The VCHT Bird Team (Chuck Sklar, Cesar Montero, Marie and Mike Murphy, and Priscilla and Dale Doucette) and several birders gathered on the Malecon across the street from the Trust at 7:30 a.m. to begin the first official bird walk of the season. We enjoyed seeing folks who had birded with us in years past and meeting new people who we hope to see on future walks. Before, during, and after introductions and a bit about the Trust, we spotted:
1 Eurasian Collared-Dove
10 Royal Terns
1 Great Blue Heron
1 House Sparrow, 2 Cattle Egrets,
3 Brown Pelicans.
Marie noted that she had seen some birds in the wet area under the radio tower so we made our first-ever stop there. Success! With binoculars and scope, we were able to identify:
1 Common Gallinule
4 Short-billed Dowitchers
2 Lesser Yellowlegs
1 Least Bittern
7 Cattle Egrets
3 Grey Kingbirds
1 Loggerheaded Kingbird
1 Northern Mockingbird
Our next stop was Sun Bay Lagoon. Although the water was higher than we had seen it in the past. We were able to see and hear several species:
3 White-cheeked Pintail ducks
1 Antillean Crested Hummingbird
1 Clapper Rail
1 Ruddy Turnstone
1 Greater yellowlegs
3 Lesser Yellowlegs
7 Brown Pelicans
7 Great Egrets
1 Little Blue Heron
1 Yellow-crowned Night-Heron
1 Osprey
1 Belted Kingfisher
1 Loggerheaded Kingbird
1 Greater Antillean Grackle
1 Black-and-white Warbler
We also heard:
1 Adelaide’s Warbler
1 Mangrove Cuckoo
Although we had been birding for about two hours, several of us decided to make one last stop at the freshwater pond off Route 997 where we observed:
3 Blue-winged Teal
Considering that one birder reminded us of a recent NY Times article about the beneficial health effects of birding and having seen a total of 28 species, 4 being lifers for some birders, we had a great day. We look forward to the Vieques Christmas Bird Count on January 2, and the next VCHT walk on January 4.
PS - We are now using the eBird trip report to send this narrative and additional information about what we saw and where we went. We hope you enjoy this new format! Happy Birding!