WORLD SHOREBIRDS DAY: ABACO’S COMPLETE CHECKLIST

Abaco’s birding records compiled for over 20 years include 33 shorebird species. For a few, the islands and cays are a permanent residence; for many others they are winter quarters; some species are visitors transient in their migrations; a few are rare vagrants. The complete checklist of Abaco’s shorebirds is below, along with 3 links to specific posts. 

I have divided the species into 3 categories: sandpipers & kin; plovers; and a catch-all ‘large shorebird’ group that includes one or two sandpipers. Of the 26 birds featured and shown in the main checklist below, 23 are ones you might reasonably hope or expect to encounter on Abaco, though some only if you are lucky or your field-craft is excellent. The others are the long-billed dowitcher, American avocet and Wilson’s phalarope (of which only one has ever been seen on Abaco, with a photo to prove it). Many of these are showcased in my book The Birds of Abaco. 

CLICK A LINK TO INVESTIGATE

LARGE SHOREBIRDS

SANDPIPERS

PLOVERS

THE COMPLETE CHECKLIST

The codes tell you, for any particular bird, when you may see it (P = permanent, WR = winter resident, TR = transient, V = vagrant); whether it breeds (B) on Abaco; and your chance of seeing it, graded from easy (1) to vanishingly unlikely (5). 

• Black-necked Stilt                             Himantopus mexicanus               PR B 3
• American Avocet                               Recurvirostra americana             WR 4
• American Oystercatcher                  Haematopus palliatus                  PR B 2
• Black-bellied Plover                         Pluvialis squatarola                       WR 1
• American Golden-Plover                Pluvialis dominica                          TR 4
• Wilson’s Plover                                 Ochthodromus wilsonia                PR B 2
• Semipalmated Plover                      Charadrius semipalmatus             WR 2
• Piping Plover                                     Charadrius melodus                      WR 3
• Killdeer                                               Charadrius vociferus                     WR 2
• Spotted Sandpiper                            Actitis macularius                         WR 1
• Solitary Sandpiper                            Tringa solitaria                               WR 2
• Greater Yellowlegs                            Tringa melanoleuca                      WR 2
• Willet                                                   Tringa semipalmata                      PR B 2
• Lesser Yellowlegs                              Tringa flavipes                               WR 3
• Ruddy Turnstone                              Arenaria interpres                          PR 2
• Red Knot                                             Calidris canutus                            WR 3
• Sanderling                                          Calidris alba                                   WR 1
• Dunlin                                                 Calidris alpina                                WR 2
• Least Sandpiper                                Calidris minutilla                           WR 2
• White-rumped Sandpiper               Calidris fuscicollis                          TR 3
• Semipalmated Sandpiper                Calidris pusilla                               TR 2
• Western Sandpiper                           Calidris Mauri                                TR 2
• Short-billed Dowitcher                    Limnodromus griseus                    WR 1
• Long-billed Dowitcher                     Limnodromus scolopaceus          WR 4
• Wilson’s Snipe                                   Gallinago delicata                          WR 3
• Wilson’s Phalarope                           Phalaropus tricolor                        V 4

For the sake of completeness, the other 7 species of shorebird recorded for Abaco – all transients or vagrants – are:

• Upland Sandpiper                     Bartramia longicauda             TR 4
• Whimbrel                                    Numenius phaeopus               TR 4
• Hudsonian Godwit                   Limosa haemastica                    V5
• Marbled Godwit                         Limosa fedoa                             V5
• Buff-breasted Sandpiper          Tryngites subruficollis             V5
• Pectoral Sandpiper                   Calidris melanotos                    TR 3
• Stilt Sandpiper                           Calidris himantopus                 TR 3

Photo Credits: Tom Sheley, Bruce Hallett, Keith Salvesen