On Global Big Day 2020, four birders provided a snapshot of Bonaire’s birds during fall migration.

Last Saturday, October Global Big Day, four of Bonaire’s most intrepid birders took to the roads, beaches, marshes, salt ponds, salinas, and fields, in order to catalog exactly what avian species are here right now.  Of course, Bonaire’s resident birds are always around, but currently, in the midst of the fall migration, we also have other species arriving either to stay the winter (the “snowbirds”) or to rest and relax a bit before heading further south to other over-wintering grounds.

About Global Big Day 2020.

Global Big Day is a semi-annual celebration of the birds around the world, held in May and October each year.  When birders around the world go out and count birds, and report them to eBird, then scientists have excellent data and can create a snapshot of what birds are where and when.  This helps them identify trends, or perhaps identify a species whose numbers are decreasing.  It’s an important birding event to practice citizen science and to get out and provide real-time data for scientists.

Highlights illustrate some impressive statistics.

Bonaire’s four active birders on Global Big Day 2020 logged 31 total checklists indicating a total of 91 species covering 2352 individual birds.  These birders observed approximately 38% of the island’s recorded bird species (currently standing at 238 species) in just one day.

The majority of birders were out on the road before sunrise and kept birding all day until well after sunset.  They crisscrossed much of the island with the exception of Washington-Slagbaai National Park.

Bird of the day, the Black-throated Blue Warbler!

By far, the most exciting find of the day was the female Black-throated Blue Warbler. The female displays strikingly different plumage from the male.  Females are plain brownish-olive with buffy underparts and a subtle face pattern. 

Here on Bonaire, it was observed in shrubby habitat, coincidentally in the same area as a Prothonotary Warbler (another very nice observation!) and several Blackpoll Warblers.  Bonaire is on the extreme southern border of the over-wintering grounds for the Black-throated Blue Warbler, so definitely it was an exciting find!

Other noteworthy observations on Global Big Day 2020.

Ospreys

In addition to the warblers, some other observations are noteworthy.  Although Bonaire has a small population of Ospreys which is resident on the island, during the winter months, that population grows.  It appears that many of the island’s arriving Ospreys got to the island just in time for Global Big Day.  Large numbers of Ospreys were reported, with one observation stating six in sight at one time, with four of those six actively hunting!

Belted Kingfishers

The Belted Kingfisher is another bird that migrates to over-winter on Bonaire.  In the days preceding Global Big Day, only two kingfishers were reported.  However, by the Big Day, the kingfishers had arrived and were very much present and accounted for!  Two birders reported finding four Belted Kingfishers in a very small area, which is certainly outside of the norm for their territories.

October Global Big Day 2020 was Bonaire’s best ever!

Finding 91 species was by far Bonaire’s top record for Global Big Days.  But now the gauntlet has been thrown….can Bonaire’s birders beat that record in May 2021 for the next Global Big Day event?  It will be a hard record to beat, but I’m sure Bonaire’s birders are up to it!

Get in touch with Susan

If you have any questions about your Bonaire birding tour, feel free to contact Susan for answers. She is always willing to go into more detail about routes or the best times for a tour based on your personal preferences. Tours can be tailored to your interests, whether that be birds, photography, or both!

It is also a good idea to do some homework on the birds of Bonaire before you come. Knowing a little about the birds you might encounter on your tour will make your experience even more enjoyable!

Be sure to check out these resources for birding on Bonaire. Also, reading the Bird Blog will introduce you to the birds that might be observed on Bonaire.