The Barbados Birds and Birding Report - November

Lesser Scaup- one of the species of migratory ducks seen in November

November was a calm month after the busy October we had. We added three new species to our 2023 checklist: Green-winged Teal (Anas crecca), Northern Shoveler (Spatula clypeata), and Manx Shearwater (Puffinus puffinus) ending the month with a jaw-dropping 123 species seen for the year. Meanwhile, more migratory ducks showed up and we saw four different species by the end of the month: Blue-winged Teal (Spatula discors), Green-winged Teal (Anas crecca), Ring-necked Duck (Aythya collaris), and Lesser Scaup (Aythya affinis). In St. Lucy and Christ Church, we observed some large flocks of Blue-winged Teal (Spatula discors) with over 100 individual birds each.

November's Rare Bird Sightings

November was a slow month for new rare bird sightings, and December tends to be even slower. But we still have a chance to see some wintering warblers at Turner’s Hall Woods and the Graeme Hall Swamp that could make 2023 end with a bang. Plus, the rains have filled up the ponds and made them more appealing to some birds, so we might get some surprises in December so stay alert. These are the rare birds that we saw in November, some of which stayed from previous months.

St. Lucy

one of the six long-stay Glossy Ibis

• Glossy Ibis (Plegadis falcinellus)(6)*- These birds have continued at this location for over a year.
• Fulvous Whistling-Duck (Dendrocygna bicolor)*(1) – One bird seen among a flock of  Black-bellied Whistling Duck (Dendrocygna autumnalis)
• Killdeer (Charadrius vociferous) - was seen last on November 5th 
 

St. Andrew 

• Gull-billed Tern (Gelochelidon nilotica)(2)- This pair was seen at various locations

  

  Manx Shearwater

• Manx Shearwater (Puffinus puffinus) - This bird was found on the beach at Morgan Lewis in poor condition, and appeared to be caused by a fishing line or net.  It died two days later

  

  One of the two Prothonotary Warblers seen at Turner Hall

• Prothonotary Warbler (Protonotaria citrea) - two birds were seen in the Turners Hall Woods during the month. 

St. Philip 

• Hudsonian Godwit (Limosa haemastica) seen early in the month 
• Red Knot (Calidris canutus) (2)* - This could be the pair from last month that roosted at a private wetland.
• Gull-billed Tern (Gelochelidon nilotica)* - last seen on November 19 at a private location.

St. Michael

• Lesser Black-backed Gull (Larus fuscus)(2) - at Pile Bay

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   

Pelagic Bird Found on the East Coast

Manx Shearwater

Pelagic birds are seldom seen near the island, as they live mostly on the high seas. Most of the records we have on ebird.org were made by observers who were on vessels, except for our two native species, the Audubon’s Shearwaters (Puffinus lherminieri) that breed in St. Lucy and the Red-billed Tropicbirds (Phaethon aethereus) that breed in St. Philip. On November 25th, a visiting couple discovered a rare bird on an east coast beach, a Manx Shearwater (Puffinus puffinus), which was identified by Ed Massiah. The bird was injured, lost the primary feathers on its right wing, and had a leg wound that seemed to be caused by a fishing line or net.

injury on the leg

Ed also kindly agreed to take and keep the bird until it could be brought to the RSPCA for treatment. The staff there have helped many wounded birds in the past, such as the  Red-footed Booby (Sula sula) in 2019, Greater Shearwater (Ardenna gravis) in 2016, link 2, Eurasian Spoonbill (Platalea leucorodia), to name a few. He also consulted a veterinarian on how to care for it until we could get it there. Sadly, it died before it could reach the RSPCA.

The Manx shearwater is a medium-sized seabird that measures 12–15 in (30–38 cm) long and has a wingspan of 30–35 in (76–89 cm). It is known for its amazing migration, traveling thousands of miles between its wintering grounds in the southern Atlantic, Brazil, and Argentina, and its breeding grounds in northern Atlantic countries like the United Kingdom, Iceland, etc. These birds are closest to our island during February and March when they migrate to their breeding grounds. It would be wonderful to see these beautiful birds in their element, far out at sea, in the pelagic zone. Yes, a boat trip is needed for some open-water birding, maybe in 2024.

Stay safe and enjoy your birding.