A Mega - Rare Visitor

Curlew Sandpiper

A mega-rare visitor has graced our island with its presence. We began the year with a sighting of a Garganey (Spatula querquedula) in the north and now we have another treat. The bird in question is a Curlew Sandpiper (Calidris ferruginea), a close relative of our more common Stilt Sandpiper (Calidris himantopus), and a species that have been recorded here more than 10 times since 1935, but not seen for over two decades. This would makes it a lifer for most of our local birders. The medium-sized wader, which was in breeding plumage, was spotted by Dr. John Webster at a private wetland in the east while he was out birding.  In this plumage, the bird is just stunning, showing its reddish head, breast, and belly with a white rear end. The upperparts are dark brown mottled with white, black, and chestnut fringes.

About Curlew Sandpipers 

Curlew Sandpiper is a medium-sized Eurasian shorebird about 7.5" (18-19cm) in length, with a wingspan of  16-18" (42-46cm).  It has black legs and a long black thin decurved bill and shows a white rump in all plumages. The non-breeding and juvenile plumages have grey upperparts and white underparts.  They breed on the tundra of Arctic Siberia and then fly south to their wintering grounds, which are mainly in Africa, but also in south and southeast Asia, Australia, and New Zealand. It is not unusual for this sandpiper to wander to the new world, especially to the US Atlantic coast. The most likely times to see it there are in late May in spring and in late July to early August in fall. Unfortunately, this species is listed as "Near Threatened" on the red list of the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) owing to a global population decline which is thought to be approaching the threshold of Vulnerable.

This mega-rare visitor was a welcome sight at a time of the year when we hardly see any birds moving to the island. No doubt it would have us all closely inspecting every bird while out in the field something I am sure we would not mind doing.

Stay safe, and enjoy your birding. 

References:

The Shorebird Guide by O'brien, Crossley & Karlson
BOU The Birds of Barbados by Buckley, Hutt, Massiah et al

A Successful Global Big Day 2023

Collared Plover was one of the rare birds seen during the GBD2023

The Global Big Day, which celebrated World Migratory Birds Day, was a success at all levels - locally, regionally, and internationally. Locally, seven birders submitted more than 50 checklists to ebird, recording 54 species, a new local record for the Global Big Day. Two of these species, Black Swift (Cypseloides niger) and Collared Plover (Charadrius collaris), were first records for 2023. Several rare birds for the island were also spotted on the day. These included a Grey Heron (Ardea cinerea) in St. Andrew, a Striated Heron (Butorides striata) in St. Thomas, and a Common Tern (Sterna hirundo) at Oistins. In the north, St. Lucy hosted six Glossy Ibis (Plegadis falcinellus) and the aforementioned Collared Plover (Charadrius collaris).

American Coots at Redland, St. George

 Another notable observation was the combined count of 261 Black-bellied Whistling-Ducks (Dendrocygna autumnalis) at two locations and the continued expansion of American Coots, across the island was evident with thirty-one birds recorded at four locations on the day.

 The Bajan Birders & Friends team did an amazing job in the Birds Caribbean Global Big Day team event and Fundraisers. This team consisted of local bird enthusiasts and some international ones who had visited and birded on the island before. They broke two team records: they saw 220 species, beating their previous record of 195 from last year, 2022; and they raised $435 for bird banding in the Caribbean, more than four times their previous amount of $105. We are still waiting for the official results from Birds Caribbean, but we can confidently say that we had a successful World Migratory Birds Day.

See the team's trip report here

 PS. Stay tuned for the regional and international official results

Caribbean Endemic Bird Festival Addresses Importance of Water Conservation for Birds

Get ready to embrace the color of springtime and honor the Caribbean’s finest and most unique birds with us during the Caribbean Endemic Bird Festival (CEBF) 2023!

The festival begins on April 22nd (Earth Day) and runs through to May 22nd (International Biodiversity Day).

This regional event happens across the Caribbean every year and highlights and celebrates the amazing birds that live only in the Caribbean—their natural history, threats, and how we can help reduce these threats.

This year the theme for the festival is “Water: Sustaining Bird Life.”

We are using the same “water” theme as World Migratory Bird Day (WMBD) for our CEBF to unify our messages about the importance of water conservation to both humans and birds. (note: we will celebrate WMBD in the Caribbean with this theme in the fall). 

Birds need water too!

We often see birds flying, preening, and feeding, but rarely do we see them drinking water. This does not mean that water is not... continue reading >>>> 

WMBD2023: A Big Day, Globally, Regionally & Locally

WMBD2023 poster

We are just days away from World Migratory Bird Day, an annual awareness-raising campaign highlighting the need for the conservation of migratory birds and their habitats.  This campaign occurs twice a year around the two peak days of bird migration, which fall this year on May 13th and October 14th. Each year a theme is selected to highlight an important issue of importance to bird conservation. 2023's theme is Water: Sustaining Bird Life and focuses on the importance of water and aquatic ecosystems for migratory birds. Globally many events are planned on these days but none as big as Cornell Lab of Ornithology Global Big Day

Global Big Day

The Global Big Day is the biggest global birding event of the year.  It brings together birders from all over the world with one common goal, to document as many bird species as possible in a single day. Last year more than 51,000 people from 201 countries took part and submitted 132,000 checklists to eBird, which was a new record for one day of birding.  We record over 7,600 bird species. Can we top that this year? with your help, we can - Click here to see how you can participate

Birds Caribbean, the largest regional organization dedicated to the conservation of Caribbean birds and their habitats, is driving the regional awareness campaign for World Migratory Bird Day.  It is doing this with its annual Global Big Day team event and Fundraisers. It is an event where birders from the region and their friends across the world form virtual teams and compete to see which team reports the most bird species and raises the most funds towards a regional bird conservation cause.  This year funds raised will go towards Caribbean Bird Banding Network.  This will allow the organization to host training workshops, sponsor internships, provide banding supplies, and grow the community of scientists that are advancing research and conservation of Caribbean birds. For the third time this year, a locally based team will be taking part.

Our local team is called Bajan Birders & Friends.  A relatively small team made up of local birders and birders from the region and across the world who have visited Barbados. Last year our nine-member team from 5 different countries outdid itself.  We tallied 195 species placing 7th out of the fifteen teams.  When it came to the average number of species seen observed per person for each of the 15 teams, we place 2nd with 22 species per person. We were disappointed though with raising only $55.  This year I am hoping we finish in the top 4 and at least double our last year's funds.  Help our team Bajan Birders & Friends by becoming a team member or/and contributing to the fundraising effort.  To do so is easy Just follow these steps.

So what are your plans for May 13th, World Migratory Bird Day? Whatever you are doing be safe, and if it birding? Enjoy your birding. 

The Barbados Birds and Birding Report - April

Four new year-birds in April moved the island's year tally to 87 species.  The four new species were Bank Swallow (Riparia riparia) and Least Tern (Sternula antillarum), both seen multiple times at Inch Marlow, Christ Church during the month Pacific Golden-Plover (Pluvialis fulva) was seen by Dr. Webster on the 22nd, and Striated Heron (Butorides striata) at its usual migratory stop over at the SBRC in St. Thomas.  
May is Global Big Day month and this year it will be held on Saturday 13th. Birds Caribbean (BC) is hosting its annual Global Big Day (GBD) Teams competition and fundraiser.  Our local team - The Bajan Birders & Friends - will be taking part.  This time around, funds are being raised for BC's Caribbean Bird Banding Network, which will allow them to host training workshops, sponsor internships, provide banding supplies, and grow the community of scientists that are advancing research and conservation of Caribbean birds.  So please join our team or/and contribute to this worthwhile cause.
To join or contribute to our team is easier than ever!  Just follow these steps.

Here is a list of rare bird sightings for the month of April, highlighted parish by parish. (* continuing Birds)

St. Lucy

Two of the six Glossy Ibises

• Glossy Ibis (Plegadis falcinellus)(6)*- One bird was around for more than a year before being joined by five others in August 2022.

  

  Garganey, bottom, fly with Blue-winged Teal (photo by M. St, John)

• Garganey (Spatula querquedula) - I first saw this bird on March 20th.  It then relocated to another wet area in the parish.  It was last seen on April 16th.

St. Philip

• Pacific Golden-Plover (Pluvialis fulva)- Dr. Webster saw this bird on the 22nd.
• Red Knot (Calidris canutus) - This shorebird was first reported in January and appeared to have wintered on the island. 

Christ Church

• Bank Swallow (Riparia riparia)(2) - two birds at Inch Marlow with other swallows and Martins feed on flies attracted to the Sargassum seaweed.

  

  Least Tern 

• Least Tern (Sternula antillarum) - Ed Massiah first reported this tern on the 16th at Inch Marlow. 

St. Thomas

Striated Heron at SBRC pond, St. Thomas 

• Striated Heron (Butorides striata)at its usual migratory stop over at the SBRC pond.

St. James

• Brown Pelican (Pelecanus occidentalis) 

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