Banded Bird Discomfort

I know oh too well, that bird ringing/banding plays an important part in ornithology but I do look forward to a time when it is replaced by a much less intrusive technique. This Semipalmated Sandpiper I saw during the Global Shorebirds Count was clearly show signs of discomfort and sadly it was not the first banded bird I have seen showing behavior like this.  I do hope it quickly becoming a thing of the pass.

Evening Birding

I had a good birding afternoon yesterday in the parishes of St. Andrew and St. Lucy. I saw over 20 species of birds, which included two rare birds. A Black-necked Stilt and a beautiful Purple Gallinule.

Black-neck Stilt

Purple Gallanule

World Shorebird Day (Day 7 -Final Day)

The final day of the Global Shorebirds Count could be considered Ruddy Turnstone Day.  The two locations I visited tallied ninety Turnstones including a banded bird, tagged “AUM”. One more shorebird species, a Western Sandpiper, was added to the list. See the final count below.

Shorebird Tally
Species - 18
Number of Birds - 552

Shorebird Species

1. American Golden-Plover (12)
2. Semipalmated Plover (96)
3. White-rumped Sandpiper (9)
4. Semipalmated Sandpiper (132)
5. Short-billed Dowitcher (25)
6. Spotted Sandpiper (36)
7. Least Sandpiper (59)
8. Black-bellied Plover (14)
9. Ruddy Turnstone (108)
10. Stilt Sandpiper (7)
11. Solitary Sandpiper (2)
12. Greater Yellowleg (3)
13. Whimbrel (9)
14. Red Knot (1)
15. Sanderling (31)
16. Pectoral Sandpiper (6)
17. Willet (1)
18. Western Sandpiper (1)

World Shorebird Day (Weekend Days 5&6)

Semipalmated Sandpiper

I visited a few locations over the weekend and added two more shorebird species to the tally. There were Sanderlings, a Willet and Pectoral Sandpipers. See the update checklist below.

Shorebird Tally
Species - 17
Number of Birds - 362 

Shorebird Species

1. American Golden-Plover (12)
2. Semipalmated Plover (81)
3. White-rumped Sandpiper (9)
4. Semipalmated Sandpiper (92)
5. Short-billed Dowitcher (25)
6. Spotted Sandpiper (25)
7. Least Sandpiper (54)
8. Black-bellied Plover (13)
9. Ruddy Turnstone (9)
10. Stilt Sandpiper (7)
11. Solitary Sandpiper (2)
12. Greater Yellowleg (3)
13. Whimbrel (3)
14. Red Knot (1)
15. Sanderling (11)
16. Pectoral Sandpiper (5)
17. Willet (1)
18. 
    

World Shorebird day (Day 3 & 4)

Whimbrel

The 3rd and 4th days of the Global Shorebirds Count/World Shorebirds Day were slow birding days for me.  I was still able to add two more shorebird species, Red knot, and Whimbrel, to the list. Here is how my checklist look at the end of day 4.

1. American Golden-Plover (12)
2. Semipalmated Plover (40)
3. White-rumped Sandpiper (9)
4. Semipalmated Sandpiper (77)
5. Short-billed Dowitcher (25)
6. Spotted Sandpiper (9)
7. Least Sandpiper (21)
8. Black-bellied Plover (13)
9. Ruddy Turnstone (9)
10. Stilt Sandpiper (7)
11. Solitary Sandpiper (1)
12. Greater Yellowleg (3)
13. Whimbrel (3)
14. Red Knot (1)

World Shorebird day (Day 2)

Day 2 was a bit better. I got to two locations in the east of the island adding six species totaling 141 birds. See the final tally below.

Shorebird Tally
Species - 12
Number of Birds - 180 

Shorebird Species

1. American Golden-Plover (2)
2. Semipalmated Plover (37)
3. White-rumped Sandpiper (9)
4. Semipalmated Sandpiper (47)
5. Short-billed Dowitcher (25)
6. Spotted Sandpiper (7)
7. Least Sandpiper (21)
8. Black-bellied Plover (12)
9. Ruddy Turnstone (9)
10. Stilt Sandpiper (7)
11. Solitary Sandpiper (1)
12. Greater Yellowleg (3)

World Shorebird day (Day 1)

I had a slow start to the Global Shorebird Counts. I saw six shorebird species at two locations.  

Shorebird Tally
Species - 6
Number of Birds - 39 

Short-billed Dowitcher

Short-billed Dowitcher

A banded Semipalmated Sandpiper

Evening Birding (Sept 2)

South Coast

Checklist

Zenaida Dove (Zenaida aurita)  
Semipalmated Plover (Charadrius semipalmatus)  
Whimbrel (Numenius phaeopus)  
Ruddy Turnstone (Arenaria interpres) 
Sanderling (Calidris alba)
Least Sandpiper (Calidris minutilla)

Semipalmated Sandpiper (Calidris pusilla)  
Short-billed Dowitcher (Limnodromus griseus) 
Spotted Sandpiper (Actitis macularius)

Lesser Yellowlegs (Tringa flavipes) 

Green Heron (Butorides virescens) 
Laughing Gull (Leucophaeus atricilla)  
Least Tern (Sternula antillarum)*
Barbados Bullfinch (Loxigilla barbadensis)

* Year Bird

 Silver Sands Pond

Green Heron (Juv)

3 Least Sandpipers and Semipalmated Plover

Semipalmated Plover

Inch Marlow and Long Beach

Sargassum littered Long Beach

50+ Ruddy Turnstones on Long Beach

Willet

Least Tern (Year bird)

Barbados Lifer #141

Finding a lifer is always exciting but when the lifer is a mega-rare bird it even better.  That what happened on Saturday, August, 24^th, which just happened to be the day of our, my wife Sophia and myself, 17^th wedding anniversary.   The bird I saw was a Cuban Martin (Progne cryptoleuca), a close relative of our Caribbean Martin (Progne dominicensis), was seen at Bruce Vale, St. Andrew.  The most noticeable difference between the two Martins is the Caribbean shows a white underpart while the male Cuban shows very dark underparts.  I at first incorrectly identified the bird as a Purple Martin  (Progne subis), another close member of the Martin family, but this was amended when the images were shown to author of the book Endemic Birds of Cuba: A Comprehensive Field Guide and expert on Cuban endemics – Mr. Nils Navarro. Here is an excerpt  of his response:

On this picture you can see:

1. Male and female in typical plumage, Males completely dark and female with a brown breast like in Cubans. 
2. If you see the male close is possible to see the white section of the feathers in the abdomen, that is typical in Cuban Martin, due its specific name cryptoleuca, I have seen close and they have the same white area of the Caribbean Martins, but the tip of the feathers are dark and by this reason they look  like completely dark, but the molting immature males in 1st year or less looks like the Caribbean with black markings and flecks...

 This could be the second confirmed record of this species on the island, the first was seen in October 2002, at Newcastle St. John.  (The Birds of Barbados – P.A. Buckley, Edward Massiah et. al.)

What a way to end the month of August with a Mega.

World Shorebird Day 2019

A large percentage of the migrating birds to this island are shorebirds.  This family of birds is on the decline worldwide due to habitat loss, hunting and climate change just to name a few.  The Global Shorebird Counts (September 3^rd – 9^th) and the World Shorebirds Day (September 6^th), was set up to highlight the plight of these marathon migrants around the world and the need for shorebird conservation and research.  You can get involved by getting out during the counting dates September 3^rd – 9^th, count the shorebirds you see, enter the results of your count on ebird, share the checklist with World Shorebirds Day and that’s it.  Those few steps can potentially save thousands of shorebirds so get involved. So join me along awith the