10,000 Birds

OCTOBER 4, 2023

Originally, I was going to highlight one of the species endemic to the islands of the Lesser Antilles in the Caribbean; but once I typed in “Lesser Antillean”, six species popped up. Interestingly, this species has been split into two distinct subspecies, one for each of the islands on which it is found.

Puerto Rico 178

Puerto Rico Grenada Barbados Trinidad 178

10,000 Birds

SEPTEMBER 13, 2014

Back in 2009, Tai Haku sent us a fascinating post exploring a question that ecologists worldwide grapple with: can the translocation of rare species into niches left empty by extinction be successful or justified? We’re pleased to republish this post for Extinction Week. It is extinct. So wither the Guam Rail now?

Puerto Rico 189

Puerto Rico Guam Virgin Islands Feral 189

10,000 Birds

JANUARY 23, 2017

On our first full day in Puerto Rico (Sunday, 15 January), Mike and I decided to start in the east of the island and work our way west. I was convinced that we would get a Puerto Rican Tody as our first endemic species while Mike was sure it would be a Puerto Rican Woodpecker.

Puerto Rico 107

Puerto Rico Birds Woodpeckers 2017 107

10,000 Birds

MAY 3, 2011

But, as with so many other species, these birds have been left to do their own whistle blowing. West Indian Whistling Ducks are the largest of the eight different whistling duck species. They are found in the Bahamas, Cuba, the Cayman Islands, Puerto Rico, the Dominican Republic, the Turks and Caicos, Antigua, Barbuda and Jamaica.

Antigua and Barbuda 226

Antigua and Barbuda Puerto Rico Dominican Republic Jamaica 226

10,000 Birds

SEPTEMBER 27, 2017

Though we could breath a sigh of relief outside the famous “cone of uncertainty,” it has been heartbreaking to watch the devastation wrought in South Florida, the flooding up and down the eastern seaboard and Gulf Coast, and now Maria’s wrath in Puerto Rico and the Caribbean.

Puerto Rico 103

Puerto Rico Bald Eagle Florida Birds 103