Birding April Third

Sora

 With an angry looking sky displaying its many shades of grey suggesting rain was imminent, and with I fighting off a cold, I was ready for my first early morning birding excursion in more than a month.  I had all my bases covered; my camera was packed away from the night before with an empty memory card installed and for the cold I took two teaspoons of cough syrup followed by some vitamin C.  I was so hyped that I even considered taking some of my wife’s concoction of Garlic and Ginger which was sitting in the refrigerator, but I regained my sanity just in time when the smell hit my nostrils and left it where it was.  It was quite chilly outside, so I protected myself with three layers of shirts, packed my breakfast and was out through the door.

I had arranged the night before to meet Dr. John Webster at 6am to bird two locations in the south of the island, first a Private Swamp, which he has permission to visit, and the cliffs where the Red-billed Tropicbirds are nesting.

The Private Swamp

Remains of Common Gallinule
killed by Peregine

This is probably one of the best birding locations on the island.  It consisted of many small ponds which provide varying habitats for different birds.  At the first pond we saw a few bird species including five Soras, a few Blue-winged Teals and a very sleepy Pied-billed Grebe.  The Soras were very tolerant of our presence and allowed us to photograph them foraging on the banks and in the shallow parts of the pond. Flying around a few of the ponds were Swallows, mainly Barn Swallows, but we also saw a small Swallow with a white belly, square tail, a brownish rump and a white forehead.  Dr. Webster identified it as a Cliff Swallow with which my Birds of the West Indies Helm Field Guide concurred.  The Cliff Swallow was a first for me for the year.  A Caribbean Coot which was first sighted in January was still around and the family of Grebes which included three chicks was growing well.  Dr. Webster also showed me the carcass of a Common Gallinule that was killed by a Peregrine Falcon.  He described the attack as relentless.  He said the Raptor never tried to feed on the bird and continued attacking until he was sure the bird was dead and then flew off.  We spent two hours there and saw thirty one species of birds.

The Tropicbirds Cliff

We arrived at our second location for birding at 9am.  The sky was still overcast and grey but the lighting was much better for photography.  As I exited my vehicle I could hear the familiar calls of the Grassland Yellow Finch.  As I walked along the grassy path to the cliffs where the Tropicbirds nested, I saw a Grassland Finch jump from just in front of me, on further inspection I found a nest with three eggs.  I took a few photos of the nest and moved away to allow the bird to return to its

nest.  As I reached the cliffs looking over the sea, I noticed two Tropicbirds to the right of where I was standing. Soon afterward I saw another to my left. This bird appeared to be searching for a nesting hole.  It continually examined the face of the cliff as it flew by sometimes hovering or alighting in a hole or on a ledge for closer inspection.  It was at this point that I realized I was not as prepared as I thought.  My camera battery died.  I forgot to charge the battery the night before.  I swapped the camera for a pair of binoculars and continued to watch this bird work.  It appeared that he found a hole that was pleasing; he landed to check it out and then flew off into the Horizon.  We spent thirty to forty five minutes at that location.

Red-billed Tropicbird on a ledge

The April 3^rd, trip to the south recorded thirty-six species of birds with one being a first for the year for me. See the table below for the checklist and click this link to view the photographs from that day.

To see my 2015 checklist click this link

 TABLE

#	Common Name	Scientific Names
1	Blue-winged Teal	Anas discors
2	Pied-billed Grebe	Podilymbus podiceps
3	Red-billed Tropicbird	Phaethon aethereus
4	Great Blue Heron	Ardea herodias
5	Great Egret	Ardea alba
6	Snowy Egret	Egretta thula
7	Little Blue Heron	Egretta caerulea
8	Cattle Egret	Bubulcus ibis
9	Green Heron	Butorides virescens
10	Sora	Porzana carolina
11	Common Gallinule	Gallinula galeata
12	Caribbean Coot	Fulica caribaea
13	Spotted Sandpiper	Actitis macularius
14	Solitary Sandpiper	Tringa solitaria
15	Greater Yellowlegs	Tringa melanoleuca
16	Least Sandpiper	Calidris minutilla
17	Wilson's Snipe	Gallinago delicata
18	Rock Pigeon (Feral Pigeon)	Columba livia
19	Scaly-naped Pigeon	Patagioenas squamosa
20	Eurasian Collared-Dove	Streptopelia decaocto
21	Common Ground-Dove	Columbina passerina
22	Zenaida Dove	Zenaida aurita
23	Green-throated Carib	Eulampis holosericeus
24	Belted Kingfisher	Megaceryle alcyon
25	Caribbean Elaenia	Elaenia martinica
26	Grey Kingbird	Tyrannus dominicensis
27	Caribbean Martin	Progne dominicensis
28	Barn Swallow	Hirundo rustica
29*	Cliff Swallow	Petrochelidon pyrrhonota
30	Yellow Warbler	Setophaga petechia
31	Grassland Yellow-Finch	Sicalis luteola
32	Bananaquit	Coereba flaveola
33	Black-faced Grassquit	Tiaris bicolor
34	Barbados Bullfinch	Loxigilla barbadensis
35	Carib Grackle	Quiscalus lugubris
36	Shiny Cowbird	Molothrus bonariensis