I 
West indies & Bermuda 
Andrew Dobson 
Anthony White 
Robert L. I^orton 
T he most significant event of fall 2008 
in the West Indies was Hurricane Ike, 
which passed directly over flamingo 
colonies in the Bahamas and Cuba — with dis- 
parate effects on the two colonies. The season 
also produced a number of unusual records, 
with firsts for Bermuda, Guadeloupe, and the 
Bahamas. Barbados recorded its third Purple 
Heron as well as three Eurasian Spoonbills. 
These two species have yet to be added to the 
A.O.U. Check-list. Guadeloupe recorded its 
first Black Kite, with another in Barbados (the 
third and fourth records for the Region). The 
U.S. Virgin Islands had its second record of 
Fork-tailed Flycatcher. Bahamas had poten- 
tial first sightings of Canada Warbler and 
Ruff, though the latter was not well docu- 
mented. Bermuda had its hrst Ross’s Goose; 
but overall, Bermuda’s fall migration was very 
poor. There were noticeably lower numbers of 
warblers. Only 34 of the 39 warbler species 
on the Bermuda list were seen this fall, and 
for at least 10 of these species, fewer than six 
individuals were seen. 
The Turks & Caicos Islands government de- 
clared 2007 the Year of the Environment, so it 
was surprising that 2008 has produced an un- 
precedented number of complaints from citi- 
zens and non-governmental organizations 
about unbridled development. The list of proj- 
ects and abuses to the environment is too long 
to cite here but can be found in the U.K. Over- 
seas Territories Conservation Forum’s newslet- 
ter #32. Turks & Caicos Islands is an overseas 
territory of the United Kingdom, and a com- 
mittee of the U.K. House of Commons is al- 
ready expressing concern (<www.ukotcf.org>). 
WATERFOWL THROUGH TERNS 
Two Black-bellied Whistling-Ducks were seen 
at Vieux-Habitants, Guadeloupe 9 Aug (AL), 
while at least three pairs were found breeding 
at St. Philip, Barbados during Oct (RB). One 
at Southgate Pond, St. Croix 6-9 Sep was pos- 
sibly the 3rd ever recorded on the island (LY, 
CCB). Two Snow Geese were seen flying west- 
ward over Cloverdale, Bermuda 22 Nov (AD). 
They were later discovered at Government 
House grounds. Another flew in off the sea at 
Cooper’s Pt. 23 Nov (AD), and probably the 
same bird was present at Port Royal G.C. 26 
Nov+. Bermuda’s first record of Ross’s Goose 
26 Oct near Gibbit’s Bay (B&SB) was relocat- 
ed on Belmont G.C. 25 Nov+ (DW, ph. AD). 
A Canada Goose arrived at Lyford Cay G.C., 
New Providence, Bahamas in the last week in 
Nov (BPa, fide AW); another was reported 
from the n. end of Cat I., Bahamas near Dick- 
ies Rd. (date not known; jicfc PM). The long- 
staying male Eurasian Wigeon was present 
throughout the period in Bermuda (AD). In 
Puerto Rico, White-cheeked Pintails (114) 
were seen on eight different lagoons in the 
Vieques N.W.R. 5-15 Sep, with a high of 50 on 
Laguna Puerto Diablo 13 Sep (DG). Single 
Northern Pintails were at Spittal Pond, 
Bermuda 15 Aug (earliest fall record by 15 
days; FA) and at Port Louis, Guadeloupe 15 
Oct (AL). A fiock of 16 Ring-necked Ducks 
were at Trott’s Pond, Bermu- 
da 22 Nov+ (AD). A record 
21 Lesser Scaup were 
recorded in Bermuda 22 
Nov, with 14 at Spittal Pond 
(the largest single flock ever 
recorded in Bermuda) and 7 
at Trott’s Pond (AD, PW). A 
male Long-tailed Duck was 
present on Ship’s Hill Pond 
20-22 Oct (DW), the first 
record since 1990 and only 
the 6th record for Bermuda. 
A Bufflehead arrived on 
North Pond, Bermuda 11 
Nov (DW). A record 17 
Hooded Mergansers were 
seen at various Bermuda lo- 
cations 26 Nov (DW). A Hooded Merganser 
was at Rock Sound, Eleuthera 20 Nov (EC), 
and 3 were at Harrold and Wilson Ponds N.R, 
New Providence 28 Nov (AW, PD). 
There were 15 Pied-billed Grebes at Vieux- 
Habitants, Guadeloupe 9 Aug (AL). A pair of 
Bermuda Petrels was found in a burrow on 
Nonsuch L, Bermuda 10 Nov — the first in- 
stance of nesting on the island since the early 
1600s. By the month’s end, six burrows had 
been prospected there QM). Also on Bermu- 
da, single Magnificent Frigatebirds were over 
Spittal Pond 7 Oct (WS) and Government 
House grounds and North Shore 20 Nov (RG, 
HW). An imm. Brown Booby at Warwick 
Long Bay 1 Sep OM^) was seen at various 
Bermuda locations through 11 Oct (AD). Pos- 
sibly the same bird was seen off Hog Bay Park 
29 Nov (AD). In the Bahamas, EB and BB saw 
a Brown Booby over Abaco Sound near Treas- 
ure Cay 4 Aug, BP saw one off the n. tip of 
Long 1. 7 Aug, and 5 were on Booby Rocks, e. 
of Rose 1. 23 Aug (P&OS). A juv. Red-footed 
Booby circled BP’s boat off Hogsty Reef 5 Aug. 
DG reported that Brown Pelicans were absent 
from Cayo Canejo, Vieques 5-15 Sep, former- 
ly a major Puerto Rican breeding colony. 
One, possibly 2, American Bitterns were at 
Rock Sound 15-20 Nov (JW, JDW, EC, ADe, 
JT, SJ), and one was at Reef G.C., Grand Ba- 
hama 22 Nov (BP). A nesting Least Bittern 
with 4 eggs was discovered at Port Louis 
swamp, Guadeloupe 29 Oct (AL). A Great 
White Heron was at West End, Grand Bahama 
13 Sep (BP, EB). A Gray Heron, a regular 
species in Barbados, was present Oct+ at St. 
Lucy (m.ob.). Two Tricolored Herons were at 
Vieux Habitants, Guadeloupe 4 Oct (ED, 
NH). A juv. Purple Heron, the 3rd for Barba- 
dos, was identified at Kendal Sporting 28 Sep 
(RB, EBM, KW). A Little Blue Heron was not- 
ed at Vieux-Habitants, Guadeloupe 9 Aug 
(AL). An imm. Black-crowned Night-Heron 
was at Spittal Pond, Bermuda 24 Oct+ (PW), 
and another was found at Beautiran, Guade- 
loupe 2 Nov (AL). Three Eurasian Spoonbills 
were in Barbados 17 Nov, 2 at St Lucy (DA, 
ME, RB et al.) and one St. Philip (RB). 
A Black Kite was present 23 Oct-22 Nov at 
Gaschet Res.— the first for Guadeloupe and 
3rd for the Caribbean (AL, OT, SV). Another 
Black Kite was seen 18 Nov at St. Lucy, Bar- 
bados (RB, ME, MK et al.). Two years ago, 
there were four Osprey nests on New Provi- 
dence; this year there were none (AW, PD). A 
Northern Harrier was at Bahamas Youth 
Camp, New Providence 1 Nov (OG). A Coop- 
er’s Hawk flew over Mid-Ocean G.C., Bermu- 
da 19 Nov (PW). Eight Caribbean Coots were 
This adult Ross's Goose, Bermuda's first, was originally seen 25 October 2008 at 
Flatt's Inlet and then relocated at Belmont Golf Course 25-30 (here 25) November 
and later. Photograph by Andrew Dobson. 
VOlUME 63 (2009) • NUMBER 1 
173 
