St. Lucia May 6 - 15, 2005


This was more of a family holiday than a birding trip. Only two days were spent birding, one of them on St. Vincent. Apart from that, an hour or so on a couple of morning were spent on a trail around the hotel, and an hour was spent on a nature trail with the family.

Despite this, all the important birds were seen, with the exception of the St. Lucia race of House Wren which would not respond to any of the calls I had from other islands.

Car hire on the island was extremely expensive. We therefore used taxis to get around. On our trip to the forest we hired Donald Anthony - who works for the Forestry Department - to drive and guide us. At two hundred US dollars, he cost little more than it would have cost to hire a car and get permits.

Weather
Extremely hot most of the time. It rained most days for a short while, and on a couple of evenings the rain was heavy. When it did come, and when there was cloud cover it was quite a relief.

Places Visited
Union Nature Trail
A pleasant and easy forest trail about five minutes drive from the hotel. There is also a small zoo which gave everyone a chance to see St. Lucia Parrot!

Quilesse Forest Reserve
Although apparently not as easy to see the Parrots perched here, it less steep than the adjoining Edmund Forest Reserve, and as the whole family were accompanying me, we decided upon that. On the way we stopped of in the Micoud area for the White-breasted Thrasher.

Desberra Area
This was visited late afternoon for the Wren, Duck, and Nightjar. It is also apparently riddled with Fer-de-Lance snakes.

At the Bar, St. James Club
St. Lucia Warbler
Mangrove Cuckoo
Striped Dolphins

Itinerary
6/5 Flight from Gatwick to St. Lucia, arriving mid-afternoon. Hour and a half taxi ride to hotel.
7/5 Hotel area
8/5 [St. Vincent]
9/5 Hotel area and Reduit Beech
10/5 Boat trip To Soufrière, Toraille waterfall, Volcano and Sulphur springs, Pitons, and snorkling at Anse Des Pitons.
11/5 Union Nature Trail and Castries
12/5 Micoud area, Quilesse Forest Reserve, Desberra area
13/5 Whale watching trip; hotel area
14/5 Hotel area
15/5 Hotel area until afternoon then flight to Gatwick

Birds (53 species, 11 ticks)
Species 06/05 07/05 08/05 09/05 10/05 11/05 12/05 13/05 14/05 15/05
Brown Booby         6     4    
Magnificent Frigatebird 2 5 3 25 35 13 5 30 5 5
Snowy Egret           40 10 30 10 2
Little Blue Heron     1           3 1
Tricoloured Heron           1        
Cattle Egret 10 25 3 8 5 20 2   20
Green Heron         1         1
Yellow-crwnd Night-heron     1           2 2
Masked Duck                  
Osprey                 1 1
Common Black-Hawk*     14              
Broad-winged Hawk 1 1 9   1   10     1
American Kestrel       1            
Common Moorhen             1      
Semi-palmated Sand'       4            
Spotted Sandpiper     1              
Ruddy Turnstone 4 7       2   2 4 2
Laughing Gull 3 4 15 25   30 10 12
Royal Tern 1?       1          
Sandwich Tern         5          
Bridled/Sooty Tern               1    
Brown Noddy               1    
Rock Pigeon 10   4     30 5 3    
Scaly-naped Pigeon     12       5      
Zenaida Dove   5 8 10 15 13
Eared Dove     8              
Common Ground-Dove 2 2 2           2  
Ruddy Quail-Dove             h      
St. Lucia Parrot             12      
St. Vincent Parrot*     27              
Mangrove Cuckoo             2   1 1
Smooth-billed Ani     2           1  
St Lucia Nightjar             1(3h)      
Lesser Antillean Swift     12       4      
Purple-throated Carib     10   5 5 10      
Green-throated Carib   1 4     3 4   3 1
Antillean Cr. Hummingbird 7 3 6 4     1      
Grey Kingbird 7 3 6 4   7 8 15 10
Caribbean Elaenia     1       1      
St. Lucia Pewee           1 3      
Grenada Flycatcher*     1              
Lesser Antillean Fly'         1   1   2 1
Caribbean Martin     4   2          
House Wren     1              
Rufous-throated Solitaire             1      
Cocoa Thrush*     4              
Bare-eyed Thrush     1       h   1 1
Tropical Mockingbird   6 1 20 2 5   8 5
White-breasted Thrasher             2      
Thrasher sp.     1 1     1     1
Grey Trembler             3/4      
Black-whiskered Vireo     1?       2   4 2
Yellow Warbler                 3 2
St. Lucia Warbler             5   2 2
Whistling Warbler     3              
Bananaquit 10 10 5 10 7
Lesser Antillean Tanager*     5              
Antillean Euphonia             1      
Lesser Antillean Saltator           h 1   3 1
Black-faced Grassquit     30       2      
Lesser Antillean Bullfinch 6 7 5 5 25 12
St. Lucia Black Finch             1      
Carib Grackle     1             1
Shiny Cowbird 2
St. Lucia Oriole             1      

Mammals
Common Dolphin - several (less than ten?) on 13th
Striped Dolphin - about fifty seen on 13th
Spinner Dolphin - two on 13th
Small Asian Mongoose - Seen on several days at various locations
Common Opposum - Two on evening of 12th