110/10 Big Year Update – August

Red Knot, one of the new birds for the month, Ruddy Turnstone in the background

I had a fairly good month of birding in August.  Five species were added to the 110/10 Big Year list, closing the month with ninety-seven species.  The five additions were White-rumped Sandpiper - Calidris fuscicollis ⁹³, Bridled Tern - Onychoprion anaethetus⁹⁴, Red Knot - Calidris canutus⁹⁵, Cliff Swallow - Petrochelidon pyrrhonota⁹⁶, and Ruddy Duck - Oxyura jamaicensis. 

This image of an American coot was one of the new image additions 

In the image section of the challenge, the Photo Big Year, I am still very far behind even after reaching 50 photographed species.  The goal must be to step up the images if I am going to reach my goal of 100 species.

Goals for September

Shoot, shoot, shoot is my motto for September because with just 50 species with 4 months to go I will need to add at least 13 images per month to reach the 100 photographed species. That is some task for a busy person like myself but will go for it.   The average for the 110/10 is 4 species a month and ebird.org suggested I be on the lookout for these new birds during the month:

• Gull-billed Tern   Gelochelidon nilotica
• Upland Sandpiper Bartramia longicauda
• Least Tern Sternula antillarum
• Buff-breasted Sandpiper Calidris subruficollis
• Bank Swallow Riparia riparia

Of course, I am still missing the Yellow-crowned Parrot (Amazona ochrocephala) that is on the top of my list. So let’s see what type of birding month September will be.

110/10 Big Year Update – May, June and July

84. Fulvous Whistling-Duck

I have not updated the 110/10 Big Year or the 2022 Photographic Big Year since the end of April.  At that point, I saw 83 species and was way behind in the photo challenge only displaying 20 images.  In the three months since then, a few more birds were added to both groups, closing July with  92 species in the big year and still a bit behind in the photo big year with 36 images.

Three species were added in May. There were the rare Fulvous Whistling-Duck (Dendrocygna bicolor) ⁸⁴ and Striated Heron (Butorides striata) ⁸⁵ and one of the few species that migrate here to nest, Black Swifts (Cypseloides niger) ⁸⁶.

89. Roseate Tern 

Three more species were added in June.  The elusive Barn Swallow (Hirundo rustica) ⁸⁷ was finally bagged on the Ermy Bourne Highway, Saint Joseph, while my 150^th lifer, a Red-footed Booby (Sula sula) ⁸⁸ was seem along the same stretch of road seven days later.  The last bird recorded during the month of June was a Roseate Tern (Sterna dougallii) ⁸⁹ at Oistins, Christ Church. I thought I landed what is becoming my nemesis bird for the year, a Yellow-crowned Parrot (Amazona ochrocephala). Still, thanks to a heads up from a birding expert on the Birds of Barbados Facebook group, Ed Massiah,  I reexamine the image and found the bird in question to be a hybrid, Orange-winged X Yellow-crowned.

91. Collared Plover

In July the trend of three additions continued, this time three rare birds were added, two early in the month and one later. The two, a Black-necked Stilt (Himantopus mexicanus)⁹⁰ and Collared Plover (Charadrius collaris)⁹¹ seen earlier in the month were both logged  on the same day, the 8^th, both in the parish of St. Lucy, both shorebirds but at the opposite end of the shorebird size spectrum. With the plover very small and the stilt tall and lanky.  My final entry on the 110/10 was a Brown Pelican (Pelecanus occidentalis)⁹² seen on a buoy at Oistins, Christ Church. 

Goals for August

As we enter the busy end of the year, fall migration, birds will be coming fast and furious.  High on my to-see list for most of the year was Yellow-crowned Parrot (Amazona ochrocephala) and the search will continue.  On the ebird.org Target list for the month my objective would be the White-rumped Sandpiper (Calidris fuscicollis), Southern Lapwing (Vanellus chilensis), and Wilson's Plover (Charadrius wilsonia).  With 18 species to go in 5 months, I must admit I am feeling a bit of pressure, especially on the photo side of the challenge but let us see how it goes in August. 

Four Rare Birds In One Afternoon Of Birding

Glossy Ibis 

I started planning my birding weekend on about Wednesday. The plan was to go north to the rugged cliffs at North Point, St. Lucy.  History has shown that around this time of year that, that rocky, sea-blasted stretch of land attracts one of the smallest members of the  plover family, the Collared Plover (Charadrius collaris). Someone once wrote, “The best-laid plans of mice and men often go awry.” and that plan kinda went awry.  A short notice working commitment took me to the north, to Speightstown St. Peter to be exact, on Friday afternoon. I decided it would be wise, with gas prices so high, to kill two birds with one stone (I guess that may not be the best proverb for a blog about birds) and make the trip at the conclusion of my working commitment. That I did and it proved to be the right decision for two reasons: 1. It gave me more time birding, the Saturday trip was a peek and run, because of the limited time I had at my disposal but Friday afternoon gave me twice as much time to carefully look for my target bird. 2.  With the additional time I can now visit at least one more location in the north, which I did. On that Friday afternoon trip, I saw close to 30 species, including 4 rare birds, and it gave me birds 90 and 91 for my 110/10 Big Year Count.

90. Black-necked Stilt

My first stop was at a private impoundment, it was here I saw the first 3 rarebirds, two from previous months, a Fulvous Whistling-Duck (Dendrocygna bicolor) and a Glossy Ibis (Plegadis falcinellus) but then I saw my 90th year-bird. It was a Black-necked Stilt (Himantopus mexicanus).  These lanky black and white shorebirds stand at about 13.8–15.3"  (35–39 cm) and are irregular visitors to the island with one recorded successful breeding in 2011 at Walkers Reserve. 

91. Collared Plover

My second stop was to find my target bird, the Collared Plover, at North Point.  As I approached the location just south of the Animal Flower Cave, I was surprised by the ongoing construction of a solar farm.  It would be interesting to see how or if the none stop sea spray affect the plant.  The sea cliffs were covered in the fogged mist of the heavy sea spray, so after securing my camera in a protective covering, I began my needle in a haystack search for this tiny shorebird. As I walked along the trail heading south, I heard the distinct call of a Black-bellied Plover (Pluvialis squatarola) somewhere ahead of me, but I was unable to pinpoint the exact location.  As I continued along the trail, 6 of them flushed and took flight heading south while a smaller bird flew in the opposite direction and alighted a few 100 yards away among the rocky terrain.  With my binoculars I confirmed it to be my 91st yearbird a Collared Plover.  I spent a few minutes trying to get a few images in the fading light and was able to do so thanks to the 600mm reach of Big Selma, without getting too close to the bird.  This bird normally will hang around for a few weeks so I will try to relocate it, and hopefully, in more photographic-friendly conditions, try for Photographic Big Year images.  Of course, will have to start saving to afford the gas for my return trip but it was truly a refreshing trip to the north that Friday afternoon. 

See the total list below of the birds I saw.

Lifer #149 - Red-footed Booby

Lifer 149 - Red-footed Booby

A lot has happened since my last post on May 3rd.  This long pause was not because of a lack of birding activity, but because of a badly-behaving PC that I am happy to say is now behaving the way it should.  During that period I registered my 149th Local lifer, a Red-footed Booby (Sula sula). It also became my 194th and 360th records for the West Indies and the World respectively.  The bird was seen by Carla Daniel of The Barbados Sea Turtle Project while she was patrolling the beach at the East Coast Road, St. Andrew.  This pelagic species is usually only seen this close to land during bad weather, especially, as two local experts put it, "when winds were from offshore", yes on those very rare occasions when the island gets "westerly (blowing) winds". 

Red-footed Booby in its brown phase

Red-footed Boobys are seabirds about 28" (70cm) in length and with a wingspan of up to 60" (152cm). This species has various morphs.  In the brown morph, like my 149th, the bird is predominantly brown with a white hind-part and tail.

Red-footed Booby in its white phase

In the white phase the bird is all white with black on the edges of both wings. Juveniles are sooty brown, paler below, sometimes with a slightly darker breast band. Its dionostic red feet can be seen in all morphs.

My epic 10th year of birding continues to be one of my best years and I am thoroughly enjoying it. With the business end of the year, fall migration, quickly approaching I have a strong feeling 151 is on its way.

110/10 Big Year Update – April

Image #20 Black-whiskered Vireo

A new bird, new Images, and new equipment, yes we had a mixed bag during the month of April. Closing the month with 83 species in the 110/10 Big Year and 20 images in the photo big year challenge.

The new birds for April were Willet (Tringa semipalmata), American Oystercatcher (Haematopus palliates), which was also a lifer (#149), and a Pectoral Sandpiper (Calidris melanotos). I added quite a few images during the month and ended the month with image #20 a Black-whiskered Vireo (Vireo altiloquus). See all the images here.
It has been three years and six months since I lost my Sigma 120-400mm f/4.5-5.6 AF, a moment of silence, please.  Since then the Canon EF-S 55-250mm f/4-5.6 IS was my go-to lens until I can replace the siggy.   While it is a good lens, perfect for shots of birds within their environment, it is generally too short a focal length for the type of images I like.  That is were my newest lens, well new to me, came in. It is a Canon 75-300mm f/4-5.6 ii.  I truly hate this lens for so many reasons but in the right conditions this cheap, none image stabilizing, chromatic aberration friendly lens gives a fair quality image. So why did I purchase a substandard lens I hated? The extra length, an additional 80mm (50x1.6 crop), the availability, and the price.   Hopefully, in the near future, both of these lenses would take a back seat to something 400mm or over.

Goals for May

The month of May normally sees a lull in migratory birds but paradoxically has a high probability of finding mega-rare birds, judging from its history.  One of my goals for the month is to find one of these rare birds.   Other targeted birds will be Barn Swallows (Hirundo rustica) and Yellow-crowned Parrot (Amazona ochrocephala) both of which want to apply for the role of nemesis birds of 2022.   May 14^th is World Migratory Bird Day and the biggest day of birding worldwide, join our local team donate and/or come bird with us.  I am looking forward to a good month of birding, let’s see how it goes 

Join Birds Caribbean’s 2022 Global Big Day Celebration with Our Team

Global Big Day—the biggest birding day of the year, is just a few days away.  Again this year we are joining Birds Caribbean in its annual Global Big Day fundraiser.   This fun virtual team event pit together multi-national teams in a friendly competitive birding event in an effort to raise funds for a Caribbean Conservation, etc. This year's efforts will be geared towards raising funds to provide travel scholarships for Caribbean nationals to attend the AOS & BC Joint Conference in Puerto Rico this June. 

Last year our small team The Bajan Birders, made up of birders from Barbados and one from St. Lucia, not only had fun but also assisted in raising funds and won a few awards. 

Teammate Jerome Foster, of St. Lucia, who was only able to bird a few hours in the morning won the Life in the Wild category with “American Kestrels Mating”

and third in Best Bird Photo with an Immature Little Blue Heron.

Yours truly was awarded the Best Shorebird with an image of a Ruddy Turnstone in breeding plumage.

In all, our 9-member Bajan Birders team saw 61 species across two countries, including 8 West Indies endemic species.

This year we want to double all of those numbers, have a greater international presence and raise funds of well over $100. 

To emphasize our goal, the team was renamed “Bajan Birders & Friends”, and invitations to join our team were extended to birders across the globe.

You can join the effort by joining our team. To do that:

• Just follow this link  
• Click the “JOIN A TEAM” button below the Global Big Day graphic on this page and follow the wizard.
• On Global Big Day, May 14, share your ebird checklist with the username “BCGBDBajanBirders”.  
• Make sure to also upload your media - images and audio files.

To donate

• Follow this link
• Simply click the yellow donate button at the top of the page and follow the wizard.
• You can donate without joining the team.

Come bird with us, donate and have lots of fun.

Stay safe and enjoy your birding.

Lifer #148 - American Oystercatcher

American Oystercatcher

My fifth lifer of the year (#148) is one of those birds that you just cannot mistake for any other.  This large, stocky shorebird is about 17-21” (38-21cm) in length and sports a long, bright reddish-orange beak, yellow iris, and a bright reddish-orange eye-ring.  Yes, I am talking about the American Oystercatcher (Haematopus palliates), a bird that feeds almost exclusively on shellfish and other marine invertebrates.  I saw this bird at Inch Marlow, Christ Church on Friday, April 22^nd, it was my 82^nd species for the year. (110/10 Big Year)  This year, my tenth year of birding continues to be a memorable one. With eight more months to go is another lifer out there? let's hope so.