Hawksbills on their own, nosing around the colourful coral reefs of the Bahamas, are a beautiful sight. I don’t want to overdo the religious tendency of the title, but they are indeed wonderful to behold. Add FRENCH ANGELFISH and a QUEEN ANGELFISH and it’s as close to perfection as a reef scene gets. Click on the links above for more pictures and details about the two angelfish species seen here with the turtle. As ever, Melinda Riger was ready with her camera to capture these great images.
This astonishing photo was of course achieved by carefully balancing a GoPro on the turtle’s back, wrapping duct tape around it, and pressing ‘go’ (camera and turtle simultaneously). **
**This is not true. It’s just a cleverly shot turtle’s-eye view as it forages on the reef
This short video shot by Melinda’s husband Fred of a turtle ‘loving’ the camera is one of those wildlife events that cannot be predicted… but when it happens, it’s frankly a bit of a scoop.
OPTIONAL MUSICAL DIGRESSION
As I was writing this, an earworm started up and grew insidiously in both ears and then inside my head… the dread words “Elenore, gee I think you’re swell”. Followed by “so happy together…”. And then “she’d rather be with me…” Yes, I’ve now gotTURTLESin my head, the (?long-and-hitherto-forgotten) band from the second half of the 60’s, with their cheery anodyne soppy-poppy love songs. And dammit, they’ve stuck… Here’s a reminder for those whose memory I have jogged. For anyone under, say, 75, step away from this area. Nothing to hear here.
Credits: Grand Bahama Scuba: all photos – Melinda Riger & video – Fred Riger; Turtle music – someone else’s music collection, not mine, honestly… (oh dear another lie I am afraid – cred gone)
In 2014 I wrote about finding myself – with others on a birding expedition – in the midst of dozens of nighthawks as they swooped and dived (dove?) while hawking for flies. “The birds were quite unperturbed by our presence, and from time to time would zoom past within inches of our heads, making a swooshing noise as they did so”. You can find the post at FAST FOOD ON THE WING.
Nighthawks catch flying insects on the wing, and mostly forage at dawn and dusk – or (more romantically) at night in a full moon.
Besides aerial feeding displays, nighthawks may also be seen on the ground, where they nest. I say ‘nest’, but actually they hardy bother to make an actual nest, but just lay their eggs on bare ground. And, more riskily, this may well be out in the open rather than concealed. The eggs – usually 2 – hatch after 3 weeks or so, and after another 3 weeks the chicks fledge.
Fortunately their colouring enables them to blend in with the landscape – a good example of bird camouflage in natural surroundings.
The photos above are from Sandy Walker (header), Stephen Connett – to whom special thanks for use permission for his great nighthawk and egg images – and the last one by bird legend and author of the locus classicus The Birds of the Bahamas (without which no trip to the Bahamas is complete), Bruce Hallett.
Antillean Nighthawk Chordeiles gundlachii, is a species of nightjar. These birds have local names such as ‘killa-ka-dick’, ‘pi-di-mi-dix’, ‘pity-pat-pit’, or variations on the theme, presumably onomatopoeic. Pikadik-(dik) will do for me. See what you reckon from these recordings (excuse the thick-billed vireo – I think – in the background):
Andrew Spencer / Xeno-Canto
ODD FACT
I have read in several sources that no one knows where these migratory birds spend winter; or else that winter season data is ‘scarce’. So no sensible range maps exist, for example. If you read this, and have antillean nighthawks (as opposed to common nighthawks) all round you in winter, please tell someone – you may hold the key to an ornithological mystery…
As so often, the Bahamas Philatelic Bureau leads the way with natural history stamps. The 15c Antillean Nighthawk above featured in a 2001 bird set. You can see dozens more very excellent Bahamas bird, butterfly, fish, flower and other wildlife stamps HERE.
Find out about Juan Gundlach, Cuban Natural Historian (he of the Antillean Nighthawk and the Bahama Mockingbird for example) HERE
Credits: Sandy Walker (1); Stephen Connett (2, 3, 4, 5); Bruce Hallett (6); Andrew Spencer / Xeno-Canto (audio files); Audubon (7); Sibley / Audubon (8)
The Limpkin has a special status: it is in a Class of its own. Actually, it is in a Family of its own in terms of strict Linnean classification. It is in the Class ‘bird’ and the Order ‘crane and rail’. But there is no other creature in its Family or Genus. So it’s on its own, bird-wise. None like it anywhere. It is ‘monotypic’.
These snail eaters are said to be named for their somewhat lame walking method on their long legs. Their long downcurved bills are shaped to act rather like tweezers when feeding on snails. I’ve never managed to get very close to one – they seem to be quite secretive. But boy, can you hear them when they decide to go for it. If you ever hear this sound – quite possibly at night – now you’ll know what creature is making it…
Jerome Fischer / Xeno-Canto
TEN LIMPID LIMPKIN FACTS TO ENTHRAL YOUR FRIENDS
The Limpkin has its own ‘monotypic’ family – a one-off species of bird
They eat snails and molluscs (also insects, worms & frogs), using their beaks to snatch them
They may leave piles of discarded shells in their favourite feeding sites
The birds are ungainly and awkward: ‘limpkin’ probably derives from their limping gait
Males and females have the same plumage (males being slightly larger)
The beak acts like tweezers – slightly open and closing at the tip – for tweaking snails etc
Territory is defended aggressively, with ‘ritualized charging and wing-flapping’ at intruders
Sex lives: they are monogamous; or polyandrous (a male and more than one female. Tsk.)
They use ‘courtship feeding’ – males will catch and shell a snail and then feed it to a female
They are also known as the ‘Crying Bird’ for their bizarre shrieking call, as used in films**
** Specifically, as a generic jungle noise in Tarzan films; and apparently for the hippogriff in one of the Harry Potter films.
Credits: All main photos, Michael Vaughn taken in Florida – with thanks for use permission; teaching resource Schmoop for the Linnean infographic; audio file Jerome Fischer / Xeno-Canto
Butterflyfishes come in several varieties in Bahamian waters; and there are more than 120 species worldwide. Not so long ago I wrote about the LONGSNOUT variety, also known as the “Butterbun”. Now it’s time to take a look at the Reef Butterfyfish.
In some ways butterflyfishes resemble small angelfishes – adult Reefs are just a few inches long. As the name suggests, these are creatures of the reefs, and of shallow waters. As one might expect, these colourful fish are popular for aquariums (or, strictly I suppose, aquaria).
Butterflyfishes have interesting spawning patterns. They release large numbers of buoyant eggs into the water. These become mixed in with plankton and suchlike, and float where the tides take them until they hatch. Then, most unusually, they go through a larval stage when they are covered by bony material, which they lose as they mature. This is known as an ‘armoured’ stage, which I can only assume is to provide protection to the tiny fry – perhaps by making them crunchy and unappetising. I’ve been trying to find a usable illustrative drawing, without success so far.
OPTIONAL MUSICAL DIGRESSION
In some parts of the world the butterflyfish is called a BORBOLETTA, which is Portugese for ‘butterfly’. It is also the title of Santana’s criminally underrated sixth album (1974). For sure it’s no 1st, Abraxas, 3rd or Caravanserai… but if you can tolerate the man’s move to ‘jazz-funk-fusion’ – maybe John McLaughlinhad a hand in that – there is much to enjoy. There’s less searing guitar and there’s some strange ‘soundscape’ stuff that’s maybe not to everyone’s taste. But still – it stand up pretty well in comparison with some of the later Carlos creations where a certain tiresomeness began to creep in and some tracks are (IMVHO) not really listenable-to. Anyway, the recently released (2016) Santana IV is a welcome return to the good old days, and the good old team.
Here’s ‘Promise of a Fisherman’ – 8 minutes of Santana, from which you can judge the direction he’s taken by Album 6…
All photos by Melinda Riger of Grand Bahama Scuba – mainstay, with Adam Rees, of the underwater photos I use, what with me being a feeble swimmer and all. Tip o’ the Hat to Carlos, who I have even managed to see Live a couple of times.
From time to time, wildlife that is completely alien to Abaco, the Bahamas, or even the Americas will slip under the radar and find a place hereabouts. I’m hoping to find one such during the next few days. It is Upupa epops: the Eurasian hoopoe. This wonderful creature is a bird of the warmer areas of Europe and Asia (orange on the map below), and widespread (non-breeding) in areas further south including Africa.
Very occasionally they are found in the south of England, but we are travelling to the Balearics and the hoopoe is merely incidental to the expedition. I’ve seen them in France, Italy, and on Mallorca… and we are in with a good chance of finding one this coming week. So I’d better to remember to have more than iPhone with me…
The hoopoe’s most distinctive feature is its extraordinary erectile crest, which creates an impressive fan on top of its head. Then there’s attractive colour scheme. And that long, down-curved, insect-pecking beak. And that unmistakeable call, an onomatopoeic name that really fits the species (cf Whip Poor Will):
Xeno-Canto / Peter Boesman
There is a very real chance of finding and photographing this gorgeous bird, but I appreciate that it’s probably not of sufficient interest Abaco-wise to justify a second post so I’ll probably just put an image on Insta and FB. If any are good enough…
Credits: Artemy Voikhansky, Dûrzan cîrano, David Bottan for uploading the great hoopoe pics (CCL); Xeno-Canto / Peter Boesman; Wik for range map; open source stamp FDC
First day cover from Belarus (one of many countries to issue hoopoe stamps
Last year I posted about an avian scoop, when black skimmers (Rynchops niger) were actually photographed on Abaco. These wonderful birds are classified WR 4 for Abaco, which means uncommon winter residents (ie roughly September until April). Now I look into it further on the indispensableeBird, there are actually quite a few reported sightings most years on Abaco – especially on the Cays. Furthermore the sightings cover most months except midsummer. So maybe they aren’t so rare after all. But I couldn’t track down any workable Abaco skimmer photographs until Charmaine Albury managed to take a few last Autumn, which led to the gift post title SCOOP. Because that is just how they feed.
Danny Sauvageau is a dedicated birder in Florida, and a brilliant photographer with it. From time to time I feature his work when his camera skills cover a species found on Abaco but for which Abaco images are scarce (or non-existent). All these photographs were recently taken in Pinellas County, Fl., and I’m really grateful to Danny for permission for occasional use of his exceptional photos.
At the moment, the breeding season is well under way, with the hungry chicks being fed as fast as they can swallow. And this is how that looks, thanks to Danny and his immense talent.
And finally… I’d be really pleased to hear about any Abaco skimmer sightings (and I’ll keep an eye on eBird). Bonus points and a theoretical Kalik for photographs!
I see it is ‘literally’** years since I last wrote about these lovely, accessible birds, the only permanent resident breeding thrush species on Abaco (out of 8). The post –OL’ RED-EYES IS BACK– featured mainly my own photos, plus one by Mrs RH. With a whole lot of more recent photos, it’s time to revisit these cheery birds. I promised something brighter after two rather sombre shearwater die-off posts – (incidentally, a far wider problem than just in the Bahamas, including NC & Cape May). Here it is.
A RED-LEGGED, RED-EYED GALLERY
Many of the birds shown here were photographed in or around the grounds of Delphi. More recently, they have to an extent been displaced by red-winged blackbirds which are of course very fine birds but in large numbers sound (may I say this? Is this just me?) quite irritating after a while. Whereas the thrush of course has a sweet and melodious song, like this (my own recording – turn up the vol):
Mr & Mrs Harbour’s Handiwork at Delphi
As I may have mentioned before (impatient reader: ‘yes, yes, you did’), the eyes of the RLT are at least as prominent a feature as their legs. Lots of birds have red legs. Very few have such remarkable bright, fiery eye-rings, even in a youngster.
This photo from birdman Tom Sheley is my favourite – a perfect composition
**This means it really is literally years (4), not in the modern modified sense of ‘not actually literally’, as in “I am literally dying of hunger”. Unless you are exceptionally unfortunate, while you have the breath to say you are, you are literally not doing so…
FUN FACT
There is quite literally no song since 1950 with the word ‘thrush’ in the title. Hard to fathom why… One or two songs have a thrush buried away in the lyrics somewhere. Blackbirds have done rather better in this respect…
Photo Credits: Tom Sheley (1, 11); Peter Mantle (2, 4); Gerlinde Taurer (3); Mr & Mrs Harbour (5, 6, 7); Charles Skinner (8, 9); Erik Gauger (10). Lo-fi audio recording: RH
A week ago I posted about the reports of dead and dying Audubon’s shearwaters being washed up on various beaches on the Abaco mainland in and around Cherokee Sound and down to Bahama Palm Shores. I included some advice about how to deal with these poor birds. You can find the post HERE.
Piping plover monitor Rhonda Pearce found a couple of struggling shearwaters in the sea
The very next day, reports began to emerge of another species, great shearwaters, being found dead or in a distressed state just off-shore or washed up on beaches. Reports were fewer, but covered a wider area, including a bird in a very poor condition at Delphi. Great shearwaters were the ones involved in the die-back event 2 years ago.
Keith Kemp, who made one of the earlier Audubon shearwater reports, found a young great shearwater in trouble in the sea while he was out in a kayak off Cherokee Point. He rescued it and took all sensible precautions to nourish it and make it comfortable but sadly it did not last the night. He has frozen the bird as a specimen in case analysis will help to explain this die-off event.
As I wrote before, these birds of the open ocean may become weakened and exhausted if fishing conditions become adverse. They will drift weakly with the tide, dying at sea or washing up in a very poor state in the tideline or on beaches. Their prospects of survival if rescued is sadly very slim – I have not yet heard of a success, though I would love to…
Thankfully, during the past week, reports have gradually diminished. I’ve not seen one for a couple of days. With any luck, the current die-off is now over and will not be repeated for several years. However, another one will certainly happen, I’m afraid – maybe in 5 to 10 years time, the usual gap. Twice in two years has made for very bleak, distressing news.
A more cheerful post will be next, I promise. Meanwhile, any further reports or comments would be welcome.
Photo credits: Dick Daniels (1, 5), Rhonda Pearce (2, 3); Keith Kemp (4)
The redspotted hawkfish (Amblycirrhitus pinos) is one of a number of species of hawkfishes found worldwide. This one is found on the sub-tropical and tropical reefs of the Western Atlantic, and is therefore a fish you might see when out snorkelling or (more likely) scuba-ing in the Bahamas. These are small creatures – adults are unlikely to exceed 4 inches in length.
There’s not a whole lot else to report about them. They have no medicinal superpowers, for example, nor wickedly toxic spines. A quick scroll through the highways and byways of the interweb reveals that redspotted hawkfish are considered (rightly, I think) to be attractive, tend to be shy, enjoy perching on coral ledges, and are generally benign, except to smaller fishes to which they may show aggression or – worse – an appetite.
As you might predict, these pretty little fish are popular in the aquarium trade, where on any view they should be kept safe from predators. But maybe captivity is a little limited in opportunities for travel and exploration. They can be bought for (I just checked) $29.99. Or else left alone on a reef to take their chances.
Photo Credits: Melinda Riger / Grand Bahama Scuba, with thanks as per…
AUDUBON’S SHEARWATER (DUSKY PETREL): SAD NEWS FROM ABACO
Just 2 short years ago, Abaco experienced a shearwater die-off event, when during a period of a week or so numerous dead and dying Great Shearwaters were washed up on many of Abaco’s beaches. You can read about itHEREand a follow-upHERE. This map shows the affected area in 2015.
Now comes news of another such sad event, with a large number of Audubon’s shearwaters (Puffinus lherminieri) appearing in the tideline and on beaches at Bahama Palm Shores, Casuarina, Winding Bay and doubtless elsewhere. Many are already dead. Some are still alive, but in a very poor state.
SHEARWATER DIE-OFF
These upsetting beach finds seem to be a periodic phenomenon, and very likely result from climate conditions or shortage of food out in the ocean – or a combination. Although most will unavoidably have ingested plastics, that would not explain the simultaneous deaths. Poor fishing conditions – they eat fish and squid – will weaken and exhaust the birds as they try to find food. Woody Bracey thinks this the most likely cause, having noticed recent poor deep-sea fishing conditions and an unusual absence of the frigatebirds that are a sure sign of fish.
WHAT CAN BE DONE?
The dead birds will be quickly removed by the turkey vultures. If you do find one, you might want to bury it. The prognosis for sick birds, sadly, is not good. They may have been carried a long way from open sea and they will be exhausted and starved. Those that are strong enough may recover naturally; but most will sadly die, being too weak and emaciated to survive. There is no available facility able to deal with a large number of very poorly or dying birds.
The most practical advice I can give is:
(1) move the bird gently into the shade if in the sun
(2) provide water in a shallow dish
(3) offer finely chopped fish BUT no bread – it’s very bad for birds…
(4) if it seems to be working, then carry on until the bird is strong enough to fly (this may be quite a commitment).
(5) do not reproach yourself if a bird you try to help dies. Many will be in such bad shape by the time they are washed up that they are unlikely to survive whatever steps you take.
WHAT DO I LOOK OUT FOR?
This poor shearwater was one of a number of dead birds found by Keith Kemp at Casuarina yesterday. I realise such images can be upsetting, so I am confining photos of the birds to just two so you will recognise one if you see it.
AUDUBON’S SHEARWATERS IN AN EGGSHELL
Belong to the petrel family
Named ‘Puffinus lherminieri’ after French naturalist Felix Louis L’Herminier
Also known as the Dusky-backed Shearwater – or by Audubon as the Dusky Petrel
Forages by diving out of flight or from the surface; or by surface-feeding
Colony breeders, nesting in rock crevices, in burrows, or under thick vegetation
Mated pairs spend much time together at nest site. They like rubbing bills together
Their ‘twittering calls and mewing’ are usually only heard at night
Audubon’s ‘Dusky Petrel’
I’d be interested to hear any other accounts of the current event, especially of any recovery stories. By all means do this as a comment, or email me / PM on FB
Finally, for those who wonder how pioneer naturalists went about their work observing a species, collecting specimens and recording their findings, here is Audubon’s own account for the ‘Dusky Petrel’, Plate 299 in his magisterial work.
Dusky Petrel (Plate 299)
On the 26th of June, 1826, while becalmed on the Gulf of Mexico, off the western shores of Florida, I observed that the birds of this species, of which some had been seen daily since we left the mouth of the Mississippi, had become very numerous. The mate of the vessel killed four at one shot, and, at my request, brought them on board. From one of them I drew the figure which has been engraved (see above). The notes made at the time are now before me, and afford me the means of presenting you with a short account of the habits of this bird.
They skim very low over the sea in search of the floating bunches of marine plants, usually called the gulf weed, so abundant here as sometimes to occupy a space of half an acre or more. In proceeding, they flap their wings six or seven times in succession, and then sail for three or four seconds with great ease, having their tail much spread, and their long wings extended at right angles with the body. On approaching a mass of weeds, they raise their wings obliquely, drop their legs and feet, run as it were on the water, and at length alight on the sea, where they swim with as much ease as Ducks, and dive freely, at times passing several feet under the surface in pursuit of the fishes, which, on perceiving their enemy, swim off, but are frequently seized with great agility. Four or five, sometimes fifteen or twenty of these birds, will thus alight, and, during their stay about the weeds, dive, flutter, and swim, with all the gaiety of a flock of Ducks newly alighted on a pond. Many Gulls of different kinds hover over the spot, vociferating their anger and disappointment at not being so well qualified for supplying themselves with the same delicate fare. No sooner have all the fishes disappeared than the Petrels rise, disperse, and extend their flight in search of more, returning perhaps in awhile to the same spot. I heard no sound or note from any of them, although many came within twenty yards of the ship and alighted there. Whenever an individual settled in a spot, many others flew up directly and joined it. At times, as if by way of resting themselves, they alighted, swam lightly, and dipped their bills frequently in the water, in the manner of Mergansers.
I preserved the skins of the four specimens procured. One of them I sent to the Academy of Natural Sciences of Philadelphia, by Captain JOHN R. BUTLER, of the ship Thalia, then bound from Havana to Minorca. Two others were presented to my excellent friend Dr. TRAILL, on my first becoming acquainted with him at Liverpool.
I found the wings of this species strong and muscular for its size, this structure being essentially requisite for birds that traverse such large expanses of water, and are liable to be overtaken by heavy squalls. The stomach resembles a leather purse, four inches in length, and was much distended with fishes of various kinds, partially digested or entire. The oesophagus is capable of being greatly expanded. Some of the fishes were two and a half inches in length, and one in depth. The flesh of this Petrel was fat, but tough, with a strong smell, and unfit for food; for, on tasting it, as is my practice, I found it to resemble that of the porpoises. No difference is perceptible in the sexes.
While on board the United States revenue cutter Marion, and in the waters of the Gulf Stream opposite Cape Florida, I saw a flock of these birds, which, on our sailing among them, would scarcely swim off from our bows, they being apparently gorged with food. As we were running at the rate of about ten knots, we procured none of them. I have also seen this species off Sandy Hook.
Audubon’s Range Map for the species
Credits: thanks to those on Abaco who have been reporting this sad event over the last few days, and to Woody Bracey for his views; Dominic Sherony (wiki) for the header image; Keith Kemp for photos from Casuarina; Audubon.org for images, quote & range map; Richard Crossley / Crossley Guides for the composite picture; Audubon, wiki and random pickings for info about these birds
THICK-BILLED VIREO ‘ON VOCALS’: A CHIRPY JUVENILE ON ABACO
I’m not sure that TBVs would rank as anyone’s all-time favourite bird. Probably not in the top 10. Or 20. But we have a particular affection for them. When we first arrive at Delphi, that cheerful call is invariably the first birdsong we hear. And when we leave, it’s often the last. These small birds inhabit the coppice on either side of the drive, and are often found right by the the Lodge.
The strange thing about them is that despite their ubiquity and their uninhibited advertising of their presence, they are surprisingly hard to see, let alone get a clear photograph of. A singing TBV often seems to be at least 2 rows of bush further back than it sounds, concealed by intervening branches, leaves, and twigs.
Maybe growing juveniles are less cautious. This little guy is right out in the open, and singing away happily. He’s still cutely fluffy, but his plumage already starting to turn yellow. He has the diagnostic yellow marking in front of and around the eyes. However at the base of his characteristically plump beak there’s still a hint of baby bird mouth.
Here’s a recording of an adult TBV I took from the Delphi drive (you may need to turn up the volume a bit). And no, I couldn’t actually see the bird, though I knew exactly where it was from the slight movements of foliage. All-in-all, the TBV is a most engaging little bird and well-deserving of affection if not perhaps a high placing in the Avian Popularity Charts…
All photos by Charles Skinner (a significant contributor to The Birds Of Abaco)
The LA SAGRA’S FLYCATCHER(Myiarchus sagrae) is a common resident breeding species of flycatcher on Abaco, and these very pretty small birds can be seen in many habitats – pine forest, scrubland, coppice and gardens, for example. They are insectivores, as the name suggests, but they also eat seeds and berries.
As a ‘tyrant flycatcher’, this little bird is a member of the large passerine order that includes kingbirds, pewees and phoebes, with which they are sometimes confused. I last wrote about LSFs in the infancy of this blog, illustrated with my own rather… ahem… ‘simple’** photos. Time to revisit them and to do them justice with some new, improved images.‘
‘Simple’ photo from a less complex era, taken with a 2mp ‘Cheepo’™ camera
Magnificent photo by Gelinde Taurer that you can actually enlarge (click pic– see?)
Unlike many bird species, adult LSFs are very similar in appearance in both sexes. Whatever the gender, they are sometimes confused with their cousins the Cuban Pewees, but those have a very distinctive eye-crescent.
Cuban Pewee – note eye-crescent, absent in the LSF
Both species have a tiny hook at the end of the (upper) beak – to help trap insects, I assume
Another thing to notice about LSFs is the amount of rufous brown in their plumage, particularly on the wings and tail – and even at the base of the beak. This coloration is absent from their larger cousin kingbirds, the loggerhead and the gray.
WHAT SHOULD I LISTEN OUT FOR?
“A high pitched single or double noted sound described as ‘wink’... ” Or it might be ‘bip‘. Or ‘weep‘. Or (on one recording I listened to, complete with sonograph) it sounded like ‘chi-chitty chew‘. But it may have been a misID.
Hans Matheve @ Xeno-Canto
A hint of a crest is visible in this photo
ANY IDEA WHAT LA SAGRA CHICKS LOOK LIKE?
Well, as it happens, yes. By good fortune Abaco photographer and piping plover monitor Rhonda Pearce happens to have had a nest at hand this very season. So, happy to oblige…
WHO OR WHAT IS A ‘LA SAGRA’ WHEN IT’S AT HOME?
Mr La Sagra was a multi-talented Spanish botanist. Ramón Dionisio José de la Sagra y Peris(1798–1871) was also a writer, economist, sociologist, politician, anarchist, and founder of the world’s first anarchist journal El Porvenir (‘The Future’). At one time he lived in Cuba and became director of Havana’s Botanical Garden. His name lives on more significantly in ornithological than in anarchist circles (actually, ‘anarchist circles’ must be a contradiction in terms… that should be ‘anarchist disorganised squiggles’)
I note in passing that La Sagra is a provincial area in Spain, an Italian festive celebration, a chocolatier, and a small comet… All these meanings may have to be negotiated online before you get to the flycatcher…
Ramón Dionisio José de la Sagra y Peris
Continuing this blog’s philatelic natural history theme, here are stamps from the Cayman Islands and Cuba featuring the La Sagra’s Flycatcher. The Cuban stamp commemorates the death of Juan Gundlach, the man who chose La Sagra’s name to bestow on this bird. And Gundlach’s name lives on in the Bahama Mockingbird Mimus gundlachii…
** ‘Simple’, as in ‘not completely disastrous for an amateur effort but frankly not the sort of standard we have come expect around here’.
Photo Credits: Gerlinde Taurer (1, 4); Tom Reed (2, 6); Keith Salvesen (3 [!], 5, 12); Charles Skinner (7, 8); Peter Mantle (9); Rhonda Pearce (chicks) 10; Tom Sheley (11); Ramon and stamps, open source
I once wrote a post tracking the history of Abaco in general, and Hole-in-the-Wall in particular, in historic maps spanning 4 centuries. You can read it HERE.
The post includes a map of the Bahama Islands (‘Isles Lucayes’) by the early French mapmaker Alain Manesson Mallet, published in Paris in 1683. The header shows a later hand-coloured version. The splendid original looks like this. Now that is a map (as Crocodile Dundee once said of a knife)
The recognisable shape of Abaco – I. Lucaioneque – lies weirdly on its side beneath the billowing sails of the vignette, with Grand Bahama (Bahama) between it and Floride. The confusingly named and sized I. Abacoa is Andros; I. Ciguateo is Eleuthera; and I. Curateo is Exuma. I. Guanahani was the landfall for Columbus, and was renamed by him San Salvador. New Providence may or may not be made from the two similar shapes shown west of Andros (at the time, the Lucayan name was Nema). And so on. There’s more to be said on the historic Lucayan names in the Bahamas – maybe one day I’ll get round to saying it…
For now, I want to move on to another map by Mallet that I have just come across. Published in c.1684 (sources vary), this map is of Florida (and beyond), titled rather strangely in German but otherwise in French. Here, the Isles Lucayes are very much a side-feature, reduced to the West End of Grand Bahama, and 4 unspecified small cays like the 4-dot on dice. There’s no embellishment besides the simple ‘draped’ title, the trees and mountains – no fleet of ships in full sail in the Gulf of Mexico. To be honest, though dated within a year or 2 of each, other the maps are so entirely different in style and even script that they could easily have been made by different people. In fact I had to double-check the authorship with various online sources.
Florida is named Tegesta, for the Native American tribe that lived in the region. The name still exists in the form Tequesta, in Palm Beach County Fl. You can read more about this fascinating tribe, their lives and cultural practices HERE. Just two settlements in Tegesta – St. Augustine and St. Mathieu – are shown. I’ve gone rather off-piste from my usual Bahamian territory, but this early map provides an enjoyably interesting cartographic overview of the known topography / geography of the day.
Approximate territory of the Tequesta in the 16th century
GEOGRAPHY, TOPOGRAPHY, GEOLOGY, CARTOGRAPHY: THE DIFFERENCES
If the earth had an uniform surface like a ping pong ball there would be nothing for a geographer to study. But it is not thusly uniform – the actual earth has numerous variations of every sort studied by geographers. Topography maps the physical surface, and geology explores the underground features. But the geography of the earth includes many other [factors] like economics, weather, climate, social distribution, trade, etc. At the core of geography is cartography – which is the mapping of all these things.Rudolf G. Barton, BA in geography UCB (Commercial Pilot ret.)
Credits: the maps are open source – frequently passed around on the internet and impossible to locate the originator; Wiki for the diagram; Geography lesson, as shown above…
In some of these photos you’ll notice tiny fish attending to the grouper. These areCLEANERS and they are an essential part of the bodily and oral hygiene routine for larger fish species. The big fish call in at so-calledCLEANING STATIONS, where the tiddlers remove parasites and dead skin, and polish up the gills. They will even enter the fish’s mouth to pick bits from between its teeth – the deal being that they will not be eaten. This mutually beneficial arrangement is called ‘cleaning symbiosis’ and is carried out by (for example) gobies, wrasses and cleaner shrimps.
Pederson’s cleaner shrimps and cleaner wrasse
Some of these photos show groupers with open gills as well as open mouths, an invitation to the cleaners to do their work. I’d intended to write about how and why gills work but I’ve thought better of it. There’s a lot of detail about chemical exchange involved that, when I looked more closely, seemed rather dull… and therefore outside the remit of this blog, which includes trying to avoid ‘dull’. If you really want to know more, Wiki has a good articleHERE. Good luck with that….
Credits: All photos Melinda Riger, Grand Bahama Scuba
Four years ago a young English friend of ours, Oscar Ward, was lucky enough to be offered an internship with the Bahamas Marine Mammal Research Organisation (BMMRO). At the time, he was post-school, and waiting to start a degree course in marine biology at university. He had no practical experience at all, so he had to progress from the menial tasks (scraping barnacles off the bottom of the research boat) to the more adventurous (whale poop-scooping) to the scholarly (collection and analysis of samples and data, including audio file matching of whale calls for identification). The need for hard work, concentration and accuracy were made clear from the outset… and as you will see, Oscar’s short internship has stood him in very good stead during his university course.
Oscar weekending at Gilpin Point – self-sufficient
From a promising start on Abaco, and with 2 year’s study behind him, Oscar is currently spending the 3rd year of his 4-year course in Australia, working with The Australian Institute of Marine Science. He has been involved in a number of complex projects focussed on corals and reef life – as we all know, a matter of huge concern – and the projections for the future of the reef systems in a time of warming seas and raised acid levels. Oscar also assists PhD students, for example examining the damaging effects of parasitic worms on coral; and the effect of changing light conditions on corals.
Much of Oscar’s time has been spent doing fieldwork. Often he is at sea, monitoring and collecting samples in the Southern Great Barrier Reef, diving two or three times a day. This work is often carried out in restricted or preservation zones, and with ever-present manta rays, sharks and sea turtles around him.
Right now Oscar is involved with the investigations into the recent bleaching events, work that is at the forefront of serious concern for the GBR and far beyond. I have recently corresponded with him – he has definitely not forgotten that his grounding for the fieldwork and studies that he is engaged in – and very likely his career – came from his time on Abaco and the lessons he learned during his time with the BMMRO at Sandy Point. (In part 2: another good intern, currently at Sandy Point)
All photos: Oscar Ward (the header image is taken from a research vessel – no idea how, maybe a drone with fish-eye lens?)
In March, I posted about a bald eagle spotted by a Delphi fisherman out on the Marls near Big Pine Point. He didn’t know it at the time, but it was a very rare sighting of this magnificent raptor. The bird is classified for Abaco as a V4, which is to say an extremely unusual vagrant (but not quite a ‘one-off’ V5).
You can read all the details HERE, but to summarise, the only previous Abaco sightings were 3 years running over 2000 – 2002, at the end of each year. The annual visits over such a short time-span suggest that this may have been the same bird each time. So this March’s report is possibly the second bald eagle ever seen on Abaco… and on any view, the fourth.
Now comes the news of another bald eagle sighting in the last couple of days on the Marls, this time by Danny Sawyer while out fishing. The bird was sighted approx 1.5 miles west of the airport / 2 miles south of Bustic Point. Danny’s FB post has unsurprisingly attracted quite a number of comments – and even some more sighting reports. Here’s the list so far…
BALD EAGLE SIGHTINGS REPORTED ON ABACO SINCE c1950 (= ‘ever’)
2000 December, location unknown – info from Woody Bracey
2001 December – Chicken Farm area – Betsy Bracey
2002 December – over Marls opposite Treasure Cay – Woody Bracey
2004 Autumn – south of Lynard Cay (after hurricane) – Cheryl Noice
2014 Date unknown – circling the power plant – LC
2017 March – Big Pine Point, Marls – James Cheesewright
2017 Early May – Power plant area – LC
2017 May – Marls – Danny Sawyer
2017 May – Lubbers / Tahiti Beach area – ‘Kelly’s mom’
2017 September – Cross Harbour – Carol Rivard Roberts (with photo)
Italics indicate a report in comments on Danny’s FB page; Blue = added reports
So far, however, there has been no photograph of an ‘Abaco’ bald eagle. It’s fair to say that the official verification of a sighting generally requires a photograph – more especially where there is a risk of confusion with a native bird (eg some warblers). But there really is no mistaking a bald eagle. For obvious reasons it is surely one of the most recognisable raptors of all. And the only Abaco candidates for confusion would be a turkey vulture or an osprey. A quick look shows very little scope for confusion with either:
Bald eagle in flight. Note: dark brown, head & tail bright white, huge yellow beak and feet
Turkey vulture & Osprey for comparison. No comparison, in fact
ABACO BALD EAGLE CHALLENGE
How about being the first person to capture an Abaco bald eagle on film digital media? The kudos! The traditional Rolling Harbour bottle of Kalik is already on ice in the expectation of a usable image, together with the accurate location… Failing that, all reports welcome anyway.
Credits: all brilliant eagle photos by very kind permission of Brian Lockwood, taken in his backyard in Poquoson, Va. except eagle in flight, Carol Robertson (wiki); TUVU (Bruce Hallett); Osprey (Craig Nash); Amusing Cartoon, Birdorable
Everyone knows about CURLY TAIL LIZARDS. Everyone loves them and their little ways. The other lizards that may be found on Abaco – the anoles, green and brown – are easier to take for granted. Unless, maybe, you see one displaying its DEWLAP. These are essentially folds of neck skin that are seen in many creatures – even large ones like the moose – and which in some species are inflatable / retractable.
Abaconian Rhonda Pearce has taken some excellent photos of anoles recently. By oversight I have never given anoles a day in the sun in this blog before, and it’s high time I did (see above re overlooking anoles in favour of curly tails…). First, here are some impressive dewlaps to admire.
And here are a few green and brown anoles hanging out on trees and leaves in an anole-type way. In a couple of these images, you can see the dewlap in its non-display mode. They are all just… lizards. Non-scary, non-venomous, non-poisonous little guys that are probably a peripheral part of everyone’s experience, but which really deserve a closer look.
You can read more about anoles, including their sex lives, on the excellent Abaco Scientist’s site HERE
OPTIONAL MUSICAL DIGRESSION
The first time I heard the word ‘dewlap’ (misheard by the young me as ‘dewlat’) was in the mid-60s, in Georgie Fame’s excellent Ballad of Bonnie & Clyde. This song – and doubtless the film – was number 1 in the UK and maybe also the States. Famous too for such fine songs as ‘Yeh Yeh!’ and ‘Sitting in the Park’, Fame’s ‘Ballad’ is probably his best-loved song.
I assumed then that a ‘dewlat’ was some sort of valuable gold coin – like a gold sovereign – that bank robbers put into a specially designed ‘dewlat bag’ to carry them away… Ah! The naivety of youth.
Bonnie and Clyde advanced their reputation
And made the graduation into the banking business
“Reach for the sky,” sweet-talking Clyde would holler
As Bonnie loaded dollars in the dewlap bag
Credits: all photos, Rhonda Pearce with thanks as ever; icecreammakesuhappy, youtube
The Delphi Club on Abaco has a number of permanent residents (or by now – let’s be realistic – maybe their descendants). There’s the huge curly tail lizard that lives under the large stones by the outside staircase. There are the West Indian Woodpeckers that noisily nest in a box under the eaves of the verandah and produce 2 batches of shouty chicks each summer. And there is the silent sentinel – a loggerhead kingbird that spends much of its time in the trees and bushes at the far side of the pool.
It’s a good place to chose. The bird uses the tree branches and shrubs to ‘hawk’ for passing insects, suddenly leaving its perch to pounce, before returning to just the same place to eat its snack – classic flycatcher behaviour. I call it the ‘watchful tyrant’ because the kingbird is nearly always there. Somewhere. If you look carefully and wait patiently. He stays in the shade, so he’s not bright with sunlight (or P/shop) in these photos. This is just the way he is.
Kingbirds are of the family Tyrannidae and the genus Tyrannus. The ‘tyrant’ group includes a number of flycatcher species commonly found on Abaco: the KINGBIRDS (loggerhead and gray), the CUBAN PEWEE and the LA SAGRA’S FLYCATCHER being the most familiar. Note the hook at the end of the beak; and the yellowish tinge to the undertail area.
With the exception of the gray kingbird, the flycatchers named above are very common permanent breeders on Abaco. There’s probably one of them within 20 feet of your house right now. The gray, however, is a summer breeding resident. This is most helpful of it: if you see a kingbird between October and April, it will be a loggerhead. This gives you a 6-month window for near-certain ID.
IT’S SUMMER – SO HOW DO I TELL A LOGGERHEAD FROM A GRAY?
Recently I was contacted by someone who had found an unusual orchid on Abaco and wanted to find out more about it, starting with ID. Lucy, an English botanist who has been visiting Abaco with her husband for many years, discovered a strange wild orchid species that did not appear in any of her books. So she turned to Detective Harbour who, unknown to her, is mostly paralysed with hopelessness when it comes to plant ID (except hibiscus, obvs). But he can sometimes find the people who know these things…
Lucy’s photos showed a striking, tall-stemmed plant growing from an exposed round root. She found 3 plants in Cherokee near Watching Bay; and another growing randomly beside the road at the airport – ‘bizarrely’, as she points out. She (and I) assumed the orchid to be a native species, and hopefully a rare one. I couldn’t track it down online so I got the views of Mark Bennet at the Leon Levy Preserve, and the BNT plant expert Ethan Freid. Both agreed that the orchid is Eulophia graminea.
Disappointingly, this orchid species turns out not to be a rare native one at all – which explains the problem of searching for it in books and online as a Bahamas species. It is in fact a non-native invasive plant from south east Asia. It has apparently been spreading through the Bahamas over the last 10 years or so, having originally been introduced into the region in south Florida. So, while of interest, the orchid does not really ‘belong’ – unlike Encyclia Inaguensis which Laine Snow has helpfully identified as the most similar Bahamian orchid.
This raises the ‘Brown-headed Cowbird Conundrum‘. The plant is here on Abaco. By rights it has no business to be. It has probably arrived from Florida, where it has no business to be either. So the big question is, does its presence impact on native flora species in any adverse way?
Is it a benign addition to the plant species of the Bahamas, that in 100 years time will be fondly viewed as a native and appearing in books / online as local.
Or is it an unwelcome intruder, quick to spread and slow to eradicate, aggressively gaining an increasing hold on the precious soil and water resources on Abaco and exterminating the native orchid species in the process (cf in the UK Himalayan Balsam / Giant Hogweed / Japanese Knotweed).
Or somewhere in-between – not exactly welcome and trouble free, but something the local flora can get along with, without unacceptable levels of damage to the local species. Just about tolerable.
SO, WHICH OF THE THREE IS IT?
Well, I’m afraid Eulophia graminea is in category 2 – the real brown-headed cowbird category. It was first discovered in Miami in 2007. The bulbs from which the plants grow are hard to dig up. They are covered in little roots, each one of which has the potential to become a new plant. Already it has spread rapidly in Florida, and has now been found growing in most types of plant habitat, from maritime to rockland. In other words, it is not at all good news.
OH NO! WHAT’S TO BE DONE?
Well, first I would not advise unilateral action… I take a tough line, though, on potentially damaging non-natives – namely, remove them before they spread uncontrollably and ineradicably. In this case I’d suggest that if you see this plant, note and mark the location and report it to the BNT and ask their advice. They will no doubt have a general policy on invasives, or make one on a case-to-case basis.
FUN (?) FACT
The word ‘orchid’ comes from the Latin Orchis or orchideæ, and Greek ὄρχις (orkhis). This means a testicle, and is based on the shape of the root. In medieval England, orchids were called ballockwort. To this day the surgical procedure known as an orchidectomy refers to the removal of one or both testicles. Moving swiftly on…
Credits: Lucy and Mark Davies (1 – 4); Bob Peterson Wiki (5); Scott Zona Wiki (6); Mark Bennet, Ethan Fried & Laine Snow for ID; University of Florida, Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences, Center for Aquatic and Invasive Plants, Plant Directory for research; Online Etymology Dictionary for Orchid definition…
Or, if not exactly big then lethally lacerating. Their sharp fangs are all different sizes, which gives more of a mincing effect than a clean bite. Then there’s the underbite, involving more mincing. And the fact that the teeth are set at different angles. That’s a third mincing effect. Prey in those strong jaws? No chance.
Three -way mincing machine. Avoid.
Teeth? Enough dentition already. It’s impossible not to admire these lean, mean eating machines as they glide around in their natural environment. The photos below are designed to redress the balance a bit. Sinister, yes. But mighty fine fish, without a doubt.
All photos: Melinda Riger, Grand Bahama Scuba, with thanks as ever for her terrific photos
ROLLING HARBOUR ABACO 
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