The Barbados Birds and Birding Report - May

White-rumped Sandpiper - year and rare bird 

So much happened in May birding-wise, but I was so busy that I couldn't keep everyone up to date. We recorded five new yearbirds during the month, closing it with 97 species seen for 2024. These new birds were:

• Summer Tanager (Piranga rubra)
• Bridled Tern (Onychoprion anaethetus)
• Ruddy Duck (Oxyura jamaicensis)
• Short-billed Dowitcher (Limnodromus griseus)
• White-rumped Sandpiper (Calidris fuscicollis)

May was also Global Big Day month. This year, it was held on May 11th. Our local birding team, The Bajan Birders & Friends, once again participated in Birds Caribbean's annual Global Big Day (GBD) fundraiser and delivered a commendable performance. The team, consisting of 10 birders from three countries—Barbados, Canada, and the United States— saw 224 bird species and raised $375. I'd like to express my gratitude to all team members, both local and international, for joining us on this day of birding.

May Rare Bird Sightings

We saw three new rare birds during the month - White-rumped Sandpiper,  Ruddy Duck, and Summer Tanager.  While the White-rumped Sandpiper is uncommon during this time of year, it's a frequent visitor during the southern bird migration. Here's a breakdown of the other rare sightings for the month, listed parish by parish.

(* denotes birds that remained from previous months)

St. Lucy

Glossy Ibis

• Glossy Ibis (Plegadis falcinellus)*(1)  - Long-stay birds who enjoy this location.
• Red-footed Booby (Sula sula) (172) - A significant sighting at North Point between the 22nd and 24th 172 birds flying east to west. Most birds were in brown phase with one in white. 
• Fulvous Whistling-Duck (Dendrocygna bicolor)* - reported periodically throughout the month.

  

  White-rumped Sandpiper

• White-rumped Sandpiper (Calidris fuscicollis) - bird seen during the GBD, May 11th.  While common during the southern bird migration it very uncommon in spring.
• Summer Tanager (Piranga rubra) - Michael St. John had a brief look at a reddish bird he identified as the above. Here is his description "Beautiful all-red, darker on upperparts and lighter crimson underparts, pale yellow bill."

St. Andrew

Least Tern

• Least Tern (Sternula antillarum) - this bird relocated from the south coast to Long Pond;

  

  American Coot (Red-Shielded)

• American Coot (Red-Shielded) (Fulica Americana) - one at Walker Reserve 

St. John

• Ruddy Duck (Oxyura jamaicensis) - discovered in a pond at Kendal, St. John, while birder was searching for the White-tailed Hawk;

  

  White-tailed Hawk, a first record for the island

  
  
• White-tailed Hawk (Geranoaetus albicaudatus) - regular hunting ground, in an open field with a pond, at Kendal St. John.  Multiple sightings at this location during the month.

St. Philip

Ruff 

• Ruff (Calidris pugnax)* (2) - The birds moved between WSR and this location throughout the month. 

Christ Church 

• Ruff (Calidris pugnax) (1)-  Of the three birds seen here last month, only one was seen at Woodboure Shorebird Refuge (WSR) in May.  
• Ruddy Duck (Oxyura jamaicensis) - relocated from the pond at Kendal t. John. 

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