Until next year my friends (03-07Apr2015)

With mixed emotions I said my goodbyes to my Bahamian avian friends which I had come to know much better this year.  Although I did not add any new birds in my final days in the Bahamas, I saw the same cast many times and learned some new things about their behavior and habits.

Red-legged Thrush - very unafraid but little reason to come out in the open.

Plenty of Fiddler Crabs on the dried up lake at Calypso for Clappers.

I will have no problem identifying Cape Mays anymore.

White-crowned Pigeons got more confiding as the week progressed.

Greater Antillean Bullfinch - loves the native Lantana berries as much as the Kirtland's.

Cape May Warbler

Thick-billed Vireo - ever present and very vocal.

Great Lizard Cuckoos are the Don Juans of the bird world.  They are always bringing offerings to their mates even if it is as insignificant as a leaf.

My dad has tied orchids and bromeliads all over the property and this Phalenopsis was blooming it's head off.

La Sagra's Flycatcher - I saw several of these over the course of a week.

Black-and-white Warbler - hard to get them to stay still.

Horrible photo but the first Sora I have seen in Eleuthera.

Now back to North Carolina birds and it is full blown migration to boot!  First stop was Holly Shelter yesterday evening after work.

It did not take long to find this Bachman's Sparrow.

There was plenty of recently burned Long Leaf Pine habitat.

It helped that it was signing like crazy.

Red-cockaded Woodpecker - I found a nice group of them mixed with other WP species.

I stayed until dark hoping for Nightjars but had no luck.