West Indies Cruise - 04 Mar 2010
For the first time all trip there were birds at sea! I woke to find an adult Brown Booby floating alongside the ship as we approached St. Kitts. Another unidentified Tropicbird was flying far out from the ship and diving for fish, but again too far to ID.
We ate breakfast in the Garden Café and decided to go for a walk on Deck 7 afterward. As we circled the ship the Brown Booby came into view, followed by an adult Masked Booby!
According to Herbert Raffael’s Birds of the West Indies the Masked Booby is”a very rare and local resident in the West Indies…Threatened”. However, further research revealed breeding colonies in the nearby islands, so it was probably not so rare a sighting. I left Robin and ran back to the room to get my camera, hoping that the bird(s) would still be around. Luckily, they were.
I spent the next hour or so following the Brown Booby as it floated along the port side of the ship near the stern. The bird did not bank in flight. It merely turned, and changed direction while maintaining a near horizontal position about 30 feet above the ship. I was able to get numerous flight shots as it passed quite near the ship.
Soon the Masked Booby reappeared and joined the Brown Booby. I concentrated on the bird as it also circled the waters next to the ship. At one point it passed so close to the ship I was unable to focus on it.
As I photographed both birds a smaller, darker bird flew by the ship. I grabbed several flight shots as it passed in the distance. When I reviewed images and blew them up to 200% I was able to identify the bird as an adult Long-tailed Jaeger. The dark cap, light throat, and slender body relative to long wing projection appeared to be a better match than the bulkier Pomarine Jaeger. Both birds are considered “uncommon, non-breeding migrants in the West Indies”.
(note: thanks for Graham and Matt for verifying ID! - see Comments).
I returned to photographing the boobies, and then headed back to the room to prepare for the last excursion of the trip. As I unloaded files from the camera the Masked Booby appeared outside the cabin and made several spectacular dives into the ocean. I could only watch it from the balcony.
I returned to photographing the boobies, and then headed back to the room to prepare for the last excursion of the trip. As I unloaded files from the camera the Masked Booby appeared outside the cabin and made several spectacular dives into the ocean. I could only watch it from the balcony.
A Red-footed Booby flew out from the shore at a distance as we pulled into port.
I was hoping to see at least one hummingbird this trip, so I booked a Plantation Garden and Rainforest Walk on St. Kitts. While Robin stayed behind, I boarded an open-air bus with 20 others and headed to the interior of the island to the Romney Manor.
I was hoping to see at least one hummingbird this trip, so I booked a Plantation Garden and Rainforest Walk on St. Kitts. While Robin stayed behind, I boarded an open-air bus with 20 others and headed to the interior of the island to the Romney Manor.
No sooner did we get off the bus that someone nearby asked me if I had seen the dark green hummingbird next to the bus. Darn!
We had about 30 minutes to walk the premises, so went back to the parking lot and scanned the bushes for the hummer. It soon reappeared and perched high in trees above me. A Green-throated Carib! Without the sun shining on its emerald-green throat the bird looked dark blue-black with emerald green wings and a long, downcurved bill. Although I was unable to get a photo of its trade-mark green throat, I was thrilled to get some nice portrait shots as it roosted on a branch.
We had about 30 minutes to walk the premises, so went back to the parking lot and scanned the bushes for the hummer. It soon reappeared and perched high in trees above me. A Green-throated Carib! Without the sun shining on its emerald-green throat the bird looked dark blue-black with emerald green wings and a long, downcurved bill. Although I was unable to get a photo of its trade-mark green throat, I was thrilled to get some nice portrait shots as it roosted on a branch.
As I walked around the manor the trees were alive with the hummingbird-like chatter of Banaquits. These birds were of the Puerto Rico race with all-yellow chests and bellies. It was important to recognize their various songs or you’d go mad trying to find hummingbirds in the treetops.
As we descended the trail from the manor to the rainforest the chatter of the Banaquits was soon replaced with the melodic chirp-n-twitter of the Pearly-eyed Thrashers. I followed behind the group so I could concentrate on birds, and was soon rewarded with nice views of a Brown Trembler, a mockingbird that literally ‘trembles’ its body as it perches.
With the West Indies under drought conditions the normally ‘wet’ rainforest was dry (but cool) except for a small trickle of water from the river bed. We saw the usual fig trees and ‘monkey-no-climb’ palms, and were shown the numerous fruits and nuts of the region. Other trees were just plain neat to look at.
I was scanning the trees for Lesser Antillean Flycatchers and Zenaida Doves, and was lucky enough to see the only Green Monkey appear along the far bank of the dried river bed. Unfortunately it disappeared before the rest of the tour could spot it. After another 20 minutes of hiking river banks we returned to the start of our tour and enjoyed some local rainforest products (bananas, coconut, rum punch…). It was then time to head back to the ship for a shower and a nap.
The next two days would be at sea (no birds) and the trip would end Sunday morning when we arrived back in Miami.
St. Kitts Port, Saint Kitts, KN
Mar 4, 2010 7:00 AM
Protocol: Incidental
Checklist Comments: NCL Cruise
11 species (+1 other taxa)
Zenaida Dove (Zenaida aurita) 1
Purple-throated Carib (Eulampis jugularis) 1
Green-throated Carib (Eulampis holosericeus) 1
Long-tailed Jaeger (Stercorarius longicaudus) 1 As I photographed both birds a smaller, darker bird flew by the ship. I grabbed several flight shots as it passed in the distance. When I reviewed images and blew them up to 200% I was able to identify the bird as an adult Long-tailed Jaeger. The dark cap, light throat, and slender body relative to long wing projection appeared to be a better match than the bulkier Pomarine Jaeger. Both birds are considered “uncommon, non-breeding migrants in the West Indies”.
(note: thanks for Graham and Matt for verifying ID! - see Comments).
tropicbird sp. (Phaethon sp.) 1 white bird with long tail streamer - too far away to ID. Diving for fish offshore from island
Red-footed Booby (Sula sula) 1 surprised to see a light-headed booby w/ red feet and pale blue bill. Flying out to see from shore
Brown Booby (Sula leucogaster) 1
Masked Booby (Sula dactylatra) 1 offshore from St Kitts as we approached island. According to Herbert Raffael’s Birds of the West Indies the Masked Booby is”a very rare and local resident in the West Indies…Threatened”. However, further research revealed breeding colonies in the nearby islands, so it was probably not so rare a sighting. I left Robin and ran back to the room to get my camera, hoping that the bird(s) would still be around. Luckily, they were.
Lesser Antillean Flycatcher (Myiarchus oberi) 1
Pearly-eyed Thrasher (Margarops fuscatus) 1
Brown Trembler (Cinclocerthia ruficauda) 1
Bananaquit (Coereba flaveola) 2 These birds were of the Puerto Rico race with all-yellow chests and bellies. It was important to recognize their various songs or you’d go mad trying to find hummingbirds in the treetops.
View this checklist online at https://ebird.org/checklist/S4
This report was generated automatically by eBird v3 (https://ebird.org/home)
Mar 4, 2010 7:00 AM
Protocol: Incidental
Checklist Comments: NCL Cruise
11 species (+1 other taxa)
Zenaida Dove (Zenaida aurita) 1
Purple-throated Carib (Eulampis jugularis) 1
Green-throated Carib (Eulampis holosericeus) 1
Long-tailed Jaeger (Stercorarius longicaudus) 1 As I photographed both birds a smaller, darker bird flew by the ship. I grabbed several flight shots as it passed in the distance. When I reviewed images and blew them up to 200% I was able to identify the bird as an adult Long-tailed Jaeger. The dark cap, light throat, and slender body relative to long wing projection appeared to be a better match than the bulkier Pomarine Jaeger. Both birds are considered “uncommon, non-breeding migrants in the West Indies”.
(note: thanks for Graham and Matt for verifying ID! - see Comments).
tropicbird sp. (Phaethon sp.) 1 white bird with long tail streamer - too far away to ID. Diving for fish offshore from island
Red-footed Booby (Sula sula) 1 surprised to see a light-headed booby w/ red feet and pale blue bill. Flying out to see from shore
Brown Booby (Sula leucogaster) 1
Masked Booby (Sula dactylatra) 1 offshore from St Kitts as we approached island. According to Herbert Raffael’s Birds of the West Indies the Masked Booby is”a very rare and local resident in the West Indies…Threatened”. However, further research revealed breeding colonies in the nearby islands, so it was probably not so rare a sighting. I left Robin and ran back to the room to get my camera, hoping that the bird(s) would still be around. Luckily, they were.
Lesser Antillean Flycatcher (Myiarchus oberi) 1
Pearly-eyed Thrasher (Margarops fuscatus) 1
Brown Trembler (Cinclocerthia ruficauda) 1
Bananaquit (Coereba flaveola) 2 These birds were of the Puerto Rico race with all-yellow chests and bellies. It was important to recognize their various songs or you’d go mad trying to find hummingbirds in the treetops.
View this checklist online at https://ebird.org/checklist/S4
This report was generated automatically by eBird v3 (https://ebird.org/home)
