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a32 local
Friday 22 May 2020

Photographer Erik Neuteboom:

Hummingbirds and Aruba

flight, like staying in one place during flight, and fly backward and up-
ORANJESTAD — Aruba Today likes to show their readers, followers, side-down as well. Hummingbirds have the smallest eggs, as tiny as peas
friends the beauty of our island in all its aspects. We support individu- and are placed in a walnut shell-sized cup woven from spider webs and
als, foundations and organization that protect the island’s flora, fauna plant material. Depending on the species, habitat conditions, predators
and culture. We know that these are the treasures we must preserve and other factors the average lifespan of a wild hummingbird is between
and the reason why our tourists visit One Happy Island. With words and 3 and 6 years, sadly most die in the first year. Hummingbirds are one of
images we share the wonders of Mother Nature. Have a look at the the few groups of birds that are known to go into ‘torpor’: this is a very
wonderful pictures by photographer Erik Neuteboom. deep, sleep-like state in which metabolic functions are slowed to a mini-
mum and a very low body temperature is maintained. Despite their small
The almost 340 species of hummingbirds are restricted to the New World, size hummingbirds are one of the most aggressive bird species, they will
where they can be found from Tierra del Fuego to southern Alaska, most regularly attack jays, crows and hawks that infringe on their territory. Due
species live in the tropics. On Aruba we can find the Ruby-topaz (‘the to their their high-energy lifestyle a hummingbird must consume one half
red one’) and the Blue-tailed emerald (‘the green one’), but the White- of its weight in sugar daily, and the average hummingbird feeds five to
necked jacobin is also often mentioned. The best time to watch hum- eight times per hour.
mingbirds is when the aloe vera flowers blossom.
About the artist
Features “I was born in 1960 in the Dutch city The Hague. My late father was very
A hummingbird its heart beats from 225 times per minute at rest to over much into photography and nature, I have inherited this from him. In the
1,200 times when flying. The wings beat between 50 and 200 flaps per early Eighties I bought my first camera. During the years I had many hob-
second and more than 200 times while diving. The maximum speed is 30 bies but the last 10 years I focused on photography, combined with a
miles per hour, but up to 60 miles in a dive. start as ‘birdwatcher’. Now I am retired as psychiatric nurse and live since
late 2017 on Aruba (with my wife Hetty), photography has become my
Facts main hobby. I love to show people how wonderful the Aruban nature is,
Hummingbirds their power and small size allow tremendous agility in especially on my Facebook sub-page Dushi Aruba.”q