Aruba Important Bird Area
San Nicolas Bay Reef Islands
131 bird species recorded; the most from March to April and in October.
Ginelly.Q · CC0
This month here
71 species in January.69 species in February.90 species in March.85 species in April.82 species in May.75 species in June.76 species in July.78 species in August.81 species in September.91 species in October.76 species in November.76 species in December.
The birds you are most likely to see in the month you choose, those that come for the season first. It opens on today's month.
NT
NT
NT
VU
NTNT
NT
NT
NT
VUNTNT
NTNTVUNT
NTVUNT
- Resident all year
- Summer visitor comes to breed
- Winter visitor comes for the winter
- Passage migrant in spring and autumn
In numbers
131 species, counted.
Our own rating, from the records only: species (50 points), threatened species (20), migrants (20) and protected status — Ramsar, IBA, SPA, observatory (10).
- 131Speciesrecorded more than once
- 45Migrantssummer, winter or passage visitors
- 6ThreatenedVulnerable, Endangered or Critically Endangered (IUCN)
- 20,547Recordsopen records within 6 km
- 6Raptors
- 1Owls
- 27Waders
- 19Gulls & seabirds
- 3Ducks & geese
- 17Herons, ibises & grebes
- 1Flamingos
- 36Songbirds
- 21Other birds
From open records (eBird and others, through GBIF, licensed for any use). More birdwatchers mean more records: a quiet place may have more birds than it shows.
The checklist
All 131 species.
By group, with the year in twelve cells: the darker the cell, the more often the bird is recorded that month.
Raptors6 species
JFMAMJJASOND
- Crested CaracaraCaracara plancus
- Falco sparveriusFalco sparverius
- OspreyPandion haliaetus
- Peregrine FalconFalco peregrinus
- MerlinFalco columbarius
- Buteo albicaudatusButeo albicaudatus
Owls1 species
JFMAMJJASOND
- Burrowing OwlAthene cunicularia
Waders27 species
JFMAMJJASOND
- Ruddy TurnstoneArenaria interpresNT
- Black-necked StiltHimantopus mexicanus
- Eurasian WhimbrelNumenius phaeopus
- Grey PloverPluvialis squatarolaVU
- Semipalmated PloverCharadrius semipalmatus
- KilldeerCharadrius vociferusNT
- Spotted SandpiperActitis macularius
- Least SandpiperCalidris minutillaNT
- Lesser yellowlegsTringa flavipesVU
- Greater YellowlegsTringa melanoleucaNT
- American OystercatcherHaematopus palliatus
- Semipalmated SandpiperCalidris pusillaNT
- Southern LapwingVanellus chilensis
- SanderlingCalidris alba
- WilletTringa semipalmata
- Stilt SandpiperCalidris himantopusNT
- White-rumped SandpiperCalidris fuscicollisVU
- Pectoral SandpiperCalidris melanotos
- American golden ploverPluvialis dominica
- Short-billed DowitcherLimnodromus griseusVU
- Solitary SandpiperTringa solitaria
- Western SandpiperCalidris mauri
- Buff-breasted SandpiperCalidris subruficollisVU
- Wilson's SnipeGallinago delicata
- Hudsonian GodwitLimosa haemasticaVU
- Bartram's SandpiperBartramia longicauda
- Red KnotCalidris canutusNT
Gulls & seabirds19 species
JFMAMJJASOND
- Laughing GullLeucophaeus atricilla
- Magnificent FrigatebirdFregata magnificens
- Royal TernThalasseus maximus
- Sandwich TernThalasseus sandvicensis
- Sooty TernOnychoprion fuscatus
- Anous stolidusAnous stolidus
- Least TernSternula antillarum
- Common TernSterna hirundo
- Brown BoobySula leucogaster
- Roseate TernSterna dougallii
- Bridled TernOnychoprion anaethetus
- Anous minutusAnous minutus
- Arctic SkuaStercorarius parasiticus
- Masked BoobySula dactylatra
- Black SkimmerRynchops niger
- Red-footed BoobySula sula
- Great Black-backed GullLarus marinus
- Lesser Black-backed GullLarus fuscus
- Elegant TernThalasseus elegansNT
Ducks & geese3 species
JFMAMJJASOND
- Blue-winged TealSpatula discors
- White-cheeked PintailAnas bahamensis
- Cairina moschataCairina moschata
Herons, ibises & grebes17 species
JFMAMJJASOND
- Brown PelicanPelecanus occidentalis
- Great White EgretArdea alba
- Green HeronButorides virescens
- Tricolored HeronEgretta tricolor
- Snowy EgretEgretta thula
- Great Blue HeronArdea herodias
- Little Blue HeronEgretta caerulea
- Phalacrocorax brasilianusPhalacrocorax brasilianus
- Yellow-crowned Night-HeronNyctanassa violacea
- Black-crowned Night-HeronNycticorax nycticorax
- Western Cattle EgretBubulcus ibis
- Whistling HeronSyrigma sibilatrix
- Reddish EgretEgretta rufescensNT
- Pied-billed GrebePodilymbus podiceps
- Roseate SpoonbillPlatalea ajaja
- Glossy IbisPlegadis falcinellus
- Striated HeronButorides striata
Flamingos1 species
JFMAMJJASOND
- Caribbean FlamingoPhoenicopterus ruber
Songbirds36 species
JFMAMJJASOND
- Tropical MockingbirdMimus gilvus
- House SparrowPasser domesticus
- BananaquitCoereba flaveola
- Carib GrackleQuiscalus lugubris
- Black-faced GrassquitMelanospiza bicolor
- Gray KingbirdTyrannus dominicensis
- Venezuelan TroupialIcterus icterus
- Barn swallowHirundo rustica
- Mangrove WarblerSetophaga petechia
- Shiny CowbirdMolothrus bonariensis
- Yellow OrioleIcterus nigrogularis
- Northern WaterthrushParkesia noveboracensis
- Northern Scrub-FlycatcherSublegatus arenarum
- Brown-crested FlycatcherMyiarchus tyrannulus
- Sand MartinRiparia riparia
- American Cliff SwallowPetrochelidon pyrrhonota
- Blackpoll WarblerSetophaga striataNT
- Fork-tailed FlycatcherTyrannus savana
- American RedstartSetophaga ruticilla
- Black-and-white WarblerMniotilta varia
- Caribbean MartinProgne dominicensis
- Philadelphia VireoVireo philadelphicus
- Northern ParulaSetophaga americana
- Caribbean ElaeniaElaenia martinica
- Tropical KingbirdTyrannus melancholicus
- Connecticut WarblerOporornis agilis
- Prothonotary WarblerProtonotaria citrea
- Black-throated Blue WarblerSetophaga caerulescens
- Cattle TyrantMachetornis rixosa
- Baltimore OrioleIcterus galbula
- BobolinkDolichonyx oryzivorusNT
- Black-whiskered VireoVireo altiloquus
- Scarlet TanagerPiranga olivacea
- OvenbirdSeiurus aurocapilla
- Rufous-collared SparrowZonotrichia capensis
- Cape May WarblerSetophaga tigrina
Other birds21 species
JFMAMJJASOND
- Bare-eyed PigeonPatagioenas corensis
- Common Ground-DoveColumbina passerina
- Eared DoveZenaida auriculata
- Rock DoveColumba livia
- Brown-throated ParakeetAratinga pertinax
- Blue-tailed EmeraldChlorostilbon mellisugus
- Belted KingfisherMegaceryle alcyon
- Ruby TopazChrysolampis mosquitus
- White-tipped DoveLeptotila verreauxi
- Common MoorhenGallinula chloropus
- Yellow-billed CuckooCoccyzus americanus
- White-tailed NightjarHydropsalis cayennensis
- American CootFulica americana
- Groove-billed AniCrotophaga sulcirostris
- Crested BobwhiteColinus cristatus
- Purple GallinulePorphyrio martinica
- Amazon KingfisherChloroceryle amazona
- Rose-ringed ParakeetPsittacula krameri
- Yellow-bellied SapsuckerSphyrapicus varius
- Greater AniCrotophaga major
- OilbirdSteatornis caripensis
Monthly presence relative to all bird records that month, so a busy month does not inflate every species.
When to go
The most species from March to April and in October.
Species recorded in each month, with the usual temperature and rain.
- Jan27°/26°29 mm
- Feb27°/26°15 mm
- Mar27°/26°10 mm
- Apr28°/26°11 mm
- May28°/27°21 mm
- Jun28°/27°21 mm
- Jul28°/27°26 mm
- Aug29°/28°27 mm
- Sep29°/28°51 mm
- Oct29°/28°94 mm
- Nov29°/28°90 mm
- Dec28°/27°60 mm
- Bar: species recorded that month.
- Temperature: average maximum / minimum (NASA, 1991–2020).
- Rain: monthly total.
The place
San Nicolas Bay Reef Islands.
Islands in Aruba in the Dutch Caribbean
San Nicolas Bay Reef Islands is an Important Bird Area (BirdLife) in Aruba.
131 bird species have been recorded here more than once, in 20,547 open records.
The most recorded are the Laughing Gull, the Bare-eyed Pigeon and the Tropical Mockingbird.
22 species come for the summer, 22 for the winter and 1 only pass through.
6 are threatened worldwide, including Grey Plover, Lesser yellowlegs and White-rumped Sandpiper.
The most species are recorded from March to April and in October.
Get there and watch
- San Nicolasnearest town · 1.8 km in a straight line
- Queen Beatrix International Airport (AUA)nearest airport with scheduled flights · 15 km in a straight lineCar hire at AUA airport (Oranjestad)Discover Cars · sponsored link↗
Plan the visit
A guided walk, a bed nearby, a car.
Some links above are affiliate links: if you book through them we may earn a commission, at no extra cost to you. It never changes what the data on this page says.
From above
The place and its surroundings.
The satellite image of the 6 × 6 km around the place, with the bird hides, towers and trails that OpenStreetMap shows.
Around, in OpenStreetMap
- 24car parks within 3 km
- 26restaurants and cafés within 3 km
- 1campsites within 10 km
- 140places to stay within 10 km
- bird hides within 6 km
- observation towers within 6 km
- marked trails within 4 km
- visitor centres within 6 km
- viewpoints within 5 km
Counted in OpenStreetMap, the map anyone can edit. A low number may just mean nobody has mapped it yet.
In our other atlases
Around San Nicolas Bay Reef Islands.
The lakes, beaches, islands, rivers and mountains around this place, and its night sky, in the family's atlases.
Peakyas43 mountains within 25 kmSero Cabai · 7.7 kmMount Jamanota188 m · 8.5 km↗Arikok185 m · 11 kmHooiberg165 m · 15 km↗Sero Cristal · 17 kmJaburibari · 18 kmBucurui · 20 kmCurimiao · 20 km
Coastya9 beaches within 10 kmNanki · 1.6 kmRodgers Beach · 2.1 km↗Boca Grandi · 3.7 kmRincon · 5.2 kmMaster · 6.5 kmBoca Prins · 8.7 kmBoca Druif · 8.8 kmSupladó · 9.8 km
Cavernyas1 caves within 20 kmQuadiriki Caves · 7.1 km
Figures from the sister sites' databases (Wikidata, HydroATLAS, GeoNames, OpenStreetMap). Links open when each site is online.
Photographs
The place, as people saw it.
Other places nearby.
San Nicolas Bay Reef Islands
Aruba
- 63Birdyas Score
- 131Species
- 45Migrants
- 6Threatened
Ciénaga de Los Olivitos
Venezuela · 232 km
- 64Birdyas Score
- 160Species
- 52Migrants
- 5Threatened
Where these figures come from
| Name and type | Wikidata (Q100717819) · CC0 |
|---|---|
| Birds | 20,547 open bird records within 6 km (GBIF, CC0 and CC BY 4.0 only; mostly eBird, Cornell Lab of Ornithology) |
| See these records | gbif.org |
| Species | GBIF Backbone Taxonomy · CC BY 4.0; Wikidata (CC0); Wikimedia Commons |
| Altitude | Copernicus DEM GLO-30 · © DLR e.V., © Airbus Defence and Space GmbH, Copernicus/ESA |
| Temperature and rain | NASA POWER (CERES SYN1deg, 2001–2020; MERRA-2) |
| What is around | © OpenStreetMap contributors · ODbL |
| Images | EOX Sentinel-2 cloudless 2016 · CC BY 4.0; Wikimedia Commons |
| Sister atlases | Peakyas, Islandyas, Coastya, Cavernyas |
Every figure is an average, an estimate or a count from a public dataset. Licences and methods: data sources.
The family
Do you prefer beaches, lakes, mountains, waterfalls, islands, rivers, canyons, caves, dark skies, viewpoints, birdwatching or forests?
Same idea, other landscapes: field atlases built on open data, in seven languages.
beaches
Find your beach: sea temperature, sun and swimming month by month.Visit 
lakes
Every lake on Earth: water temperature, ice, depth and the shore.Visit mountains
Every summit in 3D: summit weather, the 0 °C line, huts and trails.Visit 
waterfalls
Every waterfall: height, flow month by month and when it roars.Visit 
islands
Every island from the sea up: size, sea temperature, ferries and 3D.Visit 
rivers
Every river from source to sea: the journey, the flow and the basin in numbers.Visit 
canyons
Every canyon cut to scale: depth to the floor, rim and floor temperatures, trails and viewpoints.Visit caves
Every cave with its real depth and length: the rock above, the temperature inside all year, and how to visit.Visit 
dark skies
Where the night is still dark: the sky of every place, the Milky Way month by month, the Moon, eclipses and auroras.Visit 
viewpoints
Every viewpoint with its real 360° panorama: the peaks you can name, how far you see and where the sun sets.Coming soonVisit 
birdwatching
Every bird sanctuary and wetland with the species recorded month by month: who is resident, who comes for the summer, who only passes through.You are here
forests
Every forest with its land-cover rings, what grows and lives in it, and the best months to walk it.Coming soonVisit