BAHAMA WOODSTARS NESTING ON MAN-O-WAR CAY, ABACO

I’ve written before about the somewhat fraught relationship between the 2 hummingbird species of Abaco, the endemic Bahama Woodstar and the resident but non-indigenous Cuban Emerald. They tend not to mix, and the Woodstars tend to fade to areas where there are no Emeralds. Both are found at Delphi, but I suspect the sugar water feeders may play a part in that. Even there, the Emeralds predominate. This is my best recent shot of a female Woodstar on the Delphi drive. I had about 30 seconds to see it, whip out the camera, remove the lens cap and fire off some shots. Then it flicked away into the coppice. All images were useless bar one, which almost worked but won’t stand close scrutiny.

Man-o-War Cay may be quite small, but it seems to be blessed with plenty of Woodstars. They are often quite tame and Charmaine Albury has them nesting round her house annually. I posted about her baby Woodstars from last year HERE. This year they have returned, making their tiny cup nests rather precariously amid the domestic wiring. Here are a few of  Charmaine’s nest photos (for which thanks!) for this season.

A female Woodstar on the nest. They lay 2 eggs, which are incubated for around 2 weeks

A fledgling takes flight for the first time, leaving more room for the remaining chick. Note the stumpy little tail

Two eggs that seem far too big for such a tiny nest

Within the last couple of days, the first egg hatched. This hatchling is a few hours old at most

Credits: Header pic of male BAWO Bruce Hallett; RH (Delphi); Charmaine Albury (nests); BNT info sheet