Birding the Final Week of August

 What a week of birding the final week of August was.  I added to my Big Year Count, saw a few rare birds, and experienced one of the most awesome moments since I started birding.  On the 23^rd I added two Big Year Birds at North Point, St. Lucy, White-rumped Sandpiper (Calidris fuscicollis), and Cliff Swallow (Petrochelidon pyrrhonota).  Cliffs continued to show well throughout the week putting in appearances on the other end of the island at Inch Marlow, Long Beach, and Chancery Lane in Christ Church. 

Least Tern

My other year bird was a rare bird, a Least Tern (Sternula antillarum), seen once again at North Point on the 29^th.  The small size of this tern, the smallest in the Americas, measuring between 8.7–9.4 inchs (22–24 cm), was emphasized among the many peeps at that location.  On the 26^th while visiting the hospital, in the capital Bridgetown, I saw a Glossy Ibis (Plegadis falcinellus).  The bird unsuccessfully tried to join a Cattle Egret (Bubulcus ibis) rookery before flying directly over me and disappearing over the hospital.  

Black-bellied Whistling-Ducks ducklings

Two days after that, I saw what I assumed was the same Glossy at the Woodbourne Shorebird Refuge (WSR) feeding happily.  Another rare bird, a Purple Gallinule (Porphyrio martinica), was also seen at WSR, along with 11 Black-bellied Whistling-Ducks (Dendrocygna autumnalis) ducklings.  While I felt a measure of satisfaction with these sightings throughout the week, my best moment came on the 27th at Chancery Lane. 

A fraction of the Whimbrels seen @ CL

I was observing three Willets (Tringa semipalmata) when a shadow brought my eye away from the scope to the sight of 25 Whimbrels (Numenius phaeopus) passing just overhead and alighting a few feet from where I was standing. That was by far the most Whimbrels I’ve ever seen in one place, shattering the high of 6 birds I saw at the same location last year.

I would love to have  a few more weeks like this.  As the migrants continue to pour in I am excited to see what will turn up in September, the best month of the year.  Stay safe out there and get out and do some birding.

A Good Morning At The Cave

shorebirds in one of the trays @ The Cave Wetland 

This morning my son Jason and I, visited the old hunting swamp at North Point, St. Lucy - next to the Animal Flower Cave.  This is one of those wet areas that is benefiting from the increased rainfall the island is having over the last few weeks, and while this picturesque location is not at full capacity, it has enough water to attract migrating shorebirds.  We saw 16 bird species including year birds for both of us.  Jason’s year birds were Short-billed Dowitcher (Limnodromus griseus), White-rumped Sandpiper (Calidris fuscicollis), and Stilt Sandpiper (Calidris himantopus) bringing his total for the year to 72 species.  My year birds were White-rumped Sandpiper (Calidris fuscicollis) and a Cliff Swallow (Petrochelidon pyrrhonota) bringing my Big Year total to 90 species.

This wetland, because of its location on the most northerly point on the island, is an important stopover point for migrants and I dream of one day seeing it becoming a reserve and setup to retain water year-round but for now, we will enjoy it this year.

Juvenile Barn Swallow 

Here is a list of the birds we saw at the Cave Wetland:

1. Cliff Swallow - Petrochelidon pyrrhonota
2. Stilt Sandpiper - Calidris himantopus
3. Lesser Yellowlegs - Tringa flavipes
4. Grassland Yellow-Finch - Sicalis luteola
5. Greater Yellowlegs - Tringa melanoleuca
6. Snowy Egret - Egretta thula
7. Cattle Egret - Bubulcus ibis
8. Zenaida Dove - Zenaida aurita
9. Semipalmated Plover - Charadrius semipalmatus
10. Least Sandpiper - Calidris minutilla
11. White-rumped Sandpiper - Calidris fuscicollis
12. Semipalmated Sandpiper - Calidris pusilla
13. Short-billed Dowitcher - Limnodromus griseus
14. Spotted Sandpiper - Actitis macularius
15. Caribbean Martin - Progne dominicensis
16. Barn Swallow - Hirundo rustica

First Week OF August

What a week of birding the first week of August provided. It
gave me my first lifer for the year, two yearbirds and  a few
rare birds. Here is the break down.

The Lifer

e.g. example of a Sandwich Tern  

I was excited to land my first lifer for 2020 on the 5^th of the month. I was  at Long Beach, Christ Church watching a Royal
Tern (Thalasseus maximus) and a Laughing Gull (Leucophaeus atricilla) feeding close  to shore, then another tern joined in the mix.  This bird got my attention because it was
smaller than the Royal but yet it was still kinda large.  Through my bins, I saw that it had a black
cap, bill, and legs, but what cemented the identification as a new bird for me was
the yellow on the tip of the bill, which made it a Sandwich Tern (Thalasseus sandvicensis).  This
became my 141st species for the island. (why not my 142^nd ?
will be explained in a later post ). The best part of the afternoon came a few
minutes later when the Sandwich and Royal Terns were joined by 3 Roseate Tern (Sterna dougallii).  I was able to observe these 3
tern species Large, medium, and small, flying around and feeding, sadly I did
not have a camera to document it.

The Year Birds

One of the 3 Whimbrels @ North Point

As you may know, I am trying to see a minimum of 110 species
of birds for 2020 (check my
progress here).  I added two
new species, along with the above lifer, to conclude the week at 88 species for
the year.  The first yearbird, a Pectoral Sandpiper (Calidris melanotos), came on the 3^rd at Redland St.
George. A few days later at North Point, St. Lucy on the 7^th, three Whimbrels (Numenius phaeopus) were the 88^th species for
the year. I hope this trend
continues into next week.

Rare Birds

While at long Beach observing the terns and other peeps on
the beach, a Brown Pelican (Pelecanus occidentalis) flew in and
started fishing not too far away. This may have been the same bird I saw last
month sitting on a buoy far out to sea at Oistins. It was good to have this
closeup look at this prehistoric looking bird.
On the 7^th, while in the parish of St. Lucy I made a short
stop at a private location to check up on a Glossy
Ibis (Plegadis falcinellus) who took up residents there for close to a year.
I was astonished on seeing not just that one bird, but a second Glossy
with it.  While this is not the first
record of multiple Glossys on the island, I am hoping that these two wll be the
first breeding pair for Barbados.

Migration An Action

Semipalmated Sandpiper at North Point

When there is physical evidence that a species of bird(s) is in
the process of migrating, we refer to it as a flight.  You can tell a flight is on because there is a
sudden spike in the numbers of that said bird across the island.  The first week of August saw a flight of a
few species.  Least (Calidris minutilla) and Spotted Sandpipers (Actitis macularius) were visible on the first two days of August., and this was followed by Semipalmated Sandpipers
and Lesser Yellowlegs (Tringa
flavipes) as the week progressed. On Friday three Whimbrels (Numenius phaeopus) at North Point, St.
Lucy, and four birds at Chancery Lane, Christ Church suggested a flight of this
large shorebird was ongoing.

This was a great start to the business end of the year added to that we are getting regular showers. Rain fell almost daily. I am looking forward to
what the 2^nd week of August will bring. If it is any thing like the first week i would be extremely happy.  Stay safe friends and enjoy your birding

Big Year Update: July

Willet

July was not a good month for my birding. Not much birds were passing through, probably because of the drought conditions, and I was\am having equipment problems, ending the month with a busted camera.  So for the month of July, I only added one bird, a Willet (Tringa semipalmata), to my 2020 Big Year checklist bringing the total to 85 species, and seven new images to my Photographic Big Year, finishing the month with 48 images. 

With the problems, I am having with my camera it is going to be very difficult to reach my goal of photographing 100 species but I will try.   I am behind in both challenges August will be a make or break month. Let's see how it goes.

June images

 42. Lesser Black-backed Gull - Larus fuscus

43. Great Egret - Ardea alba

44. Rose-ringed Parakeet - Psittacula krameri

45. Black Swift - Cypseloides niger

46. Grassland Yellow-Finch - Sicalis luteola

47. Black-faced Grassquit - Melanospiza bicolor

48. Least Sandpiper - Calidris minutilla