The Enthusiastic Birder: After the Pause

The first week back to work after the “pause” was surprisingly busy. It was good to be out of the house after weeks of confinement but I was a little nervous, even a little afraid because of the pervasiveness of COVID in society. The routine of mask and face shield has become the norm for me, and disposable gloves are added to the mix depending on where I am going. It was refreshing being outdoors, seeing the different birds as I moved around the island. After work, on most of the days, I visited a few of the birding hotspots, utilizing that activity for exercise as afforded by the government's COVID-19 protocols. During that week I tallied 32 bird species from 8 checklists, also adding 2 yearbirds namely Caribbean Martin (Progne dominicensis), which I saw in Bridgetown and Laughing Gulls (Leucophaeus atricilla) at Pile Bay. You can see the full list of the birds I saw below.

I continue to be impressed with the Canon 7D Mark II, even as it is paired with the underwhelming (because of reach) Canon EF-s 55-250mm f/4 – 5.6 IS II, which effectively becomes 89.1 - 405mm (x1.62 crop sensor of the Canon 7D II). Here are a few highlight images for that week. All images were lightly edited using Adobe Lightroom CS2.

On March 1^st I had my best look at a Merlin (Falco columbarius) for the year. It was going after Eurasian Collared-Doves (Streptopelia decaocto) for dinner, and while the shots I got were not ones I would normally highlight, I love this one that shows the beautiful barring pattern in this raptor's tail.

© Julian Moore - birdingbarbados@gmail.com

Merlin showing its tail feathers (1/4000 @ f8 ISO 1000 – 250mm)

On the 3^rd, my after work exercising took me to Chancery Lane Swamp, Christ Church. While there, I tried to photograph an American Coot (Fulica Americana) with her chicks. This was not an easy task as both mum and chicks played peek-a-boo with me, using the mangroves for cover. While I easily got images of both of them alone, the image below was the only opportunity I had of them together.

Adult (1/1000 @ F/8 ISO 640 250mm)

Juvenile (1/1000 @ F/8 ISO 640 250mm)

Mother & Chick ((1/1250 @ F/8 ISO 640 250mm)

The following day, the 4^th, I ended work in the north so I visited the irrigation ponds at Bawdens, St. Andrew, and had a short photo session with a pair of Pied-billed Grebes (Podilymbus podiceps).

Pied (1/1600 @ F/5.6 ISO 640 250mm)

The Pair (1/1250 @ F/8) ISO 640 250mm)

My last stop for the week was at the Woodbourne Shorebird Refuge (WSR) on Friday, March 5th. The water in most of the ponds was evaporating making foraging by wading birds much easier. This triggered a small feeding frenzy among various species of waterbirds. In one pond I counted 7 species of heron/egrets tallying 22 birds, 6 species of shorebirds, and in another, 68 Blue-winged Teals (Spatula discors), only a fraction of the 111 seen just a few days before. My most exciting capture, though, was that of a Sora (Porzana Carolina). This was the best look I’ve had of this shy bird for the year. I would’ve love to get even lower but two things prevented that: first, I would have to take my camera close to the water in the pond, too close for my comfort. Even though it is weather-sealed I am not ready for that adventure as yet with this babe. Secondly, I am always skeptical of lying, sitting, walking in the grass, fields, or even the paved road in the parish of St. Philip. It is notorious for its forty legs, its big, long, ugly stinging CENTIPEDES and I don’t mess around with those things. Here are a few of the images from WSR.