When one thinks of Long Beach, on the South Coast of our
island Barbados, one envisions a mile long, white sandy beach, touched by the
Atlantic Sea. It is known mainly for its
surfing, kite surfing and other water sports. But birding? No way! Maybe Inch Marlow to the south, or the
Chancery Lane Swamp just inland, but definitely not Long for birding. Well, that may have been true before, but not
this year. Long Beach is probably one of
the best locations to see shorebirds this fall migration season thanks to
Sargassum
seaweed (What is Sargassum Seaweed?). While this seaweed may have proven to be a headache
for coastal managers and an eyesore to beach goers, it is a welcomed buffet for
famished shorebirds. This seaweed has
trapped goodies for birds such as fish eggs, small fish and crustacean.
I visited Long Beach a number of times during a three week period,
stopping mostly at the southern end of the beach. With each visit the number of birds and
species increase. The total bird species
recorded up to Friday August 15 was sisteen. This includes nine shorebirds, two seabirds, a Martin and four of our common birds.
The table below shows the list of bird species recorded.
Bird Photos from Long Beach
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| Laugh Gull (juv) |
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| Frigate Bird (M) |
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