You say Flamingoes, I say Flamangoes

From perfectly pink Flamingoes to the yellow bellied sounds of beauty Bananaquit, You've come to the right ABC island. Even expert bird watchers marvel at the spectacular display of Bonaire's flight of feathers. For such a small island in the Netherlands Antilles, there sure is a lot of birds. Upwards of 200 different species, some rare and exotic, can be found if you look hard enough. Although some are hide and go seek masters, alerting you to their presence only by their voice.

Some favorite birds to watch out for:

The Lora aka Yellow-shouldered Amazon Parrot aka (Amazona barbadensis)

Bonaire's Lora is the most sought after bird on this Dutch island. The main reason is because it is endangered and only a rare few hundred are left to fly the earth.

This is a bird you will hear well before you can catch a glimpse. It's a squawker! Often you will hear these parrots while hiking in Washington Slagbaii Park, especially if you're hiking Branderis hill.

This is an obvious spotting because their markings are vibrant, like most parrots. It's mainly bright green with yellow patches on their head and shoulders and bright red on their wing.

These birds like to flock together, sometimes up to a hundred birds can be seen if you're lucky.

The Pink Caribbean Flamingo aka Phoenicopterus Rubber

Once you arrive on Bonaire you will realize the significance of this bird. The Flamingo airport is all pink, the sidewalks in Kralendijk have a mosaic ceramic design of these feathery friends, even the casino is named after this bird.

You don't need to search the flamingos out because they are all over the island. There are only a few places on earth that Flamingos will breed and Bonaire is one of them. During the breeding times, there will be more of these pink beauties than people. This is really the best time to check their habits out. It's quite a sight! You can learn more about flamingoes and about their mating habits by visiting the flamingo page.

The Brown Pelican aka Pelecanus occidentalis

These are my favorite birds on the island because they are so much fun to watch when they are feeding. They fly close to shore and scoop up mass amounts of water and usually a good size fish (Parrot fish I think). They then continue flying to their landing to gulp down their meal, all the while squirting out the sea water. Then they repeat this process.

These birds are the size of a medium dog or goat. They are dark brown/grey with a long bill and large pouch.

You can see these birds all over the west side of the islands, right in front of your resort.

Brown Throated Parakeet aka Caribbean Parakeet aka Aratinga pertinax

These are surprisingly loud flocks of birds. A beauty to look at yet an ugly sound to hear.

You will see a lot of green as a flock of these birds screetches by. They are noticeably green but if you get the rare opportunity to get up close and personal you will see beautiful blue markings on their wings and tail.

The Bananaquit aka Chibichibi aka Chickadee of the Caribbean

These tiny little birds are friendly and sweet sounding. They have a sunshine-yellow belly contrasting with a blacktop, they are quite a handsome sight. They are also quite a lot of fun to have around. They will pay you a visit and look for a free crumb if you're dining outside, all the while singing their sweet chibichibi song. You can find the Bananaquit all around Bonaire.

If you are an avid birdwatcher then head to Washington Slagbaai Park. The park takes up 1/3 of the islands property and boosts a whopping 13,500 acres for a protected wildlife sanctuary. Most of the birds on Bonaire make this park their home and when the visiting migrating birds come they usually spend most of their time in the park as well.

Washington Slagbaai park has many hiking trails and beaches to explore. To find out more about this park visit Washington Slagbaai National Park.

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