Nassau, Bahamas - 16 Apr 2024
Robin and I flew to Fort Lauderdale, FL yesterday morning to catch the Disney Dream for a 4-day Bahamas Cruise. We arrived shortly after 10 am and were shuttled off to the Port Everglades pier where the Dream awaited. By noon we were on the ship and having lunch at the Animator's Palate Restaurant.
By lunch's end we'd have access to our Room (10020), which was ideally located on the port side of the ship next to the elevators and stairs. The Cabana and Pools were on deck 11 so it was a very short walk to food and relaxation.
Dinner at Palo's ($$$) was exceptional. A nice sunset and we'd be sailing for Nassau, Bahamas during the night.
Morning brought a nice sunrise and gorgeous hues as we arrived in port.
Laughing Gulls were the (ony) bird of the day. I spent a half hour photographing the flock of 100+ birds as they soared and swooped for prey in the amber-aqua waters stirred up by the ship's engines.
This morning I signed up to take a tour of the Ardastra Gardens and Wildlife Conservation Centre, a wildlife / bird rehabilitation facility on the island of Nassau. Craig, our bus driver was originally from the Lansing, MI and Chicago, IL area so he was familiar w/ the Detroit contingent. By 10 am we were at the gardens and getting our first introduction to the many Macaws and Parakeets that are local to the region but have been abandoned by owners and no longer able to fend for themselves.
We walked the grounds and took in the many animals (potbelly pigs, serval cats, rabbits) and rehabbed birds that included Caribbean Flamingos, Muscovy Ducks, Emperor Geese, and Wild Turkeys.
I spent the time looking for migrants, and managed to capture a few pics of Black-and-White Warblers, American Redstarts, and Cape May Warblers.
A pair of Green Herons were chasing each other in the vicinity of the Muscovy Ducks.
I managed a few pics of local Eurasian Collared-Doves.
Just before leaving I ran into a young worker who asked me about birds; he had been into birds the past 2 years so I asked if he had any Bahama Woodstars around. He took me to the flowering trees near the entrance and we managed to get pics of a nice female.
Then, as we walked the grounds looking for Red-legged Thrush I spotted a Cuban Grassquit (yellow cowl) carrying nesting material.
We then saw another Cape May Warbler that gave great looks before I had to get back to the bus and ship.
Apr 16, 2024 10:00 AM - 12:00 PM
Protocol: Traveling
0.5 mile(s)
Checklist Comments: Disney Dream
16 species
Muscovy Duck (Domestic type) (Cairina moschata (Domestic type)) 6
Red Junglefowl (Domestic type) (Gallus gallus (Domestic type)) 1
Rock Pigeon (Feral Pigeon) (Columba livia (Feral Pigeon)) 2
Eurasian Collared-Dove (Streptopelia decaocto) 2
Common Ground Dove (Columbina passerina) 2
Bahama Woodstar (Nesophlox evelynae) 1
Common Gallinule (Gallinula galeata) 1
Laughing Gull (Leucophaeus atricilla) 2
Green Heron (Butorides virescens) 2
Great Egret (Ardea alba) 1
White Ibis (Eudocimus albus) 1
Black-and-white Warbler (Mniotilta varia) 1
American Redstart (Setophaga ruticilla) 1
Cape May Warbler (Setophaga tigrina) 2
Cuban Grassquit (Phonipara canora) 1
Black-faced Grassquit (Melanospiza bicolor) 1
View this checklist online at https://ebird.org/checklist/S1
This report was generated automatically by eBird v3 (https://ebird.org/home)
