 |
| First lifer for 2026: 47. Ring-billed Gull |
This year I’m stepping into uncharted territory. For all of 2026, my birding in Barbados will be limited to places that are freely accessible to everyone—no private estates, no special permissions, just the open spaces any local can walk into. It’s no secret that many of the island’s richest habitats lie behind locked gates, where entry depends on connections or the goodwill of caretakers. I’ve been fortunate to enjoy that access, but I’ve also heard the frustrations of birders who don’t. So, this year, I’ll be “one of the guys on the outside,” testing whether it’s possible to reach 100 species by birding only in publicly accessible areas.
But that’s just half the adventure. 2026 is shaping up to be a busy year of travel. In February, I’ll embark on a multi‑island trip spanning seven destinations, and later in the year another journey is already in the early planning stages. My personal goal: to push past boundaries and see 300 species—or more—in a single calendar year, something I’ve never attempted before.
Will Barbados’ open spaces deliver the diversity I’m hoping for? Will my international travels prove fruitful enough to hit that ambitious milestone? By December, we’ll have the answer. Follow along under the tab - “From Barbados to Beyond: Chasing 300 Birds” here as the story unfolds.
Key: Rare birds; Barbados Purple lifer; W.I Lifers; World Lifer; * Rare for the time of year
58. Caribbean Martin - Progne dominicensis
57. Brown Booby - Sula leucogaster
56. Great Blue Heron - Ardea herodias
55. Sora - Porzana carolina
54. Great Egret - Ardea alba
53. Black-crowned Night Heron - Nycticorax nycticorax52. Greater Yellowlegs - Tringa melanoleuca
51. Solitary Sandpiper - Tringa solitaria
50. Black-whiskered Vireo - Vireo altiloquus
49. Rose-ringed Parakeet - Psittacula krameri
48. American Herring Gull - Larus smithsonianus
47. Ring-billed Gull - Larus delawarensis (Bar:179; W.I 227)
46. Laughing Gull - Leucophaeus atricilla*
45. Osprey - Pandion haliaetus
44. Black-bellied Plover - Pluvialis squatarola
43. Wilson's Snipe - Gallinago delicata
42. Black-bellied Whistling-Duck - Dendrocygna autumnalis
41. Pied-billed Grebe - Podilymbus podiceps
40. American Coot - Fulica americana
39. Lesser Scaup - Aythya affinis
38. Ring-necked Duck - Aythya collaris
37. Green-winged Teal - Anas crecca
36. Northern Shoveler - Spatula clypeata
35. Mangrove Yellow Warbler - Setophaga petechia
34. Northern Waterthrush - Parkesia noveboracensis
33. Gray Kingbird - Tyrannus dominicensis
32. Western Reef-Heron - Egretta gularis
31. Little Egret - Egretta garzetta
30. Snowy Egret - Egretta thula
29. Little Blue Heron - Egretta caerulea
28. Spotted Sandpiper - Actitis macularius
27. Killdeer - Charadrius vociferus
26. Common Gallinule - Gallinula galeata
25. Eared Dove - Zenaida auriculata
24. Blue-winged Teal - Spatula discors
23. Black-faced Grassquit - Melanospiza bicolor
22. Grassland Yellow-Finch - Sicalis luteola
21. Carib Grackle - Quiscalus lugubris
20. Caribbean Elaenia - Elaenia martinica
19. Green-throated Carib - Eulampis holosericeus
18. Semipalmated Sandpiper - Calidris pusilla
17. Least Sandpiper - Calidris minutilla
16. Semipalmated Plover - Charadrius semipalmatus
15. Barbados Bullfinch - Loxigilla barbadensis
14. Bananaquit - Coereba flaveola
13. Shiny Cowbird - Molothrus bonariensis
12. Western Cattle-Egret - Ardea ibis
11. Green Heron - Butorides virescens
10. Magnificent Frigatebird - Fregata magnificens
9. Royal Tern - Thalasseus maximus
8. Sanderling - Calidris alba
7. Ruddy Turnstone - Arenaria interpres
6. Antillean Crested Hummingbird - Orthorhyncus cristatus
5. Zenaida Dove - Zenaida aurita
4. Common Ground Dove - Columbina passerina
3. Eurasian Collared-Dove - Streptopelia decaocto
2. Scaly-naped Pigeon - Patagioenas squamosa
1. Rock Pigeon - Columba livia
No comments:
Post a Comment