The hummingbirds garden in Mérida

Hello Hivers, and lovers of Feathered Friends!

For several weeks, I've wanted to write this blog and share with you the experience I had when I visited the Casa del Angel del Sol - Jardín de Colibríes during my trip to Mérida last April. But I had so many pictures of this experience that it was a difficult job to choose the ones to post and share with you.

La Casa del Angel del Sol is a small refuge for observation and study of hummingbirds located in the sector El Valle, on the road to Páramo de La Culata. To visit it is necessary to make a reservation in advance. In low season they only open on weekends and visits must be made at the exact time of the reservation. We booked for the last hour for visits in the afternoon, which was at 4:30 pm.

When you arrive at the place the first thing is that the tour group receives a talk about the work that is done in the natural refuge, a bit of history of the place and information about the hummingbirds.

There are artificial hummingbird feeders everywhere in the place. These were near the place where I sat to listen to the talk and I could not take my eyes off the hummingbirds that arrived one after the other.

The refuge, founded by a couple of biologists as a place to observe and study the behavior of these tiny birds that are native to the American continent, houses lots of these birds as they created the conditions for the hummingbirds to nest and get a natural refuge there.

Hummingbirds feed on nectar. But they are birds that demand a great amount of nectar, between double and triple their weight. And they have to eat quite frequently. Hence, in addition to the rainforest surrounding the house, there were so many feeders with glucose solution to feed them.

During the talk we were shown a small nest of hummingbirds.

The place was opened to the public in the hardest years of the economic crisis in Venezuela in 2016, as a way to get resources to sustain the place and feed the hummingbirds. Today, thanks to these guided tours, the refuge, the hummingbirds and all those who work there are maintained.

They also told us about some of the species that live in the area. Worldwide there are about 300 different species of hummingbirds, and according to what we were told there are about a hundred of these species in Venezuela.

And after the talk comes the magical part of the visit.

They take you to a terrace overlooking the forest and give you a small feeder so you can have the experience of feeding the hummingbirds.

My friend S was the first to get lucky. A hummingbird with a deep blue detail under its eyes landed on her hand to eat.

Then it was my friend E who received a visitor.

A dark green with white spots hummingbird. It was quite small.

And then another one with shades of green that looked like it had some tiny white cotton wool speckles on its legs.

And finally! After a few minutes of waiting patiently, they began to arrive in my hand.

The feeling I had was magical.

And when they landed on my hand to eat, the tickling with their tiny paws was so wonderful.

This is my entry for the Show Me A Photo Contest Round 227. And this one is the pic I choose for the contest 👇

If life ever takes you to visit the beautiful city of Merida and its surroundings, including La Casa del Angel del Sol in your itinerary is totally worthwhile.

Thank you for reading. Cheers 🍻

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