Two New Birds for Barbados

Birding in Barbados is always a surprise, like opening a box of Cracker Jacks. You never know what kind of gift you will discover, and sometimes it could be something amazing. That's what happened a few days ago when birders found two amazing gifts in the box: a new bird and a new subspecies for the island.

Strange Swift

On June 3rd, I went to the Ermy Bourne Highway, St. Joseph, with my son Jason and two Canadian birders, Richard and Tammy Mckay. We were searching for Black Swifts (Cypseloides niger), the only swifts that visit our island annually. These swifts are generally black in color, as the name suggested, so imagine our surprise when we saw one with a white rump and a white patch under the neck.  Not knowing what type of swift it was, help was sought from the wider birding community, including world-renowned swift experts Gerald Driessens (Author of Swifts: A Guide to the Swifts and Treeswifts of the World) and Justin Jansen (Naturalis Biodiversity Center) to identify it. This bird sparked a lot of interest and discussion among the community with some thinking it might be either a Little Swift (Apus affinis), which lives in Africa and southwestern Asia, or a House Swift (Apus nipalensis), which is found in Japan, Nepal, and Southeast Asia. Either way, it would be a first record for the island. I will keep you posted.

Cayenne Tern by Michael St. John

The second bird was seen by the sharp eyes of birder Michael St. John at Long Beach, Christ Church on June 6th. He was watching and photographing some terns feeding on bait fish just offshore when he noticed a bird he didn’t recognize. The bird had a black crest, white rump, and tail, yellowish bill, and was generally pale in color. It was identified as a Cayenne Tern (Thalasseus eurygnath), a South American sub-species of Sandwich Tern (Thalasseus sandvicensis). While Sandwich Terns are rare visitors to Barbados, this sub-species have never been recorded here before. This was another first for the island.

Two new birds for the island are so exciting. Let’s keep our eyes open for more surprises. Stay safe and enjoy your birding.

The Barbados Birds and Birding Report - May

A Black Swift, one of three year-birds seen in May

May was a month full of highlights and birding fun. We celebrated World Migratory Birds Day on Saturday, May 13 with the Global Big Day, where many local birders participated. We also added three more "first sightings" for 2023, bringing our total to 89 bird species at the end of the month. These were Black Swift (Cypseloides niger) and Collared Plover (Charadrius collaris), which we observed during the Global Big Day, and the very rare Curlew Sandpiper (Calidris ferruginea).

The Global Big Day was a success. The seven local birders who took part recorded 54 species in total, including 2 of the 3 new ones for the month. Our local team, Bajan Birders & Friends, joined the Birds Caribbean Global Big Day fundraising team event and exceeded our goals. This international team, with members from four different countries, recorded a new team record of 220 species, beating last year’s 195. We also raised $435, which was more than four times last year’s amount. It was a great day of birding for everyone. For more results check here 

May’s Rare Bird Sightings

The Curlew Sandpiper (Calidris ferruginea) was the star of the month in May. It was a new rare bird for our list and it was discovered by Dr. John Webster at a private wetland in St. Philip o  the 29th. We also added Collared Plover (Charadrius collaris) to our list. Here are the rare bird sightings for May, organized by parishes. (* birds that stayed from previous months)

St. Lucy

Five Glossy Ibis

• Glossy Ibis (Plegadis falcinellus)(6)*- long stay birds at a private marsh.

  

  Two Fulvous Whistling-Duck photo by Michael St. Johm

• Fulvous Whistling-Duck (Dendrocygna bicolor)*(2) – Two ducks were seen and photographed by Michael St. John.

  

  Collared Plover

• Collared Plover (Charadrius collaris) -- this tiny plover put in an appearance on the afternoon of the Global Big Day. 

St. Andrew 

• Grey Heron (Ardea cinerea)* -- seen at Green Pond. 

St. Thomas

Striated Heron walking on water lettuce at SBRC

• Striated Heron (Butorides striata)* - continues at the SBRC pond. 

St. George

Juvenile American Coot (Red-shielded)

• American Coot (Red-shielded) (Fulica Americana) -- at least three juveniles at Redland's Irrigation Pond. 

St. James 

• Brown Pelican (Pelecanus occidentalis) -- Seen at Heron Bay and as far north as Six Men's.

St. Philip 

• Red Knot (Calidris canutus) - was first reported in January and appeared to have wintered on the island. It was last seen on the 5th. 

Curlew Sandpiper

• Curlew Sandpiper (Calidris ferruginea) - a mega rare bird for the island, first reported by John on the 29th.

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   

Global Big Day 2023: Another Win for Bird Conservation in the West Indies! by Birds Caribbean

It’s an extraordinary day that never disappoints!

On Saturday, May 13, birders in the Caribbean and around the world got up (early) and out in force for Global Big Day! Twice a year, during peak migration times (once in spring and once in fall) birders around the world spring into action and try to spot as many different bird species as they can in 24 hours. Besides the sheer enjoyment of the day, the list of birds collected and submitted to eBird from across the globe are hugely valuable for science and conservation!

The Big Day numbers were, as usual, quite impressive. Global Big Day in 2023 was a huge success, with 7,636 bird species recorded by over 58,000 people around the world! An amazing 3.2 million bird sightings were logged by eBirders in 24 hours!

In the West Indies, Big Day birders once again increased in numbers and saw 515 species in total, thanks to the amazing efforts of 511 eBird observers!

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