CAPE MAY WARBLER FOR MAY: WHAT’S IN A NAME?

May 20, 2019 by Rolling Harbour

CAPE MAY WARBLER FOR MAY: WHAT’S IN A NAME?

The history of ornithological classification and nomenclature is littered with peculiarities, of which the attractive Cape May Warbler Setophaga tigrina provides a good example. And May is obviously the perfect month to feature this little bird.

The range of the species is well defined. In the summer the birds live within a broad band that straddles northern USA and Canada. In the winter they head south with all their migratory warbler cousins. Again, the target area is in a quite specific range.

As with all migratory species, some birds each year will wander or be blown off-course; or will take a rest stop en route and decide to stick around. And so it was that in May 1812, a month before the Battle of Waterloo, the first specimen of the species was collected on Cape May by George Ord during a trip with naturalist ALEXANDER WILSON (he of plover & snipe fame). To be specific, they had gone to shoot the birds they wanted to collect; the little bodies were after all the only irrefutable evidence of a new ‘find’ at that time.

As Wilson later wrote (and note his use of the words ‘shooting excursion’ and ‘ransacked’):

THIS new and beautiful little species was discovered in a maple swamp, in Cape May county, not far from the coast, by Mr. George Ord of this city, who accompanied me on a shooting excursion to that quarter in the month of May last…The same swamp that furnished us with this elegant little stranger, and indeed several miles around it, were ransacked by us both for another specimen of the same; but without success. Fortunately it proved to be a male, and being in excellent plumage, enabled me to preserve a faithful portrait of the original.

The odd (indeed ‘Ord’) thing was that the specimen was a complete one-off at that time. With the benefit of hindsight, I think we can say it came in the category of ‘rare vagrant’: no other specimen of this species (named Sylvia maritima by Wilson) was seen on Cape May for more than a century… Then in 1920, another example was found. Over the succeeding years sightings have gradually increased, and the CMW is no longer regarded as unusual in the location that gave it its name. It has become an uncommon migrant instead.

On Abaco, CMWs are classified as WR1, which is to say common winter residents. Males have striking chestnut cheeks in the breeding season, with strong streaking on the underside. Note also the black eyestripe. Females and juveniles are paler and the marking is less prominent. These warblers are insectivorous; in winter they may also feed on nectar and fruit. Behaviour-wise, they have aggressive tendencies in defence of their territory and of their food sources.

In researching this post, I discovered a strange (but slightly dull) fact. The CMW is unique among warblers in having a tubular tongue to enable nectar feeding (as with hummingbirds). This random fact hardly has the makings of a chat-up line, I do realise, but considering the multitude of warbler species in existence, the CMW has the benefit of a rather special adaptation. It’s one that Darwin himself might rightly be proud to have observed.

Tongue 2 (bottom left) is the CMW; No.5 is a bananaquit’s feathery tongue

WHAT SHOULD I LISTEN OUT FOR?

Unhelpfully, even the authorities have a tough time describing the song and call of a CMW. As with so many song-birds, variations on the theme “the song is a simple repetition of high tsi notes; the call is a thin sip” are the best you can hope for. However, it’s worth noting that the species generally prefers to sing from high perches. But then so do many others I’m afraid. Here’s something more practical – the tsi and the sip:

ALL BIRDS, EXCEPT THE LAST, PHOTOGRAPHED ON ABACO, BAHAMAS

Photo Credits: Charmaine Albury [from The Birds of Abaco] (1); Bruce Hallett (2, 6); Sandy Walker (3, 4, 7); Becky Marvil (5); Danny Sauvageau (8).
Drawing, Nat Geo
Range map, Wiki.
Audio clips Martin St-Michel / Xeno-Canto;
Research refs include, with thanks, American Ornithological Society / Bob Montgomerie (Queen’s University); Camino Travel Costa Rica / OS

WHEN NEW PROVIDENCE WAS OLD: MAPPING BAHAMAS HISTORY

May 15, 2019 by Rolling Harbour

WHEN NEW PROVIDENCE WAS OLD: MAPPING BAHAMAS HISTORY

“Exact Draught of the Island of New Providence, One of the Bahama Islands in the West Indies”

Lateral thinking is one thing; topsy-turvy thinking is in another league. The map that graces the top of this page is of New Providence and Nassau in the the early c18. By today’s exacting mapping conventions, which historically were less rigorously observed, it is upside-down, with Nassau on what we would call the south-west corner. The map is undated on the face of it, and I have found attributed dates of both 1700 and 1750. It could be anywhere in-between. At the time this map was made, New Providence was sparsely populated except for Nassau itself; and little was known about the island’s interior. Contemporary accounts describe a haven for pirates operating around the coastline. Not for nothing was Nassau protected by a battery and a fort. I’ve divided to map into sections to make it easier to take a closer look at each area. You can click each to enlarge.

TOP LEFT CORNER (the south-east of NP in actuality), with the compass pointing downwards to the north. A smattering of houses dot the ‘west’ coast. There is one significant property above Little Sound, standing in what looks like a cleared or even cultivated area. I’ll look at that in more detail below. Note the words above The Great Salt Water Sound: “Very High Pines Grow Here Aboue (sic)”, evidence that forests of tall pines familiar even today on Abaco were found on NP 300 years ago. The island is otherwise mostly marked as if the landscape was fairly open.

2. TOP RIGHT CORNER (south-west & west), with the confident title in a cartouche proclaiming exactness. This was not uncommon in historic map-making – the cartographical equivalent of today’s boastful product slogans – ‘simply the best’ and so on**. The caption next to the Great Sound, This Part of the Country is little Known, suggests an unexplored and perhaps hostile environment – possibly one of marshes and bogs. This sector of the island appears to have been uninhabited, or at least to having no population centres worth recording.

3. BOTTOM RIGHT CORNER (north-west). At last there is more evidence habitation, with a string of dwellings along the coastline. The 2 cays shown have names, West End and ‘Pellican’. And it looks as though the two ships have set out from port. On the left side of the bay above them, a church can be seen. Initially I thought the double row of crosses might indicate an area close to the shoreline that might be safe – or at least safer – from pirate attack. The leading ship – as the detailed crop shows clearly – is a warship. No harm in romantically speculating that it is escorting a trading vessel… More recently an online friend Klausbernd told me that the double crosses on map are in fact a navigational aid indicating cross bearings.

4. BOTTOM MIDDLE SECTION As we move towards the main – indeed only – town on the island, it is clear that the northern coast was the most desirable place to live. The scattering of houses along the coast continues; and the captions for the ponds show a possible reason why: fresh water, on an island where other areas of water are actually marked as ‘salt’ or which might have been unpleasantly brackish. And now we can see more of the posh establishment I referred to above. Not only did it lie in open (or perhaps cultivated) country, but it was plainly of some importance. It is notably larger that other buildings depicted, for a start; and it has its own very long track that forks off the coastal track.

5. BOTTOM LEFT CORNER: NASSAU We have reached the big city, the centre of the population, and the port – with the harbour entrance handily marked. It bore the same name then as now; though the other names marked (as far as I can make out) have mostly if not all changed over 3 centuries. The Baha Mar development and its attendant travails seem light years away from this map. The double line of crosses ends here (bottom right at the first cay). If they marked a safe zone for vessels passing back and forth into Nassau harbour, they did not need to extend further because of the town fortifications (see detailed crop). There is a fort right on the shore; and at the far end of the harbour sound is a battery at Drewitt’s Point. The town is watched over by a substantial building – presumably a Governor’s residence – that is surrounded by a stockade . In the early c18 Nassau put on a show of strength to deter invaders and pirates.

DO WE KNOW THE EXACT DRAUGHT’S EXACT DATE?

The map itself is undated. The Library of Congress, whose map I have chopped up for this post, simply dates it as 17– and notes:

Manuscript, pen-and-ink and watercolor; Has watermark; Oriented with north to the bottom; Relief shown pictorially and by shading; Depths shown by soundings.

The excellent David Rumsey Historical Map Collection chooses the year 1750, the maker unknown. Another source puts the date at 1700.

Whichever, a clue to establish the map in the first half of the c18 is that the publisher is believed to be ‘William Innys [et al.]’, London. Innys and his brother John (the ‘et al’ presumably) were active at that time. In 1726, for example, they published an edition of Newton’s Philosophiae naturalis principia mathematica (first published in 1687), indicating that they must already have been well-established.

WHAT ABOUT THE PIRATES?

The “Deposition of Capt. Matthew Musson” made on 5 Jul 1717 in London, contains some excellent contemporary pirate-based material. The middle passage in particular gives an indication how well organised and extremely well-armed the pirates were. And it is clear that piracy was actually driving inhabitants away from New Providence.

“On March last he was cast away on the Bahamas. At Harbour Island he found about 30 families, with severall pirates, which frequently are comeing and goeing to purchase provissons for the piratts vessells at Providence. There were there two ships of 90 tons which sold provissons to the said pirates, the sailors of which said they belong’d to Boston”.

“At Habakoe one of the Bahamas he found Capt. Thomas Walker and others who had left Providence by reason of the rudeness of the pirates and settled there. They advis’d him that five pirates made ye harbour of Providence their place of rendevous vizt. [Benjamin] Horngold, a sloop with 10 guns and about 80 men; [Henry] Jennings, a sloop with 10 guns and 100 men; [Josiah(s)] Burgiss, a sloop with 8 guns and about 80 men; [Henry?] White, in a small vessell with 30 men and small armes; [Edward] Thatch, a sloop 6 gunns and about 70 men. All took and destroyd ships of all nations except Jennings who took no English; they had taken a Spanish ship of 32 gunns, which they kept in the harbour for a guardship”.

“Ye greatest part of the inhabitants of Providence are. already gone into other adjacent islands to secure themselves from ye pirates, who frequently plunder them. Most of the ships and vessells taken by them they burn and destroy when brought into the harbour and oblidge the menn to take on with them. The inhabitants of those Isles are in a miserable condition at present, but were in great hopes that H.M. would be graciously pleas’d to take such measures, which would speedily enable them to return to Providence their former settlement, there are severall more pirates than he can now give an accot. of that are both to windward and to leward of Providence that may ere this be expected to rendevous there he being apprehensive that unless the Governmt. fortify this place the pirates will to protect themselves”. Signed, Mathew Musson. Endorsed, Read 5th July, 1717. 1½ pp. [C.O. 5, 1265. No. 73.]

new-providence-c18-map-part-11

CAN I BUY THIS MAP FOR MY WALL?

You certainly can. Well, not an original obviously. But you can find prints of it on eBay and elsewhere – just google the map title. You can get a modern copy for around $20 + shipping

** I have an enjoyable example of this tendency on a William Guthrie map of Europe dated c1800 that I own. A map from “the beft authorities” could surely have no serious rival!

Credits: Library of Congress Online Catalog (Geography and Map Division); David Rumsey Historical Map Collection; Baylus C Brooks, Professional Research & Maritime Historian, Author, & Conservator / “America and West Indies: July 1717, 1-15,” in Calendar of State Papers Colonial, America and West Indies: Volume 29, 1716-1717, ed. Cecil Headlam (London: His Majesty’s Stationery Office, 1930), 336-344; Bonhams (Auctioneers)

OSPREY ID GUIDE: THE BAHAMAS SUBSPECIES REVISITED

May 13, 2019 by Rolling Harbour

OSPREY ID GUIDE: THE BAHAMAS SUBSPECIES REVISITED

I am reposting this article in the wake of a recent Bird Club of New Providence bird of prey ID query featuring distant but still helpful photos that enabled the ID as an osprey. As far as I can tell from the visible evidence (the images pixellate when enlarged) this is the ‘local’ Bahamian subspecies that differs in subtle ways from the standard North American version. Both types are found in the northern Bahamas; it would definitely be a great ‘get’ to locate one of each on the same day…

I sometimes feature bird comparatives, not least because there is so much scope for confusion that I have to keep checking for myself. Tyrant flycatchers; a number of superficially similar warbler species (all with yellow bits); those vireos; all those heron-y / egret-y types and their disconcerting morphs (hello, white reddish egret).

And so to the magnificent osprey Pandion haliaetus. This time, the comparison is between two subspecies, broadly the North American P. h. carolinensis and the Caribbean P.h. ridgwayi. There is some overlap in Florida, and some evidence of interbreeding. In the northern Bahamas in particular there is also an overlap, so an osprey seen on Abaco could be either variety. You’ll probably be too excited watching it to care much which type it is, but this article will help you if you do…

The two ospreys shown below were recently photographed at Spanish Wells, Eleuthera by Barbara Crouchley. This is a ‘bingo’ photographic scoop, because each type of bird was found in the same region; now we can check out the differences between the two birds.

The first is a North American bird. Note in particular its distinctive eye mask, and the clearly marked upper breast, more so in the female than the male (which may even be white). The overall impression of the upper-parts is dark brown. They are slightly larger than their cousins in the south.

Osprey P.h. carolinensis

In this Caribbean bird with its trophy fish, the eye-mask is absent, and the facial / nape markings are less pronounced. Furthermore, the breast and under-parts are white in both sexes (though slight marking may be apparent in some birds). And the impression is of lighter upper-parts, even allowing for variable lighting and distance when the photos were taken. Conveniently, there’s not much detectable difference between male and females in the respective populations.

Osprey P.h. ridgwayi

EXAMPLES OF P. h. carolinensis

EXAMPLES OF P. h. ridgwayi

I’m going to stick my neck out here – I’ve not seen this mentioned anywhere, and I need to do some more comparative research. When I saw Barbara’s pair of photos, I immediately noticed that the eyes of the P.h.r were paler than the bright orangey-yellow of P.h.c. This distinction carries on through the comparative photos above: the P.h.cs were photographed in Florida and further north and have strikingly vivid eyes. The P.h.rs were photographed on Abaco and Grand Bahama at different times by different people. All have noticeably paler irises, more a light greeny-yellow.

I’d welcome any views on this rash amateur theory. Preferably supportive ones…

UNDERWING DIFFERENCES

There’s a further comparison that can be made with the two subspecies in flight. Without going into technical and linguistic detail, the underwings of the P.h.cs are much darker than the Bahamas birds, whereas P.h.rs are notably paler and in some cases mostly white. As an example, below is a distance shot I took when bonefishing out on the Abaco Marls, using a pocket camera. This is definitely a local bird! Compare with the dramatic image below it, where the strong darker markings are all too evident. It’s a great shot with which to bring the lesson to an end.

Photo credits: Tom Sheley (1); CWFNJ (2); Barbara Crouchley (3, 4); Danny Sauvageau (5, 6, 7); Jim Todd (8); Linda Barry Cooper (9); Woody Bracey (10); Keith Salvesen (11); the inimitable Northside Jim (12); Cute-toon, Birdorable. Thanks for all use permissions – also to Steve Connett for the idea!

ROCK BEAUTY: BAHAMAS REEF FISH (52)

May 10, 2019 by Rolling Harbour

ROCK BEAUTY: BAHAMAS REEF FISH (52)

I last featured the cheerfully-coloured Rock Beauty Holacanthus tricolor 2 or 3 years back. Time has passed; new photos exist; new people have signed up to follow this eclectic menagerie (thank you both). Time for another look at these beauties, which also happen to be cuties.

Look at the little guy above – posing for Pixar, adorably hoping to star in Part 3 of the Nemo / Dory trilogy

These fish are a small species of angelfish. Seen swimming around the reefs they are unmistakeable, not least because of their bright yellow hi-viz jackets, remarkable blue eyeliner and blue-black lippy.

Rock Beauties look like prime candidates for anyone’s aquarium, but their picky dietary requirements and tendency for aggression make them unsuitable.

They are highly specialised feeders, needing marine sponge in their daily diet. They are also prone to chase their tank-mates and nip them. On balance, they look more fetching nosing about the coral anyway.

WHAT DO JUVENILES LOOK LIKE?

Juvenile rock beauties are cute mini-versions of the adults, only more yellow and with yellow lips. In some development stages, they have a smart blue circle around the dark patch on their sides (bottom image).

NOTE Rock Beauties have no known kinship with Chrissie, Debbie, Lita, Joan, Jennifer, Stevie, Madge and the rest of the accredited ‘Rock Beauties aka Chicks’

NOT A TRUE ‘ROCK BEAUTY’ (no offence, Lita)

A TRUE ROCK BEAUTY

Credits: Melinda Riger, Grand Bahama Scuba; WP

NORTHERN MOCKINGBIRDS: NEST + CHICKS = BUSY MAMA**

May 7, 2019 by Rolling Harbour

NORTHERN MOCKINGBIRDS: NEST + CHICKS = BUSY MAMA**

Anyone who has watched – and indeed heard – the behaviour of new chicks in a nest will recognise what is going on here. Four tiny Northern mockingbird chicks are passive and apparently dozy in the nest while they wait for one or other parent to fly back to fill their little faces.

As soon as they see or sense the imminent arrival of parent, the clamour begins. Me me me. Feed me first. “Fill-a-mi-beek”. Straining and craning forwards and upwards, with gaping yellow mouths. Pushing and shoving for optimum positioning. It’s all a bit frantic in that confined space.

Quite often, there’ll be a slightly smaller, less active chick at the back of the screeching pack… the best hope may be some leftovers or some food sprayed around in the mayhem. Then the parent bird flies off and the riot subsides. For a few minutes, anyway.

Northern Mockingbird Chicks being fed in nest, Abaco Bahamas (Melissa Maura)

The 2 chicks at the back haven’t quite got the hang of the tactics yet…

The chick at the front – see him? – is out of the game..

As the photographer Melissa Maura wrote of this sequence: “A local avian staple seen in every Bahamian garden – the brilliantly musical Mockingbird. I followed this diligent Mamma for a few days in Abaco continually foraging for her 4 babies. Exhausting!”

* * Title / header: from the word ‘Mama’ onwards, there’s a notable absence of the role of `Papa’ in all this. He will have been the one to choose the territory and build the nest. His work complete, he can relax a bit in the knowledge that the chicks will fledge after only about a fortnight. Any Mama can cope with that, surely? Why interfere when it’s all going so well…

All great photos: Melissa Maura

LOGGERHEAD KINGBIRD: LORD OF THE FLIES

May 3, 2019 by Rolling Harbour

LOGGERHEAD KINGBIRD: LORD OF THE FLIES

Four principal so-called ‘tyrant flycatchers’ (Tyrannidae) are found on Abaco: the loggerhead kingbird, the gray kingbird, the La Sagra’s flycatcher and the Cuban pewee. These are common permanent residents, except for the gray kingbird which is a summer resident only. Several other flycatcher species are found on Abaco, but they are very uncommon winter residents, rare transients, or vagrants.

The loggerhead featured here became quite a good companion when I was staying in Sandy Point recently. Like other flycatchers – and indeed the cute little blue-gray gnatcatchers – loggerheads are curious and inquisitive.

Loggerheads seem to have two methods of observing humans and their mysteries. One is by perching on a branch or in a shrub, watching intently. They stay quite still… until suddenly launching into the air to intercept some passing insect with their hooked beaks (so-called ‘hawking’), before returning to their perch. And staring at you again. The other method is to follow you round, either flying slightly ahead as you progress; or fluttering in the coppice alongside you; or playing catch-up from behind.

Loggerhead Kingbird, Sandy Point, Abaco Bahamas (Keith Salvesen)

A typical quizzical loggerhead sideways look… all flycatchers do this

Loggerhead and gray kingbirds are similar in size, and can be quite easy to confuse. Top seasonal tip: because the grays are summer visitors only, it’s a fairly safe bet that any kingbirds seen between, say, October and April will be the resident loggerheads.

MEMORABLE FACT TO DEPLOY IN CONVERSATION

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

Photo Credits: Keith Salvesen at Sandy Point, Abaco Bahamas; ‘Lordy’ the Loggerhead

PINE WARBLERS ON ABACO and PINUS ENVY

April 29, 2019 by Rolling Harbour

PINE WARBLERS ON ABACO and PINUS ENVY

The Pine Warbler Setophaga pinus is one of 5 year-round resident warblers on Abaco. The other 33 warbler species (including the recently recorded CANADA WARBLER) are migratory and at this time of year they will be in their summer breeding grounds. The co-resident warblers are the 2 endemics – Bahama warbler and Bahama Yellowthroat – plus the olive-capped warbler and the yellow warbler. You can see all 5 HERE. In fact, all are to be envied and admired. First, they are all bright, attractive birds. Secondly, they live in the Bahamas all year round, without needing to undertake a long exhausting flight twice a year, unlike the rest of their warbler compadres. And indeed, unlike many of the human inhabitants of Abaco.

As the name strongly hints, the pine warbler is primarily a bird of the pine forests, of which Abaco has an abundance. The tall, straight trees were a vital local source of timber (cf SAWMILL SINK). As a historical note, felled pines were also exported to the UK to be made into the strong pit-props needed for coal-mines.

Q. WHAT IS THE NORMAL RANGE OF THIS BIRD? A. THIS IS!

Pine warblers have a broad diet and forage methodically. Pine cones are a fertile source for food, and those robust, stabby, slightly down-curved beaks are ideal for getting the seeds out of the cones. Equally, these warblers use their beaks to prise out insects from the rough pine trunks and branches.

WHAT OF THEIR NIDIFICATION?

The pine forest is obviously the preferred nesting habitat for these birds. On Abaco there are vast acres of forest for them, but the warblers also nest in the smaller groups of pines found (for example) in or near some of the settlements; or around the edges of former sugar cane fields and the like. One nesting habit is slightly unusual – pine warblers tend to build their nests near the end of branches rather than near the trunk, a position that seems far less secure. Milton Harris has helpfully pointed out: “One theory on pine warbler nest location is that they are safer from predators by building at the end of a small branch. Some other birds do the same.”

DO YOU HAVE ANY ‘FUN FACTS’?

One source states that “The song of this bird is a musical trill. Their calls are slurred chips“. I think we’ve all been there at some time, possibly when lunching at Pete’s Pub.

MUSICAL TRILL Paul Driver / Xeno Canto

SLURRED CHIP Don Jones / Xeno-Canto

The longest pine in the world is the Benzodiazepine (14 letters)

Photo Credits: Bruce Hallett (1, 3, 6); Alex Hughes (2); Tom Reed (4); Tom Sheley (5); Dick Daniels (7); Wiki (range map); Nat Geo (species drawings); Paul Driver / Xeno Canto – call; Don Jones / Xeno Canto – chips

FLAMINGO TONGUE SNAILS: DECORATIVE CORAL-DWELLERS

April 25, 2019 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. These snails live in the tropical waters of the Caribbean and the wider western Atlantic. Whether alive or dead, they are gratifyingly easy to identify.

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 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”.

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 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 now 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 “boring-looking shells” (see photos below). Don’t be a collector; be a protector…

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

Image Credits: Melinda Rogers / Dive Abaco; Keith Salvesen / Rolling Harbour

HERMIT CRABS: SHELL-DWELLERS WITH MOBILE HOMES

April 23, 2019 by Rolling Harbour

HERMIT CRABS: SHELL-DWELLERS WITH MOBILE HOMES

As everyone knows, Hermit Crabs get their name from the fact that from an early age they borrow empty seashells to live in. As they grow they trade up to a bigger one, leaving their previous home for a smaller crab to move into. It’s a benign** chain of recycling that the original gastropod occupant would no doubt approve of, were it still alive… The crabs are able to adapt their flexible bodies to their chosen shell. Mostly they are to be found in weathered (‘heritage’) rather than newly-empty shells for their home. [**except for fighting over shells]

HERMIT CRAB FACTS TO ENLIVEN YOUR CONVERSATION

The crabs are mainly terrestrial, and make their homes in empty gastropod shells
Their bodies are soft, making them vulnerable to predation and heat.
They are basically naked – the shells protect their bodies & conceal them from predators
In that way they differ from other crab species that have hard ‘calcified’ shells / carapaces
Ideally the shell should be the right size to retract into completely, with no bits on display

As they grow larger, they have to move into larger and larger shells to hide in
As the video below shows wonderfully, they may form queues and upsize in turns
Occasionally they make a housing mistake and chose a different home, eg a small tin

The crabs may congregate in large groups which scatter rapidly when they sense danger
The demand for suitable shells can be competitive and the cause of inter-crab battles
Sometimes two or more will gang up on a rival to prevent its move to a particular shell

HERMIT CRABS CAN EVEN CLIMB TREES – WITH THEIR SHELLS ON TOO

HERMIT CRABS EXCHANGING HOMES with DAVID ATTENBOROUGH

This is a short (c 4 mins) extract from BBC Earth, with David Attenborough explaining about the lives and habits of these little crabs with his usual authoritative care and precision . If you have the time I highly recommend taking a look.

Credits: All photos taken on Abaco by Keith Salvesen except for the tree-climber crab photographed by Tom Sheley; video from BBC Earth

TUNICATES: SESSILE ASEXUAL SEA-SQUIRTS

April 19, 2019 by Rolling Harbour

TUNICATES: SESSILE ASEXUAL SEA-SQUIRTS

Painted Tunicates Clavina picta are one of several species of tunicate ‘sea-squirts’ found in Bahamas and Caribbean waters. These creatures with their translucent bodies are usually found clustered together, sometimes in very large groups. One reason for this is that they are ‘sessile’, unable to move from where they have taken root on the coral.

HOW DO THEY FEED?

Like most if not all sea squirts, tunicates are filter feeders. Their structure is simple, and enables them to draw water into their body cavity. In fact they have 2 openings, an ‘oral siphon’ to suck in water; and an exit called the ‘atrial siphon’. Tiny particles of food (e.g. plankton) are separated internally from the water by means of a tiny organ (‘branchial basket’) like a sieve. The water is then expelled.

Diagram of adult solitary tunicate

WHAT DOES ‘TUNICATE’ MEAN?

The creatures have a flexible protective covering referred to as a ‘tunic’. ‘Coveringcates’ didn’t really work as a name, so the tunic aspect became the name.

IF THEY CAN’T MOVE, HOW DO THEY… (erm…) REPRODUCE?

Tunicates are broadly speaking asexual. Once a colony has become attached to corals or sponges, they are able to ‘bud’, ie to produce clones to join the colony. These are like tiny tadpoles and their first task is to settle and attach themselves to something suitable – for life – using a sticky secretion. Apparently they do this head first, then in effect turn themselves upside down as they develop the internal bits and pieces they need for adult life. The colony grows because (*speculation alert*) the most obvious place for the ‘tadpoles’ to take root is presumably in the immediate area they were formed.

APART FROM BEING STATIONARY & ASEXUAL, ANY OTHER ATTRIBUTES?

Some types of tunicate contain particular chemicals that are related to those used to combat some forms of cancer and a number of viruses. So they have a potential use in medical treatments, in particular in helping to repair tissue damage.

Credits: all fabulous close-up shots by Melinda Riger / Grand Bahama Scuba; diagram from depts.washington.edu; magpie pickings with a particular mention of an article by Sara MacSorley

LEUCOPHAEUS ATRICILLA: LAUGHING STOCK ON ABACO

April 16, 2019 by Rolling Harbour

PSSSST! WANNA HEAR A JOKE?

LEUCOPHAEUS ATRICILLA: LAUGHING STOCK ON ABACO

KNOCK KNOCK!

WHO’S THERE?

TWITTER!

TWITTER WHO?

HAR HAR! MADE YOU SOUND LIKE AN OWL…!

Photos & vid, Keith Salvesen; Joke, most people on Earth (though not with illustrative pics)

HOW FLAMINGOS WORK…

April 11, 2019 by Rolling Harbour

HOW FLAMINGOS WORK…

CREDITS: great photos from Inagua, Melissa Maura; vaguely interesting slo-mo movie, Keith Salvesen

The Tyrant

April 9, 2019 by Rolling Harbour

HOW TYRANT FLYCATCHERS GOT THEIR NAME (feat. Myr’s artwork & RH photos…)

Myr's Bytes

Happy Draw a Bird Day! To celebrate, I present, my first tyrant flycatcher drawing!

The Cuban Pewee, or Crescent-eyed Pewee, Contopus caribaeus, resides in Cuba and The Bahamas, and is occasionally sighted on the southeast coast of Florida. Keith Salvesen recently posted some lovely photos on his blog Rolling Harbour Abaco and he was cool with me using them for a Cuban Pewee drawing adventure.

I’m pleased that the bird in my drawing looks sweet-as-can-be and has a beautiful eye, and I like the colours and patterns of the branches and background. However, I’m not jazzed about the streakiness of the feathers. Hoping for more gentle feathery textures and easier control of varying grey shades, I grabbed 2H and HB graphite pencils and a kneaded eraser. I chose a different photo because that open bill is just marvellous! Clearly, Keith and the Cuban Pewees are good friends.

The…

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ABACO WARBLERS: THE FAMOUS 5 (PERMANENT RESIDENTS)

April 8, 2019 by Rolling Harbour

Bahama Warbler, Abaco Bahamas (Bruce Hallett)

ABACO WARBLERS: THE FAMOUS 5 (PERMANENT RESIDENTS)

There are 37 warbler species recorded for Abaco. They fall into three distinct categories. Surprisingly perhaps, only 5 species are permanently resident on Abaco, ie non-migratory. Then there are warblers that commute from the breeding grounds of North America to warmer climes in the Fall, returning in the Spring to breed. Some will be familiar – PALM WARBLER, AMERICAN REDSTART, BLACK-AND -WHITE WARBLER. Others, like the HOODED WARBLER, are less common. One or two are very rare indeed, such as the KIRTLAND’S WARBLERS that choose Abaco as a winter destination. Finally there are the so-called transients, warbler species that use the northern Bahamas as a stopover during their longer migratory flights, such as the BLACKPOLL WARBLER.

The 5 permanent residents obviously don’t migrate, so there is a chance to find them throughout the year. The pine forests would generally be the best place to start the quest. Importantly, 2 of the 5 species are endemic birds to the Bahamas and can be found nowhere else: BAHAMA YELLOWTHROAT and BAHAMA WARBLER. The latter and the OLIVE-CAPPED WARBLER, are very range-restricted, and only found on Abaco and Grand Bahama.

THE 5 PERMANENT RESIDENTS

BAHAMA YELLOWTHROAT Geothlypis rostrata PR B 1 ENDEMIC

YELLOW WARBLER Setophaga petechia PR B 1

OLIVE-CAPPED WARBLER Setophaga pityophila PR B 1

PINE WARBLER Setophaga pinus PR B 1

BAHAMA WARBLER Setophaga flavescens PR B 1 ENDEMIC

PHOTO CREDITS Bruce Hallett (1, 3, 5, 8, 11); Gerlinde Taurer (2); Tom Sheley (4, 6, 7); Tom Reed (9); Alex Hughes (10, 11)

CHECKLIST CODES based on the complete checklist and codes for Abaco devised by Tony White with Woody Bracey for “THE DELPHI CLUB GUIDE TO THE BIRDS OF ABACO” by Keith Salvesen

‘REEF ENCOUNTER’ 1: GRAY ANGELFISH

April 4, 2019 by Rolling Harbour

‘REEF ENCOUNTER’ 1: GRAY ANGELFISH

Today I learn from a cheery message from WordPress that my illustrated ramblings have been going on for exactly X years, where X is greater than 5 but less than 10. Time to start a new theme: channelling my inner Noel Coward, I am introducing a new mainly pictorial series provisionally called ‘Reef Encounter’. All the awesome beauty of reef life will be here.

In the past I have posted about GRAY ANGELFISH, one of three kinds of angelfish found in the northern Bahamas. Today, I am featuring some more recent images of these pretty creatures. Note in particular the striking shape and colour of their mouths, the blue being found also on the fin edges at the back.

On this otherwise gray fish, you’ll also find touches of yellow on the face and the edges of the front fins. In the header image there’s another little fish in the bottom right corner. Not a baby angelfish, but a FOUR-EYED BUTTERFLYFISH – a species that will feature in own right in due course

All fabulous photos by Melinda Riger / Grand Bahama Scuba

NO LAUGHING MATTER: A DISHEVELLED GULL ON ABACO

April 2, 2019 by Rolling Harbour

NO LAUGHING MATTER: A DISHEVELLED GULL ON ABACO

By the end of day 2 during my recent stay at Sandy Point, I thought that I had had just about enough of the laughing gulls Leucophaeus atricilla. They are delightful of course, and (in small doses) a joy to listen to. But their incessant outbursts of humour were getting beyond a joke.

The next day, on the nearby jetty, the gulls were in full cry. A lone brown pelican stood on top of a piling, looking out to sea. A few Royal Terns turned their faces, characteristically, into the light wind. I wandered over and slowly walked down the jetty. This generated some laughter, but the birds were quite content to watch me edge slowly towards them.

Probably, the gulls feel safety in numbers. Maybe they hope the din will send you away. Or perhaps, if approached very carefully, they are simply curious. I got close to the birds, and one in particular caught my eye. It was plainly having a bad-feather day. I took it to be a non-breeding adult, but it lacked the white spots on the tail-feathers (primaries). Maybe it was a first winter juvenile. Whichever, it was happy to pose for me.

I realised, of course, that the jetty belonged to the birds, including the ruddy turnstones that had just joined the gang at the end of the jetty. I was the intruder in their world, and I had willingly visited their territory. So their racket was entirely their business, and absolutely none of mine**.

WHAT DO LAUGHING GULLS SOUND LIKE? ARE YOU OVERSENSITIVE?

I made a couple of short recordings of the gulls in full humour mode. If you have never heard them before, you might want to listen to the full 30 seconds. For anyone else there’s a convenient lull at around 15 secs before they kick off again.

Breeding adult (Birdorable)

**In the UK there’s a thing where someone buys an attractive cottage next to the c15 village church. Then they discover that the clock chimes. And the bell-ringers practise their art on Monday and Thursday evenings. And on Sunday all hell breaks loose, especially if there is Sunday cricket on the village green in the mix. And the occasional ball being hit into the flowerbed. So, complaints are made to the Council, noise abatement orders are sought, legal letters fly round the Parish. And everyone hates the newcomers. Adopting village life with no research? Way to go!

All photos + audio clip: Keith Salvesen / Rolling Harbour

SCENE FROM BELOW: ‘SURFACE TENSION’

March 29, 2019 by Rolling Harbour

SCENE FROM BELOW: ‘SURFACE TENSION’

When I first got a GoPro, I made a mistake. What I really needed was a GoAm. My level of sophistication in Camera-world lines up just above the ‘incompetent’ mark. So, in taking footage of a partial sperm whale skeleton on the sea floor in Abaco last week, I have found several total duds – as if I have confused the ‘take’ button with the ‘on-off’ button. Indeed, as I obviously did.

These photographic deficiencies are matched by my well-documented feeble swimming skills that improve only slightly with a snorkel and mask. And I am not legally permitted within 25 metres of Scuba equipment in all but landlocked countries.

The footage of the whale skeleton worked out quite well in the end, considering the directional uncertainties caused by my swimming technique. In trimming the ends, I found I had taken quite a lot of underwater footage directed upwards to the surface rather than downwards on the cetacean remains. Probably, I was gasping for air.

I’m not sure that any of these stills count as photography at all. But as my finger hovered over the trashcan sign, it crossed my mind that there was (possibly) a strange beauty in these random outtakes. So I clipped and cropped to see how that might work. I wait to see the feedback (if any). If my number of followers drops below 50%, I will have to delete the dross swiftly, with due apologies.

I’ll be posting the story behind the sperm whale skeleton in due course. Meanwhile, these clips are an interim curiosity. And that’s probably putting it at its highest…

All photos taken at Sandy Point, Abaco Bahamas – Keith Salvesen / Rolling Harbour

‘BIRD ON THE WIRE’: LOGGERHEAD KINGBIRD ON ABACO

March 27, 2019 by Rolling Harbour

‘BIRD ON THE WIRE’: LOGGERHEAD KINGBIRD ON ABACO

I’m just back from Abaco. Mostly, it was about Marine Mammals (i.e. whales, dolphins, manatees) and the biennial Retreat for the Bahamas Marine Mammal Research Organisation (BMMRO). There was still time for some birding in Sandy Point, though. It’s a good place at any time for bird-watching BUT the settlement is rather remote. Specifically it is the terminus of the single 120-mile Highway that stretches south from Little Abaco in the north. Then the tarmac abruptly runs out and gives way at once to white sand. If that doesn’t halt you, you’ll wish your vehicle was amphibious…

Loggerhead kingbirds, with their hooky flycatcher beaks, cresty hair and dashing yellowish undersides, are intriguing companions. If they get interested in you (or maybe your camera bleep, as I have discovered), they will accompany you on a walk, flying ahead until you catch up, then doing it again. And if they are ‘hawking’ for flies from a favourite perch, they are fun to watch and… a big bonus… they won’t stop because you are spectating.

Like all the Bahamas flycatchers, from the little cuban pewee upwards, the Kingbirds have a charming way of cocking their head to one side or dropping it down towards their chest. Slightly posey, always endearing.

OPTIONAL MUSICAL DIGRESSION

‘Bird on the Wire’ was originally sung by Judy Collins, though written by Leonard Cohen. His own definitive version from 1968’s ‘Songs from a Room‘ is arguable the best known recording and preceded several hundred later cover versions. LC is a really “difficult” artist, however. Many will agree with his expressed view that the song is ‘a prayer and an anthem’. Others might say that it is simply growly dirge-like maundering. The (then-modish) mouth-harp twangling in the background may also be an opinion-divider. Since I have shoehorned Cohen’s song title into my blog title, you might as well have the song too, for contemplation. Is it a life-affirming ‘upper’ or a funereal ‘downer’? You be the judge!

Photos: Keith Salvesen / Rolling Harbour, Sandy point, Abaco.

“MEET THE FLOCKERS…” ON ABACO

March 22, 2019 by Rolling Harbour

“MEET THE FLOCKERS…” ON ABACO

I’ve been checking out jetties at Sandy Point, of which there are several. They look a bit rickety but are in fact sound except for having to step rounds piles of (empty) conch shells and occasional evidence on the timbers of recent fish-cleaning. This is a time of Laughing Gulls, and I have been recording their raucous hilarity. I may add a couple of sound files when I’ve downloaded them.

Sharing a joke

Right now, ruddy turnstones and laughing gulls seems to have formed a team of jetty birds, with a few royal terns in the mix and (as here) a random sanderling. The turnstones like to lie down in the hot sun on the jetty, possibly because it’s a bit breezier than on the burning sand of the beach.

Exhausted from turning stones

Random sanderling

These jokers are wild…

The jetties also attract pelicans, which use them to sun themselves and also to fish from. I will post about these remarkable birds another time. The largest flock of them I have seen so far is 5, one with a gold ‘breeding crown’.

Ruddy Turnstones, Sandy Point, Abaco, Bahamas (Keith Salvesen)

The gulls also spend time on the beach, and flock on the sandbars that emerge at low tide

All photos: Keith Salvesen

Laughing Gulls, Sandy Point, Abaco, Bahamas (Keith Salvesen)

TAKING TERNS KISSING: AN ABACO ROMANCE

March 19, 2019 by Rolling Harbour

TAKING TERNS KISSING: AN ABACO ROMANCE

There’s a time and a place for anthropomorphising animal behaviour in terms of human responses. Usually it’s best done with caution or not at all… I’m going to press ahead, though, with a romantic encounter between two Royal terns today at Sandy Point, Abaco. Ultimately, this appeared to be an approach, a come-on, a poorly executed attempt at intimacy, and ultimately a rejection. Or else it’s just bird interchange that we should not read too much into…

Good afternoon, I should like to get to know you better… Royal Terns, Sandy Point, Abaco Bahamas (Keith Salvesen)