Over the last 16 years, Robert and...
Over the last 16 years, Robert and Esther Tyrrell trudged 80,000 miles through tropical jungles and swamps in search of hidden treasure.
The treasure they sought, however, was not the kind buried by pirates. The quarry pursued by this husband-and-wife team was the hummingbird. “They are jewels that fly,” said Esther Tyrrell.
The brilliant iridescent plumage of the male hummingbird conjures up comparisons to jewels.
“If you hold an emerald up to the sun, you’ll see it glinting, gleaming and shimmering,” Esther Tyrrell said. “That gives you an idea of the colors of the hummingbird.”
Today at 2 p.m., the South Coast Botanic Garden Foundation hosts the Tyrrells’ presentation, “Hummingbirds: Jewels of the Jungle.”
More than 100 high-speed, stop-action slides of hummingbirds of North America and the Caribbean offer guests an opportunity “to see the birds in a way they’ll never be able to see with their own eyes,” Esther Tyrrell said.
Hummingbirds are only about three inches long. The rapid movement of their wings produces a barely visible blur and a humming sound. When hovering over a flower, their wings beat 78 times a second, and in flight up to 200 times a second, said Robert Tyrrell.
Undetered by its size, the hummingbird defends its nest against larger birds and animals. The Aztecs were so impressed with its martial prowess that they named their god of war after the hummingbird, Esther Tyrrell said.
The two naturalists will share what they’ve learned from their adventures and offer tips on where to find hummingbirds. “It’s like looking for a needle in a haystack,” she said.
The South Coast Botanic Garden is one of the best places to see hummingbirds in the South Bay. The 87-acre garden was once a sanitary landfill but is now covered with more than 200,000 varieties of plants and trees from around the world, said Norma Cantafio, the garden foundation’s executive director.
Anna’s hummingbird, with its ruby-red head and throat, and the copper-colored Allen’s hummingbird, are indigenous to the South Bay. Finding the other 398 species of hummingbirds, however, is not so easy.
While on expeditions in the Caribbean, the Tyrrells had to pass gingerly through areas controlled by dangerous drug gangs and filled with deadly seven-foot-long snakes.
The comparatively tranquil South Coast Botanic Garden Foundation is located at 26300 Crenshaw Blvd. in Palos Verdes Peninsula. Admission to today’s program is $3 for adults, $1.50 for students and senior citizens, and 75 cents for children 5 to 12. For more information, call (310) 544-1948. For a close encounter with a hummingbird, wear red. It’s their favorite color.
