Birding At Home: Dr. John Webster- Birding My Garden

With the shutdown and stay at home order in place because of the COVID-19 pandemic, the local birders took this time to sit back and enjoy the birds around their homes. In this two-part series two birders, Dr. John Webster and I will talk about our experience  “Staying Home and Bird”.  Below is John's account.

  

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Bananaquit 

In this time of “lockdown” Sonia, (my wife) and I have decided to make the most of the landscape we have created around the acre or so of land that surround our home. Around our deck, I have setup 4 hummingbird feeders which are frequented by at least a dozen Bananaquit (Coereba flaveola) in batches of feeding frenzies.

Green-throated Carib

There are at least 4 x Green-throated Caribs (Eulampis holosericeus) that are whizzing around like jet fighters in a raging battle, they are so very territorial, and two Antillean Crested Hummingbird (Orthorhyncus cristatus) hummingbirds are getting in between the aerial battles to feed at the feeders and various flowers scattered around the landscape. 

Barbados Bullfinch

Barbados Bullfinchs (Loxigilla barbadensis) are back and forth between the. Seed feeder, hung in the tree with the hummingbird feeders, a bowl on the porch with bread crumbs and the hummingbird feeders where they go for a quick drink and sugar rush for energy. The seed feeder is being frequented by a pair of Zenaida Doves (Zenaida aurita), married for life, and a pair of Common ground doves that periodically appear to stock up on some seeds. We also have a few Shiny Cowbird (Molothrus bonariensis), male and female, that arrive unannounced, to snack on the seeds as well. Between feeding, they serenade us with their beautiful calls as though saying “thank you for feeding us”.

In the surrounding garden we are serenaded by the varied calls of the Rose-ringed Parakeets (Psittacula krameri) as they arrive, sometimes singly or in groups of up to 6 or 7, to see whether any of the Jamaican Ackee fruit has opened so they can get at the edible yellow parts inside, or to see if they can find any green unripe pods of the Pride of Barbados shrub.

Gray Kingbird

Two or more Gray Kingbirds (Tyrannus dominicensis) take up their perches on nearby dry twigs and keep us aware of their presence with their regular shrill calls, swooping down periodically to snap up an insect or bee that might have ventured within their territory. Sometimes we will observe them fly over to the adjacent McArthur Palms that currently have large masses of red fruit, and watch them hover whilst plucking fruit and return to their perch. This is repeated several times and then they perch quietly observing the landscape ....5-10 minutes later they start to regurgitate the seeds having internally removed the soft red flesh of the fruit!

We have a few pairs of Black-faced Grassquits (Melanospiza bicolor) that pop up from time to time usually feeding on the lawn, especially when it hasn’t been cut for a while, like now, apparently feeding on grass seed or other things they pluck out of the lawn.

In the first hours after sunrise, we can hear and observe several Caribbean Elaenias (Elaenia martinica)(the TRUE peewhitler) actively moving around our trees, particularly in the Gliricidia tree adjacent to our deck and especially when it’s flowering, as they go about catching their breakfast of insects. There’s also a shrub that we have, that’s related to the WI cherry family, and which bears tiny fruit like miniature cherries that this species enjoys in addition to the insects. Sometimes we are treated to a visit by one or more Black-whiskered Vireos ( Vireo altiloquus) that simply tuck themselves away between the foliage of the Gliricidia or one of the many other trees, literally hidden from sight, whilst they serenade us with their frequent calls.

Occasionally one or more Eurasian collared doves will fly past but they never seem to be interested in our garden!

We are visited typically in the early hours of the morning and late afternoon by several Scaly-naped Pigeons (Patagioenas squamosa)(Ramiers’ or ‘Willies’ in Bajan parlance)  as they also pluck the fruit of the McArthur palms and the Ylang Ylang trees, the fragrance of whose flowers permeate our landscape as the day comes to an end.

Green Heron

Typically in the late afternoon, we can hear the shriek call of our approaching resident Green Heron (Butorides virescens) ...for years we have had one that roosts in one of our mango trees ...it has apparently learnt that with the adjacent gully it can find roaming mice and young rats which it enjoys. Hence it’s a welcome resident to our property.

Green-throated Carib feed
on the flower of Gliricidia tree

As the day comes to an end and darkness approaches we can hear the frantic feeding of the hummingbirds, primarily the Green-throated Caribs (Eulampis holosericeus) as they feverishly rush backward and forward trying to get in their last feed before nightfall.

Bird species recorded between March 28th to April 10th

1. Rock Pigeon (Feral Pigeon)
2. Scaly-naped Pigeon
3. Eurasian Collared Dove
4. Common Ground Dove
5. Zenaida Dove
6. Green-throated Carib
7. Antillean Crested Hummingbird
8. Cattle Egret
9. Green Heron
10. Rose-ringed Parakeet
11. Black-whiskered vireo 
12. Caribbean Elaenia
13. Gray Kingbird
14. Shiny Cowbird
15. Carib Grackle
16. Bananaquit
17. Black-faced Grassquit
18. Barbados Bullfinch

All photographs by John Webster

Dr. John Webster is one of the leading Birders and Bird Photographers on the island of Barbados.  He is a member of Birds Caribbean and the principle guide with Barbados Birding & Photography Tours. He can be contacted at barbadosbirds@gmail.com