Migratory birds visit the island in large numbers during the fall migration season, and a much smaller number will visit during spring migration. Most of these birds will visit for a short time and leave either southward (in fall) to their overwintering grounds, or northward (in spring) to their breeding grounds. Of course this counts for birds breeding in the northern hemisphere. A very small number of birds from the southern hemisphere migrates in the vicinity of the island, and as such are not seen that often. We do get some visitors from the main land, of which it is still unclear why they chose to cross over the ocean and visit the island.
A small number of individuals stay over on the island, spending all the winter months here and only leaving when it is time to move back to the breeding grounds.
Raptors on the move
Of all the birds passing by a small number, in comparison to small passerines, belong to the raptor family. Ospreys are the most visible of visiting raptors, arriving in respectable numbers from the start of October. Most will stay for a cou0ple of days, replenish their fat reserves by hunting some fish and continuing their journey south. A number of individuals chose to stay on the island, and especially young birds that need to wait a year or two to get into their breeding phase will stay continuously until their breeding hormones tell them otherwise.
Merlin – Smelleken – Kinikini grandi
Another, much smaller, raptor that also visits the island yearly, but in very small numbers is the Merlin. Almost unknown to the people of Curaçao as it usually lurks in the shadows, it does however have a local name: Kinikini grandi. This translates in English to Large Kestrel. Indeed the birds, females and males in winter plumage, look a lot like the American Kestrel, a native breeding bird on the island. They are however larger than the kestrel and have a slightly different pattern.
These birds like to sit in large trees where they hide in the shadows but do have a great view on their hunting grounds. They hunt for small passerine birds and will grab them in flight and will also hunt for small shorebirds.
Merlins can often be seen on the island from October to March. Look for them in the vicinity of water basins, dams or along the shore of inner bays and be sure to check out the larger trees in the vicinity of these watery areas. Also be on the lookout for changed behaviour of small birds such as Saffron finches and Black-faced grassquits. When there is a regular Merlin in the vicinity (or a Peregrine falcon) they will not go out in the open as they usually do.
ENG: Merlin
NL: Smelleken
PAP: Kinikini grandi
SCIE: Falco columbarius
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