Lesser Antilles: 3. Dominica

Our flight to Dominica included just a 15-minute touchdown on Guadeloupe to pick up passengers. Oh how I would have loved a chance to go searching for the endemic woodpecker!

On arrival on Dominica, we headed for the Indian River where much of the recent ‘Pirates of the Caribbean’ movie was filmed. Here we met with David of Cobra Tours who took us on a splendid rowboat trip along the river. Plumbeous Warblers, Lesser Antillean Flycatchers, Black Swifts and Rufous-throated Solitaires (amongst many others) vied for our attention as we quietly made our way along the river. And what about this Frangipani Moth caterpillar!


For most of our stay, Bertrand Jno Baptiste, better known as ‘Birdy’, was our expert guide as we searched for the island’s special birds. A trip to the Emerald Pool area proved very productive – Blue-headed Hummingbird was probably the star but other hummers also featured along with Red-throated Solitaire, Lesser Antillean Flycatcher, Broad-winged Hawk and Lesser Antillean Swift. We also saw the endemic tree lizard Anolis oculatus.


The Botanical Gardens produced our first views of an Imperial or Sisserou Parrot, a striking green-and-purple-plumaged member of the genus Amazona. Unfortunately it was in a cage! We went looking for a wild one in the Morne Diablotin National Park but without success although we did manage to hear one. The other endemic parrot, Red-necked or Jacquot, was much more obliging.

There were lots of great birds to see including Lesser-Antillean Peewee, Blue-headed and Antillean Crested Hummingbirds, Lesser Antillean Saltator and Red-legged Thrush but Antillean Euphonia proved elusive. Zenaida Doves and Grey Kingbirds were common everywhere.

All in all this was a great visit to the Lesser Antilles. Thanks go to the Tourist Boards of the various islands for hosting us and to Joanna and Kylie of the Saltmarsh Partnership for including me on the trip. I hope to return next year with an Avian Adventures group.

Lesser Antilles: 2. Montserrat

On Montserrat we were the guests of Carol and Margaret at Olveston House, owned by Sir George and Lady Martin. It proved to be the perfect base from which to explore the island with our bird guide James 'Scriber' Daley. Much of the island has been off limits since Mount Soufrière erupted in 1997 causing all but 3000 or so of the 12000 population to flee the island but we were shown the devastation wrought on Plymouth, Montserrat's once vibrant capital, from a boat skippered by Troy of the Green Monkey Inn & Dive Shop.



Scriber took us to the best sites on the island to see the endemic and endangered Montserrat Oriole. The trails were sometimes challenging but we were rewarded with great views of Orioles, Forest Thrush, Bridled Quail-Dove, Brown Trembler, both Purple-throated and Green-throated Caribs, plus Scaly-breasted and Pearly-eyed Thrashers. From the cliff top at Lookout Point we could see distant Red-billed Tropicbirds, while Caribbean Martins flew above us.



A trip to the Botanical gardens was hosted by Lady Fergus, Director of the National Trust of Montserrat, who showed us a short film detailing some of the conservation work being undertaken in collaboration with the RSPB, Kew Gardens, London Zoo and the Durrell Foundation on Jersey. Work that seeks to protect the environment where endangered species such as the Montserrat Oriole and the Mountain Chicken Frog can be found.

Pie, one of the gardeners, took time out to show us the flowers and trees in the collection then climbed a palm tree to harvest coconuts for us, which he promptly and expertly prepared. I was surprised by the taste of the fresh flesh – so different to shop bought fruit.