Anguilla's Fall Coastal Birding Hotspots

Global Shorebird Count 2023

Least Sandpiper Long Pond Bay

Each Fall, I join birders worldwide as we count waders to celebrate World Shorebirds Day!

The Birds Caribbean newsletter provides a concise explanation of this important day:

“World Shorebirds Day is held every year on September 6. This day celebrates shorebirds, their magnificent migration journeys, and most importantly, raises awareness of the threats they face and actively promotes their monitoring and conservation. The key event associated with this day is the Global Shorebird Count (GSC), September 1-7.”

During September, Anguilla experiences an influx of migratory birds from North America. These birds travel along the Atlantic Flyway after completing their breeding season.

This is one of the most challenging times of year for bird identification. We see adults molting their breeding plumage and juvenile birds who have yet to acquire adult feather patterns. A few species, like Pectoral Sandpipers, are only seen during Fall Migration, suggesting they take a different route in the Spring.

During the counting period, I identified 51 different species of birds, 20 of which were waders or shorebirds.

Shorebirds Savannah Bay

Anguilla’s coastal habitats, including rocky and sandy shores, attract many returning birds. A primary reason for this phenomenon is public enemy number one - Sargassum!

Wikipedia provides our definition:

“Sargassum is a genus of brown macroalgae (seaweed) in the order Fucales of the Phaeophyceae class.^[1] Numerous species are distributed throughout the temperate and tropical oceans of the world, where they generally inhabit shallow water and coral reefs, and the genus is widely known for its planktonic (free-floating) species.”

Sargassum is the bane of every tourism destination as it emits a foul smell and makes otherwise pristine beaches unbearable for visitors. In Anguilla alone, thousands of dollars are spent trying to remove sargassum from beaches, often without thought given to the destruction such removal causes to the beach and wildlife.

Seen from a bird’s perspective, sargassum provides life-sustaining foods that replenish fat stores depleted as part of their arduous journey. Although variable by species and distance traveled, studies show that birds can lose more than 40% of their body weight during the migratory journey. Anguilla’s salt ponds and shorelines provide critical habitat for the survival of migratory birds.

The sargassum also carries debris, including large amounts of discarded plastic and fishing line, that is deadly to wildlife. We should all be mindful of how we discard our waste products and try to minimize the use of plastics in our daily lives.

The companion reel below illustrates several points made in this piece. You can observe birds eating worms and bugs from the sargassum. You can also see the constant change of the coastline as Hurricane Lee passes to our north.

I hope this brings you a few moments of the island’s incredible bird species enjoying our shores.

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If you are new to Shorebird ID or just confused about who is who, this graphic may be helpful.