Lifer #140

Wilson's PloverCharadrius wilsonia

Tuesday afternoon I passed to check the water level at Chancery Lane’s Swamp after a few days of heavy rain.  The swamp was about 10% of its full capacity but it had a few shorebirds wading and feeding.  There were Sanderlings,(Calidris alba) Semipalmated Plovers (Charadrius semipalmatus)and a single Willet(Tringa semipalmata). One bird among the Semi-plovers caught my eye. It was about the same size as the plovers but a little paler and a had a large bill. Straight away I knew it was a Wilson’s Plover (Charadrius wilsonia), a rare bird for the island.  It was also my 140^th lifer for the island.

Wilson's Plover is a stocky 'ringed' plover, about 7-8” in size, with a large head and a long heavy black bill.  Males have a black breast band while females and immature birds have a brown breast band.  This is the second lifer I recorded for this year.

A Visit to Chancery Lane

A Dry Chancery

The rainfall we were having over the last few days encouraged me to pay a visit to Chancery Lane, which is on the south coast of the island, to see what effect it had on this wet area.  On my way there I passed through the town of Oistins and made a check for seabirds.  I saw three small white Terns fishing close to shore.  These birds’ bill and legs were red and they had a black crown with bright white plumage. They were no doubt, Roseate Terns.  As I was about to continue on my journey to Chancery, a fourth tern flew by.  This one appeared slightly larger, with longer wings than that of the Roseate Tern.  Its back was also shades darker than that of the Roseates.  Could this be a Common Tern? 

Brown Pelican

An object bobbing in the sea about 400 to 500 feet out also caught my attention.  On closer inspection, I realized it to be a Brown Pelican, a rare but yearly visitor to our shores.

The stop at Oistins, while fulfilling, was not the main purpose for me being on the south coast that afternoon,  so I continued on my way to the Chancery Lane Swamp.  When I arrived, I was surprised to find that the area was still mostly dry, with just a few “puddles” here and there.  A few shorebirds, made up of

Semipalmated Plover

Semipalmated Plovers, Ruddy Turnstones and a Sanderling, were relaxing around the larger catchments.  The air was full with the loud calls of the Black-whiskered Vireos and Golden Warblers.  With the prolonged dry spell we had, or continue to have, I guess it was wishful thinking to believe that the first real rain of the season would have much of an effect on this wet area.  However, it was good to see that the micro-ecosystem cycle that comes to life when water accumulates in this area, was beginning to take place.  With every collection of water, hundreds of Fiddler Crabs congregated.  This is one of the basic food sources and just a glance of the swamp at Chancery Lane slowly coming alive, and not a minute too soon.  We move swiftly into the migration season.  So please join me in a rain dance.

Fiddler Crabs

Sanderling

Birding Last Day of June

Solitary Sandpiper - Tringa solitaria

With all the rain and strong winds, we were experiencing last week, on Sunday I headed to the east to see if any new birds were about.  On my way there, I first checked the irrigation ponds at Redland in St. George and was surprised to find a very early or very late Solitary Sandpiper.  According to ebird.org, this is the second Solitary ever recorded on the island in the month of  June.  It is so rare, that I was prompted to investigate the possibility of this being its old world doppelganger, GreenSandpiper.  I will let you know how my investigations into that matter end up.

Leaving Redland, I ventured to a private pond in the east and recorded a tally of sixteen species including nine shorebird species but nothing out of the ordinary.  We are still a few weeks away from the busy period resulting from the fall migration but things are starting to heat up.

 Here are the species I saw on Sunday

1. Scaly-naped Pigeon - Patagioenas squamosa
2. Eurasian Collared-Dove - Streptopelia decaocto
3. Common Ground-Dove - Columbina passerina 
4. Zenaida Dove - Zenaida aurita
5. Common Gallinule - Gallinula galeata
6. Black-bellied Plover - Pluvialis squatarola
7. Semipalmated Plover - Charadrius semipalmatus
8. Ruddy Turnstone - Arenaria interpres
9. Semipalmated Sandpiper - Calidris pusilla
10. Western Sandpiper - Calidris mauri
11. Short-billed Dowitcher - Limnodromus griseus
12. Solitary Sandpiper - Tringa solitaria
13. Greater Yellowlegs - Tringa melanoleuca
14. Lesser Yellowlegs - Tringa flavipes
15. Little Egret - Egretta garzetta
16. Snowy Egret - Egretta thula
17. Cattle Egret - Bubulcus ibis
18. Green Heron - Butorides virescens
19. Carib Grackle - Quiscalus lugubris
20. Yellow Warbler - Setophaga petechia
21. Grassland Yellow-Finch - Sicalis luteola
22. Barbados Bullfinch - Loxigilla barbadensis