Exploring Pearns Point

Exploring Pearns Point

Sunday December 10^th, 2023

After breakfast, we went by dinghy to a beach on the north side of Jolly Harbor in an area called “The Bay”.  Our initial thought was to walk from the beach to the top of Pearns Hill.  Looking at the two dimensional chart, this seemed quite possible.  Once we landed on the beach and secured the dinghy, we looked at the three dimensional reality of Pearns Hill.  Achieving the summit seemed highly unlikely.  We did take a walk out to Pearns Point where we were able to peak over into Five Island Bay.  The entire area behind the beach and up the steep hill seems to be owned by a development company.  There are some paved roads, an area where homes are being constructed and many signs for different “Lots”.  We assume that these are for sale to those wishing to build a home with a great view (and many engineering challenges!).

Following a different route on our way back we came upon an area of hillside covered in a bush with tubular yellow flowers.  Here we spotted numerous humming birds that seemed to be chasing one another.  We could identify two types, the Antillean crested hummingbird and the green-throated carib. Quite a few minutes went by while we watched and photographed these very lively birds. 

We trekked back to the beach and dragged the dinghy into the water.  It was back to the boat for lunch. In the afternoon we did some testing of our VHF radio.  Mike went in the dinghy with the handheld radio and called me.  It seems the radio on the big boat is loud and clear with either microphone, except when the engine is running!  At that point the mic in the cockpit is not clear.  Good to know but potentially hard to solve, some kind of electrical interference from the engine.  More mysterious electrical problems….

Gloria

Antillean Crested Hummingbird ... In this image I have de-saturated the color of the background leaves (because I found it distracting). 

Antillean Crested Hummingbird ... I sat on the hillside underneath the flowering shrubs, with hummingbirds buzzing all around. I cleared some small branches out of the way and waited for the birds to return to this perch, which they did with some regularity. However, they are so jumpy and their reaction times are phenomenal, so the sound of the shutter opening startles them and the flash catches their motion. 105 mm Nikon micro lens ... within 3 feet of the bird

Traveller palms, a favorite plant subject of mine. In this case you are looking at the inverted (negative) of the photograph, obviously not lifelike, but I like the abstract result.

The view west from Pearns Point