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.