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Birding in the Caribbean


BirdmanRI
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Connie, did you reach a guide for St. Maarten?

 

Forgot to mention, there were quite a few guides mentioned for St. Maarten on birding pal. One of them looks promising, "Sea Grape Tours" will cater to cruise ship passengers, so have sent them an email for our Southern Caribbean Holiday Cruises in December. Will keep everyone posted!

 

Heather

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  • 1 year later...
  • 1 month later...

Did a quick Bahama cruise in October on Majesty of the Seas out of Port Canaveral. Did a half-day birding tour at Nassau with Carolyn Wardle (Google her). She's a Brit who has been on the island for 50 years.

 

We drove around in neighborhoods, a wildlife reserve, seashore, and even sat outdoors in a person's back yard (Carolyn pretty much knows everybody on the island, it appears).

 

Lifers:

 

Smooth-Billed Ani

Red-Legged Thrush

Cuban Grassquit

Ovenbird

Cape May Warbler

La Sagra's Flycatcher

Least Grebe

White-Cheeked Pintail

 

Other good ones I already had:

 

White-Crowned Pigeon

Bahama Woodstar

Various Plovers, Gulls, etc.

 

Overall a very good day, highly recommended.

 

Jerry

Manassas VA USA

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Did a quick Bahama cruise in October on Majesty of the Seas out of Port Canaveral. Did a half-day birding tour at Nassau with Carolyn Wardle (Google her). She's a Brit who has been on the island for 50 years.

 

We drove around in neighborhoods, a wildlife reserve, seashore, and even sat outdoors in a person's back yard (Carolyn pretty much knows everybody on the island, it appears).

(snip)

 

Overall a very good day, highly recommended.

 

Jerry

Manassas VA USA

 

Thanks for a great report, Jerry. I wish there were resources like this on every Caribbean island!

 

Best regards,

Dena (smooth_sailin)

NJ

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  • 3 months later...

Just came home from a Caribbean & Bermuda Cruise (via the Celebrity Summit)

 

Here are our sightings from Sint Maarten (Dutch & French side); we hired Ilja of Seagrape Tours and she was wonderful!

 

Saint Martin (French side)

 

White-cheeked Pintail - Anas bahamensis

Magnificent Frigatebird - Fregata magnificens

Great Egret - Ardea alba

Snowy Egret - Egretta thula

Common Gallinule - Gallinula galeata

American Coot - Fulica americana

Black-necked Stilt - Himantopus mexicanus

Black-bellied Plover - Pluvialis squatarola

Semipalmated Plover - Charadrius semipalmatus

Killdeer - Charadrius vociferus

Whimbrel - Numenius phaeopus

Ruddy Turnstone - Arenaria interpres

Least Sandpiper - Calidris minutilla

Semipalmated Sandpiper - Calidris pusilla

Short-billed Dowitcher - Limnodromus griseus

Willet - Tringa semipalmata

Lesser Yellowlegs - Tringa flavipes

Laughing Gull - Leucophaeus atricilla

Royal Tern - Thalasseus maximus

Eurasian Collared-Dove - Streptopelia decaocto

Common Ground-Dove - Columbina passerina

White-winged Dove - Zenaida asiatica

Zenaida Dove - Zenaida aurita

Green-throated Carib - Eulampis holosericeus

Antillean Crested Hummingbird - Orthorhyncus cristatus

American Kestrel - Falco sparverius

Bananaquit - Coereba flaveola

Black-faced Grassquit - Tiaris bicolor

Lesser Antillean Bullfinch - Loxigilla noctis

 

 

Sint Maarten (Dutch Side)

 

White-cheeked Pintail - Anas bahamensis

Pied-billed Grebe - Podilymbus podiceps

Magnificent Frigatebird - Fregata magnificens

Brown Pelican - Pelecanus occidentalis

Great Egret - Ardea alba

Green Heron - Butorides virescens

Black-crowned Night-Heron - Nycticorax nycticorax

Common Gallinule - Gallinula galeata

Spotted Sandpiper - Actitis macularius

Laughing Gull - Leucophaeus atricilla

Royal Tern - Thalasseus maximus

Common Ground-Dove - Columbina passerina

Zenaida Dove - Zenaida aurita

Antillean Crested Hummingbird - Orthorhyncus cristatus

Gray Kingbird - Tyrannus dominicensis

Yellow Warbler - Setophaga petechia

Bananaquit - Coereba flaveola

Lesser Antillean Bullfinch - Loxigilla noctis

Carib Grackle - Quiscalus lugubris

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Just came home from a Caribbean & Bermuda Cruise (via the Celebrity Summit)

 

Here are our sightings from Sint Maarten (Dutch & French side); we hired Ilja of Seagrape Tours and she was wonderful!

 

Wonderful list! We are visiting St. Maarten in October and tried to book Seagrape, but they were booked. they recommended another local birder to us, Binkie van es, for a private birding tour. He is a well known photographer, and we actually have mutual birding friends! Small world. Needless to say, we are really looking forward to our visit to St. Maarten!

 

Dena Temple

Atlantic Highlands, NJ

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  • 3 months later...

We have just booked birding tour with Carefree Birding tours for Jan 29 2018 on Celebrity Reflection. My original plan was 7 day cruise with few shore birdings with local guides but it soon became an 11 day cruise with Carefree, Kevin Karlson will be a guide. Will visit Grand Cayman, Costa Rica, Colombia, Cozumel and Panama. This is our first trip south of Florida so we are sure to get lots of life birds.

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We have just booked birding tour with Carefree Birding tours for Jan 29 2018 on Celebrity Reflection. Kevin Karlson will be a guide. Will visit Grand Cayman, Costa Rica, Colombia, Cozumel and Panama. This is our first trip south of Florida so we are sure to get lots of life birds.

You Made a Great Choice!

I sailed with Carefree Birding in 2015 and pretty much the same itinerary. I loved it and saw over 150 life species. We were accompanied by James Currie of the "Nikkon Birding Adventure" show. I can't express how great it was to see so many birds in that period of time & so easy. I usually hire my own guides when I travel, but this was awesome. In Panama, there were so many birds that it was hard to see them all. The local guides were very knowledgeable (ears/eyes) Here is a total of species seen @ each port.

Grand Cayman -- 36 species

Colombia -- 91 species/7hrs

Panama -- 89 species/6hrs

Costa Rica -- 60 species/6hrs (even though it was a wet day!)

Belize -- 77 species/6hrs

Cozumel -- 70 species/ 5 hrs.

Ken & Linda of Carefree Birding are so much fun and really take care of everyone. They balance each other well. Ken wore his signature pink Crocs most times! James Currie was one of the presenters for the Celebrity cruise. He's a very interesting guy from South Africa with lots of stories.

 

If you want specifics, feel free to email me: jackcin at juno dot com

 

Say hi to Ken & Linda for me!

Cinda Crosley

near Austin, TX

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Not sure if anyone here knows about this thread, but I started a new one for Birding & Cruising (not specific to the Caribbean):

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2527845

 

Hoping all birders who cruise unite and share their global stories! our next cruise is South America and cannot wait to report back with Southern Hemisphere specialities :)

 

Heather

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Not sure if anyone here knows about this thread, but I started a new one for Birding & Cruising (not specific to the Caribbean):

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2527845

 

Hoping all birders who cruise unite and share their global stories! our next cruise is South America and cannot wait to report back with Southern Hemisphere specialities :)

 

Heather

 

Hi Heather! I'll check that board. Amazing, we are also doing a SA cruise. When is yours? Ours is 3 December 2017 on the Emerald Princess. I've scheduled with some private guides, and reached out on CC looking for birders, but no luck :(

Cinda

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You Made a Great Choice!

I sailed with Carefree Birding in 2015 and pretty much the same itinerary. I loved it and saw over 150 life species. We were accompanied by James Currie of the "Nikkon Birding Adventure" show. I can't express how great it was to see so many birds in that period of time & so easy. I usually hire my own guides when I travel, but this was awesome. In Panama, there were so many birds that it was hard to see them all. The local guides were very knowledgeable (ears/eyes) Here is a total of species seen @ each port.

Grand Cayman -- 36 species

Colombia -- 91 species/7hrs

Panama -- 89 species/6hrs

Costa Rica -- 60 species/6hrs (even though it was a wet day!)

Belize -- 77 species/6hrs

Cozumel -- 70 species/ 5 hrs.

Ken & Linda of Carefree Birding are so much fun and really take care of everyone. They balance each other well. Ken wore his signature pink Crocs most times! James Currie was one of the presenters for the Celebrity cruise. He's a very interesting guy from South Africa with lots of stories.

 

If you want specifics, feel free to email me: jackcin at juno dot com

 

Say hi to Ken & Linda for me!

Cinda Crosley

near Austin, TX

 

Thanks for the species #s, they are impressive and will be mostly lifers for us. Did you enter them on ebird?

Funny, I have many crocs too, pink is definitely one of them. Will have questions for you when I have some free time, thanks.

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Hi Heather! I'll check that board. Amazing, we are also doing a SA cruise. When is yours? Ours is 3 December 2017 on the Emerald Princess. I've scheduled with some private guides, and reached out on CC looking for birders, but no luck :(

Cinda

 

Hi Cinda - we arrive in Buenos Aires on Dec 21st and will sail via the Celebrity Infinity to Santiago.

 

Like you, no one interested in birding adventures on our roll call - so right now, all private tours!

 

How long is your cruise? we are sailing Dec 23 - January 7. Birding in BA prior and in Santiago after and then birding in between :)

 

Heather

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Thanks for the species #s, they are impressive and will be mostly lifers for us. Did you enter them on ebird?.

 

Yes I use ebird. Here are my checklists:

 

 

Grand Cayman -- 41 species: https://ebird.org/ebird/view/checklist/S22264007 ; https://ebird.org/ebird/view/checklist/S22243800 ; https://ebird.org/ebird/view/checklist/S22244121

https://ebird.org/ebird/view/checklist/S22244068

 

 

Colombia -- 93 species/7hrs: https://ebird.org/ebird/view/checklist/S22244175

 

 

Panama -- 93 species/6hrs; https://ebird.org/ebird/view/checklist/S22263050

 

 

Costa Rica -- 60 species/6hrs (even though it was a wet day!) https://ebird.org/ebird/view/checklist/S22263523

 

 

Belize -- 77 species/6hrs https://ebird.org/ebird/view/checklist/S22263692 https://ebird.org/ebird/view/checklist/S22263017

 

 

Cozumel -- 70 species/ 5 hrs. https://ebird.org/ebird/view/checklist/S22263352

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Thanks Cinda for ebird reports, I am so impressed with them, so many birds that I now need to research to have some idea of what they look like. Any day with over 50 birds is a great birding day and these lists are fantastic. Also watched some of Ken's videos and they are great. This cruise and birding will be wonderful for us. Thanks alot.

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