seen any in the last few weeks.

The blue flowers are Salvia guaranitica, the pink S. involucrata "Mulberry Jam" and the white foreground flowers Daphne transatlantica. The latter is not a hummingbird plant, but a fragrant deer-resistant perennial.