Category: Birding

April 20, 2022

Mark Your Calendars and Join Us for Global Big Day on May 14!

It’s that time of year again! We’ll be hosting our annual celebration of Global Big Day—the biggest birding day of the year—on Saturday, May 14, 2022. This time, we are raising funds for travel scholarships to help Caribbean students and wildlife professionals attend the AOS-BC Conference in Puerto Rico this June*.

We are bringing back our popular teams competition from 2021, and celebrating together the energy, excitement, and camaraderie that’s associated with Global Big Day.

Last year was a resounding success, with people from 192 countries reporting 7,234 species in a single day—the biggest Global Big Day turnout ever! For BirdsCaribbean, our numbers were also impressive—15 teams with members from 36 countries reported a total of 1,348 species and raised over $20,000, and we had so much fun doing this. Let’s make this year even better!

What is Global Big Day (GBD)?

Twice a year, during peak migration times (once in spring and once in fall) birders around the world go out (often in small groups) and travel around an area trying to observe as many bird species as they can in a 24-hr period of time. The checklists that the global community collects and submit to eBird are hugely valuable for science and conservation!

BirdsCaribbean virtual teams will bird “together” and engage in friendly competition to see which team can: 1) collectively see the most species of birds on GBD, and 2) raise the most funds. You can join/re-join one of the 15 teams from last year or create a new team!

This annual event raises the profile of birds and conservation issues, and gathers a snapshot of bird distribution around the globe—and we need your help to do it!

Get Involved by:

Creating or joining a birding and fundraising team by clicking the JOIN A TEAM button on this page.

The “Join a Team” button can be found just below the header graphic.

Joining a team is easy! Sign up with your email or Facebook account, scroll through the list in the dropdown menu and select the team you’d like to join. If you’d like to create a new team, you can do so by clicking the words “create a new team” to the right of the blue button.

Once on a team, invite family, friends, colleagues, or members of your birding community to join your team and/or donate to your team. Learn more in this “how to” guide.

and/or . . .

Simply making a donation to one of the birding and fundraising teams.

and/or . . .

Committing to spending some time (or the entire day!) birding on Global Big Day (May 14), being sure to keep track of what you see and then entering that information into eBird.

You can bird from your backyard for as little as 10 minutes, or visit sites throughout the day to see as many birds as you can. By being on a team, your observations will contribute to that team’s total list for the day. Who will win top prizes this year for most species seen and most checklists submitted and most endemics seen?! Someone needs to contest the Bee Hummers Dream Team, who cleaned up last year!

This will be a fun event to fundraise for and get excited about! Be ready to go birdwatching for as much of the day as possible, knowing that all of your teammates, friends, and BirdsCaribbean community members are doing the same!

Everyone should plan to submit their observations to eBird (or eBird Caribbean if you’re in the islands). Then we’ll tally them up and see how we all did! We will send out more information about this as the event draws closer.

https://youtu.be/ErkKZZ1aKEw

Why this is Important

The insular Caribbean is a critical region for birds. There are 171 species that occur here and nowhere else in the world! In addition, the islands provide a winter home for numerous migrants—many stay 6 months or longer while others rely on the islands as stopover sites to rest and refuel during their long journeys north and south.

The development of a strong regional conservation community, through capacity-building training and career development opportunities at the island level for local people, is critical to ensure the sustainable preservation of island birds and their habitats.

How your Gift Will be Used

This Global Big Day fundraiser will fund travel scholarships for Caribbean wildlife students and professionals to attend our upcoming AOS & BC Conference, June 27-July 2, 2022, in San Juan, Puerto Rico*. These are dedicated persons who are on the ground, doing the everyday work to secure a future for birds and their habitats. Attending the conference is an invaluable opportunity for them to 1) build upon or gain new skills to address threats to bird conservation on their respective islands, and 2) network with the wider conservation community, share their work, and learn from others. For Caribbean students, this experience will help to kickstart their introduction into the ornithological and conservation community and they will benefit from mentorship opportunities.

Our plan is to raise funds to help cover travel costs that will allow deserving participants to attend, including covering registration, airfare and/or hotel costs as necessary.

As with everything in the Caribbean, we will be successful when our whole community pitches in, so let’s do this together! We need your help to do this!

Prizes will be awarded to

the team that raises the most funds
the team with the most creative name and stylish fundraising page
the team that sees the most bird species on Global Big Day
the “country/island team” that sees the highest proportion of their birds on Global Big Day (to control for differences in the number of species on each island!)
the team with the best “find” of the day (unusual, rare, plumage aberration, etc.)
the team with the best bird photo of the day (must be posted on eBird along with your list)
And others, TBD!

Safety

While COVID is decreasing in many islands and more and more people are getting vaccinated, it’s still important to be cautious. Be sure to choose birding locations that (1) comply with your municipality’s COVID-19 safety guidelines (i.e. social distancing, wearing a mask, and travel guidelines), and (2) comply with your personal safety preferences. And so whether you will be birding at local parks, reserves, wetlands, beaches, neighborhood or backyard, we will all be enjoying the opportunity to distract ourselves with some safe, fun birdwatching. Additionally, we will all be birdwatching “together” for a great cause that unites us!

*Note: Since our Cuban colleagues, very sadly, are unable to attend the conference this June because it’s in the U.S., any money the Cuban team raises will go towards installing Motus stations in Cuba – plans are in the works for this!

Scaly-naped Pigeon in St. Lucia (Jerome Foster)

Part of a group of Western and Semipalmated Sandpipers resting on Trinidad’s west coast during spring migration. (Photo by Jerome Foster)

Youth spotting birds for Global Big Day, Puerto Rico.

Greater Yellowlegs (Niels Larsen)

Red-billed Streamertail (Claude Fletcher)

Red-billed Streamertail – endemic in Jamaica. (Photo by Claude Fletcher)

Maria Paulino (gray shirt) leading a group of urban birders in Santo Domino, Dominican Republic on Global Big Day, 2021.

A yellow warbler on a small island in the Portland Bight Protected Area, Jamaica. (Photo: Robin Moore)

Birding Tours of Cuba in 2023 with BirdsCaribbean

March 2, 2022

10 Tips Every New Birder Should Know

Want to go birding? Here are 10 tips to get you started!

Junior Prosper and son out birding, Antigua and Barbuda. (Photo by Shanna Challenger)

Stop, Look and Listen. Birds are everywhere – you don’t need to know anything about birds to get enjoyment from watching them – in your garden, at the beach, on your way to work – providing attraction and pleasure for us all. Your eyes and ears are all you need to start watching birds. Start looking at bird shapes, sizes, colors, posture, and where they live (habitat). Are they small like a bananaquit or large like a hawk? Is the tail long and pointed or short and forked? Are they all one color or multi-color? Are they feeding on the ground or high in trees? Do they hang in groups or solo? Take a cup of coffee out to your porch in the morning and listen to their calls and songs – you’ll soon start to notice differences between species. Do they sing with a pleasant song or with a constant trill? You’ll start to find patterns and learn to recognize your local neighborhood birds!

Zoom In. If you decide to get more serious about birding, find a pair of binoculars to take a closer look – any old binoculars will do to start. If you’re looking to buy binoculars, we recommend 7 x 35 or 8 x 42. Vortex, Nikon, Bushnell, and Celestron all have some great options for beginner birders. No binoculars? Try a camera to take photos – even a phone camera can take a good bird photo. Use your binoculars or camera to really look at the detail of the bird. Is the bill small and fine like a warbler’s or short and stout like a seed-cracking grassquit? Does the bird have distinctive patches or patterns of color that stand out, called field marks, or is it more plain? Are the legs black, yellow, green or pink? Does it fly with regular wingbeats, hover, or soar?

Youth birding with Damion White and Ricardo Miller, Botanical Gardens, Jamaica.

Read Up. Try and get hold of a bird field guide for your region or island – Birds of the West Indies is an excellent one for the Caribbean. Spend some time getting familiar with the layout of the book. Many books will have checklists and distribution maps of birds you might expect to find in your area. Look at the pictures, and read the species description as it’ll tell you what distinguishing features to look for. You’ll also find it useful to read the habitat description to compare with where you saw the bird. Check out the vocalization descriptions too – you can also find many audio recordings of bird calls online. If you want a mobile version, download the Merlin app and the bird pack for your region. Merlin comes equipped with range maps, photos, description, and audio calls all in the convenience of your phone!

Find your Flock! If you’re getting hooked, it’s now time to find a local birding group. Meeting more experienced birders will help you learn to identify species that might be difficult to distinguish. All bird species are different from each other in some way, but some are so similar they can take years to become expert at identifying. You might even sign up for the “rare bird alerts” on eBird so you can know when unusual species have been found in your area!

Group photo of birders — Wadadli Warblers Bird Club in Antigua out on a Caribbean Waterbird Census (CWC) survey. (Photo by EAG/ Wadadli Warblers)

Make your Yard Bird-friendly. Provide some bushes and trees for cover and plant native plants that have flowers, fruit, and/or seeds that birds can eat. A free ebook, Heritage Plants, features dozens of native Caribbean plants that are of particular value to local birds as well as techniques for creating a great backyard bird habitat. A free webinar, Native Plants for a Bird-Friendly Backyard, features Caribbean bird, plant and habitat restoration experts.

Bring the Birds to You! It’s easy to make your yard a bird haven. Purchase an inexpensive bird feeder, or better yet make one from materials you have laying around your house! Here’s a helpful video to get you started. Nectar feeders are also a great way to attract hummingbirds, Bananaquits, and even warblers. Providing water can be as simple as putting out a clay pot dish or plastic roller paint pan. Fill it with fresh water every day and you will soon have avian visitors coming for a drink or a bath.

Prairie Warbler stands on the edge of a paint roller pan filled with water. “Looks a little bit too deep at this end”. (Photo by Stuart Reeves)

Talk the Talk. Learn the lingo of experienced birders, like Lifer (a bird species that you’ve seen for the first time); Twitcher (a birder obsessed with keeping a life list and going to great efforts to add to it), Dipping (missing out on the bird you specifically went looking for); Pishing (making a sound, pishhhh pishhhh, with your lips to get songbirds to come out or come closer); Peeps (a term used to refer to small, almost identical-looking sandpipers); LBJs (little brown jobs – a blanket term for drab songbirds that are difficult to distinguish); Patch (a local area frequented by birders); Spark Bird (the species of bird that sparked a life-long passion for birding); Vagrant (a bird straying well outside of its usual range); or Skulker (a cryptic, notoriously difficult bird to see).

Take Notes. Get a small notebook to record your observations. Taking notes on date, location, weather conditions, and detailed information on the birds seen will improve your powers of observation and memory and help you remember each birding session or trip accurately. You should describe in detail the field marks of any unidentified birds and later look through your field guides. With good notes, there is a strong chance you will be able to identify the bird later. Keep track of what you are seeing, i.e., your checklists, and at the same time contribute to science with a powerful app called eBird. (If you’re in the Caribbean, use eBird Caribbean). eBird is an invaluable tool for birders, storing all your sightings, so you know when a bird is a new lifer. You can also explore species range maps and learn about the best birding spots, called hotspots, near you. That’s it! You’re on your way to becoming a birder and a citizen scientist!

Making a bird list during CWC — Coral Aviles listing the birds in the CWC list on eBird, Blassina Canal Puerto Rico. (Photo by Eliezer Nieves)

Respect. Birding should be a fun experience for everyone. Make sure that you’re respecting the space of the birds. While it can be tempting to get that NatGeo shot, make sure you’re not upsetting a nesting bird that is already expending a lot of energy breeding and maintaining a territory. And respect extends out to your fellow birders. Your neighbor might have the perfect vagrant patch, but make sure you always ask permission before birding someone’s property. This extends to National Parks too, those visitor fees help keep the park a safe space for birds and birders alike! Don’t skimp out on park fees and make sure you take all your trash back out with you.

Practice, Practice, Practice . . . and Have Fun! Like anything else in life, to become a really good birder takes practice, in other words, lots of time in the field observing, listening, and studying your field guide. Before you know it, you’ll be identifying those LBJs and Peeps! Whatever level you’re at, the most important thing is to get out there and enjoy seeing some birds!

Birding fun in Cayo Coco, Cuba (Photo by Garry Donaldson)

Resources

Some of BirdsCaribbean’s flagship programs can help you or your kids to get involved in bird watching. Check out our BirdSleuth and Caribbean Waterbird Census programs to find out more. Wondering where to go? Check out the Caribbean Birding Trail.

Bird Silhouettes Poster, BirdSleuth Caribbean

Bird Body Part Diagram, Black-throated Green Warbler.

Support Bird Conservation

If you’d like to get more involved in the protection and preservation of Caribbean birds, consider joining the BirdsCaribbean community! You can support our work in a number of ways: volunteering, bird monitoring, and becoming a member. Membership has many benefits, including discounts on annual conferences and events; and a free annual subscription to Birds of the World, the most comprehensive database of ALL the world’s bird species (a $49 value).

Sign up for our monthly newsletter, to stay informed on BirdsCaribbean news and activities near you, and follow us on social media @BirdsCaribbean!

Grandmom and grandson enjoy birding in Puerto Rico. — Grandmom enjoys birding with grandson in Puerto Rico.

Useful Links

Check out these Bird ID webinars and short videos on BirdsCaribbean’s YouTube channel:

Additional links to help you get better at birding:

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January 19, 2022

Join the Conservian Bahamas May 2022 Live-Aboard Schooner Expedition

Conservian is setting sail again this May for important shorebird and seabird conservation and research – join us! The mission is a continuation of on-the-ground protection and restoration measures at key shorebird and seabird sites in The Bahamas with support from Conservian, BirdsCaribbean, Bahamas National Trust, and partners.

Volunteers Needed for Shorebird Habitat Conservation & Restoration!

We need your help to protect beach-nesting birds, nests and young. Conservian is seeking a weekly crew of 10 enthusiastic volunteers for our Bahamas Shorebird Habitat Conservation Program in May 2022 aboard our 75ft research schooner. Crews fly to The Bahamas each week to designated airports for shuttle transport to the schooner. All trips include bunk, onboard meals, drinks, and ground transportation associated with the project. A valid passport is required. Airfare and health travel insurance are not included. Trip cost is $1875 per person/week. Please go to Coastalbird.org for more info!

Greater Antillean Grackles enjoyingfountains Hope Gardens Jamaica

This is a wonderful opportunity to gain field experience and shorebird ID skills or simply a once-in-a-lifetime experience! In 2018, BirdsCaribbean’s own Jennifer Wheeler joined the trip. Read all about her amazing adventures here. And check out an article by Margo about one of the past expeditions.

Conservian, BirdsCaribbean, Bahamas National Trust, and partners continue on-the-ground protective measures to limit human-caused disturbance and restore coastal habitats at key shorebird/seabird sites.

May 2022 Expedition Dates & Locations:

Choose one week or more! Each week includes 7 nights aboard the schooner.

Week 1: May 1-8 – Joulter Cays & S. Andros (Nassau Int Apt)

Week 2: May 8-15 – Exumas & Great Exuma (Nassau Int Apt/Exuma Int. Apt)

Week 3: May 15-22 – Cat Island & Eleuthera (Exuma Int. Apt/Nassau Int. Apt)

Long Island flats. (Photo by Margo Zdravkovic)

To join our conservation pirate crew please contact Margo Zdravkovic at MargoZ@Coastalbird.org Watch the short video below, and visit Coastalbird.org for more information on our 2022 expedition itinerary and Conservian’s coastal bird conservation work.

Expedition flyer (Click to open as a pdf).

IMPORTANT: Applicants must be responsible, adventurous, in good physical condition, enjoy working in teams, and be capable of walking several miles during warm weather on Bahamas beaches. Applicants must be comfortable living communally onboard a schooner for a week and riding in small boats to access survey sites.

November 5, 2021

October Big Day 2021: A Bigger and Better Turnout!

October 16, 2021

Leaving no Birders Behind: Birdability Week Celebrates its Second Year (October 18 to 24)

There is no doubt that birding is all about community. We enjoy spending time together, binoculars in hand, sharing sightings and experiences, enjoying birds and nature.

But then, are we leaving some people out?

Birdability is a new non-profit organization founded by Virginia Rose, who fell off a horse at the age of 14 and has been in a wheelchair since then. She began birding 17 years ago and wanted to share her passion and joy with others with disability challenges. Inspired by movements such as #BlackBirdersWeek, Virginia founded Birdability in 2020. Its vision is that birding is for everyone – including those with disabilities and other health concerns.

The first Birdability Week (October 18 to 24, 2020) introduced the organization as not only a celebration of birders with disabilities, but as a sharing of information and resources to encourage the birding community to be more inclusive and diverse. It is supported by National Audubon in the U.S. and many other organizations and businesses.

Birdability focuses on people with mobility challenges, blindness or low vision, chronic illness, intellectual or developmental disabilities, mental illness, and those who are neurodivergent, deaf or hard of hearing, or who have other health concerns.

“At BirdsCaribbean, we welcome this ground-breaking and inspiring initiative,” says Executive Director Lisa Sorenson. “Diversity is very important to us – it enhances the birding experience for everyone. We encourage our partners across the Caribbean to reach out to different communities who may sometimes feel left out, including those with disabilities and other challenges.”

“I recall that a number of years ago, SOPI (Sociedad Ornitólogica Puertorriqueña) held a birding program for blind youth, allowing them to “see” different birds through exploring and handling carved wooden birds,” commented Lisa further. “I remember thinking what a great initiative this is, and that we need to do more of this kind of outreach.”

The Great Texas Birding Classic competition has a blind birding tournament (birding by ear) called the Outta-Sight Song Birder Tournament (their choice of name). Thankfully, the Birdability website has many useful resources and links for blind or low-vision birders.

In her introductory talk on October 7, Birdability founder Virginia Rose shared her experiences of birding in a wheelchair, encouraging those with mobility concerns to go out and get into nature. The discussion included some important issues to be explored in more depth during Birdability Week, such as access considerations for birding locations such as making sure that trails are accessible and safe for those in wheelchairs and interpretive signs are a good height for everyone. They will also talk about adaptive birding equipment; and tips for inclusive communication and language use. You can find the full recording here.

So, if you are wondering how to get started, and to learn more about the practical aspects of “birdability,” there will be an opportunity to chat with birders and potential future birders with disabilities and other health concerns at a free webinar on Tuesday, October 19 at 6:00 p.m. Eastern Daylight Time. The theme is “Empowering exploration: Birding with an access challenge.” This will be followed by a series of useful, instructive webinars throughout Birdability Week, ending with a guided workshop on “Slow Birding” on Sunday, October 24. You can sign up for all these fun and interesting sessions here.

Birdability Week offers the opportunity for birding groups, non-governmental organizations, and groups of family and friends to host an accessible bird outing. Lisa Sorenson comments: “With a little thought and planning, and using the great resources that Birdability offers, we can create innovative and enjoyable activities that will include more of our citizens. Let’s do it!”