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, March 19, 2014

Both chicks fledged; nest empty

This morning at 9 there was still one chick in the nest, and Gumbo was feeding both the nestling and yesterday's fledgling (Paul and Claire). At 10 the nest was empty. I settled in and studied the tree. Soon I saw a small hummingbird quietly perched almost 4 feet vertically above the nest. I suspected this was Paul, the second to fledge. After a short while Gumbo arrived. After her usual cautious appraisal, she inspected the nest, and then quite quickly, realizing her second baby had fledged, and perhaps hearing some tiny peeps, she spotted Paul, and started feeding him. Then over the course of an hour, she returned to him several times, as well as feeding her other chick, Claire, who was moving around quite a bit in the tree top, and more difficult to spot. Finally Paul flew just a couple of feet  to a slightly different spot, where Gumbo again returned to feed him. Unfortunately there's a large piece of new fluff on the camera sensor.
Here's one of the feeding episodes between Gumbo and Paul (of course I don't yet know the sexes of the 2 fledglings).


This afternoon I inspected the now deserted nest: impeccably clean inside, and lined with very soft down.

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