Category: Landbirds

October 27, 2020

Emotions Renewed: Birding on Grand Bahama, One Year After Hurricane Dorian

Martha Cartwright and her five birding companions visited the East End of Grand Bahama (GB) Island one month after Hurricane Dorian in 2019. They have returned one year later to look for signs of recovery and check on the bird populations after the devastating Category 5 Hurricane. Find out what they saw and how felt about the new, recovering landscapes in GB.

It was one year and one week after our first birding trip following Hurricane Dorian, on October 3, 2019. We were the very same group of six birders, revisiting the eastern area of Grand Bahama to see what changes had taken place in one year. The difference, however, was that this year we wore masks and traveled in three cars, rather than in one bus.

Same group of birders behind the masks, in the same location as last year. Left to right – Delores Kellman, recorder, (BirdsCaribbbean’s Administrative Assistant), Shelagh Paton-Ash, Bridget Davis, Gena Granger, and Erika Gates. As usual I’m behind the camera. Erika was busy looking and listening for a Pine Warbler; we spotted three.

The Numbers, Compared

We retraced our footsteps of a year ago, stopping for the same amount of time at each location; this helped us to make comparisons. In 2019 we saw 17 species with a total of 42 birds. In 2020 we saw 30 species with a total of 136 birds. For those of you interested in the details, here is a spreadsheet showing the species and the numbers spotted each year The “bush” was thriving and home to small birds.

The drive East along Grand Bahama Highway – Photo from 2019 on the left & 2020 on the right. Gena Granger commented: “I was encouraged by the greenery, remembering all the brown and black of last year…a tribute to life really, the new, the young, foraging through the existing devastation, making ready for the new generation!”

Owl Hole Road is typical of what we saw all day: The stark, dead pine trees keeping silent vigil over the vibrant undergrowth of bushes, thatch palms, grasses and vines.

The wetlands around Stat Oil were practically empty of wading birds and ducks; we saw a couple of Great Egrets and a few Blue-winged Teals in the wetlands to the east. Below are pictures from this year’s trip—you can see photos from the same locations one year ago here. The pictures speak for themselves.

The eBird locations call this area “Wetlands west of Stat Oil.” The company is now called Equinor (Statoil) South Riding Point. Small warblers were spotted along the track road into the area. I lamented the days of counting yellowlegs, ducks, herons, egrets, swallows, and hearing Red-winged Blackbirds calling over the habitat. What was once a lively, hidden Grand Bahama secret now sits forlorn and abandoned by the birds—at least it was abandoned on this day. When will the birds return? Has anyone tested the water? We need scientists to come and investigate.

A Changed Landscape, Sad Memories

That evening after a full day “out east” we shared our thoughts, and like the contrasts in the habitat, our feelings ran the gamut from positive and upbeat to depressed and sad. For me personally, despite new growth low to the ground, more species and more birds, the day was heartbreaking. I kept remembering years and years spent out east with my late husband, with birding friends. Sad to say, those days are gone. The places we visited then have been bowled over by Dorian’s tidal surge, and our remote beaches are no longer pristine.

Equinor area – Dead pines in the background are a fitting border to this wasteland.

Erika Gates, our Guru, wrote an email to the group that evening, and I think it summarizes the day perfectly.

Erika Gates’ Thoughts: The Loss of the Pine Forest

I am glad that most of you saw many positive things in the recovery of the environment! But I was deeply saddened by the appearance and total loss of our magnificent pine forest ecosystem along with our Bahamian endemic bird species, the Bahama Warbler and the Bahama Yellowthroat, the latter depending on the edge habitat of the pine forest. The Olive-capped Warbler which totally depends on the pine forest is probably also lost to Grand Bahama! We will most likely see another endemic bird, the Bahama Swallow, a secondary cavity nester, move to Andros or South Abaco, looking for non-fragmented pine nesting habitat where a resident Hairy Woodpecker will have provided the cavities!.”

Yes, it was like a miracle to see young pine trees sprouting out of the ashes and devastation we looked at a year ago; however, to attain the height and maturity of the former pine forest to offer new habitat for the above bird species will take 30 to 40 years! And where will they come from? Abaco? The pine forest and National Park in South Abaco fortunately survived Dorian and good numbers of the above bird species have been observed there during the recent BNT survey.

Erika points out the change from last year’s one inch of new growth at Owl Hole.

When I wrote my little book ‘Natives of the Bahamas—A Guide to Vegetation & Birds of Grand Bahama- in 1998, I wrote in my preface of a then recent conservation assessment of the terrestrial eco-regions of the Caribbean by the World Bank in association with the World Wildlife Fund. It stated that the unique Bahamian pine forest is one of the highly endangered ecosystems in the region facing threats from development! Who would have thought that after a two-day storm 22 years later, one of the largest Bahamian Pine forests (the largest being Andros, followed by Abaco and New Providence), where non-fragmented bird habitat covered approx. 250 square miles, would be no more!

Bend in the Road Beach – also known as Pelican Point Wetlands. A lone Semipalmated Plover was seen on our arrival. He did not stay long after we arrived.

Yes, we observed a variety of beautiful fall migratory Warblers on our “One Year After” trip that we began full of hope that morning! We were delighted to record several resident species like Western Spindalis, Thick-billed Vireo, Blue-gray Gnatcatcher at Lucayan National Park’s Blackland Coppice and also found a few shorebirds along the Pelican Point shoreline!

Bridget spotted ten Sanderlings on Bend in the Road Beach. They didn’t seem bothered by our enthusiastic intrusion. Birds! In the wetlands across the road we saw 10 Blue-winged Teals – the only ducks for the day.

We had travelled 6 miles from Casuarina Bridge to Owl Hole Road along a lifeless pine forest and my expectations to find any live pines further east were disappearing. The pine forest habitat we surveyed close-up was a portion of Owl Hole road and the only resident birds we encountered were 3 Pine Warblers, with one male belting out his familiar song! It was music to my ears and also the highlight of my day!

Leaving Owl Hole we were surprised to see a “new” small wetland habitat. Had it always been there, but we couldn’t see it from the road? One Great Egret didn’t have a problem finding it.

In the same “new” wetlands we saw tiny mangrove plants taking root. I count seven in this picture.

The Birders’ Mixed Feelings—Some Hope, Recovery Will Take Time

Bridget Davis: I was encouraged by what I saw. We had a major hurricane and forest fires that hit East End hard. The humans have not all gotten their homes repaired and livable yet. I was happy to see the reconstruction and repair of homes. I think with the salt water and oil intrusion it will be some time for the shore birds to come back. I feel hopeful about the warblers we saw and the green palm trees and new pine trees along the way. Good day for me—until next time.

Lucayan NP- Although Bridget might have gotten to the beach this year, we didn’t try since we hadn’t visited the area in 2019 and our time was limited. That’s for another day.

The always enchanting Ovenbird responded to our scold tape.

Delores Kellman: It was somewhat depressing; especially seeing the death of the Caribbean pine forest. Don’t think I will be around when it comes back to life.

Along Owl Hole Road- Delores jumped out of the car, excited to point out more young pine trees—look closely and you’ll see them. She wrote, “It was somewhat depressing; especially seeing the death of the Caribbean pine forest. Don’t think I’ll be around when it comes back to life.”

Gena Granger: I was encouraged by the greenery, remembering all the brown and black of last year, also with the numbers and quantities of birds. Though discouraged by the devastation of the pine forest, it was encouraging to see pine seedlings. A tribute to life really, the new, the young, foraging through the existing devastation making ready for the new generation!

A pine seedling springs up out of the ashes. But how long will it take to grow to maturity? (Owl Hole Road)

Shelagh Paton-Ash: I’m with Bridget—I guess we were in the optimistic car! When you think about it, Dorian was a cataclysmic event, but one year later, most of the plants are back, some birds are thriving, and many houses are rebuilt or in the process. It takes time to recover from something as catastrophic as Dorian.

Erika’s final comment: I look forward to birding with this group again, appreciating every bird in all the beautiful habitats that we are still so blessed to enjoy on our beloved island.

Just like last year, the ocean can still be seen from the Visitor’s Centre in the Lucayan National Park.

eBird Links for the Sites

Owl Hole Road: https://ebird.org/checklist/S74679183
Lucayan National Park: https://ebird.org/checklist/S74679428
Wetlands West of Stat Oil / Equinor: https://ebird.org/checklist/S74679640
Wetlands East of Stat Oil / Mt. Pleasant: https://ebird.org/checklist/S74685527
Pelican Point Wetlands / Bend in the Road Beach: https://ebird.org/checklist/S74680264
Pelican Point: https://ebird.org/checklist/S74679844
On the ride home: https://ebird.org/checklist/S74732702 one Mangrove Cuckoo flew in front of Shelagh and Bridget’s vehicle.

Martha Cartwright birding: this is my happy birding picture, the day I saw an American Avocet on Grand Bahama, Lewis Yard Wetlands (Photo by Shelagh Paton-Ash)

Martha Cartwright has been an avid birder on GB since 2014. She is particularly fond of shorebirds and participated in BirdsCaribbean’s Conservation Caribbean Shorebirds Workshop in Puerto Rico March, 2019. Together with bird guru-in-chief, Erika Gates, and their close group of Grand Bahama Island Birders, they regularly carry out birding excursions and counts in many habitats on GB and also do a lot of habitat restoration, outreach, and education about birds and nature on the island.

BirdsCaribbean is extremely grateful to all who have donated to our Hurricane Dorian Recovery Fund; donations are providing bird seed, nectars and feeders, replacing equipment and infrastructure lost in the storm and helping to fund bird and habitat surveys and restoration in Grand Bahama and Abaco. We are working with the Bahamas National Trust and other partners on this recovery work. Please click here or here if you would like to help with this work.

Map of Grand Bahama showing sites visited (Map by Aly Ollivierre)

More photos from the 2020 revisit of the eastern area of Grand Bahama to see what changes had taken place in one year. (all photos in this article are by Martha Cartwright with the exception of the photo by Martha above)

Lucayan National Park—looking down into Burial Mound Cave. Divers discovered the human bones of an adult and child from the Lucayan Indian era in about six feet of water. Dives are no longer allowed in the cave. Erika once spotted two young Barn Owls along the ledge. I went back several times hoping to see them, but I never did.

Cuban Tree Frog—the largest native frog in the Bahamas. I read once that as it is in the middle of the food chain, a frog is a sign of a healthy habitat. (Lucayan National Park)

Equinor committed to cleaning up the oil spill after Dorian’s winds blew off the tops of some of their storage tanks. Pictures show the oil has been scraped off the topsoil. But I see no signs of growth in the damaged area. Can you spot any?

An article in The Freeport News in May said Equinor laid off 15 Bahamian workers due to COVID-19. At least the offices got a good clean-up.

Delores trying to see over and through the roadside bushes into the wetlands east of Statoil.

The wetlands seemed healthier on the east side of Stat Oil. We spotted four Great Egrets in the area.

Bend in The Road Beach one year later. The mounds of seaweed from last year are gone, but little remains of what I once considered my favorite beach on Grand Bahama. Lined with casuarina trees, this beach was a favorite camping spot for aging Boy Scouts playing dominoes and cooking boiled fish over small stoves, while I spent my days combing the pristine beach looking for shells. Would that I had been a bird watcher back then.

Bend in The Road Beach- Some heavy equipment had been working in the area; I am not sure for what purpose. Last year we spotted one Laughing Gull and Three Royal Terns. They were not around this year.

At Pelican Point- Bridget has no fallen casuarina tree to lean against this year. It must have been a Herculean job to clear that tree away.

One year later Pelican Point is coming back to life. I don’t know what work the community has done to restore the beach, but what a difference in a year! The rocks are gone, Railroad Vines grow along the sand, dead palm trees have been cleared away and new palm trees sway in the breeze. We enthusiastically waved and cheered at a Brown Pelican cruising down the shoreline.

Pelican Point Rebuilds- In the foreground on the left you can see the church being rebuilt. It was in ruin after Dorian. Bridget commented, “I was encouraged by what I saw. We had a major hurricane and forest fires that hit East End hard. The humans have not all gotten their homes repaired and live able yet. But I was happy to see the reconstruction and repair of homes.”

Pelican Point rebuilds- Loyal to the community, construction workers are busy at work on Saturday. They greeted us with smiles, and one kind man shared two bottles of cold water with this thirsty birder (me) who had run out. He offered a cold beer, but I was tired and had a long drive home. Bahamians are the nicest people in the world. I know we all look forward to getting our tourists back to the island.

Pelican Point beach west of town. This beach west of town hasn’t changed much since last year. A single Black-bellied Plover, four Semipalmated Plovers, and a lone Sanderling were spotted in the area.

High Rock. We didn’t stop in High Rock this year. This settlement has worked hard to clean out debris and rebuild their homes. Even from the “highway” you can see the difference.

This year the long ride home wasn’t through fires and smoke but rather through rains. These very rains that have nurtured the land, that have leached out the salt water, and that have watered the plants and pine seedlings as they take nature’s journey – with roots going down to the soil and leaves upwards to the sunlight. May we all be so grounded, so uplifted, and so resolute on our journeys.

Memorial at the Bridge. We took one last stop at the memorial erected by the Grand Bahama Port Authority to commemorate the loss of life from Dorian. It is located just before the new bridge leading to East End. No one knows the number of lives lost on Grand Bahama. Officially the count is 84, but many persons were never found or included in the count. Missing is all we know, swept away by one of the most powerful hurricanes recorded in the Atlantic Ocean. May they rest in peace.

October 26, 2020

Landbird Monitoring and Conservation in the Caribbean – We Need your Help!

Their entire population of Prairie Warblers spends the winter either in the Caribbean or Florida, making this a very important region for the species. During the winter Prairie Warblers like to live in coastal dry forests, mangroves, woodlands, orchards, and coffee farms; they may even show up in your garden!

BirdsCaribbean’s Bird Monitoring Group Working Group is developing an exciting new regional project to build capacity for more landbird monitoring in the Caribbean. It is essential to increase our knowledge about the status, trends, and habitat use of landbird populations as many species continue to decline. This includes our resident and endemic birds, as well as over 100 migratory species, many of them of conservation concern.

We plan to focus on developing a regional landbird monitoring program (modeled after our successful Caribbean Waterbird Census program). This will include training and resources to carry out:

Standardized Surveys – with different levels of monitoring available, depending on the questions and capacity of local partners,
Bird Banding – assisting partners ready for this step to establish banding stations to answer more detailed questions about movement patterns, habitat use and quality, abundance, survival, etc., and
Motus Tracking – expanding the network of Motus towers in the Caribbean to monitor migrant and resident birds. (the Motus Wildlife Tracking System is an exciting collaborative research network that uses coordinated automated radio telemetry arrays to study movements of small animals – learn more here)

Each of the three areas of monitoring have their strengths and weaknesses and are suited to answering different types of questions about our bird populations. To ensure that we are meeting the needs of local researchers, managers, and communities, we would like to gather information from those who are currently monitoring and/or banding landbirds in the Caribbean, that have done so in the past, or are interested in doing so in the future.

You can help us plan our work by letting us know who you are, what you do, where your activities take place, and how the Bird Monitoring Working group can help you. Just fill out our survey here:

English version: http://bit.ly/LandbirdSurveyEnglish
Spanish version: http://bit.ly/LandbirdSurveySpanish
French version: coming soon!

Your input will help us to design our project with everyone’s background, expertise, and research needs incorporated into the project.The success of this project will depend on the involvement of our many partners across the region, including wildlife professionals, scientists, educators, students, and volunteers/ citizen scientists.

Thank you in advance for your time and help!!!

Note: We recognize that most landbird work will likely be affected by the Covid-19 pandemic, and we understand that your activities this year will be very different from any other year: when filling out the survey, just let us know what you would have done in a ‘normal’ year. Most importantly, we hope that everyone is safe.

Why Landbirds?

The beautiful White-crown Pigeon is an important bird in the Caribbean. It eats fruits of many hardwood trees and helps to regenerate forests by spreading seeds. (photo by Erika Gates)

Landbirds face many threats, including destruction and degradation of their habitats from human causes, such as inappropriate development, deforestation for agriculture, pollution, and invasive species. Severe hurricanes, droughts, and forest fires are also increasing, likely due to climate change. It is vital that we work together to monitor our landbird species so that we can identify the highest priority sites for conservation, restore habitats, and assess the impacts from threats and effectiveness of our conservation actions.

About the Bird Monitoring Working Group

The BirdsCaribbean Bird Monitoring Working Group is a committee that works to promote and support monitoring efforts throughout the Caribbean. The long-term vision of the group is to enable Caribbean stakeholders to build high-quality bird monitoring and training programs that have regional relevance and significance because of shared species and habitats. Within this context, the goals of the Working Group are to:

Foster inter-island cooperation and collaboration in the regional monitoring of shared species of birds (including neotropical migrants) and their associated habitats;
Work to significantly increase the number of skilled field biologists living in the region;
Build regional capacity to carry out standardized monitoring and training programs, including bird banding.

You can find more information on the objectives, history, and activities of the Bird Monitoring Working Group here.

Any questions about the survey, please contact Maya Wilson or Lisa Sorenson.

For more information on Caribbean birds visit:

Complete Checklist of the Birds of the West Indies

Endemic Bird of the Day – natural history information, photos, videos, puzzles, activities, and more on 50 of our 171 Caribbean endemics

Migratory Bird of the Day – natural history information, photos, videos, puzzles, activities, and more on than 35 migratory species in the Caribbean.

January 5, 2016

Mt. Hartman Reborn: A Showcase for One of the World’s Rarest Birds, the Grenada Dove

The Grenada Dove, one of the world's rarest birds. (Photo by Greg Homel) — The Grenada Dove, one of the world’s rarest birds. (Photo by Greg Homel)

Listening along the hillsides of the Mt. Hartman Estate, you can hear the mournful call of the Grenada Dove, one of the world’s most critically endangered birds. It is a shy and elusive bird, staying well within the forested hills and valleys of the estate, and very rarely seen outside of the forest canopy. The Mt. Hartman Estate, one of only two locations in the world where this bird lives, has been transformed over the last few years into one of the region’s premiere education and outreach centers, focused on the Grenada Dove.

The Grenada Dove is brown with a white belly, a light pinkish brown upper chest and neck, and a grayish forehead that extends up from the bill. Its legs, feet and bare skin around the eyes are a bright crimson red. The adults show a white belly, no markings on wings, outer tail feathers tipped with white, and a strip of white feathers that extends from its side up around the bend of the wing.

Though rarely seen, male Grenada Doves call for long periods during the breeding season with a single, descending note about a second in duration that is repeated every seven to eight seconds and can be heard up to 100 metres away. Because of the topography of the Grenada Dove’s habitat, calling males from the hillsides can be heard in valleys outside of dove habitat.

A viewing tower was erected in the park.

Habitat loss and predation by introduced invasive species such as mongoose, rats and cats are the primary threats facing the dove. Not having evolved with these introduced ground predators and sensitive to direct disturbance, a dove flushed from a perch will fly to the ground and attempt to run away, making them easy prey. Like most doves, the Grenada Dove spends most of its time scouring the ground for seeds. Although nests are located in trees, these are easily preyed on by rats. Nestlings shift to the ground at about 14 days old, making them as well as adults easy prey on the ground.

These habits continue to place the dove at risk. With funding from American Bird Conservancy and the Mohamed bin Zayed Species Conservation Fund, the Grenada Dove Conservation Programme and the Forestry and National Parks Department began to implement predator control programs at both the Mt. Hartman National Park and Perseverance Protected Area and Dove Sanctuary in 2013. Very high numbers of predators were caught at both sites—more mongoose at Mt. Hartman than Perseverance, but more rats at Perseverance—and it is well understood that continued predator control is urgently needed. Due to limited funding, control has been limited to key breeding areas. A predator-proof fence would provide the best protection, but financing for this endeavor has not yet been secured.

The visitor center is now a popular attraction for school groups.

Starting late in 2013, the Grenada Dove Conservation Programme and the Forestry and National Parks Department have been working to make it easier to hear, see, learn about, and appreciate Grenada’s unique endemic National Bird and its habitat, the dry coastal forests of Grenada and the Mt. Hartman National Park. Through a generous grant from the Sandals Foundation, and with additional help from BirdsCaribbean, the Critical Ecosystem Partnership Fund and the US Fish and Wildlife Service, they have created new interpretative displays at the Mt. Hartman National Park and Visitor Center, developed outreach materials targeting the broader public, and carried out a school programme for elementary students in the Parish of St. George’s about Grenada’s unique species, the Mt. Hartman National park.

Billboards were placed at parish boundaries. (Billboard design by Madelaine Smith, photo by Greg Homel/Natural Encounters) — Billboards were placed at parish boundaries. (Billboard design by Madeleine Smith, photo by Greg Homel/Natural Encounters)

Initial activities in this project began with the pro-bono assistance of wildlife photographer, Greg Homel. He captured gorgeous photos of the dove that enabled us to include enlarged images on our outreach materials, including billboards at all parish boundaries island-wide. Though easily heard with a distinct call, the Grenada Dove is difficult to see in the forest. The idea was to bring the dove to Grenadians, residents and visitors alike on their daily commutes.

After Hurricane Ivan in 2004, funds allocated for interpretation at the Mt. Hartman Visitor Center from the GEF/World Bank funded Grenada Dry Forest Biodiversity Conservation Programme needed to be reallocated for the complete rebuilding of the Visitor Center at Mt. Hartman. The activities carried out by the Grenada Dove Conservation Programme, with the Forestry and National Parks Department, enabled us to supplement existing interpretation at the site, including building a 20ft viewing tower surrounded by dry forests, at the edge of Grenada Dove habitat. Being still and with patience, one may see this elusive bird! The tower’s location enabled visitors to hear calling doves, and experience the dry forest and its wildlife, including anoles, birds and lizards. At the entrance to the short trail leading to the tower, an outdoor bird identification display featuring Grenada’s bird species has been erected that identifies endemic, resident and migratory birds. BirdsCaribbean provided the template.

Interpretive signage in the visitor center showcases the dove and its dry forest habitat.

Multiple 8-foot tall indoor wall displays in the Mt. Hartman Visitor Center tell the Grenada Dove story in a larger than life fashion. With numerous descriptive photos and information, both youth and adults are targeted. These displays cover the dry forests, the dove itself, its habitat and threats. At child height, the 8 sq. ft. tabletop 3D relief map shows visitors the hills and peninsula that make up the Mt. Hartman National Park.

Posters, stickers and a brochure full of pictures on the Mt. Hartman National Park and its wildlife were designed and printed, both for display island-wide in government buildings, schools and tourist establishments as well as for distribution to students in our school outreach programme. Having developed an elementary school presentation, Forestry and National Department staff visited over 20 schools, and are continually getting called to present to more grades and schools island-wide.

The Project’s goal is to bring more students and visitors to the Mt. Hartman National Park to experience Grenada’s forests and unique biodiversity first hand.

Vistitors can learn about many of the area's native birds. — Vistitors can learn about many of the area’s native birds.

The Grenada Dove, IUCN listed as Critically Endangered, is found only on the island of Grenada. With a total population of around 160 individuals*, it is one of the rarest birds in the world. Found only on 2 locations on Grenada, its population is declining primarily due to loss and degradation of its specialized habitat and predation by invasive predators such as mongoose and rats. The Grenada Dove Conservation Programme, in collaboration with the Forestry and National Parks and international collaborators for the last 20 years, is working to keep this unique species from extinction through habitat protection, research, species management, stakeholder participation, and education.

By Bonnie Rusk, Founding Director, Senior Biologist at Grenada Dove Conservation Programme

Visit this page to learn more about the Grenada Dove and download free educational resources:

From the Nest – Day 21

*Frank Rivera et al., 2015. Distance sampling survey and abundance estimation of the critically endangered Grenada Dove (Lepotila wellsi). The Condor: Ornithological Applications 117:87-93.