13-27 March 2011

by Peter Osborn

Introduction

The Turks & Caicos Islands are a British Overseas Territory and form the eastern part of the Bahamas archipelago, south east of Florida, east of Cuba and north of Hispaniola (Haiti/Dominican Republic).  The western group, the Caicos Islands covered by this report, comprise a group of low-lying limestone islands and cays, with generally poor soils and mainly scrubby woodland and mangrove-ringed ponds and south-facing shores.  The islands (especially Providenciales or ‘Provo’) are a significant up-market tourist and winter-resident destination.

As regards birds, the islands are best known for their concentration of water birds (a significant part of the area is a Ramsar site), migrant American warblers and some regional specialities.  The latter include Key West Quail-Dove, Bahama Woodstar, Thick-billed Vireo and Greater Antillean Bullfinch, which are reasonably easy to find, and West Indian Whistling Duck, Western Spindalis (formerly known as Stripe-headed Tanager) and Kirtland’s Warbler, which aren’t!

On this visit from 13-27 March 2011, I visited the following islands: Provo 13-17 and 22-27 March, Middle Caicos 17-20 March and North Caicos 20-22 March.  I did not visit the Turks Islands, well known for seabirds.  Travel round the islands was mainly by bicycle; each is of a manageable size.  A total of 67 species was recorded in a fortnight; a species list is given at the end.

This visit was primarily a visit to friends, so birding was interspersed with other pleasurable activities like eating, chatting and snorkelling. On Provo, I stayed at Turtle Cove, in the centre of the north coast, on North at Pelican Beach Hotel, Whitby and on Middle at Sundial Villa, near Turnup Pond.

Turtle Cove, like most of Provo, has a mix of native scrub forest (to about 2-3m tall) and development including gardens.  The palm trees round the marina held Palm Warbler, Yellow-throated Warbler and Smooth-billed Ani, and Ruddy Turnstones queued up on the rails of the restaurant for titbits.  The marina also held Green Heron (a widespread species) and Belted Kingfisher, whilst the coast introduced us to Brown Pelican.  The surrounding area, with its numerous undeveloped plots towards Richmond Hills, held a variety of warblers including migrant Northern Parula and resident Yellow Warbler, species that would become well-known over coming days such as Thick-billed Vireo (heard singing all over the islands), Bahama Woodstar, Common Ground Dove and Northern Mockingbird, plus a good sighting of a Mangrove Cuckoo.  One of the memorable points of the visit was the number of birds that gave stunning views.

The two most productive areas for birds on Provo were at either end, Wheeland beyond Blue Hills to the northwest and the golf course between Grace Bay and Leeward to the east.  In general, the southern part of the island was unproductive at that time of year; the far west (off-tarmac) was not visited.  The pools at Wheeland, beyond Blue Hills (and past the excellent Sailing Paradise Restaurant) on the coast road, were surprisingly good despite their small size and illicit dumping.  Good views of two Clapper Rails, White-cheeked Pintail and Blue-winged Teal and adult and juvenile Yellow-crowned Night Heron complemented a good range of herons and waders.  The small pier at Blue Hills held the only gulls seen, obviously newly arrived on 24 March, while in the area round the rubbish dump (sorry, solid waste management facility) on the other side of the Millennium Highway were the only Indigo Buntings of the trip.

The golf course with its numerous pools was very productive for water birds, including Greater Flamingo, Ruddy Duck, both grebes and one Hooded Merganser.  Further east, pools between Leeward and the ferry terminal held passage waders and close by the only Bahama Mockingbird seen on Provo – these birds prefer less developed areas.

The ferry (passengers and bikes) to Sandy Point on North passes a string of cays and the awful abandoned development on Dellis Cay.  Further abandoned buildings disfigure the coast at Sandy Point, but beyond North and (especially) Middle are enjoyably quiet.  After passing quickly through North (like Alice through the third square, in our case by pickup truck), experiencing the only real rain and the first Cuban Crow of the trip, we crossed the hurricane-battered causeway to Middle Caicos.

Middle has only some 270 inhabitants, although the property speculators would encourage more to come.  Vegetation ranges from a low maquis-like scrub on the north coast to low forest in some areas.  The most convenient places to bird are the designated trails, especially at Haulover Plantation, and at Turnup Pond, by the road just before Bambarra.  The Washing Pond trail was particularly good for butterflies.  It seems likely that, in season, warblers can be found just about anywhere on the islands, although thinly distributed; the eastern part of Middle is said to be where the very rare Kirtland’s Warbler winters (I didn’t find any). However, the nice dry forest at Haulover produced the only warblers I identified on Middle, Prairie Warbler and Black-and-white Warbler.  It was from a viewing platform here that the only White-tailed Tropicbirds were to be seen, distantly but unmistakably, over the coast to the north.

Much more easy to find is the delightful Greater Antillean Bullfinch, seen in various locations including at Turnup Pond.  It was here that, while watching one really close, I became aware of a whirring and, lowering the bins, realized I was being investigated by a Bahama Woodstar hovering about a foot away.  It was also near here that I first heard the Cuban Crow – it really does sound as ridiculous as they say in the books.  The pond itself held a good range of waders, herons and ducks, while the flamingoes were found on adjacent Montpeller Pond, where I nearly stood on another Clapper Rail in the mangroves.  The area round Conch Bar and Mudjin Harbour produced the usual coastal species, including American Oystercatcher not seen elsewhere, but Village Pond, a site for the elusive West Indian Whistling Duck, yielded nothing of interest on this occasion.

Whilst North is a little more populous than Middle, its better soils support higher forest that is particularly good for birds.  This is best seen at Wades Green Plantation (for which access currently requires climbing a wall), especially around the well and the trail beyond the Great House (mosquito repellent would have been particularly useful here).  Key West Quail-Dove can be located by call, and the forest at the well provided a good view of Pearly-eyed Thrasher.  The highest concentration of warblers on the islands were around here, including Magnolia Warbler, Cape May Warbler and American Redstart not seen elsewhere.  Another notable bird was a wintering Yellow-throated Vireo.

Despite various pools with water birds (including Flamingo Pond with thousands of American Coot), no other location on North held interesting concentrations of species.  Kew, the village nearest Wades Green, provided Zenaida Dove and the trees round the pond in the centre are said to be good for warblers.  North is supposed to be the best island for Western Spindalis, but I failed to find it – my guide on North had only seen it once, and that in the ‘pineyards’ (pine woodland) which have in recent years been decimated by a scale insect and are under severe threat.  One other record was the only Wilson’s Snipe, dead on the road near the causeway.  The ‘ones that got away’ were also near here – a couple of pigeons; neither White-crowned Pigeon nor White-winged Dove were identified on the trip.  At Sandy Point on the way back to Provo, a Barn Swallow was the only hirundine and the only definite passage migrant seen.

Conclusion

TCI is not high on birders’ target destinations, partly because it is quite expensive and partly because it has no endemic species and relatively low numbers.  It does however provide a relaxing and peaceful location with really good views of some great birds.  The time of year makes a considerable difference, with the islands having significant numbers of both winter and summer visiting species in addition to passage birds and residents.  Late March provided mainly wintering and resident species.

Species list

Abbreviations: PR (Provo), MC (Middle Caicos), NC (North Caicos)

Common name                        Species                                 Where recorded

Least Grebe                                      Tachybaptus dominicus             Widespread on ponds

Pied-billed Grebe                           Podilymbus podiceps                 Golf course PR; Whitby NC

White-tailed Tropicbird                Phaethon lepturus                      N of Haulover MC, several, 19/3

Brown Pelican                                  Pelecanus occidentalis               Widespread on the coast

Great Blue Heron                            Ardea herodias                             Widespread

Great Egret                                        Casmerodius albus                      Widespread on ponds

Snowy Egret                                      Egretta thula                                  Wheeland PR; Turnup Pond MC

Little Blue Heron                             Egretta caerulea                           Golf course & Wheeland PR

Tricolored Heron                             Egretta tricolor                              Widespread on ponds

Cattle Egret                                       Bubulcus ibis                                  Widespread

Green Heron                                    Butorides virescens                    Widespread

Yellow-crowned Night Heron    Nyctanassa violacea                    Wheeland PR; Turnup Pond MC

Greater Flamingo                            Phoenicopterus ruber               Widespread on ponds

White-cheeked Pintail                  Anas bahamensis                         Widespread on ponds

Blue-winged Teal                            Anas discors                                   Widespread on ponds

Hooded Merganser                       Lophodytes cucullatus               Golf course PR, 1, 25/3

Ruddy Duck                                       Oxyura jamaicensis                     Golf course PR

Osprey                                                Pandion haliaetus                        Widespread on coast

American Kestrel                            Falco sparverius                            Common throughout

Peregrine Falcon                             Falco peregrinus                           Kew NC, 1, 22/3

Clapper Rail                                       Rallus longirostris                         Wheeland PR, 2, 16/3; Montpeller Pond MC, 1, 17/3

Common Moorhen                        Gallinula chloropus                      Golf course PR; Turnup Pond MC

American Coot                                 Fulica americana                           Widespread on ponds

Black-bellied Plover                       Pluvialis squatarola                      Widespread

Semipalmated Plover                    Charadrius semipalmatus         Pond at Leeward PR, 1, 17/3

Killdeer                                                Charadrius vociferus                   Turnup Pond MC; causeway NC

American Oystercatcher              Haematopus palliatus                Mudjin Harbour MC, 1, 18/3

Black-necked Stilt                           Himantopus mexicanus             Widespread on ponds

Greater Yellowlegs                         Tringa melanoleuca                     Widespread on ponds

Lesser Yellowlegs                            Tringa flavipes                               Widespread on ponds

Willet                                                   Catoptrophorus semipaimatus   Wheeland PR

Spotted Sandpiper                         Actitis macularia                           Wheeland & golf course PR

Ruddy Turnstone                            Arenaria interpres                       Widespread on coast, PR

Stilt Sandpiper                                  Calidris himantopus                    Pond at Leeward PR, 1, 17/3

Short-billed Dowitcher                 Limnodromus griseus                 Wheeland PR

Wilson’s Snipe                                  Gallinago delicata                         Causeway NC, 1 dead on road, 21/3

Laughing Gull                                    Larus atricilla                                  Blue Hills quay PR, 16, 24/3

Ring-billed Gull                                 Larus delawarensis                      Blue Hills quay PR, 1 sub-adult, 24/3

Royal Tern                                          Sterna maximus                           Widespread on coast

Zenaida Dove                                   Zenaida aurita                               Kew NC; Wades Green NC

Mourning Dove                               Zenaida macroura                        Widespread, PR and NC

Common Ground-Dove               Columbina passerina                  Common throughout

Key West Quail-Dove                    Geotrygon chrysia                       Wades Green NC

Mangrove Cuckoo                          Coccyzus minor                             Turtle Cove PR, 1, 14/3; Wades Green NC, 1 heard, 20/3

Smooth-billed Ani                           Crotophaga ani                             Widespread

Bahama Woodstar                          Calliphlox evelynae                     Widespread, PR and MC

Belted Kingfisher                            Ceryle alpyon                                Widespread

Barn Swallow                                    Hirundo rustica                             Sandy Point NC, 1, 22/3

Cuban Crow                                      Corvus nasicus                              Widespread, MC and NC

Blue-gray Gnatcatcher                  Polioptila caerulea                       Common throughout

Northern Mockingbird                  Mimus polyglottos                      Common on PR, also MC and NC

Bahama Mockingbird                    Mimus gundlachii                         Leeward PR; Conch Bar & Haulover MC

Pearly-eyed Thrasher                   Margarops fuscatus                    Wades Green NC

Thick-billed Vireo                            Vireo crassirostris                        Common throughout

Yellow-throated Vireo                  Vireo flavifrons                             Wades Green NC, 1, 22/3

Northern Parula                              Parula americana                         Turtle Cove PR

Yellow Warbler                                Dendroica petechia                     Turtle Cove & golf course PR

Magnolia Warbler                           Dendroica magnolia                    Wades Green NC

Cape May Warbler                         Dendroica tigrina                          Turtle Cove PR; Wades Green NC

Yellow-throated Warbler             Dendrolca dominica,                   Turtle Cove & golf course PR

Prairie Warbler                                 Dendroica discolor                       Haulover MC; Wades Green NC

Palm Warbler                                    Dendroica palmarum                  Turtle Cove PR; Bottle Creek NC

Black-and-white Warbler             Mniotilta varia                               Haulover MC

American Redstart                         Setophaga ruticilla                       Wades Green NC

Bananaquit                                        Coereba flaveola                          Common throughout

Indigo-bunting                                 Passerina cyanea                         Blue Hills dump PR, small flock, 24/3

Greater Antillean Bullfinch          Loxigilla violacea                           Turnup Pond & Conch Bar MC

References

UK Overseas Territories Conservation Forum: report on TCI wildlife

http://www.ukotcf.org/pdf/TCIRamMP/Parts%20One%20and%20Two.pdf

(Note: the report incorrectly lists Antillean Nighthawk as resident, whereas it is a summer visitor arriving in April.  It is reportedly easily seen in season.)