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).

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).




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