Birding on Great Abaco Island

Birding on Great Abaco Island   ...   Saturday 2^nd Feb 2013

Five o’clock felt way too early. We made coffee and ran the engine for 30 minutes. Then we grabbed our lunch and backpacks (packed last night), piled everything into the dinghy (along with the trash) and motored to the marina dock.  After tying up the dinghy and dumping the trash we walked out to the main road to meet Woody. [Woody had invited us to go along on a birding trip when we met him yesterday].  At the designated parking lot, several groups were introduced to one another.  Carpools were formed and off we went in search of the Bahama Parrot.  The whole trip was quite exciting for us—even the driving.  This was an opportunity to see the island from the landward side, in a way we hadn’t seen previously. 

Our first stop was Bahama Palm Shores, a development where the Bahama Parrots are commonly seen.  We struck out on parrots but saw life bird in the shape of a La Sagre’s flycatcher and painted bunting. We continued southward with many stops to Sandy Point the most southern point of Great Abaco that can be reached on paved roads.  [A point called “Hole in the Wall” is further south but on a dirt road.  We had a terrific time, seeing 45 species including 8 life birds (i.e. birds we have never seen before).  A stop for lunch shortly after 1pm was very welcome, indeed.

Even the journey back was filled with adventure.  Woody started to notice something wrong with the tire on his car.  We were following his vehicle and could detect a wobbling in the left front tire.  After much debate, we tire was replaced with the spare.  Once off the car, a distinct bulge under the tread could be seen on one side of the tire. 

Strange as it may seem this made me feel somewhat better about some of our boating problems.  Over the last few months I’ve started to think that things go wrong all the time on the water.  But clearly sometimes things go wrong on land as well.  

Our new life birds for today were:

     White cheeked pintail

     Cuban Pewee

     Bahama Warbler

     Northern water thrush

     Le Sagre’s flycatcher

     Olive caped warbler

     Loggerhead kingbird

     Thick billed vireo

Gloria

Woody, our birding leader ... a former ENT specialist from West Palm Beach he now lives in Treasure Cay. Woody is an excellent birder and a thoughtful guide. He holds the "Big Year" record for the Bahamas with 243 species last year.

White Cheeked Pintails

Le Sagre's flycatcher

Common Yellowthroat

Yellow warbler

Muscovy Duck - not a wild species ... but easier to photograph!