Record Number of Glossy Ibis

The 6 Glossy Ibis in St. Lucy 

This week, the island witnessed an unprecedented sight of 14 Glossy Ibis (Plegadis falcinellus), a rare bird species. Six of them have been staying in St. Lucy for a while, while two more were spotted in Christ Church on Monday. On Tuesday, those two appeared to have linkup with six more at a private location in St. Philip. 

Buff-breasted Sandpipers

This is a remarkable event, as the island also hosted unusually high numbers of American Golden Plover (Pluvialis dominica) and Buff-breasted Sandpipers (Calidris subruficollis) during the fall migration. As October approaches, and with it the warbler season, we wonder if we will also see more diversity and abundance of these birds. Only time will tell.

Plovers of Barbados on World Plover Appreciation Day

On September 16, we celebrated World Plover Appreciation Day, a special occasion to show our love and support for the Plover family of shorebirds. These birds face many threats in their habitats, which are often shared with humans.  In our region, Birds Caribbean is an organization that works to protect and educate about Caribbean birds, including the two most endangered plover species in our region: the Snowy Plover and the Piping Plover. They offer many tools and resources to help identify and assist these vulnerable birds.

While our island does not have a nesting species of plover, it is a stop-over point for resting and refueling for many species during migration.  The first step to help protect them is to know them and their habitats and that is what we attempt to do below.  Next, give them a bit of space and respect by keeping a safe distance, and keeping your dog on a leash whenever a plover is nearby to minimize any disturbance while sharing the beach, park, etc., or even hunting mashes with them, even if just for one day.   

Here are the plovers you may see on our island, from the very common to the very rare.

Common Plovers of Barbados

 

Semipalmated Plover

Semipalmated Plover (Charadrius semipalmatus) are the most common plover species to visit our island.  These tiny birds, locally called Ring Necks, can be found in various ecosystems across the island, from mudflats to beaches. 

A molting Black-bellied Plover

The Black-bellied Plover (Pluvialis squatarola) is the largest plover species to regularly visit and stay on our island. It gets its name, in the  Americas, from its black underside that it shows during the breeding season. When it is not breeding, it has a more greyish colour, which is why in Euroasia it is referred to as Grey Plover.  Locally it is known as a Squealier because of its loud and high-pitched call (example of call from xeno-canto.org ). This bird can be seen all year round on the island, where it likes to rest in wetlands, but prefers grassy areas such as golf courses, playing fields etc.

A juvenile American Golden Plover

The American Golden Plover (Pluvialis dominica) is another large plover that often visits the island. While uncommon as a long-stay (wintering) visitor it comes in large numbers when it migrates southward when it is actively hunted, but less so during the northern movement. Like the other species, and more so this species, loves grassy areas.  It can be seen, especially at this time of year, on golf courses and other manicured open fields like playing fields, and polo fields but is also found in plowed fields and other gardened areas.

Scarce to Rare  Plovers Species Seen on Barbados

Collared Plovers

Collared Plovers (Charadrius collaris) are the thinnest of the plovers species that visit our island.  It visits yearly in small numbers, between 1-4 per year, normally between June and September.  it is a common resident of southern Mexico to the northern half of South America. It prefers dry areas, and open sandy savannas and returns yearly to the rocky cliffs between Animal Flower Cave and Coles Cave St. Lucy.

Killdeer

Another yearly but in small number plover visitor is the Killdeer (Charadrius vociferous). This medium-sized, double-banded plover got its name, not because it hunts deers, because it does not, but from its repetitive call of "kil-deer". It is a very vocal bird, normally heard before it is seen. 

Wilson's Plover

Wilson's Plover (Charadrius wilsonia) is another small plover but with a large bill.  It prefers coastal habitats including sandy and pebble beaches, sandbars, and mudflats, and along coastal lagoons. So it is not surprising that a large percentage of the sightings here was at Chancery Lane's Swamp, in Christ Church

Pacific Golden-Plover 

The Pacific Golden-Plover (Pluvialis fulva) is the rarest and prettiest of the plover family to visit our shores.  An almost yearly visitor now, in singles, this bird breeds in Alaska and Siberia and migrates south to Asia, Australasia, and Pacific islands. Until 2008, there were only three recorded sightings on the island but from 2017 to this year at least one bird has been recorded. This is truly a golden, golden plover and a sight to behold. 

 

Three other very rare plovers that are worth mentioning are:

• Common Ringed Plover (Charadrius hiaticula) - last recorded on the island in 2008 but maybe overlooked because of its close resemblance to the Semipalmated Plover.
• Snowy Plover (Charadrius nivosus) - last recorded on the island was in 1984. It closely resembles the Collared Plover but with a paler plumage.  It is listed on the (IUCN) Red List of Threatened Species where it is categorized as Near Threatened.  
• Piping Plover (Charadrius melodus) - The only record of this plover on the island was in 1957.  This tiny plover is also listed on the (IUCN) Red List of Threatened Species where it is categorized as Near Threatened. 

The Barbados Birds and Birding Report - August

August was a thrilling month for birds and birding, as we witnessed the fall migration in full swing. We added eight new species to our island’s checklist, bringing the total number of bird species reported for 2023 to over 100 (106). The new arrivals were White-rumped Sandpiper (Calidris fuscicollis), Hudsonian Godwit (Limosa haemastica), Buff-breasted Sandpiper (Calidris subruficollis), Red-footed Booby (Sula sula), Gull-billed Tern (Gelochelidon nilotica), Bridled Tern (Onychoprion anaethetus), Fork-tailed Flycatcher (Tyrannus savana) and Tricolored Heron (Egretta tricolor).

Short-billed Dowitchers at Long Beach

We also had several days of high counts of various shorebird species, like Lesser Yellowlegs (Tringa flavipes), Stilt Sandpipers (Calidris himantopus), Short-billed Dowitchers (Limnodromus griseus), Whimbrels (Numenius phaeopus), and for most of the month Semipalmated Sandpipers (Calidris pusilla), which are near threatened.

Michael St. John continued his impressive streak of finding banded birds. He spotted the famous Osprey-tagged KWO, as well as several Semipalmated Sandpipers (Calidris pusilla)and Ruddy Turnstones (Arenaria interpres) with tags from the East Coast of the United States. He reported them to the relevant authorities, of course. The Motus Wildlife Tracking station that was installed at the Walkers Reserve last year as part of the Birds Caribbean Motus Collaboration detected its second radio-tagged migrant on August 1st. It was a Least Sandpiper (Calidris minutilla) with the nano-tagged ID# 73718.  This bird was tagged in Nova Scotia, Canada on July 18th, 2023. Is that not an impressive journey for the smallest species in the sandpiper family? but it is one made yearly but many species of birds, tagging just gives us a small view of it.  There were many highlights during the month, and I apologize for not keeping you updated as they happened. I have been swamped, but I can assure you that August was a fantastic month for birds and birding.

August's Rare Bird Sightings

Shorebirds continued their migration in August, with American Golden Plover (Pluvialis dominica) being particularly prominent in the last week. We can expect more bird families, such as ducks and raptors, to join them in September. Let’s hope for a memorable month of birdwatching. Here are the rare bird sightings for August, sorted by parishes. (*birds that stayed from previous months)

St. Lucy

Glossy Ibis

• Glossy Ibis (Plegadis falcinellus)(6)*- These birds have been at this location for over a year now, during the month one of them was photographed carrying nesting material. Could this be a breeding attempt on its way?

Fulvous Whistling-Duck

• Fulvous Whistling-Duck (Dendrocygna bicolor)*(2) – Two were seen at various locations in the north.
• Least Tern (Sternula antillarum)*- There were a number of sightings throughout the month at various locations, both inland and at sea.
• Red-footed Booby (Sula sula) (2) - Winds blowing out of the west, historically bring these birds close to the island, that was the case on the 25th when tropical storm Grete, which passed to the north of the island brought about these rare conditions.  Two birds, brown morph, were seen at North Point.
• Collared Plover (Charadrius collaris)* - Last seen on the 2nd, most likely relocated 

St. Andrew 

• Tricolored Heron (Egretta tricolor) - Seen at Walkers Reserve on the 27th by Michael St. John.
• Least Tern (Sternula antillarum)* - Very common at Green and Long Pond, along with other tern species

St. Philip 

Gull-billed Tern (FP)

• Gull-billed Tern (Gelochelidon nilotica) - reported by John on the 29th, had additional sightings since.
• Hudsonian Godwit (Limosa haemastica) - one bird was seen on the 19th, but others since then.
• Least Tern (Sternula antillarum)* - a regular visitor to a private marsh

A Red Knot, the largest bird in the background, with a few peeps

• Red Knot (Calidris canutus) - a bird molting to winter plumage stayed a few days at a marsh. 

Christ Church

Bridled Tern on a boat at Oistins

• Bridled Tern (Onychoprion anaethetus) (3)- three birds in the Oistins Bay during bad weather, unconfirmed sightings at Green Pond, St. Andrew.
• Buff-breasted Sandpiper (Calidris subruficollis) - Seen at the WSR by Ed, the bird stayed for a brief period before moving on. 

Least Tern (FP)

• Least Tern (Sternula antillarum)* - A regular at Chancery Lane and along Long Beach where multiple sightings were reported throughout the month. 
• Sandwich Tern (Thalasseus sandvicensis) - I observed this bird first at Inch Marlow, then at the old hotel end of Chancery Lane, with its diagnostic yellow bill tip 

St. James

• Fork-tailed Flycatcher (Tyrannus savana) - seen at Fitts Village 

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