Once again, on Saturday 14th May 2022 the Caribbean birding community showed up and showed out for Global Big Day! Global Big Day is an annual celebration of the birds around you. Birders and bird lovers across the globe spend the day observing and recording essential data about the birds they see. Some also take this opportunity to visit new birding spots, reconnect with colleagues, and tick lifers off their lists.
continue read >>>
Birds of Barbados
Birds and birding in Barbados and the Caribbean
Thursday, 23 June 2022
Global Big Day 2022: Birds Caribbean Continues Record-breaking Streak! by BC
Thursday, 5 May 2022
The Barbados Birds and Birding Report – April
There were three new birds in April, one was a mega-rare. There were Pectoral Sandpiper (Calidris melanotos), American Oystercatcher (Haematopus palliates), the mega-rare bird, and Willet (Tringa semipalmata), bringing the total birds species seen at the end of April to 87.
American Oystercatcher (Haematopus palliates) are large, stocky shorebird, about 17-21” (38-21cm) in length, with a long, bright reddish-orange beak, yellow iris, and a bright reddish-orange eye-ring. The last confirmed sighting of one on the island was on August 30th, 1998. (BOS Series #24 - The Birds of Barbados (Buckley, Massiah, et al)). The bird was recorded at Inch Marlow, Christ Church on Friday,
April’s Rare Bird Sightings
Here are the rare birds seen during the month, highlighted below parish by parish. (* continuing Birds)
St. Lucy
![]() |
Glossy Ibis |
- Glossy Ibis (Plegadis falcinellus)(1)*- only one of the original three birds remaining at this location;
St. Andrew
- American Coot
red-shielded (Fulica Americana)(2)* – at Walkers Reserve;
![]() |
Grey Heron |
- Grey Heron (Ardea cinerea) - seen at Tappy Pond on April 1st
Christ Church
- Grey Heron (Ardea
cinerea) -- most likely the sane bird seen on the 1st that relocated to this location
American Oystercatcher
- American Oystercatcher (Haematopus palliates) - A mega-rare bird for the island. First recorded on the 22nd at Inch Marlow
- Lesser Black-backed Gull (Larus fuscus)* – this large immature gull was seen at the Bridgetown Fishing Complex on the 5t but is now a regular along the basin of Carlise's Bay.
- Snail Kite (Rostrhamus sociabilis)* - First sighted on September 2020, a first for the island.
Feel free to contact
me, Julian Moore @ 100birdsbarbados@gmail.com, John Webster @
barbadosbirds@gmail.com, or Ed Massiah @ ebmassiah@hotmail.com to report any
rare bird sightings, or if you need assistance identifying a bird, we would be
happy to help.
Sunday, 1 May 2022
May, A Thrilling Month For Birding
Blackpoll Warbler at Graeme Hall Swamp 2017
I've always looked forward to birding in the month of May. It is not one of the birdies months of the
year, in fact, it can be quite slow but here are just two reasons it is a month to look forward
to, (1)the Global Big Day and (2)the Mega-rare possibilities.
Global Big Day
It is the biggest
day of birding worldwide, The
Global Big Day, in celebration of World Migratory Bird Day, which
will be on May 14th this year.
Last year more than 50,000 people from 175 countries submitted an astounding
120,000 checklists with eBird, setting a
new world record for a single day of birding.
It was also the first time the island fielded a locally based birding
team, The Bajan Birders. Our team along with fourteen others was able to raise valuable funds for a Caribbean bird conservation effort. This year will be the same, and the funds raised will go towards providing travel scholarships to help deserving
Caribbean students and wildlife professionals
Mega-rare Possibilities
Another reason I look forward to the month of
May is the high number of Mega-rare birds historically recorded during the month.
Here are a few
examples:
May 1st
- Black-necked Stilt (Himantopus mexicanus) - 2013
- Curlew Sandpiper (Calidris ferruginea) - 2001
- Indigo Bunting (Passerina cyanea) – 2001
- Terek Sandpiper (Xenus cinereus) - 2000
- Yellow-rumped Warbler (Setophaga coronata) – 1992
May 2nd
- Dickcissel (Spiza americana) - 1992 (Female. First Record for Barbados)
- Bobolink (Dolichonyx oryzivorus) - 1992
- Blackpoll Warbler (Setophaga striata) - 2017 (rare for time of year)
May 12Little Stint by Ed Massiah
- Little Stint (Calidris minuta) - 1999
May 30
- Herring Gull (Larus argentatus) - 2015
![]() |
Gray-hooded Gull |
- Gray-hooded Gull (Chroicocephalus cirrocephalus) - 2009
And a list of rare birds.
These are just two of the reason why the month of May is a thrilling month For birding - let's hope this year lives up to the hype.
Stay safe and enjoy your birding
Friday, 29 April 2022
Bird with Us for the Birds Caribbean Global Big Day fundraiser
Last year our small team The Bajan Birders, made up of birders from Barbados and one from St. Lucia, not only had fun but also assisted in raising funds and won a few awards.
Teammate Jerome Foster, of St. Lucia, who was only able to bird a few hours in the morning won the Life in the Wild category with “American Kestrels Mating”
and third in Best Bird Photo with an Immature Little Blue Heron.
Yours truly was awarded the Best Shorebird with an image of a Ruddy Turnstone in breeding plumage.
In all, our 9-member
Bajan Birders team
- Navigate here:https://givebutter.com/BCGBD2022/bajan-birders-friends
- Click the “JOIN A TEAM” button below the Global Big Day graphic
- Once on a team, send a message to your friends, family, colleagues, and networks asking them to support your team either by joining or donating.
- Go birding on Sat May 14 - you can simply bird in your backyard or visit as many sites as you wish during the day.
- Enter your sightings into eBird or ebird Caribbean (if you are birding in the Caribbean).
- Share your ebird checklist with the team's ebird account username “BCGBDBajanBirders”.
- It's that easy
- Navigate here:https://givebutter.com/BCGBD2022/bajan-birders-friends
- Click on the ‘Donate’ button.
- Choose our team “Bajan Birders & Friends” from the drop-down menu
- Make a donation (however small, everything helps)
- Just follow this link
- Click the “JOIN A TEAM” button below the Global Big Day graphic on this page and follow the wizard.
- On Global Big Day, May 14, share your ebird checklist with the username “BCGBDBajanBirders”.
- Make sure to also upload your media - images and audio files.
Come bird with us, donate and have lots of fun. Stay safe and enjoy your birding.
Wednesday, 20 April 2022
Mark Your Calendars and Join Us for Global Big Day on May 14!
It’s that time of year again! We’ll be hosting our annual celebration of Global Big Day—the biggest birding day of the year—on Saturday, May 14, 2022. This time, we are raising funds for travel scholarships to help Caribbean students and wildlife professionals attend the AOS-BC Conference in Puerto Rico this June*.
We are bringing back our popular teams competition from 2021, and celebrating together the energy, excitement, and camaraderie that’s associated with Global Big Day.
Last year was a resounding success, with people from 192 countries reporting 7,234 species in a single day—the biggest Global Big Day turnout ever! For BirdsCaribbean, our numbers were also impressive—15 teams with members from 36 countries reported a total of 1,348 species and raised over $20,000, and we had so much fun doing this. Let’s make this year even better! Continue reading >>>
BirdsCaribbean is a vibrant international network of members and partners committed to conserving Caribbean birds and their habitats in the insular Caribbean (including Bermuda, the Bahamas and all islands within the Caribbean basin).
Monday, 11 April 2022
Signs of Spring Migration
![]() |
Two male Blue-winged Teals in breeding plumage |
![]() |
Ruddy Turnstones and Sanderlings @ Inch Marlow |
![]() |
Ruddy Turnstones in various stages of molting, Sanderlings, Least Sandpipers, and Semipalmated Sandpiper |
Stay Safe and enjoy your birding.
Monday, 4 April 2022
The Barbados Birds and Birding Report – March
Visiting birders dominated during the month of March. Over twenty of them submitted over 120
of the 188 checklists that were submitted to ebird.org during the month. I do hope the Ministry of Tourism is taking
note. Together with our local birders added three
new birds, Laughing Gull (Leucophaeus atricilla) Leach's Storm-Petrel
(Hydrobates leucorhous), and Western
Sandpiper (Calidris mauri), to
the island’s year checklist, ending the month with 81 species.
The sighting of the Leach's Storm-Petrel highlighted an
area of the local avian fauna that is least explored, that of the birds that inhabit
the seas around our island, pelagic birds. These are birds that spend most of their life
at sea only returning to, or close to land for nesting or during bad weather. Storm-Petrels are some of the smallest birds
in that group. For example, Leach's
Storm-Petrels are between 5 – 7” in length (12-17cm), which is about the
size of a Common Ground-Dove (Columbina passerina). So if any of you readers have a boat, we would
not mind tagging along with you every now and then, all in the name of science.
March Rare Bird Sightings
Very few new rare birds entered the list during March., and after this would be the last time the American Coot white-shielded (Fulica Americana) will be listed as a rare
bird, as was done by ebird. This bird continues to nest successfully at a few locations across the island. The red
shielded variety, which is the rarer of the two will continue to
be listed.
- Glossy Ibis (Plegadis falcinellus) (1)*- this bird continued its stay long-stay at a private location in the parish.
St. Andrew
- American Coot white-shielded (Fulica
Americana) (15)*- 12 adults and 3 juveniles at Walkers Reserve, which continues to be the hub for this species’ strong
return to the island;
- American Coot red-shielded (Fulica Americana)* (1) – at Walkers Reserve;
- American Wigeon (Mareca Americana) (5)* seen among a large flock of Teal.
St. Thomas
- Snail Kite (Rostrhamus
sociabilis)* – after being absent for close to three months, the Snail
Kite turned up in Farmers, St. Thomas on the 17th. Sightings were also reported on the 20th and
21st.
- American
Coot white-shielded (Fulica Americana)*(3) - a pair with a single chick at Redland.
- Grey Heron (Ardea cinerea) - The first sighting of the year.
ST. Philip
- Purple Gallinule (Porphyrio martinica)*- sub-adult at the Bayfield’s Pond, first reported by a visitor to the island but as subsequently molted, or in the process of molting, into its beautiful adult plumage.
![]() |
Black-headed Gull |
- Black-headed Gull (Chroicocephalus ridibundus)* – This bird was seen on the ice pier at Oistins, with Royal Terns on the 10th.
![]() |
Yellow-crowned Night-Heron |
- Yellow-crowned Night-Heron (Nyctanassa violacea) an adult bird seen at Oistins on the 19th.
St. Michael
- Lesser Black-backed Gull (Larus fuscus)* – this large immature gull was seen at the Bridgetown Fishing Complex on the 5th. It was most likely the bird that was seen late last year.
- Black-headed Gull (Chroicocephalus ridibundus) – most likely the same bird that was reported at Oistins Christ Church;
- Leach's Storm-Petrel (Hydrobates leucorhous) – reported to ebird by visiting birder John Ingham who note “ (the bird) was attracted to the lights of our cruise ship in Barbados cruise terminal before we set sail and settled on a ledge. It seemed exhausted. It was the size of a small pigeon…” The last time this species was reported on was March 2018 by another visitor;
- Snail Kite (Rostrhamus sociabilis)* seen once again at its Bay Street roost after exploring the island
Feel free to contact
me, Julian Moore @ 100birdsbarbados@gmail.com, John Webster @
barbadosbirds@gmail.com, or Ed Massiah @ ebmassiah@hotmail.com to report any
rare bird sightings, or if you need assistance identifying a bird, we would be
happy to help.