Tico Tours- Fantastic Bahamas Birding Tours

7-14 Days

with Tico Tours

Fantastic birds coupled with the laid-back atmosphere, beautiful turquoise waters, and pristine white-sand beaches, make the Bahamas the perfect destination for your next birding adventure!

Packages Include:

Accommodations, all meals, Guide Services,

land and sea transportation ( including Hotel Transfer)
Air charter from Florida available for groups of 6 or more

Lying just off the coast of Florida, the Bahamas offer a remarkably diverse natural landscape, especially on the Out Islands (those away from Nassau and New Providence Island). There are at least four endemic birds, a number of species whose range is restricted to the West Indies, and a number of North American birds whose winter range or migratory path includes the Bahamas.

Our tours focus on the 4 island endemics, Bahama Woodstar, Bahama Yellowthroat, Bahama Swallow, Bahama Oriole, and the endangered Rose-throated "Bahama" Parrot (Amazona leucocephala bahamensis). We also target other Bahamian specialties including Greater Flamingo, West Indian Whistling-duck, Bahama Mockingbird, White-crowned Pigeon, Great-lizard Cuckoo, Key West Quail-dove, White-cheecked Pintail, Greater Antillean Bullfinch, Crescent-eyed Pewee, Black-faced Grassquit, Cuban Grassquit, La Sagra’s Flycatcher, Loggerhead Kingbird, Thick-billed Vireo, Red-legged Thrush, West Indian Woodpecker, Zenaida Dove, Caribbean Dove, Cuban Emerald, and Bananaquit. In addition, we will also be on the lookout for seasonal migrants such as North American wood warblers including the endangered Kirtland’s Warbler.

Tours originate in Nassau on New Providence or Freeport on Grand Bahama. This 7—14 day trip will also visit several other islands, including Great Abaco, Andros, and Inagua.

If starting in Nassau, we will enjoy a half-day tour of New Providence and Paradise Island to see a variety of habitat areas, ponds, seashore, broad leaf and pine forest, and parks. Birds we are likely to encounter include White-cheeked Pintail, Caribbean Dove, Bahama Woodstar, Cuban Grassquit, Cuban Pewee, La Sagra's Flycatcher, Loggerhead Kingbird, Red-legged Thrush, Bahama Mockingbird, Thick-billed Vireo, Bananaquit, Western Spindalis (Stripe Headed Tanager), Black Faced Grassquit, Greater Antillean Bullfinch . In summer, it is possible to also find Gray Kingbird, Antillean Nighthawk, and Black Whiskered Vireo. In other seasons, migrant warblers, thrushes, flycatchers, finches, and a variety of shorebirds are to be expected.

Out of all the 700 islands and Cays that make up The Bahamas, Grand Bahama Island has the distinction of hosting the second highest number of native bird species. For birdwatchers and nature lovers, the island is a true mecca, a place where you can see 18 of the 28 species of Bahamian birds that are not seen in the U.S., Canada, or Europe.

The Rand Nature Center, local headquarters of The Bahamas National Trust, is the perfect place for us to start. It is home to Cuban Emerald, Crescent-eyed Pewee, Red-legged Thrush, Olive-capped Warbler, resident race of Yellow-throated Warbler and Western Spindalis (Stripe-headed Tanager). The Center maintains a small library with bird books and field guides and can provide information on local bird sightings.

Many neo-tropical migrants can also be found on Grand Bahama. More than thirty species of warblers and other migrants have been seen here. Sites vary from mangrove swamps, by boardwalk, to comfortable walking trails through pine forest (the dominant vegetation on the island), and other ecosystems. Of course, there are also the beaches and the ponds on golf courses where native and migrating wading and water birds gather. There have been rare sightings of the Kirtland's Warbler and Eastern Phoebe.

Abaco is home to 22 of 34 Bahamian specialty birds, including all three Bahamian endemics, as well as the Bahama Parrot and the West Indian Red-Bellied Woodpecker. Abaco is also a winter home of the Kirtland’s Warbler. We will bird the Abaco National Park in the south, and the old growth pine forests of Little Abaco to the north. Abaco’s best birding months are September through June. This trip also features a boat trip to tidal flats of Green Turtle Cay, for what may be the best shorebirding in the Bahamas! This tidal flat is being considered for IBA status (Important Bird Area) for its numbers of wintering Piping Plovers.

Abaco is the second largest island in the Bahamas, covering just over 600 square miles. Its geographic placement makes it attractive to both passerines and waterbirds on their migrations in fall and spring. It is possible to encounter over 100 species in a 2-day trip to Abaco. In the spring and summer this trip would also feature boat trips to the out-islands— including Man-O-War, Elbow, Tilloo Cays, and Pelican Cay National Park — to observe nesting Pelagics—including White-tailed Tropicbird. Other birds we are likely to encounter include widespread species such as Zenaida Dove, Cuban Emerald, Red-legged Thrush, Western Spindalis, Greater Antillean Bullfinch, and Black-faced Grassquit. We will specifically seek out Abaco specialties such as White-cheeked Pintail, West Indian Woodpecker, Bahama Parrot, Bahama Swallow, the distinctive resident race of Yellow-throated Warbler, and Olive-capped Warbler.

We will also spend time on two other islands, Andros and Inagua. Species targeted on Andros are Bahama Oriole, Great-lizard Cuckoo, and Key West Quail-dove. Great Inagua is best for bird watching, and at Inagua National Park, Greater Flamingoes can be seen in flocks of 30,000-60,000! Bahama Parrots also nest on the island. This trip requires permits to enter the Great Inagua National Park.

Andros Island is a quiet place and biologically the most interesting of the Bahama Islands. As the fifth largest land mass in the Caribbean /tropical Atlantic--most of it unexplored--and home of the third longest reef system in the world, Andros offers a remarkable natural environment. Its complex ecology is relatively pristine and the variety of eco-systems is astonishing. To the north, soft tropical sands sweep back into surprising sweet smelling pine forests. In the center of the island, thick low-lying bush opens to inland waterways and tidal flats.

Our birding will start near the San Andros Airport where the airport pond always has goodies in winter, including migrant ducks, Sora, occasional Purple Gallinule, grebes, and migrant land birds, including warblers and sparrows. Residents around the airport include Bahama Swallows and Limpkins.

Our home on Andros for 2-3 days will be Small Hope Bay Lodge. This is an informal holiday resort that focuses around the central lodge built of coral rock and Andros pine. Good habitat exists right around the lodge and all major habitats are within an easy drive. For those who wish, fine snorkeling and world-class diving can be found just offshore and the sand beach and beautiful warm water are right at our doorstep.

We will make excursions to other nearby parts of Andros Island. In native scrub across the road from our lodge we’ll look for Great Lizard Cuckoo, Loggerhead Kingbird and Thick-billed Vireo. In the pines and coppice we’re likely to see Cuban Emerald and Crescent-eyed Pewee. Near Stainard and Fresh Creeks we’ll search for Bahama Yellowthroat, Bahama Swallow, La Sagra’s Flycatcher, the shy and retiring Key West Quail-dove, and the Bahama Oriole, which looks and sounds quite different from other West Indian populations and has recently been proposed elevated to a full species. We also stand at least a chance of encountering the threatened West Indian Whistling-Duck.

Great Inagua, the southernmost island of the Bahamas, is home to the world’s largest population of Greater (West Indian) Flamingos as well as more than 140 other bird species. Also here is a protected sea turtle sanctuary, beautiful white-sand beaches, vibrant coral reefs, a fascinating solar salt production industry, and a friendly local community. Birds we should find here include Greater Flamingo, Roseate Spoonbill, White Tailed Tropicbird, White-cheeked Pintail, Zenaida Dove, Bahama Parrot, Bahama Woodstar, La Sagra's Flycatcher, Bahama Mockingbird, Pearly Eyed Thrasher, Thick-billed Vireo, Bananaquit, Western Spindalis (Stripe-headed Tanager), Black- faced Grassquit, Greater Antillean Bullfinch, and Burrowing Owl.

Thanks to the work of the Bahamas National Trust, BirdLife International, and the local Sam

Nixon Bird Club, Inagua has been designated an Important Bird Area (IBA). More than half of the island is under the protection of the Bahamas National Trust, providing a reserve for birds as

well as some unusual wildlife, like wild donkeys, long-horn cattle, and wild boar.

On our second day on this wonderful remote island, we will take a full-day guided excursion beginning with a drive through the salt-flats of the Island to see the Greater Flamingos as they feed in the lakes. Then, we will proceed into the interior of the island to explore assorted habitats like stunted dwarf forests along the coast and dense island forests, where we hope to find the Bahama Parrot. We will have our lunch on a deserted beach followed by an afternoon visit to ruins of century old farming settlements or a cruise along the coastline. As the sun dips across the horizon, we may revisit the salt flats to see the birds as they return to roost.