Lesser Antilles Cruise Part 2: St Lucia

 

White-breasted Thrasher

Following our visit to Martinique (next post) we sailed south to the island state of St Lucia in the southern Lesser Antilles. St Lucia has something of a mixed reputation. Fine mountain and coastal scenery; one of the world’s highest murder rates; a superb collection of birds that makes St Lucia a desirable destination for world listers. The island has 4 endemic species; 2 species shared with one other island; and several well-defined subspecies likely to be future splits.

St Lucia's east coast

A joy of cruise birding is that you have full-day stops in ports that allow plenty of opportunity to look for birds. It’s possible to see all the St Lucia specialties during a cruise port stop, as I did with ease. My initial error was to hire a guide for the two of us for a full day with Wildlife Ambassadors, a tour company based in the capital, Castries. The cost was a somewhat expensive $US280 (lunch $40 extra), but after the deal was sealed, the cost was raised to $360. This happened amid much confusion about whether I was able - or wanted - to join a larger group at a lower cost. Little to zero information was available about these larger groups. Then just 4 days before my scheduled day on St Lucia,I was told there would be no “private tours" at all and I would have to join a group of six. The other clients were from another cruise ship that was departing earlier than mine, thus cutting short my birding day. This I learned myself; the company had ignored my questions about whether the second cruise ship was leaving earlier than mine.

Castries

Luckily I managed to track down a guide called Vision, a founder of Wildlife Ambassadors who had fallen out with the company. Vision was a lively and well-connected companion; he spoke superb English and was an expert bird tracker. There were just the two of us as clients at a fair cost in his excellent vehicle. Vision met us at Castries after leaving the ship and we drove across the island to the Preslin area on the east coast - a rugged patch of dry limestone scrub.

With Vision in the field

Here we soon found a Lesser Antillean Pewee of the endemic and distinctive subspecies latirostris – an excellent candidate for a split.

Lesser Antillean (St Lucia) Peewee

Lesser Antillean Flycatcher of the local subspecies sanctaeluciae showed well in the scrub and later in the wet mountain forest we were to visit; I also saw other races of this species on Martinique and Dominica. Lesser Antillean Saltator was seen again after a glimpse on Martinique.

Lesser Antillean Flycatcher

Then came one of the star birds of the trip. White-breasted Thrasher is restricted to coastal limestone scrub on St Lucia and Martinique. It took some time tracking but eventually Vision pointed quietly to some leaves behind a tree trunk that were being shuffled about. “The bird is there and will appear in a moment,” he whispered. And it did. This stunner jumped up on a rock, showing brilliantly, then to a branch were it preened briefly before disappearing.

White-breasted Thrasher

We left the coast for the Des Cartiers Rainforest Trail, high in the mountains of central St Lucia. A run-down picnic area serves as a starting point for the trail and birders unwise enough to leave valuables in vehicles have returned to find them gone. The endemic St Lucia Parrot can be difficult but fortunately 2 birds were seen well flying between forest patches along the road to the trail, with another couple seen from the trail and others heard.

St Lucia Parrot

On the trail we found another much-wanted endemic – a male St Lucia Black Finch quietly wagging its tail deep in the rainforest vegetation. We saw a third endemic, St Lucia Warbler, both in the rainforest and in the coastal scrub, but frustratingly didn’t manage a photograph. Also in the forest was a Rufous-throated Solitaire of the St Lucia subspecies sanctaeluciae; I had seen the species in the Greater Antilles.

St Lucia Black Finch

Another to avoid the camera was the final endemic – St Lucia Oriole. Individual birds were seen well but briefly on two occasions in the rainforest canopy. A single Lesser Antillean Euphonia – another species that can be difficult – was seen somewhat distantly, with several others heard. All targets accounted for. We finished our excursion with a visit to a lively fishing port market, with large numbers of Magnificent Frigatebirds vying for fish scraps.

Fish market

Along the Des Cartiers Trail

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.

Taveuni in Fiji: Silktail & Orange Dove

 

Taveuni Silktail 

A 6-day stay on the delightful island of Taveuni in Fiji was the first cab off the rank for our recent overseas tour. I’d been to Fiji before but not to Taveuni, famed for two extraordinary birds: the enigmatic Taveuni Silktail (this, the Natewa Silktail from a neighbouring island, and the Pygmy Drongo from New Guinea, are the sole members of the family Lamproliidae); and the gorgeous Orange Dove. We flew from Brisbane to Nadi, where Fiji Parrotfinch and Fiji Wattled Honeyeater were among birds near the hotel the next morning.

Fiji Parrotfinch

Fiji Wattled Honeyeater

We took the short flight the following morning to Taveuni and stayed at the Maravu Taveuni Lodge. Not much around the lodge other the ubiquitous Pacific Kingfisher .

Pacific Kingfisher

I arranged to be picked up very early the next morning by the driver Ajay Narayan for a half-day on Des Voueux Peak – the go-to site for regional specialties and an hour’s drive to the south. I could have hired a guide as well but Ajay knew where to go and I had no problem knocking off all the targets other than Shy Ground-Dove, which is very difficult in Fiji. First was Maroon Shining-Parrot, which was vocal in some numbers in secondary forest at the base of the mountain in poor light. Collared Lory was also common.

Ajay

We drove to the locked gate at the top of the road. There’s no point in birding beyond the gate. In its vicinity I saw a female Azure-crested Flycatcher and an Island Thrush roadside. The thrush proved to be fairly common and I saw a male flycatcher later but didn’t manage an image of the species.

Island Thrush

There is a famous trail about 200m south of the gate that goes into the forest. About 500m down the trail I found a pair of Taveuni Silktails. They are extaordinary birds - a mix of bird-of-paradise and flycatcher with dazzling metallic blue colouring, elaborate displays and constant movements. On the way back I found an even more co-operative pair of silktails.

Also on this track I spotted a female Orange Dove: its mate would have to wait. I heard and then saw a skulking female Black-faced Shrikebill in the undergrowth. Fiji Shrikebill was more co-operative and I saw several.

Fiji Shrikebill

Orange Dove (female)

Barking Imperial-Pigeon and Many-coloured Fruit-Dove were calling commonly. In the forest several Fiji Steaked Fantails were encountered and Fiji Bush-Warbler was common.

Fiji Bush-Warbler

Fiji Streaked Fantail

Fiji Wattled Honeyeater was also common. A few hundred metres down the mountain we stopped where Ajay had recently spotted the somewhat rare Yellow-billed Honeyeater. The bird was seen well but I managed just one poor image. A brightly endowed male Fiji Whistler was also spotted along with a few Fiji Parrotfinches.

Yellow-billed Honeyeater

Further on we final scored nice if somewhat distant views of a couple of male Orange Doves. This bird is a stunner; words can’t describe it. A couple of Polynesian Trillers were also about in the area.

Orange Dove (male)

We called in to check out a large colony of Fiji Flying-Foxes on the coast on the way back to the hotel.

Fiji Flying-Fox

Several pairs of Vanikoro Flycatcher were about the hotel.

Vanikoro Flycatcher

The next day we did a shorter drive with Ajay around the island’s north coast to the village of Lavena. Along here we had better views of Maroon-chested Parrot and Barking Imperial-Pigeon, while Fiji Goshawk perched on the wires.

Barking Imperial-Pigeon

Maroon Shining-Parrot

Fiji Goshawk

SPECIES (TAVEUNI ONLY): Fiji Goshawk (1), Red Junglefowl (6), White-faced Heron (6), Lesser Frigatebird (2), Many-coloured Fruit-Dove (12), Orange Dove (3 seen, others heard), Barking Imperial-Pigeon (10)), Collared Lory (20), Maroon Shining-Parrot (15), Pacific Kingfisher (20), White-rumped Swiftlet (30), Taveuni Silktail (4), Fiji Streaked Fantail (8), Azure-crested Flycatcher (2), Fiji Bush-Warbler (8), Polynesian Triller (2), Fiji Whistler (1), Island Thrush (7), Black-throated Shrikebill (1), Fiji Shrikebill (5), Vanikoro Flycatcher (6), Layard’s White-eye (8), Orange-breasted Myzomela (6), Yellow-billed Honeyeater (1), Fiji Wattled Honeyeater (10), Fiji Woodswallow (1), Pacific Swallow (5), Polynesian Starling (4), Fiji Parrotfinch (8), Australian Magpie (6). 29 species, 6 lifers