The (badly-photographed) dark butterfly in the earlier post has been identified as a GOLD RIM SWALLOWTAIL / POLYDAMAS SWALLOWTAIL (Battus Polydamas Lucaeus) Continue reading
Monthly Archives: April 2011
THE NATIONAL PARKS OF ABACO
The National Parks of Abaco
Abaco National Park Created in 1994, it encompasses over 20,500 acres of pine forest / coppice and is the principal habitat for the endangered Bahama Parrot and other important species of Bahamian wildlife. The tract covers a large area of the Great Abaco water table and has significant recreational value for the people of Abaco.
Black Sound Cay Nature Reserve This two acre mangrove reserve is nestled in the harbour of Abaco’s historic Green Turtle Cay. The reserve was established in 1988 to protect a vital waterfront ecosystem and wildlife.
Pelican Cays Land & Sea Park A 2,100 acre area just north of Cherokee Sound in Great Abaco that contains stunning undersea caves, extensive coral reefs and is noted for its fish, plant and bird life.
Tilloo Cay National Park Acquired by the Trust through private donation, this 11 acre area encompasses a tropical wilderness shoreline of outstanding beauty. Exposed to the Atlantic Ocean, the area is an important sea bird nesting site.
Fowl Cay Land and Sea Park Recently created in 2009, an excellent place for reef snorkelling [I will be posting about this in due course…]
CLICK LINK for Article (Abaconian March 3 2011): The Two Abaco Sea Parks, Fowl Cay & Pelican Cay (BNT)
(Info mostly courtesy of Bahamas National Trust; Article “The Abaconian”)
ROYAL WEDDING TRIBUTE: THE LUCKY KING FISHER
TO WILL & KATE – CONGRATULATIONS!
The Royal King Fisher – she cast, she hooked, she played, she landed…
(Photos: Kevin Cole – Wikimedia Commons; Tower of London Archive)
(Photos: Kevin Cole – Wikimedia Commons; Tower of London Archive)
A STROLL ROUND THE DELPHI GARDENS ON ABACO
There is a wealth of birdlife on the Delphi doorstep. You don’t even have to go out of the front gateway to find it. You’ll hear a great many more birds than you ever see – many are small and very hard to spot in the bushes, even when you can hear loud chirrups. Here are a few examples of what you might see, all taken within the Club precincts
TURKEY VULTURES, ever present, wheeling above the bay, sometimes in flocks of 20 or more. Their grace in flight is slightly spoiled by the knowledge that their heads are red, wrinkled, bald and… frankly unattractive. You may also see them hunched on a dead branch along the drive (second photo)
LOGGERHEAD KINGBIRDS, one of several types of ‘Tyrant Flycatcher’, so-called because of their robust attitude to defending their territory. The first one is on the far side of the pool; the second is taken from the verandah.
WEST INDIAN WOODPECKER, resident initially under the verandah eaves before moving to the upscale nesting box further along. Often seen during the day in the gardens, sometimes shouting raucously: the second photo is near the pool
ANTILLEAN BULLFINCH (previously wrongly ID’d as American Redstart – thanks CN) I’d never seen one of these before, nor indeed heard of them. This one was photographed in the trees along the drive while I was in fact looking for another bird altogether…
THICK-BILLED VIREO, one of several vireo species. Believe me, they are much less blurry in real life than here… They chirp a lot and seem quite tame.
BANANAQUIT My second favourite bird (after the western spindalis). Smart black and white heads, yellow underparts, and a sharply curved beak used to pierce the base of flowers for nectar. They aren’t choosy though, and eat insects and fruit too. Very chirpy, and VERY hard to see in the bushes, even when you can clearly hear exactly where you think it must be… Look for moving foliage. This one was in the shrubs by the main staircase.They sound like this (credit Xeno-canto.org) 
NORTHERN MOCKING BIRD at a distance… above the skiff park. We heard it singing melodiously. ID (in close up – click on image for a marginally better view) from cocked and slightly spread tail, and (you won’t see this) white wing markings. This species is apparently beginning to displace the larger but unaggressive Bahama Mockingbird.
NORTHERN PARULA Small yellow warbler, of which there are many types. This is the one that unwisely tried to fly into the Great Room through the plate glass, and had to be revived by Sandy. It perked up quite quickly, and flew off none the worse for its encounter either with the glass or Sandy…
HUMMINGBIRDS are a fascinating topic in themselves, and I’ll post about them separately. There is the Cuban Emerald and the endemic Bahama Woodstar, both of which can be seen at Delphi (though the latter are rare where the former predominate). There is a 3rd type of hummer on Abaco, which I will leave you with for now:
FRESH OFF THE MAC (1)
NEW POSTS AND ADDITIONS IN APRIL / EARLY MAY
Birding record; Eco-Tour Checklist; Reef Fish App review; Bird Apps review; new additions to books; Curly Tails Continue reading
ULTIMATE LIST of the BIRDS of the BAHAMAS
Say what you like about Wikipedia – no, not that, please – but in many fields it is very hard to beat. CLICK LINK ON BLOGROLL IN SIDEBAR–––>>>> ‘ULTIMATE LIST OF BIRDS…’ for as comprehensive a list in accessible form as you could wish to find. Even allowing for a few ‘wiki-errors’ (is “Elton John” really a species of Gnatcatcher?), it’s an awesome basic resource a mere click away. There are click-throughs to individual birds, where you will find photos and all the other types of species information you need. Well worth a quick look, anyway, and you may find it extremely helpful to give it more attention. 
FOOD & DRINK… ABACO-STYLE
Want to know how to cook an Abaco hog? Eager to learn how to shake up an Abaco cocktail while you are waiting? Go to the RANDOM page drop-down FOOD & DRINK menu for recipes, ingredients and instructions for the following:
FOOD
- Cooking a bonefish (if you really need to…)
- How to Clean a Conch (with video and cool dude)
- Steamed Abaco Wild Hog
- Abaco Baked Grouper
- Peas ‘n’ Rice Abaco-style
- Crawfish Fritters
- Bahamian Mango Chutney
DRINK
- Abaco Cocktail
- Goombay Smash
Any other Abaco-specific recipes welcome – how is that extra-strong Delphi Rum Punch made, for example (if not a trade secret)?
ABACO BUTTERFLIES AT DELPHI / CONTRIBUTIONS / BLOG FORMAT CHANGES
As a change from birds, here are some other flying items, mostly from around Delphi itself, with a redesigned logo in their honour.
JULIA LONGWING Dryas Julia (Delphi Beach – plant now ID’d as a Bay Cedar Suriana maritima, much enjoyed by butterflies and bees)
HAMMOCK SKIPPER Polygonus Leo (Delphi Service Drive)
GULF FRITILLARY Agraulis vanillae (Delphi Guest Drive)
I haven’t nailed the ID of this one yet. Any ideas appreciated. [See later post for ID as GOLD RIM SWALLOWTAIL / POLYDAMUS SWALLOWTAIL (Battus Polydamus Lucaeus) ]
Seen all round Delphi this March. These are on the move the whole time, and are surprisingly hard to pin down (not a very sensitive way to put it for a butterfly…) The bottom photo looks like a rubbish picture, I know, but in fact the butterfly is at rest (the body / legs / feelers aren’t blurred) while the wings beat fast and constantly while it feeds
AND FINALLY… Pride of place goes to this Atala Hairstreak, photographed during a Delphi outing with Ricky Johnson to one of the Blue Holes in the pine forest. It’s the only place I have seen these small butterflies, and there were only four or five. This one stayed still for just long enough
ATALA HAIRSTREAK Eumaeus Atala
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BLOG NEWS UPDATE
23.04.11
- Email Share added to the main pages
- Pages Menu added to sidebar
- Contributions received now posted on the appropriate page…
Note I am trying to reorganise this blog to increase accessibility of categories and sub-categories. Struggling a bit… one major accidental deletion so far… proposed pages under construction or at least under contemplation… please bear with me!
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FLORA OF ABACO: ALL YOU NEED TO KNOW IN ONE HIT
The ‘Flora’ part of ‘Flora and Fauna’ is a bit of a blind spot for me except in a very basic daffodils-tulips-roses english gardening sense. So it was with a massive sense of relief that, browsing through (namecheck here) ‘Dr Ralph’s Abaco Forum’, I stumbled across a comprehensive blog about the flora of Abaco with excellent pictures and very informative descriptions, posted by Iris Spikes. She includes notes about the plants that are poisonous, and those that have medicinal / antidotal properties. For example poisonwood and gumbo limbo trees grow side by side, as poison and antidote – you can find them growing together along the Delphi drives (the gumbo limbo fruit is especially popular with the Abaco Parrots).
With thanks for permission, I have added the web link to the Blogroll list so that you can get to it straight away. Please note that there are two linked posts – you get to part 2 from the link at the end of part 1.
Here are a few random flora images of ours, most now readily identifiable… Almost all (including the bananas outside our room) are from the Delphi gardens or beside the drives – and one cheat that is much more Abaco than UK
Powder Puff Tree - Calliandra haematocephala
Bananas (outside rooms 1 - 4)
Hibiscus
Coral or fringed hibiscus
Bougainevillea (pool area)
Bougainevillea (pool area)
Camelia
- Thatch Palm
- Bottle-brush tree (a cheat – in neighbours’ garden, London!)
Angel’s Trumpet (Datura Candida)
An epiphytic bromeliad (see below) on the guest drive
Staghorn Fern (Platycerium bifucatum) - also epiphytic
An epiphyte (or air plant) is a plant that grows upon another plant (such as a tree) non-parasitically or sometimes upon some other object (such as a building or a telegraph post), deriving its moisture and nutrients from the air and rain and sometimes from debris accumulating around it and not from its host
FOREST FIRES ON ABACO: A BIT TOO CLOSE TO DELPHI HQ…
Mid-March saw the outbreak of an unnaturally large number of fires in the pine forests on (mainly) the west side of Abaco. Suspicion mostly fell on hog hunters wanting to clear the thick undergrowth. Many fires spread rapidly in the wind and some jumped the highway. For a couple of days there was increasing anxiety at Delphi, not wholly allayed by Sandy’s robust enthusiasm for driving guests intothe heart of the fires: “Look, I promise you, it’s perfectly safe ”. The big question: would the coppice stop the fire in its tracks as expected, or would the fire sweep through to the Club grounds and buildings? And (a members’ concern, this) were they adequately insured?
In the event, the Club was spared. However, much of the area between the road and the coppice in front of the Club was badly burned. The effect on the bird liferemains to be seen, though even after a few days there was evidence of greening up of foliage – an encouraging sign. Any hogs presumably managed to escape…
Here are some images, all of them taken from the Club or along the drives. Most (all but 2 now – I’ve fixed the rest) will enlarge with a click.
Setting sun from the Club verandah. At least 3 fire seats are visible
This tree along the guest drive kept smouldering for 3 or 4 days
A somewhat apocalyptic sky
This area along the drives was dense bright green undergrowth two days earlier
A milky morning sun filters through onto snowy ash
Click to enlarge this image: you’ll see a flame at the top of the tall dead tree, like an oil refinery flare stack
Fire spreading in the wind and taking hold of a new area between the drives 
Another area that had been thickly wooded, with dense green undergrowth
DELPHI CLUB, ABACO – PARROT RESEARCH & CONSERVATION
Caroline Stahala, a scientist from Florida, has spent some years studying the endemic parrots of Abaco. The Club is a convenient place from which to carry out some of her research. Evidence is growing that these protected parrots may not be a variant subspecies of the Cuban parrot, as previously believed, but are actually a species in their own right deserving their own distinct classification. Such a finding would be of major ornithological importance, and would further secure the protection of these beautiful birds and their habitat. This in turn will help to prevent the decline in their already small numbers. I hope to post news of Caroline’s research into this year’s parrot breeding season which begins next month
CLICK LINK on BLOGROLL in SIDEBAR -—››› PARROTS INTERNATIONAL for Caroline’s Thesis
CLICK LINK for Article (Abaconian March 3 2011): Parrot Adventure with Caroline Stahala (BNT)
Abaco Parrot
THE GOOD BOOK GUIDE – DELPHI CLUB, ABACO
Selected Birdyography – please see the BOOKS page for full details – starting with the ‘Go-To’ reference book
Bruce Hallett
Birds of the Bahamas and the Turks & Caicos Islands
James Bond
Birds of the West Indies (Collins Field Guide)
Norman Arlott
Birds of the West Indies (Collins Field Guide)
P G C Brudenell-Bruce
The Birds of New Providence and the Bahama Islands (1975)
Flieg and Sander
A Photographic Guide to Birds of the West Indies
Herbert Raffaele et al
Field Guide to the Birds of the West Indies (Helm Field Guides)
SANDY WALKER: GOOD WITH BIRDS
This Spring has seen a number of birds – possibly tempted by Gareth’s cuisine – flying hard into the windows / doors of the Great Room and falling stunned onto the verandah. Luckily, Sandy has sometimes been on hand to scoop them up and gently let them come to their senses before releasing them.
WESTERN SPINDALIS (Spindalis Zena) or Stripe-Headed Tanager
NORTHERN PARULA: one of a large number of yellowy warbler types around Delphi
The Parula ID was confirmed by Craig Nash (see side-bar BLOGROLL for his Delphi birding links) and he has supplied his own much better photo of one, photographed in one of the drives – see CONTRIBUTIONS / PHOTOGRAPHS
THE RELUCTANT WOODPECKER AT DELPHI, ABACO
- “West Indian woodpeckers have now occupied the nesting boxes on the Club’s verandah”
- S0 claimed the main DCB blog 7.04.11 But a few weeks before, one West Indian Woodpecker hadn’t quite got the idea…
The thoughtfully provided woodpecker accommodation
The chosen roost (at the opposite end of the verandah)
THE GOOD BIRD GUIDE 2010 – DELPHI CLUB, ABACO
This guide was compiled after our visit to Delphi in February 2010. It was originally intended purely for domestic consumption, as a light-hearted personal record and aide memoire. However, others suggested it might be useful for people wanting to make a quick identification of a bird they have seen around the Club or further afield. I was persuaded to put a copy on the desktop of the computer in the Club Library, and there’s now a hard copy around as well. I am currently revising it to include our 2011 visit. And now here it is in blog format. I.T. progress.
CLICK LINK —››› DELPHI CLUB GOOD BIRD GUIDE 2010
Some of the images are my own; others are from freely-available resources – due thanks are given to those too numerous to mention individually (never mind being completely unidentifiable) whose images are featured…
ROLLING HARBOUR ABACO 
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