But, regarding the parrots during the tours, we saw all of them we sought. Including, the rarest of all in the wild, the Puerto Rican Parrot. During the Lesser Antilles tour, we saw four parrots known as amazons one on Saint Lucia, one on Saint Vincent, and two on Dominica. One of them on the last of these islands is the largest and the rarest of the Lesser Antillean parrots. It's the Imperial Parrot, called by the Dominicans, the "Sisserou", in Creole.

About 500 years ago, when the explorers from Spain entered the Caribbean, there were, in the West Indian islands, over 25 species of macaws, parrots, and parakeets. Since then, more than half have become extinct. The macaws, large and noisy, colorful but mostly red, were in Cuba, Hispaniola, and other islands including Guadeloupe and Dominica in the Lesser Antilles. Since the voyages of Columbus, all of the 7 or so species of Caribbean macaws have disappeared, as have 5 of the 8 native species of parakeets, and 3 of the dozen species of parrots. The last specimen of the Cuban Red Macaw was taken in 1864, but the species may have lingered remotely until the late 1800s (There are now 15 specimens in existence in museums).

The distribution of the parrots known as amazons in the Caribbean is interesting. As noted, there were prior to Columbus 12 species. Those on the larger Caribbean islands, oddly, are the smaller of the group, while those parrots on the smaller islands are the larger. Those on the Greater Antilles, mostly green, appear to have come east from Central America. Those in the Lesser Antilles, more strikingly colored, appear to have come north from South America. Formerly, there were such parrots on Guadeloupe and Martinique. They became extinct in the mid-1700s.

However, large and colorful amazon parrots continue, today, as noted, in forested mountains on 3 Lesser Antillean islands. And these birds were among the highlights of our 2004 tour.

The St. Lucia, or Versicolored, Parrot today numbers an estimated 350 to 500 birds. About 25 years ago, the population was only about 150 birds. The name "Versicolored" relates to the violet-blue and red in the plumage along with the green.

The St. Vincent Parrot was probably never very common. At one time, it was thought to be extinct. Today, it is found in only several wooded valleys, with a population of about 500 or slightly more. Some St. Vincent Parrots are predominately golden-brown, others more green. All have yellow-orange wing-patches, an orange-yellow hindcrown, and violet and yellow on the tail.

On the most rugged of the islands, Dominica, 2 species of parrots continue, the more-common Red-necked Parrot, and the more-rare Imperial Parrot. Over 40 per cent of Dominica is still forested, but the parrots occur only locally on the island in the north. Hurricanes in 1979 & 1980 annihilated the southern populations, particularly that of the Imperial Parrot. The Imperial, among the largest and rarest of the amazons, has the more secretive habits of the two Dominican parrots, often staying beneath the forest canopy. Recent population estimates are 500-plus for the Red-necked Parrot (up from 150 in 1980), and 250-plus for the Imperial. About 10 years ago, in 1993, the Imperial Parrot population was only thought to be about 80 individuals.
The Red-necked Parrot (known locally as the "Jaco"), is mostly green, with, of course, a red neck (or rather a red throat), a red wing-patch, and a blue crown, face, and chin.
The large mostly green-and-purple Imperial Parrot also has maroon-purple, violet-blue, and reddish-brown in its plumage.

Earlier, during one of our days on Dominica, we had great looks at the Red-necked Parrot. In the mid-afternoon, we were at a lookout in the trees above a deep valley. Directly across from us, an Imperial Parrot landed, after calling as it flew over the valley. It sat in a bare treetop. When it landed there, the sun, that had been, for hours, mostly in the clouds, shone upon the colorful bird.

During an afternoon on Saint Vincent, from another lookout atop a hill in the forest, we had tremendous views of that island's colorful parrot, as pairs of them flew above and beneath us.

On St. Lucia, we enjoyed our "parrot experience" as well. During an afternoon and following morning, as they called and flew, we listened and watched.

But the rarest of all of the Caribbean amazons was seen during our Puerto Rico tour, that followed our time in the Lesser Antilles. The Puerto Rican Parrot has been critically endangered for years. Formerly occurring in various areas of the island, the bird has been very localized now for years, hanging on in a small hilly area in northeastern Puerto Rico. In 1975, there were only 13 Puerto Rican Parrots in the wild. From that unlucky low, the number about 10 years later was 30. In the late 1990s, the global population was 44 in the wild and 87 in captivity.

During our March 2004 Puerto Rico tour, in the Luquillo Mountains, we saw one wild Puerto Rican Parrot. It was in the vicinity of the facility with the birds in the captive breeding program, the bird apparently drawn to the noise of the caged birds' calls in the afternoon. It appeared to be a bird preferring to forfeit its lonely wildness for companionship in captivity. (Parrots are social birds.) 
The Puerto Rican Parrot has now been seen during 11 FONT tours since 1990. The most was 12 in March 1996. The most-recent sighting, prior to this year, was in March 2000.

The Puerto Rican Parrot has come close to following the fate of the parrots that once were in Guadeloupe and Martinique, and the macaws that were in Cuba and elsewhere in the Caribbean. And, also in Puerto Rico, a parakeet that formerly occurred, and is now extinct. It was until about a hundred years ago that the "Puerto Rican Conure" flew about on the island. It was a common subspecies of the Hispaniolan Parakeet, now threatened on that island. Since that bird's demise on Puerto Rico, by the way, resident subspecies of the Limpkin and a crow have also gone extinct there.
During our recent Puerto Rican tour, parakeets seen included some not-native, the Monk and the White-winged (formerly Canary-winged), both indigenous to South America.

Among the over-hundred species that were seen during our Puerto Rican tour, however, it's nice to note that among the birds endemic or nearly so to the island, there was a warbler not known to exist over 30 years ago (the Elfin Woods Warbler), a nightjar thought for many years (until about 1960) to be extinct (the Puerto Rican Nightjar), and a very-rare and localized bird, the Yellow-shouldered Blackbird. It was seen well, coming to a feeder along with a bird, recently arrived in Puerto Rico, that can cause it trouble, the Shiny Cowbird. Not exactly a Puerto Rican pirate (like the frigatebird), but a nesting parasite, the cowbird uses the nest of the blackbird. (The rare blackbird should not go the way of the birds that have been extirpated in Puerto Rico).

A complete listing of the birds that have been found during the 26 FONT birding tours that have been conducted in Puerto Rico can be found elsewhere in this web-site.

An interesting observation during our Puerto Rico tour this year related to a North American migrant. At a field, in southwestern Puerto Rico, in an area where we've always found something, we saw a sight we've never seen before. Out in a field, there were some leafless bushes with what appeared to be a large number of blue light-bulbs with a smaller number that were brown. In a scope, it was clear that they were Indigo Buntings, some in near-complete breeding plumage, some less so, but with a lighter (more lazuli-like) blue than dark indigo. A nice sighting for Bob from Minnesota who found them (and for the rest of us). The Indigo Bunting, by the way, is classified as uncommon in Puerto Rico in the winter, "in small numbers". We saw many (dozens) along with grassquits and other birds. During our previous 25 Puerto Rico tours, we've only seen 2 individual Indigo Buntings (both brown birds).

During our Lesser Antilles tour, on Dominica, a blue-brown bird appeared in tall grass along a roadside, an Indigo Bunting (found by Tom from New Jersey). It was our first-ever during a Lesser Antilles tour. The species is not even "in the book" for that island!

Also during that tour, as we were walking around some fish ponds, where we see the local Caribbean race of the Ringed Kingfisher, we turned to notice some egrets had landed on a nearby dike. All lined up, they were Cattle Egrets, except one. It was a Little Egret (our first for Dominica). It joined with the Cattle Egrets as they went to their evening roost.

We've seen Little Egrets in the past during that tour on St Lucia (we saw 3 there in 2003 with Snowy Egrets). 
Little Egrets now breed in fair numbers on some lower Caribbean islands, such as Barbados.
As did the Cattle Egret during the 20th century, Little Egrets appeared (apparently from Africa) on lower Caribbean islands some years ago, and are now appearing to spread. Bear in mind what has happened with the Cattle Egret throughout the Western Hemisphere. It has spread north and south, and even as far south as one sighting in Antarctica!

Our last "new" bird during the '04 Lesser Antilles tour was, as an odd twist, nearly our first bird on the '04 Puerto Rico tour, the White-tailed Tropicbird. We were, in Dominica, early in the morning, beneath a sea-side cliff where 10 or so were flying in, out, and about just above us. What a sight! In Puerto Rico, they were seen from the old fort, El Morro, at the entrance to San Juan Harbor.

Along the Dominican coast, we only saw 3 individual gulls. The most-common was Lesser Black-backed Gull (twice as common as previous year). It was our 3rd consecutive year for Lesser Black-backed Gull along that coast, with an adult each year at the very same place! (It's only been there, we've been told, in the winter). In 2004, there were 2 Lesser Black-backed Gulls there, the adult and an immature with it.
The third gull, by the way, was a lone Laughing Gull.

During our March 2004 Puerto Rico tour, oddly, not one gull was seen, not even a lone Laughing Gull.

Focus On Nature Tours will be going to the Caribbean again in 2011. 

Parrots and hummingbirds and the like can also be seen during upcoming FONT tours in Central and South America. 

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The following account written by Armas Hill, leader of the tour.

During the first day of that tour (late in the day, near the airport, following the arrival of all of the participants), a bird not seen during any of our previous Puerto Rico tours was seen along the seacoast near San Juan, a Red Knot. That species does not commonly occur in Puerto Rico in March.

The next morning, along the coast at San Juan, near the fort in the old city, there was a group of White-tailed Tropicbirds flying about. It was to be first of two groups of White-tailed Tropicbirds for us that day. Later we had a seafood lunch at an outside restaurant atop a coastal cliff further west on the island. Over the sea by the restaurant, we tallied as many as 10 White-tailed Tropicbirds in flight.

There are 16 species of birds endemic to the Puerto Rico and the nearby Virgin Islands. Of those, today 15 occur only in Puerto Rico. We saw all of them during our tour, except the Puerto Rican Parrot (ultra-rare now in the wild, and very hard to see in the restricted area where it nests in March). But all of the other endemics were seen, nearly all of them seen very well.

Even the Elfin Wood Warbler, a denizen of dense vegetation, not even known to science until about 30 years ago, was seen well.

Among the rarest of the endemics, the Puerto Rican Nightjar was seen quickly in flight above us, but it was seen. Actually, that evening just after sunset, the experience was wonderful. We walked a trail in the dry forest, heading uphill away from the sea. As darkness was falling, diurnal bird sounds were diminishing. Bats were quickly flying by us from their diurnal roost. Then, the call was heard of the rare Puerto Rican Nightjar, a bird "re-discovered" in 1961. Prior to that year, it was only known from fossils in a cave and a single specimen taken back in 1888. As we walked along the trail, we heard maybe 10 of the nightjars, some of them close, some further away. Responding to a tape, one flew over. The species normally hunts in flight for insects low above the ground, in the dense thickets of its restricted range. Our walk that night, beneath a clear sky filled with bright stars, and with the calls around us of a bird that was thought for years to be extinct, was something to remember.

Another of the rarest of worlds, endemic only to southwestern Puerto Rico, was seen well. The Yellow-shouldered Blackbird we normally see, during our tours, in a setting that can be said to be about as comfortable as it gets, poolside, by our seaside hotel. The bird, in the morning (and other times) frequents the palm trees there.

During our March '03 tour, in addition to seeing it there (according to plan), we also encountered the Yellow-shouldered Blackbird somewhat unexpectedly along the coast at a dry and hot spot adjacent to some salt flats. As we were walking in the afternoon by the flats (looking for Snowy Plover), 2 of the rare Yellow-shouldered Blackbirds flew in front us. They were heading to a pile of let's say fruit (a feeder of sorts) by a shack. We had very close looks at the birds feeding on the ground.

A short while later that afternoon, a few miles down the coastal dirt road, by a lagoon, also on the ground was a group of birds, tamely tuckered down in the sand. There were about 30 plovers, 5 of them Semipalmated, but 25 of them Wilson's Plovers in an assortment of plumages. A nice sight.

Also in southwestern Puerto Rico, but in a completely different habitat, there were some fine waterbirds at a small fresh-water marsh. In the thick surface vegetation of the small pond, heads of male and female Masked Ducks (2 pairs) were seen. On that surface, Soras walked and fed. Around the pond's edge, there were both both Moorhens and Purple Gallinules. Also at the little aquatic oasis, there were grebes, herons of various sorts, and some shorebirds, among them a Solitary Sandpiper or two (making it not so solitary).

On the relatively small island of Puerto Rico, in addition to the endemics and other native Caribbean birds, and some migrants from North America (such as a Hooded Warbler we saw in a woods in company with a resident Adelaide's Warbler), there were some birds that have lived there in the wild for years, having come originally from some far-flung places around the world. Puerto Rico is not over-run with such exotics, but it's possible to see some birds from distant places (saving, you might say, the expense of travelling afar). Accordingly, we saw the Troupial from Venezuela, the Monk Parakeet from Argentina, the Ringed Turtle-Dove from the Middle East, the Warbling Silverbill from southern Asia, the Bronze Mannikin (brought in the 1800's) from Africa, and the Orange-cheeked Waxbill from Africa as well. The House Sparrow, in recent years, has been spreading and increasing in Puerto Rico more than any of the other introduced species just mentioned.

Of course what we aim to see during the tour is not the avian exotics, but rather the natives, including the endemics and Caribbean specialties. And that we did. 
Mentioning just a few more, we saw such niceties as hummingbirds known as the Antillean Mango and Green-throated Carib, in addition to the Antillean Crested Hummingbird. 
And also what's now called the Antillean Euphonia (it used to be called the Blue-hooded Euphonia). Names and taxonomy do change. 
What we now call the Puerto Rican Spindalis was once referred to as the Stripe-headed Tanager. The native oriole on Puerto Rico, once aligned with a population in Central America and called the Black-cowled Oriole, has been shown to have more affinities with the Lesser Antillean orioles, and not to be the same as the bird on Hispaniola (also formerly conspecific with the Black-cowled Oriole). 
New books and lists, with new names, will continue to be made.

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Itineraries for upcoming FONT Puerto Rico tours

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One day earlier, from a boat floating quietly on a nearby lake, imagine being surrounded by pink flamingos walking at times, in unison, and even-pinker Roseate Spoonbills moving their bills back-and-forth in the water as they fed, in the distance, endemic White-necked Crows were going to their evening roost in the palms.

The day before that, two species of todies, both of them bright and perky, were seen from along the same road - one in dry lowland shrub, the other in highland forest. Somewhere in between, along that road, there were in one tree, parrots, parakeets, and trogons.

Not an Hispaniolan endemic bird, but particularly memorable to see during the March 2001 tour was a pair of Prothonotary Warblers in a city botanical garden, close at hand - the male displaying for the female, walking on a branch above a still stream, spreading his tail. On the water, below, there were a pair of Least Grebes, with chicks, ever so least - small bundles of striped fluff riding on the back of one of the adults.
On the other side of the stream, there stood a Limpkin. 

Memorable to hear, at another time during the tour, in the mountain forest, were the echoing flute-like calls of the Rufous-throated Solitaire.

Not far from the Baikal Teal, on Little Cayman Island (10 miles long and 1 mile wide), and certainly more expected there, were numerous Red-footed Boobies (of both color morphs) and Magnificent Frigatebirds at their breeding colonies. Some males with big red sacs. Elsewhere, White-tailed Tropicbirds were seen (in flight among the seacoast). 

Birding in the Caribbean is fun.

Itineraries for upcoming FONT Caribbean tours and Lists of Birds & Otehr Nature


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