Lesser Antilles Day 5

At 7:15 a.m. we were on the waterfront of St. Johns, boarding a fast speedboat trip to Barbuda, the smaller bit of Antigua and Barbuda. 

The crossing was fun but rough; with great relish, Ryan, our guide, noticed we had left the official ferry, the Barbuda Express, far behind. After landing, we drove to a Martello Tower on the south side of the island. The tower, dating to the Napoleonic war, is still the largest building on Barbuda, which says more about Barbuda than about Martello towers.

We wandered the dusty roads near tthe tower to find our second Antillean endemic, the Barbuda warbler, which makes its exclusive abode on this tiny, dry, dusty island. And although there were also plenty of 'golden warblers', the local subspecies of the Yellow Warbler, around...

...we had little difficulty locating our unique quarry.

...and here's another!

A Madagascar periwinkle, not native, of course, but transported around the world as a supposed diabetes cure.

Donkeys are feral on Barbuda, and at an estimated population of 6,000, outnumber people.

So, the warbler recorded for posterity, we piled back into the bus and headed for the old slavers' capital of Codrington, noticing the still obvious devastation left by cat 5 Hurrican Irman, nearly 7 years previously. Codrington itself isn't much of a place, apparently with only one show/snack bar. The town's toilets were locked. 

There, we all boarded onto one tiny skiff (the other promised to Ryan had taken off) and proceded across the lagoon to the frigatebird colony.

The colony was impressive, and stinky, bneing home to a few brown boobies and 5,000 frigatebirds. Here's a fine looking male.

And here's junior, posing photogenically in front of a couple of camera-shy mommies.

Lots and lots of frigatebirds.

I mean, one has to ask, does the world need all these aerial pirates, seabirds that can't land on the water because they can't get their feathers wet, and so spend their lives harassing other birds until they throw up, and the frigatebird eats the puke. This is what happens when you escape Noah's triage, and just float above the ark, unaffected by the global flood.

(No, I don't believe any of this)

The trip back to Codrington was miserable. Cramped, and the combination of a stiff breeze and waves threw up enough spray that sitting in the port stern of the boat, I got soaked. Still, the nice thing about the tropics is you dry out quickly. We ate a box lunch at the Martello Tower and then shiped back to Antigua, for a van transfer to the airport.

In addition, thanks to Peg Abbott

At/on the way to the frigatebird colony

• Spotted sandpiper
• Barn Swallow

On the way to Codrington

• Green-throated Carib
• Antillean Crested Hummingbird (Lesser Antilles)
• Ruddy Turnstone
• Brown Pelican
• Green Heron
• American Kestrel
• Caribbean Elaenia
• Gray Kingbird
• Caribbean Martin
• Carib Grackle
• Lesser Antillean Bullfinch
• Black-faced Grassquit

The rest of the day was hell. We got to the airport about 2 p.m.. Then we stood in a line to check in. Then we stood in a long-long line for the security check. Then we stood in a line to check our passports. Then we stood in a line for a bag check. Then we stood in a line waiting to board, and another couple of lines, and then finally we took off, over five hours later.

And this was just to get out of Antigua! 

Our sunset, 45 minute flight down to Barbados was quite beautiful, as were the admission procedures, which were fast and efficient. What a contrast. Our hotel, the Blue Horizon, was OK, and there was food. 

Lesser Antilles Day 9; St Lucia Day 1

So here's a map. How would you get from Grenada to St Lucia? Not this way? Well, thanks to the great minds at InterCaribbean Airways, this is how we did it.

Oddly, it wasn't that painful, probably because we didn't have to endure immigration, except at Castries in St Lucia. St Lucia, notoriously, will sell you citizenship and a diplomatic passprt for $75,000, so they're not that picky. We were there in time for lunch. And beer. Petra's café, on the beachfront, had both.

Then it was off, in a van, to the central dry region of northern St Lucia. First the drive..., and then the hike (it's the little red track).

The St Lucia warbler didn't make it easy, but eventually it came out, and I got some good shots.

You can see it's related to, but not identical with, the Barbuda warbler. They're probably either relic species, or regular warblers that just give up the migration thang. Also, here's an Antillean Crested Hummingbird.

After prying Ryan away from the area with some difficulty, we drove back to our 'mini-hotel', the Tropical Paradise, in Au Tabor, Anse La Raye, which was really quite lovely, not least for the view.

Lesser Antilles Day 4.

Off to Montserrat, the Emerald Isle,  on a small airplane. 

Yes they call it the Emerald Isle, probably because of a deep historical connection. Apparently in the 19th century there were so many Irish slavers here even the African slaves spoke Irish. 

At Antigua airport, spotted Zenaida Doves, A White Crowned Pigeon, Magnificent Frigatebirds overhead, a Cattle Egret, a Caribbean Elaenia (Caribbean), Gray Kingbirds, many Carib Grackles, and a couple of Yellow Warblers.

White-crowned pigeon

Carib grackles

Quick flight, looking at the streams of Sargasso weed underneath...going to be another seaweed year. Didn't see the Tropicbirds a couple of our fellow travelers reported. We met our new guide, who calls himself Nature, and who might have been a little inebriated. 

We headed up the mountain, to find the Montserrat Oriole, in two locations, but I couldn't get photos.

Other birds

• Scaly-naped Pigeon
• White-winged Dove
• Zenaida Dove
• Smooth-billed Ani
• Mangrove Cuckoo
• Purple-throated Carib
• Green-throated Carib
• Magnificent Frigatebird
• Western Cattle Egret
• Great Egret
• American Kestrel
• Caribbean Elaenia
• Gray Kingbird
• Caribbean Martin
• Scaly-breasted Thrasher
• Pearly-eyed Thrasher
• Yellow Warbler (Golden)
• Bananaquit
• Lesser Antillean Bullfinch

Then, after a lunch of local food, we headed for the volcano observatory.  The volcano was uncooperative, remianing shrouded by cloud. And then, we found TD's bakery and Catering Service. Which, it turns out, is a bar...

They stock bush rum, and apparently the local manufacturer of the dubious concoction had just died. So we drank to his passing.

Some of my fellow travelers reported being up all night after drinking this mysterious liquid, made (according to Nature, our guide) from rum and some native jungle leaves. But I noticed nothing untoward. 

Montserrat holds perhaps the world's most unusual St Patrick Day's celebration. It's a ten day affair, starting on March 17. In truth, it doesn't really celebrate St Patrick's day, but a slave revolt that started on St. Patrick's day. Fair enough. 

And then back to Antigua...

Lesser Antilles Day 3

 We looked at the Antigua and Barbuda national museum, a tiny place, featuring a larger than life fiberglass statue of Sir Vivian Edwards, the West Indies' greatest cricketer. Take that, Trinidad, with your obscure little VS Naipaul! And I here take the opportunity to present the Antilles' most ubiquitous birds, the grey kingbird,  a noisy little thing...

 and the Zenaida dove, not at all noisy.

After than we had a very nice lunch, down at the quays, at the C&C Wine store, featuring South African wines, which have improved, and a meat lasagna, not at all bad. Marjorie had a tasty curry. in general, if you're down here, eat curry; the curries here use a much more fragrant curry powder than the US or even the UK.

Then we goofed off, near the pool, where I spotted a Leach's anole.

Lesser Antilles Day 2

 After an acceptable breakfast at the hotel, and a little birding (bananaquits, zenaida doves, cattle and great egret, white winged dove, house sparrow, green throated carib, Lesser Antillean bullfinch, black-whiskered vireo)...)we walked to the West Bus Station to catch the #17 bus down to English Harbor. 

This is our-ill fated trail, which we couldn't complete because A Certain Person was nervous about the descent from the gun battery.

Still, nice views of Montserrat and Guadeloupe... 

plus Turks Cap cacti. 

...which have tiny flowers on their baldy parts...

and of Fort Berkeley.

After turning back, to celebrate defeat, we had a boozy lunch at Bumpkins', 

and observed the bananaquit in its natural environment of the restaurant, sucking mayonnaise from a serving bottle.

and then back to the hotel, where we brided a bit, hoping to catch a prairie warbler. No luck.

Lesser Antilles Day 1

Birds of Miami Springs. 

Well, a dozen house-sparrows, and a half-dozen mockingbirds, and collared doves, and mourning doves, and boat-tailed grackles. Am I boring you yet? Well, that's because we got to Miami Airport far too early, and had nothing to do.

The flight was uneventful, as was immigration to Antigua. We took a cab to the hotel, where we saw bananaquits, carbib grackles, lesser Antillian bullfinches, and Zenaidas

Double Jack Daniels and diet coke

 …which the guy at the bar beside me ordered, and then proceeded to spill all-over my carry-on bag. It’s waterproof, but there’s nothing quite like taking your business class seat stinking of whiskey. The poor guy was totally embarrassed, but I figured having spent an arm-and-a-leg for a drink at MIA prices, he’d  paid penalty enough.

Lesser Antilles Day 0

 There's a day 0 because Marjorie gets nervous about traveling down to Miami and flying out the same day. So we drove down to the Brightline terminal at West Palm Beach, stopping at the bank and American Icon brewery on the way, and figured out how to park our car and board the train...

...which was very nice, and fast, except we were seated across from a Okie bore who insisted on name-dropping all the rich people he knows, and since I'm with Marjorie, I couldn't be rude in the way I would otherwise. But at least they had beer. We got to the Comfort Suites in short order.

...where we crashed, without figuring out how to turn off the A/C, which meant it was like sleeping in a meat locker.