Great Blue Heron Watercolour by Russ Jarman Price
Bathway and Levera beaches in Grenada are favourite sites in the Caribbean for leatherback turtles lay their eggs. It is a uniquely moving experience to watch these prehistoric creatures give life to another generation. People travel to Grenada from all over the world to witness this awesome adventure. You can just walk down the beach and enjoy the show for free, or go just down the road to Levera. During turtle season Levera is protected and guests will need to join an official tour to gain access to the beach.
Enjoy watching Pelicans patrolling the beach, Sea Eagles, and Frigate Birds from your balconies, or stroll over to Levera Pond, where you will see birds and other local wildlife.
Go dolphin and whale spotting with a tour out of St George’s, or snorkelling & scuba diving trips with operators such as Aquanauts. watch the fantastical fish that call the numerous coral reefs ‘home’.
In addition to local attractions such as Lake Antoine, Carib’s Leap and wonderful deserted beaches you can also travel to Grand Etang with its towering mountains and vertiginous waterfalls, rainforest, monkeys, garish iguanas and birds aplenty from tiny hummingbirds to majestic frigate birds.
Birdwatching in Grenada
Moonfish is an ideal base for birdwatching and nature walks being close to Levera National Park (walking distance) and Lake Antoine National Park (10 minute drive), as well as Telescope and the abandoned airfield at Pearls (20 minute drive). Grenada boasts between 150-170 species of birds to discover, 70% of which are neotropical migrants – especially the water birds and seabirds – making birdwatching an excellent day out or indeed an excuse for an entire holiday!
You can enjoy watching a variety of birds from the balcony of your beach house, the garden and on the beach itself, including Herons, Plovers, Terns, Pelicans, Magnificent Frigate Birds, Hawks, Ospreys, Cattle Egrets, Doves and Hummingbirds.
Frequently targeted birds for spotting in Grenada include: Hook-Billed Kite, Grenada Flycatcher, Lesser Antillean Tanager, Lesser Antillean Bull-finch, Antillean Crested Humming Bird, Rufous Breasted Hermit Humming Bird, Green Throated Carib Humming Bird, Yellow Bellied Seedeater, Blue-Black Grass Quit, Brown Trembler, Bare Eyed Robin, Greater Antillean Bull Finch, Audubons Shearwater, White Tailed Tropic Bird, Black Noddy, Red Footed Booby. The Grenadian Dove has not been recorded in the North of the Island, but a tour to the south where this very rare bird might be seen can be arranged!
Levera is a spectacular, pristine, mostly deserted beach (apart from the occasional fisherman) and it’s just around the headland from Moonfish. You can take the path through the extensive mangrove to the recently built Bird-Watch Bridge, a secluded spot that reaches the edge of Levera Pond. The lagoon by the beach is also a refuge for a wide range of bird species but particularly waterfowl, including Herons, Black-necked Stilts and Common Snipes. Please do explore the excellent and informative website Caribbean Birding Trail (link opens in a new window).
At beautiful Lake Antoine, which is a shallow volcanic crater lake, you can enjoy a walk along the perimeter trail. In addition to other wildlife, frequently sighted birds are the Snail Kite, the Fulvous Whistling Duck, Large Billed Seed-Finch, Gray Kingbird and Limpkin. Lake Antoine is also a popular stopping point for many migratory birds!
The northern side of the abandoned runway at Pearls Airport includes a marshy area and a mangrove swamp. This combination of beach, marsh, swamp and grassy flat area is what makes Pearls great for birdwatching. The combination of different types of watery areas in such close proximity to Pearls attracts different species of the migrant birds visiting Grenada.
We can there are a number of specialty tour guides on the island. There is a pair of binoculars in each beach house for enjoying the view from your balcony (we recommend serious birders bring their own as ours are just hobbiest models!) and a copy of the popular Helm field guide “Birds of the West Indies” by Herbert a Raffaele, et al. We will hope to soon post an extensive list of birds seen at Moonfish and nearby, with which we hope you will help by telling us what you’ve spotted, plus when and where for future guests!!
click here to be taken to the Fat Birder website, an ideal resource for birding enthusiasts! (opens in a new window)