Another New Bird Species for Barbados

This year has been full of amazing bird sightings on the island, with a new record of House Swift (Apus nipalensis) and some other rare species, like Garganey (Spatula querquedula) and Curlew Sandpiper (Calidris ferruginea), and we are only halfway through the year, with the fall migration just beginning. The surprises continued yesterday, July 20th, when a new birder made a remarkable discovery. Michael St. John was exploring a private marsh in the north of St. Lucy parish when he spotted and photographed a strange raptor that turned out to be a young Mississippi Kite (Ictinia mississippiensis). He said the bird stayed in the area for hours, diving and catching prey.

Mississippi Kites are small birds of prey, measuring 12 to 15 inches (30–37 cm) and having a wingspan of about 3 feet (91 cm). Young ones have brownish feathers with a striped tail. They nest mostly in the central and southern U.S., especially along the Mississippi River and the Great Plains, but they travel in large groups to South America during the fall.

We don’t know how this bird got here, but we do hope it sticks around for a while.

The Barbados Birds and Birding Report - June

This Pectoral Sandpiper was one of additions to the island's 2023 checklist

June was a better-than-expected month for birding, with six new additions to the island's 2023 checklist, including two island firsts and a rare species. The most exciting discovery was the House Swift (Apus nipalensis), which was seen at the Ermy Bourne Highway, St. Joseph on the 3rd, a new species for the island. The other new record was the Cayenne Tern (Thalasseus eurygnath), a new subspecies for the island that you can read about both of them here. A Black Tern (Chlidonias niger), which is a rare Tern for the island, was spotted by a visiting birder, which happens to be one of Trinidad and Tobago's top birders, Nigel Lallsingh, at Inch Marlow, Christ Church. We also saw a few shorebirds - the Pectoral Sandpiper (Calidris melanotos) Willet (Tringa semipalmata) and an American Golden-Plover (Pluvialis dominica). 

June's Rare Bird Sightings

June was anything but a quiet birding month, and we expect more surprises in July as the migration season begins and the rains bring more birds. Here is a list of the rare bird sightings for June, sorted by parishes. (*birds that remained from previous months)

St. Lucy

Six long stay Glossy Ibis  (Michael St. John)

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

Fulvous Whistling-Duck (Michael St. John)

• Fulvous Whistling-Duck (Dendrocygna bicolor)*(2) – Two were seen at various locations in the north, and one in St. John.

  

  Collared Plover (Michael St. John)

• Collared Plover (Charadrius collaris) -This bird was first seen during the Global Big Day since then it was seen multiple times at a private marsh. 

St. Andrew 

• Grey Heron (Ardea cinerea)* -- seen at Green Pond. 
• Least Tern (Sternula antillarum)(2) - Michael St. John saw at Photographed these terns feeding off Green Pond.

House Swift seen on the 3rd, first record for the island

• House Swift (Apus nipalensis) - This bird was first seen on the 3rd at Ermy Bourne Highway, The identification is still being verified but it is and will be a first for the island.

St. Thomas

Striated Heron walking on water lettuce at SBRC

• Striated Heron (Butorides striata)* - continues at the SBRC pond, last seen on the 3rd. 

St. Philip 

•  Fulvous Whistling-Duck (Dendrocygna bicolor)

Curlew Sandpiper

• Curlew Sandpiper (Calidris ferruginea) - a mega rare bird for the island, first reported by John on the 29th and last seen on June 4th.
• Killdeer (Charadrius vociferous) - multiple sightings at a private location.

Christ Church

Black Tern (Nigel Lallsingh)

• Black Tern (Chlidonias niger)- first seen and identified by visiting Trinidadian top birder Nigel Lallsingh at Inch Marlow. It was last seen on the 29th at the same location

Cayenne Tern (Michael St. John)

• Cayenne Tern (Thalasseus eurygnath) - another first record for the island. This subspecies was seen by Michael St. John on the 9th.

St. Michael

The second sighting of House Swift  (Nigel Lallsingh)

• House Swift (Apus nipalensis) - a second sighting for the month at Needhams Point on the 24th by visiting birder David Hollie and was last seen on the 25th.
• Brown Pelican (Pelecanus occidentalis) - a single bird at Pile Bay on the 27th, probably the same bird seen in St. James on the 6th.

St. James 

• Brown Pelican (Pelecanus occidentalis) - one bird was seen at Folkestone Marine Park feeding close to shore on the 6th.

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