Category Archives: Conservation Abaco

Unknown's avatar

BAHAMA (WHITE-CHEEKED) PINTAIL

by

THE BAHAMA(S) PINTAIL aka WHITE-CHEEKED PINTAIL  Anas Bahamensis

This very pretty duck species is getting a mention not because I have ever seen one on Abaco, but because I have seen them at WWT Barnes in London. [Later note: see end of post – turns out it was at Pensthorpe Nature Reserve Norfolk]. We went there last weekend to photograph one for your (plural, not single reader I hope) exclusive pleasure, but sadly they haven’t got any at the moment – they have been moved to WWT Slimbridge. I’ve decided to post about them anyway. As ever, thanks to wiki for its handy conservation and classification label, plus basic species details which always get things off to a scientific-looking start before the nose-dive into amateurism…

There follow 2 open-use non-© images, with a dip of the beak to the anon photographers

           BAHAMA PINTAILS                                                  

The White cheeked Pintail or Bahama Pintail (Anas bahamensis) is a dabbling duck first listed by LINNAEUS in his Systema naturae in 1758, under its current scientific name.

There are three subspecies: A. b. bahamensis in the Caribbean (and vagrant in south Florida); A. b. galapagensis on the Galapagos; and the slightly larger A. b. rubirostris in South America.  The sexes are similar. It is mainly brown with white cheeks and a red-based grey bill (young birds lack the pink). Conveniently for amateurs, it “cannot be confused with any other duck in its range” – though I’ll believe that when I have first-hand experience of personal non-muddle.

These ducks are found on saline waters such as brackish lakes, estuaries and mangrove swamps. They feed on aquatic plants and small creatures rootled out by dabbling. The nest is on the ground under vegetation and near water.

Mike Bergin, a naturalist, has very kindly let me use 2 of his wonderful images for this post. There are others to be found at CLICK==>>  http://10000birds.com/white-cheeked-pintails.htm Indeed the whole site is well worth a good rummage around

Photo Credits Mike Bergin 1000 Birds

Here’s what they sound like (credit Xeno-Canto / George Armistead)

SPECIES LISTING (Jan 2012): This duck is on the threatened species list – not actually endangered but experiencing “moderate decline or facing imminent threats which warrant specific conservation measures”. Sadly, there are 3 separate causes of decline, each of which may be difficult to combat: habitat loss; hunting; and predation by introduced species.

Finally, here are links to more material about and images of these pretty ducks:

OISEAUX-BIRDS (an excellent resource for many other birds – merci Nicole for link approval)

BAHAMAS NATIONAL TRUST  2-page article on Pintails / Endangered birds

STOP PRESS To my complete surprise, I now discover that I have got my very own quite respectable picture of a Bahama Pintail, taken in July 2010 at the Pensthorpe Nature Reserve, Norfolk. So here it is…

STOP PRESS Feb 2012 Ricky Johnson, Abaco’s renowned bird expedition leader, has posted a fine example of a Bahama Pintail on his Facebook page, taken near his home. And, with permission (thanks, Ricky) here it is 

Unknown's avatar

BAHAMA WOODSTARS & CUBAN EMERALDS: THE HUMMINGBIRDS OF ABACO

by

THE HUMMINGBIRDS OF ABACO

At last I have got round to the hummingbirds. It’s quite simple. There are only two species of hummingbird on Abaco. The endemic variety is the Bahama Woodstar, one of only 3 endemic bird species on Abaco (the others are the Bahama Yellowthroat and the Bahama Swallow). The settled migrant is the Cuban Emerald.

               BAHAMA WOODSTAR                                    

 Calliphlox evelynae

Male and female Bahama Woodstars  (Photo Credit: Phil Brown – and VG too)

These hummingbirds are found throughout the Bahamas. They do not migrate, although are occasional vagrants in SE Florida. They breed all year round, the main season being in April. The female lays 2 elliptical white eggs, which she incubates for 15-18 days. As with humans, the female is mainly responsible for childcare while males go drinking at the nectar bar and hang out with their mates.

This BW was one of a small group at Hole-in-the-Wall. They were completely unconcerned by our presence, and we could get within arm’s length of them. Woodstars, though tame in human terms, can be aggressive and territorial. They are plentiful throughout the Bahamas except on Grand Bahama, Abaco and Andros. Significantly those are the only islands where the Cuban Emerald is found in any numbers. As with the native red and import grey squirrel problem in the UK, the migrant emerald is aggressive towards the woodstar, which is consequently rare where emeralds are abundant.

Here is their call (credit Jesse Fagan Xeno-canto)

Addition April 2012 Here is a seriously cute female Woodstar photographed by Ann Capling at Bahama Palm Shores, close to Ocean Drive – a really pretty little bird

At Delphi, you’ll frequently see emeralds, especially now that feeders with sugar water have been hung up for them. The pool area is a very good place to watch them. But there are occasional woodstars to be seen as well – in the coppice on the drives for example, and even on the feeders. The vague blur to the left of the feeder below is a woodstar in the millisecond between me pointing the camera and it flying away… Don’t bother to click to enlarge it – it’s a useless photo, I know, but it is evidence even at the lowest level

CUBAN EMERALD Chlorostilbon ricordii

                                        

There’s probably a great deal to be written about the emeralds, but not by me. Or not now, anyway.  The little you need to know from me is already covered above, and I haven’t yet discovered whether their childcare arrangements differ significantly from the woodstars. Probably not. So I’ll put in a selection of photos, and remark that it is strange how quickly they can change from sleek and slender birds to small rather cold and dispirited looking bundles of feathers. Both states are depicted below. Here’s what to listen for (credit Xeno-canto.org) 


Delphi – pool feeder

Delphi – pool feeder

Delphi – pool feeder

Delphi – far side of pool

Delphi – near pool

Delphi – front drive

Delphi – front drive

All the above birds were photographed at Delphi. We saw emeralds elsewhere, of course – in the pine forest, flicking across the logging tracks; on other Cays. The best sighting was during our day trip reef-snorkelling and island-hopping with Kay Politano, when we had an excellent lunch for 14 at Cracker P’s on Lubbers Cay (see future post about this and the island-hops). There was a bird feeder by our table, to which emeralds came and went throughout the meal. Here are some photos – I wanted to get them hovering, and kind of succeeded. More or less.




This link may or may not result in you hearing an emerald’s call. Let’s see if I can make it work…
http://www.xeno-canto.org/sounds/uploaded/LNEEOOWCQR/Emerald_Cuban_feedingcall_10122010_0831_0075.mp3

HUMMER FACTS
  • The colourful throat of a (male) bird is known as a ‘gorget’
  • Hummingbirds are the only birds that can fly backwards
  • There are 320 species of hummingbird worldwide
  • The smallest is the bee hummingbird of Cuba, at 2″ for an adult
  • John Gould, the c19 ornithologist and artist, invented many of the names to reflect the varied and iridescent colours of the birds.
  • Hummingbird wings beat as much as 75 times per second
  • Hummingbirds have the highest metabolic rate of any warm-blooded creature; also the largest hearts (proportionately, obviously…)
  • On TCI, the Bahama Woodstar is known as ‘The God Bird
  • There are many collective nouns, including a “bouquet”, “glittering”, “hover”, “shimmer”, and “tune” of hummingbirds 

Unknown's avatar

REEF SNORKELLING AT FOWL CAY MARINE PRESERVE, ABACO

by

  

You will need: swimming kit; sweatshirt (it can be cold on the boat after snorkelling); stuff for Island Hopping later on, inc. camera, money etc; snorkel practice in the pool if you haven’t used one for (say) 20+ years – use the Club gear; Ian Took’s slim ‘Fishes of the Caribbean Reefs’. NB there is limited room on the boat, so you’ll need a bit of a nifty towel work to preserve modesty when changing…

Kay Politano of Abaco Above and Below in Marsh Harbour pencils in an unspecified number of places for a day’s island-hopping and reef-snorkelling while I find out how many non-fishing-that-day Delphi guests might be interested. Seven sign up, and one morning we all set off to Marsh Harbour. In Kay’s shop we try on our flippers, marvel at the scuba possibilities (a completely implausible proposition for most of us…), then we troop off to the marina and Kay’s reassuringly powerful and safe-looking catamaran. It takes 12 passengers; the other 5 are already aboard. We set off towards a threatening-looking weather front; rain later is a certainty…

Kay and rh at the controls

Passing by several Cays, we arrive at Fowl Cay Marine Preserve and drop anchor. We don our flippers, wrestle with our masks and snorkels, and in turn drop off the back of the boat (ok, stern, is it?) into warmish water, under thick grey cloud. My practice in the Delphi pool has paid off, and soon I am wheezing and gurgling my way towards the reef with my head (mostly) under water, a situation I generally avoid.

I am completely unprepared for what I find when I get to the reef. David Attenborough’s favourite production team has kindly arranged for a wide variety of bright fish, some electrically charged, to come up close and inspect me, an intruder in their world. I’ll spare you the colour-supp superlatives and graphic intensifiers – you’re probably blasé and have seen it all before – but I am totally gobsmacked, even with my mouthpiece in place. It’s all real! It’s even better than TV! And don’t get me started on the coral…

Sergeant Major

Parrot Fish

Blue Tang / Ocean Surgeonfish

Blue Chromis

Sting Ray

While I gasp and bubble my way around, I keep a small waterproof video camera running (see GADGETS review). My swimming is feeble at the best of times, but somehow it all seems to be coming together – my flailing limbs, the laboured breathing, the reef, the fish and the footage. We circle round the reef – occasional pale figures appear in my lateral vision – for about 25 minutes, then return to the boat and the struggle to remove our flippers…
 Everyone is excited about what they have seen (some saw barracudas). Who cares that it’s started drizzling… we are wet already and it’s off to Lubbers Cay for lunch; see forthcoming Island-Hopping Post. And see MARINE LIFE page for more reef fish photos taken on this expedition.

ADDITION April 2012 I notice there have been a few specific searches ‘what is the plural of Sergeant Major?’ Good question. The strict grammatically correct answer is, I suspect (as with the military rank), ‘sergeants major’ because it’s the sergeants who are plural and the ‘major’ is a qualifier to distinguish from other degrees of sergeant (were there sergeants minor, for example). It’s the same with courts martial – not ‘court martials’. BUT it sounds all wrong and pernickety. I reckon the whole fish is a sergeant major. If there are 2 or more, you’ve got some sergeant majors to play with.

Unknown's avatar

THE NATIONAL PARKS OF ABACO

by

The National Parks of Abaco

Abaco National Park Created in 1994, it encompasses over 20,500 acres of pine forest / coppice and is the principal habitat for the endangered Bahama Parrot and other important species of Bahamian wildlife. The tract covers a large area of the Great Abaco water table and has significant recreational value for the people of Abaco. 

Black Sound Cay Nature Reserve This two acre mangrove reserve is nestled in the harbour of Abaco’s historic Green Turtle Cay. The reserve was established in 1988 to protect a vital waterfront ecosystem and wildlife.

Pelican Cays Land & Sea Park A 2,100 acre area just north of Cherokee Sound in Great Abaco that contains stunning undersea caves, extensive coral reefs and is noted for its fish, plant and bird life.

Tilloo Cay National Park Acquired by the Trust through private donation, this 11 acre area encompasses a tropical wilderness shoreline of outstanding beauty. Exposed to the Atlantic Ocean, the area is an important sea bird nesting site.

Fowl Cay Land and Sea Park Recently created in 2009, an excellent place for reef snorkelling [I will be posting about this in due course…] 

CLICK LINK for Article (Abaconian March 3 2011): The Two Abaco Sea Parks, Fowl Cay & Pelican Cay (BNT)

(Info mostly courtesy of Bahamas National Trust; Article “The Abaconian”)

Unknown's avatar

ULTIMATE LIST of the BIRDS of the BAHAMAS

by

Reddish Egret, Crossing Rocks, Abaco (Keith Salvesen)05 Say what you like about Wikipedia – no, not that, please – but in many fields it is very hard to beat. CLICK LINK ON BLOGROLL IN SIDEBAR–––>>>> ‘ULTIMATE LIST OF BIRDS…’ for as comprehensive a list in accessible form as you could wish to find. Even allowing for a few ‘wiki-errors’ (is “Elton John” really a species of Gnatcatcher?), it’s an awesome basic resource a mere click away. There are click-throughs to individual birds, where you will find photos and all the other types of species information you need. Well worth a quick look, anyway, and you may find it extremely helpful to give it more attention.

Unknown's avatar

ABACO BUTTERFLIES AT DELPHI / CONTRIBUTIONS / BLOG FORMAT CHANGES

by

As a change from birds, here are some other flying items, mostly from around Delphi itself, with a redesigned logo in their honour.

JULIA LONGWING Dryas Julia (Delphi Beach – plant now ID’d as a Bay Cedar Suriana maritima, much enjoyed by butterflies and bees)

HAMMOCK SKIPPER Polygonus Leo (Delphi Service Drive)

 

GULF FRITILLARY Agraulis vanillae (Delphi Guest Drive)

   

I haven’t nailed the ID of this one yet. Any ideas appreciated. [See later post for ID as GOLD RIM SWALLOWTAIL / POLYDAMUS SWALLOWTAIL     (Battus Polydamus Lucaeus) ]
Seen all round Delphi this March. These are on the move the whole time, and are surprisingly hard to pin down (not a very sensitive way to put it for a butterfly…) The bottom photo looks like a rubbish picture, I know, but in fact the butterfly is at rest (the body / legs / feelers aren’t blurred) while the wings beat fast and constantly while it feeds

AND FINALLY… Pride of place goes to this Atala Hairstreak, photographed during a Delphi outing with Ricky Johnson to one of the Blue Holes in the pine forest. It’s the only place I have seen these small butterflies, and there were only four or five. This one stayed still for just long enough

ATALA HAIRSTREAK Eumaeus Atala

===========================================

BLOG NEWS UPDATE 

23.04.11

  • Email Share added to the main pages
  • Pages Menu added to sidebar
  • Contributions received now posted on the appropriate page…

Note I am trying to reorganise this blog to increase accessibility of categories and sub-categories. Struggling a bit… one major accidental deletion so far… proposed pages under construction or at least under contemplation… please bear with me!  

============================================

Unknown's avatar

FOREST FIRES ON ABACO: A BIT TOO CLOSE TO DELPHI HQ…

by

Mid-March saw the outbreak of an unnaturally large number of fires in the pine forests on (mainly) the west side of Abaco. Suspicion mostly fell on hog hunters wanting to clear the thick undergrowth. Many fires spread rapidly in the wind and some jumped the highway. For a couple of days there was increasing anxiety at Delphi, not wholly allayed by Sandy’s robust enthusiasm for driving guests intothe heart of the fires: “Look, I promise you, it’s perfectly safe ”. The big question: would the coppice stop the fire in its tracks as expected, or would the fire sweep through to the Club grounds and buildings? And (a members’ concern, this) were they adequately insured?

In the event, the Club was spared. However, much of the area between the road and the coppice in front of the Club was badly burned. The effect on the bird liferemains to be seen, though even after a few days there was evidence of greening up of foliage – an encouraging sign. Any hogs presumably managed to escape…

Here are some images, all of them taken from the Club or along the drives. Most (all but 2 now – I’ve fixed the rest) will enlarge with a click.

Setting sun from the Club verandah. At least 3 fire seats are visible

This tree along the guest drive kept smouldering for 3 or 4 days

A somewhat apocalyptic  sky

This area along the drives was dense bright green undergrowth two days earlier

A milky morning sun filters through onto snowy ash

Click to enlarge this image: you’ll see a flame at the top of the tall dead tree, like an oil refinery flare stack

Fire spreading in the wind and taking hold of a new area between the drives 

      

Another area that had been thickly wooded, with dense green undergrowth

                    

Unknown's avatar

DELPHI CLUB, ABACO – PARROT RESEARCH & CONSERVATION

by

Caroline Stahala, a scientist from Florida, has spent some years studying the endemic parrots of Abaco. The Club is a convenient place from which to carry out some of her research. Evidence is growing that these protected parrots may not be a variant subspecies of the Cuban parrot, as previously believed, but are actually a species in their own right deserving their own distinct classification. Such a finding would be of major ornithological importance, and would further secure the protection of these beautiful birds and their habitat. This in turn will help to prevent the decline in their already small numbers. I hope to post news of Caroline’s research into this year’s parrot breeding season which begins next month

CLICK LINK on BLOGROLL in SIDEBAR  -—››› PARROTS INTERNATIONAL for Caroline’s Thesis

CLICK LINK for Article (Abaconian March 3 2011): Parrot Adventure with Caroline Stahala (BNT)

Abaco Parrot

Unknown's avatar

THE RELUCTANT WOODPECKER AT DELPHI, ABACO

by

“West Indian woodpeckers have now occupied the nesting boxes on the Club’s verandah”
S0 claimed the main DCB blog 7.04.11  But a few weeks before, one West Indian Woodpecker hadn’t quite got the idea…
The thoughtfully provided woodpecker accommodation
The chosen roost (at the opposite end of the verandah)