The Baiting Hollow Hummingbird Sanctuary: Open this wednesday afternoon. Silke's Dream; Hiking to the Sanctuary; Open Next Week

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).

Wednesday, August 14, 2013

Open this wednesday afternoon. Silke's Dream; Hiking to the Sanctuary; Open Next Week

We are open this wednesday afternoon, 3-5.30!
The above photo was taken by Dick Solo on monday. The hummer is feeding at "Silke's Dream" a hybrid of S. microphylla and S. darcyi. It's worth getting for the name alone, but it's also a quite a good hummingbird plant - I have not decided whether it rates 2 or 3 stars.
We should be open every day next week, both am and pm (i.e. 9.30-12.30 and 3 - 5.30) and I should have cleared the backlog of waiver requests by then. However, we request that those who have already visited this week wait until the following week to re-visit. But, as always, please check the blog before you set off to confirm we are open, and of course bring a signed waiver.
We will be closed sunday, saturday am and friday pm (private organized groups are coming), but probably open fri am, and possibly thursday too. CHECK THE BLOG!
You can do everyone and yourself (healthwise) a favor by parking in the Riverhead Town Sound Ave Nature Preserve lot when you visit, and hiking up Terry Farm Road to the sanctuary. The lot is immediately east of the start of Terry Farm Rd, and accessed from Sound Ave. The hike up to the sanctuary is around a half mile, and quite beautiful. This will leave spare places in the sanctuary's own lot for those who cannot hike.

2 comments:

RayAugust 14, 2013 at 12:01 PM
It appears that I need permission to view the google doc. Could you also post as a PDF or make available in some other way? I requested access, but that's a lot for you to have to manage.
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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.