Participants from left to right: Mariann Chamberlain, Chas Tuchel, Judith Dawkins, Jill Cooper, Delores Kellman, Erika Gates, Louise Durocher, Linda Barry-Cooper, Duncan Mullis, Dr. Clarence Green (Photo by Christopher Baker)
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Grand Bahama Island, The Bahamas - During the groups November
fieldtrip several sites within the Freeport area were visited and exciting new
finds were recorded.
At the Ruby Golf Course a new
bird for most of the participants was a Savannah Sparrow, a small seed-eating
migrant that may begin its fall journey as far north as Alaska or the arctic
circle and travel all the way to Southern California, Mexico, Florida and the Bahamas
to spend the winter. Everybody had a good view of this long-distance traveler
as it perched comfortably in a small bush for the longest time. 16 species were
observed at the Ruby.
Savannah Sparrow by Linda Barry-Cooper
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Another stop was made at
Freeport Pineridge Landfill, where the participants were able to record two
additional new species, a Wood Stork which hails from Florida and has made the
landfill its home since early fall. It is a rarity in the Bahamas since this
species does not migrate. The second new bird was a Northern Pintail duck,
another long-distance migrant, raising its family as far north as Northern
Canada and Alaska. It flies in formation
in flocks to its wintering grounds in subtropical regions. 17 species were
observed at the Landfill.
Wood Stork by Dr. Clarance Green
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Northern Pintail by Duncan Mullis
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The third site visited was
the Eggfarm which produced amongst 14 sightings a female Painted Bunting, which
is a rather drab olive colored bird as
opposed to the male of the species which is the most colorful bird in North
America. Its beauty is often its downfall in Cuba where the bird is frequently
trapped and sold as a cage bird! The other interesting species was a Wilson’s
Snipe, another long-distant migrant from the north with interesting bold
striping and a very long bill for probing in muddy edges of ponds and wetlands.
Two male Painted Buntings at the Gates’ home by Helen Blake
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It had been a productive
birding morning and several “lifers” were recorded by the participants. Two
members of the Grand Bahama Birding Group were presented with the “Birds of the
Bahamas” certificate for having reached a milestone of 150 observations. The
certificate is sponsored by the Bahamas Ministry of Tourism and Grand Bahama
Nature Tours to encourage residents and visitors to get out there into the
beautiful Bahamian bird habitat and record with their sightings, with eBird,
the largest database in the world maintained by Cornell University’s Lab of
Ornithology.
Wilson’s Snipe by Gordon Sherman
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Species observed on November
21st have been submitted to eBird and may be accessed at www.ebird.org under “Explore Data”, “Explore a Region”, enter
Freeport and click on checklists of Freeport Pineridge Landfill, Ruby Golf
Course and Eggfarm.
Our next Fieldtrip will be
conducted on December 19th. We will explore the western part of the
island. Meeting at the Gates’ home at 8:00 am. Bus will be available. Please
reserve your seat by emailing erikagatesgb@aol.com
We also like to receive your
confirmation if you intend to participate in the 2015 Christmas Bird Count
which will be conducted on Monday, Jan. 4th , 2016 in Westend and
Tuesday, Jan. 5th, 2016 in
the Freeport/Lucaya area.
Erika Gates presents Chas Tuchel and Linda Barry-Cooper with certificates
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Erika Gates is
owner
of Kayak Nature Tours (one of the first Eco-Tour businesses in The
Bahamas); co-founder of the Ecotourism Association; a published writer;
and a Cacique award winner! Her column
Bird Talk will enlighten and educate us about birds of The Bahamas, as well as the importance of Ecology. Erika can be reached at
gbntours@hotmail.com or (242) 373-2485
