GBBC 2026 - Day 1 February 13 (Jamaica)

The Jamaican Owl was my best bird for the GBBC Day 1

My first-ever trip to Jamaica turned out to be deeply satisfying—and from a birding perspective, absolutely incredible. I lucked out with a taxi driver who, although not a birder himself, was down for a bit of birding and trusted my instincts when I asked him to stop at a promising-looking wooded area in an upscale development called Moon Palace. At first it was quiet, almost too quiet, and then everything changed. Our first sighting was an American Kestrel (Falco sparverius). Moments later, my second lifer of the trip appeared: a stunning Red-billed Streamertail (Trochilus polytmus). From that point on, the birds just kept coming. Lifers, yearbirds—one after another in a steady, exhilarating flow. The biggest surprise was a pair of Jamaica Todys (Todus todus), flitting through the understory. Between sightings, I even got an impromptu lesson in how authentic Jamaican jerk is made. The highlight was being introduced to the Pimento Tree—the heart of jerk seasoning. As if on cue, the tree opened the floodgates to a wave of birds, especially warblers drawn to its red berry-like fruit. American Redstart (Setophaga ruticilla), Black-throated Blue (Setophaga caerulescens), Cape May (Setophaga tigrina), and Palm Warblers (Setophaga palmarum) all made appearances. Local species joined the feast too: Loggerhead Kingbird (Tyrannus caudifasciatus), Olive-throated Parakeet (Eupsittula nana), Orangequit (Euneornis campestris), and Jamaican Oriole (Icterus leucopteryx)—every one of them a lifer for me. We spent about an hour soaking in the action before heading back to the port.

Red-billed Streamertail at Moon Palace

After a quick stop on the ship, I made my way to a nearby park called Turtle River Park, and once again I was blown away by the richness of the birdlife. I recorded three lifers in the short time I was there - Jamaican Owl (Asio grammicus) and a pair of Antillean Palm Swifts (Tachornis phoenicobia)circling overhead, and two Yellow-throated Warblers (Setophaga dominica).

By the end of Day 1 of the GBBC—and my first day ever in Jamaica—I had recorded 38 species, including 24 yearbirds and 11 lifers.  See trip report here |more image her

Day 2 will be a day at sea, but if today is any indication, this GBBC is shaping up to be one for the books.

New Species for GBBC: 38 Species
Total Lifers: 11 Species

GBBC 2026 - Day 1 February 13 (Jamaica) - Images

 

Loggerhead Kingbird

Turkey Vulture

Sad Flycatcher

Yellow-throated Warbler

Jamaican Woodpecker

Jamaican Owl

Palm Warbler

Red-billed Streamertail

A GBBC With a Difference: Counting Birds Across the Caribbean

Brown Booby is one of the birds on my GBBC list

This year’s Great Backyard Bird Count is going to look a little different for me—mostly because my “backyard” will stretch across the Caribbean. Instead of watching my feeders from home, I’ll be counting birds from three countries in four days, with each stop offering its own set of species and surprises.
February 13 kicks things off in Ocho Rios, Jamaica, where I’ll be chasing as many of the island’s endemics as I can find. Jamaica’s birdlife is legendary, and I’m hoping to add several specialties to my life list before the day is done.
Day two, February 14, will be spent at sea, cruising the strait between Cuba and Haiti. With luck, the open water will deliver a few pelagic treasures—maybe a petrel, a jaeger, or one of the noddys that roam the region. Pelagic birding is always a gamble, but that’s part of the thrill.
Finally, on Sunday, February 15, I’ll wrap up the count on Grand Turk, where my targets shift to shorebirds. Piping Plover and Snowy Plover are at the top of my wish list, and the island’s beaches should give me a fighting chance.

It’s shaping up to be a GBBC unlike any I’ve done before—two countries, countless miles, and who knows how many birds. I can’t wait to see what turns up.

You can keep track here >>

Thursday Afternoon Birding: Graeme Hall from (05/02/2026)

Thursday afternoon found me at one of my favorite birding spots—Graeme Hall Swamp. My main goal was to search for members of my favorite bird family, the warblers. While most birders head to the “public entrance” off Highway 7, I’ve grown fond of the opposite end, entering from the Amity Lodge end. With the regrowth of Acacia trees, this section has become especially attractive to birds.
I began around 3:45 p.m. and spent about an hour and a half following the trail that runs along the agricultural fields, down to the sewage treatment plant, and back again. Over the course of the walk, I recorded fourteen species, including two warblers. The first was the local Mangrove Yellow Warbler (Setophaga petechia), also known as the Golden Warbler. The second was the Northern Waterthrush (Parkesia noveboracensis), a familiar wintering migrant in Barbados. Both were highlights of the afternoon, reminding me why warblers hold such a special place in my birding heart.

Here’s the full list of species I observed, accompanied by images:

Zenaida Dove - Zenaida aurita
Common Ground Dove - Columbina passerina
Eurasian Collared-Dove - Streptopelia decaocto
Scaly-naped Pigeon  - Patagioenas squamosa
Antillean Crested Hummingbird - Orthorhyncus cristatus
Green-throated Carib - Eulampis holosericeus
Western Cattle-Egret - Ardea ibis
Caribbean Elaenia - Elaenia martinica
Grey Kingbird - Tyrannus dominicensis
Carib Grackle - Quiscalus lugubris
Mangrove Yellow Warbler - Setophaga petechia
Northern Waterthrush - Parkesia noveboracensis
Barbados Bullfinch - Loxigilla barbadensis
Bananaquit - Coereba flaveola

As the light began to fade and I made my way back along the trail, I couldn’t help but reflect on how this pressures landscape continue to change. A point that was clearly seen as I came upon the cleared area where government is about to start a new project that will work along with the sewage treatment plant. Fourteen species in under two hours, this far from the main mangroves was a reminder that Graeme Hall continues to be a vital refuge for both resident and migratory birds. Let's hope it remains that way for generation after generation to enjoy like I did on this Thursday afternoon of birding. 

Please enjoy the images:

Northern Waterthrush

Mangrove Yellow Warbler

Grey Kingbird

Caribbean Elaenia

Caribbean Elaenia

My 2026 Checklist Update (updated January 27)

47. Ring-billed Gull, was my first local lifer for 2026

This year I’m stepping into uncharted territory. For all of 2026, my birding in Barbados will be limited to places that are freely accessible to everyone—no private estates, no special permissions, just the open spaces any local can walk into. It’s no secret that many of the island’s richest habitats lie behind locked gates, where entry depends on connections or the goodwill of caretakers. I’ve been fortunate to enjoy that access, but I’ve also heard the frustrations of birders who don’t. So, this year, I’ll be “one of the guys on the outside,” testing whether it’s possible to reach 100 species by birding only in publicly accessible areas.

But that’s just half the adventure. 2026 is shaping up to be a busy year of travel. In February, I’ll embark on a multi‑island trip spanning seven destinations, and later in the year another journey is already in the early planning stages. My personal goal: to push past boundaries and see 300 species—or more—in a single calendar year, something I’ve never attempted before.

Will Barbados’ open spaces deliver the diversity I’m hoping for? Will my international travels prove fruitful enough to hit that ambitious milestone? By December, we’ll have the answer. Follow along under the tab - “From Barbados to Beyond: Chasing 300 Birds” here as the story unfolds.

 Key: Rare birds; Barbados Purple lifer; W.I Lifers; World Lifer; * Rare for the time of year

A Record-Breaking Year of Birding in Barbados – 2025

What a year 2025 turned out to be! I recorded 124 bird species on the island, out of a total of 132 seen overall. Even more thrilling, eight of those were lifers, pushing my personal Barbados checklist up to 178 species.

Here are some of the highlights from this unforgettable year:

May Surprises

Black-throated Blue Warbler

• Black-throated Blue Warbler (Setophaga caerulescens) – My first lifer of the year, spotted in Turners Hall Woods on the evening of May 10th. Completely unexpected, but it lingered just long enough for me to capture a few documentary photos.
• Hen Harrier (Circus cyaneus) – Just days later, this Old-World raptor appeared. Its identification took months to confirm, making the sighting even more rewarding.

October Trio

After a quiet summer, October delivered three lifers in quick succession:

A pair of Red-eyed Vireos

• Red-eyed Vireo (Vireo olivaceus) – Found at Harrisons Point on a rainy Sunday afternoon, October 19th.
• Common Ringed Plover (Charadrius hiaticula) – Seen at North Point, St. Lucy on October 21st.

  

  Eurasian Kestrel

• Eurasian Kestrel (Falco tinnunculus) – A strong contender for “Bird of the Year,” spotted at The Belle, St. Michael on October 26th. Special thanks to Muriel Aboso and Anthony Levesque, visiting birders from Guadeloupe, who found the last two birds.

December Big Three

The year closed with a final burst of lifers:

• Masked Booby (Sula dactylatra) – Soaring along the cliffs at North Point on December 10th.

  

  Western Reef-Heron

• Western Reef-Heron (Egretta gularis) – Found at Woodbourne Shorebird Refuge on December 26th.

  

  Gray Trembler

• Gray Trembler (Cinclocerthia gutturalis) – A rare and exciting sighting at Consett Bay, St. John, also on December 26th.

Bird of the Year

My Bird of the Year is without question the juvenile Western Reef-Heron, first seen at Woodbourne Shorebird Refuge on December 26th. Some may wonder why this particular heron deserves the title. The truth is simple: I’ve been waiting many years for its return. I missed its last appearance early in my birding journey, and ever since, I’ve hoped for another chance. To finally see it gracing our shores felt like closing a long-awaited chapter in my birding story.

Best Birding Story 

Every bird comes with a story—where you were, what you were doing, and who was there to share the moment. I could fill a book with birding tales from 2025, but one that truly stood out was my encounter with the White-crowned Pigeon (Patagioenas leucocephala).

White-crowned Pigeon

The Date: February 1st, 2025 - I was sitting on my bed, deep in conversation with my wife, getting dressed to head out. In fact, I was just pulling on my socks when I glanced out the window. Normally, I’d expect to see the familiar Scaly-naped Pigeon (Patagioenas squamosa) feeding on the flowers of the vine outside. But this time, something different caught my eye—a pigeon of similar size, but with a striking white cap. In that instant, I knew exactly what it was. My heart raced as I frantically called for my son and searched for my camera. My wife looked on, jaw dropped and bewildered by my sudden burst of excitement. With my own camera locked away downstairs in the car, I grabbed hers instead and managed to capture a few images before finally retrieving mine. That brief, unexpected moment turned an ordinary morning into one of the most memorable birding highlights of the year.

From unexpected warblers, rare raptors and seabirds to countless rare and mega rare birds, not to mention gps tagged birds - 2025 was an extraordinary year for birding inn Barbados, kept me on my toes and filled my birding scrapbook with tons of memories. From lifer to common birds, each added a new layer of excitement to my birding journey, and I’m grateful for the community of birders who shared in these discoveries.

Here’s to even more surprises and milestones birding in 2026!

December 26: My Best Birding Day of 2025 (3 yearbirds, 2 lifers)

Western Reef-Heron, lifer

December 26 will forever stand out as one of—if not the—best birding days of my life. In a single day, I added three new species to my 2025 year-list, including two lifers, and witnessed a record-breaking moment for Barbados birding.
The day began with a buzz in our Birds Alert WhatsApp group. Ian “Bolt” Alkins, principal of the Woodbourne Shorebird Refuge (WSR), had photographed a strange, light-grey heron with striking white markings on its face. When the ID came through, my heart skipped: Western Reef-Heron (Egretta gularis)—a bird at the very top of my bucket list, and my first lifer for the day.

Eurasian Wigeon - yearbird #2

Soon, local birders gathered at WSR to admire this rarity. None of us realized another surprise was hiding in plain sight. Four Wigeons - all thought to be American Wigeon (Mareca americana) - had been lingering at the refuge, but as I studied them more closely, I noticed something unusual. Among the females, one had a brownish head while another showed a grayish tone. I suggested the possibility of a female Eurasian Wigeon (Mareca penelope), and after careful study with the group, my hunch was confirmed:  a second rare bird, Eurasian Wigeon, yearbird number two.

Gray Trembler - lifer #2, Yearbird #3

As birders chatted and compared notes of the two finds at WSR, Macrae Hoyos—one of our newer, enthusiastic members—shared a video of a bird no one expected to see in Barbados - a Gray Trembler (Cinclocerthia gutturalis). He led me and fellow birder Ocean Campbell on a winding drive through St. Philip and St. John, eventually arriving at Consett Bay and we were not disappointed, the bird showed in all its glory.  This species, which is near endemic on Saint Lucia and Martinique, is not known to migrate. The plot thickens when other birders visited the site on the following and not only found one bird, but also a second - two bird on the island.  Our local experts, Ed Massiah, noted they appeared to belong to the St. Lucian race. How they reached Barbados remains a mystery, but their presence marked a first record for the island and a life for me.

With these three additions, my 2025-year tally climbed to 124 species—a new personal best and an island record for the number of bird species seen in a single calendar year.

December 26 wasn’t just another day in the field. It was a day of lifers, surprises, and history-making discoveries. Without question, it was my best birding day of 2025.