St. Lucia Birding Trip

by Mu-Chi Tsai

Prelude

            St. Lucia is not a country that most of us are familiar with and I bet 90% of the people in Taiwan cannot even pinpoint where the country is on the map. We came across this name a couple times in the newspaper but have never even thought of adding this country to our “most wanted birding countries” list because St. Lucia is just out of our reach in many senses. However, the opportunity is about to change.

            Everything started last October when Yeliu was packed with tons of photographers and birders for two unusual fall vagrants, the Rufous-bellied Niltava and the Riukiu Robin. We ran into our old friend Simon and he invited us to join an ecological diplomatic mission to St. Lucia to promote ecotourism, especially for birding. Although it only was going to be a 5-day trip with exhausting long flights, we were still excited about this opportunity to go birding because the Caribbean is a region with high avian diversity and we have not had a chance to visit it yet. Who knows when the next opportunity will come? We booked our tickets through a travel agent and planned everything within two days.

The Island

            St. Lucia is one of the islands in the Lesser Antilles in the Caribbean region between North and South America. There are three countries that have diplomatic relations with Taiwan in this area, including St. Lucia, St. Vincent & the Grenadines, and St. Kittz and Nevis. St. Lucia is the largest island among these three but it is only 616 km², roughly 1.5 times the size of Taipei City. The population is about 160,000. The annual average temperature is between 22 to 30 degrees Celsius. It has distinct wet and dry (winter) seasons in a tropical oceanic climate.

            St. Lucia was controlled by Britain and France in the 16th and 17th centuries. The territory had switched between these two colonial powers14 times before Britain finally obtained the supremacy in the early 19th century. St. Lucia claimed its independence in 1979 and is now a member of the Commonwealth of Nations. Their diplomatic relations with People’s Republic of China and Taiwan have also switched a couple times and the Taiwanese government recently reclaimed its relationship with St. Lucia in April 2007 after the Union Labor Party won the election at the end of 2006. The economy is supported mainly by tourism and the export of agricultural products. More than 50% of exports is bananas to Europe and the United States. There are only two compatriots living abroad in St. Lucia, Mr. and Mrs. Chuo from Pindong, who settled there after retiring from Taiwan Mission.

            Originally there were only 6 members in this diplomatic mission, including our captain Legislator Tien, Simon, Hank, Tiendi, and two journalists from Liberty Times and Formosa TV. Later on Mr. Hubert and Jo Ann from Canada, the two of us, and finally our son Ross from Texas also joined the group so the group expanded to 11 members.

The objectives of our mission were fourfold. First, assist St. Lucia government with publishing a bird field guide for St. Lucia and obtain bird pictures for the field guide (Hank and Tiendi, the two professional photographers stayed for a whole month to do so). Secondly, help establish and maintain a birding website to attract birders from around the world. Third, post advertisements in travel magazines and various avenues to promote the birding opportunities in St. Lucia. Last, but not the least, support people from St. Lucia to attend the Bird Fair in Britain, the largest in the world, to promote ecotourism. Moreover, we hope to strengthen the bond between Taiwan and St. Lucia through an ecological approach, which has not been done in the past. By adding the ecological and conservation components into their rich tourist resources, we could work together with them to promote their tourism industry in a sustainable fashion.

    More than 171 bird species have been recorded on this tiny island. The abundant avian richness includes 6 endemic species (4 endemics according to a different classification system) and 17 of the 51 Caribbean endemics not confined to a single island (which include 8 of 18 Lesser Antillean endemic species not confined to a single island). We had a pretty good chance to add more than 30 lifers on our list even with limited visiting time.

Our Odyssey

We started our journey on 11/24 at midnight. Thirty hours later with layovers in Los Angeles and Miami, we finally arrived on St. Lucia. The ambassador and staff from the Taiwan Embassy cordially welcomed us at the airport and took us to have a big meal; however, most of us were too exhausted to enjoy anything.

            The next morning around 6 am, the birds had already started singing. After a good night sleep, we were excited again and could not wait to go outside our room and start birding. We stayed in a beautiful hotel, Village Inn, close to the beach on the northwestern corner of the island. There are not many trees and flowers in the garden, just like a typical inn for vacation, however, species such as Carib Grackle and Lesser Antillean Bullfinch were jumping around the dining table. Bananaquits were also foraging among the flowers. The bananaquit is a common resident across its distribution including Caribbean and Central and South America. Interestingly, the plumages among different populations vary a lot. For example, a subspecies in St. Vincent, just 50 km south of St. Lucia, has all black plumage. Zenaida doves and Eurasian Collared doves fed between the roof and trees; the latter species is an introduced species which has expanded their range recently. In the flowering hedge across the street, we saw our first hummer on this trip, an Antillean Crested Hummingbird. When it was hovering among the flowers, we were all fascinated by its shinning crest that would only show at specific angles. Of course our professional photographer Hank had already taken several excellent shots of it while the others were shocked by this stunning view. By the grass patch just outside the Inn, a flock of Black-faced Grassquits was hanging out. We figured out that the best way to separate this bird from Bullfinch is by its pink legs. While we were checking these sparrow-like birds in the field guide of the West Indies, rain drops started falling like crazy but the rain stopped again once we rushed back to the Inn. The weather here indeed is capricious!! A harsh call above us attracted our attention; a Grey Kingbird was mobbing the Tropical Mockingbird next to it. Not far away in the sky, Magnificent Frigatebird, Royal Tern, Cattle Egret, Brown Booby, Roseate Spoonbill, and American Kestrel had also been seen. By 7:30, we already had 15 species with 6 lifers. That’s not a bad start before breakfast.

Meet Adams

            The name of our bird guide for this week is Adams. He is one of only six birders in St. Lucia and had earned his degree in Environmental Science in New York. He is very knowledgeable about the birds and nature in this country. As an officer in the Forestry Department, he is also aware of the conservation issues and government policies. He led us to our first stop, Union Nature Trail. There are a couple big cages by the entrance with Blue-and-yellow Macaw from South America, two native iguanas, and St. Lucia’s national bird, the St. Lucia Parrot. Two St. Lucia parrots in this cage are used to study their behavior. The birds in the cage never attract birders for a long time and we soon are ready to head into the forest.

Adams first found a couple Purple-throated Carib chasing each other around a blooming myrtle. When this tree was in full bloom a couple weeks ago, the flowers could support up to six different species of birds to feed. However, as the flowering season draws to a close, the territory around the flowers is occupied by only a handful of dominant male Purple-throated Carib, which is exactly what we saw. The vast amount of stamen falling from the withered flowers spread on the floor like a pink carpet. It was quite a view. We got plenty of shots of both the hummers and the pink carpet. A small flock of birds came closer in the thick bush nearby. Adams pointed out Scaly-breasted Thrasher and Grey Trembler while Ross found a bare-eyed Robin. But the Robin was gone before anybody could locate it and this was the only sighting during the trip. The trail in Union was under a mature forest and it was cozy to walk underneath these big trees. In addition to the common species, we also spotted a couple colorful St. Lucia warblers singing a beautiful melody. St. Lucia warbler had been considered a subspecies of Adelaide’s warbler, which is distributed in three islands, Puerto Rico, Barbuda, and St. Lucia, but recently scientists have split the subspecies on the three islands into different species. Similar to the St. Lucia Warbler, the St. Lucia Pewee we saw had been split from the Lesser Antillean Pewee and treated as an endemic species because of the distinct call. Adams located a Mangrove Cuckoo in the distance, and everybody in the group had a clear look at it because the Cuckoo does not jump up and down like other small birds. On our way back, we had a short stop in an open area beneath a big tree. That gave us a chance to know more about Adams and he also gave us a briefing about the avian fauna and major habitats in St. Lucia.

    We had lunch in a restaurant with authentic Caribbean decoration and arrangement by the bay area. Our captain lay on the hammock and enjoyed her time before the food. We also took a picture for her so she can show off to her family when she goes back. After lunch, we switched vehicles from a small bus to three smaller SUVs, heading to Grand Anse on the northeastern shoreline. Grand Anse has the longest beach on this island and it is also a reserve for sea turtles. Our destination this afternoon was a small pond close to the beach. Masked Duck can be found regularly in this pond. Although it is not an endemic species, it is still a species of concern in this region. Road conditions are not good in this area and we even needed to cross a couple small rivers. It finally made sense why we needed to change vehicles. On our way to Grand Anse, we stopped near a small town, Desberra, and added another two species, Blackpoll Warbler and Lesser Antillean Saltator. Blackpoll warbler is a Neotropical migrant wintering in this area. Its winter plumage is quite different from the breeding plumage which people from Canada, such as Jo Ann and Mr. Hubert used to watch. We also have a great look at a house wren, which may possibly be an endemic species in the near future with more studies, according to some ornithologists. We parked in an open grass area. Adams told us that this grass patch had been an airport but was abandoned decades ago. We walked to the pond not far away on the beach and as we got closer to the pond, we approached quietly because the Masked Duck is very sensitive to disturbance. However, we only found a Moorhen and a Spotted Sandpiper after an intensive search by the whole group. We spent some more time driving to the beach and watched some giant red crabs underneath the Sea grape stand before we headed back.

Home of Parrot

            The next morning, we left the hotel by 5 o’clock and drove over an hour to Quilesse Forest Reserve, which is located in the mountain area on the southeast side of the island. On our way to the reserve, Adams spent a whole hour explaining different conservation issues related to land use, agriculture, and forest as well as their conservation programs through education. We could then view things from different perspectives, not just from the birds. We walked along a dirt road in a banana field outside the reserve. By walking in the open area, we would have more chances to spot the parrots. Just as expected, we heard the clamorous call of St. Lucia Parrot across the valley once we stepped out of the car. But we couldn’t locate any of them because of the distance. Adams soon found another endemic species for us, St. Lucia Black Finch, which can be distinguished from Bullfinch by the direction it wiggles its tail. A small raptor flew in and perched on a dead tree. We all thought that it is just another American Kestrel at first. But after couple more looks, somebody yelled, it was a Merlin. Adams was excited about this rare sighting since this is the first time he has seen this species in St. Lucia.

            The weather today is as capricious as it could be. Although old and shabby, a couple wooden huts for banana packing provided us with a good place to hide from the rain. After several showers within two hours, most of us stayed dry but not Simon. We found he was soaked because he went too far trying to find a parrot. We saw several Lesser Antillean Swifts flying high over us during one short rain break but we couldn’t get a clear look. Fortunately, there is only one swift species in this island so we didn’t have any problems identifying these speedy little birds. St. Lucia Oriole showed up as well after the rain. The orioles here and ones we have back home share the same name “oriole” and have beautiful plumage, but they have different origins, and thus different family.

            We left the banana field behind and entered a reserve with tall trees and dense undergrowth. Forest gaps and fallen trees were covered by lush bromeliads and ferns. We felt very relaxed walking on the trail in this forest. Adams found us a St. Lucia Parrot on the top of a dead tree, trying to dry itself in the sun after the heavy rain. The angle and light were not perfect but it was a clear and nice view. The reason St. Lucia parrot drew so much attention from us is not only because it is the national bird, but it is also an endangered species in the IUCN Red Data Book. In the early 80’s, the population was only about 150 individuals because of habitat degradation and illegal hunting. Many efforts from conservation organizations worldwide and local government have been put on enforcement and recovery projects since then. Now the population is up to about 1,000 and is a successful case for conservation of critically endangered species.

Because parrots do not have natural predators, people thought it should be easy to increase their population if good habitat could be created for them. However, there were still some issues for parrot conservation, the availability of nesting cavities being the main one. Gonmye tree (Dacryodes exelsa-Burseraceae) is one of the tree species that parrots, a tree cavity breeder, use extensively. The core of the wood is relatively soft; therefore, cavities can often be created when branches break off. On the other hand, the Gonmye tree is also used for building canoes by local people because the wood can resist salt water, hence the conflict between use and conservation of the trees. In order to stop cutting of the Gonmye tree for building canoes, the St. Lucia government has tried to provide subsidies for the fishermen to buy fiber glass boats, which is much more expensive. Moreover, potential competition among tree cavity breeders can also be a problem for the parrots. For example, the Pearly-eyed Thrasher uses similar sized cavities for breeding as parrots do. Previously, this was not a problem because parrots breed in the wet season while thrashers breed in the dry season. However, the timing for wet and dry seasons has shifted due to global climate change. Therefore, as the breeding season of these two species mixes, they start to compete with each other for nesting sites. In short, if the problems such as cavity availability and quality of habitats can be solved, the population of the St. Lucia parrot should rebound.

    There are some outdoor classrooms with decent facilities in the reserve. We had breakfast in one of them and took shelter from rain at the same time. We stayed there and enjoyed the sound of the rain. Several Lesser Antillean Bullfinches stopped by and picked up the bread crumbs on the table. It was so nice to have them around that I wished I could stop time. We recorded another Caribbean endemic, Rufous-throated Solitaire, when we went down the hill. That was the only sighting we had the whole trip. We had lunch in a beautiful garden restaurant around 2:00 at southern tip of the island. There we found the third species of hummingbird, Green-throated Carib, shuttling among flowering shrubs. After lunch, we spent more time there to get some excellent pictures. Everyone was fully satisfied. On the way back home, we stopped by a dry forest close to the coast to look for White-breasted Thrasher, an endangered species, whose distribution only includes two islands, Martinique and St. Lucia. There are about 1,000 individuals left and two-thirds of the population, about 600 individuals, can be found here in St. Lucia. Besides its localized distribution, their main threat now is habitat loss, as their favorite habitat, dry forest along the coast, has been facing significant development pressure. The sky was getting darker and darker. Even though we tried hard to get some pictures, none of us got a good shot.

    By now we had recorded 39 species of birds. The number does not look great, but it is not at all bad for 2 days worth of work. We’ve seen every endemic species except Semper’s warbler, which hasn’t been recorded for more than 40 years. Even several bird handbooks mention that it is possibly extinct. There were only five Caribbean endemic species left on our wish list, including Lesser Antillean Flycatcher, Brown Trembler, Forest Thrush Bridled Quail Dove, and Antillean Euphonia. I didn’t know if we would be able to get all of them. After all, we were not on St. Lucia only for birding.

Visiting the Officers

On Wednesday morning, we visited the minister of Agriculture, Forestry, and Fishery and also the minister of Tourism, who are heads of government departments related to ecotourism. In the press conference, Legislator Tien, Ambassador Chou, and Simon presented our goals and objectives of this mission in detail to the government representatives and elucidated what this mission could mean for both countries. We had a really good time.

    We went to Castries Waterworks Forest Reserve by Skytrain after lunch, enjoying the whole forest from a different perspective. Going up from the foot of the mountain, we explored birds and plants of different layers closely. As we went higher and higher, it seemed that I was an eagle soaring in the sky with incredible views above. Although we only picked up the Lesser Antillean Flycatcher as a new species on our list on the Skytrain trip, it was still an unforgettable and touching experience.

    Thursday was a big day for us because we had an appointment with the Prime Minister Stephenson King at his house. We prepared a gift, speech, and selected bird pictures from the past 2 days in advance. In order to bring some birding experience to the prime minister, Hank also set up his camera with telephoto lens on the tripod in the yard and aimed it toward the flowering shrubs where hummingbirds might be feeding on them. Luckily, when the Prime Minister was observing through the telephoto lens, a hummingbird appeared in the picture frame. He clicked the shutter using the continuous shots function and got a serious of pictures of the feeding hummingbird. We had a pleasant meeting because of this wonderful opening experience and we had a great time. We also exchanged our thoughts and perspectives of ecotourism and birding. After all, we got the “best” picture for the front page of the coming bird field guide, taken by the Prime Minister.

    We went on a sightseeing tour after the meeting with the Prime Minister, visiting churches and the downtown area. We also stopped by a vantage point where we had an incredible view of cruise ships on the Caribbean Sea. Then we went to the landmark of St. Lucia – Piton along the west coast. There were two seven-hundred meter high mountains rising straight up near the coast. Both of them are very majestic. We had lunch in an authentic restaurant where we could look toward one of those mountains. I felt relaxed as if I could just spend the rest of my life on that deck chair facing the Caribbean Sea. There was one more highlight for the day; we experienced the largest earthquake in St. Lucia in the past 70 years which measured 7.5 on the Richter Scale. Everyone is alright, and we’re “lucky” again!

    Friday is the last day of our St. Lucia trip. We went north to Pigeon Island National Park for bird watching with Adams. We followed the trail and hiked to the peak where there was a great view. We didn’t add any new species to our list but Hank got more excellent photos of various species.

Finale

    To sum up the ecological diplomatic mission of St. Lucia, we recorded 55 bird species in total which was much better then we had expected. Apparently we did a good job. The complete list is as follows: