Cuba 03/19’ – introductory text - Bee hummingbird
Cuba has always been considered in my travel plans. There were several reasons to visit this island country. But one was the most important - to see and photograph the smallest bird in the world that is Bee hummingbird. This bird is included into a group of less than 30 endemics, which can be found only in Cuba. While photographing small birds that weigh a dozen grams, I wondered how difficult it would be to photograph a bird whose weight is less than 2 grams (males, because females are a bit heavier and their weight slightly exceeds two grams). This is like that, the bee hummingbird male is 20 times lighter than a sparrow. The only bird in the world that almost fits to a 1: 1 scale of a SLR camera full matrix (36X24 mm). All other photographed birds are zoomed-in while shooting. A bit of a joke, but this bird is really a miniature. Therefore, in fact this gallery should be placed in the MACRO category. Because the bee hummingbird was the aim of our week-long trip, four several-hour-long photo sessions were devoted to it. Of course, in places where they occur far from human settlements, taking a good photo is virtually impossible. Only in gardens where birds can always find fresh water it is possible to start the struggle, verify capabilities of the equipment, take advantage of the reflections of light and test the quality of the birds’ cooperation. Not every individual let us approach them. Of course, to shoot a bird sitting on a branch was not a problem in places like I described above. Although, because of constantly changing colors of the head, the results were different. Sometimes the bird seemed to be gray or even black, at least not colorful, to show beautifully illuminated feathers on the head after a second. But the desire to photograph the bird flying around initially seemed impossible to fulfill. Which lens should I choose? Fortunately, from Poland we took several lenses: from 600 to 100 macro. All of them were in use, but in the end probably the best photos were taken with 300. A compromise of distance, brightness and speed of the auto-focus. Hundreds, or maybe thousands attempts to successfully present this beautiful, the world's smallest bird. There is probably no person in the world who would not smile and feel happy on seeing a hummingbird sitting on a branch within a meter or two. We photographed in a public place where anyone could watch these birds. Unfortunately, sometimes quite numerous groups of people interested in watching the birds came to our spot and our session was interrupted. Such a group came in and looked around for a bird hidden somewhere in the treetops. The owner of the property approached and pointed to a beautiful male sitting at the height of their eyes, in the depths of the bush. “The WOW effect” - guaranteed. The group suddenly livened up and started to take photos with the use of mobile phones. Amazing, this smallest bird finally got its gallery on my site. I think I managed to show the uniqueness of this bird associated with changes in the color of its feathers. Dozens of photos here show most of the color options of its plumage. However, the pictures do not show how small it is, because only in comparison to another bird or thing, it could be shown. For this one would have to catch it and take such comparative pictures. Honestly, I cannot imagine it, because it would be easy to harm this birdie. That is why I recommend you to search the Internet, where you can find similar, comparative photos. So much for the report on a really close encounter with the bee hummingbird, and finally some statistics from the week-long shooting birds in Cuba. For a week, with varying results but over 100 species of birds have been photographed. Including the endemic trogon – Cuban trogon (tocororo), which is the national bird of Cuba. Of course, documentary photos of birds that are not endemic to Cuba or do not belong to the Polish fauna, will not have their galleries and will remain on the computer disc. It was also possible to record 27 sounds of birds and add 5 new species and some improved photos in existing galleries. I would like to note as a success the created galleries of Cuban endemics in the number of 17 out of less than 30 endemics. Some of them, however, have not been observed for years and therefore we can assume 25 endemics of Cuba. To inform new visitors to my site, I would like to mention that the letters placed in brackets after the species name mean: T - text (information) added to the gallery, G - the soundtrack of the bird's voice. I must conclude that it was a very intense, a busy week. Of course, this would not be possible without a professional guide - Martinez. A man about whom an interesting book could be written, and he oneself could write interesting one about his bird's observations. Martinez, I send you my thanks and greetings, because I managed to leave only for a week, but thanks to you we could see so much that in a different team (Paweł - greetings) it would be needed 3 weeks or a month. I suppose the list of species included in the information in each gallery speaks for itself. The quantity and quality of the photos make the trip really successful, the friendly Kuba will be associated with positive emotions and the photos and sounds recorded will be something to come back to...