The Baiting Hollow Hummingbird Sanctuary: magnificent hummingbirds

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, November 26, 2015

magnificent hummingbirds

All hummingbirds are magnificent but only one is Magnificent (Eugenes fulgens). We are spending Thanksgiving in Arizona and I just filmed a Magnificent (the larger one) sharing a feeder with a couple of Anna's/Costa's. The Magnificent is, together with the Blue-Throated, the largest of US hummingbirds. It weighs at least twice as much as a ruby-throat, and is 2 inches longer. The adult male has an iridescent emerald-green gorget and violet cap (both visible in the video below). He looks rather dark, almost black, from the sides. and has a white patch behind the eye. It is found only in the mountains of the south west US, Mexico and Central America as far as Panama. There were several at the lodge where we are staying, in the Madera Canyon, and also at the Santa Rita Lodge just down the hill from us, where this video was filmed. There are many other hummers (mostly Anna's and Costa's) buzzing around the feeders there.

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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, November 26, 2015

magnificent hummingbirds

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