Holiday in Antigua, late April/early May 2026: S to Z

Species photographed in or near the hotel, especially McKinnon's Pond which is a short walk from the hotel.

Sandwich Tern

Semi palmated Plover


Snowy Egret

Spotted Sandpiper

Tri-coloured Heron


White winged Dove

Willet


White Cheeked Pintail

White crowned Pigeon

Yellow crowned Night Heron





Yellow Warbler


Greater Yellowlegs




Wilson's Plover



Zenaida Dove


Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Black winged Kite, Norfolk, Jan 2026

Image
Until very recently, the Black-winged Kite (Elanus caeruleus) was considered a "mythical" bird for UK birdwatchers. However, this may now be changing, possibly due to climate change and a northward expansion from its traditional homes in Africa and Southern Europe. The Black-winged Kite is a small, strikingly beautiful raptor that looks more like a cross between a falcon and an owl than a typical kite. Plumage: It has a distinctive blue-grey back, a pure white underside, and prominent black "shoulders" (wing patches). Eyes: It is famous for its piercing blood-red eyes, which are forward-facing, giving it an owl-like appearance. Hunting: Unlike the scavenging Red Kite, the Black-winged Kite is a specialist hunter of small mammals. It is most often seen hovering with high-frequency wing beats, similar to a Kestrel, before dropping vertically onto prey. Date Location Significance April 2023 Montgomeryshire...
Read more

Antigua 2026

Image
A few of my favourite shots from our family holiday in Antigua. It turned out that late April/early May was not the best time to visit, in that the flow through of migrants had dried up, as had much of the standing water.   Fortunately, this was a beach holiday rather than birding expedition, and from that perspective Antigua was perfect! The highlights for me were 1) the lifers, 2) the hummingbirds around the hotel and 3) the herons on McKinnon’s Pond. Tri-coloured Heron Very graceful birds. Grey Kingbird Not a shrike or a kingfisher, but looks like a bit of both. Snowy Egret These birds, together with the Great Egrets, dominate the local Heron population. White crowned Pigeon A new bird for me. Black crowned Night Heron I have been lucky enough to catch one in the UK this year. They are rare over here but numerous on McKinnon's pond and easy to see early in the morning Yellow crowned Night Heron I didn't even know such a bird existed until it appeared on the far shore of ...
Read more

March 2025 Highlights

Image
Ru tland Black Swan.  Black swans, native to Australia, are rare but present in the UK due to escapes from private collections. Small, scattered populations exist, especially in southern England, but they are not officially classed as wild or native birds. Osprey : Maya, not long after her arrival. Ospreys are fish-eating birds of prey that breed in the UK, mainly in Scotland, with growing numbers in England and Wales. After going extinct in the 1800s, they naturally returned in the 1950s and are now a conservation success story. Mandarin duck at the Lyndon feeders. Mandarin ducks are a non-native species in the UK, originally from East Asia. Around 4,400 breeding pairs live here, with up to 14,000 birds present in winter. They thrive in wooded wetlands and park lakes, mainly in southern and central England, and are not considered invasive. Red Kite at Eyebrook. Red kites are large birds of prey once nearly extinct in the UK. Thanks to reintroduction efforts, they’...
Read more