Some Locals...

These local birds make living on St. Croix wonderful. Throughout the day, the bright little Bananaquits - sometimes called "sugar birds"- come perch on one of our feeders to drink some sugar water. When we run out, they make sure to yell at us non-stop, until it's filled. These wonderful yellow-breasted beauties are also the official bird of the U.S. Virgin Islands, and can be seen taking nectar from flowers with their curved bills. Waking up to their chatter used to drive me insane when I first moved here, and now it is one of my favorite sounds.

The island is also abundant with various pigeons and doves. The Rock Doves (Feral Pigeons) can be seen roosting on the ledges of our grocery stores, or hanging out in small flocks by any food establishment.  Zenaida Doves  occasionally fly up to our railing, puffing out their breasts while calling out for a mate. Another of my favorite, calming sounds. It's wonderful to see a pair perched on a branch close together.

Little Blue Herons and Cattle Egrets are also a common sight - the Herons usually are seen near the shore or by ponds, and Cattle Egrets love to hang around when the lawn is being mowed. The shots below were taken when  more than a dozen were standing on top of a building waiting for the landscaper to stir up some insects.

I know I already included a few shorebirds, but this Ruddy Turnstone was taking a bath near the Frederiksted Pier yesterday - how cute!!

Sandy Point National Wildlife Refuge

This past week has been amazing for birding!  I am now up to 27 species (not very many, but as a new birder, I guess it's not too bad either?). I haven't been able to photograph all of them, but it's fairly easy to catch the common birds of the USVI. I went on Saturday to the Sandy Point National Wildlife Refuge with a friend, and talked to the Ranger for quite a long time about birding and the possibility of volunteer opportunities.

One rarity for winter that we spotted was the Least Grebe! Also, according to my birding checklist on the Refuge it also isn't common to see Greater Yellowlegs during winter, but the Ranger pointed out several. I forgot to ask if they are still considered rare or if they are now more common. The checklist hasn't been updated since 2006, so I'm sure things may have changed.


I still haven't been able to photograph a Belted Kingfisher even though I'm pretty sure I've heard him, and last week at the Great Pond I got a Yellow Warbler, but the photo is too blurry to post. Soon, I will figure out how to attach the checklist for birds I have seen; for now, here is the link to where I input my data: http://ebird.org - this is a great website!  It is a co-creation of the Cornell Lab of Ornithology and the National Audubon Society, and contains all sorts of fascinating information, as well as database for individual users to input their birding experience.

Now here are the photos of the birds from last week; most from Sandy Point. Enjoy!!

"I'm Watching You"

 

 

This Osprey hangs out behind my building on a palm tree that has recently died. He/She sits there sometimes for hours just cleaning his feathers, or watching the waters for a fish to catch. I'm told that this one may not be a year-round resident here, and migrates for the winter. However, there are a few resident Ospreys that live here on the island full-time. The coloring is different for the resident race (P.h. ridgwayi) according to "Birds of the West Indies" by Herbert Raffaele, et al.

I have hundreds if not over a thousand photographs of this bird, but I have made myself promise only to use photos taken this year - that way I don't "cheat" myself out of a day trip around the island!

While driving around today near the UVI Wetlands, I saw two birds that looked like doves with a white stripe on their wings, but unfortunately I couldn't get a picture. If they were "White-winged doves" they are RARE here, so it would have made my day! BUT, most likely it was my eyes playing tricks on me as they tend to when I get excited about something :)

Maybe in the next week I can add a few more species to my STX list. For now, I will just be glad I've got Mr. or Mrs. Osprey to watch.


Fun Facts:
-Ospreys are found on every continent with the exception of Antartica, and are one of the largest birds of prey, and although often called a "sea-eagle" because it nests near water, it is not, but instead is a fish-eating raptor.

- Ospreys are known to mate for life and once a male and female have built their nest, they will return to the same nest year after year, continuously building upon it. I guess they are creatures of habit in this sense.

-When diving, Ospreys plunge completely into the water, submerging under to catch their prey, and can dive from as high as 200 feet to catch their fish!

2013 Birding on St. Croix

Good morning,

I am beginning this blog as part of a New Year's resolution - to document and photograph all the birds that inhabit and visit the island of St. Croix in the U.S. Virgin Islands in a one year period. There is scant published research of the birds on St. Croix - and while I am an amateur birder, I am hoping to create a new list of all the species found in 2013, as well as photograph the butterflies, flora fauna, and other wildlife to fill in the spaces on days where new birds have not been photographed.

Thanks and I hope you enjoy this blog!

Birds from the first weeked birding are listed below: