Antigua and Barbuda

Entering St John capital and major port of ANTIGUA,

with similar birds to St Kitts awaiting us, but we had bigger fish to fry.

The view from our berth to the open sea where the

Cruise Ship 'MSC LIRICA' soon appeared.

 A pictorial of juvenile ROYAL TERN

 and the almost obligational MAGNIFICENT FRIGATEBIRD.

A new bird for the trip, a CARIB GRACKLE one of hundreds!

 BEEs hard at work while this

COMMON GROUND DOVE watched from on high.

 Another OSPREY again first seen by our 'Chief Spotter' Shelagh. When the taxi stopped it was perched in a tree with a fish which it soon abandoned at our approach.

 Stopping at a small woodland, we walked to the lake where there were a number of small LIZARDs, but mostly of note were the number and variety of

 BUTTERFLIES

along with a RINGED KINGFISHER and a Spotted Sandpiper which escaped the lens.

GREAT EGRET in flight

A FLOWER?

There have been a good number of BANANAQUIT but this is the best we have done for  photograph thus far.

and then stopping at a small Chalet Park we were refused entry by the Office Lady who later let us in only to find our 'target bird' immediately.

 in fact quite a number of PURPLE-THROATED CARIB

 with only a brief break for this MOTH

 we were soon back amongst them!

 

GREEN HERON

The SNOWY EGRET is such a smart bird, worthy of a little more than a passing glance.

 There, what did I tell you?

 So lucky to find this ANTILLIAN BULLFINCH out in the open, all those we have seen thus far, and there have been a few, dive for cover the moment we spot them.

CHIT CHAT as we called them in the RN.

 GREG and FLISS ships that pass in the bar - a lovely half hour!

'MSC LIRICA' alongside.