Birding tips for Grand Turk?

[kelliebiz]

Hi folks, are there any fellow birders with tips for birding on Grand Turk? We will be there in two weeks and I want to make the most of our day there. We are riding a trolley to the lighthouse, with some short stops on the way up and back. Our current plan is just to spend some time at each stop scanning with binoculars, but if anyone has any recommendations I would love to hear them. The trolley is first thing in the morning and then we’ll have the rest of the day to kill, so plenty of time for other spots. Thank you in advance! 

[crewsweeper]

Both the North and South salt marshes are good spots to see migratory birds.  Also North and South Creek.  There's a National Museum Botanical Garden where the native yellow crowned heron resides.  I think there's a fee for that.   Get a good map of the island and think about renting a golf cart or jeep and see the sights DIY.  Stops at various places may not give you enough time to see what you want.

[kelliebiz]

Thanks, Crewsweeper. I was thinking of a golf cart too, good idea.

[kelliebiz]

Just to update, there was not enough time for any proper birdwatching and I had to make do with what I could see while on the tram tour stops. A highlight was seeing a few smooth billed ani birds. Funny looking things, I kept thinking I was seeing the back of their heads but once they swiveled a few times I could see it was really their crazy looking beaks. those we saw were on fences and telephone lines up near the lighthouse. Photo below from google
 

“Anis are bizarre, coal-black cuckoos with long floppy tails and unique, curiously tall, flattened bills. Smooth-billed occurs in a variety of open and semi-open habitats in tropical lowlands and foothills, typically staying low in shrubs and grasses. Gregarious and not particularly graceful; usually seen crashing around awkwardly in small groups. Flies with choppy wingbeats and long glides. Widespread and common throughout much of South America and the Caribbean, extending as far west as the Pacific slope of Costa Rica and north to Florida.”