bananaquit and amarat flower

The amarat is often mistaken for the obnoxious wild tamarind, especially when it’s small. The amarat, however, matures into a tall hardwood tree and produces attractive flowers in the spring. It belongs to the acacia family (locally called kasha) but unlike its unfriendly relatives the amarat bark is smooth and spineless. In the photo on top, a bananaquit sucks the nectar from an amarat flower

American Kestral

The telephone pole that I can see from my deck seems to be a favorite perch for this American kestral also known as a sparrow hawk or killy killy

American Kestral

I finally was able to photograph an American Kestral, one of the two predatory hawks found in our islands. The other is the much larger Jamaican red-tailed hawk. The American Kestral is also known as a sparrow hawk or locally, killy killy, a name that comes from their loud shrill cry. The American Kestral is rather small for a hawk, only reaching about 12 -14 inches in length. They eat insects, lizards, rodents and small birds. I once watched while on of these birds as it perched high in a tree. All of a sudden it swooped down, flying about 50 yards and scooped up a lizard. How that bird saw that tiny lizard, camoflauged in tall grass from so far away was quite impressive. I thought to myself, “that bird must have eyes like a hawk.”