31 Jan 2024

31 Jan 24 - ORCA Saga Caribbean Calypso Day 14 - Barbados: Another Unusual Taxi Destination

The previous Blog Post had covered our arrival into Bridgetown, Barbados and the successful trip to see my first Masked Duck. with the first part of the plan completed, it was time to move on to get some better views of some Barbados Bullfinches. One of the good areas on eBird was around the Bridgetown Hilton Hotel. This was about three miles from the port, so it was easy to drop in there on the way back to the port. It was a surprisingly slow drive back to the Hilton Hotel as we got caught in a lot of slow traffic.
This cannon marks the entrance to the Pavilion Court apartment complex: This is part of the old British military hospital compound which was in use from 1789 to 1905 and it has retained a lot of its distinctive colonial look
When we arrived, I saw there was a military cemetery outside of the Hilton complex with some big trees. This looked a better option to visit, rather than to try getting into the Hilton's grounds.
A sign by the military cemetery: Obviously, that excludes the British who first colonised the island in 1625
A memorial to Barbadian merchant seamen who lost their lives in World War II: This was one in a number of interesting memorials in the cemetery. I do enjoy walking around this old cemeteries and looking at the history in the cemetery, whilst looking for Birds
Prime Minister and ex-World War II navigator, Errol Walton Barrow is buried here
There were some decent-sized trees in the military cemetery
I saw the first of several Barbados Bullfinches within a few minutes of entering the cemetery. This was good as I only had about a half hour of time charter left, excluding the time needed to get back to the port.
Zenaida Dove: This is the aurita subspecies which occurs on the Lesser Antilles. Two other subspecies occur on the Bahamas, the Greater Antilles, the Virgin Islands & Mexico
Zenaida Dove: The most prominent species in the cemetery were these Zenaida Doves
It was good to be able to spend a few minutes getting my eye in on these common and pretty Zenaida Doves, which I had been in too much of a rush to look at properly on Grenada & earlier in the day. But I had limited time left on my taxi charter and I carried on further into the cemetery to look for some Barbados Bullfinches. I saw one on the cemetery wall, but it dropped over the far side. Then this one popped up on a gravestone: job done.
Barbados Bullfinch: Both sexes of this endemic species looks very similar to the female Lesser Antillean Bullfinches. I saw several on the drive from Bayfield to the Hilton area as they are a tame & conspicuous species of gardens, scrubland & open woodlands
Brown Anole: This Lizard is native to Cuba & the Bahamas. However, it has been widely introduced elsewhere and it is now found in a number of Southern States of the US, as well as, other Caribbean islands, Mexico & Taiwan
I was back on the ship for a late snack lunch around mid-afternoon. After that I went back ashore with Jan to have a wander around the port area, where she was hoping to find some shops. As we walked along the approach road we failed to find any shops. But we did find a fish processing area, where one of the Fish being cleaned up were one of the local Flying Fish species. There were a few Cattle Egrets getting some easy food there.
The tree-lined approach road to the port
Cattle Egret: This is the ibis subspecies which occurs in Southern Europe East to Iran, Africa, Madagascar, the Seychelles, Aldabra, the Comoros Islands & Mauritius. In the 20th Century this subspecies also colonised North & South America and was introduced to Hawaii
Flying Fish sp.
If only wild Flying Fish had a barcode: Charlotte's newest addition to her menagerie
We gave up on the search for shops & walked back to the ship, On the way back, I spotted a Lizard which turned out to be another Brown Anole & some Hermit Crabs. While we were watching it, some other tourists from another ship spotted a gorgeous-looking, but poisonous, Frangipani Hawk Moth caterpillar.
Brown Anole: I found another Brown Anole on the trees around the port
/Hermit Crab sp.
Brown Anole: Finally, it showed itself
Frangipani Hawk Moth caterpillar: The Frangipani Hawk Moth is native to the tropical & subtropical Americas from the Southern & South West US
Having failed to find any interesting shops outside of the port, Jan & I returned to the ship.
Just double-checking which island we were on
It was all very civilised with music being played which we had celebratory mid-afternoon tea & cakes in the lounge: I was happy having seen both the potential Ticks on Barbados
A map of our route and the islands still to visit

31 Jan 24 - ORCA Saga Caribbean Calypso Day 14 - Barbados: An Unusual Taxi Destination

We were on deck for dawn in the hope of a Cetacean sighting as we approached Barbados. But given it was one of the larger and more populated islands that we were visiting, I wasn't hopeful of any sightings. Sadly, I was correct. All I saw at sea was a couple of Magnificent Frigatebirds and a Red-footed Booby. Soon we were entering the port of Bridgetown.
The first view of the Bridgetown port: Clearly, it was a much bigger port and city compared to the small scale port and St George's in Grenada
I had only looked into the Birding options on the different new islands I was visited. Therefore, I hadn't looked into the size or populations on the islands. I had imagined Barbados to be a nice Caribbean island, but it was clearly a very different from the laid back look of Grenada that I had liked. Barbados is nearly one hundred and seventy square miles with a population of around two hundred and eighty thousand people. So, over twice the population on an island that is only twenty-five percent larger.
We clearly weren't the only tourists in town
These local boats weren't going back out to sea: Maybe the damage from a previous hurricane
As we came into the port, we saw our only Peregrine in the Caribbean section of the trip. We later went on to see a Peregrine in Spain in the final few days. It was time for a late breakfast & to prepare to go ashore.
There was a distant Peregrine on this tower by the port: No doubt, helping to control the island's Feral Pigeons numbers
Peregrine: This is the anatum subspecies which occurs from North America, excluding the tundra to the West Indies and North Mexico
Charlotte researching Barbados: Whilst waiting for husband Terry to come back from giving the Ship's Information Officer the daily ORCA slide
To be fair, there was quite a bit of information on the TV in the rooms about the destinations and various tours that the ship was running: Not that this was of much use to me. But I had sites off eBird for the potential Ticks
When I was looking at potential Ticks on the Lesser Antilles section of the trip, there were a handful of Caribbean endemic species that I hadn't seen. Additionally, there was one other potential Tick that I could see when we were ashore: Masked Duck. This has a widespread range in the Caribbean and Latin America, but, it is sparsely distributed throughout its range. I had looked unsuccessfully for it on previous trips. Looking at eBird, Masked Ducks have been recorded on most of the islands we were visiting, but it was described as uncommon on St Lucia, rare on Barbados & Martinique and a vagrant on the remaining islands. Interestingly, there were a few recent records at Bayfield Pond on Barbados within the last couple of weeks. This was clearly a site that was worth visiting, especially as it was only about fifteen miles from Bridgetown. There were taxis in the port, but they were overpriced and wouldn't barter on price. One of the port staff told me to try outside the port gate. I quickly found a taxi at a more sensible price. Being an ex-British colony, meant that there were no language problems.
Some parts of Barbados looked very American
Barbados drives on the left being an ex-British colony
The further we got from Bridgetown, the housing and roads were looking more run down
Barbados sugar cane fields: When Barbados gained independence in 1966, its economy was dependent upon sugar production. There are still plenty of sugar cane fields. However, tourism & the offshore sector have helped the economy become a lot richer
A disused sugar cane estate windmill
Another local village
I figured that the five hours I had hired the taxi for should allow me more than enough time at Bayfield Pond and it would give me time to have stop somewhere to look for the widespread Barbados Bullfinch. As it turned out, I had brief views of my first Barbados Bullfinch in the port, but I quickly lost it. After about forty-five minutes of driving we arrived at Bayfield Pool.
Bayfield Pond: It's a small pond only thirty or forty metres across and surrounded by houses
Masked Duck: Male. When I arrived there was no sign of the Masked Duck for the first thirty minutes. Then it just appeared. It must have been sleeping in the pool's vegetation up to that point
Masked Duck: Male. I had finally seen my last of the World's Stiff-tail Ducks
Masked Duck: Male. This monotypic species has a wide range from Texas, the West Indies, North Eastern Mexico South to West Ecuador and on the Eastern side of the Andes to Brazil & North Argentina
Masked Duck: Male. I moved around to the road side of the pond where I was a bit closer to the Masked Duck
There was an American Moorhen and a Spotted Sandpiper on the pool. With the pressure off, I spent a few minutes getting photos of both species, albeit neither were close.
American Moorhen: This species is generally called Common Gallinule, but American Moorhen seems a better name
American Moorhen: This is the barbadensis subspecies which is restricted to Barbados. There is another subspecies which occurs across the rest of the Lesser and Greater Antilles. Other subspecies occur throughout the New World from Canada to Argentina & Chile, as well as, on Hawaii
Spotted Sandpiper: This monotypic species breeds in North America and winters throughout Latin America, except for Argentina. A few turn up in the UK every year including the first Poole Harbour record which was seen for a few hours on 5 Nov 23 by the Studland Houseboats
I had seen a Scaly-naped Pigeon flying over, a few Eared Doves & a few Grey Kingbirds. There wasn't a lot else in the area, which was surrounded by wooden houses. Maybe there were a few additional species around the houses including some Barbados Bullfinches. However, the driver had suggested there it wasn't a great area to wander around, albeit the few people I saw were all very friendly. It was time to move on to a site where there had been a few recent Barbados Bullfinch sightings. I will cover that in the next Blog Post.

30 Jan 2024

30 Jan 24 - ORCA Saga Caribbean Calypso Day 13 - Grenada: Our First Caribbean Run Ashore To Grand Etang

In the previous Blog Post, I covered the first half of my run ashore to Grenada: our first Caribbean destination on the Saga Caribbean Calypso cruise. Having seen the two Grenada endemics at Mount Hartman, I reckoned I had enough time to have the best part of an hour at the Grand Etang National Park, looking for the final potential Tick on the island: Lesser Antillean Tanager. I walked quickly backed to the taxi & we left for the Grand Etang. Fortunately, after my problems getting to Mount Hartman, the driver knew how to get to this well-visited National Park.
The upper parts of the island look quite lush as we travelled towards the Grand Etang
The first person I saw on arrival at the Grand Etang National Park was Charlotte. Her opening greeting was to tell me that she hadn't been impressed with the local bus trip up to the mountain. She also said that Jan & Terry were in the shop. I popped back to my taxi & confirmed that it would be OK for the other three to get a lift back to St George's with me. Fortunately, it was a small minivan & there was plenty of space for all of us. After paying the park entrance, I headed off for about thirty minutes towards the lake. Terry decided to join me, knowing that he didn't have to hang around for the appearance of the local bus. We spent some time photographing the local Hummingbirds & Bananaquits.
Green-throated Carib: This is the chlorolaemus subspecies which is restricted to Grenada. The other subspecies occurs on Puerto Rico, the Virgin Islands & the rest of the Lesser Antilles
Green-throated Carib
Bananaquit: This is the aterrima subspecies which occurs on Grenada & the Grenadines. There is a different subspecies on St Vincent
Bananaquit: Overall there are about forty subspecies of Bananaquits described. Bananaquits occurs from the Caribbean & South East Mexico to Peru, Bolivia & North East Argentina
Bananaquit
Bananaquit
Bananaquit: Some of the Lesser Antilles subspecies are this sooty black colouration
Bananaquit: Most of the Bananaquits in their range look similar to this individual photographed on the Guajira Peninsula, Colombia (10 Mar 18)
I just love the vegetation on the branches of old Rainforest trees
After a while, I was convinced that there weren't any Lesser Antillean Tanagers with this group of Hummingbirds & Bananaquits. I decided to continue down towards the lake where Terry had seen the local tourist highlight: the Mona Monkeys.
There was some decent-looking trees around the lake
Also, a few good stands of Bamboo
Mona Monkey: Mona Monkeys are an introduced species, which arrived with some of the large numbers of slaves brought in from West Africa in the eighteenth century
Mona Monkey: Their natural range are the lowland forests of eastern Ghana, Togo, Benin, Nigeria & West Cameroon
These two guys were making money out of group of tourists, having bribed the Mona Monkeys with bananas
I didn't hang around for long at the Mona Monkeys, as I was running out of time to look for my final potential Tick, Lesser Antillean Tanager. This Lesser Antillean endemic also occurs on St Vincent and the Grenadines. But, we were only stopping at Bequia, where there are few eBird records & therefore Grenada was my best location to see it. I returned to the trees where I had been watching the Hummingbirds and Bananaquits, but again I had no success. Fortunately, I bumped into a roving mixed flock as I wandered back to car park, which contained a Lesser Antillean Tanager in it. I watched it for a couple of minutes feeding in some tall Palms, before it flew on. But unfortunately, I failed to get any photos. It was time for us to head back to St George's.
Smooth-billed Ani: This photo was taken through the taxi window when we briefly pulled over to allow a bus to pass on a narrow piece of road. This monotypic species occurs throughout the West Indies, South East Mexico, Costa Rica South to West Ecuador & North Argentina and the Galápagos Islands
As I wandered back along the quayside, I bumped into this immature Loggerhead Turtle swimming just off the quay. After a while it dived underwater & didn't pop up again.
Loggerhead Turtle: Sea Turtles need to return to the surface to breath
Brown Booby: This is my attempt to recreate the photo of the Brown Booby that was seen at the base of the Bishop Rock Lighthouse at the end of Aug 23. It would have been better if the other individual in my photo, had been a Red-footed Booby
Tidal Spray Crab: There were a couple of showy Tidal Spray Crabs on the rocks by the jetty
Tidal Spray Crab: They are found in the Western Atlantic from North Carolina, US to Brazil, as well as, on the Canaries
I headed for the ship in the hope that I would get a better view of the body when it resurfaced. It was a bit too far, so I returned to the quay as the others were emerging from the tourist shops. We had another brief view of the Loggerhead Turtle, before we reboarded the ship. This was the chance for the others to introduce me to tea, coffee and mid-afternoon snacks in the lounge. Normally, we were on deck at this time, so I had missed out on this treat up to this point.
Charlotte's menagerie had grown: Apparently, the Turtle and Manta Ray were hers. But the Octopus and the Flamingo were planned as gifts for young relatives
The profiteroles were gorgeous: But two were only the equivalent of one UK shop bought profiterole
There was a good sunset that evening: It had been a good start to our time ashore in the Caribbean with four Ticks
After the sunset, we headed down for an early evening drink: Time to plan for the next shore run in Barbados