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Tropical Feathered FriendsBird Watching in the Turks and Caicos Islands
Visitors will not find the Turks and Caicos Islands listed in most bird watching guides, yet there is a cornucopia of birding delights to be found around every corner. Over 190 species can be found at varying intervals, and 52 of these species are known to breed locally. Birds are seen year-round in the Islands. Many travel during spring and fall via their migration route between North and South America, others spend winters locally or come to breed during summer. Several species are resident throughout the year. The natural, relatively unsullied nature of the Turks and Caicos, variety of vegetation and the historical events which shaped the natural vegetation, such as the 17th century salt industry, impact the dependent bird life. The salinas of Grand Turk, are a favored feeding and roosting area for a variety of waterfowl. White-cheeked Pintails, sometimes dozens at a time, and herons are commonly seen standing motionless like statues or stalking in the shallow pans. The Reddish Egret, with its red head and neck, dances wildly to and fro before catching its fishy feast. Any expanse of open water is worth a binocular scan. Evenings are prime time when a variety of waders and shorebirds take advantage of the twilight coolness. Ruddy turnstones can be spotted busily along the shore in their breeding plumage of black, white and tan, while Least Sandpipers, the smallest members of the sandpiper family, can usually be spotted scurrying along the water’s edge in search of insects. Large groups of waders, such as Short-billed Dowitchers, Stilt Sandpiper, Greater Yellowlegs and Lesser Yellowlegs can often be found feeding together in the winter months and beautiful stilts with their black and white plumage and very long red legs are known to breed here and can be found year-round. In recognition of the international importance of the Turks and Caicos for their wetlands and waterfowl, the southern coasts of North, Middle and East Caicos were designated as a Ramsar site in 1990. Ramsar is an organization named for the intergovernmental convention of over 100 countries which protects endangered wetlands. The Turks and Caicos Islands stand out as one of only two U.K. dependent territories to be cited as vital for their wetland habitats. Twelve different types of wetlands including lagoons, mangrove swamp, salt ponds and marshland and a recorded 61 waterfowl species are in the site which covers 135,000 acres dominated by algal flats and submerged sandbanks. The Ramsar site is important for two species in particular. It supports 1% of the West Indian Whistling Duck population, believed to number less that 1000 pairs in the entire Caribbean. The large goose-like bird is often found perched high in North Caicos trees practicing its shrill whistling call. The Greater Flamingo, which is featured in the Turks and Caicos national emblem, is a spectacular sight with a striking deep pink plumage and contrasting black wing tips. Hundreds of flamingos can be seen at a time in North Caicos’ Flamingo Pond. Being well suited to the saline environment the flamingos are also often spotted in Grand Turks’ Town Salina. Many impressive bird congregations can also be found in more remote areas of the Islands. In a mangrove cay on the south side of Middle Caicos, some 125 magnificent frigatebirds with their seven-foot wing spans, come to breed. They are known for their pirate-like robbery of such birds as the pelicans and gulls, stealing their catches by chasing and forcing them to drop their fish. Nesting ospreys can be found in Three Mary Cays sanctuary in North Caicos and Sooty Terns and Brown Noddies frequent several offshore cays including the barren, cactus covered Fish Cays near South Caicos and French Cay south of Providenciales, the main tourist island of the Turks and Caicos. West Caicos supports a varied bird population including herons, ducks, plovers, sandpipers, terns and Greater Flamingos. Though water birds predominate, there are plenty of land birds to interest the birdwatcher. No fewer than 31 warblers, members of the Parulidae family, have been recorded. Hearing is as important as seeing since many birds such as those in the Mimidae family are characterized by songs and calls, such as Northern Mockingbird, Bahamas Mockingbird and Gray Catbird, appropriately named due to their mewing-type sound. The Turks and Caicos government has designated a total of 33 protected areas as national parks and sanctuaries and places of historic interest. A total area of over 275 square miles is protected and includes parts of all the major islands and many offshore cays. Birds are also safeguarded by the Wild Birds Ordinance of 1990 which protects almost all bird species from hunting, collection or egg-taking. Whether strolling the beach, exploring secluded spots or just relaxing in the sun, the variety of birds to be seen and heard in these islands is considerable. Viewing and identifying fine feathered friends as they migrate, nest and dwell can be an extra added attraction to a vacation in the "Beautiful By Nature" Turks and Caicos Islands. The National Trust is designating specific bird watching areas throughout the Islands and resource materials and tours will be available through local tour operators shortly. By July the Trust will have ready a series of cards identifying birds seen along the Middle Caicos Crossing Place Trail. Card sets are also being produced for the birds and plants found on other cays and islands of the Turks and Caicos. For more information contact: The Turks and Caicos National Trust A useful resource for visitors is The Birds of the Turks and Caicos Islands, The Official Check List, written by Patricia Bradley for the National Trust of the Turks and Caicos. It can be obtained at the National Museum on Grand Turk and in several stores throughout the islands. Also available is A Birder’s Guide to the Bahamas Islands (including the Turks and Caicos) by Anthony W. White. Turks and Caicos Islands Tourist Board Edited by Dave Shultz |
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Together with bathing suits, vacationers to the Turks and Caicos
Islands should pack binoculars. Birds abound in this archipelago, located just southeast of Miami. They live and traverse the nation’s islands and
cays, and provide interested watchers an eyeful of nature at its colorful, feathered best.