A male Bahama Woodstar Hummingbird perches for a while as I took his picture
The pool area at Harbour Club Villas is the place to birdwatch and frequently we see these beautiful tiny creatures as they hover from flower to flower especially liking the flowers on my firecracker bushes. The Bahama Woodstar is the only hummingbird that is found regularily in the Turks and Caicos. They are generally green on the top of the body with a brown underbody. The female is rather dowdy and drab where as the male has that magnificent irridiscent purple throat which shimmers and glints as the sun catches it.
This tiny female looked like a baby not quite used to flying as she takes a rest on a vine under our palm tree.
The only time I manage to snap a photo is when they perch and rest for a while. These little guys can fly every which way…up, down, left, right and backwards too. When they hover their wings flap at about 50 times per second. Humming birds have a very fast heart and breathing rate and therefore they need to feed every ten minutes or so throughout the day.
A humming bird sits on her small nest built on a forked branch.
One of our guests at the villas was an avid bird watcher and she discovered a nest with only one egg in it. I can’t believe how tiny hummingbird nests are. This one was precariously built in the fork of a three foot tree which was more like a twig. The cup shaped nest is built out of plant fragments and silk from spiders’ webs which is all glued together with her own saliva.
A female sits on her eggs.
A female hummingbird will usually lay two white eggs which take about two weeks to hatch. A further three weeks in the nest and then the young are ready to fly. Unfortunately this twig like branch was bent over in a strong wind and the egg flew out and broke. I would have loved to have seen the young but this was not to be.
Enjoy nature around you and watch for the colourful Bahama Woodstar hummingbirds while you enjoy your vacation here on Provo.
Marta
