A Mega - Rare Visitor

Curlew Sandpiper

A mega-rare visitor has graced our island with its presence. We began the year with a sighting of a Garganey (Spatula querquedula) in the north and now we have another treat. The bird in question is a Curlew Sandpiper (Calidris ferruginea), a close relative of our more common Stilt Sandpiper (Calidris himantopus), and a species that have been recorded here more than 10 times since 1935, but not seen for over two decades. This would makes it a lifer for most of our local birders. The medium-sized wader, which was in breeding plumage, was spotted by Dr. John Webster at a private wetland in the east while he was out birding.  In this plumage, the bird is just stunning, showing its reddish head, breast, and belly with a white rear end. The upperparts are dark brown mottled with white, black, and chestnut fringes.

About Curlew Sandpipers 

Curlew Sandpiper is a medium-sized Eurasian shorebird about 7.5" (18-19cm) in length, with a wingspan of  16-18" (42-46cm).  It has black legs and a long black thin decurved bill and shows a white rump in all plumages. The non-breeding and juvenile plumages have grey upperparts and white underparts.  They breed on the tundra of Arctic Siberia and then fly south to their wintering grounds, which are mainly in Africa, but also in south and southeast Asia, Australia, and New Zealand. It is not unusual for this sandpiper to wander to the new world, especially to the US Atlantic coast. The most likely times to see it there are in late May in spring and in late July to early August in fall. Unfortunately, this species is listed as "Near Threatened" on the red list of the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) owing to a global population decline which is thought to be approaching the threshold of Vulnerable.

This mega-rare visitor was a welcome sight at a time of the year when we hardly see any birds moving to the island. No doubt it would have us all closely inspecting every bird while out in the field something I am sure we would not mind doing.

Stay safe, and enjoy your birding. 

References:

The Shorebird Guide by O'brien, Crossley & Karlson
BOU The Birds of Barbados by Buckley, Hutt, Massiah et al

Rare Bird - White-winged Tern

We had another rare bird sighting in the northern parish of St. Lucy over the weekend.  It was a juvenile White-winged Tern (Chlidonias leucopterus) at the North Point.   This is a small tern about 7.9 - 10.6 inches (20 - 27 cm) in length with a wingspan of about 25 -27 inches” (63-67 cm).  The breeding plumage of this bird species is simply stunning - a black head, neck, uppers, and underparts, whereas the tail and wings are pale to white in color.

The non-breeding and the juvenile plumages, like this one, are not as dramatic – palish to white upper and underparts, reddish legs, with a dark helmet-like crown that extends like earmuffs behind the eyes.

This Eurasian species breeds from southeast Europe to Central Asia also in the Russian Far East, but winters in southern and central Africa, and from India to northern Australia.  White-winged Terns though rare, are no strangers to the island with five birds recorded up to 2008, follow by sightings in 2013, 2015, and 2019 (The Birds of Barbados – P.A. Buckley, Edward Massiah, et al). 

With rare birds popping up across the region, this may not be our last mega for the year so stay tuned.