Four Rare Birds In One Afternoon Of Birding

Glossy Ibis 

I started planning my birding weekend on about Wednesday. The plan was to go north to the rugged cliffs at North Point, St. Lucy.  History has shown that around this time of year that, that rocky, sea-blasted stretch of land attracts one of the smallest members of the  plover family, the Collared Plover (Charadrius collaris). Someone once wrote, “The best-laid plans of mice and men often go awry.” and that plan kinda went awry.  A short notice working commitment took me to the north, to Speightstown St. Peter to be exact, on Friday afternoon. I decided it would be wise, with gas prices so high, to kill two birds with one stone (I guess that may not be the best proverb for a blog about birds) and make the trip at the conclusion of my working commitment. That I did and it proved to be the right decision for two reasons: 1. It gave me more time birding, the Saturday trip was a peek and run, because of the limited time I had at my disposal but Friday afternoon gave me twice as much time to carefully look for my target bird. 2.  With the additional time I can now visit at least one more location in the north, which I did. On that Friday afternoon trip, I saw close to 30 species, including 4 rare birds, and it gave me birds 90 and 91 for my 110/10 Big Year Count.

90. Black-necked Stilt

My first stop was at a private impoundment, it was here I saw the first 3 rarebirds, two from previous months, a Fulvous Whistling-Duck (Dendrocygna bicolor) and a Glossy Ibis (Plegadis falcinellus) but then I saw my 90th year-bird. It was a Black-necked Stilt (Himantopus mexicanus).  These lanky black and white shorebirds stand at about 13.8–15.3"  (35–39 cm) and are irregular visitors to the island with one recorded successful breeding in 2011 at Walkers Reserve. 

91. Collared Plover

My second stop was to find my target bird, the Collared Plover, at North Point.  As I approached the location just south of the Animal Flower Cave, I was surprised by the ongoing construction of a solar farm.  It would be interesting to see how or if the none stop sea spray affect the plant.  The sea cliffs were covered in the fogged mist of the heavy sea spray, so after securing my camera in a protective covering, I began my needle in a haystack search for this tiny shorebird. As I walked along the trail heading south, I heard the distinct call of a Black-bellied Plover (Pluvialis squatarola) somewhere ahead of me, but I was unable to pinpoint the exact location.  As I continued along the trail, 6 of them flushed and took flight heading south while a smaller bird flew in the opposite direction and alighted a few 100 yards away among the rocky terrain.  With my binoculars I confirmed it to be my 91st yearbird a Collared Plover.  I spent a few minutes trying to get a few images in the fading light and was able to do so thanks to the 600mm reach of Big Selma, without getting too close to the bird.  This bird normally will hang around for a few weeks so I will try to relocate it, and hopefully, in more photographic-friendly conditions, try for Photographic Big Year images.  Of course, will have to start saving to afford the gas for my return trip but it was truly a refreshing trip to the north that Friday afternoon. 

See the total list below of the birds I saw.

Lifer #149 - Red-footed Booby

Lifer 149 - Red-footed Booby

A lot has happened since my last post on May 3rd.  This long pause was not because of a lack of birding activity, but because of a badly-behaving PC that I am happy to say is now behaving the way it should.  During that period I registered my 149th Local lifer, a Red-footed Booby (Sula sula). It also became my 194th and 360th records for the West Indies and the World respectively.  The bird was seen by Carla Daniel of The Barbados Sea Turtle Project while she was patrolling the beach at the East Coast Road, St. Andrew.  This pelagic species is usually only seen this close to land during bad weather, especially, as two local experts put it, "when winds were from offshore", yes on those very rare occasions when the island gets "westerly (blowing) winds". 

Red-footed Booby in its brown phase

Red-footed Boobys are seabirds about 28" (70cm) in length and with a wingspan of up to 60" (152cm). This species has various morphs.  In the brown morph, like my 149th, the bird is predominantly brown with a white hind-part and tail.

Red-footed Booby in its white phase

In the white phase the bird is all white with black on the edges of both wings. Juveniles are sooty brown, paler below, sometimes with a slightly darker breast band. Its dionostic red feet can be seen in all morphs.

My epic 10th year of birding continues to be one of my best years and I am thoroughly enjoying it. With the business end of the year, fall migration, quickly approaching I have a strong feeling 151 is on its way.