Saint Lucia
Saint Lucia is an island nation in the eastern Caribbean Sea on the boundary with the Atlantic Ocean with a total area of 617 square kilometres (238 square miles). It is part of the Windward Islands division of the Lesser Antilles. There are a number of small islands off the coast, the largest of which are the Maria Islands, located in the south-east of the island. It is located north of the islands of Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, northwest of Barbados and south of Martinique. It is a beautiful Caribbean island blessed with a bounty of indigenous fauna and flora. The lush, vibrant landscapes, mountainous interiors, dense rainforests and palm-fringed beaches of Saint Lucia are the perfect backdrop for a beautiful holiday and the ideal setting for bird watching. The population of around 180,000 people tends to be concentrated around the coast, with the interior more sparsely populated, due to the presence of dense forests. The capital and largest town is the port of Castries with a population of around 35,000 people. Many species are endemic to the island, including the Anolis luciae, a species of lizard, and the Boa orophias, a species of snake.
The volcanic island is more mountainous than many other Caribbean islands, with the highest point being Mount Gimmie, at 950 metres (3,120 ft) above sea level. Two other mountains, the Pitons, form the island’s most famous landmark. They are located between Soufrière and Choiseul on the western side of the island. Saint Lucia is also one of the few islands in the world that boasts a drive-in volcano. Saint Lucia has five terrestrial ecoregions: Windward Islands moist forests, Leeward Islands dry forests, Windward Islands dry forests, Windward Islands xeric scrub, and Lesser Antilles mangroves.
Becune Point, St Lucia – ©P. Hughes, CC BY-SA 4.0 via Wikimedia Commons
Saint Lucia has a tropical climate, specifically a tropical rainforest climate, moderated by northeast trade winds, with a dry season from December to May, and a wet/rainy season from June to November. Average daytime and night-time temperatures are around 30 °C and 24 °C respectively. Being fairly close to the equator, the island’s temperature does not fluctuate much between winter and summer.
Birding Saint Lucia
From a birding point of view Saint Lucia is very accessible being just 27 miles long and 14 miles wide and is probably one of the most important of the Lesser Antilles as it holds 6 single island endemics. One of these is the islands national bird, the St. Lucia Parrot Amazona Veriscolor, a species that recovered from dangerously low population numbers in the early 1980s. The other endemics are the St. Lucia Pewee, St. Lucia Warbler, St. Lucia Oriole, St. Lucia Black Finch and Semper’s Warbler. This number gives Saint Lucia the distinction of having the highest number of endemic birds in the Eastern Caribbean region.
St Lucia Parrot – The St Lucia Parrot is about 42-46 cm (16.5-18 inches) in length. It inhabits the rainforest in the mountains of St. Lucia. It feeds in the forest canopy on a wide variety of fruits, seeds and blowers. The parrot nests in the cavities of tall trees.
St Lucia Black Finch – The Black Finch is about 13-14 cm in length. It is found in both moist and dry forest areas. It forages in the leaf litter in dense understory. The finch usually nests in a spherical nest of twigs built in a low shrub or palm about 2 m above ground.
St Lucia Pewee – The adult pewee grows to about 15 cm in length. It is quite common and resides mostly in moist forest, but also found in dry forest areas. It perches low and sallies for insects. The pewee nests in a cup-shaped nest made of leaves and moss placed on a branch.
St Lucia Oriole – The adult oriole grows to about 22 cm in length. It is found in woodlands including dry and moist forest. It is uncommon and perhaps becoming scarcer. It feeds on insects, fruits, flowers and nectar. The oriole builds a nest sewn under a leaf or palm well above the ground.
St Lucia Warbler – The Warbler is about 12.5 cm in length. It is found in all forest types and at all altitudes. It forages for insects and spiders from leaves and twigs. It lays in a nicely woven, cup-shaped nest built in a tree about 1-5 m above the ground.
Semper’s Warbler – The Semper’s Warbler is extremely rare or possibly extinct. The bird is about 14.5 cm in length. The plumage of the adults is dark grey at the upper parts and greyish white at the underparts. The last reliable sighting was in 1961. Though unconfirmed sightings were in 1965, 1972, 1989, 1995 and 2003.
The St. Lucian race of the House Wren is considered by some as an endemic species (although this is not as yet widely accepted). Another Lesser Antillean endemic bird in St. Lucia is the endangered White-Breasted Thrasher.
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Number of bird species: 196
(As of May 2024)National Bird: St. Lucian Amazon Amazona versicolor
Of 196 species recorded six (if one is extant) are endemic and there are 11 endemic sub-species and 7 Lesser antillean regional endemics.
Number of endemics: 5
St. Lucia Parrot Amazona versicolor, St. Lucia Oriole Icterus laudabilis, St. Lucia Warbler Dendroica delicata, St Lucia Black Finch Melanospiza richardsoni, St. Lucia Pewee Contopus oberi, Semper's Warbler Leucopeza semperi
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Avibase
PDF ChecklistThis checklist includes all bird species found in Saint Lucia , based on the best information available at this time. It is based on a wide variety of sources that I collated over many years. I am pleased to offer these checklists as a service to birdwatchers. If you find any error, please do not hesitate to report them. -
Wikipedia
Annotated ListThis is a list of the bird species recorded in Saint Lucia. The avifauna of Saint Lucia included a total of 195 species according to Bird Checklists of the World as of July 2022.[1] Of them, five are endemic, three have been introduced by humans, and 120 are rare or accidental. There are also two subspecies endemic to the island. Six species are globally threatened. -
eBird
PDF ChecklistThis checklist is generated with data from eBird (ebird.org), a global database of bird sightings from birders like you. If you enjoy this checklist, please consider contributing your sightings to eBird. It is 100% free to take part, and your observations will help support birders, researchers, and conservationists worldwide.
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The Birds of St Lucia
| (An Annotated Checklist) | by Allan R Keith | BOU | 1997 | Hardback | 176 pages, 40 colour plates photographs, maps, table | Out of Print | ISBN: 9780907446194 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 | Flexibound | 400 pages, 1600+ colour illustrations, 650+ colour distribution maps | ISBN: 9788416728176 Buy this book from NHBS.com
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St Lucia National Trust
WebsiteThe Saint Lucia National Trust (SLNT) is a membership organization established in 1975 under the Saint Lucia National Trust Act, Chapter 6.02 of the Revised Laws of Saint Lucia to conserve the natural and cultural heritage of Saint Lucia, and to promote values which lead to national pride and love of country.
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IBA Anse la Liberte
InformationSatellite ViewThe site features a diverse landscape featuring ridges and valleys, with both dry scrub forest and rainforest plants as well as many varieties of edible fruit trees remaining from the former agricultural estate. Some 17 species of birds have been sighted at Anse La Liberté, and the charm of bird life at the site is best experienced generally during early morning and late afternoon. -
NR Maria Islands
InformationSatellite ViewThe islands are set about one half mile from Pointe Sable on the South East coast of Saint Lucia. Maria Major is 10.1 hectares and its little sister Maria Minor is 1.6 hectares. The island is also a major nesting site for migratory birds which travel thousands of miles from the west coast of Africa to nest annually. It is usually closed for the nesting season which runs from May to August. This time frame is adjusted annually by the Saint Lucia Forestry Department of the Ministry of Agriculture depending on the birds’ migratory patterns. -
NR Morne Pavillon
InformationSatellite ViewFollowing the loss of the adjacent green belt to development of Mount du Cap in early 2002, a group of interested Saint Lucians and Cap residents collaborated to initiate an effort to preserve the Morne Pavillon site. This effort resulted in the decision by Christopher Lutz to donate the property to the Saint Lucia National Trust for a Nature Reserve and Heritage site. This effort was successfully concluded in December 2010. -
Pigeon Island National Landmark
InformationSatellite ViewPigeon Island National Landmark is heralded as one of the most important monuments of Saint Lucia’s history. -
Pointe Sables Environmental Protection Area
InformationSatellite ViewThe PSEPA ends at the promontory to Pointe de Caille, just south of Savannes Bay. The Pointe Sable area abounds with natural, cultural and historical assets and the PSEPA aims to conserve these assets and encourage sustainable use for local livelihoods.
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Adams Toussaint
Guide“Adams was a great birder and good company and he knows his stuff. On top of that he's a good, safe driver. And he went out of his way to make sure I saw all the critical birds on St. Lucia, i.e. the 5 endemics and the thrasher. I recommend his services highly.’ Jeff Hopkins, New York. -
NatureTrek
Tour OperatorA relaxing 9-day holiday to this beautiful Caribbean island to enjoy its birds, marine mammals and other natural history.
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2017 [06 June] - Mark Van Beirs
PDF ReportAntigua, Barbuda, Montserrat, Dominica, Guadeloupe, Martinique, Santa Lucia, Saint Vincent, Barbados and Grenada were the ten islands we visited on our recent Lesser Antilles tour. Some are independent countries in their own right, while others are Overseas Territories. All these islands exude a quite different flavour, as some are rich and well developed and some are obviously quite poor with pothole-riddled roads and limited infrastructure. -
2018 [07 July] - Colin Manville
PDF ReportWe had been recommended St. Lucia by (non birding) friends as it was pretty! Having a few St. Lucia endemics and Lesser Antilles endemics it was good for me! -
2018 [09 September] - Pete Aley
ReportThis brief report outlines the birding during a week’s trip from 27th August to 3rd September 2018, which I undertook with my wife, Alison Rowntree. -
2019 [12 December] - Birding Saint Lucia with Willow
ReportOther new trip birds were canopy-loving Pearly-eyed Thrashers and calling but not seen Antillean Euphonias. Finally, we made our way downhill but didn’t stop birding, of course. We saw endemic Saint Lucia Black Finches just off the trail. Suddenly, Willow froze as he’d heard parrots. The parrots weren’t vocalizing. Willow heard bits of discarded food landing on the leaves beside the path. These parrots are vigilant so we crept forward quietly and bent our heads back to scan the canopy. Willow froze again. Two Saint Lucia Parrots were feeding above us. I was able to photograph the more exposed of the pair! -
2020 [02 February] - John Bowler
ReportWe saw 59 species and had great views of all the target species including the five extant endemics: St Lucia Parrot, St Lucia Oriole, St Lucia Black Finch, St Lucia Warbler and St Lucia Pewee, plus Grey Trembler and White-breasted Thrasher which are only found here and on Martinique, as well as Lesser Antillean specialities such as Lesser Antillean Euphonia, Rufous-throated Solitaire, Pearly-eyed Thrasher, Scaly-naped Pigeon, Green and Purple-throated Caribs, Lesser Antillean Crested Hummingbird, Lesser Antillean Saltator, Lesser Antillean Flycatcher, Lesser Antillean Swift and Lesser Antillean Bullfinch and the more widespread Caribbean Elaenia, Caribbean Coot, Broad-winged Hawk, Caribbean Martin, Mangrove Cuckoo, Zenaida Dove, Eared Dove, Carib Grackle, Black-faced Grassquit, Shiny Cowbird and Common Ground-dove. Scarcer species seen included: Peregrine, Tricoloured Heron, Little Egret and Red-billed Tropicbird. -
2021 [09 September] - Bill Simpson
PDF Report...I walked the concrete track going steeply uphill past the radio mast a few hundred metres to a small house to get views of 3 sp of Swift and 2 St Lucia Parrots flying over... -
2021 [12 December] - Paul Holmes
PDF Report...We spent time acquainting ourselves with the common birds of St Lucia but also connected with many of the endemics including: 2 SL Amazons, SL Pewee, several SL Warblers and a SL Black Finch... -
2022 [11 November] - Richard Baines
ReportI soon discovered a very tall mature tree close to our cabin which was very popular in the early morning for a bird which looked and sounded like a thrush. After a while I saw the distinctive beady eyes and breast markings of a Scaly-breasted Thrasher. Nearby an American Kestrel and a Grey Kingbird gave fantastic views and I could hear the distinctive calls of hummingbirds. A short time later I had seen all three species found on St Lucia; Antillean Crested Hummingbird, Green-throated Carib and Purple-throated Carib. For such small birds I am constantly amazed at how charismatic hummingbirds are. -
2023 [03 March] - Ian Merrill
PDF Report...We followed the trail for c2.5 km to the viewpoint over a wide forested valley, which seems to be the key site for seeing St Lucia Amazon well in flight; they are very vocal and were heard/glimpsed all along the trail, but best viewed from this location. The viewpoint is located at 13.839424, -60.981453. We saw a pair of St Lucia Orioles and a group of Lesser Antillean Euphonias...
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Natural Attractions of St. Lucia
WebsiteBirdwatching - In areas such as the Bois D`Orange Swamp, the Rain Forest and Boriel`s Pond, visitors can observe some of St. Lucia`s rare, indigenous species, like the St. Lucian Parrot, White Breasted Thrasher, St. Lucia Peewee, St. Lucia Oriole, and St. Lucia Wren. Arrangements can be made through the St. Lucia Forestry Department for early morning or late afternoon trips. Four-hour excursions cost US$40.00 per person and accommodate a maximum of ten persons, minimum of three. -
See the Birds of St. Lucia!
ArticleFrom a bird watcher’s point of view, St. Lucia is a relatively easy island to work being only 28 miles long & 14 miles wide. St. Lucia is also the most important birding destination of the Lesser Antilles as it holds either 5 or 6 single island endemics.