The Bahama Nuthatch (Sitta pusilla insularis) is the rarest bird in the Bahamas occurring only in the Caribbean Pineforest of Grand Bahama. It is threatened with extinction as only 1000 individuals are thought to survive, and these are at risk from accelerated development, invasive species (snakes, cats, raccoons) and storm damage. The sites where the Nuthatch occurs, called Important Bird Areas - due to their international importance for bird conservation – need protection if this unique Bahamian bird is to survive long-term.

James Bond, the famous West Indies ornithologist and actual namesake for Ian Fleming’s spy character, first described this bird in the 1930’s and believed that it was a subspecies of the Brown-headed Nuthatch of the United States. The term “subspecies” is not some derogatory term for a certain bird it simply means a bird does not differ enough in structural characteristics - like bill, color or even voice - to form a species of its own...

Blackpoll Warbler

Fall is an exciting time for birdwatchers on Grand Bahama because many of our feathered winter visitors arrive from their breeding grounds up north. In fact, some of the songbirds, the tiny warblers, travel over 3000 miles to get here.

Scientists don’t know exactly how the migrating birds find their way over long distances, but they are discovering that birds use a variety of navigational aids. They use mountain ranges and coastlines. They set their flight path by the sun and the stars and possibly by the lines of force in the earth’s magnetic field. How the tiny bird brains process these cues is a marvel of nature!...

Mr. Tony White, a board member of the American Birding Association who also conducts the annual Christmas Bird Count in Nassau and Grand Bahama, has provided me with an explanation which he received from a highly acclaimed seabird biologist in the United States, Dr. David Lee.

Creating a bird garden does not take an expert gardener! Believe it or not, you can actually make life easier for yourself when you decide to devote your property to birds. Here’s why: traditional, high-maintenance landscapes like large manicured lawns that require mowing, fertilizer, weed killer and pesticides surrounded by shrubs that need to be pruned and fertilized, take more effort than a more natural “birdscape”.