Hummingbird Re-Cycles Nest

Posted on August 18, 2011 by marta

A new hummingbird appeared and began adding a second storey to the old existing nest

Can you believe it? A week ago, we were surprised to see that our old hummingbird nest in the cactus beside the walkway to our house, had grown taller. It wasn’t a few minutes later, that I heard her! A new hummingbird mama had seen the nest and decided to re-use and re-cycle the old nest. She was busily adding a second storey to the old nest to build it up a little more.

Here's the nest showing the new portion between the two stars.

The nest is totally about 1 3/4 inches and the addition is almost a half inch. Still pretty tiny all things considered. Mama has laid her second egg (yesterday) and is now sitting on the nest leaving periodically to feed.

Here's the nest from the back side showing all the fine strands of cobwebs used as "glue" to secure the nest.

I wanted to show you the new materials and fluff that has gone into recycling the top of the old nest.

A backside view of the Bahama Woodstar hummingbird sitting on a nest with two little eggs

Nesting hummingbird ... how sweet she is!

So here I go again! I’ll keep taking more photos………….I can’t tell you how many I already have but there’s tons!!

Marta

http://www.harbourclubvillas.com

Hummingbirds Getting Bigger Part 2

Posted on August 18, 2011 by marta

The two baby Bahama Woodstar hummingbirds are squished into the tiny nest as they continue to grow.

The above photo was taken a month ago and as you can see, the little birds are growing very fast. The nest is glued and held together with cobwebs and this enables the babies to compact and stretch the nest to hold the both of them. Clever little birds they are and when they just get too big, they are ready to fly.

Please check the previous blogs.

From building the nest..http://myturksandcaicosblog.com/?p=2601

To laying the eggs…http://myturksandcaicosblog.com/?p=2616

To the chicks hatching…http://myturksandcaicosblog.com/?p=2699

The chicks getting bigger…http://myturksandcaicosblog.com/?p=2745

One little baby sits almost on top of the other.

At a different angle, the baby birds are definitely getting too big for the nest and sure enough the day after the photo, we missed one flying out of the nest

What excitement as we managed to catch the one baby leaving the nest and making his first flight. The other little one must have been hidden in the bushes and trees.

Here it is.....ready to fly off into the big world!

It's first flight was from the nest to a nearby Opuntia cactus where he perched for a few minutes

Here the baby hummingbird lifts off and flies up into our large bouganvillea

It has been such a joy to take all these photos from start to finish…………right from when we discovered the nest just being built to seeing the eggs hatch and the birds grow and fly away. Nature is so wonderful !!

Now just when I was getting used to leaving my camera behind…………..we have another event unfolding!!!!

Marta

http://www.harbourclubvillas.com

Tree Frogs in Our Cisterns

Posted on August 4, 2011 by marta

Croaking frogs caught in our cisterns........noisy especially when trying to sleep!!

We’ve been hearing frogs croaking at night and yes, two of them managed to get into the cistern under our house. Yesterday, we caught another one that had taken up residence in the cistern under Harbour Club’s gazebo at the pool.

We sent Mike down into the cistern today to capture the little frog........I'm hoping there isn't a mass of froglets down there!!!

Last night, we opened the trap door to the cistern while watching TV. We had read that frogs are attracted to light and we hoped the two frogs would emerge into the living room……umm, I wasn’t too keen on this idea with visions in my head of chasing a fast hopping frog around our living room. Well, Mike peeked around the recliner to find one of the frogs sitting on the trap door ledge which he quickly caught in our pool net.

Here's this mornings tree frog caught in the pool net.

We sent Mike down into our cistern this morning to catch the last remaining frog. He was well hidden up in the pipes but Mike managed to catch him.

Mike frees the small tree frog and we let him go into the bushes and shrubs by one of the villas.

Such pretty camouflage colorations on this little tree frog.

Note the suction type pads which enable these frogs to glom onto cistern walls ?? etc

I’m hoping there weren’t too many tadpoles down in the cistern waters…….we did add bleach this morning.

Marta

http://www.harbourclubvillas.com

Sunshine and Shallow Seas

Posted on July 17, 2011 by marta

Yet once again, we lazed the afternoon away in our favourite spot at Taylor Bay.

We never get tired of lying in the shallow waters of Taylor Bay watching the rippling sand under the water as the sun dances and glints over the surface of the ocean.

We were joined by three vacationers who had put their beach chairs way out in six inches of water.....our boat was anchored only in about two feet

Here they are lounging keeping cool as they gaze out over the ocean with Turtle Rock on the horizon.

Malaika heads back to the boat...she only had to swim the last few feet.

Marta

http://www.harbourclubvillas.com

Hummingbirds Getting Bigger

Posted on July 13, 2011 by marta

Here's the MaMa hummingbird feeding one of the babies that I managed to catch on camera.

Ten days ago, the little baby hummingbirds were tiny and scrawny with hardly any feathers. I spent hours trying to get photos of her feeding them but she was really edgy if I got up too close. The last few days or so she doesn’t spend as much time sitting on the nest as the little ones are growing fast.

A baby opens his bright yellow beak wide ready for a meal.

They are now filling up the nest and are all feathery.

Often when I walk past the cactus, all I see is two little beaks sticking up out of the nest.

The mother will feed the nestlings on small insects and nectar by inserting her bill into the open mouth of a nestling and regurgitating the food.

A close up shows the little ones nestled together with beaks resting on the edge of the nest.

The Mama Bahama woodstar humming bird watches me from a nearby branch

The hummingbird mother pushes the food down the chicks’ throats with her long bill directly into their stomachs. The little chicks are brooded only the first week or two, and left alone after about 12 days – probably due to the small nest size. The chicks leave the nest when they are about 20 days old.

Twin beaks peaking out of the nest which is made of silks and apparently expands a bit as they grow.

The young hummingbirds are beginning to show some greenish tinged feathers as you can see in the photo

They are growing fast and so small and downy looking. The first baby hatched June 29 so they are about two weeks old.

Marta

http://www.harbourclubvillas.com

Blissful Beach of Our Own

Posted on July 10, 2011 by marta

Anchored off our own private beach......a blissful weekend with two days of soaking up the sun and this beautiful little beach.

It’s been very rough these past few days on both sides of the island. We decided to head out and just stop off at little Bay Cay. So two days in a row, both Saturday and Sunday were spent enjoying the warm water out of the wind, picnic lunches and cold drinks……..yes, you guessed it….lots of beer!

The water was calm as the island blocked the strong wind that was blowing.

Little Jack's first dip in the ocean...........he took it all in stride! Love his swim suit

You can tell that the wind kind of trashed the umbrella!!

A beach to ourselves........this certainly is an idyllic spot.

Malaika had great fun playing under the umbrella as the tide came in.

Little island beach gal running and splashing in the water.

A beach of our own........only in the Turks and Caicos you say?

A fun weekend with family and friends……….great company and a lot of laughs.

Marta

http://www.harbourclubvillas.com

TCSPCA Dog Show Part 2

Posted on July 3, 2011 by marta

Oh Motley............you handsome old dog you! He has the sweetest face and was one of the finalists in the "Best Veteran Dog"

Oh MottLee............you handsome old dog you! He has the sweetest face and was one of the finalists in the "Best Veteran Dog." Kathi tells me his full name is MottLee Cruise and he is a Royal Turks & Caicos Miniature Wolfhound and has the rarest colour for the breed - Russet.

The TCSPCA Dog Show is held every year and seems to get bigger and better with a wonderful variety of dogs entered into the competition. This is a major fundraiser for the many programs run by the TCSPCA which is a non profit organization relying on donations. Be sure to contact them if you’d like to help out.

Here's LD ......... look at the great markings and a face just made for lots of kisses

Luna won the "Most Original Potcake" category

Face painting for the kids and this little boy was so cute.

Daisy, Daisy you're driving all the guys crazy with your sad eyes and sweet ways

Dog obedience performance by Donna's Pampered Paws group participants. These dogs were amazing especially since they were infront of a room filled with other dogs, two legged friends and lots of distractions.

I don't know why they didn't have a "best smile" category???

Faith wowed the crowds as Sally puts her through her tricks

Hoping to see everyone come out next year with tails a waggin’.

Marta

http://www.harbourclubvillas.com

2011 TCSPCA Dog Show

Posted on July 2, 2011 by marta

Ripley smiles for the camera......Dogs, Dogs everywhere...all sizes large, small and medium made for a wonderful afternoon of fun.

The long awaited and anticipated premier event of the dog world took place in Turtle Cove today. The annual Turks and Caicos Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals dog show had all kinds of dogs entered for the various events. Best Trick, Most “Original” Potcake, Dog with the Waggiest Tail to name a few. A “woofing” good time was enjoyed by everyone!

Jasmine and Lil'Bug dressed in pink with cute bows....she came in third for the best lookin' female

"Doggie" face painting was a big hit with the kids.

The judges including Donna from Pampered Paws had a real tough job on their hands with the large turn out of competitors

I love this photo of judge Peggy with her daisy adorned hat

Adorable Cookie stole the show..............how cute is this???

Dexter was chosen as the best looking Male in the show

Brindy tries to have a sip of champagne..........it's thirsty work when you are this good looking!

And here she is....TOP DOG in the show.........PEACHES

I can’t tell you how much fun we all had at this annual event and congratulations to the hard working volunteers and organizors. The TCSPCA is the oldest and most established animal welfare organization in the Turks & Caicos Islands. It was established in 1998 and is entirely dependant on donations. So PLEASE do what you can to help this worthy cause.

Keep those tails a waggin’ !

Marta

http://www.harbourclubvillas.com

Then There Were Two….Hummingbirds

Posted on June 30, 2011 by marta

Then there were TWO........the second egg hatched today.

I peeked into the nest today while Mama hummingbird was away and discovered that the second egg had hatched. Apparently when hummingbirds lay their eggs, the incubation starts once both eggs are in the nest and so they hatch at about the same time.