The Rare Brac Parrot - Only on Cayman Brac Island

RECLUSIVE BRAC PARROT REVEALS ITSELF DURING NESTING SEASON
February through August is the best time to see the rare Cayman Brac Parrot, but it’s hiding on the island year-round.

CAYMAN BRAC –  Divers scout the world-class reefs off Cayman Brac in search of colorful coral and sea creatures, but birders know best where to find one-of-a-kind multihued wildlife.
Brac Reef Beach Resort offers birders use of complimentary bicycles to visit Stake Bay during spring and summer, a hot spot for catching a glimpse of the Brac Parrot, or to visit nearby wetlands to view myriad migrating birds, October to April. Guests can easily reach the Cayman Brac Parrot Reserve via rental car for a self-guided tour or can arrange free half or full day guided tours with an employee of Nature Cayman.

The Brac Parrot, found only on the 12 by two-mile sliver of Cayman Brac, has the smallest range of any Amazon parrot. With only about 400 Brac Parrots in the world and all of them on the island, 180-acre Cayman Brac Parrot Reserve protects the native nesting environment in an effort to preserve the species.; Disappearing habitat, specifically old growth trees that provide nesting, is the primary threat to its survival.

Locals dub it the Stealth Parrot because it is often heard and seldom seen, blending into the trees with incredible camouflage of fern green feathers, rosy cheeks, black ear patches and a snow white forehead and eye ring.  A maroon belly and metallic blue feathers beneath the wings are visible during flight, which is likely to be seen at the Parrot Reserve during the nesting season, spring and summer. 

Locals recommend listening for the parrot squawks in early morning and late afternoon, the coolest times of day, and then following the noise. “They just scream,” said Trudy Viers, resident manager of Brac Reef Beach Resort.  “You know it's the parrot when you hear it.  It’s not a pretty sound; it’s squawky.”

During winter, the parrots move to the 140 foot limestone bluff on the eastern most tip of the island.  In spring and summer, they return to the lowlands, especially to Stake Bay on the northwest side. 

The Parrot Reserve is actually two corridors of land spanning the entire width of the island just east of its center on the Central Bluff.  Ancient woodland forest mixed with cacti (some 12 feet tall), orchids, bromeliads and air plants can be found in distinct areas, while overgrown grassy farmland, mango trees on ochre soil and dry mature forests surround the loop trail on the southern end.  A 650-foot boardwalk skirts the Preserve’s edge, following an old trail used by native Brackers to reach provisioning grounds and pick coconuts, a once valuable export.
There are 120 bird species regularly sighted on the Brac, including the Red-Legged Thrush (endemic), Brown Boobies and Frigates on the eastern bluff, West Indian Whistling Duck (the only native duck to the Caymans), Vitelline Warbler and White-tailed Tropicbird.  Cayman Brac’s bluff, forests and wetlands are also popular stops for birds migrating between North and South America.  From October to April, it's not uncommon to sight 50 to 60 species a day.  

The Grand Cayman Parrot is very similar to the Brac Parrot, but it is less elusive, a bit larger and without a maroon belly or white forehead.  The Brac Parrot used to live on Little Cayman as well prior to the 1932 hurricane, however, it is thought that storm destroyed too many trees, leaving the population unable to survive.