Montserrat

Greater Yellowlegs Tringa melanoleuca ©Steve Blain Website
Birding Montserrat

Montserrat is British overseas territory located in the Leeward Islands, part of the chain of islands called the Lesser Antilles in the Caribbean Sea. The island of Montserrat is located approximately 480 km (300 miles) east-southeast of Puerto Rico and 48 km (30 miles) southwest of Antigua. It comprises only 104 km² (40 square miles) and is increasing gradually owing to volcanic deposits on the southeast coast of the island; it is 16 km (10 miles) long and 11 km (7 miles) wide, with dramatic rock faced cliffs rising 15 to 30 m (50-100 feet) above the sea and smooth bottomed sandy beaches scattered among coves on the west side of the island. Montserrat has been a quiet haven of extraordinary scenic beauty. Montserrat was given its name by Christopher Columbus on his second voyage to the New World in 1493, after its namesake located in Catalonia. Montserrat is often referred to as the Emerald Isle of the Caribbean, due both to its resemblance to coastal Ireland and to the Irish descent of most of its early European settlers.Its Georgian era capital city of Plymouth was destroyed and two-thirds of the island’s population forced to flee abroad by an eruption of the previously dormant Soufriere Hills volcano that began on July 18, 1995. The eruption continues today on a much reduced scale, the damage being confined to the areas around Plymouth including its docking facilities and the former W.H. Bramble Airport. An exclusion zone extending from the south coast of the island north to parts of the Belham Valley has been closed because of an increase in the size of the existing volcanic dome. This zone includes St. George’s Hill which provided visitors with a spectacular view of the volcano and the destruction it has wrought upon the capital. A new airport at Gerald’s in the northern part of the island opened in 2005. The village of Brades currently serves as the de facto centre of government.Montserrat has two islets: Little Redonda and Virgin.

Montserrat has listed 122 species of birds, according to Bird Checklists of the World. However, 63 are rare or accidental meaning just 59 are resident or regular visitors. There is one endemic species, the endangered Montserrat oriole, as well as an endemic subspecies of the forest thrush.

Contributors
Number of Species
  • Number of bird species: 122

    (As at October 2018)

    National Bird: Montserrat Oriole Icterus Oberi

Endemics
  • Number of endemics: 1

    Montserrat Oriole Icterus oberi
Checklist
  • iGoTerra Checklist

    iGoTerra Checklist
    Fatbirder Associate iGoTerra offers the most comprehensive and up to date birds lists on the web
Useful Reading

  • Birding In Paradise - The Caribbean Emerald Isle of Montserrat

    | (A Guide to Bird-Watching, Nature and Heritage Sites) | By ike Pienkowski, Ann Pienkowski, Catherine Wensink, Sarita Francis & James "Scriber" Daley | UK Overseas Territories Conservation Forum | 2015 | Paperback | 92 pages, colour photos, b/w illustrations, colour maps | ISBN: 9781911097006 Buy this book from NHBS.com
  • The Birds of the West Indies

    | By Guy M Kirwan, Anthony Levesque, Mark W Oberle & Christopher J Sharpe | Lynx Edicions | 2019 | 400 pages, 1600+ colour illustrations, 650+ colour distribution maps | ISBN: 9788416728176 Buy this book from NHBS.com
Trip Reports
  • 2016 [04 April] - Jesse Fagan - Lesser Antilles

    Report
    10 islands, 14 days, 14 flights, 8 hotels, 1 visit to the emergency room, drive on the right, drive on the left,...you get the picture. It requires a lot of action and movement to see these birds! And see them we did. It was another successful island-hopping adventure this year, and the logistics worked out fine on this logistically complicated tour.
  • 2017 [06 June] - Mark Van Beirs - Lesser Antilles

    PDF Report
    Antigua, Barbuda, Montserrat, Dominica, Guadeloupe, Martinique, Santa Lucia, Saint Vincent, Barbados and Grenada were the ten islands we visited on our recent Lesser Antilles tour.
Other Links
  • Caribbean Birding Trail - Montserrat

    Webpage
    Montserrat has experienced many natural disasters over the years, but the most catastrophic event was the eruption of the Soufrière Volcano in 1997, resulting in the destruction of the capital city, Plymouth, which is now known as a modern-day Pompeii.
  • Montserrat Oriole Icterus oberi

    Information
    This species has always had an extremely small range, but recent volcanic eruptions have caused an extremely rapid population decline and extirpated it from all but two disjunct areas. Deposits of volcanic ash have seriously damaged the habitat of the remaining population, and further deposits or an increased frequency of hurricanes could have devastating effects. Although the trend may have since stabilised, the future of this species in the wild remains uncertain, and it consequently qualifies as Critically Endangered. Confirmation of population size and trend may lead to its downlisting in future

Fatbirder - linking birders worldwide... Wildlife Travellers see our sister site: WAND

Skip to content