The Enthusiastic Birder: Southern Caribbean 2023

Bare-eyed Pigeon, one of the two lifers from Bonaire

On Day 2 of the Southern Caribbean trip, I started birding at 5:30am while the ship was still miles from our next port of call, Kralendijk, Bonaire. We were just northeast of Los Roques Archipelago, a group of islands, cays, and islets under the jurisdiction of the government of Venezuela. I saw a few brown morphs of Red-footed Booby (Sula sula) but as we got closer to Bonaire I saw the other two booby species (Masked and Brown) and other sea birds. I also saw Bridle (Onychoprion anaethetus) and Sooty Terns (Onychoprion fuscatus) for the first time on this trip. A Barn Swallow (Hirundo rustica), a non-sea bird, circled the ship a few times before heading west. As we approached the east coast of the island, Royal Terns (Thalasseus maximus), about nine of them, followed the ship. We docked at noon and were off the ship exploring Kralendijk soon after that. In the port, I saw my 3rd lifer for the trip, the ubiquitous Bare-eyed Pigeon (Patagioenas corensis).

Brown-throated Parakeets

A pair of Brown-throated Parakeets (Eupsittula pertinax), though not a lifer, made it to my world list on ebird. I first saw this bird in St. Marteens, where it was introduced, but these were in their native habitat. We took a walk around the port and although that two-plus hours didn’t add any lifers, we did see plenty of birds and observed various behaviors.

Last afternoon, a friend who lives on the island took us to a function. On our way there, I saw my 4th lifer - two Crested Caracaras (Caracara plancus). I got a good look at this unique-looking raptor that I had been coveting since my 2016 trip to Trinidad came up empty. Sadly, I was unable to photograph them. On arrival at the venue, it was now dark outside. As I was exiting the vehicle, I heard a familiar call and smiled as seven Black-bellied Whistling-Duck (Dendrocygna autumnalis) passed directly overhead

I saw a total of 22 species on the island but was disappointed not to see more birds and the island as it was difficult to get a taxi out of the port, so Bonaire is an island I will visit again.

Number of Species recorded on the Day: 27
Number of Lifers recorded on the Day: 2

Total Species recorded for the Trip: 43

Total Lifers recorded for the trip: 4

Black-bellied Whistling-Duck, Rock Pigeon, Bare-eyed Pigeon, White-tipped Dove, Eared Dove, Ruddy Turnstone, Laughing Gull, Sooty Tern, Bridled Tern, Royal Tern, Magnificent Frigatebird, Masked Booby, Brown Booby, Red-footed Booby, Brown Pelican, Green Heron, Crested Caracara, Peregrine Falcon, Brown-throated Parakeet, Gray Kingbird, Barn Swallow, Tropical Mockingbird, House Sparrow, Venezuelan Troupial, Carib Grackle, Saffron Finch, Bananaquit

<---Day 1 | Home | Day 3--->

Here are a few images from my trip to Bonaire