Global Shorebird Counts - Day 2

September 2nd, Global Shorebird Counts Day 2 

Day 2 of the Global Shorebird Counts found me at Woodbourne Shorebird Refuge (WSR), at Woodbourne, St. Philip.  There were many shorebirds there that afternoon wading in the shallow water.   In total there were seven species of shorebirds, including five new ones for the count. These were Stilt Sandpiper (Calidris himantopus), White-rumped Sandpiper (Calidris fuscicollis), Pectoral Sandpiper (Calidris melanotos), and Greater ( Tringa melanoleuca) and Lesser Yellowlegs (Tringa flavipesr).

Total Shorebird Species seen on  Day 2: 8
New Shorebird Species seen on  Day 2: 5
Total Individual Bird Seen for the Day 2: 67
Total Shorebird Species for the Global Shorebird Counts 2021: 11
Total Individual Birds For the Global Shorebird Counts 2021: 109

Seen running checklist here

Images from Day 2

Semipalmated Sandpiper

Short-billed Dowitcher

The Fattest Short-billed Dowitcher I have ever seen

Global Shorebird Counts - Day 1

September 1st, Global Shorebird Counts Day 1

Ruddy Turnstones & a Semipalmated Sandpiper on the rocks at Inch Marlow

It was a slow start to the Global Shorebird Counts 2021.  I only got out to one location, Inch Marlow, Christ Church, but was unable to do a comprehensive count.  The highlight though was a  Ruddy Turnstone (Arenaria interpres) with a green band on its leg but sadly I was unable to see the code printed on the band. I will visit this location again during the count for sure.

Day 1 numbers at a glance:

Total Shorebird Species for the Day: 6
Total Individual Bird Seen for the Day: 42
Total Shorebird Species for the Global Shorebird Counts: 6
Total Individual Bird For the Global Shorebird Counts: 42
New species for the count: 6 

1. Semipalmated Plover (Charadrius semipalmatus)
2. Ruddy Turnstone (Arenaria interpres)
3. Least Sandpiper (Calidris minutilla)
4. Semipalmated Sandpiper (Calidris pusilla)
5. Short-billed Dowitcher (Limnodromus griseus)
6. Spotted Sandpiper (Actitis macularius)

Images from Day 1 of Global Shorebird Counts

Ruddy Turnstone  with a green band

Ruddy Turnstone & Semipalmated Sandpiper

Global Shorebird Counts - Checklist

Global Shorebird Counts Running Checklist

Number of Species Seen: 17

Total individual Birds : 661

Ruddy Turnstones & a Semipalmated Sandpiper on the rocks at Inch Marlow
on day one of the Global Shorebird Counts

The list of shorebirds seen during the Global Shorebird Counts

1. Semipalmated Plover (Charadrius semipalmatus)
2. Ruddy Turnstone (Arenaria interpres)
3. Least Sandpiper (Calidris minutilla)
4. Semipalmated Sandpiper (Calidris pusilla)
5. Short-billed Dowitcher (Limnodromus griseus)
6. Spotted Sandpiper (Actitis macularius)
7. Stilt Sandpiper (Calidris himantopus)
8. White-rumped Sandpiper (Calidris fuscicollis)
9. Pectoral Sandpiper  (Calidris melanotos) 
10. Greater Yellowleg ( Tringa melanoleuca) 
11. Lesser Yellowlegs (Tringa flavipesr)
12. Western Sandpiper (Calidris mauri)
13. Whimbrels (Numenius phaeopus)
14. Willets (Tringa semipalmata)
15. Black-bellied Plover (Pluvialis squatarola)
16. Sanderling (Calidris alba)
17. Solitary Sandpiper (Tringa solitaria)

The Best Shorebird Category

Ruddy Turnstone

Today one of the photographs I summited to the Birds Caribbean Global Big Day photography contest, which won the Best Shorebird category was featured on their social media accounts. I would like to say thank you to Birds Caribbean for the mention.

Birding Images: First Half of July

To me, the birding in the first half of July was much better than the entire month of June.  I saw some impressive birds thus far, four of which were yearbirds, two of those four are considered rare for the island.  The best part is that it is going to get even better as we head into the migration season in a  month or so. Here are a few images from the first half of July.

Rare Birds

Yellow-crowned Night-Heron

I saw this juvenile Yellow-crowned Night-Heron (Nyctanassa violacea) at the Graeme Hall Swamp on the 5th, just after the passing of Hurricane Elsa.  The water levels were higher than normal at that point and many of the trees were damage.  That probably forced this nocturnal heron to the front of the mangroves.

The second rare bird for the month have become a yearly fixture at the SBRC at Mangrove, St. Thomas.  This Striated Heron (Butorides striata) was seen on the 10th in the pond next to the entrance to the recycling plant. 

Insectivores on the coast

On the 10th, I stopped on the East Coast Road and observed three insectivorous birds - Black Swifts (Cypseloides niger), Barn Swallows(Hirundo rustica) and Caribbean Martins (Progne dominicensis) hawking for prey over the hills.

Black Swift 

Barn Swallow

Caribbean Martin

More birds

A pair of Martins, an odd pair, a flying duck and a few seabirds

A pair of Caribbean Martins on the powerline at Inch Marlow, Christ Church

The odd pair -A Golden Warbler with its surrogate Shiny Cowbird chick (more here) 

A Black-bellied Whistling-Duck (Dendrocygna autumnalis) in flight 

Seabirds @ Oistins ice jetty - Laughing Gulls (Leucophaeus atricilla) above and Roseate Terns (Sterna dougallii) below

Laughing Gull

A Morning With An American Coot Family

Male American Coot

As a birder, I cannot remember ever leaving home with the sole aim of photographing a particular bird, maybe it happened before, if it did I can’t remember it.  My photographs normally come as a result of being out birding, birding being the primary focus, and photography secondary.   Saturday was different, my sole purpose was to photograph the chicks of the American Coot (Fulica Americana).  To me, the chicks of these birds have the most amazingly colored downy feathers, and now that they've recommence breeding on the island, and on discovering a nest during the Global Big Day, I've jumped at the chance to photograph one.  Sadly the opportunity fell through as I only got a brief glance of the chick who was tucked safely under its mothers wings.  A consolation, I guess was watching and documenting the interaction between the parents, especially the extremely aggressive male.   

The male bringing food for female and chick

The nest was constructed in reeds just off the shoreline of a lake. The female spent most of her time there on the nest and the few occasions she ventured off with the chick, she stayed with in the confines of the thick reeds.  Yes, I identified the male as aggressive but the above image showed his gentle side.  Don't be fooled, that gentle persona started when he entered the reeds and ended when he exits it. 

Male coot off to defend its territory 

As soon as I saw him with his head low to the water and speedily move in a direct manner, I knew another bird had just enter that, no go zone, and was about to be rudely escorted out. 

Pesky Common Gallinule

This single pesky  Common Gallinule (Gallinula galeata) seem to be poking fun at our star bird.  It continually crossed that imaginary border and moved away just enough to avoid confrontation.  Something seem to be attracting him to the reeds patch.  The perfect opportunity soon presented itself, when the male was distracted.  The gallinule made it to its desired destination, an area between the bank and the reeds with the nest.  I could not tell what it was but, he found something to feed on in that area.  You may be wondering what could have distracted our studious guard away from it duties? It was a rival coot.

The chaste is on as the Male ousted a rival

This time the male coot ran the rival almost to the other end of the lake before returning to his duties at the reeds patch.  He was not too happy to find the Common Gallinule so close to the nest. After a brief scrap where the gallinule gave as much as it took, the male coot gave up and returned to the task of looking after his family.

I will return next weekend in hope that the chick is more active. Even though my first attempt was not successful, I truly enjoy my morning with the coots.

  

  

The Global Big Day 2021

The Moore Birders, Sophia, Jason, Sahara and I, were out in full force for the Global Big Day 2021, Saturday May 8th.  The days birding took us from one end of the island to the other, starting just before 5:30 AM and ended prematurely at 3:30 pm because of vehicular troubles.  At the end of the day, the combined team saw 48 species, including three rare birds, with each team member, except yours truly, registering lifers. Here are a few images and highlights. (See more images here)

Grey Kingbird

St. James 4 species: Our first records came from around our home as the sun was rising - Grey Kingbird (Tyrannus dominicensis),  Cattle Egret (Bubulcus ibis),  Carib Grackle (Quiscalus lugubris), and Bananaquit (Coereba flaveola).

Our first rare bird, Snail Kite at Bay Street, St. Michael

St. Michael 15 species: After missing two of our targeted birds, Orange-winged (Amazona amazonica) and Yellow-crowned Parrots (Amazona ochrocephala) at our first stop in the parish of St. Michael, we saw our first rarity, Snail Kite (Rostrhamus sociabilis) at the second. The other birds from St. Michael were Scaly-naped Pigeon (Patagioenas squamosal), Eurasian Collared-Dove (Streptopelia decaocto), Zenaida Dove (Zenaida aurita), Antillean Crested Hummingbird (Orthorhyncus cristatus),Rose-ringed Parakeet (Psittacula krameri), Shiny Cowbird (Molothrus bonariensis),  Black-faced Grassquit (Melanospiza bicolor), Magnificent Frigatebird (Fregata magnificens), Laughing Gull (Leucophaeus atricilla), Brown Booby (Sula leucogaster), Little Egret (Egretta garzetta), Green Heron (Butorides virescens), Caribbean Elaenia (Elaenia martinica) and Caribbean Martin (Progne dominicensis).

Orange-winged parrot

Christ Church 19 species: I was a bit disappointed in missing the parrots, but thanks to directions from fellow birder John Webster we were able to find the Orange-winged (Amazona amazonica) at another location.

Long-billed Dowitcher at Chancery Lane

Another highlight was our second rarity sighting at Chancery Lane.  We at first recorded it as a Short-billed Dowitcher (Limnodromus griseus) but was soon corrected by our local birding guru Ed Massiah, who identified it as a Long-billed Dowitcher (Limnodromus scolopaceus). The other birds seen were Black-whiskered Vireo (Vireo altiloquus), Common Ground Dove (Columbina passerine), Common Gallinule (Gallinula galeata), Golden Warbler (Setophaga petechial), Barbados Bullfinch (Loxigilla barbadensis), Ruddy Turnstone (Arenaria interpres), Rock Pigeon (Columba livia) Royal Tern  (Thalasseus maximus), Spotted Sandpiper (Actitis macularius), Sanderling  (Calidris alba), Semipalmated Sandpiper (Calidris pusilla), Black-bellied Plover (Pluvialis squatarola), Semipalmated Plover (Charadrius semipalmatus), Greater Yellowlegs (Tringa melanoleuca), Lesser Yellowlegs (Tringa flavipes), Snowy Egret (Egretta thula), and Little Blue Heron (Egretta caerulea).

Grassland Yellow-Finches at Bushy Park, St. Philip

St. Philip 5 species: We missed a targeted bird, the Red-billed Tropicbird (Phaethon aethereus) in St. Philip.  If we had hanged around for just a few minutes more, as did John,  we would have seen them, but we did get these Grassland Yellow-Finches (Sicalis luteola) as we were passing Bushy Park. The other four species we saw were Green-throated Carib  (Eulampis holosericeus), Stilt Sandpiper (Calidris himantopus), Least Sandpiper (Calidris minutilla),and Solitary Sandpiper (Tringa solitaria).

A fraction of the 200+Black-bellied Whistling-Ducks at St. John

St. John, St. George, St. Andrew and St. Lucy 5 species:  Around midday we started birding our way north, making a few stops along the way. At a pond in the parish of St. John we saw over 200 Black-bellied Whistling-Ducks (Dendrocygna autumnalis), then an Eared Dove (Zenaida auriculata) and American Coot (Fulica Americana), our third rare bird, at  Redland St, George.

Pied-billed Grebe at Walkers Reserve, St. Andrew

At Walkers Reserve, St. Andrew was Pied-billed Grebe (Podilymbus podiceps) and our final bird for the day was a Great Blue Heron (Ardea herodias) at a wetland in St. Lucy.

We had just two more planned stops to make with two targeted species but was unable to make them.  One of them for sure would have given us our 49th species Black-crowned Night Heron (Nycticorax nycticorax) but that did not put a damper on  the wonderful family day of birding we had.  Happily the problem with our vehicle was not too serious and it was back on the road in no time.

Hence the second Global Big Day is in the books for Team Moore Birders, giving us a total of 68 species over the two events.  We are eagerly looking forward to the October Big Day.  Let hope that this COVID would riding off into the sunset at that time.

See more images from The Global Bid Day 2021 here