St Lucia’s independence day seemed a good time to search for this Caribbean island’s national bird: the St Lucia parrot. As its name suggests, this colourful species is found nowhere else on the planet.
My guide, Willow, and I had been hearing the parrots’ calls for the past hour but the birds were always hidden in the thick canopy above. Now, at last, we reached a viewpoint overlooking the forest, where we had a real chance of seeing them.
On brief excursions during our family holiday, I had already caught up with three of St Lucia’s five endemic species: the brightly coloured warbler, the elusive black finch, and the perky pewee, a type of flycatcher. Later I would also see the island’s eponymous oriole, an apparition in black and orange. But like most visiting birders, the one I really wanted to see was the parrot.
We patiently scanned the tree canopy below. Eventually, with a raucous volley of calls, two stocky birds flew over the treetops: pea-green with a blue head, flashes of yellow and bright crimson wing-patches. It was well worth the wait.
In 1979, when St Lucia won independence from the UK, there were fewer than 100 parrots. Today, thanks to conservationists, there are more than three times as many. So, exactly 43 years after the island finally achieved freedom, we could celebrate the comeback of this very special bird.
