The Baiting Hollow Hummingbird Sanctuary: Open Today; catching insects

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, August 25, 2011

Open Today; catching insects

We are open today from 9.30 to 12.30 and 3 to 6. Please see lihummer.org for directions and information, and remember to ring the bell if you have never been here before. As always we are closed 12.30-3, but there are several excellent nearby restaurants. If you visit a local establishment, please mention that you are visiting the sanctuary.
We plan to open tomorrow from 3 to sunset, but please check this blog for confirmation. Please do not bring any food or drink items tomorrow evening: the point is just to quietly watch red and green flashes, not conviviality.

Hummingbirds drink nectar mainly to power their energy-intensive flight, but they also need protein, which they get from catching small insects. Indeed, most of the mother's activity is devoted to catching insects for the babies in the nest (and shortly thereafter); they are not flying and need few calories. This is one reason why activity is much lower during nesting season (late may-early august). Hummers catch insects by opening their beaks and flying rapidly forwards, pushing the insect into their throats. They do not snap with their beaks or use their tongues. The photo, taken at the sanctuary by Anne Denese, shows a hummer with open beak ready to lunge forward and engulf the hapless insect.

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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

Thursday, August 25, 2011

Open Today; catching insects

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