Celebrate World Migratory Bird Day (WMBD) with us in our virtual “Birds Connect Our World” edition!  Have fun learning about a new migratory bird every day. We have colouring pages, puzzles, activities, and more. Download for free and enjoy nature with your family at home.

Migratory Bird of the Day: Merlin

Merlins are a small falcon and a powerful, fast flier. Their upperparts are blackish gray to pale blue-gray in the male, and dark brown in the larger female. The darkness of the plumage varies geographically. The underparts are pale with heavy brown streaking and the tail is barred with black stripes. When perched look for the pale tan stripe above the eye. In flight, their pointed wings, long tail, and rapid powerful wing-beats help with identification.

Merlins have a wide distribution globally, through North and Central America and across Europe and Asia. In North America, this species breeds in the northern-most parts of the US and throughout most of Canada. Some Merlins winter in the south-central US and northern Mexico. Others undertake much longer migrations to the Caribbean, Central and South America, spending the winter as far south as Ecuador. 

Merlins start arriving in the Caribbean in September. Some pass through the islands on their journey to points further south. Others stay for the whole winter, departing in April or early May. Merlins are winter residents in The Bahamas, Greater Antilles, US and British Virgin Islands, and the Cayman Islands. They are not as common in the Lesser Antilles. 

An agile and skillful hunter, Merlins specialize in catching and eating other birds. They also eat large insects like dragonflies and small rodents. Merlins often hunt by flying fast and low and using sudden bursts of speed to take their prey by surprise in mid-air. During migration you might spot them by coastal lagoons or salt ponds, where there are plenty of shorebirds for them to hunt. They might also be in woodlands and forests hunting for other small birds. Learn more about this species, including its range, photos, and calls here.

Colour in the Merlin! 

Download the page from Migratory Birds of the West Indies Colouring Book. Use the photos below as your guide, or you can look up pictures of the bird online or in a bird field guide if you have one. Share your coloured-in page with us by posting it online and tagging us @BirdsCaribbean   #WMBD2020Carib

Listen to the call of the Merlin

Merlins give high-pitched chattering calls, which they repeat.

Puzzle of the Day

Click on the images below to do the puzzles.  You can make the puzzle as easy or as hard as you like – for example, 6, 8,  or 12 pieces for young children, all the way up to 1,024 pieces for those that are up for a challenge!

Activity of the Day

FOR KIDS:  Use our template to write a poem about a Merlin. Each line of your poem should start with the letters of this birds name. This type of poem is called an ‘acrostic’. You can use words from the description and information about Merlins above. Think about how this bird looks, the way it flies, where is lives and how it finds food.

FOR KIDS AND ADULTS: 

1. Take a walk and see if you can spot any migratory birds, if you are visiting a wetland or woodland area keep an eye out for a Merlin, which might be hunting for shorebirds or songbirds. Use a bird field guide or the FREE Merlin bird ID app to help you identify the birds you are seeing.
2. Enjoy the videos below of Merlin in the wild! The first video shows a female perched on a post eating, after catching a small bird Merlins find somewhere safe to perch and have their meal. In the second video you can see a Merlin in flight, look for the barring on the long tail, its sharp pointed wings and the characteristic fast wing-beats.
3. Visit MigratoryBirdDay.org for many more free activities and resources to learn about migratory birds, their threats and conservation actions you can take.

Celebrate World Migratory Bird Day (WMBD) with us in our virtual “Birds Connect Our World” edition!  Have fun learning about a new migratory bird every day. We have colouring pages, puzzles, activities, and more. Download for free and enjoy nature with your family at home.

Migratory Bird of the Day: Black-whiskered Vireo

The Black-whiskered Vireo is a small bird with a big voice. In fact, it is best identified by its song because it is elusive and difficult to see! It is olive greenish-brown above and pale below with a long, hooked gray bill. It’s pale eyebrow stripe contrasts with a dark cap and eye stripe. The vireo’s name comes from the fine dark ‘whiskers’ or moustache stripe edging the throat. The whiskers and the absence of wing-bars help distinguish this vireo from other birds. Adults have a reddish iris. Juveniles are duller with faint whiskers.

Black-whiskered Vireos live in mangroves, woodlands, forests and gardens, feeding on insects and berries which it gleans from leaves. They often stay very still, up in the canopy of a tree. It can be hard to know they are there – unless they are singing! 

The monotonous song of this Black-whiskered Vireo can be heard all day long. It consists of short 2-4 syllable phrases that differ slightly with a pause in between: John-chew-it!—Sweet-John!—Chew-it-John! Or the full Sweet-John-Chew-it!  Many of the local names of this bird are renditions of the song, for example, ‘Julián Chiví’ and ‘Bien-te-veo’  in Puerto Rico and the Dominican Republic and ‘John-Chew-it’ in Jamaica. They also have a thin high-pitched tsit call and a sharp, nasal note yeeea.

In parts of the West Indies Black-whiskered Vireos are resident all year round; including on Hispaniola and in the Lesser Antilles. In other areas, including the Bahamas, Cuba, Jamaica and Puerto Rico, they are ‘summer migrants’. They spend the fall and winter in northern South America and migrate north in late winter or spring to breed in the Caribbean. Breeding birds prefer to nest in open areas of woodland or farmland areas with trees. They build a cup nest in a forked tree branch. Learn more about this species, including its range, photos, and calls here.

Colour in the Black-whiskered Vireo! 

Download the page from Migratory Birds of the West Indies Colouring Book. Use the photos below as your guide, or you can look up pictures of the bird online or in a bird field guide if you have one. Share your coloured-in page with us by posting it online and tagging us @BirdsCaribbean   #WMBD2020Carib

Listen to the song of the Black-whiskered Vireo

The song of the Black-whiskered Vireo is an emphatic repeat of 2 or 3 notes.

Puzzle of the Day

Click on the images below to do the puzzles.  You can make the puzzle as easy or as hard as you like – for example, 6, 8,  or 12 pieces for young children, all the way up to 1,024 pieces for those that are up for a challenge!

Activity of the Day

FOR KIDS:  Whilst you are looking out for migratory birds, why not play our ‘bird spy bingo’ game. Keep an eye out for what the birds you see are doing, any signs that birds have been around, or the numbers of birds you see together in a group. There are 4 cards so you can either play on your own or with some friends!

FOR KIDS AND ADULTS: 

1. Take a walk and see if you can spot any migratory birds. Use a bird field guide or the FREE Merlin bird ID app to help you identify the birds you are seeing.
2. Enjoy the videos below of Black-whiskered Vireos in the wild! The first video shows a bird singing loudly in Cuba. In the second video you can see a Black-whiskered Vireo giving it’s high-pitched tsit call as it searches for food. In both look out for the characteristic black ‘moustache’ lines on the throat.
3. Visit MigratoryBirdDay.org for many more free activities and resources to learn about migratory birds, their threats and conservation actions you can take.

Celebrate World Migratory Bird Day (WMBD) with us in our virtual “Birds Connect Our World” edition!  Have fun learning about a new migratory bird every day. We have colouring pages, puzzles, activities, and more. Download for free and enjoy nature with your family at home.

Migratory Bird of the Day: Baltimore Oriole

Male Baltimore Orioles are stunning birds, with fiery orange underparts and black on the head, mantle, tail, and wings. They also have orange rumps and tail patches, and white wing-bars. Females range in colour from yellow to brownish with a mottled brownish-olive head and mantle. Immature birds resemble females. All birds are medium sized and sturdy looking, with sharply pointed blue-gray bills.  

Baltimore Oriole breed across the mid-US and up through central Canada. These birds weave amazing gourd-shaped, hanging nests from hair, human-made fibers such as string or wool, and plant fibers such as grasses, plant stems, and Spanish moss. They are known for their rich, beautiful, flute-like songs.

Baltimore Orioles are mid to long distance migrants. They spend the winter in Florida, the northern Caribbean, Central America, and northern South America. In the Caribbean they are most commonly seen in the Bahamas, Cuba, Jamaica and Puerto Rico. Baltimore Orioles migrate in large flocks, and even during the winter you might spot them together in a group. They can be found in gardens, open woodlands, scrub, swamps, and at forest edges.

Baltimore Orioles eat insects (especially caterpillars), spiders, fruit, and nectar. Before and during migration they prefer nectar and ripe fruits. The sugars in these foods are easily converted into fat, which supplies energy for migration. You might spot them eating any fruits in your garden, or you could put some out from them. Baltimore Orioles sometimes use their slender beaks to feed in an unusual way, called “gaping.” They stab their sharp closed bill into a soft fruit. As they open their beaks inside the fruit they make a cut from which they drink the juice with their tongues. Learn more about this species, including its range, photos, and calls here.

Colour in the Baltimore Oriole! 

Download the page from Migratory Birds of the West Indies Colouring Book. Use the photos below as your guide, or you can look up pictures of the bird online or in a bird field guide if you have one. Share your coloured-in page with us by posting it online and tagging us @BirdsCaribbean   #WMBD2020Carib

Listen to the call of the Baltimore Oriole

Baltimore Orioles are often silent when spending the winter in the Caribbean, but you might hear this rattling alarm call.

Puzzle of the Day

Click on the images below to do the puzzles.  You can make the puzzle as easy or as hard as you like – for example, 6, 8,  or 12 pieces for young children, all the way up to 1,024 pieces for those that are up for a challenge!

Activity of the Day

FOR KIDS:  Baltimore Orioles love to eat fruits to get enough energy for their migration! Join the dots to reveal the male and female and female Baltimore Orioles feeding. You could also color them in,

FOR KIDS AND ADULTS: 

1. Take a walk and see if you can spot any migratory birds or maybe some have arrived in your garden? Use a bird field guide or the FREE Merlin bird ID app to help you identify the birds you are seeing.
2. Enjoy the videos below of Baltimore Orioles. In the first you can see the stunning plumage of the male Oriole. In the second a Female Oriole is feeding on some fruit somebody have left out for her.
3. Visit MigratoryBirdDay.org for many more free activities and resources to learn about migratory birds, their threats and conservation actions you can take.

Celebrate World Migratory Bird Day (WMBD) with us in our virtual “Birds Connect Our World” edition!  Have fun learning about a new migratory bird every day. We have colouring pages, puzzles, activities, and more. Download for free and enjoy nature with your family at home.

Migratory Bird of the Day: Osprey

The Osprey is a big, powerful fish-eating bird, with a hooked black beak. It has a white head with dark eye stripe, chocolate brown upperparts, and white underparts, with variable brown speckling on the breast. These birds fly with a slight bend at the ‘wrist’. This distinctive ‘M’ shaped silhouette, when seen from below, means Ospreys can be identified from far away or when light conditions are not good enough to see their colouring. You might also hear their shrill high-pitched whistling call before you spot them.

In some parts of the Caribbean, including the Bahamas and parts of Cuba, Ospreys are present year-round and breed. During the autumn these resident birds are joined by migratory individuals from North America. Ospreys make long journeys from their breeding areas, sometimes travelling thousands of miles. Some birds pass through the Caribbean to areas further south, such as this individual called Edwin, whose migration was one of many tracked with satellite tags. Others remain in the Caribbean during the winter. 

The Ospreys that breed in the Caribbean are a different sub-species than the migratory birds. These birds, with the sub-species name ridgwayi, look quite different. The brown eye stripe tends to be very faint (in some birds it is almost absent), and they do not show brown markings on their breast. This gives birds the appearance of having overwhelmingly white heads and chests.

This species was endangered by the effects of pesticides in the mid-20th century. After such pesticides were banned in the US in 1972, Ospreys have made a comeback. Ospreys specialize on catching and eating fish and so are most commonly seen in coastal areas and around wetlands and ponds. If you watch for long enough you might spot one carrying a fish in its talons. If you are lucky you may even, see an Osprey plunge feet first into the water and pluck out a fish! Learn more about this species, including its range, photos, and calls here.

Colour in the Osprey! 

Download the page from Migratory Birds of the West Indies Colouring Book. Use the photos below as your guide, or you can look up pictures of the bird online or in a bird field guide if you have one. Share your coloured-in page with us by posting it online and tagging us @BirdsCaribbean #WMBD2020Carib

Listen to the call of the Osprey

The calls of the Osprey are high-pitched whistles, often repeated.

Puzzle of the Day

Click on the images below to do the puzzles.  You can make the puzzle as easy or as hard as you like – for example, 6, 8,  or 12 pieces for young children, all the way up to 1,024 pieces for those that are up for a challenge!

Activity of the Day

FOR KIDS:  Take a look at this interesting infographic!   In it you can find out more about Ospreys, where they breed in the US and how they are being affected by plastic pollution.

FOR KIDS AND ADULTS: 

1. Take a walk along the coast or at a wetland and see if you can spot an Osprey or any other migratory birds. Use a bird field guide or the FREE Merlin bird ID app to help you identify the birds you are seeing.
2. Enjoy the videos below of Ospreys. The first shows the Ospreys’ amazing hunting method, with the bird grabbing a fish from the water! The second shows a Osprey, having made a successful catch, eating a fish.
3. Visit MigratoryBirdDay.org for many more free activities and resources to learn about migratory birds, their threats and conservation actions you can take.

Celebrate World Migratory Bird Day (WMBD) with us in our virtual “Birds Connect Our World” edition!  Have fun learning about a new migratory bird every day. We have colouring pages, puzzles, activities, and more. Download for free and enjoy nature with your family at home.

Migratory Bird of the Day: Magnolia Warbler

The handsome Magnolia Warbler is an active warbler that often stays low in trees, flitting about and  showing off its distinctive tail pattern—white near the base and black at the tip. Breeding males have bright yellow underparts with heavy black streaking, sometimes forming a necklace band on its upper breast. They also have a black mask and back, gray crown, white eyebrow behind the eye, and a wide white patch on their wings. Females are paler in colour with gray upper parts and mask, olive back, and two white wing-bars. Non-breeding birds have a gray head, much less streaking, 2 wing bars, and a hint of a pale gray breast band.

Magnolia Warblers breed mainly in northern parts of Canada, preferring to nest in young conifer trees. They spend the winter in Central America, including south-eastern Mexico to Panama, and in parts of the Caribbean. They are most common in the Bahamas and Cuba, and are also found in the rest of the Greater Antilles. 

During the winter the Magnolia Warbler can be found in nearly all habitat types, including swamp edges, woodlands, cocoa plantations, orchards, and gardens, from sea-level all the way up into the mountains. Here they will be looking for insects and occasionally fruit to eat. 

Magnolia Warblers do not in fact have a strong preference for magnolia trees. They got their name because the scientist who first documented them found them in a magnolia tree. These warblers, like many others, migrate at night in large mixed species flocks. All birds migrating at night are vulnerable to collisions with tall structures such as buildings, communications towers, and energy infrastructure. Learn more about this species, including its range, photos, and calls here.

Colour in the Magnolia Warbler! 

Download the page from Migratory Birds of the West Indies Colouring Book. Use the photos below as your guide, or you can look up pictures of the bird online or in a bird field guide if you have one. Share your coloured-in page with us by posting it online and tagging us @BirdsCaribbean #WMBD2020Carib

Listen to the call of the Magnolia Warbler

The calls of the Magnolia Warbler are a slightly rasping “zeep”

Puzzle of the Day

Click on the images below to do the puzzles.  You can make the puzzle as easy or as hard as you like – for example, 6, 8,  or 12 pieces for young children, all the way up to 1,024 pieces for those that are up for a challenge!

Activity of the Day

FOR KIDS:  We have met quite a few migratory warblers so far & will be meeting a few more! Some of these birds can look similar to each other. Take a look at this helpful guide, from wildlife artist Christine Elder, for identifying warblers. Add colors of the bird you see, look at its behavior and add some notes to help you identify and remember it.

FOR KIDS AND ADULTS: 

1. Check out this article Identifying Warblers in the Caribbean with detailed tips and tricks to help you identify warblers.
2. Take a walk and see if you can spot any migratory Warblers. Try using the identification guide above, and a bird field guide or the FREE Merlin bird ID app to help you identify the birds you are seeing.
3. Enjoy the videos below of Magnolia Warblers feeding. In the first video there is a female foraging on the ground, there is a male, in breeding plumage visible in the background near to the end, so you can compare plumages. In the second video a male is feeding, picking insects from the leaves. You can also see the male fan his tail, showing the unique black and white tail pattern of this species.
4. Visit MigratoryBirdDay.org for many more free activities and resources to learn about migratory birds, their threats and conservation actions you can take.

Celebrate World Migratory Bird Day (WMBD) with us in our virtual “Birds Connect Our World” edition!  Have fun learning about a new migratory bird every day. We have colouring pages, puzzles, activities, and more. Download for free and enjoy nature with your family at home.

Migratory Bird of the Day: Barn Swallow

The medium-sized Barn Swallow gets its name from its nesting habits. Although they originally used caves, they have shifted to nesting mostly in barns and other human-made structures. Groups of swallows will all use the same building. Birds build mud nests attached to walls. This strong connection with humans has made it one of the most familiar and well-studied swallows. 

Barn Swallows have glossy steel-blue upperparts and crown, chestnut to white underparts, and a chestnut forehead and throat. The long tail is deeply forked with white spots. Males and females have similar plumage, but females and immature birds are duller and have shorter tail streamers. They often line up in large flocks on overhead wires with their long forked tails sticking out.

Barn Swallows have the widest distribution of any swallow in the world. They are long-distance migrants, traveling in huge flocks and covering  up to 11,000 km (6,800 mi) on migration. In the Americas, they breed in North America and spend the winter in Central and South America. Some birds pass through the Caribbean on fall and spring migration. Thus, you are most likely to spot them here during migration, but a few birds overwinter.

Like many swifts and swallows, these striking birds are masters of flight! The swoop and turn, flying fast over wetlands and fields, catching mosquitoes and other tiny flying insects. This flight pattern can make them difficult to identify, especially since they are often seen in mixed-species flocks with other swallows during migration. Just keep an eye out for that deep fork in the tail! Learn more about this species, including its range, photos, and calls here.

Colour in the Barn Swallow! 

Download the page from Migratory Birds of the West Indies Colouring Book. Use the photos below as your guide, or you can look up pictures of the bird online or in a bird field guide if you have one. Share your coloured-in page with us by posting it online and tagging us @BirdsCaribbean   #WMBD2020Carib

Listen to the call of the Barn Swallow

The calls of the Barn Swallow can be a loud “cheep” and a thin mechanical sounding “chit”

Puzzle of the Day

Click on the images below to do the puzzles.  You can make the puzzle as easy or as hard as you like – for example, 6, 8,  or 12 pieces for young children, all the way up to 1,024 pieces for those that are up for a challenge!

Activity of the Day

FOR KIDS:  Barn Swallows cover a huge area of the Americas over the course of a year. They spend the summer breeding in the north and winter further south. Find out more about this wide-ranging bird in this fascinating fact-sheet! FOR KIDS AND ADULTS: 

1. Take a walk, remember to look up! And see if you can spot a Barn Swallow or any of our other migratory birds. Use a bird field guide or the FREE Merlin bird ID app to help you identify the birds you are seeing.
2. Enjoy the video below of a Barn Swallow perched on a fence. When they are not hunting for food on the wing this species can often be seen perched on twigs, fences and overheard wires.
3. Visit MigratoryBirdDay.org for many more free activities and resources to learn about migratory birds, their threats and conservation actions you can take.

Celebrate World Migratory Bird Day (WMBD) with us in our virtual “Birds Connect Our World” edition!  Have fun learning about a new migratory bird every day. We have colouring pages, puzzles, activities, and more. Download for free and enjoy nature with your family at home.

Migratory Bird of the Day: Hooded Warbler

This is another Warbler where the name gives us a clue to what the bird looks like! Males of this species can be recognized by the striking black ‘hood’ surrounding it’s bright yellow face. They also have bright yellow underparts and an olive-green back. Females may show a faint hood but these vary depending in part on age. First year birds lack a hood. Another great ‘clue’ to identify this warbler is the way it flicks and fans its tail, revealing white outer tail feathers, as ‘flashes’ of white.

Hooded Warblers breed across Midwestern and eastern parts of the US. They are long-distance migrants and head south to Central America, South Mexico and the Caribbean in Fall. They will spend the winter here. During this time they are most commonly found in the Bahamas and the Greater Antilles. On their migration they may stopover in Jamaica. These little birds like to use understory vegetation in forests and mangroves. This ‘lower level’ living makes them a bit easier to spot compared to the many warblers who prefer the tree-tops! Here they will be looking for insects and spiders to eat. You might spot them looking for food on the ground.

Both male and female Hooded Warblers defend territories during the winter. This means you’re unlikely to see them together (unless they are fighting over a territory!). The way that Hooded Warbler’s flick their tail, flashing white patches, seems to help them catch insects. It could be that it causes insects to take flight, making them easier to see or catch. As with many other warblers, Hooded Warblers migrate at night and are vulnerable to collisions with made-made structures. Learn more about this species, including its range, photos, and calls here.

Colour in the Hooded Warbler! 

Download the page from Migratory Birds of the West Indies Colouring Book. Use the photos below as your guide, or you can look up pictures of the bird online or in a bird field guide if you have one. Share your coloured-in page with us by posting it online and tagging us @BirdsCaribbean   #WMBD2020Carib

Listen to the call of the Hooded Warbler

The call of the Hooded Warbler is a loud and metallic-sounding “chip” . Males and females make this call when defending their territories.

Puzzle of the Day

Click on the images below to do the puzzles.  You can make the puzzle as easy or as hard as you like – for example, 6, 8,  or 12 pieces for young children, all the way up to 1,024 pieces for those that are up for a challenge!

Activity of the Day

FOR KIDS: So far we have met five different Warblers that migrate to the Caribbean. How much can you remember about each one? Test your knowledge and be reminded of some facts and ID features with our Match the Fact to the Warbler game!

FOR KIDS AND ADULTS: 

1. Take a walk and see if you can spot a migratory warbler or any of our other migratory birds. Use a bird field guide or the FREE Merlin bird ID app to help you identify the birds you are seeing.
2. Enjoy the videos below of both male and female Hooded Warbler. You can see the differences in their plumage. In both videos the birds are flicking their tails, and revealing flashes of their white outer tail feathers.
3. Visit MigratoryBirdDay.org for many more free activities and resources to learn about migratory birds, their threats and conservation actions you can take.

Celebrate World Migratory Bird Day (WMBD) with us in our virtual “Birds Connect Our World” edition!  Have fun learning about a new migratory bird every day. We have colouring pages, puzzles, activities, and more. Download for free and enjoy nature with your family at home.

Migratory Bird of the Day: Northern Parula

This tiny colourful bird is one of the smallest warblers, and weighs only ~8.6g! Northern Parulas are a smart shade of blue-gray above, with a greenish-yellow patch on the back. They have a yellow throat and breast and a white belly. Also look out for two white wing-bars and their distinctive white eye crescents. Breeding males have a black and chestnut coloured breast band. There might be some faint remains of this still visible during fall migration. Females are similar to males but duller and usually lack the breast bands.

Northern Parulas breed in the eastern North America, from Florida up to the boreal forests of Canada. Interestingly they have a strange gap in their breeding range, missing from large parts of Iowa, Wisconsin, Michigan, and some states in the Northeast. Northern Parulas rely on Spanish moss to nest. This ‘gap’ could be linked to a lack of this vital resource due to habitat loss and increasing air pollution. Northern Parulas migrate south in the fall and arrive to spend the winter in the Caribbean from August onwards. It is one of the most common migrant warblers in the region. When they get ready to head north again from March you might even hear their ascending buzzy song!  

This dainty and active warbler feeds on insects, and can be found during the winter in dry forest and scrub. They will pick insects from the undersides of leaves, as well as catch them in the air. They can also be found in many human-modified landscapes including, pastures, coffee, cacao, and citrus plantations. Northern Parulas mainly migrate at night and may join mixed-species flocks with other types of wood warblers. Night migrations leave wood warblers, like the Northern Parula, vulnerable to collisions with made-made structures such as tall buildings or communication towers. Hundreds to thousands are killed annually from collisions during migration throughout their range. Learn more about this species, including its range, photos, and calls here.

Colour in the Northern Parula! 

Download the page from Migratory Birds of the West Indies Colouring Book. Use the photos below as your guide, or you can look up pictures of the bird online or in a bird field guide if you have one. Share your coloured-in page with us by posting it online and tagging us @BirdsCaribbean   #WMBD2020Carib

Listen to the call and song of the Northern Parula

The call of the Northern Parula is a sharp “chip” sound.

In Spring you might also hear the song of the Northern Parula, an ascending buzzy trill.

Puzzle of the Day

Click on the images below to do the puzzles.  You can make the puzzle as easy or as hard as you like – for example, 6, 8,  or 12 pieces for young children, all the way up to 1,024 pieces for those that are up for a challenge!

Activity of the Day

FOR KIDS:  Can you match the insect names to the photos? Insects are a very important food source for migratory birds, many head south on migration in search of insects to help them survive the winter.  Warblers in particular often specialise in eating mainly insects. Find the answers here.

FOR KIDS AND ADULTS: 

1. Take a walk and see if you can spot a migratory warbler or any of our other migratory birds. Use a bird field guide or the FREE Merlin bird ID app to help you identify the birds you are seeing.
2. Enjoy the videos below of the Northern Parulas, where you can see the differences between the males and females. The first video shows a male bird, wintering in Cuba, foraging for insects on leaves. The second shows a female Northern Parula sunning herself.
3. Visit MigratoryBirdDay.org for many more free activities and resources to learn about migratory birds, their threats and conservation actions you can take.

Celebrate World Migratory Bird Day (WMBD) with us in our virtual “Birds Connect Our World” edition!  Have fun learning about a new migratory bird every day. We have colouring pages, puzzles, activities, and more. Download for free and enjoy nature with your family at home.

Migratory Bird of the Day: Yellow-rumped Warbler

There is no mystery as to where the Yellow-rumped Warbler got its name, you are likely to see a flash of its trademark yellow rump patch as it flits around in a tree. In fact its nick-name is “butter-butt”! This bird also has bright yellow patches on the sides of its breast and a distinctive white throat. Breeding Males are vividly coloured and have a black mask across their eye. They also have black and white streaking on the chest. Females and younger birds look similar but are duller and brownish on the back and head. Males will look also look brownish during the winter. All birds at all times of year still have the distinctive white-ish throat and yellow rump. 

There are two subspecies of this warbler, known as “Audubon’s” and “Myrtle.” It is the “Myrtle” subspecies which is most likely to be in the Caribbean (and which is described above). The “Audubon’s” subspecies has a yellow throat and no black eye-mask.

Yellow-rumped Warblers are one of the most common and wide-spread warblers. They breed across a wide area of Canada and the Northern US and in the autumn migrate south to the southern US, Central America, and the Caribbean. They are one of the last migrants to arrive, typically not turning up until November. They spend the winter here, and are most commonly found in the Bahamas and islands of the Greater Antilles.  

Unlike many of the migratory warblers Yellow-rumped Warblers like to hang out together and are often seen in small groups. In the Caribbean, they live in woodlands, gardens, scrubby areas, coffee plantations, mangroves, and the edges of swamps. They eat insects and can sometimes be spotted making looping flights from perches to snatch insects out of the air. Unlike many warblers they also eat berries of many different plants. The fact that they can digest the wax berry coating means that Yellow-rumped Warblers can survive colder temperatures when there are no insects by eating bayberries and wax myrtle berries. Learn more about this species, including its range, photos, and calls here.

Colour in the Yellow-rumped Warbler! 

Download the page from Migratory Birds of the West Indies Colouring Book. Use the photos below as your guide, or you can look up pictures of the bird online or in a bird field guide if you have one. Share your coloured-in page with us by posting it online and tagging us @BirdsCaribbean   #WMBD2020Carib

Listen to the call of the Yellow-rumped Warbler

The call of the Yellow-rumped Warbler is an abrupt “check”

Puzzle of the Day

Click on the images below to do the puzzles.  You can make the puzzle as easy or as hard as you like – for example, 6, 8,  or 12 pieces for young children, all the way up to 1,024 pieces for those that are up for a challenge!

Activity of the Day

FOR KIDS: Read the text above to find out facts about the Yellow-rumped Warbler. Then use the clues to rearrange the letters and reveal the words in our Yellow-rumped Warbler word scramble!  Find the answers here.

FOR KIDS AND ADULTS: 

1. Take a walk and see if you can spot a migratory warbler or any of our other migratory birds. Use a bird field guide or the FREE Merlin bird ID app to help you identify the birds you are seeing.
2. Enjoy the videos below of both male and female Yellow-rumped Warblers. The female in the first video is eating myrtle berries. In the second video you can see a male in breeding plumage.
3. Visit MigratoryBirdDay.org for many more free activities and resources to learn about migratory birds, their threats and conservation actions you can take.

Celebrate World Migratory Bird Day (WMBD) with us in our virtual “Birds Connect Our World” edition!  Have fun learning about a new migratory bird every day. We have colouring pages, puzzles, activities, and more. Download for free and enjoy nature with your family at home.

Migratory Bird of the Day: Gray Kingbird

The Gray Kingbird is a large conspicuous species of tyrant flycatcher, a large family of birds known as energetic insectivores. It is gray above and white below and has a dark mask—a distinctive, but faint, black band extending from the base of the beak through the eye. It also has a large black beak with a slight hook at the tip, typical of this group of birds. This species is fiercely territorial during the breeding season and can often be seen chasing and fighting other individuals, employing amazing acrobatic manoeuvres in aerial dogfights. They are also known to chase and attack other birds, dogs, and humans who get too close to their nest. In The Bahamas, this species is locally called “Fighter” or “Pickereely” based on its aggressive behavior and the call it makes. Gray Kingbirds are present year-round in some islands (Hispaniola and islands east), but in others (e.g., Bahamas, Cuba and Jamaica) they arrive in April, breed, and leave in September, and are hence known as “summer migrants.” Their range extends from Florida, the Caribbean, parts of Central America and northern South America. They prefer open habitats and can be seen in abundance in urban and suburban areas. Gray Kingbirds are also found in pinelands, coastal areas and mangroves. Birds that migrate have longer wings, shorter tails and larger bills than those that are resident. Gray Kingbirds feed mainly on various flying insects, including beetles, bees, moths, wasps, and dragonflies. They also eat fruits, seeds, and small vertebrates, like lizards. They may rarely eat hummingbirds, perhaps mistaking them for large insects, killing them by repeated blows on a branch before swallowing them! In The Bahamas, they have been seen eating poisonwood berries. Gray Kingbirds are often seen conspicuously perched, making their loud buzzy calls, pi-tirr-ri or pit-cherrie, repeated often. They sally out from these high perches to grab food items in mid-air. Learn more about this species, including its range, photos, and calls here.

Colour in the Gray Kingbird! 

Download the page from Migratory Birds of the West Indies Colouring Book. Use the photos below as your guide, or you can look up pictures of the bird online or in a bird field guide if you have one. Share your coloured-in page with us by posting it online and tagging us @BirdsCaribbean   #WMBD2020Carib

Listen to the call of the Gray Kingbird

The call of the Gray Kingbird is a loud high-pitched “pipiri pipiri” trill.

Puzzle of the Day

Click on the images below to do the puzzles.  You can make the puzzle as easy or as hard as you like – for example, 6, 8,  or 12 pieces for young children, all the way up to 1,024 pieces for those that are up for a challenge!

Activity of the Day

FOR KIDS: Gray Kingbirds often fly out from their perch to snatch insects from the air, with their beak, to eat. Can up help the hungry Gray Kingbird to catch a fly? Follow the right trail and get a tasty fly for the Kingbird to eat! And here is the Answer Key. FOR KIDS AND ADULTS: 

1. Take a walk and see if you can spot a Gray Kingbird or any of our other migratory birds. Use a bird field guide or the FREE Merlin bird ID app to help you identify the birds you are seeing.
2. Enjoy the videos below of Gray Kingbirds in the wild! The first shows a bird preening, you can also hear it making its high-pitched trilling call in this clip.  The second shows a Gray Kingbird eating an insect it has just caught and then cleaning its beak.
3. Visit MigratoryBirdDay.org for many more free activities and resources to learn about migratory birds, their threats and conservation actions you can take.

Celebrate World Migratory Bird Day (WMBD) with us in our virtual “Birds Connect Our World” edition!  Have fun learning about a new migratory bird every day. We have colouring pages, puzzles, activities, and more. Download for free and enjoy nature with your family at home.

Migratory Bird of the Day: Prairie Warbler

The males of this small warbler are bright yellow below and olive-green above with black streaking on the sides. They also have a black eye-line and a black semicircle under the eye, in a pattern that gives a “spectacled” appearance. Females and immature birds have a similar pattern, but it is less clearly defined and not as colourful. The underparts are paler yellow and the head may be yellow or greyish. These warblers can often be seen wagging their tails up and down.

Despite its name, the Prairie Warbler does not in fact breed in the open prairies. It breeds in forests and scrubby areas in the southeastern US. It arrives in the Caribbean from late August and will spend the winter here. Their numbers will start decreasing again in April as they head back north. They are most common in Northern parts of the Caribbean, including the Bahamas, Cuba, Hispaniola, Jamaica, Cayman Islands, Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands. Their entire population spends the winter either in the Caribbean or Florida, making this a very important region for the species. During the winter Prairie Warblers like to live in coastal dry forests, mangroves, woodlands, orchards, and coffee farms; they may even show up in your garden! They eat insects and spiders that they pick off leaves and branches or catch out of the air. They have also been observed eating fruit.   

Prairie Warbler numbers have declined in recent years due to loss of their preferred habitats. Along with many other migratory birds, they also face threats such as collisions with glass and predation from free-roaming cats. Making sure they have safe places to spend the winter, with plenty of bushy vegetation for them to forage in, can help this species. Learn more about this species, including its range, photos, and calls here.

Colour in the Prairie Warbler! 

Download the page from Migratory Birds of the West Indies Colouring Book. Use the photos below as your guide, or you can look up pictures of the bird online or in a bird field guide if you have one. Share your coloured-in page with us by posting it online and tagging us @BirdsCaribbean   #WMBD2020Carib

Listen to the call of the Prairie Warbler

The call of the Prairie Warbler is a brief “chuck” . On its wintering grounds, you are not  likely to hear the high-pitched song of rapidly ascending notes it makes when breeding.

Puzzle of the Day

Click on the images below to do the puzzles.  You can make the puzzle as easy or as hard as you like – for example, 6, 8,  or 12 pieces for young children, all the way up to 1,024 pieces for those that are up for a challenge!

Activity of the Day

FOR KIDS:  Play ‘Habitat Bingo‘ ! Find or identify the  the objects in the Habitat Bingo – put an X in each square when you do. How many of the plants, birds, animals, resources or behaviours can you spot?

FOR KIDS AND ADULTS: 

1. Take a walk and see if you can spot any migrant birds. Use a bird field guide or the FREE Merlin bird ID app to help you identify the birds you are seeing.
2. Enjoy the video below of a Prairie Warbler feeding. You can see this bird moving amongst the vegetation, picking up insects from the leaves- this type of foraging is called ‘gleaning’.
3. Visit MigratoryBirdDay.org for many more free activities and resources to learn about migratory birds, their threats and conservation actions you can take.

Celebrate World Migratory Bird Day (WMBD) with us in our virtual “Birds Connect Our World” edition!  Have fun learning about a new migratory bird every day. We have colouring pages, puzzles, activities, and more. Download for free and enjoy nature with your family at home.

Migratory Bird of the Day: Blackpoll Warbler

The Blackpoll Warbler is a member of the Parulidae Family, small active songbirds known as wood warblers. Breeding males have a black cap, white cheeks, black malar stripes, and  black streaking on the back and sides. Breeding females are more cryptically coloured with olive-gray to olive-yellow upperparts, a dark eye-line, and some streaking. In the fall and winter males are olive above with streaks on the back, and whitish to pale yellow below with blurry streaks on the chest. Females are similar but with reduced streaking. Both sexes have yellow-orange coloured legs and distinctive white wing-bars, which are helpful for identification.        

Blackpoll Warblers breed in boreal forest habitat in Alaska and Canada and winter in northern South America. These birds weigh less than 14g, but they make some epic journeys on migration. They can fly nonstop for up to 3 days! In a single flight across the ocean to South America, they can cover over 2,770 km. Not all Blackpoll Warblers make the trip in one go. Many stop over in the Caribbean both in the autumn and spring.On these refueling and resting stops they can be found in many places, such as mangroves, scrubby areas, and woodlands. The total journey made by this tiny bird, from breeding areas to their wintering areas can be over 8,000km. Find out more about their migration here.

Long journeys are tough for such small birds. Before leaving Blackpoll warblers feed until they double their body weight! They eat insects, feeding by picking them off leaves. Blackpoll Warblers migrate at night, sometimes in large numbers. Unfortunately, they are attracted to bright lights. This means they sometimes collide with lighthouses, communication towers, and tall buildings. Long-term monitoring data show that this species, like many other birds, is undergoing a widespread decline. More research is needed on the causes of the decline. Learn more about this species, including its range, photos, and calls here.

Colour in the Blackpoll Warbler! 

Download the page from Migratory Birds of the West Indies Colouring Book. Use the photos below as your guide, or you can look up pictures of the bird online or in a bird field guide if you have one. Share your coloured-in page with us by posting it online and tagging us @BirdsCaribbean   #WMBD2020Carib

Listen to the call of the Blackpoll Warbler

The calls of the Blackpoll Warbler are a thin high-pitched “zeet-zeet-zeet.”

Puzzle of the Day

Click on the images below to do the puzzles.  You can make the puzzle as easy or as hard as you like – for example, 6, 8,  or 12 pieces for young children, all the way up to 1,024 pieces for those that are up for a challenge!

Activity of the Day

FOR KIDS: Guide the Warbler and Sandpiper safely through their migration in our Migration Maze! Watch out for dangerous hazards like power lines, tall buildings and predators and get the birds to safety in the Caribbean. And here is the Answer Key.

FOR KIDS AND ADULTS: 

1. If you visit a woodland, mangrove or even just a patch of scrubby bush there might be some warblers around to you to spot! They start arriving at around this time of year. Use a bird field guide or the FREE Merlin bird ID app to help you identify the birds you are seeing.
2. Enjoy the videos below of a female Blackpoll Warbler, foraging for insects. You can see that she is looking for them on the undersides of the leaves. Note the bold white wing bars.
3. Visit MigratoryBirdDay.org for many more free activities and resources to learn about migratory birds, their threats and conservation actions you can take.

Celebrate World Migratory Bird Day (WMBD) with us in our virtual “Birds Connect Our World” edition!  Have fun learning about a new migratory bird every day. We have colouring pages, puzzles, activities, and more. Download for free and enjoy nature with your family at home.

Migratory Bird of the Day: Lesser Scaup

Moving on from shorebirds, but sticking with the watery theme, today’s migratory bird is a duck. The Lesser Scaup is medium sized for a duck and like many ducks, the male and female look quite different from each other. Males have black heads with purple/ green iridescence, a black neck and breast, white sides and greyish ‘marbled’ looking backs. They also have blue bills and bright yellow eyes. Females are warm chocolate brown, with a white patch that varies in size just behind the bill. Both sexes have a white wing-stripe, which runs half-way along the trailing edge of the upper wing and can be seen as they fly.   

The Lesser Scaup is a diving duck that swims and feeds under water. Their bills are shaped like scoops, which helps them dig through soft mud looking for aquatic animals and plants. These ducks have quite a wide breeding range, across Canada and part of the US. They migrate south to spend the winter in warmer areas. They wait until there is ice on the lakes in North America before they begin migration, and they spend the winter farther south than any other diving duck in their species group (Aythya). This means that during November some will arrive in the Caribbean. They are most common in the northern Caribbean, including the Bahamas, Cuba, Cayman Islands, Jamaica, Hispaniola, and Puerto Rico, but can be found in other islands too.

When in the Caribbean Lesser Scaups can be found on large open water bodies, either fresh or coastal waters, often in groups. This species is very similar to another duck, the Greater Scaup. The best way to tell them apart is by head shape—the Lesser Scaup’s head is more narrow and egg-shaped with a peak (highest point) near the back of the head, while the head of the Greater Scaup is perfectly round. In addition, the sides and back of the Greater Scaup are lighter and it has a larger black nail on the tip of the bill. Luckily the Greater Scaup is far less common in the Caribbean so there shouldn’t be too many opportunities to mix them up!  Learn more about this species, including its range, photos, and calls here.

Colour in the Lesser Scaup! 

Download the page from Migratory Birds of the West Indies Colouring Book. Use the photos below as your guide, or you can look up pictures of the bird online or in a bird field guide if you have one. Share your coloured-in page with us by posting it online and tagging us @BirdsCaribbean   #WMBD2020Carib

Listen to the call of the Lesser Scaup

The Lesser Scaup is often silent, but the females tend to make more noise than males. You might hear their ‘barking’ calls.

Puzzle of the Day

Click on the images below to do the puzzles.  You can make the puzzle as easy or as hard as you like – for example, 6, 8,  or 12 pieces for young children, all the way up to 1,024 pieces for those that are up for a challenge!

Activity of the Day

FOR KIDS: Find out more about the Lesser Scaup by looking at this cool information sheet! It has facts about where they breed, when and where they migrate, and a map to help you see just how far they travel. And about what they like to eat!

FOR KIDS AND ADULTS:

1. Visit a pond or wetland and see if you can  find and identify any ducks. Use a bird field guide or the FREE Merlin bird ID app to help you identify the birds you are seeing.
2. Enjoy the videos below of Lesser Scaup in the wild! The first one shows a group of birds feeding (3 males but one is  an immature). Watch them ‘vanish’ under the water to forage and the pop back up with food. In the second video you can see a group of males and females flying. The white patch at the base of the females’ bills is obvious, as is the white stripe in the wings of both the males and females.
3. Visit MigratoryBirdDay.org for many more free activities and resources to learn about migratory birds, their threats and conservation actions you can take.