Cayman Islands / Special Interests / Birdwatching

By Tim Ecott

Cayman has a reasonably high number of transient species (as many as two hundred in total) and has seven bird sanctuaries. On Grand Cayman there are several areas for birdwatching including the QE II Botanic Park, the Salina Reserve and the Mastic Trail which cuts through undisturbed ancient growth woodland. Birders on Grand Cayman can see rare West Indian Whistling Ducks quite easily as well as moorhens, blue-winged teal and black-necked stilts.

On Cayman Brac the 180 acre parrot reserve is home to a population of endangered Brac Parrots - Amazona leucocephala hesterna. A marked trail allows visitors to walk through the forest, which crosses rough terrain – stout shoes or walking boots are recommended.

The reserve is also the place to spot the black-whiskered vireo, the vitelline warbler and more than two dozen species of warblers. Non-breeding migrant species are common – especially visitors from North America between September and May. The Brac is also home to a large nesting colony of Brown Boobies which tend their large chicks along the edge of the high cliffs. Sea bird colonies are especially interesting here with magnificent frigatebirds and white-tailed tropic birds nesting on the cliffs that make the Brac bluffs the highest point in Cayman.

Little Cayman has the Booby Pond Reserve (more than 300 acres) close to Blossom Village and home to large numbers of frigate birds and both the brown and the red-footed boobies – the largest aggregation in the Western hemisphere. Further info: www.caymanbiodiversity.com