Birding along the Bay of Acul

The gravel beach at the end of the road

If you want to see shore birds and waders, including glossy ibis and black-necked stilts, travel the road that runs along the west side of the Bay of Acul. It leaves National Rt. 1 less than 2 miles from UCNH in Haut Limbe as you head toward Cap Haitien, or about 9 miles west of Cap Haitien. The road ends at a gravel beach that has restaurant stalls. We were there early in the morning so didn’t get to see how many people come to use the beach, or how many food stalls operate. The only birds were English House Sparrows and a passing Great Egret and Cattle Egret.

The hub of bird activity is in the rice fields along the bay. Stop along the road and follow a path towards the bay. You should have a Haitien friend escort you into the fields, to ask permission to pass and explain to the local people why you are there. We drew a little crowd. We saw many glossy ibis, killdeer, lesser yellow legs, and cattle egrets. We also saw 13 bird species on the walk along the road between St. Louis and St. Michel, including a grassquit and 2 red-tailed hawks. If you enter your birds into eBird, be sure to mark the shore and rice field/mangrove survey as part of the Caribbean Waterbird Census (CWC)!

Rice fields and mangroves - there are many birds out there!

Walking the road between St. Louis and St. Michel