Q: WHAT IS CUTER THAN A BAHAMA WOODSTAR HUMMINGBIRD ON ABACO?

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Q: WHAT IS CUTER THAN A BAHAMA WOODSTAR HUMMINGBIRD ON ABACO?2129_1086920126985_4106_n

A: A BABY BAHAMA WOODSTAR HUMMINGBIRD ON ABACO1377387_10201470915708562_1875646596_n

Charmaine Albury from Man-o-War Cay, Abaco, has taken some fabulous photographs of a nesting Bahama Woodstar Hummingbird at her home. With her kind permission, I am delighted to display a selection of them below. The adult is a female, and lacks the striking purple gorget of the male. The baby’s plumage is… spiky!  The cup nest is beautifully constructed, made from plant down, bark and cobwebs, balanced in a string of lights.  The size of the bulbs give a very clear idea how tiny these sweet little birds are. These are photos to be viewed in wonderment and awwwwwwwwww….

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This hummingbird species nests all year round. The female lays 2 elliptical white eggs, which she incubates for 15–18 days.  Not only is the baby in these pictures in a very small nest, it is sharing it with an unhatched and presumably sterile egg. Then again, two babies would be even more of a squash… 1381404_10201471034351528_1693570080_n541844_10201470918508632_1470337409_n 1376617_10201470928108872_1146646017_n 1377385_10201470917748613_443444189_n 1382262_10201470921668711_411658918_n

The Bahama Woodstar Calliphlox evelynae is endemic to the Bahamas, found only on there and as an occasional vagrant in south east Florida. On Abaco, it is one of four endemic species found on the island – the others are the Bahama Swallow, the Bahama Warbler and the Bahama Yellowthroat. Together with the unique ground-nesting ABACO PARROT, these are among the most special birds of Abaco.

Photo Credits: All images © Charmaine Albury

15 thoughts on “Q: WHAT IS CUTER THAN A BAHAMA WOODSTAR HUMMINGBIRD ON ABACO?”

  1. Pingback: New hummingbird species discovery in the Bahamas | Dear Kitty. Some blog

  2. How absolutely FABULOUS! I watch Char take these pictures while she stands on a ladder or perches on an air conditioner’s cover at her Mum’s home. We all join in saluting her photographic skills and her dedication to our hummers!

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    • Great to hear from you with a ‘how she does it’ report. I wondered how Char got the ‘aerial’ shots down into the nest – I assumed from a window. The actual method sounds rather hazardous! I was so pleased to be able to include Char as a contributing photographer for “The Birds of Abaco”. Now she seems to be out there with the camera every day, and has some very good ‘gets’, especially with Fall migrants – some quite unusual. RH

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  3. Just seeing this outstanding photos for the first time. AMAZING! The Xmas lights really help the viewer to understand the size of the bird and nest. Always interesting to see all the detail that goes into a bird’s nest. A few months ago, following a very windy night, I found a hummingbird nest with unhatched egg, beneath our front-yard seagrape tree. One of nature’s treasures 🙂

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    • They are fun aren’t they – and you are quite right about the size! Charmaine had another nest this year and I plan another feature soon. The Woodstar was a no-brainer choice for the cover of “The Birds of Abaco”. Small, beautiful, colourful, cute, endemic. Ticked all the boxes! RH

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