Field Guides Birding Tours

LESSER ANTILLES

Comprehensive tour searching for all the accessible endemics (many highly endangered) of the southern Caribbean on 10 attractive islands
2009
April 4-18 with Jesse Fagan & second guide

$6675 (2008 fee). 15 days
From Grenada. Limit: 14
Good accommodations, warm climate, moderate terrain. May be combined with PUERTO RICO. Our staff travel agents can book your air travel for this tour. Contact us at (800) 728-4953 for more information.

See a slideshow of photos from this tour.

See our triplist for 2008 or 2007 or 2006

Brown Trembler
Brown Trembler
by guide Jay VanderGaast
This string of volcanic islands is host to a highly threatened, endemic avifauna that most birders never have an opportunity to experience in full.  Nine of these islands harbor at least one endemic species; we will spend a night or two on seven islands—Barbados, Guadeloupe, Martinique, Dominica, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent, and Grenada—as we search out their special birds.  We’ll also spend three nights on the island of Antigua, which we’ll use as a base to visit the remaining two islands with endemic species—Montserrat and Barbuda. It’s an ambitious schedule, but our past tours have met with great success in tracking down all the region’s endemics!  We’ll be staying in good hotels throughout the tour, and our island hopping will be on short flights in small planes.

In addition to the 15 single-island endemics, we have an excellent chance of seeing many of the thirty or so Caribbean specialties possible on this tour, over half of which are endemic to the Lesser Antilles.  This group includes the beautiful Purple-throated Carib, Blue-headed Hummingbird, the rare and local White-breasted Thrasher, and the uniquely charming Gray and Brown tremblers.  In fact, the only endemic we will definitely miss is Semper’s Warbler; there have been no confirmed sightings since 1967 and it is likely extinct.  Although this tour is geared primarily to finding the endemic birds, we’ll also be keeping a sharp eye out for any interesting seabirds or vagrants along the way.

The natural habitat on most of these islands has been highly fragmented or destroyed since settlement, and this accounts for the scarcity of many endemic birds.  However, conservation activity on several islands has increased recently, and several new forest reserves with good trails have been established.  Since good birding habitat is so localized—usually confined to the highlands—a single morning’s visit to one trail in appropriate habitat is usually sufficient for seeing all of an island’s specialties.  This should enable us to be quite flexible with our afternoon schedules, allowing time to laze on a sunny beach, swim in the clear blue Caribbean waters, or, if you prefer, strike off on a sightseeing trip.

The lush mountain forests, thick with tree ferns and alive with the sounds of tremblers, orioles, and the raucous squawks of the endemic Amazona parrots, are truly unforgettable.  Each island holds a special charm of its own, and you will soon find yourself falling into the relaxing rhythm of the islands.  Come and see for yourself—the Lesser Antilles are magical indeed!

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