Caribbean Birding Trail

Know the Caribbean, Bird by Bird

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      • Anguilla
        • Cove Pond
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        • Abaco
        • Andros
        • Cat Island
        • Crooked Island and Acklins
        • Eleuthera
        • Exumas
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You are here: Home / Bahamas / Exumas

Exumas

  • About Exumas
  • The Birds

The Exuma chain of mostly uninhabited or private cays or small islands stretches for about 160 km and can really only be explored by private boat. If you can explore the Exuma chain by boat, you will be rewarded with sightings of White-tailed Tropicbirds, Audubon Shearwaters and many species of shore and seabirds, depending on the season. The Bahama Mockingbird should be easy to spot and might even come close for a grape.  This is a very popular cruising ground for foreign yachts visiting in winter and by the local boating community in summer.  Try to visit Waderick Wells, headquarters of the Exuma Cays Land and Sea Park managed by the Bahamas National Trust.

Typical Shoreline in the Exuma Cays (Photo by Carolyn Wardle)
Typical Shoreline in the Exuma Cays (Photo by Carolyn Wardle)

Great and Little Exuma lie at the south end of the chain and stretch for approximately 64 km with one international airport in George Town.  Here you can find accommodation and rental cars.  The two islands are connected by a bridge with one road running from Barre Tarre in the north to William’s Town in the south.  There are many side roads and tracks, so explore on and off the main road.  Check ponds, salinas and tidal flats at low tide.  Local birds present include the White-cheeked Pintail, Zenaida Dove, Bahama Woodstar, Bahama Mockingbird, Thick-billed Vireo, Bananaquit, Black-faced Grassquit and Greater Antillean Bullfinch.

Zenaida Dove (Photo by Carolyn Wardle)

Grog Pond and other fresh water ponds offer a variety of shore and wading birds.  The ponds on the golf course of Sandals Hotel are worth a visit, but be sure to obtain permission first.

Moriah Harbour Cay National Park: An impressive list of birdlife nests there, including Gull-billed and Least Terns, Antillean Nighthawks, plovers, American Oystercatchers and Osprey.

Endemics: only the Bahama Woodstar is present here

Male Bahama Woodstar (Photo by Tony Hepburn)
Female Bahama Woodstar on Nest (Photo by Tony Hepburn)
Female Bahama Woodstar on Nest (Photo by Tony Hepburn)

Exumas

Bahamas Sites

  • Abaco
  • Andros
  • Cat Island
  • Crooked Island and Acklins
  • Eleuthera
  • Exumas
  • Grand Bahama
  • Great Inagua
  • Long Island
  • Mayaguana
  • New Providence
  • San Salvador

Bahamas Partners

  • Bahamas National Trust
  • Friends of the Environment (Abaco, Bahamas)
  • The Delphi Club (Abaco, Bahamas)


Bahamas Tour Operators

  • Bahamas Outdoors Ltd
  • Birds “R” Us Adventures

Recommended Field Guides

Birds of The Bahamas and the Turks & Caicos Islands by Bruce Hallett

A Birder’s Guide to The Bahama Islands (including Turks and Caicos) by Anthony W. White

Beautiful Bahama Birds by Carolyn Wardle, Lynn Gape, and Predensa Moore

The Natural History of The Bahamas by Dave Currie, Joseph M. Wunderle, Ethan Freid, David N. Ewert, D. Jean Lodge

Natives of the Bahamas: A Guide to Vegetation & Birds of Grand Bahama by Erika (Moultrie) Gates

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

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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