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!!