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Birding in the Caribbean


BirdmanRI
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Wow! Quite a list.

 

Not good enough - about a hundred bucks a bird, I figure.... I'm going to book a nature trip to Costa Rica one of these days. Frontier flies to San Jose out of Denver decently cheap, and the tours run about a thousand a week, including room, meals and transportation.

 

Currently, I'm going to Galveston for the FeatherFest in April; then settle in to making a good effort around Colorado, except I might hit the Prairies/Potholes in North Dakota. Maybe one more stab at the Rio Grande Bird Fest in Nov this year (I've gone the last two years..) - still missing the darn Falcon and a bunch of others.

 

The cruise on Vision of the Seas in August to the Arctic Circle should add about 50 more lifers, I figure. Sure is easier with those water birds - where they gonna hide?

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Went to Costa Rica back in '03. Was quite a trip! Just sitting outside the hotel in San Jose, I picked up about 10 new birds in about 7 minutes. Never did get to see a quetzal, though.

 

As for birds hiding in the Arctic Circle - they can be hard to see if it is very foggy! Although I've been to Alaska twice, never been as far as the circle (closest was Fairbanks). Did have some pretty foggy weather, though (in August-September).

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If you've never done this: load up Google Earth. Move the world to north cape of norway, then zoom way in to see the little cameras - those are pictures from that place. Now find bird island southwest of north cape and click on the pictures. Yep, foggy all right; the cliffs are just loaded with birds and that's one of the cruise tours. Darn good thing I never get seasick, eh?

 

FeatherFest in two weeks, and I'm getting sick of shoveling snow so it's time!

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Ah, nuts.... I tried about 3 ways to get that kmz file in here but couldn't, and cruise critic won't take that format. Oh, well - go all the way to the north end of Norway (North Cape). It's on a pretty big island. The offshore smaller island on the west side is "Bird's Island" - try that.

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  • 5 months later...

Birds of Europe: Norway Cruise 8/11/2010 – 8/23/2010, plus a day in Copenhagen before and after.

 

 

Copenhagen 8/10 -11

Rock dove

Ground dove

Hooded Crow

Magpie

Carrion Crow

Herring gull

Common gull

House Sparrow

Eurasian Collared Dove

Common Swift

Blackheaded Gull

Cormorant

 

 

Baltic 8/12 (in Wake of ship)

Gannet

Manx Shearwater

 

 

Alesund 8/13

Park below overlook

Chaffinch

Blue Tit

Greater BlackBacked Gull (all around harbor on roofs)

Lesser BlackBacked Gull ditto

Common Eider one on small island in harbor

Green Finch

Greylag Goose (flyover of 2 Vs)

 

 

NorthCape at sea 8/14

thousands of Fulmars

Kittiwakes (3 over ship)

 

 

Sommoya (fishing village tour from Tromso)

Redshank

Oystercatcher (2)

Ruff

Greylag geese (4)

Rock Pipit (2)

 

 

Geiranger

White-tailed Eagle

White Wagtail

more Oystercatchers

 

 

Olden

Willow Warbler (hike to glacier)

 

 

Bergen:

Great Tit

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Pretty much, just take the excursions that go to the nature preserves and parks. There's sometimes a city park withing walking distance of the cruise ship, just look for a big batch of trees from the top deck. Going to the beach will mostly get you gulls that are picking up the dropped food and not much else. You can also go down the taxi ranks and ask for "who knows the birds?" - once in awhile you'll get lucky! I would test them on that a bit first.

 

 

When walking around the cities, I mostly eyeball the area and switch to the cheapo bins from the Swarovskis if I don't like what I see.... I used to live near Detroit, so my instincts are pretty good.

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That advice is spot-on. I can only add that areas around shopping centers and the beaches - areas where there is a large concentration of people - also draws the attention of pigeons and doves. In the Caribbean there can be several lifers in that flock, so don't dismiss them all as Mourning Doves. More likely the modos are Scaly-naped Pigeons, and the tiny ones are Common Ground Doves.

 

D. Temple

Atlantic Highlands, NJ

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Already have the common ground dove from South Texas, but the scaly-naped would be nice.... Got a White-Crowned pigeon last January working in the dumpsters behind restaurants in Aruba, hanging out with his cousins. Garbage is always good. A lagoon or two is a good spot, especially fresh water. Love the ducks, no place to hide - not like looking in a rain forest!

 

Have had some success with birdingpals.com - you can find a local to go around with, plus they know the common birds by quick glance.

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The Azamara Journey goes to the smaller islands - a lot more parky and less party! Although the unlimited wine at meals makes a hard day of birding a lot better....

 

 

Birding the Caribbean – November 2010

day 1: checkin and departure, Miami

Turkey Vultures overhead (no blacks), Laughing Gulls, Crows, Brown Pelicans, pigeons

 

 

Day 2/3: at sea, never saw anything – looked about an hour a day

 

 

Day 4: St Johns, USVI

Brown Pelicans and Frigates in the harbor approaches, Brown Booby at Annenberg beach, a beautiful American Kestrel in a tree about 15 feet away at the sugar mill, Zenaida and Common Ground doves, Pearly Eyed Thrasher at Trunk Bay in the eating areas.

 

 

Day 5: Marigot, St Martin

Brown Boobies around the harbor, Frigates in the air, Gray Kingbirds on half the wires in town an around the fort, Caribbean Grackles in the streets, ground doves in the streets. Went to the marina area and spent half an hour – nothing. Went along the back streets of the town (beat up, but safe) – nothing

 

 

Day 6: St Kitts

Took the sugar train around the island – gray kingbirds on a lot of wires. Brimstone Hill had a red-tailed hawk and an osprey soaring, nothing pishable in the bushes. Tour stops and shows us a cattle egret rookery on the way back. Mooring points in the harbor: pelicans, brn boobies, royal terns, herring gull, reddish egret. On top deck watching the sail away when a brown noddy carrying a fish was being harassed by a tern – landed on a mooring point and proceeded to eat it!

 

 

Day 7: Antigua

Docked at the north pier, so I walked to the south pier, then straight inland a hundred feet or so. There is a field where some of the taxis park, a fenced “playground, sorta” behind it. The fence doesn't go to the water, so go around it and sit on the stairs. To your left, snowy/cattle/great egrets, pelicans, a great blue heron, frigates overhead, terns passing by, an osprey cruising for fish. The land has plentiful kingbirds, Lesser Antillean Bullfinches, Bananaquits, and the occasional warbler (looked like a Barbudan) Zenaida and ground doves fly in and out, and check the tall grasses around the field. Care of the body? There's an ice cream stand right behind you, and a bar another block away if you get thirsty. Off the top deck were a bunch of peeps at too great a range and a belted kingfisher working the shore. Also a big black guy on the workboat that stepped to the rear and took a leak in full view of the passengers (who weren't looking).

The last time I was here I took a field trip to English Harbor – the hill overlooking to the east had a ton of hummers working the flowers in January.

 

 

Day 8/9: St Barts

Gray kingbirds on wires all over the island, but that was it on the tour (no stops). I mostly birded near Shell Beach on the south end of Gustavia. Go to the south end of the marina, there's a park, Anglican Church across the street, La Bistro restaurant at the west end of the park. Go up the street across from La Bistro, take the second right at the green shingled house, go to the end of that street at the school, then left to the beach. A block short of the beach across from the school is a field of flowers and a green throated Carib was working the hisbiscus. Take the street up the hill a bit, and theres a parking place overlooking the whole mess of plants. Bananaquits galore, LA Bullfinches, both doves again, kingbirds flying around. Across the road uphill is another productive jungle with the same birds. Pulsating whistles were working the best for pishing. Owner of the parking space drove up while I was there and liked me birding. More B-quits in the park on the way back.

Harbor: second rock out is loaded with brown boobies (look for the whitewash). About 4 oclock the first day (sunset was 5:30) a flock of 40-50 tropic birds returned from the sea on the shore side of the harbor. Finally got one close enough to see a red-billed – not as dark wings as the book indicates, and I think there were maybe a half dozen total. The second day, there were only about 6, but the sprinkling weather was probably a factor.

 

 

Day 10: Virgin Gorda, BVI

Nothing seen, and I looked for an hour around the harbor and the Baths. No blooming flowers outside of the nursery.

 

 

Day 11/12: at sea

Wasn't counting on anything, but the first day I went up at 6 AM to have my coffee and hang over the back rail contemplating life, when a Masked Booby flew up, soared around the ship for a solid 15 minutes, then dove on a fish!

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We are sailing the Liberty of the Seas from Miami on 3/5/2011 to San Juan, St. Martin, St. Thomas & Labadee, Haiti. We will dive @ one site and I get to bird (officially) @ one stop. Any recommendations or guides?

Cinda

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San Juan - if you go in a day or two early, you can catch a tour to the rain forest from any hotel. Take your Golden Eagle pass along for the forts. There's a nice walk around the cliffs. Ferry to Bacardi crosses the harbor and there are a lot of gardens to visit if you stay sort of sober.

St Martin/Maarten - tour the island and visit the ponds, some ship excursions will take you to the "farm" and a rain forest hike. For rain forests, you have to know the local calls to find anything.

book - birds of the West Indies.

Haiti & St Johns - never been there, but head for the parks. On Haiti, I think that's a cruise beach only at Labadee.

Guides: hard to find any, but email the local tourist places and try. You'd think there would be a least one taxi guy that's a birder, wouldn't you? If there was, he could make some good money. (idea for next reincarnation...)

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Went to Costa Rica back in '03. Was quite a trip! Just sitting outside the hotel in San Jose, I picked up about 10 new birds in about 7 minutes. Never did get to see a quetzal, though.

 

As for birds hiding in the Arctic Circle - they can be hard to see if it is very foggy! Although I've been to Alaska twice, never been as far as the circle (closest was Fairbanks). Did have some pretty foggy weather, though (in August-September).

I wanted to see quetzals too but from what I could see, their habitats are too far from cruise ship docks to make an easy shore excursion. We'll be going back to Costa Rica in 2013 for a land trip. We have birding excursions booked for Huatulco, Puntarenas and Ocho Rios. We won't be stopping in the Panama Canal so hoping to see some birds from the ship going through. We only get 4 hours in Colon from 5-9pm so probably no chance there.

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Took an excursion through Celebrity that went to a national park and for a couple of walks through the jungle. One of the guides was a local birder (Louis I believe...) and we did ok - dozen or so. Got to see oropendola nests - think orioles the size of crows, nests 6 feet long! Sloths, some monkeys, and a dream shot of leafcutter ants marching along in column - right across the trail. As I was the one who noticed that (everyone else was looking up) I feel proud.

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When I was in Costa Rica (2003), saw quite a few leaf cutters (right along the highway between the airport and downtown San Jose!), a few oropendolas, slothes, monkeys, too! Tons of tanagers and flycatchers of all different types!

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Strange as it might appear initially, someplace sunny and warm islands aren't similarly endowed along with features which appeal to birds. Elevation, bacteria, moisture and many other factors determine how numerous and what types of wild birds live in every isle. The following advice will show you the very best places to discover the birds you are seeking.

 

1. Karen Island destinations Character Reserve, composed of two small islands within the Ocean off the southeast coast associated with St. Lucia, is home to frigate wild birds, terns and doves. Vessel trips to the Book tend to be arranged by the Street. Lucia Nationwide Trust

 

2. Squealing peacocks, herons and brilliantly coloured parrots are residents from the large walk-in aviary from Barbados Wildlife Reserve at Farley Hill, St. Chris.

 

Three. The 2 streets via Washington/Slagbaai National Recreation area upon Bonaire tend to be well-marked, but so tough you need to generate slowly. Which makes bird-watching for many One hundred thirty varieties all of the easier. At the salt pad close by the park's gate as well as on the actual lagoon close to Playa Funchi, you will find flamingos roosting. Unique parakeets appear to like the territory at the foot associated with Mt. Brandaris.

 

Four. From Great Etang Nationwide Park (the chicken refuge and forest book with kilometers associated with hiking trails in the middle of Grenada) shows from the nearby wildlife at the Grand Etang Woodland Middle will give you advisable of what you may observe in your hikes.

 

Five. Along Francis These types of Path on Street. Steve, you will see white-cheeked pintails, wigeons,pelicans and frigatebirds.

 

6. Regarding 24 species of birds indigenous to Jamaica go to the bird sanctuary at Marshall's Penn Excellent Home. Around the actual sanctuary (by visit only; phone 809/963-8569) tend to be led by Jamaica's top ornithologists.

 

Seven. A lot more than Five hundred tropical birds reside in the aviary at Valombreuse Gardens within Petit-Bourg on the island associated with Guadeloupe.

 

Eight. Easterfield Street as well as Menna Trace in the Mason Hall area of Tobago are both great trails with regard to viewing the actual Blue-Backed Manakin and the Collared Trogon. Within Parlatuvier, Crested Oropendola come by the hundreds in order to roost from sunset in a stand of bamboo bedding at the 4 way stop associated with two streams.

 

9. Other excellent birdwatching spots include the 36-acre animals sanctuary from Little Fort National Recreation area upon Virgin mobile Gorda; saving money route of Christoffel Recreation area within Curacao, house of White-tail Hawks, and then any of the Twelve national parks and five character preserves in the Dominican Republic.

 

Ten. Each and every isle has its citizen ornithologist. Information on where to find her or him is usually offered at tourist centers in the bigger populace facilities.

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I saw a brown-footed booby at St Thomas and a peregrine falcon landed on the stern of the ship as we left St Thomas and posed for me.I saw a brown-footed booby at St Thomas and a peregrine falcon landed on the stern of the ship as we left St Thomas and posed for me.

img_0527t.jpg.fc27c2181f382b0f1c26119c4c5dcf1e.jpg

img_0471.jpg.b25fe4e5cdca5949fd5b4e64d605f644.jpg

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I saw a brown-footed booby at St Thomas and a peregrine falcon landed on the stern of the ship as we left St Thomas and posed for me.I saw a brown-footed booby at St Thomas and a peregrine falcon landed on the stern of the ship as we left St Thomas and posed for me.

 

 

How neat!

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My birding plan for my upcoming cruise (Feb-March 2012) involves several strategies:

 

1. Bird on my own with bins and scope from the decks while at sea for pelagics and hope others may join me ( the more eyes searching the better).

 

2. Book the services of a pro guide for a little serious birding at one port - set up for San Juan Puerto Rico for 3-4 hours late afternoon till dusk, just my husband and I for endemics and Caribbean specialties. :D

 

3. Labadee beach day- try and be among the first ashore and search the shoreline, trees, shrubery thickets ( if any), keep an eye on the skies and ear open and hope I find a few new species.

 

4. In St. Maartin, after a water activity shore excursion with family ( we are 16 people cruising together) where I will have an eye on the sky as much as possible, I plan to head to the nearby salt ponds.

 

Anybody know what I can expect to see there? Ducks, shorebirds, gulls, terns, herons, egrets, ibis, perhaps?

 

5. Sunday on Antigua is still not planned- I have the afternoon available.

 

6. St. Kitts - also still open. I'm leaning toward the rainforest excursion that includes a visit to the Batik place. I read the gardens there are lovely and I suspect could be quite birdy!

 

If anyone has experience birding these sites and can offer comment and a list of what species you have seen- I'd love to hear about it.

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1. arrive couple of days early in San Juan, take the rain forest tour, check out the parks in town and near the harbor mouth.

2. St Croix - contact a member of the local Audubon (haven't done that yet) Got the number & name off the Christmas Bird Count data.

3. St Kitt's - 3rd time there; so get out to the Batik factory and do the gardens while the non-birding wife shops. Then the gardens outside of the town.

4. Dominica - take whatever ship tour offers the most jungle

5. Grenada - got a bird tour guide lined up, hope to split that with more birders on board (we always find each other - it's the bins!)

6. St Thomas - got an Audubon guy lined up, he's pretty cheap at $75 and maybe lunch.

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