Rare Bird sighting in St. Kitts in March 2022

By Michael Ryan

Following an awesome January & February, where four different rare birds species were spotted in St. Kitts, who would have thought that early in March this amazing trend would continue.

On Thursday, March 3, I received a rare bird alert from Percy Hanley, reporting another rare bird sighting in the Golf Course Cooling Pond! The following day Friday, off I went to see if I could get some photographs. It did not take long! Almost as soon as I arrived, I spotted it. A Northern Shoveler! In fact, there were a pair, both male and female!

The male Northern Shoveler has a green head, white breast, reddish-brown sides and belly, with an unusually large bill. The female is mottled brown with large bill.

Wow, what a great start to the year! Five rare birds and we are only in early March! And one was a first sighting for St. Kitts! Let’s hope our good luck continues!