Photos with this report (click to enlarge) | |||
 Lesser Black-Backed Gull |
 Antillean Crested Hummingbird |
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My family (mom, dad, wife and baby) and I took a Southern Caribbean cruise on the Vision of the Seas (Royal Caribbean) from March 29 – April 5, 2009. The cruise was roundtrip out of Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic. We had booked the cruise because it was scheduled to make stops in Guadeloupe and Martinique (two of the three Lesser Antilles Islands that we had not visited). However, riots/strikes began in both countries in January 2009. In mid-February, Royal Caribbean changed the itinerary replacing Guadeloupe and Martinique with Antigua and St. Kitts. The situation remained unsettled in Guadeloupe and Martinique until 1month prior to departure, but Royal Caribbean kept the new itinerary (without Guadeloupe and Martinique). Thus, we did not go to the two islands that we most wanted to visit. This report focuses on bird opportunities on a Southern Caribbean cruise.
Itinerary
March 29: depart Santo Domingo
March 30: at sea.
March 31: Antigua (originally scheduled as Guadeloupe)
April 1: St. Kitts and Nevis (originally scheduled as Martinique)
April 2: Barbados
April 3: St. Lucia
April 4: at sea
April 5: return to Santo Domingo
Guides: We were self guided for the entire cruise.
Timing of the trip: Cruise ships go to southern Caribbean from December to April. April is the peak month for birding the Lesser Antilles (Caribbean specialties are most vocal and seabirds nesting).
Field Guides: We used the field guide “Birds of the West Indies” by Herbert Raffaele and others, published in 2003. It adequately depicts the expected species. We also had the CD, Bird Songs of the Antilles, “Oiseaux des Antilles”. Most of this CD is in French but the names are also provided in English.
Weather & Clothing: We went at the end of the dry season. The weather was sunny and warm. We had light rain only on one morning (in St. Lucia).
Biting animals: We had no problems with any biting animals (mosquitos, snakes, etc). Fer-de-Lance lives on St. Lucia but few bites occur on the island.
Advice: The initial Royal Caribbean itinerary (including Guadeloupe, Martinique, St. Lucia, and Barbados) is a good way to see some of the Lesser Antilles. The changed itinerary is not. My wife and I had gone island hopping through the Lesser Antilles in April 2008 and specifically skipped Barbados, Guadeloupe and Martinique as we planned to pick up those islands on this particular cruise. Guadeloupe and Martinique are difficult to travel to because of the limited number of flights from other Lesser Antillean islands. Furthermore, island hopping through the Lesser Antilles is expensive as lodging is expensive and flights between islands are often US$100/person or more. (the cruise concept was much cheaper). There are two big limitations with cruise ship birding through the Lesser Antilles: 1) The ship arrives at port from 7-8am. Thus you may miss the early morning in the best areas. The ships tend to depart port between 5-6pm. Thus, you miss the late afternoon and night on the island. The afternoon departure time eliminates nocturnal species (Rufous Nightjars on St. Lucia, Barn/Ashy-Faced Owls on Grenada, etc). 2) Arranging ground transportation from Lesser Antillean ports can be difficult. Taxis are available at all port stops but it would be very, very expensive to rent a taxi for the day. Alternatively, you would rent a car but you would need to get to a car rental area which is not always at the port (often only available at the airport).
Pelagic birding: The Caribbean Sea is not known for great pelagic birding. I was able to spend several hours of pelagic birding from the ship. I did not bring a scope which is useful on the large cruise ships so I was restricted to pelagic birding only with binoculars. I birded from our 8th floor balcony, the 10th floor deck and 4th floor deck. Pelagic birds identified from the ship while at sea included:
Greater Shearwater: a single bird on the morning of March 30 (south of Puerto Rico)
Audubon’s Shearwater: two birds on March 30 (south of Puerto Rico)
Red-billed Tropicbird: a single adult flew by the boat on the morning of April 4
Masked Booby: an adult flew around the boat for 20 minutes on the morning of April 4.
Bridled Tern: multiple birds seen on both March 30 and April 4 while at sea. The largest group consisted of 19 birds.
Specific Locations and advice for each island:
Antigua: Antigua has no endemics but is a reportedly reliable location for Bridled Quail Dove and Caribbean Coot. A taxi from the port to the airport (for a rental car) would run US$20. I did not see a rental car agency in town. We spent the morning walking around town. In the afternoon, my dad and I hired a taxi to go across the island to the big lakes/dam (Potsworth Dam and Collins Dam). This cost us US$50 total roundtrip. In the morning, when we asked the price for a taxi to Potsworth Dam, it was much higher (US$75). Realize that you can negotiate the price but it is much easier to negotiate in the afternoon than in the morning (much more demand in the morning with the number of people getting off the cruise ship). McKinnons Salt Ponds are accessible by foot from the port at St. Johns (it is a good area for shorebirds).
We ultimately birded Potsworth Dam (while our taxi waited with us) and Collins Dam (body of water just north of Potsworth Dam). All the taxi drivers in town will have maps and Potsworth Dam was listed on all these maps (it is located in the east/central part of the island).
Antigua Bird List
Brown Pelican
Magnificent Frigatebird
Great Blue Heron
Great Egret
Tricolored Heron
Snowy Egret
Little Egret - St John's Harbor, one bird in breeding plumage. Several birds were documented on the island in 2008. Perhaps recently arrived to the island.
Green Heron
White-cheeked Pintail: a couple birds in a small roadside pond on the way to Potsworth Dam
Masked Duck: in reeds at Collins Dam
Common Moorhen
Caribbean Coot – two at Collins Dam
Black-necked Stilt
Solitary Sandpiper
Ring-billed Gull – one in St. John’s Harbor
Lesser Black-backed Gull – one immature in St. John’s Harbor, photographed
Laughing Gull
Least Tern – one at McKinnons Salt Ponds
White-crowned Pigeon
Zenaida Dove
Antillean Crested Hummingbird
Belted Kingfisher
Caribbean Elaenia - subspecies riisii
Gray Kingbird
Yellow Warbler
Bananaquit -subspecies bartholemica
Lesser Antillean Bullfinch - subspecies ridgwayi
Grassland Yellow-Finch
Carib Grackle
St. Kitts and Nevis: St. Kitts is actually two islands (St. Kitts proper and Nevis). The better birding is on Nevis. Unfortunately, it is not feasible to bird Nevis in one day if you are arriving on St. Kitts. We did essentially no birding on this day. There is a rental car agency in town just south of the port exit terminal. I understand a one day driver’s license for St. Kitts and Nevis is US $25.
St. Kitt’s Bird List
Brown Pelican
Brown Booby
Magnificent Frigatebird
Ruddy Turnstone
Royal Tern
Rock Pigeon
Zenaida Dove
Common Ground-Dove
Gray Kingbird
Bananaquit - subspecies bartholemica
Barbados: Barbados has one endemic species - Barbados Bullfinch. It is easy. Some have seen it by simply looking out the window at the airport (while waiting for a flight connection between Lesser Antillean islands).
The island has a long history of vagrancy (especially birds of European origin). This is the most reliable location for Little Egret in the new world. There is a rental car agency immediately upon exiting the dock terminal. They have a website
http://www.argusrentals.com/North-America/Barbados/car-rental-car-hire-Cruise-Dock-(Barbados).html Barbados Ship Dock Car Rental. We rented from this agency without problem, but they did run out of cars at the site later in the day (good idea to have a reservation or get there immediately after docking). Taxis are expensive. I saw no need for 4 wheel drive.
We birded three areas: Graham Hall swamp, Chancery Lane Swamp, and Orchid World (http://www.barbados.org/sightseeing/orchidworld/index.htm). Orchid World
Graham Hall Swamp is on the north side of the main road just east of Worthing (just north of Worthing Beach). It is signed, but it was closed when we tried to go. Chancery Lane is on the southeast end of the island, about 0.5 miles south of the airport runway. We accessed it from the north end (you can not see it from the main road on the north side, you have to turn into a small subdivision to view the swamp area).
You can find all three of these sites by typing in their name with Barbados into Google maps (http://maps.google.com/). Google Maps
Barbados Bird List
Snowy Egret
Little Egret – One bird at the Chancery Lane Swamp
Cattle Egret
Green Heron
Semipalmated Plover – Chancery Lane Swamp
Greater Yellowlegs - Chancery Lane Swamp
Lesser Yellowlegs - Chancery Lane Swamp
Least Sandpiper – several in wet ditches in Bridgetown. Also some small peeps at Chancery Lane Swamp were likely this species
Rock Pigeon
Scaly-naped Pigeon
Zenaida Dove
Common Ground-Dove
Green-throated Carib
Caribbean Elaenia - subspecies barbadensis
Gray Kingbird
Caribbean Martin
Black-whiskered Vireo
Northern Waterthrush
Bananaquit - subspecies barbadensis
Black-faced Grassquit
Barbados Bullfinch –very common. We got the first one about 1-2 miles east of the ship dock and saw plenty throughout the day, in all locations. You do not need a rental car to see this species. You could simply walk east (after you exit the port shopping area) along the main road and eventually you will see one.
Carib Grackle
St. Lucia: I previously birded this island in spring 2008. Please see my detailed trip report on Surfbirds for locations and directions. I updated contact information on that report with information gathered on this trip:
http://www.surfbirds.com/trip_report.php?id=1423 St. Lucia Bird trip report April 2008
On this trip, our ship docked on the north side of the harbor (there is also a cruise ship dock on the south side of the harbor). I am not sure which terminal is most commonly used, but I believe it is the south terminal. On our trip, we got off the ship at 7am and took a taxi to the airport so that we could rent a car (the taxi cost US $10). There are two rental car agencies in the shops at the north ship terminal. These open at 8am so you could save yourself the cost and hassle of going to the airport if you wait to 8am (however, that wastes time in the morning).
On this trip, we rented a two wheel drive (we did not get a 4 wheel drive) at the airport. We drove straight to Millet Bird Trail, stopping only to look at the birds in the marsh south of Castries. We birded (in the rain) at the Millet Bird Trail and got all the expected St. Lucian specialties there. We then drove to the Union Forestry Building (birded behind the buildings) and finally stopped at several scrubby areas near Union. We had time to go to Gran Anse and look for St. Lucia Wren and Masked Duck but chose not to. We did not have time to go to Ravine La Chaloupe (for White-breasted Thrasher). Thus, it is possible (from a cruise ship) to get all the St. Lucian endemics in one day, but you would have time issues if you tried to do both Millet Bird trail and Ravine la Chalouple (If everything went perfect, you could do it, but trying to do Millet Bird trail and Ravine La Chalouple risks missing the boarding time at the ship.)
Birds and Reference material: St. Lucia has three to five endemic species depending on your reference. St. Lucia Parrot, St Lucia Oriole and St. Lucia Black Finch are well accepted species. St. Lucia Pewee is split from Lesser Antillean Pewee by most (when split the complex is Puerto Rican Pewee, Lesser Antillean Pewee and St. Lucian Pewee). St. Lucia House Wren is split by some.
St. Lucia Bird List
Great Egret
Snowy Egret
Cattle Egret
Green Heron
Green-winged Teal
Blue-winged Teal
Broad-winged Hawk – Millet Bird Trail
American Kestrel
Common Moorhen
Solitary Sandpiper
Greater Yellowlegs
Laughing Gull
Rock Pigeon
Scaly-naped Pigeon
Zenaida Dove
Bridled Quail-Dove – remarkably we flushed a Bridled Quail Dove again on the island.
St. Lucia Parrot – two birds flying over Millet Bird Trail. The earlier you arrive at this location the better for this species.
Mangrove Cuckoo – Millet Bird Trail
Purple-throated Carib – Millet Bird Trail
Green-throated Carib
Antillean Crested Hummingbird
Caribbean Elaenia
St. Lucian (Lesser Antillean) Pewee – Union Forestry Building (at the stream), responded to tape.
Gray Kingbird
Lesser Antillean Flycatcher – two at Millet Bird Trail, subspecies sanctaeluciae
Tropical Mockingbird
Gray Trembler – one at Millet Bird Trail, subspecies macrorhyncha
Scaly-breasted Thrasher – Millet Bird Trail
Black-whiskered Vireo
St. Lucia Warbler – several at Millet Bird Trail
Bananaquit -subspecies martinicana
Black-faced Grassquit
St. Lucia Black Finch – a male and female at the start of Millet Bird Trail.
Lesser Antillean Bullfinch - subspecies sclateri
Lesser Antillean Saltator – responded to tape in scrub near Union Forestry Building. Another bird was seen in scrub near the airport.
Carib Grackle
Shiny Cowbird – three on the fence at the airport
St. Lucia Oriole – two birds at Millet Bird Trail
Feel free to email me with any questions,
Jim Holmes
Sacramento, CA
jfholmes AT ucdavis.edu
Entire Cruise Trip List
Pied-billed Grebe
Greater Shearwater
Audubon's Shearwater
Red-billed Tropicbird
Brown Pelican
Masked Booby
Brown Booby
Magnificent Frigatebird
Great Blue Heron
Great Egret
Tricolored Heron
Snowy Egret
Little Egret
Cattle Egret
Green Heron
Green-winged Teal
White-cheeked Pintail
Blue-winged Teal
Masked Duck
Broad-winged Hawk
American Kestrel
Common Moorhen
Caribbean Coot
Black-necked Stilt
Semipalmated Plover
Solitary Sandpiper
Greater Yellowlegs
Lesser Yellowlegs
Ruddy Turnstone
Least Sandpiper
Ring-billed Gull
Lesser Black-backed Gull
Laughing Gull
Bridled Tern
Least Tern
Royal Tern
Rock Pigeon
White-crowned Pigeon
Scaly-naped Pigeon
Zenaida Dove
Common Ground-Dove
Bridled Quail-Dove
St. Lucia Parrot
Mangrove Cuckoo
Purple-throated Carib
Green-throated Carib
Antillean Crested Hummingbird
Belted Kingfisher
Caribbean Elaenia
Lesser Antillean Pewee
Gray Kingbird
Lesser Antillean Flycatcher
Caribbean Martin
Tropical Mockingbird
Gray Trembler
Scaly-breasted Thrasher
Black-whiskered Vireo
Yellow Warbler
St. Lucia Warbler
Northern Waterthrush
Bananaquit
Black-faced Grassquit
St. Lucia Black Finch
Lesser Antillean Bullfinch
Barbados Bullfinch
Grassland Yellow-Finch
Lesser Antillean Saltator
Carib Grackle
Shiny Cowbird
St. Lucia Oriole