Southern Caribbean 2023 - Day 4 Curaçao

Saffron Finch

Day four in Curaçao found us navigating the bustling cruise terminal in Willemstad. Our itinerary focused on enjoying two of the island's renowned attractions: the Curaçao Dolphin Academy and the Curaçao Ostrich Farm. While birding wasn't explicitly planned, we birders tend to be always birding. This led to me seeing four new birds, but only two could be counted as lifers. How's that possible, you ask since a lifer is a bird you see for the first time? You will understand more as tell you about my birding day in Curaçao.

One of the American flamingos at the Curaçao Dolphin Academy

We hired a taxi and went to our first destination in Curaçao, the Curaçao Dolphin Academy. There we saw the dolphins,  rays, and other fish and aquatic exhibits. But the most fascinating one was the aquarium with the Atlantic Goliath Grouper (Epinephelus itajara). It was a gigantic fish! Ironically, after visiting two flamingo havens, my first American flamingo (Phoenicopterus ruber) encounter came here, at the Academy, amidst relatively tame zoo birds. I did see a few wild birds though  Brown Pelicans (Pelecanus occidentalis) and Magnificent Frigatebirds (Fregata magnificent).

Rufous-collared Sparrow, one of the lifers from Curaçao

Our next destination was the Curaçao Ostrich Farm. On our way there, I spotted my first lifer for Curaçao, a Blue-tailed Emerald (Chlorostilbon mellisugusthe). The second lifer, a Rufous-collared Sparrow (Zonotrichia capensis), appeared while we waited for the tour to begin. I also got my best looks for trip of a Crested Caracara (Caracara plancus) and a Saffron Finch (Sicalis flaveola) there. During the farm tour, I saw two birds that would have been lifers if they were not captive. They were the Common Ostrich (Struthio camelus) and the Emu (Dromaius novaehollandiae). At the end of the tour, I thought I detected one of my target species of the trip - Yellow-shouldered Parrot (Amazona barbadensis), when I heard parrots calling among the noisy Brown-throated Parakeet (Eupsittula pertinax), but I could not locate it despite great efforts.

Street art: a mural of Peregrine Falcon, downtown Willemstad

Our day in Curaçao ended with a tour of the capital city, Willemstad. We were fascinated by the street art. The city was full of colorful murals, many of them featuring birds. We spotted flamingos, swallows, and parrots, but the Peregrine Falcon was my favorite. We walked back to the ship, crossing the famous Queen Emma floating bridge, passing by the Renaissance Mall & Rif Fort, and sampling the pancakes at the Pancake Sensation. We followed a trail through the Renaissance Park and reached the ship. On our way back, we saw hundreds of Laughing Gulls.  That ended my day of exploring and birding on the island of Curaçao tomorrow is scheduled to be a sea-day as we head east towards our final stop.

Number of Species recorded on the Day: 14
Number of Lifers recorded on the Day: 2
Total Species recorded for the Trip: 54
Total Lifers recorded for the trip: 7 

<---Day 3 | Home | Day 5 --->

Saffron Finch

Lifer #2: Rufous-collared Sparrow

Brown-throated Parakeet

Crested Caracara

Venezuelan Troupial

Common Ground Dove

The Zooed birds

A few of the colorful murals of birds

<---Day 3 | Home | Day 4 --->

My ebird Recounted 2023

 

eBird Recounted 2023 Hi Julian E Moore, Thank you for your contributions to eBird this year. Your birding helped to build groundbreaking conservation tools and transformative birding resources, inspiring the millions of people who visit Cornell Lab of Ornithology resources to study, learn, and conserve bird populations.

Your eBird Stats for 2023 In 2023 you contributed:

281 Checklists 144 Species 11,389 Individual birds 142 Photographs 1 Sound Recordings 81.27 Hrs eBirding 236.39 kms eBirding (or 146.886 mi) Woodbourne Shorebird Refuge As Your Most eBirded Location

Screenshot your stats to share your eBird Recounted 2023.

Minute by minute, kilometer by kilometer, your eBird checklists aided scientific discovery and conservation action. Read more about how your participation helped birds in 2023 Year in Review: eBird, Merlin, Macaulay Library, and Birds of the World.

Crested Caracara © Ethan Rising / ML533825071 You were one of 340.7K eBirders who spent a collective 1871 years and 40 days birding in 2023. Over 18.7M checklists with 247.3M observations were submitted across 249 countries. This brought the overall number of checklists submitted in eBird’s history to 117.8M with a total of 1.59B observations. Additionally, over 454.4k sound recordings and 12M photos were contributed to the Cornell Lab of Ornithology’s Macaulay Library. Your efforts have grown the Library to include over 55.3M images and over 2.0M sound recordings. Thank you for making this possible. Here’s to many more species and checklists in 2024!

Orange Dove © Chris Venetz / ML603005041 Ready to make eBirding your New Year’s resolution? Join the 2024 Checklist-A-Day Challenge

2023 Checklist

2023 was a good year of birding for birding. I saw 142 bird species including 16 lifers across five countries - Barbados (9), Grenada (2), Bonaire (3), Aruba (1), and Curaçao (2). See my checklist below.

Key: Rare birds; Barbados Purple lifer; W.I Lifers; World Lifer 

143.Bonaparte's Gull - Chroicocephalus Philadelphia (Bar#161;WI#209;Wor#377)

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142.Bonaparte's Gull - Chroicocephalus Philadelphia (Bar#161;WI#209;Wor#377)
141.Killdeer - Charadrius vociferus
140.Yellow-crowned Night Heron - Nyctanassa violacea
149.Northern Pintail - Anas acuta
138.Manx Shearwater - Puffinus puffinus (Barbados #160;WI#208;World#376)
137.Green-winged Teal - Anas crecca
136.Black-and-white Warbler - Mniotilta varia
135.Blue-winged Warbler - Vermivora cyanoptera (Bar#159;WI#207;World#375)
134.Rose-breasted Grosbeak - Pheucticus ludovicianus (Bar#158;WI#206;Wor#374)
133.Blackpoll Warbler - Setophaga striata
132.Prothonotary Warbler - Protonotaria citrea
131.Buff-breasted Sandpiper - Calidris subruficollis
130.Bobolink - Dolichonyx oryzivorus
139.Northern Wheatear - Oenanthe oenanthe (Barbados #157;WI#205;Wor#373)
128.Upland Sandpiper - Bartramia longicauda
127.Yellow-billed Cuckoo - Coccyzus americanus
126.Hudsonian Godwit - Limosa haemastica
125.Gull-billed Tern - Gelochelidon nilotica
124.Common Nighthawk - Chordeiles minor
123.Cliff Swallow - Petrochelidon pyrrhonota
122.Fork-tailed Flycatcher - Tyrannus savana
121.White-rumped Sandpiper - Calidris fuscicollis
120.Sandwich Tern - Thalasseus sandvicensis
129.Whimbrel - Numenius phaeopus
118.Willet - Tringa semipalmata
117.American Golden-Plover - Pluvialis dominica
116.Pectoral Sandpiper - Calidris melanotos
115.House Swift - Apus nipalensis (Barbados #156;WI#204;World#372)
114.Fulvous Whistling-Duck - Dendrocygna bicolor
113.Curlew Sandpiper - Calidris ferruginea (Barbados #155;WI#203;World#371)
112.Roseate Tern - Sterna dougallii
111.Gray Heron - Ardea cinerea
110.Collared Plover - Anarhynchus collaris
109.Black Swift - Cypseloides niger
108.Common Tern - Sterna hirundo
107.Bank Swallow - Riparia riparia
106.Least Tern - Sternula antillarum
105.Palm Tanager - Thraupis palmarum
104.Blue-gray Tanager - Thraupis episcopus
103.Yellow Oriole - Icterus nigrogularis
102.Crested Oropendola - Psarocolius decumanus
101.Spectacled Thrush - Turdus nudigenis
100.Southern Lapwing - Vanellus chilensis
99.  Smooth-billed Ani - Crotophaga ani
98.  Great Kiskadee - Pitangus sulphuratus
97.  Short-tailed Swift - Chaetura brachyura
96.  Gray-breasted Martin - Progne chalybea
95.  White-winged Swallow - Tachycineta albiventer
94.  Black Vulture - Coragyps atratus
93.  Striated Heron - Butorides striata
92.  Merlin - Falco columbarius
91.  Rufous-collared Sparrow - Zonotrichia capensis (World#370)
90.  Blue-tailed Emerald - Chlorostilbon mellisugus(World#369)
89.  Osprey - Pandion haliaetus
88.  Neotropic Cormorant - Nannopterum brasilianum(World#368)
87.  Black-necked Stilt - Himantopus mexicanus
86.  Crested Caracara - Caracara plancus (World#367)
85.  White-tipped Dove - Leptotila verreauxi
84.  Saffron Finch - Sicalis flaveola
83.  Venezuelan Troupial - Icterus icterus
82.  Brown-throated Parakeet - Eupsittula pertinax (World#366)
81.  Bare-eyed Pigeon - Patagioenas corensis (World #365)
80.  Bridled Tern - Onychoprion anaethetus
79.  Sooty Tern - Onychoprion fuscatus
78.  Lesser Antillean Bullfinch - Loxigilla noctis
77.  Rufous-breasted Hermit - Glaucis hirsutus (WI#202)
76.  Lesser Antillean Tanager - Stilpnia cucullata(WI#201;World#364)
75.  Yellow-bellied Elaenia - Elaenia flavogaster(WI#200)
74.  Grenada Flycatcher - Myiarchus nugator(WI#199;World#363)
73.  Broad-winged Hawk - Buteo platypterus
72.  Tropical Mockingbird - Mimus gilvus
71.  Masked Booby - Sula dactylatra
70.  Red-footed Booby - Sula sula
69.  Black-crowned Night Heron - Nycticorax nycticorax
68.  Brown Pelican - Pelecanus occidentalis
67. Garganey - Spatula querquedula (Barbados#154;WI#198;World #362)
66.  Laughing Gull - Leucophaeus atricilla
65.  Masked Duck - Nomonyx dominicus
64.  Western Sandpiper - Calidris mauri
63.  Red-billed Tropicbird - Phaethon aethereus
62.  American Oystercatcher - Haematopus palliates
61.  Northern Waterthrush - Parkesia noveboracensis
60.  Caribbean Martin - Progne dominicensi
59.  Glossy Ibis - Plegadis falcinellus
58.  Sanderling - Calidris alba
57.  Orange-winged Parrot - Amazona amazonica
56.  Grassland Yellow-Finch - Sicalis luteola
55.  Sora - Porzana carolina
54.  Pied-billed Grebe - Podilymbus podiceps
53.  Magnificent Frigatebird - Fregata magnificens
52.  Rock Pigeon - Columba livia
51.  Barbados Bullfinch - Loxigilla barbadensis
50.  Bananaquit - Coereba flaveola
49.  Yellow Warbler - Setophaga petechia
48.  Black-whiskered Vireo - Vireo altiloquus
47.  Caribbean Elaenia - Elaenia martinica
46.  Rose-ringed Parakeet - Psittacula krameri
45.  Antillean Crested Hummingbird - Orthorhyncus cristatus
44.  Scaly-naped Pigeon - Patagioenas squamosa
43.  Eared Dove - Zenaida auriculata
42.  Common Ground Dove - Columbina passerina
41.  Green-throated Carib - Eulampis holosericeus
40.  Belted Kingfisher - Megaceryle alcyon
39.  Black-bellied Plover - Pluvialis squatarola
38.  Semipalmated Plover - Charadrius semipalmatus
37.  Ruddy Turnstone - Arenaria interpres
36.  Red Knot - Calidris canutus
35.  Stilt Sandpiper - Calidris himantopus
34.  Semipalmated Sandpiper - Calidris pusilla
33.  Short-billed Dowitcher - Limnodromus griseus
32.  Peregrine Falcon - Falco peregrinus
31.  American Coot - Fulica americana
30.  Wilson's Snipe - Gallinago delicata
29.  Solitary Sandpiper - Tringa solitaria
28.  Lesser Yellowlegs - Tringa flavipes
27.  Black-faced Grassquit - Melanospiza bicolor
26.  House Sparrow - Passer domesticus (Barbados#153)
25.  Little Blue Heron - Egretta caerulea
24.  American Wigeon - Mareca americana
23.  Lesser Scaup - Aythya affinis
22.  Greater Yellowlegs - Tringa melanoleuca
21.  Eurasian Collared-Dove - Streptopelia decaocto
20.  Green Heron - Butorides virescens
19.  Lesser Black-backed Gull - Larus fuscus
18.  Shiny Cowbird - Molothrus bonariensis
17.  Cattle Egret - Bubulcus ibis
16.  Gray Kingbird - Tyrannus dominicensis
15.  Barn Swallow - Hirundo rustica
14.  Black-bellied Whistling-Duck - Dendrocygna autumnalis
13.  Blue-winged Teal - Spatula discors
12.  Ring-necked Duck - Aythya collaris
11.  Zenaida Dove - Zenaida aurita
10.  Common Gallinule - Gallinula galeata
9.    Carib Grackle - Quiscalus lugubris
8.    Least Sandpiper - Calidris minutilla
7.    Spotted Sandpiper - Actitis macularius
6.    Little Egret - Egretta garzetta
5.    Snowy Egret - Egretta thula
4.    Great Blue Heron - Ardea herodias
3.    Great Egret - Ardea alba
2.    Royal Tern - Thalasseus maximus
1.    Brown Booby - Sula leucogaster

Goodbye 2023, Hello 2024

Blue-winged Warbler, one of my lifers and a first for Barbados

As 2023 comes to an end, I can confidently say that it was one of the best, if not the best, birding years of my life. I spotted 142 species throughout the year, 111 of them in Barbados. That’s the second-highest number I’ve ever seen in a single year on the island. I also added 16 lifers, 9 of them, including two new records, for Barbados: the House Swift (Apus nipalensis)/Little Swift (Apus affinis), observed in the hills of Cambridge, St. Joseph in June, and the Blue-winged Warbler (Vermivora cyanoptera), found at Harrison’s Point in October. On top of that, I saw lots of mega rare birds, which made it hard to pick my bird of the year. So I decided to choose two.

• House Swift/Little Swift - This bird is still being identified, as it could be the first sighting for the Western Hemisphere. The experts are carefully examining the images of this bird. 
  
•  Crested Caracara (Caracara plancus) - This was a bird that I had wanted to see for a long time, since 2016. I finally got to see it in Bonaire and then had a better view in Curaçao.

Goals for 2024

Bird photography was my main goal in 2023, and I did quite well in that regard (see images here). I plan to keep pursuing this passion in 2024. I also aim to expand my local and global lifers list by 23 species, with at least 5 of them from Barbados. I have a trip planned for this year that should help me achieve the remaining 18 species.

I’m looking forward to seeing how it turns out at the end of 2024. I wish you a wonderful year of birding.