The Baiting Hollow Hummingbird Sanctuary: Jumpstart 2015; new visiting slots

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).

Sunday, August 9, 2015

Jumpstart 2015; new visiting slots

Current visiting slots: mon,tues,wed, thur this week. See righthand column for details and procedures.

Friday evening there was an Arts Festival "JumpStart" in downtown Riverhead, and Claire and I spent part of the evening strolling around and enjoying some of the many activities, both outside and in. It was great to see downtown vibrant and once again it reminded us of the immense potential, and the positive signs that the sleeping beauty is awakening. Of course what's needed is more things to do (shops, gardens restaurants, galleries, bridge over the river etc) along the Riverfront, but the first things to do is multistory parking! Many good locations for this, but of course it needs some local government initiative. But Riverhead is stalwart Republican, and therefore completely opposed to any type of public investment, however beneficial. Indeed, given their anti-Government attitude, I cannot see why they are always so eager to govern!

For a report on this exciting event, see http://www.riverheadlocal.com/2015/08/08/downtown-riverhead-celebrates-the-arts-scenes-from-jumpstart-2015/

Another perfect day at the sanctuary. Here are some more recent images, from Ken Eddy.

The middle image is the Great Spangled Fritillary

1 comment:

firewalker57August 9, 2015 at 2:44 PM
Beautitful shots !! .. I love the butterfly :) I agree with your statement about downtown Riverhead, there is so much potential waiting for the right person to come along and create the vision you just described. It would be wonderful !! Thank you again for sharing your sanctuary with us all .. xooxo carolyn
ReplyDelete
Replies

Add comment

Subscribe to: Post Comments (Atom)

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.