ST. LUCIA BIRD WATCHING ADVENTURES
The bird watching tour at Eco Adventures is one of the St. Lucia attractions designed to engage everyone from the serious birder to the casual enthusiast. The tour sets off just after sunrise to ensure the best sightings. Experienced Nature Interpreters guide you through the forest pointing out signature calls and keeping eyes peeled for even the most elusive of birds.
The Amazona Versicolor, St. Lucia’s national symbol, makes this forest its home, though it is notoriously bashful. In flight, there is nothing more magnificent than the St. Lucia Oriole, with its yellow/orange markings especially dramatic against its black plumage. In no short supply are three varieties of hummingbird, the Banana Quit, and the Pewee, all of which animate the forest canopy. The birding St. Lucia hike is moderate in difficulty, the ascent is gradual and there are rest points along the way.
When birdwatchers consider a new destination for their next holiday, one of the first questions they ask is “what are the speciality birds of the area?”. High on their list of priorities will be birds that are endemic to that location – in other words, they are found nowhere else on earth. St Lucia is blessed with five such species and five of them can be found within the grounds of Sapphirefalls & Jungle Spa.
Firstly there is the St Lucia Pewee – a delightful small flycatcher; green on top and orange underneath which sallies out from its favored perch in search of prey before returning to the same branch
Next, the St Lucia Warbler, both brightly colored and inquisitive; blue-gray above with bright yellow under-parts and black facial markings, it is widespread throughout the grounds.
Not quite as numerous, but both dramatic and boldly colored is the yellow and black St Lucia Oriole. Back in 1987, there were considered to be less than 60 pairs in existence, however there has been a considerable recovery since and probably two different pairs can be found on our Adventure.
Finally, there is “Jacquot,” our national bird, officially known as the St Lucia Parrot or Amazona Versicolor. Threatened by extinction in the 80’s, there now is a flourishing population of perhaps 1,000 birds normally found in the nearby rainforest and selected areas.
Whilst not strictly endemic, two other species easily found on property only occur on one or two nearby islands: the Lesser Antillean Saltator and the Gray Trembler. Both are easily found in the damp lowland deciduous Sapphirefalls and the drier forested slopes.