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!

October in Review

The most of my birding this month was in search of the seemingly elusive Black Poll Warbler “Setophaga striata” at Harrison’s Point St. Lucy. Up until the end of October this bird was nowhere to be seen.  However for the month of October, I posted five (5) birds moving my Photo Challenge count to 75 species.  I also was able to add three (3) new species to my year and life count, both of which now stand at 82 species.

The search for Blackpoll Warblers

I spent three Saturdays and some weekday afternoons in search of Blackpoll Warblers at Harrison’s Point.  The first Saturday I met with Edward Massiah, Co-author of the book Birds of Barbados, at about 6:30am. I was happy to add the Yellow –billed Cuckoo” Coccyzus americanus” to my list on that day. The Yellow Warblers were also plentiful at this location and I was able to get my best photo to date of this bird.

The 2^nd Saturday we were joined on our expedition by Dr. John Webster, Host of the Local, Regional and dear I say, International, bird show Breakfast with the Birds.  I felt honored to be birding with my mentors.  There is a wealth of knowledge between the two of them, which I so often tap into. However, after about 4 to 5 hour of looking we called it quits.

The 3^rd Saturday we were all hyped up. We heard of a massive Blackpoll Warbler fall out in Bermuda. I met Edward at about 6:30am to continue our hunt. I am not just a birder I am “naturer", (lookup that word in your dictionary and add it, if it is not there); hence, after realizing that this outing was going to be like the others, I switched from my long lens to the micro lens and took photographs of some of the insects around. The hunt for the Black-poll Warbler will continue but you will have to hear about that next month.

Photograph of the Month

My Photograph of the Month is of a Juvenile Peregrine Falcon "Falco peregrinus". The photograph was taken on October 31, 2013. 

 

Harrison’s Point

October 5^th would have been the second time I had been to Harrison’s Point but the first time for Birding. Located on the Northern tip of the island, Harrison’s Point, a decommissioned American Naval Base turned make shift prison, now stands abandoned with empty dilapidated buildings, over grown  by shrubs and trees.  The Myamosee or River Tamarind tree “leucaena leucocephela” is the predominant tree in this area. This tree is known to attract many worms and caterpillars making this area a perfect place for migrating birds like Warblers. A study done by Douglas McNair, Edward Massiah and Martin Frost at Harrison’s Point involving mist netting, added a number of species to the local Avifauna and offered valuable information on the migration of Blackpoll Warblers. So this location known for its lighthouse, is also an important area for birds. Link to the studies done at Harrison’s Point.

The Lighthouse @ Harrison's Point

On Identified Moth

Dragonfly

On To November

I entered November needing twenty-five birds. This pretty much seems like an impossible task, however, I am hoping to get at least ninety birds. I will continue the lookout for the Blackpoll Warblers and also the Godwits. The Blue-winged teals are here, and I will be looking for any vagrant among them.  I missed out on two juvenile Yellow-crowned Night Herons at WSR, but I hope that they are still around. So I am keeping my ears to the ground my eyes to the sky. So here is to another month of birding in Barbados.  

See the following post for Photograph for the Month of October.

September in Review - Part 2

Woodbourne Shorebird Rescue

 

Black-bellied Whistling-Duck 

Black-crowned Night Heron

Laughing Gull

Oistins, Inch Marlow and Long Beach

Whimbrel in flight

Common Tern fishing

The beautiful Long Beach

Turtle at Oistins

St Lucy 

Short-billed Dowitcher

1st year Black-crowned Night Heron

Semipalmated Plover

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.