Male Bahama Woodstar | ROLLING HARBOUR ABACO

BAHAMA WOODSTARS: JEWELS IN ABACO’S CROWN

Abaco is spoilt for birds. What other island in the word has its very own population of ground-nesting parrots? (Clue: none). How many others provide a secluded winter home for the rare Kirtland’s Warbler? Or a safe habitat for piping plovers – more than 300 individual birds recorded last year, nearly 4% of the total population? Or host 32 warbler species in the winter to supplement the 5 resident species? Or record a visit from a black-browed albatross? Or enjoy 4 out of 5 of the Bahamian endemic species (no longer the Bahama Oriole sadly, now confined to specific areas of Andros).

Bahama Woodstar Hummingbird, Abaco (Bruce Hallett)

A while back I held a poll for Abaco’s favourite bird, with about 10 contenders. Some were quick to point out that their own personal favourite was not an option, but I had to take a fairly broad brush approach. On the podium, gold went to the Bahama Woodstar; silver to the parrot; and bronze to the western spindalis. I’m in a genial mood today, having caught a fair-sized wild brown trout on my third (part) day of stalking it (over 2 weeks), on the smallest fly in my box (size 18). I put it straight back of course. Respect! So in a spirit of cordiality, here are some epic shots of Abaco’s democratically elected favourite bird… at least according to the poll.

BIRD POLL FV2

The two images above were taken by the legendary Bruce Hallett, author of the go-to field guide for the Bahamas, which no birder should be without. Many of his wonderful photos appear in THE BIRDS OF ABACO, and he was a steady guiding hand during the preparation of the book.

This brilliant photo of a female woodstar was taken by Tara Lavallee of Bahama Palm Shores, and for composition, clarity, colour and sheer charm it was a must for inclusion in the book.

Bahama Woodstar, Abaco (Tara Lavallee)

Another major photographic contributor was Tom Sheley. I had the pleasure of spending time on Abaco with Tom during expeditions deep into backcountry to find and photograph birds. He had two cameras, one with a long lens. The other had a very long lens. The results he obtained – showcased in the book – were outstanding. His woodstar graces the front cover.

Bahama Woodstar male, Abaco, Bahamas (Tom Sheley)

Tom also took a delicate little study of a female woodstar feeding, one of my favourite photos Bahama Woodstar female, Abaco, Bahamas (Tom Sheley)

Credits: Bruce Hallett, Tara Lavallee, Tom Sheley

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