Abaco National Park / Erika Zambello

Tall pine trees wave overhead, filtering the bright Bahamas sunshine through a canopy of thick needles. Tangled vegetation and underbrush lines the trail at Abaco National Park, reminding me of my home in Northwest Florida. My husband and I strolled through Abaco National Park with one mission in mind: spotting an Abaco Parrot.

Abaco National Park covers over 20,000 acres of forest, including the breeding and nesting habitat for 1,000 parrots. The pine seeds themselves provide protein-rich food for the growing chicks, which will reach about a foot in length when they become adults. The attractive bird sports a white face, bordered on one side by red and the other by black patches. What really sets them apart, however, are their nesting habits: they prefer to raise their chicks on the ground, in limestone cavities. Though their sub-terrainean nests protect them from the fire that periodically burns through the forest, it also leaves them unprotected from predators and flooding.

With only around 3,000 parrots remaining on Abaco Island, there was no guarantee I would see one as we walked steadily into the forest. Since the only native parrot-like creature in the United States was extirpated long ago, I was unused to birding for parrots in general. Did I look for singletons feeding in the pines? Or groups? I doubted they would be silent, but would they be loud enough to draw my attention? Columbus once wrote that parrot population numbers "darken the sun," but those days are long gone.

Abaco Parrot / Erika Zambello

Hummingbirds zipped by, and I was easily distracted by photographing plentiful songbirds that flitted from one side of the path to the other. The forest seemed quiet, serene, just like the small island itself. Abaco is a relatively undiscovered birding hotspot, with over 200 species identified and five that can only be found here. 

Suddenly, a flash of color caught my eye, and I followed the large avian shape to where it alighted along the rough bark of a pine. Hooked bill, green body, and multi-colored face made identification easy, my first Abaco Parrot! 

Abaco Parrot / Erika Zambello

In the future, parrots will depend on habitat protection and invasive species management for their continued survival. With additional protections and conservation, birders hope their populations will expand to the seven islands of the Bahamas once more.