Winter birding in Bermuda
It has been recorded that about 90 species of birds can bee seen in Bermuda every year during the winter time alone, although a total of about 250 species of birds have been noted so far over the years.
Due to the freezing temperatures in the continental America, the birds, especially the water birds migrate to Bermuda during winter. The gulf stream near Bermuda provide a warming effect for the birds to find cozy residence in the island. You can see many Grebes that turn up around the ponds. Double-crested Cormorants would be fishing at the inland water areas.
Spittal Pond is a great place during this time for watching Egrets and Herons of various types. However the large Great Blue Herons tend to roost mostly in the areas of
Hamilton Harbor and the Great Sound.
Large number of ducks arrive in Bermuda. There are 28 species of ducks that have been recorded in the island including Blue-winged Teal, Ring-necked Duck, Lesser Scaup and Bufflehead. Many of them come regularly to the island. The best places to watch them are
Seymour’s Pond,
Somerset Long Bay and
Spittal Pond Nature Reserve. Another common species that are often seen are the buntings, particularly the blue and snow buntings. The blue bunting males would have rich blue colors. You can see them mostly in the
Bermuda Airport areas.
Out of over 20 species of warblers that can be seen in Bermuda during the winter, the common are the Palm and Yellow-rumped Warblers that are seen along with Eastern Bluebirds, Black-and-white Warblers can be often seen in tree-creepers, and Ovenbirds are usually seen in the dense thickets including in Spittal Pond Reserve.
While geese are not too common, four species of geese have been seen in Bermuda that includes Canada, Snow, Brant and White-fronted Geese. Gulls including Ring-billed and Herring Gulls are commonly visible during the winter time mostly along the
Hamilton Harbor and also in the
Dockyard area.
Some of the shore birds that you can see are Ruddy Turnstone, Black-bellied Plover and wintering Killdeer. Whimbrel, Snipe, Spotted Sandpipers and Yellowlegs are also present in small numbers during winter. If you are lucky, you can even see one of the rare and endangered species - the Piping Plover.
If you visit the
Arboretum and look around in the garden area, you will find a number of small woodpeckers (known as yellow bellied Sapsuckers) making numerous holes into the Casuarina and West Indian Almond trees.
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 By Raj Bhattacharya
Raj, a seasoned travel writer and Bermuda destination expert, has extensive global travel experience. This website reflects his profound insights, garnered over nearly two decades of dedicated findings and research on the island. Raj has assisted countless Bermuda-bound visitors by providing direct, personalized responses to their queries and imparting his wealth of knowledge through this platform. This site serves as an indispensable guide for those seeking informed and reliable insights into Bermuda's treasures.
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1. Check out
Bermuda Birds to know about all the birds in Bermuda and the best bird watching locations in the island.
