Yes another article not based in the PNW! But in our defense Alaska Airlines now flies direct to Nassau, and since we collect Alaska points it seemed like a wonderful spot for a winter vacation while the weather here in Washington was not so pleasant, and we could do some Bahamas Birding. Nassau is the capital of the Bahamas on the island of New Providence, not the largest of the Bahamas islands but the most accessible. So while we’d love to have spent more time on the other islands we did most of our birding in New Providence Island.
This trip could have gone better, mostly based on the planning of the trip. Had I done some basic research I’d have realized Nassau is quite the bustling port for cruise ships. So booking a hotel a short walk from the cruise port was not ideal. Also due to recommendations and high price we did not rent a car. This was also a mistake, as their is no ride share, and the cabs were quite expensive! For example we wanted to do a short visit on the south side of New Providence near a small wildlife area, about a 20 minute drive. Here in Edmonds, a 20 minute ride to Seattle would likely cost me $15 to $20, they wanted $60 for trip. Had we planned to spend the entire day there we would have considered it but we decided to nix that visit.
Most of the vacation we spent in the Nassau area where we could walk, or booked tours that included transportation. In the end we were able to find activities for each day of the trip and worked out quite well, but if I were to go back I think we’d look to book a rental or hotel on Freeport or even one of the smaller islands and plan to spend the entire time there. Despite my complaints it was still an excellent trip – here is a short video from Junkanoo beach just outside our hotel.
So what about the birds? We added many new lifers to our ebird list! I think my favorites may have been the Bananaquit and Cuban Grassquit. Both small warbler like birds with a lot of color. The Cuban Grassquit can only be found in Cuba and New Providence. They hop around the ground like sparrows looking for seeds and other things to eat. The Bananquit is famous for loving sugar, they are even known to steal sugar from diners at outdoor restaurants. We did not have that problem but watched them snack some palm fruits.
Useful Links and Info:
- Read our last post about San Luis Obispo.
- Check out all our other birding and nature adventures here.
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- Most of these shots were taken with the Sony a7 along with the Sony FE 200-600mm lens.
- Always bring bug spray and sun screen when birding!
