BAHAMAS WHALES & DOLPHINS IN ABACO & ANDROS WATERS

May 13, 2015 by Rolling Harbour

Melon-headed Whale breaching – BMMRO

BAHAMAS WHALES & DOLPHINS IN ABACO & ANDROS WATERS

The Bahamas Marine Mammal Research Organisation (BMMRO) has its HQ at Sandy Point, Abaco. We recently went out in their research boat, a RHIB, to spend an unforgettable day with Blainville’s beaked whales and bottlenose dolphins. I posted some of the dolphins HERE; and a two-part beaked whale post is a work in progress.

Male Blainville’s beaked whale with its extraordinary barnacle-encrusted teeth that protrude upwards from its lower jaw. The prominent beak is plainly visible. Sighted off the south-west point of Abaco during our second encounter with a group of these whales – the only male we saw that day

Abaco waters are ideal for marine mammals, especially off the southern shores where the walls of the Great Bahama Canyon drop vertiginously down from the shallow coastal waters to depths of up to 3 miles below. This is one of the deepest ocean canyons in the world. The area provides a rich source of food and nutrients for the whales and dolphins and many different species are regularly sighted there, from huge sperm whales to small pilot whales (including plenty of species I had never heard of before).

As the name suggests, the BMMRO’s remit extends far beyond Abaco. The researchers often spend time exploring and recording cetaceans in other Bahamian waters. For the last few weeks the team have been off Andros and have encountered quite a few target species. I have included a selection below taken within the last month to illustrate the importance of the area for a remarkable assortment of wonderful whales and dolphins.

BLAINVILLE’S BEAKED WHALE

DWARF SPERM WHALES

PANTROPICAL SPOTTED DOLPHINS

On board the research vessel, every sighting is recorded in detail – where possible by species, numbers, ages, sexes, and individual identifying characteristics. Thus ‘SW34’ may have a damaged fluke, whereas ‘RD49’ may have a long scar on its back.

PILOT WHALES

The research boat is equipped with sound devices which, when the microphone is immersed, are capable of picking up whale or dolphin sounds from a considerable distance. It’s astounding to be able to listen in ‘live’ to the wide assortment of clicks and whistles produced as the creatures communicate with each other. The recorded sound patterns are studied and can often be matched to enable an individual animal to be identified.

MELON-HEADED WHALES

RISSO’S DOLPHIN

Other work, including photography, is done underwater. Perhaps the most intriguing aspect is the collection of poop specimens, from which a great deal can be ascertained about the diet and health of an individual animal. I wrote about this task and the methods used a while ago in ‘FAMILIAR FECES‘.

I’ll be writing more about whales soon. Meanwhile, here’s a short BMMRO video of a large group of melon-headed males. At the start, you can clearly hear communication sounds between them.

Credits: Charlotte & Diane of the BMMRO for taking us out with them and for all the photos except the male Blainville’s beaked whale (mine, for once!)

BRITTLE STARS: PRIMITIVE YET INCREDIBLY COMPLEX STARFISH

May 11, 2015 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

PIONEER NATURALISTS & ABACO BIRDS: POTTED BIOGRAPHIES

May 8, 2015 by Rolling Harbour

Wilson’s Plover, Abaco (Craig Nash)

PIONEER NATURALISTS & ABACO BIRDS: POTTED BIOGRAPHIES

Who were all the people – all men, I’m afraid – who are immortalised in the names of birds they first discovered or recorded or collected specimens of or wrote about? In various previous birds posts I have given brief bios of the naturalist for whom the particular species under consideration is named. I’ve decided to bring all those who specifically relate to Abaco together in one place. There is not (as far as I know) a collective term for ornithologists, so may I introduce a “Scope” or “Twitch” of them…

ALEXANDER WILSON 1766 – 1813

Mr Wilson Wilson’s phalarope, plover, snipe, storm-petrel, warbler

Alexander Wilson was a scottish poet and writer. He specialised in ballads, pastoral pieces, and satirical commentary on the conditions of weavers in the mills. The latter got him into trouble when he overstepped the mark by making a vicious written attack on one mill owner. He was arrested, convicted and sentenced to burn the work in public (fair enough, perhaps) and imprisoned (somewhat harsh). After his release, he sensibly emigrated to America in 1794.

Wilson became a teacher in Pennsylvania, and develpoped his interests in ornithology and painting. His ambitious plan was to publish a collection of illustrations of all the birds of North America. He travelled widely, collecting, painting, and securing subscriptions to fund a nine-volume American Ornithology (1808–1814). Of the 268 species of birds illustrated, 26 had never previously been described. Wilson died during the preparation of the ninth volume, which was completed and published by George Ord. Wilson predated John James Audubon (though not by many years) and is generally acknowledged to be the founder of American ornithol0gy.

For examples of Wilson’s American Birds, check out the excellent Virginia University records HERE

Wilson’s Phalarope (Craig Nash)

CHARLES LUCIEN BONAPARTE 1803 – 1853

Bonaparte’s gull, Zenaida dove

Charles Lucien Bonaparte, 2nd Prince of Canino and Musignano was a French biologist and ornithologist. He was nephew of the Emperor Napoleon. He married his cousin Zenaïde, by whom he had twelve children. They moved from Italy to Philadelphia, by which time Bonaparte had already developed a keen interest in ornithology. He collected specimens of a new storm-petrel, later named after the Scottish ornithologist Alexander Wilson (see above).

Bonaparte studied the ornithology of the United States, and updated Wilson’s American Ornithology. His revised edition was published between 1825 and 1833. He was a keen supporter of a (then unknown) ornithologist John James Audubon. Rather sweetly, he created the genus Zenaida, after his wife, applying it to the White-winged Dove Zenaida asiatica, Zenaida Dove Zenaida aurita and Mourning Dove Zenaida macroura. He himself was later honoured in the name ‘Bonaparte’s Gull’.

Bonaparte’s Gull, Abaco (Bruce Hallett)

RAMON LA SAGRA (1798 -1871)

Mr La Sagra La Sagra’s Flycatcher

Ramón Dionisio José de la Sagra y Peris was a multi-talented man, being a Spanish botanist and also a writer, economist, sociologist, politician, anarchist, and founder of the world’s first anarchist journal El Porvenir (“The Future”). He lived in Cuba and became director of Havana’s Botanical Garden; his name lives on arguably more significantly in ornithological than in anarchist circles (actually, an ‘anarchist circle’ must surely be a contradiction in terms…)

La Sagra’s Flycatcher, Abaco (Keith Salvesen)

A Cuban stamp commemorates the death of Juan Gundlach, the nauralist who chose La Sagra’s name to bestow on the flycatcher, and who himself is honoured in the name of the Bahama Mockingbird Mimus gundlachii

WILLIAM JOHN SWAINSON (1789 – 1855)

Mr Swainson For Abaco: Swainson’s Hawk, Thrush & Warbler

Swainson was an English ornithologist, entomologist, conchologist, natural historian, and a gifted illustrator of the natural world. He was a pioneer of the new lithographic technology, which enabled quicker reproduction of his work than engraving. Swainson lent his name to a number of avian species, three of which may be found on Abaco – the Swainson’s Hawk, Thrush and Warbler. The hawk is a rare visitor; the thrush is a transient, passing through the Bahamas during migration; and the warbler is a hard-to-find winter resident. Below is the only known Swainson’s Hawk to be photographed on Abaco.

Swainson’s Hawk, Abaco (Bruce Hallett)

JOHN ISIAH NORTHROP (1861 – 91)

640px-Picture_of_John_Isaiah_Northrop Bahama Oriole (Icterus northropi)

John Isiah Northrop, for whom the endemic BAHAMA ORIOLE Icterus northropi is named, entailed a bit more research. The link above will take you to my post about this very beautiful species that is sadly on the brink of extinction. Until recently it was found only on Abaco and Andros, but is now extirpated from Abaco and exists only in certain enclaves on Andros.

Bahamas Oriole, Andros (Binkie Van Es)

I can do no better than regurgitate the info provided by the University of Glasgow Library Research Annexe in relation to a fine illustration from A Naturalist in the Bahamas (1910), reprinted in The Auk journal (below) at a time when Icterus northropi was still a mere subspecies:

“The yellow and black Bahama Oriole (Icterus Northropi) is a bird species unique to the Bahamas. The bird was named for American ornithologist and zoologist, John Isiah Northrop (1861–91); the illustration comes from an account of the trip Northrop and his botanist wife, Alice, took to the Bahamas in 1889 which was published in his memory: A Naturalist in the Bahamas: John I. Northrop, October 12 1861-June 25, 1891; a memorial volume (Columbia University Press, 1910). It was edited and introduced by Henry Fairfield Osborn, professor of zoology at Columbia University where Northrop worked as a tutor and was killed in a laboratory explosion shortly (9 days) before the birth of his son John Howard Northrop (who became a Nobel prize-winning chemist)”.

JARED POTTER KIRTLAND 1793 –1877

260px-Jared_Potter_Kirtland_1793-1877 Kirtland’s Warbler (Setophaga kirtlandii)

Jared Potter Kirtland was a naturalist, malacologist and politician, most active in Ohio where he served as a probate judge, and in the Ohio House of Representatives. He was also a physician and co-founder of a University Medical School. Kirtland became one of America’s leading naturalists, with a particular interest in horticulture and sea shells. He published numerous natural history articles, and was a founder and president of the Kirtland Society of Natural History and the Cleveland Academy of Natural Science.

Somewhere in amongst all this, he discovered or at least studied the warbler that was named after him. This rare bird is found in small numbers only in certain areas of Michigan; and overwinters in the Bahamas including on Abaco. They a very hard to find, and harder still to photograph. This year we made an expedition into remote backcountry and found 4, more of which another time…

Kirtland’s Warbler, Abaco (Woody Bracey)

JOHN JAMES AUDUBON (1785 – 1851)

John James Audubon never went to Abaco. The nearest he got was probably in 1820, when he made a field trip to the southern states, including Florida; or in the 1830s when he made at least one trip to Key West. One technique that set him apart from contemporaries was his method of producing naturalistic (as opposed to ‘stuffed bird’) drawings. It involved killing birds using very fine shot, and then using wires to pose them naturally, according to his field sketches. This contrasted with the usual technique of using a stuffed specimen as a model.

Although no Abaco birds are specifically named for Audubon, it is almost impossible to dip a toe into ornithological history without immediately stubbing it on Audubon’s name. Hence his inclusion in this piece, bringing it to a conclusion.

Audubon’s master-work was his renowned Birds of America, arguably the most famous bird tome ever. There are about 120 sets of the original book still in existence. They were incredibly expensive to produce in contemporary terms; and in modern times a set sold for $11.5 million at Sotheby’s London in 2010, setting the unbeaten record for the world’s most expensive book sale. Recently there was great excitement over the sale of another set at Christie’s New York, but the sale price was far lower, a mere $7,922,500…

Audubon Birds of America.jpg

Credits: Bird pictures as shown; Encyclopaedia of Cleveland History, University of Glasgow Library, The Auk, Audubon Society, Wiki, Magpie pickings

PLOVER LOVER? MEET SOME CUTE CHICKS ON ABACO

May 6, 2015 by Rolling Harbour

PLOVER LOVER? MEET SOME CUTE CHICKS ON ABACO

(*Serious Voice*) “The Wilson’s Plover is the only permanent resident plover found on Abaco, the other species being the winter resident Black-bellied Plover, Semipalmated Plover, Piping Plover and Killdeer; and the rare transient American Golden Plover. The nidification of the Wilson’s Plover is by common consent among naturalists the most…”

But let’s not get carried away with all that pompous ornithological stuff. There are baby plovers to be considered. Each one exudz adorbz and absorbz admirz. Most of the photos below were taken on the beach at Delphi. Ready? Let’s meet some chicks… But you can’t have them without first having the eggs, can you?

The Wilson’s Plovers at Delphi generally nest at the north end of the beach, up towards the reef. It is secluded, has good sight-lines and is bordered by pines. On the approach of a predator or human (in this case, me), the tiny chicks are sent scuttling to safety at the back of the beach while the parents prepare to tough it out if need be…

“You ain’t seen me, right?”

“I know we are caught in the open, but if we stand really still, you can’t see us, right?”

One of the most fascinating aspects of bird behaviour to watch is the so-called ‘broken-wing’ display put on by plover parent(s) to distract a predator away from a nest or scrape, and the eggs or chicks in it. Kildeer and black-necked stilts are among other species that do this performance. It goes like something like this:

“Oh! OW! I am helpless. Please don’t attack me, Apex Predator, for I am but a vulnerable plover…”

“But kindly follow me as I flap pathetically (moving away from my nest). I can’t fly, you know…”

Camouflage also plays a part in the protection of these little creatures. This chick is on the rocks at the north end of the Delphi beach, the bit where you begin to wish you’d worn shoes because the rock is so sharp… From 10 feet away, you might well miss seeing the chick completely.

This is one of my favourite shots, also at Delphi, taken by Sandy Walker

Quite a while ago, I wrote about a Wilson’s Plover family that had made their scrape at Nettie’s Point, the place where the bonefishing skiffs are launched. They chose their homemaking site right where the trucks and trailers turn. Big mistake you might think. But the kind guides built a small stockade of branches round the scrape so that it could clearly be seen and avoided. After that, Mrs WP settled down happily and Mr WP stood guard whenever anyone was around…

The protective stockade in place. Mrs Plover in place. All’s well with the world

Soon after, two chicks hatched, were reared by both parents, and in due course fledged safely

Photo Credits: Clare Latimer (2, 7, 8); Tom Sheley (1, 3, 9, 13, 14); Sandy Walker (10); RH (the rest)

COMMON GROUND DOVE (‘TOBACCO DOVE’) ON ABACO

May 4, 2015 by Rolling Harbour

COMMON GROUND DOVE (‘TOBACCO DOVE’) ON ABACO

These small birds Columbina passerina are also known as tobacco doves. Although they sometimes perch in the branches of trees, you are more likely to encounter them on the ground, where they forage for seeds, fruit, and insects.

They will often fly in front of a person or vehicle in short fluttering stages, keeping out of reach but never going too far ahead.When they fly, their undersides flash reddish-brown (sometimes described as chestnut) – hence (I presume) the tobacco dove name.

The common ground dove is one of the world’s smallest doves – roughly 6 inches long. Its beak has a black tip, and its feathers have a pinkish tinge. The feathers on the head and the breast look rather like scales. Females are similar to males but tend to be greyer.

Common ground doves mate with their partner for life, and a pair may have 2 or even 3 broods a year. Both parents feed the young birds until they are ready to feed themselves. Rather amazingly, hatchlings can fledge in 11 days.

Here’s the sound to listen out for, a (frankly) rather monotonous and subdued little ‘whoop’.

Andrew Spenser / Xeno Canto

My own attempts to photograph a CGD satisfactorily have been rather feeble. I have taken plenty of photos of them on the ground, but nothing memorable, let alone useable. However the one below surprised me by flying onto a branch quite near me, and I had time to squeeze the trigger before it flew off again. Far from perfect compared with others on this page, but I’m not going to let that little detail prevent me from showing it…

Photo Credits: Tom Reed (1), Tom Sheley (2, 3), Nina Henry (4, 5, 6), RH (7); Audio – Andrew Spenser / Xeno Canto

WHITE IBISES ON ABACO: UNCOMMONLY EXCITING SIGHTING

April 30, 2015 by Rolling Harbour

WHITE IBISES ON ABACO: UNCOMMONLY EXCITING SIGHTING

“STOP THE CAR!” The shout was embarrassingly loud, amplified by being yelled inside a vehicle. Loud, because it seemed to emanate from very close indeed to my ear. Embarrassing, because it appeared to come out of my own mouth. Good grief! It was me. And I’d seen White Ibises. There they were, 2 adults and 2 juveniles, strolling and feeding their way across an open grassy area right in the middle of Sandy Point, as casual as you please.

So I leapt out of the car (it had conveniently and fortunately stopped by this stage), remembered to remove the lens cap for once, and took some photos. Unfortunately we had driven slightly past them which inevitably increased the risk of bird-butt shots (as the birds were moving away from me) to add to my already impressive ‘aves-ass’ collection

The reason for the excitement was that the White Ibis is classed on Abaco as a ‘WR4‘, that is to say a Winter Resident that is both uncommon to rare and irregularly reported. Some years, maybe none will be seen at all. When I was collecting the images – hundreds and hundreds of them – for THE BIRDS OF ABACO, I rejected any that had not actually been taken on Abaco. That was part of the point of the enterprise, to showcase Abaco’s birds, not “birds from other islands that you may also encounter on Abaco”. So although we had some wonderful White Ibis pics from Nassau, they were ineligible for the book…

We ended with just the one, taken by Kasia Reid at the Treasure Cay Golf course ponds. In the course of the 16 months it took to produce the book, we never obtained another Abaco White Ibis photo, which meant that Kasia’s image did not qualify for a spread and sadly had to be relegated to the supplement… (bird 159 on page 262!). Here it is.

Meanwhile, returning swiftly to Sandy Point, the 4 Ibises (Ibi?) were working their way slowly and systematically over the greenery, picking through it for morsels of food.

Then they were gone, and I got back into the car feeling that I had seen something special. I may have been the only occupant who felt that way, but such is life. For all I know, the birds may have been there for weeks. Or forever. But I have never seen them there before, nor seen reports of them. The sighting further confirms the excellence of Sandy Point as a birding location on land, shoreline and out to sea.

And then it was off to the legendary Nancy’s for lunch (fresh snapper, Kalik). Here are some of the Ibi (that sounds a much better plural) that had to be ruled out of the book for being non-Abaconian.

THE SALON DES REFUSÉS OF THE NASSAU EUDOCIMUS ALBUS

Credits: RH, Kasia Reid, Tony Hepburn, Woody Bracey

“THE ABACO BACKCOUNTRY – AN APPRECIATION” by JIM TODD

April 28, 2015 by Rolling Harbour

Click to preview The Abaco Backcountry photo book

Jim Todd has produced an attractive self-published book, available in 3 formats, showcasing some of the outstanding features of the less-frequented areas of Abaco and its waters. It contains many excellent photographs, with interesting notes and observations. There are places and facts in the book that may not be known even to locals! Below are some sample pages.

Anyone who loves Abaco, its natural surroundings, its ecology and its wildlife will love this book. If this post has whetted your appetite, here are some further details:

Available exclusively on BLURB (this is the direct link)

“The Abaco Backcountry draws on the author’s extensive exploration of the area to describe a hypothetical traverse of its length in words and pictures. It is not a guidebook but an appreciation of a unique Bahamian marine ecosystem”

56 pp, available softcover ($35), Hardcover, Dustjacket ($38.99) and Hardcover, Image Wrap ($40.99)

STOP PRESS In answer to a UK query, the Blurb price is shown in $$$. When you go to the checkout, the shipping is added e.g. $10.99 to ship the PB version to the UK. You can pay by CC or Paypal. The conversion to sterling (or presumably euros) happens… by magic

GRACE WITH ATTITUDE: SOUTHERN STINGRAYS IN THE BAHAMAS

April 27, 2015 by Rolling Harbour

GRACE WITH ATTITUDE: SOUTHERN STINGRAYS IN THE BAHAMAS

Southern Stingrays are often seen in Abaco waters. In the bay of Rolling Harbour at Delphi, we sometimes watch them admiringly from the balcony or beach as they lazily cruise along the shoreline in the turquoise water. If someone is in the water, they will make a leisurely detour round them – unfrightened in their own element, but unthreatening and disinclined to investigate human intrusion. Diving with them is a wonderful experience (though I have never got very close). Melinda Riger – a scuba expert with great camera skills – takes the most beautiful photos of the stingrays she encounters. Here are a few that I haven’t yet featured. Notice the little striped CLEANING GOBIES going about their business.

Southern Stingrays are often encountered when one is bonefishing in the low waters of the Marls. I took the photos below while we were fishing in a channel between areas of mangrove. As the skiff was poled very slowly forward, I saw the stingray coming straight towards us. I wondered how it would react. Very elegantly, was the answer. It turned effortlessly and unperturbed to one side, then resumed its original course leaving a clump of mangrove between it and the skiff.

RELATED POSTS

SOUTHERN STINGRAYS

RAYS OF SUNSHINE

YELLOW STINGRAYS

Credits: Melinda Riger, Grand Bahama Scuba; RH

REDDISH EGRET ON ABACO, LOVES FISHING, STILL SEEKS ‘THE ONE’

April 24, 2015 by Rolling Harbour

REDDISH EGRET ON ABACO, LOVES FISHING, STILL SEEKS ‘THE ONE’

A couple of weeks ago I wrote about a wonderful male reddish egret in his splendid breeding colours. He was hanging out in the brackish ponds opposite the Crossing Rocks jetty, ‘spear fishing’ from a standing position and ‘chase-fishing’ frantically through the water. You can see that post HERE. Unsurprisingly, we decided to take another look down there – easily done, since we had spent the morning out bonefishing on the west side. We’d earlier seen a tri-colored heron in the ponds, and a reddish egret WHITE MORPH, so it was worth having a (different) camera to hand…

We were in luck. The RE was still there, looking every bit as handsome as before (though not the entire time – see below) So here are some more shots of this gorgeous bird.

Mostly, the RE was sleek and elegant. There were times however when the wind ruffled him up a bit, and he lost some of his composure… not the ideal look should a female RE arrive looking for her perfect partner at that very moment. A bit ‘morning after’ rather than ‘evening before’…

…and does this (unfairly undignified) view reveal a touch of early baldness’?

This turned out to be our last opportunity to see the RE. Let’s hope he has paired off happily, and that his offspring will be at the ponds next year.

I posted this photo on FB, because the bird strongly reminded me of someone. A very small amount of digging produced the human likeness and inspired a bit of creativity – see below (with apologies to both parties).

RODDISH EGRET MEETS RED STEWART…

To coin a phrase, Every Picture tells a Story! Oh. Someone’s come up with that already, have they? Well here’s a reminder of the original – complete with Sir Roderick’s personal grooming advice near the start: “…standing in front of my mirror… combed my hair in 1000 ways, but it came out looking just the same…”

REDDISH EGRETS (WHITE MORPH)

All photos: RH, with Mrs RH

WOOD DUCK: THE LEAST REALISTIC DUCK EVER

April 22, 2015 by Rolling Harbour

WOOD DUCK: THE LEAST REALISTIC DUCK EVER

I’ve been out shooting duck, camera-wise. Ducks are a bit of a mystery to me, and to be honest I often find it hard to tell one ruddy duck from another. I’ve found a memorable one now, though – the Wood Duck Aix sponsa. With all due respect to the Family Anatidae, these birds are just wooden toys brightly painted. I’ve watched them, and I’m still not convinced they don’t have tiny motors in them that propel them slowly in the water and make the wings twitch from time to time.

Wood Ducks may be found on Abaco, which I why I mention them. I’m showing some here in case you should be lucky enough to meet one – then you’ll recognise it at once. They are infrequent winter residents on Abaco – not exactly rare, but not commonly seen and therefore irregularly reported.

If you do happen upon one of these birds you’ll be fortunate, for they are undoubtedly very beautiful. It might be worth clapping your hands to test my theory that they won’t react at all. Their little motors will just keep them chugging through the water…

All photos: RH. Idiotic duck-based theory: RH

AUDUBON’S ‘PRIORITY BIRDS’ ON ABACO: 21 SPECIES TO TREASURE

April 20, 2015 by Rolling Harbour

AUDUBON’S ‘PRIORITY BIRDS’

“Audubon’s priority bird species are birds of significant conservation need, for which our actions, over time, can lead to measurable improvements in status. Eighteen  are Red WatchList species, 23 are Yellow WatchList species, and eight are Vulnerable Common Birds. The breadth of this list reflects the dramatic loss of habitat and the pervasive threats that confront birds and wildlife.” Audubon Birds

PRIORITY BIRDS ON ABACO

Of the total of 49 species listed by Audubon, an astonishing 31 are recorded for Abaco. Such a statistic underlines the importance of the island and its cays as a major birding location with habitat suitable for these ‘Priority Birds’ . Some of them birds may be rare ‘vagrants’, or occasional ‘transient’ visitors but all are considered threatened or vulnerable. I have marked in red the ones that may easily or with reasonable diligence and luck be found on Abaco. These are either Permanent Resident (PR) species; or Migratory species resident in Winter (WR) or Summer (SR); or TRansients that are seen annually or at least are regularly reported. For all practical bird-spotting purposes, the remainder can be set aside, and with no disrespect to them I have reduced their image & entry sizes… That leaves 21 species selected by Audubon for special protection that may be quite readily found on Abaco – and that will be adversely affected by significant habitat change. Birds to treasure, in fact.

PR

American Oystercatcher Haematopus palliatus

AMEOYS_2.displaysong_VAle_1.mp3

Arctic Tern Sterna paradisaea

Bald Eagle Haliaeetus leucocephalus

Black-capped Petrel Pterodroma hasitata

Black-throated Blue Warbler Setophaga caerulescens

Grasshopper Sparrow Ammodramus savannarum

Prothonotary Warbler Protonotaria citrea

Short-billed Dowitcher Limnodromus griseus

Swallow-tailed Kite Elanoides forficatus

Wilson's Plover & Chick jpg — Wilson’s Plover Charadrius wilsonia

IT’S A WARBLER. WITH A YELLOW THROAT. ON ABACO. SIMPLE?

April 17, 2015 by Rolling Harbour

IT’S A WARBLER. WITH A YELLOW THROAT. ON ABACO. SIMPLE?

The Yellow-throated Warbler (Setophaga dominica) is a most helpful warbler, in that what you see is what you get. You needn’t go to embarrassing lengths to determine whether it has a Yellow Rump. It doesn’t make extravagant geographical claims like the Cape May, Kentucky, Tennessee, Nashville or Connecticut warblers. It doesn’t disguise its warblerdom with a confusing name like ‘American Redstart’ or ‘Ovenbird’. Nor with a weird warbler name that is completely obscure like the Prothonotary. It’s a winter resident only, so it won’t try to puzzle you in the summer. The males and females are roughly similar in appearance, unlike so many species. All-in-all, a most agreeable and obliging little bird. Here are a few to enjoy, before I spoil the magic slightly…

YTWs are quite pose-y birds, and tend to strike attitudes. One is the ‘head-in-the-air’, as below and further above. There’s the ‘butt-in-the-air’ too, immediately above (one of my favourite photos)

This shape is both characteristic and characterful. You might call it the ‘sag-in-the-middle’

This year I saw my first YTW in the Delphi Gardens, skulking around in a Gumbo Limbo tree. Having taken a number of rather poor shots – partly due to the intervention of branches, twigs, leaves, berries, shaky hands and so forth – I got some clearer shots at it, the two above and below being the best of an indifferent bunch.

I said earlier that the magic of the apparently simple ID of a warbler that lives up to its name would have to be spoiled. I’m afraid this little gallery rather undoes the certainties I’d promised… two more species common to Abaco, also named for their yellow throats (yet it’s more extensive than just the throat, anyway) .

BAHAMA YELLOWTHROAT

COMMON YELLOWTHROAT

You’d really think that someone at Audubon Towers or Cornell Castle might have thought of calling these two species ‘Bahama’ and ‘Common’ Masked Warblers, wouldn’t you – after all there’s a Hooded Warbler, which indeed has a hood. No other warbler has a mask like these 2. Then any confusion could be avoided. So remember: the Yellow-throated Warbler has a yellow throat AND is otherwise black and white, with streaks. Erm, just like a…

BLACK AND WHITE WARBLER

BAHAMA YELLOWTHROAT

COMMON YELLOWTHROAT

ABACO’S 37 WARBLER SPECIES (GUIDE)

Credits: RH (1,7,8,9,10); Bruce Hallett (2, 3); Erik Gauger (4); Becky Marvil (5, 6). Thumbnails: Gerlinde Taurer, Bruce Hallett, Dan Pancamo, Tom Sheley, Wiki

“ONE IS CALLED LUCY…”: SWIMMING WITH BAHAMAS SHARKS

April 15, 2015 by Rolling Harbour

“ONE IS CALLED LUCY…”: SWIMMING WITH SHARKS

From time to time I wonder about the naming of animals. I know about the problems that can arise when people name their chickens Henny, Penny, Denny & Lenny, and the time comes to (please look away now). And how a slavering dog coming towards you (not on a lead) that the owner calls ‘Tyson’ or ‘Killer’ is possibly one to cross the street for. And that the owner of a cat called ‘The Reverend Wenceslas Muff’ (Sir Roy Strong, in fact) may not take kindly to you referring to it facetiously as ‘Puddy-tat’. But does it make things any better to know that the shark that is eyeballing you is called Lucy? I don’t know the names of the others, but I am sure they would all like to be introduced…

REMORAS Some of the photos show a strange creature attached to the underside of the shark. For more info about these weird shark passengers, and some great images, click HERE

All the fabulous photographs above were taken by Melinda Riger and Virginia Cooper of Grand Bahama Scuba, on whom I rely entirely for subaqueous material, being a pathetic swimmer, a gnarly ancient, and a certified scaredy-cat (‘highly commended’). My thanks as always to them for use permission

‘TYRANTS OF ABACO’: FLYCATCHER ID (1) – LOGGERHEAD vs GRAY KINGBIRD

April 13, 2015 by Rolling Harbour

Loggerhead Kingbird with bee. Note dark head, yellowish underside

‘TYRANTS OF ABACO’: FLYCATCHER ID (1)

LOGGERHEAD vs GRAY KINGBIRD

Gray Kingbird: note dark eye ‘mask’, lighter head, mainly white underside & notched tail

Abaco has 275 (or so) recorded bird species. Omitting the transients, vagrants and (frankly) oddities – hello, feral peafowl of Casuarina – and concentrating on the residents and the summer / winter migrants brings the checklist down considerably. Maybe to around 200. But there is still an awful lot of scope for species confusion. This is frequently found with the warblers (37 species, mostly yellow), shorebirds and (my particular blind spot) gulls & terns with all their gender, age, season and breeding plumage variations. There is one common confusion that surrounds just 4 birds. I’ve decided to tackle the issue because these are the birds I am most frequently asked by people to identify. They send me their photos or a link, or post them on my FB page, and I am always delighted to help. Except… I get confused myself sometimes. So now I plan to demystify the Tyrant Flycatchers (Tyrannidae) of Abaco once and for all. Or for the time being, anyway.

ABACO’S TYRANT FLYCATCHER SPECIES

There are 14 tyrant species recorded for Abaco, as listed in the checklist clip above taken from “THE BIRDS OF ABACO” (a FORK-TAILED FLYCATCHER was seen recently for the first time on Abaco, and will in due course be added to the checklist). You’ll be relieved to learn that we can at once dispense of 10 of the above for present purposes. In practical terms – i.e. everyday life – the only flycatchers you need to be concerned with are the 4 underlined in red above: Cuban Pewee, Gray Kingbird, La Sagra’s Flycatcher and Loggerhead Kingbird. The underlined codes provide useful information for each bird .

PR 3 of the 4 are permanent residents – not the gray kingbird, which is SR a summer resident
B these 4 are the only flycatchers that breed on Abaco
1 all 4 are widespread, commonly and easily found. All other candidates are unusual to very rare

Loggerhead Kingbird, Abaco - Gerlinde Taurer

Which is this?

LOGGERHEAD Tyrannus caudifasciatus vs GRAY Tyrannus dominicensis

DIFFERENCES and SIMILARITIES

TOP TIP ANY KINGBIRD SEEN IN WINTER WILL BE A LOGGERHEAD

A kingbird seen between (say) October and March is a Loggerhead. Grays are strictly summer visitors
Both are medium size birds and roughly the same size as adults (around 23 cms)
Loggerheads have dark brownish heads (some say black), grays have lighter, slate-coloured heads
Loggerheads have a ‘squared’ tip to the tail; grays have a notched tip
Loggerheads may have a whitish fringe at the tip of the tail; grays not so
Loggerheads have yellowish tinges to their white undersides & forewings; grays less so or not at all
Grays have a dark or black ‘mask’ through the eyes, often clear but not always easy to see
Loggerheads allegedly have inconspicuous orange head crests; grays are red. I’ve never seen either!
[*RH opinion alert*] Grays have larger, heavier beaks than loggerheads
Grays are territorially aggressive; when they turn up, the loggerheads tend to retreat to the forest

Here is how David Sibley shows the differences

Illustrations: David Allen Sibley

Gray or Loggerhead? Note the light head, discernible mask & notched tail

Loggerhead or Gray? Note the darker head and no mask

GRAY KINGBIRDS: masked & notch-tailed

CLASSIC LOGGERHEAD: squarer tail, yellowish underside, dark head, hint of a crest

COMMON TO ALL FLYCATCHERS An Insect ‘Hook’ at the tip of this Loggerhead’s ‘top’ bill

MEMORABLE FACT TO DEPLOY IN CONVERSATION

The collective names for a group of kingbirds are: a Court, a Coronation, or a Tyranny

I hope this helps with ID, but it’s fair to say that even the birds shown here don’t conform strictly to the rules. A couple of gray kingbirds have distinctly yellowish undersides. And the real problem is this: you see a medium-size bird. It is hawking for insects. It is high summer. It’s a kingbird. It is 150 feet away, and against the sun. It’s just a darkish bird. You can’t see a notched tail or yellowish underside, still less a mask. But at least you can be confident that you can restrict the ID to just 2 birds… Just ask me which, and I’ll do my best…

NEXT UP LA SAGRA’S FLYCATCHER vs CUBAN PEWEE

Credits: Tom Reed (1), Tom Sheley (2, 4, 5), Gerlinde Taurer (3), Mrs RH (6, 7), Alex Hughes (8), Charles Sharp (9), Dick Daniels (10), Peter Mantle (11), RH (12); Illustrations David Sibley

BAHAMA MOCKINGBIRD: NEW SUBSPECIES FOR ABACO?

April 9, 2015 by Rolling Harbour

BAHAMA MOCKINGBIRD: NEW SUBSPECIES FOR ABACO?

[Camera. Lights. ACTION] Attenborough, D (for it is he), off-screen, in familiar breathy tones…

“Here, deep in the impenetrable pine forests of the Abaco National Park, lives an incredible bird discovery until recently known only to four people in the world. For here, where the unique Abaco Parrots nest in their underground holes and the rare Kirtland’s Warbler continues its brave stand against extinction… here is a completely new bird subspecies that is destined to take the avian world by storm… the Red-faced Bahama Mockingbird Mimus bahamensis volvensharborii…”

I can’t keep that nonsense up for any longer, you’ll be relieved to hear… But here is the story. Woody Bracey was taking us, with his friend Bill, in search of the rare and elusive Kirtland’s Warbler, about which more soon (*Spoiler Alert* Yes, we did. Four). We had stopped the truck in a remote area of the National Park to listen for and indeed watch parrots. I was in the front of the truck, window down, listening hard when suddenly, right by us, I suddenly heard the beautiful song of a Bahama Mockingbird. Here are two recordings I made the previous year – the first is over 1 min long, the second is only 17 secs.

I grabbed my camera and started to fire away at the bird, which was perched on a dead branch just a few feet away near the edge of the track. I had no time to think about depth of field, light balance, or refrangible focus indices, I just went for it. It was Woody who first noticed the remarkable feature of this bird – its red face. It first, I thought it was just on the chin, but later I saw that the red colouring is above the beak as well.

Woody is one of the most experienced birders in the Bahamas, and he had never come across this variant before. Sometimes a bird may have white patches or some other LEUCISTIC colour variation. But red is something very different. Once we had ruled out blood (no evidence of injury) and strawberry jam (no likelihood of a propensity for sticking face in same), an altogether more exciting possibility began to emerge…

The Bahamas Birding Triumvirate will be debating this find, no doubt. Is this sort of red-faced variant found in any other bird species? Is it a one-off? Or is it perhaps one example of a small subspecies confined to Abaco or the wider Bahamas? Or does it just come from eating red berries, as in photo #3? Has anyone come across a BM like this one? Any comment welcome via the comment box or email.

This is my personal favourite pic, taken while the bird was in mid-song. I’d have liked an ‘open mouth’ shot, but frankly when you find an apparently new bird in the middle of nowhere, you can’t have everything….

Finally, you may well ask “So that’s all very well, but what does a ‘normal’ Bahama Mockingbird look like close-to?” Here’s an example for comparison

STOP PRESS (MAY 2015) The jury is back, the verdict unexciting (as I suppose was inevitable). The Bahamas Birding Sages have concluded that the red markings are simply staining from berries, as seen in #3 above. This is the obvious solution, but I am grateful to those (culminicola in the comments below, and a birding forum where this post has been discussed) who suggested the possibility of red pollen. The pine forest in which we saw this bird doesn’t in fact have flowers – or anyway red-pollened flowers – so berries must be the answer. In short, no Mimus bahamensis volvensharborii…

All photos RH, cheers to Woody for leading the trip and for spotting the unusual features of this bird PDQ

“HANDSOME BIRD, BLUE EYES, LIKES FISH, SEEKS MATE…” REDDISH EGRET ON ABACO

April 8, 2015 by Rolling Harbour

“HANDSOME BIRD, BLUE EYES, LIKES FISH, SEEKS MATE…”

REDDISH EGRET ON ABACO

Reddish Egrets come in two colour schemes, reddish and pure white; and both are available on Abaco. ID hint – among the 10 heron and egret species found on Abaco, these are the only ones with a black tip to the beak. In March, these birds are thinking about fish. They do that every day of the year. But they are also thinking about finding a mate. The colouring of the males intensifies, and in particular the greyish-pinkish base of its beak turns a bright ‘hi babe, how are you doing’ pink. The male RE in this post is resplendent in his breeding plumage. We encountered this RE at Crossing Rocks in the brackish pond area on the opposite side of the highway to the bonefishing jetty. This in an excellent place to check out for herons, egrets and other wading birds such as yellowlegs. The island is at its thinnest point here, with the hard dry land over which the highway passes just a few yards across. On either side it’s basically water, mangroves, and other wetland plants. The RE noticed us at the edge of the pond and put on a little display. This is unlikely to have been a ‘come on’… Conceivably, he wanted to show off his distinctive ‘bad hair day’ styling. More plausibly, he was probably put out by having his fishing disturbed. He wasn’t diverted for long, though, and soon got back to business hunting fish. Sometimes he would stand stock still, poised for a rapid strike into the water with that lethal beak. This is the RE’s classic fishing method, the static hunt. However, there are times for being proactive and chasing down the prey. While bonefishing out on the Marls, I have seen this done from a distance, especially by the white RE morphs. They splash about near the edge of the mangroves, moving back and forth, lifting their long legs high in the vegetation as they hunt down their small silver snacks. Our Crossing Rocks RE was suddenly on a mission… We had to tear ourselves away from this performance, grateful to have seen it at such close quarters. However we went back a few days later while on a birding trip to the pond at Gilpin Point. But that’s a post for another time…

REDDISH EGRETS (WHITE MORPH)

All photos RH; cheers to Woody Bracey for stopping the truck here during our warbler expedition!

RED HIND GROUPER: BAHAMAS REEF FISH (25)

April 6, 2015 by Rolling Harbour

RED HIND GROUPER: BAHAMAS REEF FISH (25)

The Red Hind is one of several grouper species commonly found in Bahamas waters. Commonly for now, anyway. There is less information available about this species compared with other groupers, but sources seem agreed that it is (a) abundant and (b) IUCN listed ‘least concern’ but (c) heavily fished and (d) delicious.

Red Hind, attended by Cleaner Fish

One problem arises from the fact that Red Hinds form spawning aggregations in particular areas, making them vulnerable to fishing exploitation in those locations, and consequent population decline. Already, some of their spawning areas are protected.

Another threat comes from the degradation of coastal habitats coupled with increasing commercial and recreational fishing. Red Hinds are targeted with speargun, hook and line, fish traps and nets. They may also be by-catch of other fishing operations. Fortunately Marine Protected Areas such as the ones in Abaco waters provide localised protection but these are not found throughout the Red Hind’s range. Closed seasons have been imposed in a few areas, another conservation method that has recently been introduced in the Bahamas for the Nassau grouper.

Getting the right balance between traditional fishing for food, and stock conservation is inevitably a tricky calculation. For the Red Hind, the factors that may result in the population decline of a plentiful species are in plain sight and will continue to be monitored by the various scientific research organisations involved…

OTHER GROUPERS YOU MAY ENJOY…

NASSAU GROUPER

TIGER GROUPER

BLACK GROUPER

Credits: All images Melinda Riger at Grand Bahama Scuba except (4) NOAA / Puerto Rico Univ; research from several sources, tip of the hat to SCRFA

WEST INDIAN WOODPECKERS ON ABACO: GUEST POST

April 3, 2015 by Rolling Harbour

WEST INDIAN WOODPECKERS ON ABACO: GUEST POST

The WEST INDIAN WOODPECKER Melanerpes superciliaris is a specialist bird of Abaco, where it is common. The only other island in the Bahamas where it is found is San Salvador, where it is uncommon. Formerly found on Grand Bahama, it is now believed to be extirpated from that island, with no recent recorded sightings. In the early days at Delphi, we had to put up 2 nest boxes under the eaves to discourage the woodpeckers from destroying the woodwork – very effective, since they are now used every year by a pair that raises a family in one of the boxes and, even before the chicks have fledged, are busy kitting out the second box for a second family…

Charmaine Albury is a resident of Man-o-War Cay, Abaco. A photographic contributor to THE BIRDS OF ABACO, she is an enthusiastic birder and very handy with a camera. MOW has had a great winter season for birds, especially warbler species, and Charmaine has been recording her sightings and posting about them regularly. She has now started a photographic Facebook page SEES THE DAY which I commend to anyone wanting an overview of the rich birdlife of Abaco. This post shows some of her excellent recent photographs of West Indian Woodpeckers on Abaco. The male has the striking red crown; the female has a smaller, paler cap.

PLAYING WITH YOUR FOOD? HOW MUCH FUN CAN YOU HAVE WITH A BERRY?

and… pop it into the hole. Score!

NOW IT’S TIME TO VISIT THE STONE THING THAT HAS WATER IN IT

MY TURN ON THE TREE NOW

GETTING A BIT SLEEPY NOW. GOT BED HEAD…

All photos Charmaine Albury, with many thanks for use permission. Delphi WIW in nest box & all silly anthropomorphising captions are down to me…

BOTTLENOSE DOLPHINS IN ABACO WATERS (2): MOTHER & CALF

April 1, 2015 by Rolling Harbour

Sometimes things happen that completely take my breath away. Here is one of those moments, from our recent trip with Charlotte and Diane in the BMMRO research boat. As we returned from whale-watching to base in Sandy Point and moved from the deep dark ocean to the bright blue shallows, we encountered a group of bottlenose dolphins. You can see my recent post featuring some of the adults HERE. That was exciting enough, as they played around the boat. Then another participant appeared…

Notice the dark area behind the adult dolphin…

…which soon separated into a small dark splashing creature with its own fin cutting the waves…

…and next seen keeping pace with its parent

The sharp line between the light and the dark sea is where the sandy shallows abruptly give way to the deep waters of the Grand Bahama Canyon, a massive trench up to 2.5 miles deep with almost vertical cliff walls to the depths in some places

There were less active and splashy moments as the pair swam around together

Then it was back to doing what they like best…

Then some more restful moments… Dolphin Mother & Calf, Sandy Point, Abaco, Bahamas

And finally the pair moved away. On the far horizon, the Massive Mickey Mouse Cruise ship moored at ‘Disney’s Castaway Cay’ (formerly the sober-sounding Gorda Cay), where you can be a Pirate of the Caribbean. Or anyway a very happy Tourist. The choice is yours. Would you like fries with that?

And looking out to sea from the cheerful place that is Castaway Cay, I wonder if a small child was wondering “Ok, love Mickey and his Friends – but I’d also really love to see a wild dolphin swimming free…

All photos RH (except Castaway, Wiki). Huge thanks to Charlotte, Diane and Bahamas Marine Mammal Research Organisation BMMRO for a truly wonderful day

PEARLY-EYED THRASHER – ANOTHER NEW BIRD FOUND ON ABACO

March 30, 2015 by Rolling Harbour

PEARLY-EYED THRASHER – ANOTHER NEW BIRD FOUND ON ABACO

Exactly a year ago, the ultimate, complete and utter Checklist of the birds of Abaco, compiled by Tony White with Woody Bracey, was published. It covers 4 pages of close print in THE BIRDS OF ABACO, and lists the 282 species recorded since 1950, including so-called ‘exotics’ but excluding so-called ‘pets’ (sadly your minah bird would not qualify). New sightings had been static since a BLACK-BROWED ALBATROSS had made an unheralded appearance out at sea. In the last year, 5 new species have been recorded. The links to them are listed below. That Checklist already needs an update!

The newest bird in town is the Pearly-eyed Thrasher (Margarops fuscatus). This is a bird in the family Mimidae, along with mockingbirds and the gray catbird. Until last November, no thrasher species had ever been recorded for Abaco. Then there was a sighting of a BROWN THRASHER. Just a few months later, its Pearly-eyed cousin has turned up right in the heart of Treasure Cay, seen by first by Erik Gauger and confirmed by Woody Bracey (each a contributor to THE BIRDS OF ABACO).

This thrasher species is found widely throughout the Caribbean, though with several varieties that are genetically distinct. In the Bahamas, they breed on some of the southern islands. They are known to overwinter on Eleuthera and Cat Island, but have not previously been recorded as far north as Abaco. This sighting is important in suggesting that the species may be beginning to extend its range, although it could of course simply be a one-off ‘vagrant’, as they are officially yet disrespectfully known.

Since the first sightings by Erik & Woody a couple of days ago, Woody has been out again with a camera seeking to obtain photographic evidence of the bird. Last night he sent me a snapshot taken in difficult circumstances – the bird was being hassled by a Eurasian Collared Dove (who should have known better, being a non-native species itself…). The pearly eye is quite clear, as is the speckled front and white end to the underside of the tail. If a clearer shot comes in, I’ll add it. So, TC-based birders, a Rolling Harbour Kalik challenge is on!

STOP PRESS Woody has sent a couple more photos of the PET taken right in the centre of Treasure Cay. Or perhaps there is a second one… and if so, different sexes… and if so, a nest, eggs, chicks, fledglings and in due course a new breeding species on Abaco…

STOP PRESS April 2015 Erik Gauger has now written up his account of his discovery of this new species for Abaco. You can read it HERE (scroll down to the second article on the page)

The other photos I have used are ‘open source’ for obvious reasons, and credited below as far as the information is available…

NEW ABACO BIRD SPECIES – MAR 2014 to MAR 2015

BLACK-BELLIED WHISTLING DUCKS

FORK-TAILED FLYCATCHER

BROWN THRASHER

MASKED BOOBY

Photo credits with thanks for public postings: (1) ‘Mike’s Birds (2) Dick Daniels (3) Kati Fleming, and (4) Woody Bracey