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Birds of Grand Bahama October 3-4, 2009
I was able to lead an Audubon Society of the Everglades group on
a tour of Grand Bahama. We had a really nice group of six birders to
enjoy the wonderful birdlife of the Bahamas. We left Port Everglades
at 7:45 a.m.. and had a wonderful ride on very calm seas.
Sunrise leaving Port Everglades Ft. Lauderdale
We saw a Northern Harrier about 5-miles out and perhaps a Peregrine Falcon
chasing gulls.
We watched as the pilot boat came along side to get the Harbor captain.
Pilot Boat with
harbor captain climbing down, transfer complete.
We saw two flocks of migrating Great Blue Herons far out at sea.
Great Blue Heron flock
Once we arrived we met my friend Bruce to begin our day of
birding. We went to an old golf course and saw a Black-necked Stilt,
Least Grebe, Solitary Sandpiper and Blue-winged Teal.
Black-necked Stilt
We also had this interesting kingbird that Bruce found a day or two
earlier. I can say that it is one of two species!
Kingbird
Kingbird
In the same spot we had a family of Least Grebes. On my
first visit to Grand Bahama 16-years ago; I don't remember seeing any Least
Grebes. It is nice to know that the numbers keep increasing and
spreading to more areas. Perhaps the closing of some of the golf
courses has helped the birds.
Least Grebes
Cape May Warbler is one of at least 20 plus species of warbler
that winter in the Bahamas.
Cape May Warbler
Red-legged Thrush is such a cool bird, very pretty and very
accommodating when you see them. We even had some walking along the
sidewalk of our hotel, even while it was still dark!
Red-legged Thrush
We saw some bats in the basement of an old abandoned building.
Buffy Flower Bat (Erophylla
sezekorni) Thanks Tony!
There were many, many bats in the basement, it is really cool how
they took over.
Buffy Flower Bats (Erophylla
sezekorni)
We saw several Western Spindalis including the female below.
Western Spindalis
We had great looks at the local race of Yellow Warbler, they are
not as bright yellow as some. The red streaking does not go down the
belly as far as the mainland birds; excluding south Florida which has the
same sub-species.
Yellow Warbler
We saw several Black-faced Grassquit, they can be kind of plain but are neat
to see.
Black-faced Grassquit, immature male.
It is really neat to see a a warbler on a wire.
Northern Parula
It is really, really neat to see an endemic warbler on a wire!!!
Bahama Yellowthroat
Life is so much more relaxed in the Bahamas!
Cuban Pewee is not too uncommon in the pinewoods of the Bahamas.
Sometimes you can see them in the small towns on the Island like the bird
below.
Cuban Pewee
We had at least five calling Eastern Wood-Pewee as well as Cuban
Pewee near a grove in the pinewoods. I have included a photo of one to
compare with the Cuban Pewee above.
Eastern Wood-Pewee
We had a few flocks of Bobolinks on the Island, it is pretty neat
to see one in a Mangrove tree!
Bobolink
Olive-capped Warbler has a very limited range only occurring on a few Bahama
Islands and Cuba. You will see them in areas with the sub-species of
Pine Warbler in the pinewoods. You will not find them without
pinewoods present. As soon as a male sings, the female will do a duet
with him! This is a pretty cool thing to hear, I don't recall too many
other birds that do this.
Olive-capped Warbler
We had good views of most of the specialty birds including Thick-billed
Vireo. Immature White-eyed Vireo can show a dark eye like this bird,
it can fool you when you see one in Florida. You may think that it is
a Thick-billed Vireo but with more study, you can tell that it is an
immature White-eyed Vireo!
Thick-billed Vireo
It is always nice to see Loggerhead Kingbird, this bird gave
everyone great views.
Loggerhead Kingbird
Debbie sitting in the front seat said "what is that bird", I yelled
Townsend's Warbler!! Who would have ever expected that one, I would
have thought it was a first. We found out there is at least one other
record from Grand Bahama and from Grand Turk!! I wonder if this is the
first one photographed?
Townsend's Warbler
We saw about five Clay-colored Sparrows in a loose flock, a nice new species
for my Bahamas list and West Indies.
Clay-colored Sparrow
We had 97-species with 23-species of warbler seen. Two big
rarities Tropical/Couch's Kingbird and Townsend's Warbler sure make it
exciting. Thanks go to the
Audubon Society of Everglades for letting me lead the trip. A list
of birds seen on the trip are below.
| Blue-winged Teal |
Thick-billed Vireo |
| Least Grebe |
Red-eyed Vireo |
| Pied-billed Grebe |
Barn Swallow |
| Brown Pelican U.S. waters |
Blue-gray Gnatcatcher, Bahama race |
| Double-crested Cormorant |
Red-legged Thrush |
| Magnificent Frigatebird |
Gray Catbird |
| Great Blue Heron |
Northern Mockingbird |
| Great Egret |
European Starling |
| Cattle Egret |
Tennessee Warbler |
| Green Heron |
Northern Parula |
| Black-crowned Night-Heron |
Yellow Warbler, Bahama race |
| Yellow-crowned Night-Heron |
Chestnut-sided Warbler |
| Turkey Vulture |
Magnolia Warbler |
| Osprey |
Cape May Warbler |
| Northern Harrier U.S. waters |
Black-throated Blue Warbler |
| Red-tailed Hawk, Bahama race |
TOWNSEND'S WARBLER |
| American Kestrel, Bahama race |
Yellow-throated Warbler |
| Merlin |
Olive-capped Warbler |
| Clapper Rail, heard only |
Pine Warbler |
| Common Moorhen |
Prairie Warbler |
| American Coot |
Palm Warbler |
| Black-necket Stilt |
Blackpoll Warbler |
| Greater Yellowlegs |
Black-and-white Warbler |
| Lesser Yellowlegs |
American Redstart |
| Solitary Sandpiper |
Prothonotary Warbler |
| Spotted Sandpiper |
Ovenbird |
| Ruddy Turnstone |
Northern Waterthrush |
| Semipalmated Sandpiper |
Louisiana Waterthrush |
| Least Sandpiper |
Common Yellowthroat |
| Pectoral Sandpiper |
Bahama Yellowthroat |
| Stilt Sandpiper |
Hooded Warbler |
| Short-billed Dowitcher |
Yellow-breasted Chat, an uncommon warbler. |
| Laughing Gull |
Bananaquit |
| Herring Gull, U.S. waters |
Summer Tanager |
| Royal Tern |
Scarlet Tanager |
| Rock Pigeon |
Western Spindalis |
| White-crowned Pigeon |
Black-faced Grassquit |
| Eurasian Collared-Dove |
Greater Antillean Bullfinch |
| Mourning Dove |
Clay-colored Sparrow |
| Common Ground-Dove |
Blue Grosbeak |
| Yellow-billed Cuckoo |
Indigo Bunting |
| Smooth-billed Ani |
Bobolink |
| Cuban Emerald |
Red-winged Blackbird |
| Belted Kingfisher |
Baltimore Oriole |
| Hairy Woodpecker |
House Sparrow |
| Cuban Pewee |
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| Eastern Wood-Pewee |
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| La Sagra's Flycatcher |
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| Tropical/Couch's Kingbird |
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| Eastern Kingbird |
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| Gray Kingbird |
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| Loggerhead Kingbird |
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For a link for another Bahama tour go
HERE.
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