WATER DOGS: THE POTCAKES OF SANDY POINT, ABACO

August 25, 2026 by Rolling Harbour

This post was written a few years back, when life was simpler and more relaxed. We were at Sandy Point having lunch at the renowned ‘Nancy’s’. Soon, the potcakes came to check us out. After approving of us, they romped off for some fun in the sea… hence this piece.

WATER DOGS: THE POTCAKES OF SANDY POINT, ABACO

Sandy Point is the absolute end. Literally. Abaco’s only highway runs 120 miles from north to south. Towards the south end, it hooks around to the west, then back north a short distance to the small community. You can drive on right through the settlement, with its criss-crossing side streets. Best stop driving when you see the ocean, though: you’ve run out of road.

Sandy Point is home to the renowned Nancy’s culinary establishment, maybe a half-hour drive from the previous place you could get a meal along the highway. It’s that remote. The menu is simple, the Kaliks are cold, and the locals are charming. The view from the verandah stretches out to the wide sea. If you are lucky, you may see pelicans smashing down into the deeper water near the sand bars. And sooner or later you will find a dog’s head in your lap. This is not part of an unordered Abaconian special menu with a Godfather theme; it’s a potcake looking for chicken. Or fish. Or chips. Or anything edible really.

The origins of these ‘community dogs’ – no one’s and everyone’s – are many and various, just like their assorted shapes, sizes and colours. There are many of these semi-feral dogs on the island, slinking around the settlements and even the main town. They have a tough life. They are generally ignored or shooed away. But in Sandy Point at least, they seem healthy and well-fed. Nancy’s may have something to do with that…

The potcakes of Sandy Point make the beach and the sea their playground. If you walk along the strand and round the point, they may tag along for a while. Then they get bored and rush off. When the tide is low, they will trot along the exposed sandbars right out into the sea. Or chase each other into the sea. Or maybe just relax and watch an endemic Bahama swallow flit past.

There are active potcake rescue schemes aimed at rehoming strays. Spay and neuter clinics are regularly held. The aim is to keep the numbers down with benign control rather than anything more radical. And rehomed animals make excellent pets, being “intelligent, loyal, calm, and resilient”. I’m guessing the potcakes of Sandy Point reckon they have a pretty good life as it is.

Keith Salvesen . Rolling Harbour . Abaco . Bahamas

ABACO: THREE SPECIES OF CUCKOO

August 4, 2026 by Rolling Harbour

Yellow billed cuckoo, Abaco Bahamas (Tom Sheley)

ABACO’S THREE CUCKOO SPECIES

There are 3 cuckoo species recorded for Abaco, all permanent residents. Two are relatively scarce. The third is the much-loved gregarious and raucous Ani.

YELLOW-BILLED CUCKOO (and header image)

MANGROVE CUCKOO

SMOOTH-BILLED ANI

Photo Credits: Tom Sheley, Tony Hepburn, Alex Hughes, Gerlinde Taurer, Nina Henry

WTF? (WHAT’S THAT FISH?) 12: THE TRUMPETFISH

July 18, 2026 by Rolling Harbour

WTF? (WHAT’S THAT FISH?) 12: THE TRUMPETFISH

Quite a while back, I wrote a series of posts dedicated to the unusual or downright weird marine creatures that, when you see them ‘IRL’, you exclaim “WTF”. Behold the Trumpetfish! These long piscine pipes are related to seahorses and sea-dragons. It’s time to spotlight them again.

Trumpetfishes Aulostomus maculatus are as happy to swim upright as more conventionally. This helps them to blend in with vertical corals and sponges on the reefs in the tropical waters of the western Atlantic. Adults may grow to 3 foot long or more. These creatures come in a variety of colours – shades of red, orange, brown, green and yellow.

At the end of the fish’s long snout – see how far back the eyes are set – is a small mouth. Here’s how a trumpetfish goes about catching its prey (mostly small fishes):

Slowly swimming or drifting to a target from behind, and sucking it into its mouth
Staying suspended in the water, motionless, and waiting like a malevolent stick for a passing wrasse or similar to get too close
Swimming alongside larger fishes, which camouflages its presence and enables it to ambush small fish as they pass
More generally, the trumpetfish has some ability to change its colour to blend with its surroundings – both a defensive as well as an attacking advantage

The very excellent Peppermint Narwhal recently produced a series of posters in appreciation of particular species – and trumpetfishes and their kin in the Order syngnathidae were honoured. The PN’s cheerful website is well worth checking out for the sheer diversity of their ideas.

14991470_1159096584183417_5198894741175308852_o

MUSICAL NOTES

In the course of showcasing the various WTF species, I noticed that there were the makings of a decent orchestra. The trumpetfish has a relative, the CORNET FISH elsewhere in the world. The remarkable GUITARFISH has already featured in the WTF? series, as has a species of BASS, the Harlequin. And – hey! – what about the spotted DRUMFISH to lay down the beat? Maybe I need to compose a little jingle featuring these one day…

Credits: Melinda Riger (Grand Bahama Scuba); Adam Rees (Scuba Works), with thanks as always.

BUTTERFLIES ON ABACO, BAHAMAS . ZEBRA HELICONIANS

June 20, 2026 by Rolling Harbour

BUTTERFLIES ON ABACO, BAHAMAS: ZEBRA HELICONIANS

The Zebra Heliconian butterfly Heliconius charithonia is commonly known as the Zebra Longwing. These striking butterflies roost nightly in large colonies, a species behaviour that is a protective measure against predation. The colony provides safety in numbers (or at least reduces the probabilities that you will be the one to be eaten).

NOTES

The species was first described by Carl Linnaeus in his 1767 (12th edition of Systema Naturae).

The boldly striped black and white wing pattern is aposematic, warning off predators.

In 1996 the Zebra Longwing was appointed the State Butterfly of Florida.

Credits: all images by Charles Skinner, taken in the vicinity of the Delphi Club, Abaco, Bahamas

Credits: all images by Charles Skinner, taken in the vicinity of the Delphi Club, Abaco, Bahamas

AMERICAN KESTRELS ON ABACO: ‘LET US PREY…’

June 3, 2026 by Rolling Harbour

AMERICAN KESTRELS ON ABACO: ‘LET US PREY…’

To be honest, I haven’t done these fine birds justice. Barely a mention of them for ages. Too much else on the land and in the water to choose from. A long time ago I posted some of my photos from an outing to Sandy Point HERE. And the kestrel kinsbird the MERLIN got some attention a while later. Time to make amends with some more AMKE.

As many of the images show, utility wires and wooden posts are a favourite perches for kestrels. They get an unimpeded view of the only thing that really matters in their lives – outside the breeding season, of course – PREY.

In my experience it’s quite rare to see AMKEs on the ground – unless they are in the act of ripping up some hapless rodent pinned to the earth. I was with photographer Tom Sheley when he captured this fine bird in the grass at Sandy Point.

american-kestrel-abaco-bahamas-tom-sheley-copy

Tom also took this outstanding photo, on an overcast day, of a kestrel feeding its fledgeling a large insect.

american-kestrel-feeding-fledgling-2-delphi-club-abaco-bahamas-tom-sheley

A good watching post at Treasure Cay a while back

american-kestrel-treasure-cay-abaco-bahamas-6-13-tom-sheley

A richly-coloured specimen

A kestrel in streamlined flight, with its feet tucked tightly under its body

Bird on the Wire

OPTIONAL MUSICAL DIGRESSION

One of Leonard Cohen’s standards, and a song covered by almost everyone from Johnny Cash to the Heathen Gonads*, Bird on the Wire was on the album Songs from a Room (1969). It was a favourite of Cohen’s, who once said “I always begin my concert with this song”. Covers range from the excellent via good, interesting, and strange to outright bizarre. Joe Bonamassa’s take on it (as Bird on a Wire) on Black Rock, is certainly… unusual**.

Credits: Bruce Hallett (1, 10); Charles Skinner (2); Peter Mantle (3, 9); Tom Sheley 4, 5, 6); Nina Henry (7); Tom Reed (8)

american-kestrel-f-abaco-bruce-hallett-img_1222

*not really **shows originality & ingenuity -vs- dents his purist bluesman credentials. Sounds terrible IMNSVHO

“CLINGING TO THE WRECKAGE”: BAHAMAS CLINGING CRABS

March 25, 2026 by Rolling Harbour

“CLINGING TO THE WRECKAGE”: BAHAMAS CLINGING CRABS

The Clinging Crab Mithrax spinosissimus answers to a number of names: West Indian spider crab; channel clinging crab; reef or spiny spider crab; or coral crab. It is found throughout the waters of South Florida and the Caribbean.

These are crabs of the reefs, or indeed of the wrecks that may be found around reefs. Some of the crabs in this post have chosen wrecks as their home – in the header image the crab is living inside the smoke stack of ‘Theo’s Wreck’, Grand Bahama.

The clinging crab is believed to be omniverous, its main diet being algae and carrion. They can grow to 2 kg, and it is the largest species of reef crab found in the Caribbean.

Clinging Crab ©Melinda Riger @ G B Scuba

LAID BACK

Clinging Crab, Bahamas (Melinda Riger, G B Scuba)

Credits: Melinda Riger of Grand Bahama Scuba (all photos), with thanks as always for use permission

CUBAN PEWEE: ‘NATURE’S LEAST SCARY TYRANT’

March 10, 2026 by Rolling Harbour

CUBAN PEWEE: ‘NATURE’S LEAST SCARY TYRANT’

The small bird featured here is a CUBAN PEWEE Contopus caribaeus bahamensis (sometimes called the Crescent-eyed Pewee – see image for why this is so). It is without a doubt a tyrant. At barely 6″ long, it is the smallest tyrant you are likely to encounter in the Bahamas or indeed anywhere else. However it does happen to be a member of the family Tyranidae. These are the flycatchers, and on Abaco they include the larger LA SAGRA’S FLYCATCHER, the still larger LOGGERHEAD KINGBIRD and (a summer visitor only) the GRAY KINGBIRD (this last link explains the difference between the two kingbirds).

The Cuban Pewee is permanently resident on Abaco, and can be found in both pine woods and coppice. When returning to its perch after a fly-catching sortie – ‘hawking’ on the wing – this wee bird gives a characteristic flick of the tail. The bird featured here was in the rough scrub behind the beach of the beautiful bay at Casuarina. It became a favourite of mine simply by being completely unafraid of me, and accepting my extremely slow approach (3 inches at a time) with apparent interest mixed in with an endearing willingness to pose, even when I could almost have reached out and touched it.

Unlike many creatures, it did not seem concerned by eye-contact. It responded when I made a faint clicking sound by rather sweetly putting its head on one side. However, as I got as close to it as I dared, it began to fidget slightly (possibly feeling camera-shy). So I shuffled slowly back, so as not to disturb it in its own territory, where it was the resident and I was the intruder.

These close-ups clearly show the tiny hooked tip at the end of the upper beak, which (as in other tyrant species) relates to the business of catching flies. Also like other flycatchers, the Cuban Pewee has very distinctive whiskers around the base of the beak. In fact, these are not whiskers as such – not hairs so much as feathers that have modified into bristles. These act as ‘tactile sensors’ to assist the detection and targeting of aerial insects as the bird darts from a perch to intercept some passing tasty winged morsel.

The range of the Cuban Pewee is limited almost entirely to Cuba and the Bahamas, so it is very region specific. And how lucky we are to have these cute little specimens on Abaco. I note that the Audubon site calls them drab, which I think is a little unfair. Merely because a bird is not decked out like a PAINTED BUNTING or startlingly marked like a male RED-WINGED BLACKBIRD does not make it drab. I prefer the word ‘subtle’. I like GRASSQUITS too, for the same reason: too often maligned as ‘dull’.

It is sometimes tempting to anthropomorphise such close encounters in terms of imputed human / creature empathy. It is probably best to try to resist that attitude (‘inter-species condescension’, as you might term it). But as I withdrew, leaving this little bird undisturbed on its branch, I did experience a strange feeling of mutual understanding and… [I must interrupt myself here. I’m a lawyer, so that’s quite enough of that sort of emotive nonsense]

All photos: Keith Salvesen; Range Map, Cornell

WRY ‘CUDA . Abaco Bahamas

February 17, 2026 by Rolling Harbour

WRY ‘CUDA

There’s no doubt about it, barracudas have a particularly unwelcoming look to them. They exude menace. There’s something about the torpedo shape, the primitive head, and the uncomfortably snaggle-toothed grin-with-underbite that suggests a creature not to be underestimated.

Barracuda, Abaco Bahamas (Melinda Rogers / Dive Abaco)

And that smiley mouth – rather scornful and derisive, is it not? A powerful creature in its element, where you are the intruder… and it sees it like that too. An adult barracuda may grow to nearly 6 foot long. You are only temporarily of its world, and (it observes) you are keeping your distance.

Barracuda, Bahamas (Melinda Riger / G B Scuba)

The dental arrangements of a ‘cuda are a wonder in themselves. The teeth are razor sharp; an orthodontist’s nightmare because they are all different sizes and grow at different angles. Some are conventionally set in the jaws, but some actually grow from the roof of the mouth. There are ‘normal’ sized teeth interspersed with wicked-looking fangs that randomly grow facing forwards, backwards and sideways.

WHY THE UNTIDY MOUTH FURNITURE?

The name Barracuda is thought to derive from the Spanish word barraco meaning (in one of its senses) “overlapping teeth”. The jaws that contain the teeth are strong, and the underbite adds to the effectiveness of ‘cuda predation. Prey is highly unlikely to escape once caught. When the jaws snap shut, the sharp angled teeth – particularly the back-facing ones (cf fishhook barbs) prevent the victim from pulling away. Then the munching and shredding can begin inside what is essentially a perfectly equipped multi-bladed mincing machine.

Credits: Melinda Rogers / Dive Abaco except #3 & #8 Melinda Riger / Grand Bahama Scuba

Here’s looking at you…

OVENBIRDS ON ABACO, BAHAMAS

January 19, 2026 by Rolling Harbour

OVENBIRDS

The Ovenbird Seiurus aurocapilla is a small winter-resident warbler with distinctive orange head feathers that can be raised into a crest. This accomplishment is mainly used in the breeding season as a way to impress and attract a mate, and maybe at other times if they are alarmed.

These are shy little birds and you may hardly be aware of them. They stay close to the ground and as they rootle their way through dead leaves and under shrubs, they look quite drab. See one lit up by the morning sun, however, and you’ll see how pretty and richly marked they are, with a smart orange head-stripe.

The Ovenbird – first classified by Linnaeus in 1766 – enjoys the taxonomic distinction of being the only bird of its genus in the warbler family Parulidae. It is a so-called ‘monotypic’ species. It was formerly lumped in with Waterthrushes and Parulas, but was fairly recently found to be genetically dissimilar and so the classifications were revised.

The ovenbird is so named because it builds a domed nest (‘oven’) with a side-entrance, constructed from foliage and vegetation. They tend to nest on the ground, making them vulnerable to predation. The species name for the ovenbird, Seiurus aurocapilla, has nothing to do with the nest shape, though. It derives from both Greek (Seiurus = wag-tail) and Latin aurocapilla = gold-capped). No, nothing to do with the lovely Taylor Swift either. Leave it.

Examples of the ‘chipping’ call and the song are below

Gauge the size of the bird against the pod it is standing on…

Orange crest feathers on show

Credits: Tom Sheley, Woody Bracey, Charmaine Albury, Bruce Hallett, Gerlinde Taurer, Cephas / Wiki

SOUTHERN STINGRAYS – BAHAMAS REEF FISH

January 4, 2026 by Rolling Harbour

SOUTHERN STINGRAYS: BAHAMAS REEF FISH (41)

Anyone who has scuba-dived or snorkelled around the bright coral reefs of the Bahamas, or hunted bonefish out on the Abaco Marls will have come across Southern Stingrays Dasyatis americana. And there are certain places where you can actually feed them – and not come to any harm…

FEED THEM? AREN’T THESE GUYS LETHALLY DANGEROUS CREATURES?

The name that always comes to mind in connection with stingrays is Steve Irwin, the charismatic Australian wildlife expert who was tragically stung over his heart as he swam close above a ray while filming underwater. It was a dreadful example of expert scientific study with a terrible outcome.

The ray’s stinger is in fact an erectile venomous barbed spine near the base of the tail and not on the end of it (as one might expect). But these creatures are not out to harm you – though of course when you are in their environment you should accord them the respect that they merit.

If you are walking / wading in the water, avoid the risk of accidentally treading on a ray. Best to shuffle your feet forward in the sand; if there’s a half-concealed ray feeding or resting on the bottom nearby, it will swim away peacefully. I took these photos below while bonefishing on the Marls. 1. Ray directly ahead of the skiff slowly makes off as the skiff drifts closer. 2. Ray with its young – completely aware of us as we glide past to one side, but completely unbothered.

Nonetheless if you are swimming, snorkeling or diving, don’t get too close – especially by passing directly over a ray, obviously.

Enough of the potential dangers. The southern stingray is a magnificent creature, as Melinda’s wonderful photographs show. She spends half her life underwater – I’m not aware of any ray problems.

Like many larger sea creatures, stingrays need help with their personal care – the removal of parasites, dead skin and so forth. And so they make use of the services offered by small fish like gobies, wrasses and shrimps at a CLEANING STATION. Here are 2 photos of rays doing just that. You can see the tiny fish by the reef, going about their work. There’s a mutual benefit in this symbiotic relationship, in which it is understood that the cleaners are unharmed. Indeed, they will often enter the mouths and gills of a fish to clean… including the teeth. So there’s dental hygiene on offer too…

RELATED POSTS

YELLOW STINGRAY

GRACE WITH ATTITUDE

TAKEN TO THE CLEANERS

Photo Credits: Melinda Riger / Grand Bahama Scuba, except for the feeding photo (cheers, Samantha Regan), the ‘specimen’ from Tomas Willems (Wiki) and my two noted above

THE PLURAL OF ‘OCTOPUS’ & RELATED CEPHALOPOD MYSTERIES…

December 20, 2025 by Rolling Harbour

THE PLURAL OF ‘OCTOPUS’ & RELATED CEPHALOPOD MYSTERIES

The correct plural of ‘octopus’ is a singular mystery wrapped in tentacles and hidden beneath a rock. Shall we have the grammatical discourse first, or save it for later? Let’s have some ~~octopi~~ ~~octopuses~~ octopodes to look at first… [oh, and it’s definitely not ‘octopussies’, not even for 007]

Melinda Riger GRAND BAHAMA SCUBA

12 TASTY OCTOPUS FACTS TO ASTOUND YOUR FAMILY & FRIENDS

Their 8 ‘arms’ come in pairs ( the back two act more like legs) and they are bilaterally symmetric
Their beak is hard, but they have no internal or external skeleton (so they can squeeze into tight crannies)
They paralyse their prospective meals with saliva from their beak; or drill holes in molluscs, stun them with venom and rip them out
They defend themselves with squirted ink, jet propulsion, camouflage or venom
All species are venomous; only one species is deadly to humans (not found in the Bahamas)
They are able to detach an arm (autotomy) to distract predators with the wriggling shed limb
The male’s 3rd right arm is the one used for reproduction… (stop giggling at the back)
Well, you asked: 1. special hidden extra arm 2. packets of sperm 3. into the female’s ‘mantle cavity’
No, I don’t know any more than that – ask your father.
Oh, and the males tend to die within months of mating, deftly using death to sidestep parenting 8-limbed offspring
They are unlikely to make a good pet for your family. Those who try, fail
They are eaten throughout the world, sometimes alive (e.g. Korea)

Another photo of Melinda’s, showing how an octopus can tuck itself away inside a small gap in the rocks. It can still keep an eye on you, though

THE CORRECT PLURAL OF ‘OCTOPUS’

There’s much debate about this comparatively unimportant question. Not even an octopus would care. The viable candidates are: octopuses; octopodes; and octopi. Since all are in common usage, none is ‘wrong’, though some are more correct than others…

1. OCTOPUSES An anglicised grammatical progression of a latin-sounding word to a logical plural, similar to ‘virus’ and viruses’. Only an extreme pedant would want to argue for ‘viri’ or ‘virii’. Similarly with bonus: “We all got boni for Christmas”. No, you didn’t. They were bonuses.

2. OCTOPODES the origin of ‘octopus’ is a Greek word ὀκτάπους, later latinised. The correct plural in Athens would have been ‘octopodes’. It is not derived from a 2nd declension latin noun, as often assumed, in which case the plural might indeed be ‘octopi’ (cf annus / anni; year / years). Using this etymologically accurate form in conversation might lead to a lonely life as people begin to move away from you. But you would still be in the right, if that matters to you so much…

3. OCTOPI see above. In a picky world, this is the least correct of the 3, being a pluralisation based on the wrong root origin (i.e. on latin, not greek), and therefore etymologically unsound. In practice, it’s quick and easy, and everyone knows what you mean, which is largely the point of language, I guess. Personally, I’d use octopuses if I ever used the word.

SUMMARY: 2 is the most technically correct, and also the most likely to get you chucked off the side of the boat. Fully clothed. 1 is a logically correct anglicisation. 3 is a technically incorrect form, but long usage has made it acceptable to all but verbal Luddites. Push them off the boat too.

ADDENDUM This was never going to be easy! What about ‘cactus / cacti’, do I hear? Yes, cactus was known to Greeks as κάκτος (kaktos); but it was equally known to the Romans as ‘cactus’, not as a word that had to be imported by them from the Greeks and adapted. So the word’s root is as much latin as greek. No doubt that explains similar latin-origin ‘i’ plurals such as alumnus / alumni and stimulus / stimuli.

Massive thanks as ever to Melinda and Fred Riger of GRAND BAHAMA SCUBA, who in 2011 got me started on the fish, rays, sharks etc to be found in northern Bahamas waters. This entire blog – 15 years-worth – is to a considerable extent shaped by their generosity with their knowledge and wonderful photos from those early days.

‘SEXING THE HUMMER’: A GENDER GUIDE TO ABACO’S HUMMINGBIRDS

December 13, 2025 by Rolling Harbour

*Keith Salvesen / Rolling Harbour* / *Abaco Bahamas*

‘SEXING THE HUMMER’

A GENDER GUIDE TO ABACO’S HUMMINGBIRDS

*Cuban Emerald (m) Abaco (Charlie Skinner*)

This post is not as indelicate as the title might imply. It is not a practical guide for intimate examinations of tiny birds. Nor does refer to some louche activity involving large motor vehicles. It’s all about plumage and recognition. And there are only two species – and two genders for each one – to wrestle with*. So here are the adult male and female Bahama Woodstars and Cuban Emeralds in all their glory…

–

BAHAMA WOODSTAR (Calliphlox evelynae)

*Bahama Woodstar (m), Abaco (Bruce Hallett)*

*Bahama Woodstar (m), Abaco Bahamas (Tom Sheley)*

*Bahama Woodstar (f), Bahama Palm Shores, Abaco (Tara Lavallee)*

*Bahama Woodstar (f), Abaco (Tom Sheley)*

❖

CUBAN EMERALD (Chlorostilbon ricordii)

Cuban Emerald (male), Delphi Club, Abaco (Keith Salvesen) — *Cuban Emerald (m) Delphi, Abaco (Keith Salvesen)*

*Cuban Emerald (m), Delphi, Abaco (Peter Mantle)*

Cuban Emerald (female), Delphi Club, Abaco (Keith Salvesen) — *Cuban Emerald (f), Delphi, Abaco (Keith Salvesen)*

Cuban Emerald (female) Gilpin Point, Abaco (Keith Salvesen) — *Cuban Emerald (f) Gilpin Point, Abaco (Keith Salvesen)*

And finally, a brilliant Woodstar photo taken by Tom Sheley, birdman and generous fishing partner, that spans the boundary between wildlife photography and art.

*Bahama Woodstar female. Abaco Bahamas . Tom Sheley*

There have been very rare reports of vagrant sightings, in particular Anna’s Hummingbird

WAVE CHASERS: SANDERLING POOL TIME ON ABACO

November 30, 2025 by Rolling Harbour

WAVE CHASERS: SANDERLING POOL TIME ON ABACO

It’s often a hard decision whether to include a short piece of video footage in a post. By short, I mean less than a minute. On the one hand, there is usually a good reason for inclusion, even if only aesthetic. On the other, it simply takes up more time for busy people who may prefer to flick through an article and enjoy some nice images along the way. Today, you can have the best of both worlds.

Sanderlings are definitively ‘peeps’, a group name that embraces the smallest and squeakiest sandpiper species. They are the wave chasers, the tiny birds that scuttle along the beach, into the retreating tide for a snack from the sand, and back to the beach again as the waves creep in. Their little legs and feet move in a blur, and many people immediately think of wind-up clockwork toys as they watch the birds in action. But these charmers never wind down while there is shoreline foraging to be done.

One of the joys of being a sanderling is that rock pools fill and empty diurnally. At some time during daylight, there’s the certainty of a quick dip. I was lying on the beach when I took this short video, so that I didn’t spook the birds. I was equipped with a smallish camera (I drowned it the following day. By mistake I mean) so I kept my distance rather than try to get closer and spoil their joyful bathing.

I caught these little birds at a critical moment. You can tell that the tide is coming in fast. The peeps are becoming edgy, and weighing up the joys of immersion in a pool with the less enjoyable prospect of being washed out of the pool by the next wave. Within a minute or so, they had all flocked down the shoreline for a foraging session in new territory.

Waves and incoming tide getting a little too close for comfort on the edge of the pool…

Next to the migratory PIPING PLOVERS that favour Abaco as their winter home, the wave chasers are my favourite shorebirds. It was my keenness on them that killed my camera. I went out into the incoming waves to get shots back at the beach with the sun behind me. Great idea until I lost my balance with, as they say, hilarious consequences. Lesson learnt – never turn your back on waves.

All photos © Keith Salvesen / Rolling Harbour taken on the beach at Delphi, Abaco, Bahamas

CATCHING THE EYE: OYSTERCATCHERS (+ BONUS ID TIPS)

October 25, 2025 by Rolling Harbour

“CATCHING THE EYE”: OYSTERCATCHERS (+ BONUS ID TIP)

I’m focusing (ha!) on oystercatchers and their eyes. Like the extraordinary one in the header image. Notice the bright orangey-red ‘orbital ring’, the egg-yolk-reminiscent eye and the pitch black iris. An eye-catching and unmistakeable feature of this handsome black and white shorebird, the American Oystercatcher.

Here’s another AMOY eye, with a different smudge of black by the iris. I don’t know for sure, but I suspect that AMOY specialists are able to ID individual birds at least in part by their different eye markings. And you can see that the eye-ring smartly matches the beak into the bargain.

American Oystercatcher AMOY eye close-up (Todd Pover / CWFNJ)

This wonderful photograph of a loving AMOY pair with their precious egg safely encircled by a rocky nest was taken on LBI, NJ by ‘Northside Jim’, whose amazing photos I sometimes include. See how brightly the eyes of each bird stand out, like tiny archery targets.

american-oystercatcher-t2-eggs (Northside Jim : Exit 63)

The World is Mine Oyster

The world's mine oyster - American Oystercatcher AMOY (Dan Pancamo Wiki) This well-captioned AMOY shot was generously put on Wiki by photographer Dan Pancamo

OYSTERCATCHER ID TIPS

A while ago, when I was choosing AMOY photographs for publication, I idly wondered what was the difference between them and Eurasian Oystercatchers (yes, yes, I hear you – apart from geographical, I mean…). At a first comparative glance, to me they looked remarkably similar in coloration and size. Assuming both species were to be discovered on the same shoreline, how best might one distinguish them? The main differences seemed to be:

Leg colouring differs, AMOY legs being generally pale pink as opposed to the stronger coloured legs of the EUROY (if they can be called that). However there are considerable EUROY variations (see below), from pink to orange to reddish, that are presumably seasonal. The leg colour, assuming they are visible to the watcher, is not quite a definitive identifier.
Both species have black heads and necks, but the AMOY’s back plumage shades to dark brown. But how distinctive would that be in low light or indifferent weather?
Mrs RH, looking over my shoulder, saw it at once: the eyes. If you can see the eyes, you can tell instantly what make of OY you are looking at. Here are a some Eurasian Oystercatchers showing their own distinctively red eyes and orbital rings.

Eurasian Oystercatcher (Elis Simpson)

Eurasian Oystercatcher - Haematopus ostralegus (Elis Simpson)

Haematopus_ostralegus_-Scotland_(Snowmanradio / wiki)

As so often, I have since found that the excellent Birdorable site has nailed the differences clearly and simply. Eye colour, leg colour and – less obviously – the AMOY’s brownish back as opposed to the EUROY’s entirely black and white body. Sorted.

american-oystercatcher (Birdorable) eurasian-oystercatcher (Birdorable)

RECOMMENDED SHOREBIRD SITE WADER QUEST

Credits: Todd Pover / CWFNJ (1, 2); Northside Jim EXIT63 (3); Dan Pancamo (4); Elis Simpson / Wader Quest (5, 6); snowmanradio / wiki (7); Wader Quest, Birdorable, magpie pickings; Mrs RH for sharp… er… eyes

BRITTLE STARS: PRIMITIVE YET INCREDIBLY COMPLEX STARFISH

September 30, 2025 by Rolling Harbour

BRITTLE STARS: PRIMITIVE YET INCREDIBLY COMPLEX STARFISH

BRITTLE STARS are closely related to starfish, and in particular to Basket Stars. They are commonly known as “serpent stars”, having 5 long, thin arms that may grow as long as 2 feet long. There are lots of different types of brittle star – at least 2000 – and they are found in every ocean on earth from the poles to the tropics. In Bahamian waters they a commonly found living on reefs.

Although these creatures look primitive, their structure, nervous systems, respiratory systems, digestive systems, sex lives and transportation methods are incredibly complex. Take it from me – I’ve just read about it all. So I’ve decided to pick a few aspects of these creatures to highlight rather than discuss the minutiae of their ossicles (tiny bones), madroporites (a sort of water filter / pressure balancer) and viscera.

You are most likely to see Brittle Stars clinging to coral or sponges

A DOZEN BRITTLE STAR FACTS TO PLAY WITH

The star has no eyes and no sense organs as we know them, but can detect light chemically; and (why would they need this?) sense smell through their ‘feet’… [Not a superpower I would prize, but still]
The mouth is on the underside of the central disc (‘body’) of 5 segments, each with a toothed jaw
The mouth is used both for ingestion and, putting it delicately, egestion. [Nor that superpower]
Stars eat tiny organisms suspended in the water or mini-worms, gathering them with their arms
If I have understood this, they breathe through their armpits, and can excrete from here also
The arms fit the main part with ball and socket joints, and are flexible in all directions
The genitals seem to be located in or between the armpits (lucky we are not descended from stars)
Stars readily regenerate lost arms until they lose the 5th – then they are in real trouble
This enables them to shed an arm in a predator attack, like a lizard its tail
Trials indicate that a jettisoned arm cannot regenerate from itself
They use only 4 arms to move along, with the fifth ‘steering’ out in front or trailing behind
Brittle Stars are inedible but non-toxic

Often, brittle stars will cling on inside a sponge

I quite liked this infographic from a source new to me, ‘Weird ‘n’ Wild Creatures Wikia’

Here is a great video from Neptune Canada of a brittle star fight on the ocean floor over the remains of a shrimp. If you watch the ones joining the fight, you will clearly see the locomotion method described above, with one limb pathfinding and the other four ‘walking’.

I’m not renowned for extreme sensitivity, so I feel no shame in showing mating brittle stars, courtesy of Channel Banks. It’s not exactly Lady Chatterley and Mellors, but the entwined arms are rather romantic, no?

Credits: all wonderful photos by Melinda Riger of Grand Bahama Scuba; BS infographic and viddys as credited

WORLD DOLPHIN DAY 2025 and BMMRO NEWS

September 14, 2025 by Rolling Harbour

WORLD DOLPHIN DAY 2025

September 12th is the day chosen by Sea Shepherd to raise awareness and promote the conservation of dolphins. It was established on the one-year anniversary of the killing of 1,428 Atlantic white-sided dolphins in the Faroe Islands, which was the largest single slaughter of cetaceans in history.

As many will know, the marine mammals of the Bahamas – whales, dolphins and manatees – are researched and protected by the Bahamas Marine Mammal Research Organisation. It was established more than 20 years ago by Diane Claridge and Charlotte Dunn. Based for many years in Sandy Point, Abaco, the organisation has recently extended its operations to an office in Marsh Harbour.

BMMRO has a wide remit in marine mammal research and education. Young children are given an opportunity to learn what lies beyond the seashore. Older children have opportunities for combining learning with fun at the summer Whale Camps. There are learning groups and talks, and all schools are welcome to participate.

Plans in progress include establishing Whale Camps on other islands, such as Long Island and Eleuthera. There has also been outreach to Exuma and the Berry Islands.

At a more advanced level, BMMRO provides outstanding opportunities for older students to increase their knowledge and skills, to take these to higher education, and to prepare them for the life of a marine mammal researcher.

BMMRO has recently produced a comprehensive Field Guide featuring all 27 marine mammal species found in Bahamian waters. These give a great deal of information and are readily available.

You can find out more about the nature and scope of the work carried out by BMMRO HERE . The speed of the development of sundry critical threats to the world’s oceans and their denizens has been astonishing. It is now irreversible. Fortunately the number of ocean research and protection organisations has increased significantly as the situation worsens. Please consider making a donation to support the work of BMMRO, or (for those elsewhere in the world), to the marine mammal organisation in your area.

LEAD SCIENTISTS: Diane and Charlotte – pioneer researchers in the Bahamas over 4 decades

All Photos: @BMMRO

LINKS: BMMRO . MM SIGHTINGS . WHALE CAMP 2025 . ROLLING HARBOUR

Credits: BMMRO . Rolling Harbour / Keith Salvesen

OSPREY . BIRDS OF ABACO . 1

August 28, 2025 by Rolling Harbour

There are few more exhilarating sights in the world of birds than an osprey swooping from a great height down into the sea, emerging with a large fish held characteristically ‘fore and aft’ in its claws, and flying into the distance with heavy wing-beats.

BoA Ref : 72 OSPREY . Pandion haliaetus . PR|B|2

LINK to complete book pdf

BIRDS OF ABACO Keith Salvesen

CRAB RUN – THE MOVIE

August 14, 2025 by Rolling Harbour

ROLLING HARBOUR MOVIES PROUDLY PRESENTS

CRAB RUN – THE MOVIE

LOCATION: DELPHI CLUB BEACH, ABACO

(Music: Chet Atkins ‘Yakkety Axe’, aka The Benny Hill Show Theme)

Found in old folder for this newish blog in 2012, when I featured plenty of tosh just for fun

RED-WINGED BLACKBIRDS . ABACO . BAHAMAS

July 25, 2025 by Rolling Harbour

RED-WINGED BLACKBIRDS ON ABACO

The sounds are unmistakeable – a discordant chorus of soft chuckling noises like tongue-clicks as the RWTs flock into a bush, interrupted by harsh, metallic calls like rusty metal gate-hinges being forced open. Or maybe a lone bird mournfully repeating its eerie call from the mangroves far out on the Marls as the bonefishing skiffs slip silently along the shoreline. No other species sound quite like Agelaius phoeniceus.

The handsome males sport flashy epaulets, most clearly visible in flight or in display – for example to impress a prospective mate. Again, they are unlikely to be confused with another species.

The females, as is often the way, are less showy. I have read that they are ‘nondescript’ or ‘dull’, which is unnecessarily harsh, I reckon. Here are a couple of examples.

And the darker brown ones that are clearly not handsome black males? These are young males in their first season, before they move on to the full adult male plumage. Originally I had designated them as females (as I had assumed). I was very gently corrected by the legendary bird expert Bruce Hallett. I took the first male juvenile at Casuarina, when I also made the sound recording (below). The second was at Delphi (with some ‘light’ issues, I notice…).

Fledglings are kind of cute…

SO WHAT DO THEY SOUND LIKE?

You may need to turn up the volume a bit. You will also here a lot of dove noise and, in the background, the sound of waves lapping onto the shore.

Photo Credits: Tom Sheley (1, 2, 4, 5, 8); Alex Hughes (3); Keith Salvesen (6, 7, 9 & audio)

FLAMINGO TONGUE SNAILS: DECORATIVE CORAL-DWELLERS

June 29, 2025 by Rolling Harbour

FLAMINGO TONGUE SNAILS: DECORATIVE CORAL-DWELLERS

FLAMINGO TONGUE SNAILS Cyphoma gibbous are small marine gastropod molluscs related to cowries. The living animal is brightly coloured and strikingly patterned, but that colour only exists in the ‘live’ parts – the so-called ‘mantle’. The shell itself is usually pale, and characterised by a thick ridge round the middle. Whether alive or as shells, they are gratifyingly easy to identify. These snails live in the tropical waters of the Caribbean and the wider western Atlantic.

Flamingo Tongue Snails (Melinda Rogers, Dive Abaco, Bahamas)

THE IMPORTANCE OF CORAL

Flamingo tongue snails feed by browsing on soft corals. Often, they will leave tracks behind them on the coral stems as they forage (see image below). But corals are not only food – they provide the ideal sites for the creature’s breeding cycle.

Adult females attach eggs to coral which they have recently fed upon. About 10 days later, the larvae hatch. They eventually settle onto other gorgonian corals such as Sea Fans. Juveniles tend to live protectively on the underside of coral branches, while adults are far more visible and mobile. Where the snail leaves a feeding scar, the corals can regrow the polyps, and therefore the snail’s feeding preference is generally not harmful to the coral.

The principal purpose of the patterned mantle of tissue over the shell is to act as the creature’s breathing apparatus. The tissue absorbs oxygen and releases carbon dioxide. As it has been (unkindly?) described, the mantle is “basically their lungs, stretched out over their rather boring-looking shell”. There’s more to them than that!

THREATS AND DEFENCE

The species, once common, is becoming rarer. The natural predators include hogfish, pufferfish and spiny lobsters, though the spotted mantle provides some defence by being (a) startling in appearance and (b) on closer inspection by a predator, rather unpalatable. Gorgonian corals contain natural toxins, and instead of secreting these after feeding, the snail stores them. This supplements the defence provided by its APOSEMATIC COLORATION, the vivid colour and /or pattern warning sign to predators found in many animal species.

MANKIND’S CONTRIBUTION

It comes as little surprise to learn that man is considered to be the greatest menace to these little creatures, and the reason for their significant decline in numbers. The threat comes from snorkelers and divers who mistakenly / ignorantly think that the colour of the mantle is the actual shell of the animal, collect up a whole bunch from the reef, and in due course are left with… dead snails and their allegedly dull shells Don’t be a collector; be a protector…

The photos below are of nude flamingo tongue shells. Until I read the ‘boring-looking shell’ comment, I believed everyone thought they were rather lovely… I did, anyway. I still do. You decide!