March 1: Treasure Cay

This morning we headed north to Treasure Cay to meet up with emminent Bahama birder Woody Bracey, who graciously agreed to show us around for a few hours. Treasure Cay isn't an island per se, simply a peninsula, but it has the feeling of a wealthy, white enclave compared to the rest of Abaco that we had seen. For one thing, there's a golf course. Fortunately for us, a pond on this golf course hosts a flock of White-cheeked Pintails, a most beautiful Caribbean duck. Woody drove us right to them.

Next we walked the grounds of an old "nursery," a park-like place where we found a Barn Owl feather at the base of a palm, saw our first Loggerhead Kingbird, and got long looks at Cuban Emeralds feeding and fighting in a flower patch.

Then Woody fearlessly drove us up and down the rutted, overgrown roads of an old citrus farm, through fields being tilled by squatters--refugees from Haiti--and into the pine woods. We got better looks at the Bahama Warbler here. He told us about the wild horses of Abaco, a remnant herd whose Spanish ancestors were shipwrecked on the island centuries ago. It's vitality is close to being extinguished, however, as only one mare remains, though he said they were going to try to harvest her eggs. Apparently the woman who has spearheaded efforts on behalf of the horses also works on behalf of the "potcakes," the feral island dogs. The island is a real catchment of survivors, including human ones.

Single owl feather

tells a story of presence

and disappearance.

White-cheeked Pintails, Treasure Cay golf course pond

View from "the nursery" garden

Birding with Woody Bracey in the pine forest

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February 28: Abaco National Park

Headed out early today in order to spend time in southern Abaco at the big national park created there to protect habitat of the Bahama Parrot, a subspecies of the Cuban Parrot of which there between 3,000 - 5,000 birds remaining on Abaco (8,000 - 13,000 are estimated on Great Inaugua Island). Began our day enjoying a Bahama specialty treat, guava duff, on a beach in the little town of Sandy Point, then headed into the park on foot to enjoy Bahama specialty birds. The open pine forests were hot but birdy, and we found three more of the five Bahama endemics: Bahama Yellowthroat, Bahama Warbler, and Bahama Woodstar (a hummingbird), in addition to other area highlights: Cuban Pewee, Olive-capped Warbler, Cuban Emerald (another hummingbird), and Bahama Mockingbird. And the air was filled with pretty little Atala butterflies. But no parrots.

Our outdated bird guide suggested another stop outside the park at a bonefishing camp, but the camp had clearly given up the ghost many years ago. Junked cars and dilapidated buildings were overgrown by vegetation, looking not just abandoned but pillaged. A careful walk through on creaky walkways gave me the creeps. And yielded no new birds.

One last stop on the way back to Marsh Harbour, however, brought us our parrots. We came upon a flock of a couple dozen or so foraging in roadside fruit trees. These large, loud green birds with white and pink heads seemed to have little fear of us as we stood below gawking and taking pictures. They're the first wild parrots I've ever seen--and what's cool is that they're a truly wild parrot here, not a population established from escaped birds as are all the parrots in the US. What's also cool is that these birds nest in limestone caves--this explains their scarcity; the Inaguan population has adapted to nesting in trees and avoids predators more easily.

Blues I carry with me:

this turquoise ocean,

shimmer of a parrot's wings.

Abaco National Park

Atala

Crossing Rocks beach

Abaco National Park

Bahama Parrot

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February 27: Abaco

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.

Saw-scaled Curlytail

Saw-scaled Curlytail

Hermit crabs

Cheers!

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