The Great Backyard Bird Count 2015

Barn Swallow

The 18th annual Great Backyard Bird Count (GBBC) was held on February 14-16 worldwide and up to February 21^st had statistics of over 139,400 checklists being submitted; with over 4,850 species observed and more than 17,893,900 birds counted.  As I did for the first time in 2014, I joined the global bird count this year.  While I was able to visit ten locations, it mostly was a busy non birding weekend for me and I did not make it to a few key locations e.g. WSR and Chancery Lane.  At the end of the three days, I had submitted 10 checklists, with 44 species of birds and counting close to 590 individual birds.

The Stats

The most numerous species of birds counted were the Blue-winged Teals with a count of 127 birds.  I missed out on a few key locations which would have added to this total.  Birders who birded at some of these locations and posted the GBBC turned up over 100 more Blue-winged Teals, giving a view of over 200 birds on the island.

Cattle Egrets

In comparison the number of Cattle Egrets counted was 122, this was just a small drop in the pan of the true population on the island.  The most of the Cattle Egrets counted were from a small rookery but, with many rookeries on the island hosting hundreds of birds, 122 is a very small fraction of the cattle Egrets here in Barbados.

My Highlight

My highlight for the weekend would easily be a photo session with some very friendly Barn Swallows.  It came on Sunday, while birding with two other birders in the parish of Christ Church.  It was a rainy morning and we had just spent more than an hour observing and photographing a family of Grebes and a Caribbean Coot.  As we were leaving we came upon a small tree with four Barn Swallows sitting on its branches.  The light was favorable for photography and we spent another ten minutes photographing them.  It was the closest I have ever been to these birds and I got some very good photographs, some of which I may enter in the GBBC photo competition.

I enjoyed being involved with the GBBC for yet another year and even though I did not register any lifers I added five species to my year tally. (Click to see year checklist) The data collected and submitted does not give the true extent of the birds here in Barbados, what it does do, is to assist in fulfilling the mandate of the GBBC and that is “to get the “big picture” about what is happening to bird populations” (worldwide).  As we look forward to 2016, I am hoping that enough data will be collected to provide a true snap shot of the birds in Barbados.

Click for the photograph from the GBBC 2015

GBBC 2015 Tally

	BIRDS	Totals
1	Blue-winged Teal - Anas discors	127
2	Ring-necked Duck - Aythya collaris*	7
3	Pied-billed Grebe - Podilymbus podiceps	5
4	Great Blue Heron - Ardea herodias	1
5	Great Egret - Ardea alba	1
6	Little Egret - Egretta garzetta	3
7	Snowy Egret - Egretta thula	5
8	Little Blue Heron - Egretta caerulea	1
9	Cattle Egret - Bubulcus ibis	122
10	Green Heron - Butorides virescens	1
11	Sora Porzana - Carolina	4
12	Common Gallinule - Gallinula galeata	28
13	Caribbean Coot - Fulica caribaea*	1
14	Black-bellied Plover - Pluvialis squatarola	16
15	Semipalmated Plover - Charadrius semipalmatus	10
16	Spotted Sandpiper - Actitis macularius	1
17	Solitary Sandpiper - Tringa solitaria	2
18	Greater Yellowlegs - Tringa melanoleuca	2
19	Lesser Yellowlegs - Tringa flavipes	7
20	Ruddy Turnstone - Arenaria interpres	2
21	Least Sandpiper - Calidris minutilla	10
22	Stilt Sandpiper - Calidris himantopus	1
23	Semipalmated Sandpiper - Calidris pusilla	30
24	Wilson's Snipe - Gallinago delicata*	5
25	Scaly-naped Pigeon - Patagioenas squamosa	9
26	Eurasian Collared Dove - Streptopelia decaocto	2
27	Zenaida Dove - Zenaida aurita	8
28	Eared Dove - Zenaida auriculata	8
29	Common Ground Dove - Columbina passerine	3
30	Green-throated Carib - Eulampis holosericeus	3
31	Antillean Crested - Orthorhyncus cristatus	3
32	Caribbean Elaenia - Elaenia martinica	7
33	Grey Kingbird - Tyrannus dominicensis	6
34	Black-whiskered Vireo - Vireo altiloquus	5
35	Caribbean Martin - Progne dominicensis*	2
36	Barn Swallow - Hirundo rustica*	30
37	Yellow Warbler - Setophaga petechial	2
38	Grassland Yellow-Finch - Sicalis luteola	2
39	Bananaquit - Coereba flaveola	4
40	Black-faced Grassquit - Tiaris bicolor	11
41	Barbados Bullfinch - Loxigilla barbadensis	18
42	Carib Grackle - Quiscalus lugubris	29
43	Shiny Cowbird - Molothrus bonariensis	36
44	Peregrine Falcon - Falco peregrinus	2