February 27: Abaco
Kristen Lindquist
From Nassau, we fly to Abaco, where we will spend the next four nights in Marsh Harbour and begin birding the Bahamas in earnest. We start on our way from the airport, where Paul and I pick up a couple of new species at our first stop: Bananaquit and Black-faced Grassquit, and we all add LaSagra's Flycatcher. The place we're staying is right across the street from the marina and we can see gulls and frigatebirds soaring overhead. We also spot the first of five Bahama endemic species we're seeking this trip: Bahama Swallows active in the sky right over our little cottages. We spend a few hours wandering the grounds of a nearby resort, where we add ten more lifers, including the brightly patterned Western Spindalis and the very vocal Thick-billed Vireo. Later, while Paul swam in the pool, Derek, Jeannette and I wander through town up to the ferry pier, where we enjoy a Kalik beer and watch an oystercatcher eat a snail out on a jetty.
Many anoles and curly-tailed lizards live on the property where we're staying.
When I open the door
brown lizard darts inside--
travel companion.
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| Saw-scaled Curlytail |
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| Saw-scaled Curlytail |
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| Hermit crabs |
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| Cheers! |
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