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Cayman Islands

Zenaida Dove Zenaida aurita ŠSteven Holt http://stockpix.com/stock/animals/birds/index.htm

Birdwatching On Grand Cayman Island

Sightings of the peculiar variety of Cayman`s bird life depend on weather, accessibility, bird movements and the birders preference. Local species exhibit a blend of Cuban, Central American and Greater Antillean (West Indian) influence. The top local bird sightings are: Grand Cayman Amazon Parrot, West Indian Whistling Duck, La Sagra`s Flycatcher, West Indian Woodpecker, Vitelline Warbler, Stripe-headed Tanager & Cuban Bullfinch. These should make any birdwatcher`s day!

Breeding season for local species is late May through July. The vast majority of resident breeding species nest during this time frame. The local Bananaquits are an exception, appearing to nest throughout the year.

Mid to late October into November is the migratory season, coinciding with the onset of the Dry Season in the Caribbean. This is when the greatest volume of migratory species pass through the Cayman Islands. Many are from the Eastern Flyway of the North American migration routes. This is also the only time of year we have raptors on island in numbers, apart from resident Barn Owls and the occasional Screech Owl or Turkey Vulture from Cuba or Jamaica.

top sites

Barkers

The Barkers peninsular is a sand spit protrusion on the North West corner of Grand Cayman. Strips of low elevation dry woodland border a combination of salt-water mangrove marshland, expanses of mud flats and numerous channels with direct access to the sea. These all produce an abundance of feed for local waterfowl, and makes this is an important stopover area for migratory birds. Numerous egrets, herons, woodpeckers, wintering ducks and warblers frequent the area. With ready access via a grid of dyke roads made by the local Mosquito Control Unit, this area is designated to be Cayman`s first National Park.

Mastic Reserve

Approximately 500 acres of Dry Evergreen Woodlands in the North Side district of Grand Cayman comprises the famous Mastic Reserve, one of the last stands of virgin woodland left on the island. The reserve is named for the rare, magnificent Mastic trees that can be found only in this woodland. The Mastic Reserve is a refuge for rare species of plants and wildlife. Wild Banana Orchids cloak the trees along with a variety of other epiphytes. Along with Grand Cayman Parrots, Woodpeckers, Warblers, Flycatchers and shy Caribbean Doves, miniature Tree Boas, soldier crabs, agoutis Cuban Bullfrogs, large Geckos and their smaller and more abundant cousins, the Anole lizards, are also very common.

Meagre Bay Pond

Located just off-road immediately East of Bodden Town, Grand Cayman, Pease Bay Pond is an extension of the Central Mangrove Wetland ecosystem. This fairly shallow, 10-15 acre saltwater pond is a haven for estuarine and marine fish breeding in the surrounding mangroves. Tarpon, Mangrove Snappers, and hundreds of Mosquito Fish lurk in the murky waters. At low tide the exposed mud and shallow water attract flocks of Snowy and Great Egrets. Pied-billed Grebes, Gallinules, Coots, Ducks, Black-necked Stilts, Least Terns and even swooping Magnificent Frigatebirds also converge to take advantage of the harvest.

Queen Elizabeth II Botanic Park

Located less than a mile from the famous Mastic Trail in the North Side district of Grand Cayman, the 60 acre Botanic Park Reserve boasts a variety of habitats including wetland, woodland and of course flower gardens. Wild orchids and bromeliads abound in the trees. A good selection of bird life including Flycatchers, Woodpeckers, Cayman Parrots, ducks, egrets and herons can be found. The Park also houses the Grand Cayman Blue Iguana repatriation project and is the only place on the planet where this magnificent reptile can be readily seen in the wild.

Willie Ebanks Farm

Located at the end of Hutland Road in the North Side district of Grand Cayman, farmer Mr Willie Ebanks has dedicated an area of his land abutting the Malportas Pond mangrove wetland on the North coast as a sanctuary for the endangered West Indian Whistling Duck. At this pond, within sight of both the Malportas Pond and Mr Willie`s pig pens, birders can be guaranteed to see Whistlers at any time, along with Blue-winged Teals, Coots, Grebes and the occasional Osprey or Peregrine Falcon hovering high overhead in the Winter months.

contributor

Geddes Hislop
Silver Thatch Excursions
(Grand Cayman)
silvert@hotmail.com
http://www.earthfoot.org/places/ky001.htm

numbers

Number of bird species:179
National Bird: Cayman Parrot Amazona leucocephala

useful reading

Birds of the Cayman Islands

Patricia Bradley 261 pages, 77 col plates, 2 figs, 4 maps. 1995
ISBN: 9768052104
Buy this book from NHBS.com

The Birds of the Cayman Islands

PE Bradley Series: BOU CHECKLISTS 19 250 pages, col photos. British Ornithologists' Union 2000
ISBN: 090744623X
Buy this book from NHBS.com

The Birds of the West Indies

By Herbert Raffaele, James Wiley, Orlando Garrido, Allan Keith & Janis Raffaele
Helm Field Guides Sept 2003 Paperback RRP ?16.99p
See Fatbirder Review
ISBN: 0713654198
Buy this book from NHBS.com

useful information

Proact

Coordinator: none (why not apply?) see http://www.proact-campaigns.net/coordinators
Members: None yet!
Join us at http://www.proact-campaigns.net/team

clubs

National Trust for the Cayman Islands

http://www.nationaltrust.org.ky
The National Trust for the Cayman Islands Law of 1987 created this non-profit, statutory body which is responsible for the preservation of Cayman`s historic, natural and maritime heritage; the conservation of lands, natural features and submarine areas of beauty, historic or environmental importance, and the protection of our native flora and fauna.

reserves

Booby Pond Nature Reserve

http://www.nationaltrust.org.ky/info/rfboobies.html
LITTLE CAYMAN, BWI - Last year, one of the Cayman Islands most important wildlife habitats, the Booby Pond Nature Reserve on Little Cayman, moved closer to achieving permanent protection from development when two-thirds of the area came under ownership by the National Trust for the Cayman Islands. National Trust ownership insures the area cannot be disturbed or threatened by commercial development as Little Cayman grows.

Cayman Brac Parrot Reserve

http://www.nationaltrust.org.ky/info/bracparrot.html
Established in 1990, the 180 acre National Trust Brac Parrot Reserve protects the nesting area of the endemic, endangered Cayman Brac parrot, Amazona leucocephala hesterna. The latest census estimates about 400 of these lovely, iridescent emerald green parrots on the Brac. This endangered subspecies of the Cuban Amazon parrot nests here from February through May but can be seen, not only atop the Bluff but also in the lowlands, especially around Stake Bay.

Mastic Reserve

http://www.nationaltrust.org.ky/info/mastic.html
The Mastic Reserve on Grand Cayman protects part of the largest contiguous area of untouched, old growth dry forest remaining on the island. This area and other similar expanses of forest in Cayman are of international significance representing some of the last remaining examples of the Caribbean`s dry, subtropical, semi deciduous dry forest, which have been the target of particularly intense deforestation throughout the West Indies. The area is home to a wide variety of animals and plants unique to the Cayman Islands, and also to large populations of trees which have vanished from more accessible places through logging in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries.

Mastic Trail

http://www.nationaltrust.org.ky/info/mastic.html
Birdwatchers will spot a wide variety of species, including the endemic Grand Cayman parrot, Caribbean dove, West Indian Woodpecker, Cuban bullfinch and smooth-billed ani. Members of the Cayman Islands Bird Club consider the Mastic Trail one of the top birding locations in the country...

Queen Elizabeth II Botanic Park

http://www.botanic-park.ky/
...Orchids and bromeliads thrive near a pool fed by buttonwood swamp and Bullthatch bend is a majestically wooded area. Red Birch trees, along with local fruit trees, provide a habitat for the Grand Cayman parrot in Parrot`s Paradise. Other birds commonly sighted are Vitelline Warblers, Zenaida Doves and Bananaquit, while a variety of anole lizards, tree frogs and harmless snakes can also be seen...

trip reports

Travelling Birder
http://www.travellingbirder.com
The Travellingbirder.com birding trip report search engine guides you to 7,000+ birding trip reports on the Internet. You can search for trip reports from a specific country and time of year. Not all these reports are in English. So, if you cant find the trip report you want on this Fatbirder page give them a try!

1998 [January] - Mark Lockwood

http://maybank.tripod.com/Caribbean/Cruise-01-98.htm
The first stop was Georgetown, Grand Cayman. We had from about 9:00 AM to 3:00 PM and our intention was to visit the areas described in Bradley`s Birds of the Cayman Islands. Upon reaching the first two locations, we found they had undergone considerable development and opted for a visit to the Queeen Elizabeth II Botanic Park on the eastern end of the island.

1999 [April] - Douglas J. MacNeil - Grand Cayman

http://maybank.tripod.com/Caribbean/GrandCayman-04-99.htm
Birds seen included Greater Antillean Grackle, Bananaquit, Northern Mockingbird, Caribbean Elaenia, Yellow-faced Grassquit, Common Ground-Dove, White-winged Dove, Smooth-billed Ani, White-crowned Pigeon, West Indian Woodpecker, Cuban Bullfinch (only 1); and a Rose-ringed Parakeet (presumed escapee).

2003 [December] - David Klauber

http://maybank.tripod.com/Caribbean/GrandCayman-12-2003.htm
Near the ponds I had a female Cuban Bullfinch and the only Yellow-throated Warbler of the trip. The usual Moorhens and Coots were on the pond. Caribbean Elaenia and La Sagra`s Flycatcher were also nearby. Back into the woodlands I saw the only Zenaida Dove of the trip on the path. Other birds seen were Thick-billed Vireo and a couple other Vitelline Warblers at close range...

tour operators

Birding Pal

http://www.birdingpal.org/Cayman.htm
Local birders willing to show visiting birders around their area...

Focus on Nature

http://www.focusonnature.com/Caymans&Jamaica'07Itinerary.htm
Focus on Nature Tours has been conducting birding tours on islands in the West Indies in the Caribbean for over a decade...

Nature Walks & Birding with A Wildlife Biologist

http://www.earthfoot.org/places/ky001.htm
Here we visit a cross-section of the island`s avian habitats in search of Cayman`s local and migratory bird life. Sightings of the peculiar variety of Cayman`s bird life depend on weather, accessibility, bird movements and customers preference...

Silver Thatch Excursions

mailto:silvert@hotmail.com
Geddes Hislop and his wife Janet are the founders of locally owned and operated Silver Thatch Excursions. This ecotourism award-winning business grew from a passionate love of nature and the outdoors. Their realisation of the need for a professional interpretative service to enrich a visitor`s exposure to Cayman`s natural and historic heritage led them to develop these unique excursions. Geddes Hislop has a degree in Wildlife Biology from the University of Guelph in Ontario, Canada and brings along his years of experience in wildlife research and environmental education in Trinidad & Tobago, WI, and as the former Public Education Manager of the National Trust for the Cayman Islands. Geddes was also involved in the interpretative development of the Q.E II Botanic Park and the famous Mastic Trail. For information contact P.O. Box 344WB, Grand Cayman. Phone or fax: (345) 945-6588

places to stay

Where to Stay in Cayman

http://www.cayman.org/stay.htm
An up-to-date listing of all Cayman accommodations, all locations and types, sorted alphabetically.

Nature Cayman

http://www.naturecayman.com
Welcome to naturecayman.com, your guide to the ecology of Cayman Brac and Little Cayman, including birds, reptiles, animals, fish, vegetation and geology. This site also contains information on island history, culture, events and accommodations...