Bermuda: bird enthusiasts from all over the world regularly flock to Bermuda to observe a colorful combination of native species and migrating visitors

Natural History, Oct, 2003

THE SUBTROPICAL ISLAND OF BERMUDA is a haven for birds and birders alike. Be prepared to spot a wide variety of birds--350 species have been recorded in this twenty-one-square mile paradise. The bright, lemon-yellow great kiskadee is both easy to spot and easy to hear. Listen for the loud, distinctive kis-ka-dee call that gave this raucous bird its name--it sounds uncannily like "Qu'est-ce que dit" in French. A member of the flycatcher family, the kiskadee was introduced into Bermuda in the 1950s and is now a year-round resident. Look for it in trees and shrubs or diving for fish.

Bermuda's most famous bird, the Bermuda petrel, or cahow, is a rare but rewarding sight. Considered extinct for 350 years, it was rediscovered in the 1950s. The petrel has a wingspan of thirty-six inches and nests in burrows on the East End islets from November through May. If you're lucky, you'll see this nocturnal bird soaring over the ocean at dusk.

Bermuda's native bluebirds can be seen in the many bluebird boxes lining the golf courses (every course on the island has a monitored bluebird trail). The island also has a population of white-tailed tropicbirds, known as the Bermuda longtails. With a three-foot wingspan and two long, streaming tail feathers, these birds are easy to recognize.

In the fall, Bermuda is a rest stop for birds migrating from Canada to South America. Thirty species of shorebirds regularly stop here. Look for them at Spittal Pond, Warwick Pond, and Seymour's Pond. Spittal, the best birding site in Bermuda, is also home to the greater flamingo. In autumn its mudflats host migrant shorebirds including plovers, yellowlegs, and sandpipers, and warblers are common in woodlands at both ends of the pond. You may also find cuckoos, kingbirds, flycatchers, swifts, swallows, orioles, and tanagers in the fall. Look for great blue herons among the reeds and shallow waters of Bermuda's marshes, or watch ruddy turnstones digging for food on the beaches.

With world-class resorts, sumptuous meals, turquoise waters, excellent snorkeling and scuba-diving, and a host of other attractions, it's not surprising that visitors return to Bermuda year after year!