Putting a Bow on the 2024 Global Shorebird Count

Whimbrel - East End Pond

On Sunday, September 8th, I completed the week-long Global Shorebird Count for Anguilla. Visiting twenty-one sites, I recorded fifty-seven species of birds. Twenty-one of those were shorebirds. Of note, several sites had no shorebirds present.

One of the standout species was the Whimbrel with five individuals seen on East End Pond. This bird has a wide range as shown in the distribution map below.

Birds of the World provides the following identifiers:

“Medium-sized curlew (310–493 g, wing 216–265 mm). Long (73–103 mm) decurved bill and large size are characteristic of the genus. Upperpartsphoto dark brown variably marked with pale buff, underparts pale buff, neck and breast streaked with dark brown, axillaries barred, abdomen pale and mostly unmarked. Shows blackish-brown crown with pale central stripe, conspicuous pale supercilium and mid-sized bill. Rump pattern uniform with upperparts in N. p. hudsonicus; barred white in N. p. variegatus, white in N. p. phaeopus and N. p. alboaxillarisphoto (Cramp and Simmons 1983); variegatusphoto and hudsonicus have underwing brownphoto . North American hudsonicusphoto richer buff overall. Sexes similar in plumage; no seasonal variation. Females slightly larger than males (Appendix 2). Breast of juvenilevideo more buff than adult, with slightly finer streaking and clearer buff markings on wing coverts, scapulars, and tertials (Hayman et al. 1986); juvenile hudsonicus browner above and more buff below. Far-carrying voice; outside breeding season, an oft-repeated, rippling titter, bibibibibibibi (Cramp and Simmons 1983).”

Whimbrel - East End Pond

This is the only curlew visiting our wetlands and a few individuals overwinter yearly.

Semipalmated Plovers - Road Salt Pond IBA

While many migrants enjoyed the safety of Anguilla’s salt ponds, more preferred the wild coastal habitats with large deposits of nutrient-rich Sargassum.

Sanderlings - Savannah Bay

With the sea picking up over the weekend, many birds chose to feast in the tidepools behind the sargassum.

Yellowlegs Northeast Coast

Here are a few more species that I recorded during the week. Can you identify them using the guides I shared in previous posts?

Shorebirds Across Anguilla - Global Shorebird Count 2024

Many thanks to Patrick Webster who took me out in his truck on the 8th to many spots my jeep won’t reach. He scored the “Million Dollar Find” as we were leaving Grey Pond - an Antillean Crested Hummingbird on her nest with two new chicks!

Nesting Antillean Crested Hummingbird Grey Pond

While not a shorebird, this little beauty put a lovely bow on a great week of bird counts across Anguilla!

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Citation

Skeel, M. A. and E. P. Mallory (2020).Whimbrel(Numenius phaeopus), version 1.0. In Birds of the World (S. M. Billerman, Editor). Cornell Lab of Ornithology, Ithaca, NY, USA.https://doi.org/10.2173/bow.whimbr.01