Iere – The Land of the Hummingbird


Today’s article is going to be a little different. I’d like to take you back in time before Trinidad and Tobago was discovered by Christopher Columbus. Indigenous people lived here called the Amerindians. They had their own spiritual beliefs, their own language, and their own culture. They declared that Trinidad would be called “Iere” (pronounced eye-ee-ry) meaning the land of the hummingbird. They also referred to the hummingbird as “yerette”, another Amerindian word.

Figure1: showing a Tufted Coquette (Nirvana Rajaram 2021)

This week I had the great privilege of visiting Yerrete – The Home of the Hummingbirds in Maracas Valley, St Joseph. The owners Theodore Ferguson and his wife Gloria Ferguson bring to life the history of the Amerindians and promote the importance of hummingbirds in nature. Yerette is their home, where they accommodate visitors from all around the world who seek out these flying gems. They provide these majestic birds with a beautiful garden and nectar to feed on which attracts the 15 of the 19 species of hummingbirds found in Trinidad and Tobago. Of these 19 species of hummingbirds found in Trinidad and Tobago, 2 were very recently discovered with the most recent being the glittering throated emerald which was discovered at Yerette in 2019.

Figure 2: showing Theodore Ferguson at Yerette (Nirvana Rajaram 2021)

Today, many seem to have forgotten about the hummingbird. It is often overlooked as a Nation Bird as well even though it is featured on our Coat of Arms, our currency, and our defence force logos. However, don’t be fooled by the tiny nature of this bird, they are forces to be reckoned with. They can fly very fast, flapping their wings up to 80 times per second. They have 360o vision and is the only bird in the world that can fly in all directions; backward, sideways, straight up, and straight down. Hummingbirds also love the rain, the oil on their feathers allows water to form beads and roll right off making them able to fly during wet conditions.

Figure 3: showing a hummingbird mid-flight (Nirvana Rajaram 2021)

The hummingbird is more than just a pretty bird to admire. They also play an essential role as pollinators. A pollinator is any animal that transfers pollen from one flower to another. As mentioned earlier, the hummingbirds’ main food is nectar, it makes up 90% of their diet. They get this nectar from flowers. When the hummingbird reaches down into the flowers for nectar, pollen is usually picked up on the bill (beak) of the bird and transferred to other flowers throughout the day during feeding, thereby pollinating them.


Figure 4: showing a White-chested Jacobin (Nirvana Rajaram 2021)

Hummingbirds can be found throughout the length and breadth of Trinidad and Tobago and even in your backyard. These little birds are very brave, if you place a feeder in your yard, with a nectar solution of 25% sugar (4 cups of water for every one cup of sugar) hummingbirds will come to feed. Ensuring that the nectar solution is the right concentration is a very important step since the birds will not feed if the solution is too sugary. They may take some time to recognise that there is nectar there (possibly a week to 6 months), but once they do you can have an abundance of hummingbirds at your home.

Figure 5: showing a variety of hummingbirds at Yerette (Nirvana Rajaram 2021)

Special Thanks, to Theodore and Gloria Ferguson for welcoming us to their humble abode and educating us on the hidden gems of Trinidad and Tobago. 

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