West Indies & Bermuda: Summer 2021

Waterfowl through Shearwater

Two Black-bellied Whistling-Duck (ph.) of the southern race D. a. autumnalis were at Village Pond, Conch Bar, Turks and Caicos 29 Jun (Cabrine Harvey, Aravana Lucsama); and one Black-bellied Whistling-Duck (ph.) was present at Observatiore Ravine Sable, Guadeloupe 3–8 Jul (Firmin Boyon). A Eurasian Collared Dove of unknown origin was seen at Coot Pond, Bermuda 21 Jul (Paul Watson). The sighting of a Bare-eyed Pigeon 15 Jun at Salines d’Orient by staff of the Reserve Naturelle Saint-Martin was evidence of the species still being present on the island, despite the effects of Hurricane Irma (2017). This species likely escaped from caged birds brought from Aruba or Curacao. During a pelagic trip off Turks and Caicos 27 Jul, Andrew Farnworth’s observations included Antillean Nighthawk (6), Pectoral Sandpiper (7), Pomarine Jaeger (2), and Brown Noddy (27). A Collared Plover was photographed here at Etang des Salines, Sainte-Anne, Martinique 7 Jul (Sophie Lopez Carmona), noting a “small thin bill, pink legs, thin black collar, tan plumage;” another Collared Plover was observed at North Point, St. Lucy, Barbados 18 Jul–1 Aug (Edward Massiah). The first nesting record of Killdeer (ph.) in Guadeloupe was discovered at Saint François dump site 25 Jul (Anthony Levesque). An Upland Sandpiper, scarce in the Bahamas, was well photographed here at West End, Grand Bahama 30 Jul (Martha Cartwright). An adult Franklin’s Gull (ph.) was seen at Little Cayman, Cayman Islands on 2 Jun (Nicole Martin). An adult Gull-billed Tern was discovered at Cooper’s Island, Bermuda 14 Jun (Eva Bottelli) and remained on the east end of the island until 18 Jun. A White-tailed Tropicbird, a rare summer resident on Vieques, was seen at Punta Canejo, Vieques, Puerto Rico 25 Jun (Erick Bermúdez). A Leach’s Storm-Petrel which occupied a Cahow burrow (with a Cahow chick) on Nonsuch Island, Bermuda on 29 Apr was still present 16 Jul after the Cahow chick had fledged (Jeremy Madeiros). In Bermuda, Jeremy Madeiros confirmed a new record high number of 142 established breeding pairs of Cahows (up from 135 pairs in 2020) and 71 successfully fledged chicks (just below 2019’s record number of 73). Paul Watson estimated a count of 950 Great Shearwaters passing Cooper’s Point, Bermuda 4 Jun.

Cormorant through Tanager

A Double-crested Cormorant present in the Harrington Sound area until at least 31 Jul was the first ever summering record of the species in Bermuda (Andrea Webb). An adult Brown Pelican was in the Great Sound, Bermuda 19–29 Jun (Richard Brewer). A Little Egret discovered 26 May remained in Harrington Sound, Bermuda to 31 Jul+ (Peter Adhemar). A Striated Heron was photographed at Cerrillos Reservoir Recreational Area, Ponce, Puerto Rico 12–19 Jun (Coral Avilés Santiago) and another was noted at the Mangrove Landfill, St. Thomas, Barbados 10–31 Jul (Julian Moore). An adult Black-crowned Hight-Heron in Flatt’s Inlet, Bermuda was a good find 18–27 Jul (LeShun Smith). A Snail Kite continued its stay on Barbados to 31 Jul+ (Julian Moore). A Belted Kingfisher noted at Layou River Mouth, Dominica 27 Jun was an unusual summer sighting (Machel Sulton). Two Monk Parakeets of unknown origin, the first for Vieques, were photographed here on PR-200, Vieques, Puerto Rico 20 Jun (Louise Gomez). Three Piratic Flycatchers were reported at Haines Bight, San Andrés 20 Jul (Manuel Franco). A Fork-tailed Flycatcher was seen at Gaschet Reservoir 8 Jul (Anthony Levesque). Two Mangrove Vireos were reported at Haines Bight, San Andrés 12 Jul (Paulo C. Pulgarín-R). A White-winged Swallow at La Sagesse field 23 Jul was a rare record for Grenada (Kenrith Carter). An Ovenbird noted at Christian Valley, Antigua 3 Jul was thought too early to be a fall migrant (Joseph Prosper). A very early migrant Prothonotary Warbler (ph.) was seen in Paget, Bermuda 17 Jul (Liz Campbell). Jun records of Northern Parula at Ravine Sable, Guadeloupe 27 Jun (Mattéo Antoine) and Palm Warbler at Sombrero IBA, Anguilla (Toby Ross) were most unusual. A breeding plumaged Bobolink (ph.) was at the Reef GC, Freeport, Bahamas on 15 Jun (Martha Cartwright). A Common Myna (likely ship-assisted from Florida) was photographed at Hotel Melia’s park, Havana, Cuba 5 Jul (Vladimir Mirabal)—“a solitary individual which foraged on the ground and also perched on branches and street lamps. It sang loudly at times in imitation of other local birds.” 

Report processed by José R. Ramírez-Garofalo, 10 Oct 2021.

Click image to view fullscreen with caption.