An Incredible Week of Birding

The week, starting Monday, March 20th through to the 26th, was an incredible week of birding on the island.  It was not a week of celebration of any birding events that I know of, nor was it a planned week of increasing birding locally but for some reason, all the local birders and a few visitors came out during that week. The results? Over 110 checklists were submitted to ebird by close to fifteen birders, tallying up to 66 bird species which included a few rare birds. 

Garganey was seen in the parish of St. Lucy on the 20th

The week started off with a mega-rare Garganey (Spatula querquedula), which was seen in the parish of St. Lucy.  Another new rare for the year was a Brown Pelican (Pelecanus occidentalis) seen at Pile Bay.  This bird was around for a few weeks.  The others are our usual suspects -  Lesser Black-backed Gull  (Larus fuscus), Grey Heron (Ardea cinerea), and a Glossy Ibis (Plegadis falcinellus).  See the full list of birds seen during that week. 

1. Black-bellied Whistling-Duck Dendrocygna autumnalis
2. Muscovy Duck Cairina moschata
3. Garganey Spatula querquedula
4. Blue-winged Teal Spatula discors
5. Lesser Scaup Aythya affinis
6. Masked Duck Nomonyx dominicus
7. Pied-billed Grebe Podilymbus podiceps
8. Rock Pigeon Columba livia
9. Scaly-naped Pigeon Patagioenas squamosa
10. Eurasian Collared-Dove Streptopelia decaocto
11. Common Ground Dove Columbina passerina
12. Zenaida Dove Zenaida aurita
13. Eared Dove Zenaida auriculata
14. Green-throated Carib Eulampis holosericeus
15. Antillean Crested Hummingbird Orthorhyncus cristatus
16. Sora Porzana carolina
17. Common Gallinule Gallinula galeata
18. American Coot Fulica Americana
19. Black-bellied Plover Pluvialis squatarola
20. Semipalmated Plover Charadrius semipalmatus
21. Whimbrel Numenius phaeopus
22. Ruddy Turnstone Arenaria interpres
23. Stilt Sandpiper Calidris himantopus
24. Sanderling Calidris alba
25. Least Sandpiper Calidris minutilla
26. Semipalmated Sandpiper Calidris pusilla
27. Wilson's Snipe Gallinago delicata
28. Spotted Sandpiper Actitis macularius
29. Solitary Sandpiper Tringa solitaria
30. Greater Yellowlegs Tringa melanoleuca
31. Lesser Yellowlegs Tringa flavipes
32. Lesser Black-backed Gull Larus fuscus
33. Laughing Gull Leucophaeus atricilla
34. Royal Tern Thalasseus maximus
35. Red-billed Tropicbird Phaethon aethereus
36. Magnificent Frigatebird Fregata magnificens
37. Brown Booby Sula leucogaster
38. Brown Pelican Pelecanus occidentalis
39. Great Blue Heron Ardea Herodias
40. Grey Heron Ardea cinerea
41. Great Egret Ardea alba
42. Little Egret Egretta garzetta
43. Snowy Egret Egretta thula
44. Little Blue Heron Egretta caerulea
45. Cattle Egret Bubulcus ibis
46. Green Heron Butorides virescens
47. Black-crowned Night-Heron Nycticorax nycticorax
48. Glossy Ibis Plegadis falcinellus
49. Osprey Pandion haliaetus
50. Belted Kingfisher Megaceryle alcyon
51. Merlin Falco columbarius
52. Peregrine Falcon Falco peregrinus
53. Rose-ringed Parakeet Psittacula krameri
54. Orange-winged Parrot Amazona amazonica
55. Caribbean Elaenia Elaenia martinica
56. Gray Kingbird Tyrannus dominicensis
57. Black-whiskered Vireo Vireo altiloquus
58. Caribbean Martin Progne dominicensis
59. Barn Swallow Hirundo rustica
60. Shiny Cowbird Molothrus bonariensis
61. Carib Grackle Quiscalus lugubris
62. Yellow Warbler Setophaga petechial
63. Grassland Yellow-Finch Sicalis luteola
64. Bananaquit Coereba flaveola
65. Barbados Bullfinch Loxigilla barbadensis
66. Black-faced Grassquit Melanospiza bicolor