It Is Still Here!

Guess who I saw in St. Thomas?  After almost three months unseen, our most interested and long stay rare-bird, the Snail Kite (Rostrhamus sociabilis), popped back onto the birding radar.  Many of us thought it had moved on from the island and even more so when the said species was reported in the neighboring island of Grenada on January 14, but the images of that bird, a beautiful male, showed it was not our kite.  Then yesterday (Monday 17th), as I was driving through the parish of St. Thomas I saw her.   She looked in good health, which is good to see. Here are a few images of her, is this not a gorgeous bird?

   

The Barbados Birds and Birding Report – December

The last month of the year was uneventful, birding-wise, with just one new species being added to the Barbados 2021 checklist.  That species was a Black-headed Gull (Chroicocephalus ridibundus) that was discovered by Ed Massiah at Pile Bay, St. Michael.  That brings the total species of birds seen during 2021 to 109, you can see the total list here.

Highlights From 2021

The bird of 2021 Squacco Heron

The biggest highlight for the island was a new species in the form of a Squacco Heron (Ardeola ralloides) seen at Graeme Hall Swamp on November 26.  Another milestone was the launch of The Birds of Barbados Facebook group, joining our Twitter and Instagram presents in the social network sphere.

 We were visited by a few mega-rare birds during 2021, here are just a few more:

Snail Kite @ Farmers, St. Thomas

• Snail Kite (Rostrhamus sociabilis) was seen for most months of the year but the last reported sighting was on October 19th at Farmers St. Thomas;
  
  

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  Pearly-eyed Thrasher photographed by Arthur Atkinson

• Pearly-eyed Thrasher (Margarops fuscatus) turning up for a second consecutive year at a resident in Pine Hill, St. Michael;
• Striated Heron (Butorides striata) also made its yearly appearance at SBRC, Mangrove St. Thomas; 
• Pacific Golden-Plover (Pluvialis fulva) surprised John while birding in St. Philip on October 23rd; 
• Common Nighthawk (Chordeiles minor) was seen at Lowthers, Christ Church  on October 20th.

I am eagerly looking forward to seeing what rare birds we'll see in 2022. 

Goal for 2022

The blog's goal for 2022, its 9^th year of officially publishing, is to continue being the most trusted and up-to-date source for information on Birds and Birding in Barbados.   I believe a big part in doing that is to complete a project I started a year or two ago, a fell woeful behind in, that of, the creation of a virtual “field guide” of species seen on the island.  The project can be seen under the tab “Birding in Barbados”.  We are hoping to complete and update this catalog of species, adding quality images and video to better assist the visitor in identifying local bird species.

 Rare Bird Sightings for December

Here are the rare birds that were seen during the last month, highlighted below parish by parish. (* continuing Birds)

St. Lucy

Fulvous Whistling-Duck

• Fulvous Whistling-Duck (Dendrocygna bicolor)* seen early in the month but not since then;
  
  

  

  Glossy Ibis

• Glossy Ibis (Plegadis falcinellus) (1)* only one of the original three birds remaining at this location;
• St. Andrew
  
  

  

  American Coot

• American Coot white-shielded (Fulica Americana) (15) an astonishing 12 birds at Walkers Reserve,  3 juveniles at Greenland’s Irrigation Pond, most likely the remaining one of a clutch of six that were hatched in November.

ST. Philip

• Purple Gallinule (Porphyrio martinica), juvenile, at the Bayfield Pond, first seen by a visitor to the island;
• Tricolored Heron (Egretta tricolor) – seen clearly among a feeding frenzy of white egrets and herons.

St. Michael

• Black-headed Gull (Chroicocephalus ridibundus) 

Feel free to contact me, Julian Moore @ 100birdsbarbados@gmail.com, John Webster @ barbadosbirds@gmail.com, or Ed Massiah @ ebmassiah@hotmail.com to report any rare bird sightings, or if you need assistance identifying a bird, we would be happy to help.