Woodbourne Shorebird Refuge

The fresh water areas on the island of Barbados are of importance to migrating shore and water birds.  There are made up mainly of a network of artificially created swamps for the purpose of luring migrating birds down so that they can be shot.  Some of these shooting swamps, as there are called locally; maintain water levels outside of the shooting season which spans from July to October.  This is a plus for those birds which migrate outside the hunting season.

But without a doubt the beacon in bird conservation on the island of Barbados is – 
The Woodbourne Shorebird Refuge (WSR).  This once abandoned shooting swamp was brought to life to give the many migrating shore and water birds a place of safety during migration.  At this one location you can see well over 15 species of birds on any given day but it is well known for Snowy, Cattle and Great  Egrets, Little Blue Heron, Green Heron, Black Bellied Whistling Ducks, Common Moorhens or if you prefer Common Gallinule and much more.  I am expecting to pay a lot of visits there during the New Year.