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BAHAMAS
20 December 2002 - 4 January 2003
by Barry Levine
I spent two weeks (Dec 20,2002-Jan 4,2003) in the relaxed environs of
Grand
Bahama, Andros and Eleuthra (3 Bahamian islands). Wonderous
vacation
among some of the friendliest people we've met during our travails and
travels.
We managed to do some birding, though that was not the only focus of
our
trip. There's much to do, especially if one is interested in
diving,
fishing, snorkeling, shelling, kyacking, exploring caves, blue holes,
relaxing
on some of the most beautiful beaches in the world, or just engaging
the
locals in pleasant conversation. Birding is somewhat difficult in
that
car rental is very expensive. We paid $60/day, so we had to limit
the
number of days that we could bird to a couple per island. We did
bicycle
and bird for a few days. No problem there. The other
limiting
factor for us, was the price of accommodations. The Bahamas are
pricey
especially if you compare them to other locales like Mexico. It's
hard
to find hotel rooms for under $80 a night and that was at a reduced
rate.
It seems that the tourist industry has been hard hit by 9/11. We
met
no other people trying to do it the way that we were. Most go on
tours,
which eliminates the need for a car rental. In some cases that
might
work out better, but there are not a wealth of birders or birding
guides
to be found outside of Nassau. Getting to and from the islands
can
also add significantly to the budget for the trip.
On Grand Bahama we were fortunate to meet Erica, who is a great
resource.
She and her husband run the local Kyack and Nature tour company.
She
was willing to show us a Bahamian Woodstar that was nesting in a tree
across
the street from her house in Freeport. Certainly a highlight,
especially
when the female came within 6 inches of my face checking out my red
hat.
She also was very helpful in giving us information about Key West Quail
Doves,
which we saw for a fleeting moment at the site she mentioned.
Grand
Bahama has some great places to bird. Rand Nature Center, Lucaya
National
Park the area around Garden of the Groves and the West End. We
stayed
at Fortuna Resort. Even though we usually eschew staying at all
inclusive
resorts, we thoroughly enjoyed our time there. There was the
opportunity
to play tennis, basketball and bocce, windsurf, kyack, snorkel off of
the
beach and dive. They had nice bicycles which were also included
in
the daily price. Important stuff in that bicycle rentals can be
as
much as $15 per day per person. They are also located away from
Freeport
and Lucaya. Certainly a bonus if you are birding. One of
the
best birds seen on G. Bahama was a vagrant oriole (Orchard?).
Andros is a much less touristed island. Overall a funkier place
on
the surface. We found the people there to be exceptionally
nice.
Less expensive than G. Bahama. When we rented a car there
were
no contracts to sign, no red tape. We were basically given a car
that
someone wouldn't be using in the next couple of days. That worked
out
great for us as we were able to easily see the north and central part
of
the island in that time frame. It afforded us the opportunity to
go
see Bill's Blue Hole and our first Black-Cowled Oriole. We also
picked
up the Great Lizard-Cuckoo at Staniard Creek. Missed the
Whistling
ducks at the location mentioned in Tony White's book.
Eleuthra was in some ways the best of all worlds. Nice birds,
fantastic
beaches with great shells and some reasonably priced places to
stay.
We ended up driving the length of the island. Enjoyed it all,
though
Harbour Island was very overrun with golf carts. So much so that
it
took away from what appears to be a very charming place. We spent
a
fabulous day at Cape Eleuthra. Certainly this was one of the most
beautiful
spots that we saw during our time in the Bahamas. Probably the
best
bird seen on Eleuthra was a very quick look at a Kirtland Warbler seen
along
a road south of Tarpon Bay at a site that is being researched.
Also
of note were: Lesser Black-backed Gulls seen at Tarpon Bay, West Indian
Whistling-Ducks
with young at a pond on the road in to Ingraham's, just north of Tarpon
Bay.
The following is the overall list with general locations
where:
GB = Grand Bahama A = Andros E = Eleuthra
1. Magnificent Frigatebird E
2. Lesser Black-Backed Gull E
3. Ring-billed Gull GB
4. Herring Gull E
5. Bonaparte's Gull E
6. Laughing Gull GB
7. Royal Tern GB
8. Sandwich Tern GB
9. Snowy Egret E
10. Great Blue Heron GB
11. Great Egret A
12. Limpkin E
13. Green Heron GB
14. Piping Plover E
15. Wilson's Plover E
16. Killdeer A
17. Black-bellied Plover GB
18. Solitary Sandpiper GB
19. Short-billed Dowitcher E
20. Semipalmated Sandpiper E
21. Willet E
22. American Coot E
23. Common Moorhen GB
24. Least Grebe GB
25. Double-Crested Cormorant E
26. West Indian Whistling-Duck E
27. Ring-Necked duck A
28. Merlin E
29. Peregrine Falcon GB
30. American Kestral E
31. Red-tailed Hawk GB
32. Turkey Vulture GB
33. Osprey GB
34. White-Crowned Pigeon GB
35. Rock Dove GB
36. Key West Quail-Dove GB
37. Mourning Dove E
38. Eurasian Collared-Dove GB
39. Common Ground-Dove GB
40. Zenaida Dove GB
41. Great Lizard-Cuckoo A
42. Smooth-Billed Ani GB
43. Cedar Waxwing E
44. Blue-Gray Gnatcatcher GB
45. Cuban Emerald GB
46. Ruby-Throathed Hummingbird E
47. Bahama Woodstar GB
48. Yellow-Bellied Sapsucker GB
49. Hairy Woodpecker GB
50. Belted Kingfisher A
51. La Sagra's Flycatcher A
52. Loggerhead Kingbird GB
53. Crescent-eyed Pewee GB
54. Bahama Swallow GB
55. Gray Catbird GB
56. Bahama Mockingbird A
57. Northern Mockingbird GB
58. Red-Legged Thrush GB
59. Blue-Headed Vireo GB
60. Yellow-Throated Vireo GB
61. Thick-Billed Vireo GB
62. Black and-White Warbler GB
63. Northern Waterthush GB
64. Louisiana Waterthrush GB
65. Ovenbird GB
66. Prairie Warbler GB
67. Palm Warbler GB
68. Yellow-Throated Warbler GB
69. Yellow-Rumped Warbler GB
70. Olive-Capped Warbler GB
71. Magnolia Warbler GB
72. Cape May Warbler GB
73. Black-Throated Green Warbler GB
74. Pine Warbler GB
75. Kirtland's Warbler E
76. Blackburnian Warbler GB
77. Nashville Warbler GB
78. Bahama Yellowthroat GB
79. Common Yellowthroat GB
80. Northern Parula GB
81. Blue-Winged Warbler A
82. Yellow-Breasted Chat GB
83. American Redstart GB
84. Black-Throated Blue Warbler GB
85. Worm-Eating Warbler GB
86. Bananaquit GB
87. Western Stripe-Headed Tanager GB
88. Oriole sp. GB
89. Black-Cowled Oriole A
90. Red-Winged Blackbird GB
91. Black-Faced Grassquit GB
92. House Sparrow GB
93. Greater Antillean Bullfinch GB
94. Blue Grosbeak E
95. Painted Bunting GB
Feel free to contact me about locations and other information.
Barry Levine
Seattle,Wa
Levineb@bsd405.org