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