The Baiting Hollow Hummingbird Sanctuary: Shep Jones wakes up; Bahama Woodstar Hummingbird filmed the day I fell ill.

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, May 19, 2015

Shep Jones wakes up; Bahama Woodstar Hummingbird filmed the day I fell ill.

back on may 5 I filmed parts of the Avalon preserve that lies on both sides of Shep Jones Lane, the dirt road that links 25A in Saint James to Harbor Rd in Head of the Harbour (see https://www.google.com/maps/place/Shep+Jones+Ln,+St+James,+NY+11780/@40.9079909,-73.1515259,1042m/data=!3m1!1e3!4m2!3m1!1s0x89e83932f7c4835b:0xfd0f7483f3b129d9)/ Here are some of the results.

I'm in Stony Brook and have no fresh hummer vids from Baiting Hollow, so here's a movie I shot april 4 at Calypso, Eleuthera, the day I fell sick. It shows a male bahama woodstar (note the purple gorget) feeding at firecracker (Russellia equisetiformis), which is abundant in my large garden there. Shortly after I took to my bed, where I languished for 10 days before returning urgently to the US.

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FAQs

1. How can I visit? Unless you are an invited friend or personal guest of the owner, Paul Adams, you cannot. The sanctuary is now permanently closed to the general public.

2.Why did the sanctuary close? The sanctuary opened, on a very limited basis, during 1998-2017. However, a neighbor, Kamal Bherwani, and 2 former neighbors, Fred Terry and Shawn Hamilton, brought a $3 million lawsuit, and forced complete and permanent closing. The plaintiffs claimed, incorrectly, that the sanctuary was a "commercial business". Though no evidence for this claim was, or could be, produced, the owner decided to settle the lawsuit and permanently close.

3. When do the hummingbirds arrive and leave, and where do they go for the winter?

They arrive on Long Island late april, and early may. They leave between aug 1 and oct 1. The adult males arrive and leave first, then the adult females, then the young, in order of fledging. They all go to central America via the Gulf of Mexico.

3. What varieties do we have at the sanctuary?

Only the ruby-throat (only the adult male has the ruby throat). This is the only one that breeds east of the Mississipi. The US has about 9 other species but they are all western.

4. Why are there rocks in the trees? How long have you had this place?

I have had the property for 27 years and each year I put a new rock to mark the beginning of a new hummingbird season (may 1).

5. What is the best place to sit to see hummingbirds?

On your bottom! Since you may have to wait a bit choose the spot that best suits you.

6. How can I attract hummers to my yard?

Plant cardinal flower (right variety!) and black-and-blue salvia, maintain a couple of small clean feeders, both placed where you spend a lot of time outdoors (or in front of a picture window). Read this blog or lihummer.org for further suggestions.

BASICS

Tuesday, May 19, 2015

Shep Jones wakes up; Bahama Woodstar Hummingbird filmed the day I fell ill.

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