The Northern Trip

Bobolink

It has been a while since I was out birding and I was eagerly looking forward to this northern trip.  At the end of September I was sitting on ninety-one birds for the year and coming to the end of October it remained unchanged.  I was sure that by the end of the day I would at least record one bird, a Godwit.  For the past week, two Godwits were hanging around one of the swamps in the north; this would be a new year-bird for me.  The prospect of recording migrating warblers at their main landfall location, Harrison’s Point, was also adding to the excitement for the trip.

Harrison’s Point

I was on my way at 5:30am to meet Edward Massiah at Harrison’s Point (HP) at 5:45am; with a 30-35 minute drive ahead of me I knew I was going to be late.  When I reached HP at about 6:00am Edward was already there and we both began a search of the foliage for these tiny birds.  We worked our way north to the lighthouse recording mainly common birds such as Yellow Warblers which were singing sweetly, Grey Kingbirds, Shiny Cowbirds and Antillean-crested Hummingbirds to mention a few.  Flying above our heads back and forth were Barn and Cliff Swallows.  On reaching the lighthouse I noted a number of Swallows were sitting on the powerline to the east and I went for a closer look.  As I came to the powerline, a flock of birds flushed from a grass field just in front of me.  The flight calls of these birds (clink clink, in single notes) were new, but straight away I knew that they were Bobolinks.  It was a small flock of about sixteen birds feeding on grass seeds and I was able to get a few photos.  Bobolinks were my 122^nd Barbados lifer and my 92^nd species for the year.  It was about this time that we were joined by Dr. John Webster and Mr. Richard Roach, both of them made their way to see and photograph the bobolinks.  

John told us of a Blackpoll Warbler he saw just a few minutes previously so I went off in search of it.  

Blackpoll Warbler

I have been practicing my Pishing for a couple months now and it works well with the common birds now I have to see if it will work with these migrants.  I found what I thought was a good location, an opening among the trees and started my calls.  Straight away I drew the interest of a few birds, one of them being… yes, a Blackpoll Warbler.  That became my 93^rd bird for the year.  We left Harrison’s Point at 7:50am for our next location at Bright Hall for the Godwit.

Bright Hall

American Wigeon

This was my first visit to this location for the year and it was clear to see that this wet area was also suffering from the ongoing droughts.  There were many shorebirds on the mudflats and wadding in the low water.  A few ducks were also there but as I scanned the area, it was clear to see the Godwit was no longer there.  However eight Blue-winged Teals and an American Wigeon were present, which I tried to photograph.  Stilt and Pectoral Sandpipers were also there busy searching for food.  That was about it, so I moved on to my final stop at Greenland.

Greenland

This irrigation pond at Greenland, St. Andrew is one of the few wet areas showing little or no effect from this prolonged drought.  This pond is deep and rarely attracts dabbling ducks, such as Teals, which are the main type of migrating ducks we see.  It does not have much of a mudflat and for that reason does not attract many shorebirds.  It attracts divers like Grebes, Masked and Ruddy ducks etc. but I visited because it was on my route to home.  I was surprised to see a Yellow-billed Cuckoo as I walked in.  Another surprise was to see that the Ruddy Duck I first recorded in September was still there.  The family of three Grebes who live in the pond was nosily making their presence known.  I did not see the forth one which I first noted last month.  This may have been a migrant which had moved on.

At the end of that northern excursion I claimed one lifer, Bobolink and a year bird (Blackpoll Warbler).  I missed the Godwit but hopefully one is still around and just moved to a different location.  It was a pleasant outing and I look forward to doing it again.  

List of the birds seen during the trip

1.       American Wigeon - Anas americana

2.       Blue-winged Teal - Anas discors

3.       Ruddy Duck - Oxyura jamaicensis

4.       Pied-billed Grebe - Podilymbus podiceps

5.       Magnificent Frigatebird - Fregata magnificens

6.       Snowy Egret - Egretta thula

7.       Cattle Egret - Bubulcus ibis

8.       Common Gallinule - Gallinula galeata

9.       Semipalmated Plover - Charadrius semipalmatus

10.   Spotted Sandpiper - Actitis macularius

11.   Greater Yellowlegs - Tringa melanoleuca

12.   Lesser Yellowlegs - Tringa flavipes

13.   Stilt Sandpiper - Calidris himantopus

14.   Least Sandpiper - Calidris minutilla

15.   White-rumped Sandpiper - Calidris fuscicollis

16.   Pectoral Sandpiper - Calidris melanotos

17.   Semipalmated Sandpiper - Calidris pusilla

18.   Wilson's Snipe - Gallinago delicata

19.   Scaly-naped Pigeon - Patagioenas squamosa

20.   Common Ground-Dove - Columbina passerina

21.   Zenaida Dove - Zenaida aurita

22.   Yellow-billed Cuckoo - Coccyzus americanus

23.   Green-throated Carib - Eulampis holosericeus

24.   Antillean Crested Hummingbird - Orthorhyncus cristatus

25.   Caribbean Elaenia - Elaenia martinica

26.   Gray Kingbird - Tyrannus dominicensis

27.   Black-whiskered Vireo - Vireo altiloquus

28.   Caribbean Martin - Progne dominicensis

29.   Barn Swallow - Hirundo rustica

30.   Cliff Swallow - Petrochelidon pyrrhonota

31.   Yellow Warbler - Setophaga petechia

32.   Blackpoll Warbler - Setophaga striata

33.   Bananaquit - Coereba flaveola

34.   Black-faced Grassquit - Tiaris bicolor

35.   Barbados Bullfinch - Loxigilla barbadensis

36.   Bobolink - Dolichonyx oryzivorus

37.   Carib Grackle - Quiscalus lugubris

38.   Shiny Cowbird - Molothrus bonariensis

The Northern Trip (Images)

Images from my birding trip to the most northern parish on October 25

Bobolink - Dolichonyx oryzivorus

Blackpoll Warbler - Setophaga striata

Black-whiskered Vireo - Vireo altiloquus

White-rumped Sandpiper - Calidris fuscicollis

Lesser Yellowlegs - Tringa flavipes

Four Blue-winged Teals - Anas discors inflight

American Wigeon - Anas americana

Stilt Sandpiper - Calidris himantopus

A talkative Stilt with a Pectoral Sandpiper

Pectoral Sandpiper - Calidris melanotos

INTERNATIONAL MIGRATORY BIRD DAY 2015

International Migratory Bird Day October 17, 2015: Restore Habitat, Restore Birds

International Migratory Bird Day (IMBD) celebrates one of the most important and spectacular events in the Americas: bird migration. Since 1993, IMBD has fostered bird conservation and education, and has introduced countless youths and adults to migratory birds. The event, hosted at over 700 sites, serves as a call to action to preserve birds and their habitats.

Birds don’t migrate on a single day. So while IMBD’s official date is the second Saturday in May for the U.S. and Canada, and the second Saturday in October for Latin America and the Caribbean, Bird Day activities take place year-round, and events are best offered when migratory birds are present. IMBD is coordinated by Environment for the Americas.

Learn More

State of my Birding: Third Quarter 2015

Alpine Swift my bird of the quarter

The third quarter was very dry. With the continued low rainfall the island was experiencing it was no surprise that most of the wet areas were now dry.  This did not stop the birds from coming however, and during this quarter we had some exciting birds.  With the invasion of our beaches by the Sargassum seaweed, they are teeming with small crustacean, fish eggs and small insects, it was a buffet for the shorebirds.  

July

Roseate Terns

In July I registered forty-seven species.  With the southern migration just beginning I was not expecting any surprises but a surprise was what I got.  On the afternoon of July 13^th I recorded an Alpine Swift (Tachymarptis melba).  This was only the fourth ever confirmed sighting with the first one being in 1955 (The Birds of Barbados an annotated checklist pg167) and it was also my 120^th lifer.  I registered two other year birds, Roseate Terns at Inch Marlow and Whimbrels at Chancery Lane.  At the end of the month my checklist stood at seventy-seven species.

August

August was like “spinning a top in mud”.  In that month I recorded over 50 on the month’s checklists and only added one species to my year list.  While I was not productive in the sense of increasing my list I was able to see fifty seven species during that month.  The single new bird for August was the White-Rumped Sandpiper which was seen at Inch Marlow, Christ Church. 

September

Striated Heron

September was the complete opposite of August.  I registered thirty-seven species from just eight checklists but added twelve new species for the year including one lifer.  The month started off with a low key World Shorebirds Day (see here).  By the first half of the month I had already surpassed my highest September Count with seven year birds.  This included my 121^st lifer a Fork-tailed Flycatcher seen at Harrisons Point (see here).  The second half of the month was just as exciting with five more new sightings including the 2^nd recorded Striated Heron for the island.  It was truly a month of rarities.   

Caribbean Martins

It was a dry quarter but it added sixteen species, including two lifers, to my year list.  I missed three birds in that quarter a Pearly-eyed Thrasher, Purple-throated Carib and a Yellow-crowned Night Heron.  There were a number of species which were seen in large numbers.  Barn Swallows and Caribbean Martins were seen all over the island. The last quarter of the year promises more birds with Harrisons Point in October and the rarities of November, if all goes to plan, I am hoping to go pass the 100 mark before the middle of December. So here is to the last quarter.

September! New Rarities Month?

In 2015, September is making a credible attempt to replace November as Rarity Month after putting up a number of rarities and even a few mega-rarities. 

The second day of the month set the tone for things to come. I was finally able to see up-close and photograph a bird, which I first saw flying high over St. Lucy, our most northern parish, in the latter part of August.  The bird was white, with black patches by its eyes and flew like a tern.  I was able to get a couple poor quality photographs before it disappeared. I shared the images with a few birders but we were unable to make a definitive identification.  I was about to give up on being able to ID this bird when two local birders, Dr. Webster and Mr. R. Roach, discovered a Gull-billed Tern, around the same area.  There was no doubt that this was the bird I saw earlier.  Even though we recorded this species here on the island in the last few years, in some quarters it is still considered a rarity. 

Three other birds were seen during September, some may differ on their status as rarities.  They were a Red Knots, a Grey Heron and a Glossy Ibis.  September was like the month for

Knots with confirmed sightings of two in the eastern parish of St. Philip and unconfirmed reports of a small group at a swamp in the parish of St. Lucy.  I was able to see and photograph one of the two in St. Philip.  I saw a Glossy Ibis while on the Highway the morning of September 8^th.  The bird was not hard to identify as it flew towards me and directly over my car. I noted the dark colour, decurved bill and the extended neck position synonymous with its flight.  The bird was next seen and photographed by R. Roach on September 13^th in the parish of St. Lucy. The Grey Heron was an unexpected surprise.  I was on my way home from work one afternoon when I saw it in an irrigation pond in the parish of St. George.  This Eurasian heron is becoming a regular visitor to our shores, this being the second consecutive year it was recorded.  

The parish of St. Lucy continues to attract rarities with two Collard Plovers on September 2^nd , a Fork-tailed Flycatcher, a lifer for me, on the 13^th,  and the bird of the month (even though I did not get to see it), a juvenile Purple Heron, our second for the year.  The trend of rarities

continued right into the last weekend of the month, with two more bird sightings, one can even be considered a mega rarity.  First, on Saturday 26^th, a quick stop at one of the irrigation ponds at Greenland, St. Andrew, turned up a single female Ruddy Duck and on the following day a Striated Heron was seen at the Mangrove Landfill in the parish of St. Thomas.  That sighting represented the second record of this species for the island.  This bird is a close relative to our Green Heron, locally known as a Gaulin, but while the Green heron's plumage is mostly brown the Striated one is grey.

The month of September was outstanding, can November measure up? Time will tell.

Here is the list of the rare birds seen in the month of September:

1. Glossy Ibis - Plegadis falcinellu
2. Grey Heron - Ardea cinerea
3. Red Knot - Calidris canutus
4. Fork-tailed Flycatcher - Tyrannus savanna
5. Ruddy Duck - Oxyura jamaicensis
6. Striated Heron - Butorides striata
7. Collared Plover - Charadrius collaris x2
8. Gull-billed Tern - Gelochelidon nilotica 
9. Purple Heron - Ardea purpurea

September Images of Birds

Here are a few images of birds I saw during October 

Striated Heron - Butorides striata - 2nd record for Barbados

Spotted Sandpiper - Actitis macularius

American Golden-Plover - Pluvialis dominica

Western Sandpiper - Calidris mauri

Whimbrel - Numenius phaeopus @ Silver Rock, Christ Church

Ruddy Turnstone - Arenaria interpres

Red Knot - Calidris canutus

Gull-billed Tern - Gelochelidon nilotica

Royal Tern - Thalasseus maximus -with little fishy in mouth

Pied-billed Grebe - Podilymbus podiceps

Eared Dove - Zenaida auriculata

Grassland Yellow-Finch - Sicalis luteola

Yellow Warbler - Setophaga petechia

Caribbean Martin - Progne dominicensis

Southern Lapwing - Vanellus chilensis