Evening at Long Pond

Long Pond looking west at men playing cricket 

On Wednesday evening, after work, the children and I went to the estuary at Long Pond, St. Andrew for an afternoon outdoors and birding fun.  It rained for most of the day but not a torrent or a drizzle, but at that calming in between pace. This we figured would make the trail to the beach muddy, so we parked and walk, a trek of about 1/2 mile.

Golden Warbler

They were Caribbean Martin (Progne dominicensis) zipping right overhead and calling constantly as we walked down the trail.  Yellow Warblers  (Setophaga petechia) were singing sweetly with two even giving us good looks, but we were not so lucky with the Caribbean Elaenias (Elaenia martinica) and Black-whiskered Vireo (Vireo altiloquus) both heard but not seen until our trek back.

As we exited the woods looking north towards the river, we were surprised to see a group of men playing cricket on the river bank, then again I should not have been surprised knowing West Indians would play cricket anywhere even in this secluded nowhere.

A Ruddy Turnstone among the Sargassum Seaweed

We made our way to the beach which was covered with Sargassum seaweed, and feeding among the weeds were a few shorebirds. Ruddy Turnstones (Arenaria interpres), were the most numerous, but I also saw Sanderlings (Calidris alba) and a few Semipalmated Plovers (Charadrius semipalmatus).

The sandbank separating the calm river from the choppy Atlantic Ocean was still intact and we noticed a disturbance in the sand that may have been a turtle nest.  This beach is one of the few places on the island were  Leatherback Sea Turtles (Dermochelys coriacea) nest. I contacted my friend Carla from the  Barbados Sea Turtle Project who normally runs patrols of this area.

 I spent a few minutes checking the beach for birds or any other signs of turtle nesting while the children went off to look for "treasure" which normally equates to pieces of driftwood, shells, glass, or bottles. 

My first Black Swift for the year

On our way back to the car we saw more Caribbean Martins (Progne dominicensis) hawking for insects over the woods, we counted about 60 birds, but could easily be more. As we exited the woods close to where the vehicle was parked, I noticed the unmistakable shape of a Black Swift (Cypseloides niger)  among them. This was my first sighting of this bird for the year and moved my Big Year tally to 78 species.  

Here is a list of the 23 species we saw on our evening excursion:

1. Scaly-naped Pigeon (Patagioenas squamosa)
2. Common Ground Dove (Columbina passerina)
3. Zenaida Dove (Zenaida aurita)
4. Black Swift (Cypseloides niger)
5. Green-throated Carib (Eulampis holosericeus)
6. Antillean Crested Hummingbird (Orthorhyncus cristatus)
7. Semipalmated Plover (Charadrius semipalmatus)
8. Ruddy Turnstone (Arenaria interpres)
9. Sanderling (Calidris alba)
10. Great Egret (Ardea alba)
11. Snowy Egret (Egretta thula)
12. Cattle Egret (Bubulcus ibis)
13. Green Heron (Butorides virescens)
14. Caribbean Elaenia (Elaenia martinica)
15. Gray Kingbird (Tyrannus dominicensis)
16. Black-whiskered Vireo (Vireo altiloquus)
17. Caribbean Martin (Progne dominicensis)
18. Shiny Cowbird (Molothrus bonariensis)
19. Carib Grackle (Quiscalus lugubris)
20. Yellow Warbler (Golden) (Setophaga petechia)
21. Bananaquit (Coereba flaveola)
22. Barbados Bullfinch (Loxigilla barbadensis)
23. Black-faced Grassquit (Melanospiza bicolor)

 A few more images from Long pond

Golden Warbler

Golden Warbler

Ruddy Turnstones in flight

Long Pond looking south 

A warning sign to protect the nesting
 Leatherback Sea Turtles

Black Swift

Black Swift

Black Swift

Caribbean Martin

Collared Doves Nesting Again!!

The nesting pair of Eurasian Collared-Doves

In less than a month of the fledglings leaving the nest, the Eurasian Collared-Doves (Streptopelia decaocto) outside my bedroom window are nesting again.  I always wondered how these birds were able to multiply in an area at such an alarming rate, and now I can see why.  No wonder we can see hundreds on power lines and trees across the island.

Doves examining the nest

I first noticed the couple hanging around their old nest, even smooching and other lovey dovie things in it,  but then they stayed away for a few days. When they did return it was nesting time with a nesting routine like what was described in the last post about them (read it here) .  On Friday, May 15,  I notice two white eggs in the nest and the parents going through the routine of the evening exchange of incubation duties but at some times the nest was left alone, something I never noticed in the first nesting.  

The nest with two eggs

The nest looked in bad shape, even for a dove’s nest. These two love birds did nothing to fix it up for the new brood of chicks.  I must admit I thought that this was a new pair of collared doves making use of a vacant nest, but that doubt was laid to rest this afternoon. As the parents were in the process of exchanging nesting duties, both juveniles followed the parent bird to the nest. It was a sight to see as the two harassed the parent, that was leaving the nest, for food. Yes, the juvenile birds were still being fed regurgitated food from the parents who were in the process of having more chicks.  Sadly I did not have my camera to capture the moment but I am itching to see what will happen once the new chicks hatch.  Will the crop milk be available for the new chicks? Will it be adequate and of a quality to produce healthy chicks? will the parents feed all four chicks, if both eggs survive? So many questions! 

I can see why the population of these birds is increasing so rapidly, these guys breed like mice! That for sure is not good news for our native species.

Global Big Day 2020: birding's biggest team By Team eBird May 13, 2020

Orange-winged Parrot 

Birds always give us an opportunity to keep looking up. In every corner of the world, on every day of the year, birds are migrating, building nests, raising young, and inspiring people everywhere. This past Saturday, more than 50,000 people around the globe stood up, scanned the skies, watched their gardens, and strolled through their local patch to take pleasure in the joy of birds and birding. This is Global Big Day.

This year’s Global Big Day brought more birders together virtually in a single day than ever before in history ... >> continue reading here

Truncated Global Big Day 2020

Yellow-crowned Parrot

Every year I look forward to the Global Big Day but knew this year would be different because of the restrictions that are in place because of COVID-19.  I took advantage of the few hours given for exercising and beach visits, between 5:30 and 9 am,  to do some express birding.  After 2 ½ hours, my bird tally was 32 species including a 1-year bird.  The most eye-raising sighting for the day was what appeared to be a breeding pair of parrots of different species, Orange-winged and Yellow-crowned Parrot. It reminded me of a parrot John Webster photographed which was identified as a hybrid of these two species.  Interesting!!  

On returning home I saw an invitation, by email, to be part of The Flying Pintails (go donate) team as part of Birds Caribbean Global Big Day fundraiser.  The two other birders on the island who were part of the big day, John and Ed, were part of the team President's Perch (go donate).

I got started at 5:40 AM and quickly tick a few common birds like Barbados Bullfinch (Loxigilla barbadensis), Scaly-naped Pigeon (Patagioenas squamosa), Zenaida Dove (Zenaida aurita) and the ubiquitous Eurasian Collared-Dove (Streptopelia decaocto).  My first stop was at Pile Bay for sea birds but only saw  Magnificent Frigatebird (Fregata magnificens), but I added Caribbean Martin (Progne dominicensis), Bananaquit (Coereba flaveola).  As I drove through Bridgetown I got a few feral Rock Pigeons (Columba livia) and then to Belleville to look for Parrots and Parakeets but only saw the Rose-ringed Parakeet (Psittacula krameri).  My next stop was the Graeme Hall Swamp but on my way there I saw two parrots in a tree, a Yellow-crowned Parrot (Amazona ochrocephala) and Orange-winged Parrot (Amazona amazonica) that I referred to earlier.  A quick drive on the outskirt of the swamp gave me Little (Egretta garzetta) and Snowy Egret (Egretta thula), Green Heron (Butorides virescens) and Common Ground Dove (Columbina passerina). At my next stop, Oistins I added Laughing Gull (Leucophaeus atricilla).  From Oistins, I headed for home making a stop at Redland and adding  Sora (Porzana carolina), Spotted Sandpiper (Actitis macularius), and Solitary Sandpiper (Tringa solitaria) with my final bird of the morning being Antillean Crested Hummingbird (Orthorhyncus cristatus).  In the late afternoon added my final species for the day Green-throated Carib (Eulampis holosericeus). 

I would have loved to spend the full day birding but I am satisfied with the result of the 2 1/2 hours spent. I hope you guys had a wonderful  World Migratory Bird Day and an  outstanding Global Big Day.

Here is a list of the birds I saw:

1. Rock Pigeon (Feral Pigeon) (Columba livia)
2. Scaly-naped Pigeon (Patagioenas squamosa)
3. Eurasian Collared-Dove (Streptopelia decaocto)
4. Common Ground Dove (Columbina passerina)
5. Zenaida Dove (Zenaida aurita)
6. Antillean Crested Hummingbird (Orthorhyncus cristatus)
7. Green-throated Carib (Eulampis holosericeus)
8. Sora (Porzana carolina)
9. Common Gallinule (Gallinula galeata)
10. Spotted Sandpiper (Actitis macularius)
11. Solitary Sandpiper (Tringa solitaria)
12. Laughing Gull (Leucophaeus atricilla)
13. Magnificent Frigatebird (Fregata magnificens)
14. Great Egret (Ardea alba)
15. Little Egret (Egretta garzetta)
16. Snowy Egret (Egretta thula)
17. Cattle Egret (Bubulcus ibis)
18. Green Heron (Butorides virescens)
19. Rose-ringed Parakeet (Psittacula krameri)
20. Yellow-crowned Parrot (Amazona ochrocephala)
21. Orange-winged Parrot (Amazona amazonica)
22. Caribbean Elaenia (Elaenia martinica)
23. Gray Kingbird (Tyrannus dominicensis)
24. Black-whiskered Vireo (Vireo altiloquus)
25. Caribbean Martin (Progne dominicensis)
26. Shiny Cowbird (Molothrus bonariensis)
27. Carib Grackle (Quiscalus lugubris)
28. Yellow Warbler (Golden) (Setophaga petechia sp. petechia Group
29. Grassland Yellow-Finch (Sicalis luteola)
30. Bananaquit (Coereba flaveola)
31. Barbados Bullfinch (Loxigilla barbadensis)
32. Black-faced Grassquit (Melanospiza bicolor)

Orange-winged Parrot

Snowy Egret

Rose-ringed Parakeet

Green Heron

Cattle Egret

Lets Talk Birds

Link Here

Are you a bird lover? Or wondering what all the fuss is about?

 
Celebrate World Migratory Bird Day #WMBD2020 on Saturday 9th May at 1pm LIVE as we examine this year’s conservation theme: “Birds Connect Our World” through the lens of local birding expert and bird photographer, Julian Moore.

Its safe to say Julian LOVES birds and he seen over 140 different species of birds in Barbados and has added three new species to the Barbados Avian Checklist, not surprising as Julian has been an avid birder and bird photographer for close to 10 years! You might have been to one of his many educational workshops or experienced the joy and awe of one of his guided birding tours.

So come join us on Saturday 9th May at 1pm LIVE as we talk to the author of the most informative and popular online resource for birds in Barbados - Birds of Barbados @birds_of_barbados