Palpate: The wings of the world’s smallest birds are almost invisible as they whiz past tourists visiting a private Cuban garden that has become a sanctuary for an endangered species.
Measuring just five to six centimeters (two inches) in length, the bee hummingbird is found only in Cuba. Its losses have been huge, according to the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) it has disappeared from many areas due to deforestation.
But in Palpit, in the southwest of the country, Bernabe Hernandez, 75, has turned his garden into a paradise for small birds.
“We never get bored. We always discover something new!” he said as he watched two of the Hummingbirds (Mellisuga helenae) float to the suspended water bath.
The government gave him land to redevelop on the edge of Cienaga de Zapata, the largest wetland in the Caribbean.
“I moved here but there were no birds,” he told AFP.
He decided to plant more shrubs, and soon his lush garden was aglow with hummingbirds nesting in the nearby woods.
