West Indian whistling duck
Bananaquit
Antillean crested hummingbird
Black-necked stilt
Green heron
Cattle Egret
Lesser Antillean bullfinch
Zenaida dove
Grey pelican
| Bird life at Yepton
Dr David W. Gibbons, November 2005
I have made several visits to Yepton over the last few years, and one of its greatest attractions for me has been the variety of its bird life. The reason for this variety is the range of habitats encompassed within this relatively small bay.
Surrounding the coastal road, which runs more or less parallel to, but set back from the coast is an extensive area of goat-grazed scrub, typical of much of Antigua .
This blends into the well-manicured lawns of the coastal hotels and houses, with scattered trees and bushes, many of them flowering and attractive to the ever-energetic hummingbirds and their close relatives, the caribs.
This leads onto the palm-fringed beach, from which can be seen an array of common Caribbean seabirds; in fact most of these can be seen without even venturing down to the beach.
Most importantly, however, and what sets Yepton aside from other sites, is the small brackish lagoon just inland from the beach.
Though the number of species to be seen here will undoubtedly vary from season to season, particularly as migrating birds pass through in spring and fall, there is always something interesting to see.
Most obvious, perhaps, are the herons, ducks, waders, gulls and terns, and I have even seen a pair of rare West Indian whistling ducks here in May (2004), though I was unable to discover whether or not they were breeding.
I am told that a flock of 60 of these birds was spotted in June of 2005 at the salt pond where Yepton Estate Cottages are located.
I have visited Yepton in May and June, so there is plenty of scope for the keen – or even not so keen - birder to add to the list of birds that I have recorded there, particularly during other seasons. My list is as follows:
Antillean crested hummingbird
Bananaquit
Black-faced grassquit
Black-necked stilt
Broad-winged hawk
Brown pelican
Carib grackle
Caribbean elaenia
Cattle egret
Common ground dove
Common moorhen
Gray kingbird
Great egret
|
Green heron
Green-throated carib
Laughing gull
Least tern
Lesser Antillean bullfinch
Little blue heron
Magnificent frigatebird
Mangrove cuckoo
Red-billed tropicbird
Rock dove
Royal tern
Ruddy turnstone
|
Scaly-naped pigeon
Semi-palmated plover
Semi-palmated sandpiper
Snowy egret
West Indian whistling duck
White-cheeked pintail
White-crowned pigeon
Wilson 's plover
Yellow warbler
Yellow-crowned night heron
Zenaida dove |
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