Window To Our Wetlands: March 2010 - Excellent Bird Watching Opportunities in Anguilla

Adult Snowy Plover with two chicks. Photo by Jacqueline Cestero.

(The Valley, Anguilla) - March provided excellent birding opportunities in Anguilla, especially on Road Pond. With almost 1000 birds recorded on this pond, 12 Black-necked stilts were seen sitting on nests along the rock wall that lines the southern edge of the pond. In addition, among the hundreds of White-Cheeked Pintails on Road Pond, were 18 chicks. West End-By-The-Sea, a tiny natural pond in the West End, also was unexpectedly prolific with 140 birds being counted.

Wetland Bird Monitoring Dates: Monday 29 March – 31 March 2010



What to Watch For: Snowy Plover

The Snowy plover is a tiny, pale, and slender shorebird, with adults being only 5.9 to 6.7 inches in length and weighing in at between 1.2 to 2 ounces. The Snowy plover has a short neck and moderately long legs when compared to its body size. It has a pale tan back and white underparts. Dark patches which mark the sides of it neck reach around to the top of its chest. During its breeding season, adults will have a black ear patch. Its bill and legs are blackish or dark.

Snowy Plovers are known to nest in Anguilla. Nests tend to be natural or scraped depressions on dry ground. They are usually lined with pebbles, shell fragments, fish or invertebrate bones, mud chips, and vegetation fragments. Adults will lay 2 to 6 eggs and may raise two or three broods each year, depending on the length of the breeding season. Eggs are a buff colour, covered with small spots. Hatchlings are downy and active and can leave the nest within three hours of hatching.

Snowy Plovers feed on invertebrates and forage on the ground.

In Anguilla, 18 Snowy plovers, including 5 chicks and 2 nesting adults, were recorded on Long Salt Pond.

For more information about the Anguilla National Trust’s monthly wetland bird monitoring programme or to learn how to become involved, please contact the Trust at 497 5297. To become a fan and to receive regular updates on Trust activities, search for the Anguilla National Trust on www.facebook.com.