The Barbados Birds and Birding Report – January

We had a good start to 2023 with 71 species recorded for the first month of the year.   Thanks in part to the diligent effort of an enthusiastic new birder who finished the month with over 60 species to his name.  Not to be overlooked though, is the effect of visiting birders on Jamuary's checklist.  Over 20 of them logged over 50 checklists of birds seen in Barbados to www.ebird.org and these are just the ones that were reported.  Without a doubt, nature sanctuaries like the now-closed Graeme Hall Nature Sanctuary would be an additional attraction to bring in much-needed foreign exchange to the island. 

January’s Rare Bird Sightings

New rare birds were hard to come by in the month of January but many of the species from last year remained into the new year. 

 Here is a complete list, highlighted parish by parish. (* continuing Birds)

St. Lucy

• Glossy Ibis (Plegadis falcinellus)(6)*- long stay birds
• Fulvous Whistling-Duck (Dendrocygna bicolor)* – the lone duck that was seen last month was joined by another 2.
• Killdeer (Charadrius vociferous)* seen at Bright Hall the early part of the month but not seen since.

St. Philip

Red Knot

• Red Knot (Calidris canutus) - was surprised by this bird feeding among a flock of Black-bellied Plovers. This was the first January report since the first one in 2011.

Christ Church

• Ruff (Calidris pugnax) seen at the WSR.
• Long-billed Dowitcher (Limnodromus scolopaceus) seen at the WSR, positively identified by Ed Massiah.
• Snail Kite (Rostrhamus sociabilis) seen at the Graeme Hall Nature Sanctuary by a group of visiting birding authority. 

  

  American Coot (Red-shielded) @ WSR

• American Coot (Red-shielded) (Fulica Americana) (2) - the rarer of the two sub-species of American Coots, were discovered at the WSR by Ed, along with a white shielded variety.

St. Michael

• Lesser Black-backed Gull (Larus fuscus)(2)* - two birds seen at Brown's Beach late in the month.  One a sub-adult, most likely the long-stay bird, and the second, a new arrival, a juvenile bird.

  

  House Sparrow

• House Sparrow (Passer domesticus) - a singing male was seen and heard at Carlise Carpark, the city.  Read more about the sighting here

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.  A new tool to help with your local bird identification is our Facebook Group, The Birds of Barbados. Click here to join