Caribbean Birding Trail

Know the Caribbean, Bird by Bird

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  • About the CBT
    • Interpretive Guide Training
  • Countries
    • Countries A-I
      • Anguilla
        • Cove Pond
        • Dog Island
        • East End Pond
        • Forest Bay Pond
        • Katouche Canyon
        • Long Pond
        • Meads Bay Pond
        • Merrywing Pond System
        • Prickly Pear Cays
        • Road Salt Pond
        • Scrub Island
        • Sombrero
        • West End By-the-Sea Ponds
        • West End Pond
      • Antigua and Barbuda
        • Bethesda Dam
        • Christian Valley
        • Codrington Lagoon
        • McKinnon’s Salt Pond
        • Two Foot Bay National Park
      • Aruba
        • Spaans Lagoon
      • Bahamas
        • Abaco
        • Andros
        • Cat Island
        • Crooked Island and Acklins
        • Eleuthera
        • Exumas
        • Grand Bahama
        • Great Inagua
        • Long Island
        • Mayaguana
        • New Providence
        • San Salvador
      • Barbados
      • Bonaire
        • Dos Pos IBA
        • Gotomeer
      • British Virgin Islands
        • Josiahs Bay Salt Pond
        • Sandy Cay
      • Cuba
        • Guanahacabibes
        • Humboldt National Park
        • Mensura-Piloto National Park
        • Viñales
        • Zapata Swamp
      • Curaçao
        • Christoffel National Park
        • Salt Pans of Jan Thiel
      • Dominica
      • Dominican Republic
        • Central Mountain Range
          • Constanza and Valle Nuevo
          • Ebano Verde Reserve
          • Hatillo
          • Jarabacoa with Armando Bermúdez and José del Carmen Ramírez National Parks
          • La Joya de San Francisco
          • Loma Quita Espuela
          • Pico Diego de Ocampo, Santiago
        • Southeast
          • Bávaro
          • Cumayasa
          • Del Este National Park
            • Del Este National Park: Boca de Yuma
            • Del Este National Park: Guaraguao
            • Del Este National Park: Padre Nuestro Trail
            • Del Este National Park: Saona Island
          • Ecological Foundation Trail, Punta Cana
          • Limón Lagoon
          • Los Haitises National Park
            • Los Haitises National Park: Caño Hondo
            • Los Haitises National Park: Los Limones
          • Monte Plata
        • Southwest
          • Aguacate and Zapotén
          • Cabo Rojo and Pedernales
          • Cabral Lagoon
          • Cachote, Eastern Bahoruco
          • Jimaní
          • Lake Enriquillo
          • Loma Charco Azul
          • Oviedo Lagoon, Jaragua National Park
          • Puerto Alejandro and Tortuguero
          • Rabo de Gato and Puerto Escondido
          • Sierra de Bahoruco National Park
            • Los Arroyos, Sierra de Bahoruco National Park
        • North Coast
          • Cayos Siete Hermanos
          • El Choco National Park, Cabarete
          • El Limón, Samaná
          • Estero Hondo
          • Loma Guaconejo
          • Loma Isabel de Torres, Puerto Plata
          • Monte Cristi and Saladilla
          • Nalga de Maco National Park, Río Limpio
          • Samaná
        • Around Santo Domingo
          • Las Salinas de Baní
          • Mirador del Norte Park
          • National Botanical Garden
          • Ozama Wetlands
      • Grenada
        • Antoine Lake
        • Beausejour/Grenville Vale
        • Diamond Rock
        • Grand Etang National Park
        • Levera National Park
        • Mt. Hartman National Park
        • Telescope Pond
        • Woburn Bay MPA
      • Guadeloupe
        • Mountain Road
        • Pointe des Chateaux
    • Countries J-Z
      • Jamaica
        • Ahhh…Ras Natango Gallery and Garden
        • Barbecue Bottom Road
        • Black River Great Morass
        • Cockpit Country
        • Ecclesdown Road
        • Flagstaff
        • Green Hills Field Station
        • Hardwar Gap
        • Hope Gardens
        • Portland Bight Protected Area
        • Stewart Town
      • Martinique
        • Rocher du Diamant
      • Montserrat
      • Puerto Rico
        • Camuy Coastal Area
        • Culebra National Wildlife Refuge
        • Laguna Cartagena National Wildlife Refuge
      • Sint Eustatius
        • Pilot Hill
        • Quill/Boven National Park
        • Zeelandia Beach
      • St. Lucia
      • Sint Maarten
        • Great Salt Pond
        • Little Bay Pond
      • St. Martin
        • Amuseum Naturalis at The Old House
        • Étang Cimetière de Grand Case
        • Étang de la Barrière
        • Pic Paradis
      • St. Vincent and the Grenadines
        • Grenadines
          • Bird Sanctuary
          • Mustique Lagoon
          • Mustique Ponds Walk
        • Saint Vincent
          • Richmond Beach
      • Trinidad and Tobago
        • Tobago
          • Kilgwyn Swamp
          • Little Tobago
        • Trinidad
          • Asa Wright Nature Centre
          • Brasso Seco Paria Village
      • Turks and Caicos
        • Grand Turk
        • Middle Caicos
        • North Caicos
        • Providenciales
        • Salt Cay
        • South Caicos
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You are here: Home / Anguilla / Road Salt Pond

Road Salt Pond

  • About Road Salt Pond
  • The Birds
  • How to Get There
  • Tour Operators and Guides

Road Salt Pond is a 98 acre Important Bird Are (IBA) located in the heart of Anguilla. A simple strip of road separates this salt pond from the historic village of Sandy Ground and the island’s main commercial port – Road Bay.

Egrets and Pelicans at Road Salt Pond (Photo by Jacqueline A. Cestero)

The iconic beach area is home to a number of fun restaurants and nightlife that attracts visitors and residents alike. During the first week of August, Anguilla Summer Festival activities including the island’s National Sport, Boat Race, are featured on this beach.

Road Salt Pond (Photo by Jacqueline A. Cestero)

Once the center of salt production on Anguilla, today Road Salt Pond accounts for some of the largest variety of bird species on the island.

Road Salt Pond (Photo by Jacqueline A. Cestero)

The hills surrounding the pond are covered with low scrub and bush. Here Yellow Warblers, Mangrove Cuckoo, and the island’s Lesser Antilles Restricted Range species can be found along with a wide variety of migratory warblers. Anguilla’s National Bird – the Zenaida Dove can be seen in large numbers throughout the year. Keep an eye out for White-crowned and Scaly-naped Pigeons as they have become more common in recent years. At dusk and dawn try to catch a glimpse of an Antillean Nighthawk. The telephone poles that ring the pond are a great place to spot resident American Kestrels.

White-winged Dove (Photo by Jacqueline A. Cestero)

The eastern part of the pond is dotted with mangrove and is the perfect nesting area for herons and egrets from January to May.

Green Heron (Photo by Jacqueline A. Cestero)

During the fall and winter months, the rock walls that were part of the salt industry infrastructure become a resting spot for a variety of waterfowl and shorebirds. Although White-cheeked Pintails nest throughout the year, this is a great time to see them with their young.

White-cheeked Pintail Family (Photo by Jacqueline A. Cestero)

Brown Pelicans are often seen feeding in the pond while Magnificent Frigatebirds soar overhead in search of fish. During this period, Osprey and Peregrine Falcons can be seen swooping down into the pond in search of prey using North Hill as their launching pad. Beginning in April, look for regionally significant numbers of Laughing Gulls as they roost prior to nesting on Anguilla’s offshore cays. From March to August, visitors will delight at the sight of nesting Killdeer, Black-necked Stilts and Least Terns along the rock walls and sand spits of the pond.

Black-necked Stilt about to Sit on Eggs (Photo by Jacqueline A. Cestero)

Ruddy Turnstones (Photo by Jacqueline A. Cestero)

Common Gallinule (Photo by Jacqueline A. Cestero)

Lucky visitors may get a view of our visiting American Flamingos that tend to pop in when you least expect it.

American Flamingo Pair (Photo by Jacqueline A. Cestero)

From the Airport roundabout, head west until you reach the Sandy Ground Roundabout. Bear right in the roundabout and make the second left onto the hill that enters Sandy Ground. At the bottom of the hill, stay straight on the road that rings the pond. The pond is on the right.

Nature Explorers Anguilla offers tours to this site!

Road Salt Pond

Anguilla Sites

  • Cove Pond
  • Dog Island
  • East End Pond
  • Forest Bay Pond
  • Katouche Canyon
  • Long Pond
  • Meads Bay Pond
  • Merrywing Pond System
  • Prickly Pear Cays
  • Road Salt Pond
  • Scrub Island
  • Sombrero
  • West End By-the-Sea Ponds
  • West End Pond

Anguilla Partners

  • Anguilla National Trust


Anguilla Tour Operators

  • Nature Explorers Anguilla

Recommended Bird Guides

A Guide to the Birds of Anguilla by Steve H. Holliday, Karim V. D. Hodge, and Damien E. Hughes

Birds of the West Indies by Herbert Raffaele, James Wiley, Orlando Garrido, Allan Keith, and Janis Raffaele

Birds of the Lesser Antilles by Ryan Chenery

 

Want to know how you can be involved?

Do you know of a place that should be part of the Caribbean Birding Trail? Are you the owner of a lodge or hotel and want to attract eco-tourists? Are you a guide interested in the birdwatching market? Then, get involved with our project!

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