GREEN PREEN: CUBAN EMERALD HUMMINGBIRD, ABACO
This tiny bird was in the Abaco coppice, well off the beaten track. Nearly two miles down a notably unbeaten track, in fact, that later was to lead to a puncture-and-@$%^&*-I-forgot-my-cellphone drama. Trauma, even. The hummer knew perfectly well that I had crept up behind it, but it had presumably seen few bipeds. It would not have known of their urge to bulldoze wild habitat and turn it into massive unsold developments, as has happened a short way up the coast… So it just carried on with what a bird has to do to keep itself looking presentable, while I, feeling rather rude and intrusive, took some quick pictures before leaving it in peace. Rather than sell these intimate studies to Hello!, OK!, Chirpy! or Tweet!, I am displaying them free for your enjoyment.
In addition to the Cuban Emerald, the Bahamas has its own endemic hummingbird, the Bahama Woodstar. In the faltering early days of this blog, I posted about them both at BAHAMA WOODSTARS & CUBAN EMERALDS: THE HUMMINGBIRDS OF ABACO At that time, I was not really a ‘birder’ at all, and had only a very basic camera, so my own pictures were… very basic. But you may be interested in some of the info in the post about these two species, so I mention it in passing.
ROLLING HARBOUR ABACO 
Pingback: Some Basic Facts About Hummingbirds – [new track] | mostly music
Thanks for the click-thru link. RH
LikeLike
What beautiful, irridescent feathers!
LikeLike
Hi Lucy, they are very special little birds. I’ll be posting some more in due course. The hummingbird I really want good pics of is the endemic Bahama Woodstar. There’s a bit of a grey / red squirrel situation here, with the native Woodstar retreating where migrant Cuban Emeralds are found. I’m flying out in 2 days, and I’ll be looking out for Woodstars this time…
LikeLike
Absolutely fabulous pictures. I just love them. Such a beautiful little bird.
LikeLike
Thanks Jessica. They are adorable. And although around people they like gardens and feeders, and are tame in that way, the ones well away from people are tame in a different sense – if you are quiet and move very slowly, they are interested yet unconcerned – like this one. A real joy to watch. I’ve got some others I’ll post in due course.
LikeLike
I have never seen anything like this! A true beauty, thanks for sharing.
Greetings from Norway and the seagulls
Dina
LikeLike
They are gorgeous little birds, aren’t they? Wonderful if one can get up so close. Greetings to you and Norway – say hello to Mandal if you are passing!
LikeLike
Yes, they’re gorgeous indeed. No, nix Mandal on my route, I’m afraid… Fredrikstad is on the other side of the Oslofjord. I’ll give it a wink from the plane tomorrow, time to go back to Germany… 🙂
LikeLike