More New Species

Suspected Grey-breasted Martin

Two new bird species have been spotted at Harrisons Point, St. Lucy, in the span of two weeks. The first one, seen on October 16th, was a Grey-breasted Martin (Progne chalybea), a relative of the more common  Caribbean Martin (Progne dominicensis).  These large swallows, - with a length of 6.3 - 7.1 inches (16–18 cm) - are native to South and Central America and Trinidad. This record is pending confirmation, but if accepted, it would be bird #278 for Barbados. (The Clements Checklist of Birds of the World)

Blue-winged Warbler

The second bird that was seen at Harrisons Point, St. Lucy, was a Blue-winged Warbler (Vermivora cyanoptera). It was spotted on the evening of the 23rd. This small bird - measuring around   4.3 inches (11 cm) in length and weighing about 9 g (0.32 oz) -  is a brightly colored yellow warbler with blue-gray wings and a black eye stripe. It breeds in eastern North America, where it lives in areas with shrubs and some large trees. It migrates to Central America for the winter, especially in the region between Honduras and the Yucatán Peninsula.

These are the third and fourth new bird species for Barbados in 2023, following the swift and the kite. The Swift was either a House Swift (Apus nipalensis) or a Little Swift (Apus affinis), but the experts are still figuring it out. The kite was a Mississippi Kite (Ictinia mississippiensis). I think there are more new birds to come.

October Birding at HP

Northern Wheatear, one of my two Harrison's Point Lifers for 2023

Harrison’s Point (HP), St. Lucy, is my favorite birding spot in October. This place is known for attracting migratory sound birds every year. This month has been halfway through, and I have already seen some regular visitors and some unexpected ones.

A Blackpoll Warbler at HP last year

Some of the birds that I usually see at HP around this time are Blackpoll Warblers (Setophaga striata), Yellow-billed Cuckoos (Coccyzus americanus), and Bobolinks (Dolichonyx oryzivorus). They have all shown up this year as well. Sometimes, HP also surprises me with some rare birds, like the Black and White Warbler (Mniotilta varia) and Summer Tanager (Piranga rubra) that I saw last year, or the Black-throated Green Warbler (Dendroica virens) and Blackburnian Warbler (Setophaga fusca) that was spotted in 2014.

Prothonotary Warbler, my first record of this warbler at HP

This year, I have seen four special birds so far, two of which were lifers for me - the elusive Upland Sandpiper (Bartramia longicauda), the stunning Prothonotary Warbler (Protonotaria citrea), and then two lifers: a Northern Wheatear (Oenanthe oenanthe), which is extremely rare in this region and only the third record for the island, and the Rose-breasted Grosbeak (Pheucticus ludovicianus), which is probably the second record for the island. With just two more weeks to go in October, I will be looking forward to seeing more birds at Harrison’s Point.  

 

The Barbados Birds and Birding Report - September

Bird activity has been quite high, but I have been so busy that I could not update you as often as I wanted to, so here is a mix-bag. September was a lively month with four new birds added to the island’s 2023 checklist. We also witnessed a clear shorebird migration, with American Golden-Plovers (Pluvialis dominica) and a few other shorebird species being very active. I am thrilled to welcome the local bird to the 100 Club.

As I mentioned in the introduction, four new species joined the island’s 2023 list of birds. They were Upland Sandpiper (Bartramia longicauda), Common Nighthawk (Chordeiles minor), Yellow-crowned Night-Heron (Nyctanassa violacea) a juvenile, and a single Black-necked Stilt (Himantopus mexicanus). We recorded 110 bird species for the year by the end of September.

American Golden-Plover

One bird that impressed me during the month was the American Golden Plover. The numbers recorded throughout the month were amazing. On the 10th, we counted 250 birds, then nearly 700 between the 16th and 17th, with 350 at Chancery Lane’s Swamp alone. From the 22nd to the 26th, we saw almost 600 birds. On the other days, there were more than 50 birds.

List of top birders by species seen from ebird.org

I began birding and submitting checklists to ebird.org in 2012. At that time, only two birders had seen over 100 bird species on the island: Ed Massiah, our local guru, and Mark Gawn, a Canadian expatriate. Dr. John Webster and I joined them soon after. A few years later, my son Jason also reached the milestone. I am pleased to announce that we now have two more local birders who have reported over 100 bird species in Barbados and another one who is very close to achieving that goal. The first one to hit the triple digits was Quncy Clarke, a Barbadian who lived abroad for a while and returned to the island around 2019. His journey to 100 species was hard and slow. He did not have access to most of the private locations and sometimes faced transportation difficulties. But he was very determined to reach the mark. His 100th bird was a Roseate Tern (Sterna dougallii), a bird that local birders would consider easy to see. This shows how challenging his journey was. The second centenarian, Mike St. John, had a completely different experience. His journey could be the fastest to 100 species. He is a very enthusiastic birder and photographer. He even recorded a new species for the island in July, a Mississippi Kite (Ictinia mississippiensis). Congratulations to both of you! 

September's Rare Bird Sightings

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 during the month.

  

  Common Nighthawk

• Common Nighthawk (Chordeiles minor)(1) - this nocturnal insectivore was seen late on the afternoon of the 7th, then again on the 14th where it was photographed and a positive identification made. 
• Black-necked Stilt (Himantopus mexicanus)(1) - seen on the 19th
• Red Knot (Calidris canutus)(1) - was first seen on 6th and stayed up to  end of the month 

St. Andrew 

• Gull-billed Tern (Gelochelidon nilotica)(2)- One seen at Green Pond 
• Least Tern (Sternula antillarum)* - Very common at Green and Long Pond, along with other tern species
• Yellow-crowned Night-Heron (Nyctanassa violacea) -  the guide at Walkers Reserve shared with me images of a juvenile at Long Pond, Late confirmed by two other birders. 

St. Thomas

Striated Heron

• Striated Heron (Butorides striata) - after going missing for a few weeks this lone bird was back at the pond by SBRC

St. Philip 

Gull-billed Tern (FP)

• Gull-billed Tern (Gelochelidon nilotica) - reported by John on August 29th, the bird continued into September.  Most likely the same bird at Green Pond, St, Andrew.
• Ruff (Calidris pugnax) - One bird made a brief visit to a private wetland on the 19th
• Glossy Ibis (Plegadis falcinellus) (8) - seen at a private location
• Buff-breasted Sandpiper (Calidris subruficollis) - multiple appearance and a private wetland

Christ Church

Glossy Ibis at W00d Bourne

• Glossy Ibis (Plegadis falcinellus) (2) both were seen at WSR 

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   

October Big Day—14 Oct 2023 By Team eBird

 Mark your calendars for October Big Day—14 Oct 2023! Like Global Big Day, October Big Day is an opportunity to unite around our shared love of birds. Last October, nearly 35,000 people from 185 countries submitted 80,000 checklists with eBird, demonstrating the power of birds to bring people together.

Wherever you are on 14 October, take a few minutes to join in this global celebration. Participate from anywhere—even from home! By taking part in October Big Day... continue reading here >>