Recovering Two Banded Tern

Banded Royal Terns at Oistins

Bird banding is a tool used by ornithologists, researchers, and conservationists alike to acquire accurate information about bird movement, life span, and much more. That data can then be used to make informed decisions and recommendations for the betterment of a species. So it is important to report resightings to websites like bandedbirds.org or The North American Bird Banding Program.

Close to 25 species of foreign banded birds have been recovered on the island from stations in the Americas and Europe. For the last few years, birds reported were mainly shorebirds but two recent recoveries of Royal Terns (Thalasseus Maximus) bands reminded us of our history.  

Banded Royal tern #0884-18508

The first, tagged #0884-18508, was seen at Heywood Beach, St. Peter by Carla Daniel of The Barbados Sea Turtle Project.  The bird was in bad shape and subsequently died.  Carla was able to report the band to The North American Bird Banding Program.  She learned the bird was banded as a chick on July 9th, 2005, in Maryland, making it 17 years of age.

Banded Royal tern #1024-29229 C92

The second tern was much younger. It was seen and photographed at the Oistins,  ice jetty on June 29th. This tern, tagged 1024-29229 C92,  was also banded as a chick before it was able to fly, near Hampton City, Virginia, US, on July 10th, 2021.  C92 was quite healthy and the sighting was reported to The North American Bird Banding Program.

Yes, bird banding is an important tool, but to be effective it needs resighters like you and I. So please be on the lookout for birds with bands and report them to one of the above websites.  

Stay safe and enjoy your birding!

It Rained Birds

Over 1000 Lesser Yellowlegs, like this one, passed through and over our island 

Last Saturday's morning downpour brought the first significant fall migration "flight". At 8:16am, I got the first clue that something magical was taking place when I got a Whatsapp message from a friend at a private sanctuary in the north of the island. It went like this, "Migration on today. Over 150 Lesser Yellowlegs (Tringa flavipes) in the swamp now".  A few images were also added to the message. 

Lesser Yellowlegs at a private sanctuary in the north

Then almost an hour later at 9:18am, one of our most experienced birders, who was at another private sanctuary in the east messaged,  "There is a flight ongoing for sure …never seen anything like this in all my years ...  Guys (at that location) reported several large flocks that overflew the swamp and went West…very unusual for this time of the migration". 

Yes, it was unusual.  Not that Lesser Yellowlegs were migrating because as I learned from a discussion on The Birds of Barbados Facebook page, a flight was expected. What was surprising, was the number of birds, it was as if it was raining birds.  

Sadly, with the shorebird hunting season starting just the day prior,  Friday 15th,  ... a violent but invisible blow blasted many of these weary travelers from the grey mournful skies.

It was reported that there was a significant lull from about 9am to just after midday and then flocks of Lesser Yellowlegs started to be seen again.

Tricolored heron (Egretta tricolor) in breeding plumage

At the end of the day, both sanctuaries at opposite ends of the island saw significant numbers of lesser Yellowlegs. The easterly one gave a conservative estimate of over 400 birds passing through or over that location. As if not to be outdone, the northerners tallied over 500 yellowlegs, but the exclamation of their day came late in the afternoon when there recorded a rare bird, a Tricolored heron (Egretta tricolor) in breeding plumage.  

While all of this action was taking place I was at home. I saw zero birds on that day as I was relegated to armchair birding, but from all accounts, Saturday's migration was unprecedented as no one, that is, persons with a combined experience of well over 100 years of observing birds,  can remember ever experiencing anything like this so early in the fall migration season.  It was a spectacle, it was as if it was raining birds.

Stay Safe and enjoy your birding 

Four Rare Birds In One Afternoon Of Birding

Glossy Ibis 

I started planning my birding weekend on about Wednesday. The plan was to go north to the rugged cliffs at North Point, St. Lucy.  History has shown that around this time of year that, that rocky, sea-blasted stretch of land attracts one of the smallest members of the  plover family, the Collared Plover (Charadrius collaris). Someone once wrote, “The best-laid plans of mice and men often go awry.” and that plan kinda went awry.  A short notice working commitment took me to the north, to Speightstown St. Peter to be exact, on Friday afternoon. I decided it would be wise, with gas prices so high, to kill two birds with one stone (I guess that may not be the best proverb for a blog about birds) and make the trip at the conclusion of my working commitment. That I did and it proved to be the right decision for two reasons: 1. It gave me more time birding, the Saturday trip was a peek and run, because of the limited time I had at my disposal but Friday afternoon gave me twice as much time to carefully look for my target bird. 2.  With the additional time I can now visit at least one more location in the north, which I did. On that Friday afternoon trip, I saw close to 30 species, including 4 rare birds, and it gave me birds 90 and 91 for my 110/10 Big Year Count.

90. Black-necked Stilt

My first stop was at a private impoundment, it was here I saw the first 3 rarebirds, two from previous months, a Fulvous Whistling-Duck (Dendrocygna bicolor) and a Glossy Ibis (Plegadis falcinellus) but then I saw my 90th year-bird. It was a Black-necked Stilt (Himantopus mexicanus).  These lanky black and white shorebirds stand at about 13.8–15.3"  (35–39 cm) and are irregular visitors to the island with one recorded successful breeding in 2011 at Walkers Reserve. 

91. Collared Plover

My second stop was to find my target bird, the Collared Plover, at North Point.  As I approached the location just south of the Animal Flower Cave, I was surprised by the ongoing construction of a solar farm.  It would be interesting to see how or if the none stop sea spray affect the plant.  The sea cliffs were covered in the fogged mist of the heavy sea spray, so after securing my camera in a protective covering, I began my needle in a haystack search for this tiny shorebird. As I walked along the trail heading south, I heard the distinct call of a Black-bellied Plover (Pluvialis squatarola) somewhere ahead of me, but I was unable to pinpoint the exact location.  As I continued along the trail, 6 of them flushed and took flight heading south while a smaller bird flew in the opposite direction and alighted a few 100 yards away among the rocky terrain.  With my binoculars I confirmed it to be my 91st yearbird a Collared Plover.  I spent a few minutes trying to get a few images in the fading light and was able to do so thanks to the 600mm reach of Big Selma, without getting too close to the bird.  This bird normally will hang around for a few weeks so I will try to relocate it, and hopefully, in more photographic-friendly conditions, try for Photographic Big Year images.  Of course, will have to start saving to afford the gas for my return trip but it was truly a refreshing trip to the north that Friday afternoon. 

See the total list below of the birds I saw.