West Indies & Bermuda: Spring 2025

Waterfowl to Gulls

A Fulvous Whistling-Duck, now an annual visitor, was seen at Fosters, Barbados on 13 May (Michael St. John). A Gadwall first seen at Fosters, Barbados on 11 Nov 2024 was last seen on 2 Mar (Eddie Massiah). An American Black Duck continued its stay into the spring, seen at Pointe des Chateaux, Guadeloupe on 3 Mar (Mattéo Antoine et al). A breeding plumage male Ruddy Duck was seen at Kendal Pond, St. John Barbados from 15–23 Mar (Quincy Clarke). Since Hurricane Maria (2017) devastated Vieques Island, Puerto Rico, this is the first spring season that White-crowned Pigeons were frequently reported with a high count of 12 at Laguna Playa Grande on 12 May (Daphne Gemmill, Erick Bermúdez). A Short-tailed Swift was at Cité Etoile, Martinique on 21 May (David Belfan). A very rare Common Swift was noted at Prior Park, St. James, Barbados on 13 May with photo confirmation obtained at Cambridge, St. Joseph on 22 May (Julian Moore) and last seen 26 May. A Purple Gallinule was seen in St. Vincent and the Grenadines at Cotton House Ponds from 10–14 May (Kate Charles). A Double-striped Thick-knee was a good record on Great Inagua, Bahamas on 15 Mar (Carolyn Wardle et al). A Black-necked Stilt remained at Spittal Pond, Bermuda from 7 Apr–4 May (Paul Watson); with another present at various Barbados locations from 12 Apr–31 May+ (Eddie Massiah). A rare sighting of a Black-necked Stilt was made at Blue Lagoon, St. George, St. Vincent and the Grenadines on 17 Apr (Kate Charles). An American Oystercatcher was present at North Point, St. Lucy, Barbados from 4–10 May (Eddie Massiah).

An American Golden Plover was photographed at Port Royal, Saint Andrew, Jamaica on 28 Mar (Fraser Bell); with a further record at Petit Marais de Port-Louis, Guadeloupe on 16 Apr (Anthony Levesque). A Pacific Golden-Plover was at Congo Road Private Impoundment, St. Philip, Barbados from 11 Apr–14 May (Julian Moore)—most likely the same bird from January but now in breeding plumage. Two Red Knot were reported from Princess Diana Beach, Barbuda on 20 Apr (Dan and Maria Ceravolo). Single White-rumped Sandpipers were seen at Barrage de Gaschet, Guadeloupe on 2 May (Anthony Levesque) and at La Sarcelle, Martinique on 19 May (David Belfan). A Pectoral Sandpiper was on Barrage de Gaschet, Guadeloupe from 8–21 Apr with another bird arriving on 7 May (Anthony Levesque); and one on Barbados at Fosters Private Impoundment from 4–10 May (Niels Larsen). A Ruff was photographed at Salinas de Cabo Rojo NWR, Puerto Rico on 4 Apr (Brian Cammarano). A Long-billed Dowitcher seen at Woodbourne Shorebird Refuge, Barbados on 15 Mar (Quincy Clarke) then relocated to Padmore Village, St. Philip on 17 Mar (John Webster). Three early Parasitic Jaegers were seen passing Cooper’s Point, Bermuda on 31 Mar (Paul Watson); while another was photographed from a trawler about 90 kms to the southeast of Grenada on 7 May (Kenrith Carter). A Great Skua passed Cooper’s Point, Bermuda on 14 May (Paul Watson). Three South Polar Skuas were seen during a sea watch at Pointe des Chateaux, Guadeloupe on 13 May (Anthony Levesque). A Sabine’s Gull was well described passing Cooper’s Point, Bermuda on 29 May (Paul Watson). A Black-headed Gull was reported from Greenbridge Beach, Saint George’s, Grenada on 28 Mar (Ajhermae White). A Franklin’s Gull was photographed at Triscornia, La Habana, Cuba on 29 Mar (Orlando Llerena). A Ring-billed Gull was an unusual sighting in St. Vincent and the Grenadines at Port Elizabeth, Bequia on 12 Mar (Tom Baxter).

Terns to Thrushes

Observations of terns on Vieques Island, Puerto Rico included Bridled Terns (3) at Punta Negra on 16 May (including one on a nest) (Daphne Gemmill, Erick Bermúdez); a season high count of Least Terns (42) at Laguna Sombe on 14 May (Daphne Gemmill, Olga Félix); Roseate Terns (5) at Roca Alcatraz on 17 May (Daphne Gemmill, Mike Barandiaran); a Common Tern at Mosquito Pier on 11 May (Daphne Gemmill); a Sandwich Tern at Laguna Sombe on 22 May (Mark Martin); and a season high count of 25 Royal Terns at Mosquito Pier on 8 May (Daphne Gemmill, Erick Bermúdez). Guadeloupe recorded its first Black Skimmer in the Petit Cul-de-sac Marin from 29 Apr–3 May (per Anthony Levesque). A Black-capped Petrel was nicely photographed at banc Flandre (Crabier) off the east end of Guadeloupe on 22 Apr (Laurent Bouveret). A Cory’s Shearwater was seen 20 kms off the SW coast of St. Lucia on 9 Mar (Tom Baxter). A Masked Booby was photographed offshore, north of Bermuda on 19 Apr (James Collins); and two were seen from a cruise ship 8 miles to the west of George Town, Grand Cayman on 28 Apr (Sharon Pratt, Michael Pratt). Two Northern Gannets were seen from a cruise ship off Bimini, Bahamas on 10 Mar (George Graves). The long-staying American White Pelican on McKinnon’s Saltpond, St. John’s, Antigua and Barbuda was seen from 25 Mar–10 May (Jermaine Jarvis); while two were unusual at Parque Nacional Manglares del Bajo Yuna, Samaná, Dominican Republic on 5 Mar (Marta Curti). One Brown Pelican flew by Oistins Bay, Christ Church, Barbados on 20 Mar (Lynn Vasilopoulos, David Farmer). A Little Egret was amongst Snowy Egrets at Eau Piquant Pond, St. Lucia on 23 Apr (Ben Lagasse). A Western Reef-Heron continued its stay at McKinnon’s Saltpond, Antigua and Barbuda until 30 Mar (Giles Osborne). A Striated Heron made an annual appearance at the SBRC Pond, Mangrove, St. Thomas, Barbados on 24 Apr (Julian Moore). In Dominica, Black-crowned Night Herons are being seen more frequently, including three at the Roseau River mouth on 10 May (Garry Auguiste).

A Swallow-tailed Kite over Spring Benny Road on 2 Mar (Eva Bottelli) was the first of many single sightings across Bermuda to 14 Apr, with four birds seen together over Warwick on 10 Mar (LeShun Smith). An adult male Snail Kite was at Renegade Rum Swamplands, St. Andrew, Grenada on 10 May (Kenrith Carter et al). A White-tailed Hawk, first seen 30 Apr 2024, continued to be seen at various locations in Barbados to 31 May+ (Julian Moore et al). A Sharp-shinned Hawk was photographed at Colliers Pond on 17 Apr (Peter Davey). Monk Parakeets, which were first reported in April 2021, are now firmly established on Vieques Island, Puerto Rico with at least 4 colonies including a spring high count of 12 at the Ensenada Sombe colony on 19 Mar (Mikey and Jo Lutmerding). In Barbados, single Fork-tailed Flycatchers were seen at Long Pond, St. Andrew from 21 Mar–12 Apr (Ocean Campbell) and Long Beach, Christ Church on 24 Mar (Quincy Clarke); and a further record from La Désirade, Guadeloupe on 25 Apr (Muriel Aboso, Anthony Levesque). Vieques Island, Puerto Rico recorded its first spring record and fourth island record of White-eyed Vireo on Mt. Pirata on 21 Mar (Mikey and Jo Lutmerding). Single Blue-headed Vireos, scarce in Bermuda, were seen in the Arboretum on 6 Apr and at Ferry Point Park on 13 Apr (Joanne Smith, David Wingate). Black-whiskered Vireo is rare in Bermuda, but one was present at Ferry Point Park from 13–8 May and two were seen at Ruth’s Point on 15 Apr (Paul Watson). A single Northern Rough-winged Swallow was photographed in East Grand Bahama on 13 Apr (Martha Cartwright). A Cliff Swallow provided an unusual spring record on Antigua and Barbuda, photographed at Galley Bay, St, John’s on 20 Mar (JP). Vieques Island, Puerto Rico recorded its second spring record of a Cave Swallow at the old Navy Headquarters on 14 Mar (Erick Bermúdez). A Veery was a good spring record in the Bahamas at the Garden of the Groves, Grand Bahama on 13 Apr (Bridget Davis); and another was photographed at McBean Road, East End, Grand Cayman 21 Apr (Jen Artuch). A Grey-cheeked Thrush appeared at Farm Road Cistern, East End, Grand Cayman on 22 Apr (Peter Davey).

Pipit to Bullfinch

Two American Pipits were well-described next to the Autopista, Pinar del Rio, Cuba on 22 Mar (Eric Moore). A Lincoln’s Sparrow was photographed at Port Nelson, Rum Cay, Bahamas on 10 Mar (Michael Akresh, Aaron Hulsey). Rare in the Cayman Islands, audio recordings were made of a Yellow-breasted Chat at the Agriculture Grounds, Bodden Town on 29 Mar (Peter Davey). A Bobolink, rarely noted in Jamaica, was photographed at Greater Portmore Sewage Ponds on 22 Apr (Ricardo Miller); with another rare spring sighting at Fosters, St. Lucy, Barbados on 4 May (Julian Moore). An Orchard Oriole was a good find at Savannah, Bodden Town, Grand Cayman on 19 Apr (Simon Artuch); while another was photographed at Triscornia, La Habana, Cuba on 18 Apr (Tania Benítez Del Risco, Muhammad Halim). A male Baltimore Oriole was on Petite Terre, Guadeloupe from 25–26 Apr (Léa Sébesi). A Great-tailed Grackle continued its stay at Gare routière Bergevin to at least 2 May (Anthony Levesque). An Ovenbird was seen at Frigate Pond, St. Kitts and Nevis on 19 Mar (Kenrith Carter). A Black-and-white Warbler was seen at Millet Bird Sanctuary and Nature Trail, St. Lucia on 25 Apr (Kenrith Carter). The Kentucky Warbler discovered in Nov was last seen and heard at Chemin de Chouchou, Lamentin, Guadeloupe 4 Mar (Lionel Sineux); and another seen in the Garden of the Groves, Grand Bahamas on 10 Apr (Martha Cartwright). A rarely seen Hooded Warbler on Mt. Pirata, Vieques Island, Puerto Rico on 19 Mar was the latest ever departure date (Mikey and Jo Lutmerding). An American Restart was observed on the Leeward Highway—Wallilabou, St. Patrick, St. Vincent and the Grenadines on 10 Mar (Tom Baxter). Uncommon on Vieques Island, Puerto Rico, a Cape May Warbler was seen on Cayo de Tierra on 29 Mar (Yianni Laskaris).

A Cerulean Warbler was photographed at Reserva de la Biosfera Sierra del Rosario–Las Terrazas, Artemisa, Cuba on 13 Apr (José Alberto Pérez Hechavarría). A Northern Parula was seen at Graeme Hall Swamp, Barbados from 9–11 Mar (Julian Moore, Jason Moore, Quincy Clarke). A Bay-breasted Warbler was photographed at Plaza de la Cultura, Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic on 18 Apr (Eloy Contreras); and in Cuba where it is also scarce in the spring, two were at Zabalo Mi Casa, Las Tunas on 2 May with a photograph obtained (Yusneyda Alarcón Jorge). A breeding plumage male Blackpoll Warbler was photographed on Petite Terre, Guadeloupe on 1 May (Anthony Levesque). A Black-throated Blue Warbler was a good find at Christian Valley, Antigua and Barbuda on 1 Mar (Jermaine Jarvis); with another noted at Turners Hall Woods, St. Andrew, Barbados on 10 Mar (Julian Moore). A Palm Warbler was photographed on Petite Terre, Guadeloupe on 13 May (Anthony Levesque). A male Scarlet Tanager was photographed at Bayview Eco Resort, Jamaica on 12 Apr (Thierry Debled, Ricardo Miller). Scarlet Tanagers are unusual spring migrants in the Lesser Antilles and there were only reports from Guadeloupe—one at Petite Terre on 10 Apr, one at Chemin de Villeneuve (Petit-Bourg) on 24 Apr, and one at Plage le Désert on 23 Apr (Murial Aboso, Anthony Levesque). An adult male Rose-breasted Grosbeak was photographed at Bellevue-Darras on 22 Apr for a rare sighting in Guadeloupe (per. Anthony Levesque). A male Lazuli x Indigo Bunting (hybrid) was seen at Rodney Heights, Gros Islet, St. Lucia from 28–31 May (Norma Cherry-Fevrier). Rare on Vieques Island, Puerto Rico, two Indigo Buntings were on El Pilon on 18 Mar (Mikey and Jo Lutmerding); and an Indigo Bunting was a good find at Le Soufleur, Guadeloupe on 1 May (Olivier Robert). During May, 11 Lesser Antillean Bullfinches of which at least two were juveniles were observed in three different locations on the east end of Vieques Island, Puerto Rico, firmly establishing this species as an island resident within three years of its arrival on Vieques and in the Greater Antilles. Vieques is the only location of this species in the Greater Antilles (Daphne Gemmill).

Report edited by Andrew Keaveney, 21 Jul 2025.