Lesser Antilles Cruise Part 1 – Antigua to Martinique

 

Martinique Oriole

We opted for an 11-day cruise of the Lesser Antilles with a schedule giving options for the highest number of potential bird specialties and endemics in that timeframe. I’d previously done the Greater Antilles so was focused on East Caribbean targets. The itinerary included the independent states of Antigua & Barbuda, St Lucia and Dominica; and the island territories of Martinique (France), St Thomas (US Virgin Islands) and Grand Turk (the UK’s Turks and Caicos). Our cruise departed from the giant US ferry terminal in Fort Lauderdale, Florida.

Our cruise ship in Antigua

The cruise allows the best part of a full day at each of these six port stops, so it is possible to head off in search of birds with a local taxi driver or to hire a guide for a morning or a day. Or to simply wander around sight-seeing. I hired guides on St Lucia and Dominica – the two most critical destinations for birds.

St John's: capital of Antigua & Barbuda

The port of St John’s on Antigua was our first stop. Here I scored the first two Lesser Antilles targets – Lesser Antillean Bullfinch, which was abundant on all islands; and Caribbean Martin, with a pair nesting around the wharf. The martin was encountered just once more on our voyage (a pair on Dominica), so this one could potentially be missed on a cruise.

Lesser Antillean Bullfinch

Other birds on Antigua in a small wetland behind the cruise terminal and elsewhere about St John’s included a surprising Yellow-crowned Night-Heron and White-crowned Pigeon, which was common here though not encountered elsewhere on the trip. Zenaida Dove and Grey Kingbird were plentiful and widespread on other islands.

Coast of Antigua

Non-birdy critters were present in the form of Leach’s Anole (Anolis leachii) - one of a group of peculiar dragons found in the Lesser Antilles.

Leach's Anole

As we headed south aboard our vessel, the Enchanted Princess, relatively few seabirds were encountered though Brown Pelican was in frequent presence around the ship. Magnificent Frigatebird and White-tailed Tropicbird were fairly common, with the occasional Red-billed Tropicbird seen. Sooty Tern and Bridled Tern were about in small flocks.

Magnificent Frigatebird

Our next port was Fort de France, the capital of France’s beautiful and moutainous island territory of Martinique.

Fort-de-France

We took a taxi to Jardin de Balata, the island’s botanic gardens a half-hour drive through Martinique’s central mountains. The gardens are considered to be among the world’s finest. We had a pleasant morning here.

Jardin de Balata

The first bird seen apart from the ubiquitous Carib Grackle was Caribbean Elaenia (subspecies martinica). I had seen the species before on the island of Cozumel, Mexico, and it was present on other islands during this trip. I found a Lesser Antillean Pewee of the subspecies brunneicapillus. This species I had seen previously in Peurto Rico. The subspecies on Martinique, Dominica and Guadeloupe (the latter island we did not visit) is a strong split contendor, as is the St Lucia subspecies. Lesser Antillean Flycatcher, widespread in the Lesser Antilles, was a lifer seen briefly.

Caribbean Elaenia

I saw a female Blue-headed Honeyeater, a species shared only with Dominica. Antillean Crested Hummingbird, which I had seen on Peurto Rico, put in a brief appearance. More showy and co-operative were the numerous Purple-throated Caribs (below) attending nectar feeders around the entrance building.

The star of the show was Martinique’s sole endemic species – the Martinique Oriole. This one (below)  took a fair bit of work but finally one showed nicely in the park grounds.

Grey Trembler, also found on St Lucia, put on quite a show as it perched in the sub-canopy vigorously shaking its wings. Scaly-breasted Thrasher was seen briefly while Pearly-eyed Thrasher – another old friend from the Greater Antilles – was seen well, although it is less common here than elsewhere in the Lesser Antilles. Bare-eyed (Spectacled) thrush was added to the list, as was Lesser Antillean Saltator, seen better on other islands later.

Grey Trembler

Another potential split is the rivierei subspecies of the Broad-winged Hawk, seen in the gardens and elsewhere on the island. Found also on Dominica and St Lucia, this race is likely to be split together with two other subspecies: one on Antigua and one on Grenada, St Vincent and Tobago.

Broad-winged Hawk

Another attention grabber was a huge Antilles Pinktoe Tarantula (Caribena versicolor) - below- in the middle of a path in the gardens in broad daylight.

Martinique was a gem to visit and we looked forward to our next island destinations.

Ebird list for Martinique