Birds of the Sargassum - Aerial Insectivores

A Caribbean Martin with an insect in its mouth

Another family of migrating birds that take advantage of the Sargassum Seaweed invasion is Aerial Insectivores.  These birds specialize in catching and feeding on insects while in flight.  Between 2018 and now, four of such species have been recorded at Inch Marlow and Long Beach, Christ Church with three of the four recorded there for the year.

The four species are, with the * indicating species already seen for the year:

1. Caribbean Martins - Progne dominicensis*
2. Bank Swallow aka Sand Martin - Riparia riparia
3. Barn Swallow - Hirundo rustica*
   
4. Cliff Swallow - Petrochelidon pyrrhonota*

The aerial insectivorous species that we saw first was the Caribbean Martins (Progne dominicensis).  These birds took advantage of this abundant food supply to feed their quickly growing chicks and to store fat in preparation for migration. (Read more about Caribbean Martins migration here)

Barn Swallow

Barn Swallows (Hirundo rustica) were the next species that arrived at Inch Marlow and Long Beach.  These are much smaller than the Martin and are very easy to differentiate between the two, but this is not the case with our third aerial insectivorous species that turned up to benefit from the food made possible by the Sargassum Seaweed Invasion.

Cliff Swallow

This species was the Cliff Swallow(Petrochelidon pyrrhonota). One put in an early appearance on Wednesday ( August 24th) among a flock of Barn Swallows but we should see a lot more next month September. 

The fourth, Bank Swallow (Riparia riparia) is not as common as the aforementioned species.  We historically see them in small numbers yearly and only on two recorded occasions at our highlighted locations feeding among the seaweed but we will keep an eye out for them.

The food source provided by the Sargassum Seaweed is a blessing for migratory birds, who continue to lose important feeding pit stops along their migratory flyways but it is not just these birds that benefit, local bird species also take advantage of this seasonal food supply.  I would highlight a few in the final part of this series Birds of the Sargassum.