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).

Friday, September 15, 2017

4k vid; Now Permanently Closed to the General Public - Surrender?


A perching hummer filmed at the sanctuary recently in 4K.

We have now closed permanently to the general public, in accordance with the terms of a lawsuit settlement I reached with my neighbor Kamal Bherwani. The title of the printed version of a recent Newsday article about the sanctuary closing was "Surrender" but I would describe it more as a strategic retreat. The sanctuary will continue to exist but I will no longer invite members of the general public - only my friends and other personal guests. However, part of the existing sanctuary may well be taken over by the Seatuck Association, and will hopefully be open to the public on a much more extended basis than I have attempted. Details will be announced at this blog.
Although the southward migration is now in full swing, there are still several hummingbirds at the sanctuary, competing for flowers and feeders as they fatten up in preparation for the long journey ahead. I also am "fattening up" - or at least earning my living as a part-time professor at Stony Brook University, and turning more of my energies and enthusiasm toward my students and collaborators. But then as the winter sets in, I and my wife Claire will be migrating south to the sunny isle of Eleuthera - fortunately spared by Irma's recent close passage (though Jose still churns 400 miles to the east of our beach) - and once again surrounded by magical hummingbirds.

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