Orange-winged Amazon

The Orange-winged Amazon is a large green parrot with a blue mask and yellow crown and cheeks. I had to use iNaturalist to help identify this bird as although I love this image, it was the only image I was able to shoot before the bird flew off and we were unable to relocate. Although the image doesn't show it, this is a large bird for a parrot.

The tail has a broad yellow terminal band. The large orange-red patches on the trailing inner wings are obvious in flight and sometimes when perched. Found in a variety of wooded habitats from tall humid forests to savannas. Also ventures into urban areas. Cornell All About Birds

Yellow-crowned Amazon

The Yellow-crowned Amazon is a large green parrot with a short tail. The yellow patch on crown is usually obvious but can be small. In flight, look for red patches on secondaries and red on shoulders.

They have a wide distribution in the lowlands of northern South America. Occurs in forests, usually seen flying over in pairs or small flocks, or perched in the canopy. These parrots were everywhere in the Oasis Park, constantly flying about and very, very noisy. Cornell All About Birds

Blue and Yellow Macaw

The Blue-and-Yellow Macaw is an enormous parrot with a long, pointed tail, cerulean upperparts and golden-yellow underparts with a white face and black patch on the throat.

They are found in lowland rainforests and savannas from eastern Panama to Brazil, often in more open habitats than other macaws.

Usually found in pairs, which fly together and perch in the canopy. Can gather in small groups, especially at fruiting trees or clay licks. Nests in cavities. Listen for raucous calls, typical of large macaws. Cornell All About Birds

Scarlet Macaw

 

We were hesitant to book a private guide on our stop in Cartagena Colombia so we decided to go on a group tour to the Colombian National Aviary Located on the island of Barú. Other birders who felt the same as us concentrated more on all the local birds that were free to fly in and out of the aviary.

Then on returning to the cruise ship we stopped at the Port Oasis Ecopark. Access only for cruise passengers arriving or embarking at the Cartagena Cruise Terminal and public access is restricted. Hesitant at first, we were extremely surprised by the number of birds that call this park home. It’s kind of a great idea. There are caged birds rehabilitating, however there are hundreds of birds that freely call the place home. As we arrived in the morning on deck of our ship we observed all kinds of macaws and parrots flying by into the park.

The Port Oasis Ecopark, is a 10,000 square meter garden with more than 700 animals of 74 different species. These animals are sent here by the environmental authorities for their recovery, protection, and conservation. In some cases, they return to their natural habitat after a rehabilitation process. In other cases, they find in the Oasis a home according to their survival needs.

When the Port of Cartagena Group adapted the Cartagena de Indias Cruise Terminal, it not only built the necessary infrastructure for passenger embarking and disembarking, but also took advantage of a forest located in its facilities to establish an open sanctuary. This became a natural oasis in the midst of the modern port infrastructure.

The Scarlet Macaw is a spectacular, huge, and long-tailed parrot. We have observed Scarlet Macaws while birding in Costa Rica and South America however never had the chance to observe these beautiful birds so close before.

Found very locally in lowland rainforest and adjacent semiopen areas with big trees; usually in pairs. Unmistakable, bright scarlet red overall with big yellow wing patches and mostly blue wings and rump. Calls are deep, throaty roars that carry long distances. Cornell All About Birds

Plain Chachalacas

 

The Plain Chachalaca are sandy brown and gray birds that walk along tree branches to eat flowers, buds, fruits, and insects. They’re locally fairly common in brushy and thorny forests along streams.

Although most birds in the Galliformes—such as quail, grouse, turkeys, and pheasants—are ground dwellers, Plain Chachalacas are at home in trees. Their young can cling to branches with both wings and feet as soon as they are dry after hatching. Cornell All About Birds

Black-chested Jay

 

The Black-chested Jay is a striking jay with mostly black head and throat, deep indigo upperparts, and contrasting white belly. It has a long tail with white tip and pale eyes.

Usually found in small family groups which was the case for us as there was a large presence of these jays around. Occurs in forested habitats, including shrubby second growth and forest edge. Calls include a harsh doubled “chee-chee” and other mechanical and musical notes.

Blue-crowned Motmot

 

Cartagena has a large nature park right near the pier where the cruise ships dock. They have feeders out for the macaws, which we watched fly in as our ship approached dock, and parakeets, however all kinds of species of birds are attracted to this area and can be observed in this natural area. It’s rather a neat idea, giving foreigners a chance to see wild birds in a natural environment while providing a safe haven for the macaws during the daytime.

I and other birders were extremely happy to observe and photograph this Blue-crowned Motmot. We have observed a variety of motmots in our travels however the Blue-crowned was a lifer for us.

The Blue-crowned Motmot is a large motmot of humid forest and edge in tropical lowlands and foothills. They perch at all levels, usually in shady areas.

The name "motmot" comes from the double-hooting call, which can sound like an owl, and is mainly uttered around dawn.

Red-crowned Woodpecker

The Red-crowned Woodpecker is a medium-sized woodpecker found from Costa Rica to northern South America.

Pale buffy overall with a red nape and belly and black-and-white barring on the back. Female has a pale crown with restricted red on the back of the nape; male has red extending to top of crown. Common in open woodlands, second growth, and gardens. Cornell All About Birds

Blue-headed Parrot

Another bird we observed in Cartagena Columbia is the Blue-headed Parrot. The Blue-headed Parrot is a medium-sized parrot with a short square tail. The body is all green with a blue head and red undertail coverts. 

Great-tailed Grackle

 

Male Great-tailed Grackles are long-legged, slender blackbirds with a flat-headed profile and stout, straight bills. The male’s tapered tail is nearly as long as its body and folds into a distinctive V or keel shape.

Male Great-tailed Grackles are iridescent black with pale yellow eyes, black bills and legs. Whereas Boat-tailed Grackles have dark eyes.

Cattle Tyrant

 

While birding in Cartagena Columbia we were able to locate a good variety of birds, many of them lifers. Today’s bird is the Cattle Tyrant.

The Cattle Tyrant is a medium sized flycatcher with fairly widespread range in South America. Superficially resembles a Tropical Kingbird with olive-brown back, yellow belly, and grayish crown. However, Cattle Tyrant is unique for typically being found on or near the ground, where pairs or small flocks follow grazing animals. Found in open habitats including farmland and marshes.

Aruba Burrowing Owl

 

The Burrowing Owl is Aruba’s national symbol. It is an endemic subspecies found only on Aruba and considered critically endangered.

We observed these Burrowing Owls actively hunting Whiptails during the daytime. They prefer mudflats and sandy areas for nesting.

They are very small owls and reach only about 20 cm in height. They are monogamous, remaining with the same partner their entire life with two nesting seasons per year. Up to five eggs every nesting season. There was actually three owlets in this nest.

Like in the United States, the owl nesting sites are all barricaded off with tubing and endangered species signs.

Their top threats, which include lack of viable nesting areas due to construction and urbanization on the island, is being indirectly poisoned by the food they eat due to humans poisoning critters and insects with pesticides. Their top predators are dogs, cats and boas.

Although we have observed Burrowing Owls in Florida, Utah, Colorado and Arizona it was still very cool to watch these little guys hunt.

White-cheeked Pintail

 

The White-cheeked Pintail is a very distinctive duck found throughout the Caribbean and South America.

After first observing them for the first time in Cuba last year we found an abundant number of resident birds in Aruba this year.

While birding in Aruba we observed 62 species in our day trip with 14 new life species

Whimbrel

 

Whimbrel are very commonly seen whenever we travel south in the winter. Whether in Florida, the Caribbean or South America. This one was observed recently in Aruba.

Whimbrels probe with their long bills into mudflats or wet sand for invertebrates such as crabs, walking slowly through areas where water is very shallow.

I found the following article rather interesting and have reposted it here.

Only one subspecies occurs in North America (hudsonicus); another three occur in Eurasia. The four subspecies differ mostly in the pattern of tail, rump, and back. Subspecies hudsonicus is uniformly brown in this area, whereas the three other subspecies have varying amounts of white. The nominate subspecies, phaeopus, which nests from Iceland to central Siberia, has a white rump and back. The very rare subspecies alboaxillaris, which nests in the steppe of southern Russia, is similar but larger and has white underwings. In northeastern Russia, the subspecies variegatus has a brown back and barred white rump. Both phaeopus and variegatus are recorded rarely but almost annually in the United States. Cornell All About Birds

Southern Lapwing

 

Another bird that seemed fairly common on Aruba was the Southern Lapwing seen here in the rain. Southern Lapwing are a raucous, conspicuous shorebird. They have a distinct color pattern with black breast, white belly, gray head, and bronzy shoulder.

The wings are boldly patterned in flight and are often in pairs or small flocks in open habitats, usually near water but also in dry pastures.

Venezuelan Troupial

The Venezuelan Troupial is another beautiful bird we were able to observe while birding in Aruba. Fairly common in Aruba which makes sense since you can actually see Venezuela in the distance.

It is a resident of thornscrub, cactus forests and other arid landscapes.

Rather large-headed, often sporting a short shaggy crest, with a blue teardrop of bare skin around each eye, thus differing from most other orioles.

Also note the long white slash on each wing, clearly visible in the first image. Vocalizations are mostly loud and flutelike. Cornell All About Birds

Blue-tailed Emerald

 

Another gorgeous bird I was able to find and observe while birding the Spanish Lagoon area on Aruba was the Blue-tailed Emerald.

The Blue-tailed Emerald is a common small green hummingbird of humid lowlands. Males are a rich iridescent green, with a bluish sheen to the face and breast, and deep blue tail and is found in a variety of rainforest habitats, but most common around forest edges, including in agricultural areas.

Ruby-topaz Hummingbird

 

The Ruby-topaz Hummingbird is a smaller hummingbird with a rather large range across northeastern South America and eastern Panama.

The male is unmistakable with a golden throat, a ruby-red crown, and an orange tail with dark tips.

We observed the Ruby-topaz Hummingbird while birding in Aruba with Michiel Oversteegen.

Michiel is a very enthusiastic and great guide and we certainly enjoyed our day with him. 

His email is birdwatchingaruba@gmail.com and his cell number is 297-6992075

On our day birding with Michiel we observed 62 species, 12 being new lifers.

His webpage is here https://www.birdwatchingaruba.com/