Grenada 

by Gerry Shilham

27^th June 2002 to 11^th July 2002 

My visit to Grenada was a family holiday for myself, my wife, 18-year-old daughter and 16-year-old son rather than just a bird watching experience. We took an all-inclusive option at the Rex Grenadian as this offered good water sport facilities in addition to two excellent beaches. It also offered the benefit that my family could enjoy all the drink and food they could manage without me continually fretting about the costs. 

The Rex Grenadian proved an excellent base for bird watching as its large grounds included a good sized lake, wooded areas, open grass, flowering shrubs and scrub land. The sea view rooms gave good views from the balcony across the lake to the open sea. I can think of few better ways to start the day than soaking up the sun on the balcony whilst sipping my first cup of tea and scanning the sea, lake and shrubs for birds. Sea birds were interesting if not numerous whilst the lake attracted many different heron species plus the occasional wader.

My first species of the holiday was Cattle Egret feeding on the grass at the airport. This was soon followed by Carib Grackle and Eared Dove. My powers of observation however soon took a significant downturn as a large tumbler of rum was thrust into my hand on the way into the customs area (far more hospitable than the welcome we give visitors to our shores).  The hotel was situated just two minutes from the airport, not that noise was a problem as the few daily flights all arrived directly over the sea. We arrived early afternoon which allowed plenty of time for a stroll to the beach via the lake where I saw Great White Egret, Green Heron, immature Yellow-crowned Night Heron, Laughing Gulls, numerous Carib Grackles, Shiny Cowbirds and Tropical Mockingbirds (see Picture 1 left)  Black-faced Grasquit, Lesser Antillean Bullfinch, Bananaquits (yellow phase), Common Ground Dove, a Caribbean Martin and my first hummer of the holiday, a Green-throated Carib.

Next morning a scan of the sea from the balcony yielded a juvenile Magnificent Frigatebird drifting by, four Royal Terns perched on one of the dive boats and a probable Roseate Tern flying close to the shore. Adult and immature Little Blue Herons (see Pictures 2 & 3 below), a Great Blue Heron and a Great Egret were on the lake together with three Laughing Gulls. A walk around the lake later produced excellent close views of an adult Yellow-crowned Night Heron. I also saw another Green Heron, Zenaida Dove, Gray Kingbird and my first Grenada Flycatcher.   

The next day saw the arrival of four Wilson’s Plovers on the muddy island in the lake whilst a Brown Pelican flew by close to the beach. Other new birds seen around the hotel that day included Antillean Crested Hummingbird and Yellow-bellied Seedeater. 

On the 1^st July we took a Land Rover safari trip through the rain forest and on up the coast. It proved to be an interesting family trip with a good opportunity to explore the island, snorkel a new area and sample a local restaurant, but was totally useless from a bird watching point of view. 

Back at the hotel next morning I walked the area next to the wood around the back of the hotel where I found my first two Bare-eyed Robins plus the usual collection of doves, grackles, bullfinches and mockingbirds. Having now learnt the call of the Bare-eyed Robin, I later found several more. High in the treetops I heard a loud ka-ka-ka sound which prompted me to search a little harder. Eventually I found probably the most colourful bird of the holiday, a Mangrove Cuckoo, feeding in the treetops. A great bird to see but unfortunately not one I was able to photograph. Also seen that day was an immature Snowy Egret on the shores of the lake. 

Outside the entrance to our room across a small garden area was a vertical rock face topped with scrub and small trees. Being on the top floor these were just about at the same height as our balcony so gave reasonable good views of the birds which included Grenada Flycatchers (see Picture 4 below), Black-faced Grasquits, bullfinches, mockingbirds and Gray Kingbirds and probably many more which I did not see. Early on the 3^rd July I was stood watching these various birds coming and going when a bird perched in the top of a tree stood out unusually bright. I quickly grabbed my binoculars and found myself looking at a rare adult male Fork-tailed Flycatcher. As with the cuckoo I was unable to photograph the bird but contented myself with the fortune to have such a good view.   

Next day we treated ourselves to a trip to the Grenadines. The trip started with a short flight aboard a small 8 seat Islander to Union Island where we boarded the "Scalamander", an old rig which took us around a few of the islands, mainly under the power of sail with engines turned off. An excellent peaceful way to see beautiful scenery in incredibly blue seas with a sprinkling of sea birds all washed down with plenty of rum and good food. I had hoped for good views of tropicbirds but only saw one distant White-tailed Tropicbird near to the island of Mayreau. We stopped at the Tobago Keys at an idyllic uninhabited palm fringed white sand desert island covered with very approachable Bridled Terns, Brown Noddys and Magnificent Frigatebirds. Close to the shore was a reef in gin clear water teeming with fish and providing some excellent snorkeling. The only downside was that the power connector on my digital camera bent before I could take any pictures of the birds, frustrating or what! Other birds seen on this trip were Scaly-naped Pigeons (many flying between islands), Laughing Gulls and Brown Pelicans. A large Hawksbill Turtle was also seen on the surface of the sea when sailing from Tobago Keys across to Palm Island. 

The next few days were spent chilling out enjoying the local facilities and exploring the hotel grounds. In addition to birds already mentioned I saw House Wren, Caribbean Elaenia, Cocoa Thrush and the black phase Bananaquit (see Picture 5 below). Also a Brown Noddy drifted by one morning, circled the dive boats and continued on its way whilst two Brown Pelicans took to roosting on one of the dive boats along with up to 19 Royal Terns. 

During the second week of the holiday I hired a car for a couple of days, the first of which I went off by myself for a dedicated day’s birding. I started by trying to find a way into the Mount Hartman nature reserve reported to be one of the best locations for Grenada Dove and Hook-billed Kite. There is however, no sign posting to talk of in Grenada and whilst I found a forest clad hill dotted with houses in the appropriate area, I did not find a way in and could see no obvious areas to explore so decided to carry on down the coast to Woburn Bay where I found three Smooth-billed Ani’s (see Picture 6 below) in trees alongside the road.   

I then drove up to Grand Etang which is a water filled crater on top of a mountain in the middle of the rain forest. I first walked out to a viewpoint and saw lots of trees. I then walked the track that circled the lake and saw lots more trees. I heard the occasional squawk, cheep and chirp but saw very few birds. A probable Rufous-breasted Hermit shot by at high speed, a wren skulked in the undergrowth. A brown furry creature thought to be a Mongoose scuttled off ahead of me. The trail appeared to go deep into the forest and I lost all sight of the lake for 45 minutes or so and began to wonder if I would ever find my way out. Eventually, covered in mud, I saw the lake and then a good view of another Rufous-breasted Hermit. Little else of interest appeared before I reached the roadside café for much needed refreshments. After leaving Grand Etang I drove across to the East coast and then down to La Sagesse. With no road signs I thought I did well to only get lost once. Thankfully the locals are very friendly and helpful and soon pointed me back in the right direction. The road down to La Sagesse is little more than a dirt track running between fields of tomatoes, fruits and vegetables but is well worth close examination for birds. At La Sagesse there is an old Manor house and a restaurant, in front of which is a long beautiful sandy bay with a saltpan at the far end. There is also plenty of scrub, open grass, mangrove swamp and wooded area, all in all a good place for a day’s birding with a pleasant beach and restaurant to keep the rest of the family happy. 

Wandering through the scrub and mangrove areas I found Little Blue Heron, Yellow-crowned Night Heron, Cattle Egrets, Grey-rumped Swifts, Caribbean Martin, House Wren, Black-whiskered Vireo, Caribbean Flycatcher, Gray Kingbird (see Picture 7 below left), Lesser Antillean Bullfinch, lots of Ground, Eared and Zenaida Doves, Antillean Crested Hummingbird, Black-faced Grasquit (see Picture 8 below right) and a couple of Moorhens. 

Flying over the woods I saw two Broad-winged Hawks, whilst three Least Terns came inshore close to the beach. The saltpan was almost dry but contained 12 Ruddy Turnstones, 7 Greater Yellowlegs, a Lesser Yellowlegs, three Wilson’s Sandpipers and two probable Western Sandpipers. As I drove back up the track I spotted some more swifts and stopped to check them out. They included both Grey-rumped and Black Swifts. As I was about to drive off I spotted a small black bird perched nearby. It was one of my target species, which I thought had eluded me. My first Blue-black Grasquit, a real shiny iridescent blue-black coloured bird that sparkled in the bright sun. Nearby was the female resembling a small streaky Meadow Pipit but with a small finch like bill. 

Next day I returned to La Sagesse with my wife. As I drove down the track three Smooth Billed Anis were perched on the wires opposite the sports field. I saw mainly the same species as the previous day but on leaving spotted a large brown raptor flying along the wood to the East of the track. I stopped to check it out through my binoculars and immediately noticed its exceptionally broad wings with rounded black trailing edges. It also had a large banded tail, unmistakably a female Hook-billed Kite, a very rare endemic species. For once good fortune had smiled on me when looking for raptors and again I ended the day at La Sagesse with a target species, which I thought, had eluded me. Also perched on the wires were two male Yellow-bellied Seedeaters. 

Back at the hotel next day I again had good views of a male Fork-tailed Flycatcher, this time looking up at it through the trees and really able to appreciate the extent of its fork fail. Close by the hotel grounds I found another 10 Smooth Billed Anis and saw a Mongoose raiding a nest for eggs. Finally on my last day, a flock of 12 Brown Booby’s was seen feeding close inshore to the hotel, dive bombing over an inshore reef. After frantic feeding for ½ hour they settled down on the sea and soon I lost them in the waves. 

All in all a great holiday for all the family with plenty of birding interest. The Rex Grenadian proved to be an excellent base with plenty to keep everybody happy, including good beaches and snorkeling in clear waters with many fish to be found close in shore. It was comfortable with good food and helpful, courteous staff. The hotel also arranges nature walks twice a week, but somehow I always managed to miss these. I left my scope at home and managed with just binoculars but must admit the scope would have been useful when watching from the balcony and checking out waders at La Sagesse. In total I saw 54 species of which 39 were seen in and around the hotel grounds. For further details about Grenada or St Lucia please e-mail gerry@onefuture.co.uk.   

Carib Grackle (above)

Common Ground Doves (above)

Shiny Cowbird (above)

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