Atlantic Wanderers land in Trinidad and Tobago
Faraaz Abdool
considers winged visitors from across the Atlantic; especially those that don’t
naturally reside here. What is it, he asks, about our islands that seems to
welcome migrants travelling on wind and a prayer. All photos courtesy Faraaz
Abdool
In birding jargon, the word “vagrant” applies to a bird which appears in a region vastly different from its home range. This does not necessarily apply to human-assisted travel, for example hitchhikers on ships or victims of the global exotic pet trade. Vagrancy in birding refers to a species which has accidentally arrived in a foreign land while on migration or an extensive foraging mission. Here in Trinidad and Tobago - an equatorial territory sitting on major migratory flyways in the western hemisphere - not many American (either North or South) species qualify as bona fide vagrants.
Below, a Grey Heron in a marshland in Trinidad.
The designation of vagrant depends wholly on region. Birding, like everything else, is a matter of perspective. In South Africa, birders spring into action when reports of Pectoral and White-rumped Sandpipers appear. Both species are relatively common occurrences here on their migration during the northern winter. However, the appearance of a Curlew Sandpiper here causes a similar stir. Curlew Sandpipers breed in the Siberian Arctic and fly south to a variety of wintering locations throughout southern Asia and Africa. The first Curlew Sandpiper in Trinidad was seen in Caroni in 2002. Since then, the species has only been recorded twice, both times on the west coast of Trinidad. Several other members of the highly migratory family of shorebirds from the Old World have appeared sporadically over the years. In 1996, a Wood Sandpiper was seen at Buccoo – the first record of this species for TT and South America. Prior to that, in 1983, a sighting of a Spotted Redshank was the first for TT and South America.
Other, larger species often find their way here as well. In 2016, the appearance of a mottled brown duck in the wetlands of Bon Accord caused much excitement among the birding community. It was a Eurasian Wigeon – the first record of that species in TT. Also in 2016 was the first sighting for the entire western hemisphere of an Audouin’s Gull. The family of gulls consists of many species that are frustratingly difficult to discern from one another, and others whose names seem to make little sense. One of these is the Black-headed Gull, a bird that sports a dark brown head for half the year and is almost pure white otherwise. The first Black-headed Gull for TT and the South American continent was seen at Pointe-a-Pierre in 1976. Two years later, another Black-headed Gull was seen on Turtle Beach, Tobago. Since then, the species has only been seen occasionally.
Some vagrants eventually establish their own colonies – Lesser Black-backed Gulls are originally from Eurasia but have established themselves in the New World, with several individuals visible in TT throughout the year. Little Egrets – the Old World equivalent of our Snowy Egret – have been breeding in Barbados for several years. Caroni Swamp was the location for the first record of this species, the year was 1957.
The practice of banding birds has helped scientists track their movements over the years. That first Little Egret found in 1957 was banded as a nestling in Doñana, Spain the year before. A Grey Heron banded as a nestling in France in May 1958 was shot in Fyzabad, Trinidad in August 1959. That bird was the first Grey Heron ever recorded in the western hemisphere. Since then, both species have been recorded in TT numerous times. Other members of the heron family have been significantly rarer, however. The extravagantly plumaged Purple Heron and the slightly smaller Western Reef Heron were both recorded three times each.
Birds of prey aren’t to be excluded from this list. In 2014 a Black Kite was seen associating with Black Vultures in south Trinidad. Black Kites are true Old World natives, occurring throughout Europe, Asia, Africa, and Australia. Wherever they are found, Black Kites tend to occur in massive numbers. Surely there must have been some social compulsion for the lone Black Kite on Trinidad to find some friends!
Our vagrants here tend to be wanderers from across the Atlantic Ocean. The vast majority of these are migratory birds that get swept away on the strong and steady easterly trade winds as they travel southward from their breeding grounds in Europe. As sedentary observers, we can see the effects of these winds fairly often in the form of great billowing clouds of Saharan dust. It must be said that vagrants can occur from our hemisphere as well. A single Slender-billed Kite was seen once – the first record for TT – in 2016. This bird is a South American native and possibly was on the search for new territory.
Earlier this year a concerned citizen found a young, incapacitated Yellow-nosed Albatross, the first albatross ever recorded in TT. Yellow-nosed Albatrosses are residents of the southern Atlantic but have been seen as far north as the eastern coast of Canada. Seabirds often wander across what we perceive to be a featureless ocean, it is fair to say if one’s eyes are on the horizon something interesting is bound to turn up at some point. My friend and ace birding guide Zolani Frank spotted two rarely seen seabirds a few months ago while leading birding trips off the coast of Charlotteville, one Cape Verde Shearwater followed by the closely related Cory’s Shearwater a couple weeks later. The former being the first record of that species for TT.
Indeed, birds have wings, and they are free to fly wherever they desire. Or in the case of many of these species, wherever the wind blows. Birds truly embody the singularity of our planet. The same body of water emptying itself on our eastern coasts also washes the beaches of eastern South America, North America as well as western Europe and Africa.
We must also ask ourselves what is it about these tiny islands we call home that might be so attractive to creatures which have never set foot here before.
Trinidad and Tobago, we are continental islands in the Caribbean.
Ref: Kenefick, M. and Hayes, F.E. (2006). Trans-Atlantic vagrancy of Palearctic birds in Trinidad and Tobago. J. Carib. Orn.. 19(2): 61–72.
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