In the world of birding, endemic is the word used to describe birds that are found only in a particular place. For example, the grey and yellow beauty pictured here is a warbler. But you won’t find it migrating north this spring. This is a St. Lucia Warbler. And that’s where it stays.
We had the chance to visit St. Lucia a few years ago. It’s one of the Windward Islands in the Lesser Antilles. It is the only nation in the world named for a historical woman, Saint Lucy of Syracuse who lived in the 3rd Century. The legend is French sailors became shipwrecked on the island on December 13, the Feast Day of St.. Lucy.
St. Lucia has one other feature that makes it unique in the world: the only volcano you can drive through. If you can handle the sulfur smell, it’s pretty cool.
The island has five birds found nowhere else: the St. Lucia Warbler, St. Lucia Finch, St. Lucia Oriole, St. Lucia Pewee, and St. Lucia Parrot. If you visit the island and want to find these birds, I suggest you hire guide Adams Toussaint. Not only is a skilled at finding birds, he also knows the island and its issues very well and is a pleasure to spend a day with.