It has been a difficult time for me birding
in the last couple of weeks. Car
troubles, which impeded my movement for a few weeks, camera troubles, which are
still unresolved and relegated me to my less than stellar Rebel XT, which in
itself has problems. These along with a
few other factors limited my birding in the latter weeks of October and most of
November. So you would understand my joy
to have gotten in a few hours of birding on Thursday November 30th,
which was a public holiday for the island’s independence.
This early morning birding trip took me to
the easterly parish of St. Andrew and landed me my 132nd Barbados
lifer, 97th year bird, 93rd Image for my 2017 Photographic Big Year and a Mega Rarity for the island. This bird, a Eurasian Spoonbill93 (Platalea leucorodia), was only the second one ever recorded
on the island. The Spoonbill, a
juvenile, was white with patches of black at the edge of its flight feather;
its unmistakable spoon shaped bill was yellowish in color with black legs. Eurasian Spoonbills breed from southern Spain
and Netherlands to Korea and from Western Africa through India to China. – The Birds of Barbados – P.A. Buckley et al.
The bird appeared healthy as it
waded in water up to its knees. It was
recorded at this same location days after.
My 94th bird sent me back to
images I took in January. The images
were of a Green-winged Teal94 (Anas crecca). The images were not of the best quality and I
was hoping to photograph the bird as it molted into its stunning breeding
plumage, which is a combination of shades of blue and brown, but that never
happened.
The task to photograph 100 different birds
looks daunting with just four weeks remaining in 2017 but I still believe I can
pull it off and will be working tirelessly to do so in the remaining days to
come.
Stay tuned and enjoy your birding!
See images below. See 2017 Photographic Big Year images here.
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| 93 - Eurasian Spoonbill - Platalea leucorodia |
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| 94 - Green-winged Teal - Anas crecca |
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