November in Review

November in Review

What a month! I must admit that this migration season was strange, but November made me smile. Just look at the numbers!  I was able to post 5 birds, half of the total needed to stay on the course.  I added 6 new species to my year and life count, moving both to 88 species.

What a Month!

I started off November feeling a little down.  The migration season was not going as I had imagined it would go.  I was coming to grips with the fact that I am not going to complete the challenge and I was also feeling a little tired. It was one of the months where I did not get out birding as much, but the days in which I did, were truly fulfilling.  My highlight was a trip to a pond in the north of the island, on the afternoon of November 18. It was after work, and I was in the area so I stopped in. In the 45 minutes I spent, I was able to observe 16 species, but the highlight was a strange looking duck, one I had never seen before.  I was not even able to find it in my Field Guide.  On arriving home I e-mailed the photographs to three of the top birders on the island, Dr. John Webster, Dr. Karl Watson and Mr. Edward Massiah.  It was later confirmed that this strange duck was a new species to the island and maybe even the region.  It was a Common Shelduck “Tadorna tadorna”. Some of the other exciting birds observed during this month were Wilson's Phalarope “Phalaropus tricolor”, Northern Shoveler “Anas clypeata”, Ring-necked Duck “Aythya collaris” and Hodsonian Godwit “Limosa haemastica”.

Hudsonian Godwit

Northern Shoveler

Wilson's Phalarope

Bird of the Month

My bird of the Month, and possibly bird of the year, was the Common Shelduck “Tadorna tadorna” observed and photographed on November 18, in the north of the island.

On to December

This is the final month of the challenge.  We still have some exciting birds to see.  I saw a Wood Sandpiper but the photographs were not the best.  A Grey Heron may also be on the island, and I look forward to seeing that. So December here I come!

Birds Review # 41-50

August in review

"From early July there is a trickle of migrant shorebirds passing through Barbados en route from their distant North American breeding grounds … to winter in South America …By August this trickle has become a stream, swell on occasions to a flood which continues on through September ….” 

Maurice Bateman Hutt in his book A Naturalists Year in Barbados

This stream is flowing in anticipation of flooding. The north bound migration is in full effect.  For the month of August I posted eight (8) birds moving my count to 65 species. I also added five (5) new species to my year and life count both of which now stands at 77 species.

 The Stream

The stream of migrating birds continued into the month of August.  My checklist for that month consisted of forty-three (43) different species of birds. While in July the Least Sandpiper and the Semipalmated Plover were the most birds recorded in numbers, in the month of August it was the Semipalmated Sandpiper.

The rain has finally arrived.  With almost a week of rain many of the swamps, ponds and water holes now contain water.  Chancery Lane, whose water level was so low that I walked on dry swamp beds, is now the fullest I have seen it for the year.  See some of the birds recorded there in Table 1 below.

Another location which benefited from the rains was an old and abandoned shooting swamp at North Point St. Lucy; it is located on the northern Coast of the island. The shooting hut, a reminder of its past, was flattened by a storm system a few years ago, but the tray that remains attracts many migrating shorebirds.  If some local birds and conservationist had their way it would be the second Shorebird Sanctuary, after WRS, on the island.  I visited that location on August 28^th and 31^st and recorded eighteen species of birds.  Some of the birds recorded there in Table 2 below:

Table 1: Chancery Lane

Common Name	Scientific Name
Whimbrels	Numenius phaeopus
Ruddy Turnstones	Arenaria interpres
Sanderlings	Calidris alba
Least sandpipers	Calidris minutilla
Semipalmated Sandpipers	Calidris pusilla
Western Sandpipers	Calidris mauri
Spotted Sandpipers	Actitis macularius
Semipalmated Plovers	Charadrius semipalmatus

Table 2: North Point

Common Name	Scientific Name
Semipalmated Sandpiper	Calidris pusilla
Solitary Sandpipers	Tringa solitaria
Pectoral Sandpipers	Calidris melanotos
Western Sandpipers	Calidris mauri
Least Sandpipers	Calidris minutilla
Spotted Sandpipers	Actitis macularius
Greater Yellowlegs	Tringa melanoleuca
Semipalmated Plovers	Charadrius semipalmatus
American Golden Plovers	Pluvialis dominica
White Rumped Sandpiper	Calidris fuscicollis

(See photograph below taken by my son Jason of the remains of the shooting hut)  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 My Photo of the Month

My Photo of the Month is of a Sanderling on the shores of Martin Bay in St. John on the East Coast of the island.  This beautiful fishing village attracts a number of shorebirds.  This photograph was taken on August 25^th, 2013.  Everything was perfect for the photo so I chose it as my Photo of the Month.

September

For September, I am hoping to post ten birds. While the northern migration is in full effect, I am hoping it will be a bit easier.  The shooting Swamps are still out of bounds with a month and a half remaining in the season.  With the North Point Swamp coming into play this should help a lot.  Another plus is that I am starting my vacation on September 2^nd for two weeks.

With four months to go I need another thirty-four (34) birds for my photo challenge and another forty-three (43) for my year goal of one hundred and twenty (120) birds for the year.  Where am I going to find these birds? I sent out a SOS to local birders. If you have any to spare one you can also send them to Barbados W.I. lol.

So on to September may the flood of birds begin…

Below are some of the birds I photographed throughout the month of August.

The Woodbourne Shorebird Refuge (WSR).

Fresh Water Wetlands

The fresh water areas on the island of Barbados are of importance to migrating shore and water birds.  There are made up mainly of a network of artificially created swamps for the purpose of luring migrating birds down so that they can be shot.  Some of these shooting swamps, as there are called locally; maintain water levels outside of the shooting season which spans from July to October.  This is a plus for those birds which migrate outside the hunting season.

But without a doubt the beacon in bird conservation on the island of Barbados is -
The Woodbourne Shorebird Refuge (WSR).  This once abandoned shooting swamp was brought to life to give the many migrating shore and water birds a place of safety during migration.  At this one location you can see well over 15 species of birds on any given day but it is well known for Snowy, Cattle and Great  Egrets, Little Blue Heron, Green Heron, Black Bellied Whistling Ducks, Common Moorhens or if you prefer Common Gallinule and much more.  I am expecting to pay a lot of visits there during the New Year.

Click Here  Google Map

Click Here to read about how WSR came about.

Click Here for articles on the Woodbourne Shorebird Sanctuary (WSR).

Below are some Photos from WSR:

The observation blind built at Woodburne Shorebird Refuge
 called "The Hutt," after  Barbadian Ornithologists, Naturaliist and  Conservationist Captain M.B. Hutt (1919-1998)

One of the fresh water ponds at WSR

Osprey "Pandion haliaetus" fishing at WSR

Sora "Porzana carolina" in the wetfeilds



Green Heron "Butorides virescens " and Wilson's Snip "Gallinago delicata"

Egrets taking time to rest at the pond infront The Hutt

Great Egret "Ardea alba"

Long Pond

Long Pond is located on the East Coast of the island in the parish of St. Andrew along the famous Ermy Bourne Highway commonly known as the East Coast Road.  It is situated about 6km from Bathsheba, the home of the world famous surfers paradise The Soup Bowl.

Long Pond is a shallow brackish water lagoon separated from the sea at low tide by a sand bank.  It is an important stop over for wintering birds such as Sandpipers, Plovers and Herons.   You may also see Belted Kingfishers “Ceryle alcyon” and the resident Osprey “Pandion haliaetus”, who I’m told, takes up residence in a Casuarina tree “Casuarina equisetifolia” on the south bank of the lagoon.

The flora

The most dominant grass around the pond is Crab grass “Sporobolus virginicus”. Woods made up mainly of Casuarina tree “Casuarina equisetifolia” are on the south bank and Coconut trees on the north both provides perfect habitat for Passerines birds.

Long Pond and the two other brackish water wetlands, Graeme Hall and Chancery lane play and important part of the island ecosystem and should be protected.

Click Here for Google Map and Earth images of Long Pond

See pictures from Long Pond Below..

Long Pond

From the north bank looking south- east

Sunset over Long Pond

Looking East from the South Bank

Semipalmated Plover at Long Pond

Sanderling at long Pong