BAHAMAS STAMPS & ABACO BIRDS: ‘IMITATION IS THE SINCEREST FORM OF PHILATELY’

July 29, 2014 by Rolling Harbour

BAHAMAS STAMPS & ABACO BIRDS: ‘IMITATION IS THE SINCEREST FORM OF PHILATELY’

The Bahamas produces frequent issues of wildlife stamps. Mostly birds, but also reef fish and sea creatures, animals, butterflies and flowers. I am gradually collecting an album of Bahamas wildlife stamps on a PHILATELY page. I’ve been having a look at a 16-bird issue from 1991 which reflects the wide diversity of species extremely well. Here is the set, with comparative photos of each bird. All but one were taken on Abaco, the rare Burrowing Owl being the exception. All the other 15 birds may be found on Abaco as permanent residents, either easily or with a bit of a look and some luck. I personally have not seen the Clapper Rail (though I saw a SORA) or the rarer Key West Quail-Dove.

Osprey - Abaco Marls (Keith Salvesen)

Clapper Rail, Abaco (Erik Gauger)

BAHAMAS - Key West Quail-dove (Becky Marvil)

Smooth-biled Ani, Abaco (Bruce Hallett)

Burrowing Owl (Keith Salvesen)

Mangrove Cuckoo, Abaco, Bahamas (Tony Hepburn) copy

Bahama Mockingbird, Abaco (Keith Salvesen)

Red-winged Blackbird Abaco Bahamas (Keith Salvesen)

Thick-billed Vireo, Abaco (Susan Daughtrey)

Bahama Yellowthroat vocalizing.Abaco Bahamas.Tom Sheley

Western Spindalis Abaco (Janene Roessler)

Greater Antillean Bullfinch, Abaco (Bruce Hallett)

The bird list and image credits

Green Heron Butorides virescens Nina Henry

Turkey Vulture Cathartes aura Keith Salvesen / RH (Delphi)

Western Osprey Pandion haliaetus Keith Salvesen / RH (Marls)

Clapper Rail Rallus longirostris Erik Gauger

Royal Tern Thalasseus maximus Keith Salvesen / RH (Marls)

Key West Quail-Dove Geotrygon chrysia Becky Marvil

Smooth-billed Ani Crotophaga ani Bruce Hallett

Burrowing Owl Athene cunicularia Keith Salvesen / RH (UK)

Hairy Woodpecker Picoides villosus Tony Hepburn

Mangrove Cuckoo Coccyzus minor Tony Hepburn

*Bahama Mockingbird Mimus gundlachii Keith Salvesen / RH (National Park)

Red-winged Blackbird Agelaius phoeniceus Keith Salvesen / RH (Backcountry Abaco)

Thick-billed Vireo Vireo crassirostris Susan Daughtrey

*Bahama Yellowthroat Geothlypis rostrata Tom Sheley

Western Spindalis Spindalis zena Janene Roessler

Greater Antillean Bullfinch Loxigilla violacea Bruce Hallett

* Endemic species for Bahamas

STAMPS http://freestampcatalogue.com Tony Bray

ABACO BANANAQUITS – MORE DISPATCHES FROM ‘CUTE BIRD’ CENTRAL

September 5, 2012 by Rolling Harbour

A couple of months back I posted about Bananaquits on Abaco – specifically, at the Delphi Club. I featured images of a recently fledged bird, still with its ‘too big for my face’ orange-based beak. You’ll find other bananaquit information there, including audio of their call. I won’t repeat it all here – to see that post CLICK BANANAQUIT

The small bird below looks like a slightly older juvenile – an early teen, let’s say, before the troublesome stage. There’s something very sweet about its feathers. It’s still more like fluff. This one is growing into its beak, which has also lost the very bright orange at the base.

This handsome adult was a regular at one of the feeders at Delphi. The base of its beak is red as opposed to orange (I don’t know the technical term for this bird part. Is ‘mouth’ too simple? Someone tell me, by all means, via the comment box). Bananaquits enjoy the hummingbird feeders, which their narrow curved beaks seem to manage. There, they are not pestered by the (very greedy) black-faced grassquits and the larger Greater Antillean Bullfinches who enjoy the other types of feeder available and take priority in the pecking order.

Finally, this bird was a distance shot. At the time, it looked larger than a bananaquit – more Loggerhead Kingbird-sized. Before I had downloaded the image and could see it clearly, I’d wondered about a mangrove cuckoo. Then I saw at once that it didn’t tick the right boxes. So I decided it must just be a huge bananaquit with an orange rather than yellow front. If it’s anything else (a rare hybrid spindalisquit?), please say so!

THE GREATER ANTILLEAN BULLFINCH ON ABACO

July 31, 2012 by Rolling Harbour

THE GREATER ANTILLEAN BULLFINCH ON ABACO

This is a well-know bird (Loxigilla violacea) that can be seen on Abaco all year round. With their scarlet bibs and eyebrows, the males are a cheerful sight in coppice or garden. The females are paler brown, with orange accessories.

While still officially rated as a species of ‘Least Concern’, a measurable fall in population in recent years has seen them nudging towards ‘Vulnerable’.

[audio http://www.xeno-canto.org/sounds/uploaded/FSCGENVPXK/GREATER%20ANTILLEAN%20BULLFINCH%201%20Andros%2042910.mp3]

Greater Antillean Bullfinch song from Paul Driver at Xeno-Canto

Antillean Bullfinches enjoy garden feeders – and their larger size means that they are higher up in the pecking order than the black-faced grassquits and other small birds

They are one of the many popular Bahamian bird species to have featured on postage stamps – in fact they scooped the high-value $10 stamp in 1991 and the $5 stamp in 2001

BIRDS OF BAHAMA PALM SHORES, ABACO: FEEDER, COPPICE & BEACH

April 23, 2012 by Rolling Harbour

BIRDS OF BAHAMA PALM SHORES

I posted a while ago about a wonderful afternoon spent at BPS with nature guide and all-round Abaco knowledge mine Ricky Johnson. Three posts (Abaco Parrots; other birds; flower and plants) were later combined into the page ABACO ECO-TOUR (if you visit, apologies that the formatting is still out of whack after a blog format change)

Resident ANN CAPLING has kindly sent some photos of birds on her feeder, prompted by my post of her recent sighting of a PROTHONOTARY WARBLER, a bird not often encountered at BPS. The feeder photos were taken from indoors through glass, considering which they have come out very well. She also sent a brilliant photo of a tiny female Bahama Woodstar looking totally cute (not a word I normally use, but completely apt here, I think); and of 2 American Oystercatchers strutting along the BPS shoreline

PROTHONOTARY WARBLER