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Overview
Mount Hartman is in the south of the island of Grenada, east from the airport and the main tourist area south of St. George. The national park and dove sanctuary was declared in 1996 but the status has since been removed as the lower part of the area is being developed into some major resort area. As the name says, the main attraction here is Grenada Dove, which obviously is losing habitat with these developments.
Additional loss due to the development is that the coastal mangrove and the ponds that were in the area likely are lost as birding locations. The rarity mentioned and a lot of the species on the checklist are from this type of habitat.
Birds
Notable Species
Grenada Dove is no 1 on the list, however, a couple of other near endemics can also be seen in the area, such as Grenada subspecies of Hook-billed Kite, Lesser Antillean Tanager, and House Wren.
Rarities
Ruff has been seen.
Check-list
Birds you can see here include:
Blue-winged Teal, Red Junglefowl, Rock Pigeon, Scaly-naped Pigeon, Eurasian Collared-Dove, Common Ground Dove, Grenada Dove, Zenaida Dove, Eared Dove, Smooth-billed Ani, Mangrove Cuckoo, Black Swift, Gray-rumped Swift, Rufous-breasted Hermit, Green-throated Carib, Antillean Crested Hummingbird, Common Gallinule, Black-bellied Plover, Semipalmated Plover, Southern Lapwing, Wilson's Plover, Whimbrel, Short-billed Dowitcher, Wilson's Snipe, Spotted Sandpiper, Solitary Sandpiper, Lesser Yellowlegs, Willet, Greater Yellowlegs, Ruddy Turnstone, Ruff, Stilt Sandpiper, Least Sandpiper, Semipalmated Sandpiper, Laughing Gull, Royal Tern, Magnificent Frigatebird, Brown Booby, Brown Pelican, Yellow-crowned Night Heron, Black-crowned Night Heron, Little Blue Heron, Tricolored Heron, Snowy Egret, Green Heron, Western Cattle Egret, Great Egret, Great Blue Heron, Osprey, Hook-billed Kite, Broad-winged Hawk, Barn Owl, Belted Kingfisher, Merlin, Peregrine Falcon, Orange-winged Parrot, Yellow-bellied Elaenia, Caribbean Elaenia, Grenada Flycatcher, Gray Kingbird, Fork-tailed Flycatcher, Black-whiskered Vireo, Caribbean Martin, Barn Swallow, House Wren, Tropical Mockingbird, Cocoa Thrush, Spectacled Thrush, Shiny Cowbird, Carib Grackle Yellow Warbler, Blackpoll Warbler, Lesser Antillean Tanager, Grassland Yellow-Finch, Blue-black Grassquit, Yellow-bellied Seedeater, Bananaquit, Lesser Antillean Bullfinch, Black-faced Grassquit,
Other Wildlife
To do
Site Information
History and Use
To do
Areas of Interest
At the "Visitor Center" is a couple of trailheads for the interconnected trails of the area. Walk behind the building and take the trail at the right hand corner to be on the Grenada Dove Trail. In April 2024, it seemed that taking the left fork whenever the trail forked was best if looking for the Grenada Dove. These trails also have e.g., the "Grenada Wren" (subspecies of House Wren).
There is also a viewing tower which overlooks the forest and may be used when looking for e.g., raptors. A very collaborative Mangrove Cuckoo was around the visitor center itself.
If looking for Eared Dove, it might be necessary to go a bit further down towards the construction area. However, exiting that way is not recommended, the construction has made the roads really rough.
Access and Facilities
Enter from the north end and take a left just around the area where the road turns to gravel. Look several meters to the left to see the sign for the visitor center. At the visitor center, there may be no one in attendance, you are on your own.
Contact Details
To do
External Links
https://caribbeanbirdingtrail.org/sites/grenada/mt-hartman-national-park/
Recommended Citation
- BirdForum Opus contributors. (2024) Mt. Hartman National Park and Dove Sanctuary. In: BirdForum, the forum for wild birds and birding. Retrieved 12 November 2024 from https://www.birdforum.net/opus/Mt._Hartman_National_Park_and_Dove_Sanctuary