Binkie takes kids birding at a nearby sports field. It did not long for the kids to become hooked on birds!
Binkie van Es shares his experience of working with disadvantaged youth in Sint Maarten—introducing them to birds and science through the BirdSleuth Caribbean education program. Was he successful in getting kids interested in birds? Read on to find out!
In 2014 BirdsCaribbean provided me with training to their BirdSleuth Caribbean Education Program. The training venue for the 3-day workshop was in the beautiful Retreat Garden at the Bahamas National Trust in Nassau. I will never forget how I was introduced into a wonderful new world that will be with me the rest of my life. Birding has never been the same since that week.
From the very first training day I was hooked on the program. I enjoyed every aspect of it.
For those of you that are not familiar with BirdSleuth, it is a program geared to young people. It teaches the life cycle of birds, the challenges birds face, their importance for us, and human influences (both positive and negative) on birds. The goal is to reconnect children with nature – and birds.
The program is set up as a classroom curriculum, but is extremely easy to adapt to other settings. Separate sections can be taught outdoors and during daytime events. With a bit of creativity, “birdsleuthing” can take place off grid. Over the years, I have used BirdSleuth in different ways – whether it is training educators, or teaching children in class myself.
How is the BirdSleuth program received? This varies, depending on the group. The greatest challenge is to get it introduced into school curriculums. The teachers are willing, but school boards are not so keen. The best memories, and greatest successes, have been working with children directly.
Bird feeders in the outdoor classroom in Sint Maarten, part of the Player Development Foundation’s afterschool program for youth that now includes bird watching!
In the summer of 2020, I started working with an afterschool program in Sint Maarten, called Player Development Foundation. This foundation had evolved from a sports activity/ baseball little league to after-school experience-based education. The ages of the children range from 6 – 14 years; they come from difficult backgrounds, many with broken families and living in poverty.
I started visiting them one afternoon per week to teach them about birds. Using BirdSleuth Caribbean, they learn about nature, how to help keep our environment healthy, and how they can learn from bird behavior.
In the first lesson I introduced myself and started talking with them about birds, to find out what they already knew. Importantly, I made them realize that they knew more than they thought they did.
Over the course of several weeks, I taught these children how to use binoculars. They got to see birds close up for the first time in their lives and they were mesmerized.
We also made their location more bird-friendly, installing bird feeders (including feeders the kids made themselves), and attracting an ever-growing variety of birds into their outdoor classroom. Now, they get to see Bananaquits, Black-Faced Grassquits, Bullfinches, Carib Grackles, Pearly-Eyed Thrashers, and Zenaida Doves on a daily basis.
Then the community where they all live became a COVID hotspot, and their coach advised me to stay away until the risk was manageable again. They had to shut down twice for a fortnight because of exposure to the virus.
Nevertheless, the children had become thoroughly hooked on bird watching by that time. They continued to observe the feeders and study the bird’s behavior. Whenever they spotted a bird that they could not name, they would send me a picture for identification. On a weekly basis, the coach would post pictures of their bird adventures on Facebook.
Then the most amazing thing happened. The children were asked by the local newspaper if they were willing to write about the birds in their classroom, and willing they were!!!
A bully bird at the feeders – Find out what happened to the quesadilla!
So far, they have published three newspaper articles. Each story covers one bird species—the first one was on Bananaquits, the second on Carib Grackles, and third about Pearly-Eyed Thrashers.
The children are amazing. They observe carefully and they work hard on their research, although they only have access to one laptop with internet access. They observed, for example, the pecking order between the various species and between male and female birds.
I must admit that the children are better story tellers than I am, and the only help they got from their teacher was with grammar.
If you work with children or are planning to work with them, please consider the BirdSleuth Caribbean program if you are not using it already. It will open up a wonderful new world for you also.
A week after writing this blog post, I will be fully vaccinated against COVID-19 and am already planning my return to the children, who in turn, are also excited to hear that I am coming back to them to continue their bird education.
I extend gratitude to the Cornell Lab of Ornithology for developing BirdSleuth and would like to thank BirdsCaribbean for adapting the program for the Caribbean, for introducing me to it and providing all the teaching materials and binoculars. I appreciate all the children and adults who have so far been willing to be taught by me. Most of all, I extend my appreciation to Lisa Sorensen at BirdsCaribbean, who kept me motivated with her boundless energy, and who gave me this new, very rewarding, purpose in life.
By Cornelis “Binkie” van Es is retired from his career in sales and now working full-time on his second “career” as a bird educator, volunteer for several environmental non-profits, and bird tour guide on Sint Maarten/ St. Martin. He is a certified Bird Guide with BirdsCaribbean’s Caribbean Birding Trail program. Do visit this wonderful island – you’ll have the best time birding with Binkie!
BirdsCaribbean thanks the US Fish and Wildlife Service, NMBCA (Neotropical Migratory Bird Conservation Act) Program, and our members and generous donors for funding support for our BirdSleuth Caribbean program. We also thank Jennifer Fee and the Cornell Lab of Ornithology for their partnership and assistance.
Happy World Rainforest Day! We want to take today to appreciate some of the Caribbean’s beautiful tropical forests and the unique birds residing within them, as well as provide you with some tips to help conserve the world’s rainforests.
Did you know that the poop of these birds helps keeps these forests growing? Birds are some of the most important seed dispersers, especially in the Caribbean where many of the typical tropical mammals such as monkeys and peccaries are lacking. As birds fly around the forest eating many a tropical fruit, they poop out the seeds, planting many future plants. Some studies have even used birds to help reforest areas using perches and feeders to encourage extra pooping!
The biggest rainforest in the Caribbean is the El Yunque Forest in Puerto Rico. Several years ago this forest took a hard hit during Hurricane Maria. Many of the Caribbean rainforests are actually adapted to the annual hurricane season, tropical plants such as Cecropias are some of the first recolonizers. But climate change has made recent hurricanes far more destructive than many rainforests are accustomed to.
Only 25% of the rainforest remains in the Caribbean. And with continuous destruction for agriculture and growing development we might continue to lose the lush, tropical hills of the Caribbean.
Take a look at our infographic for some ideas on how you can make some of your daily habits more rainforest friendly. Feel free to download and share with others!
Are you an experienced marketing and communications professional? Do you want to help us tell the world how amazing Caribbean birds are and why we should protect them? Then consider joining our team!
Position Overview: The Communications Manager oversees communications, marketing, and public relations efforts to raise awareness and support for BirdsCaribbean’s mission, projects, and programs. This role will provide strategic and tactical guidance to BirdsCaribbean to help our organization communicate effectively with our partners, members, and donors, and build awareness and engagement around our various programs. This position will work in close collaboration with the Executive Director of BirdsCaribbean and other staff, including members of our Fundraising, Media, Education, and Program Committees. This is a full-time employee or contractor position with benefits and can be worked remotely from any location. Caribbean nationals residing within the Caribbean are strongly encouraged to apply.
Key Responsibilities:
Overseeing BirdsCaribbean’s external communications with members, partners, donors, the public, and media sources
Overseeing all content creation and messaging, as well as online engagement growth, including:
Overseeing and developing materials to convey the organization’s mission and work
Keeping our website up-to-date with organizational news, events, and educational resources for our partners and members/followers
Managing and helping to create content for our social media accounts (Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, LinkedIn, Youtube) together with our small team
Producing and overseeing all printed and digital marketing, promotional, and educational materials (e.g., one pagers, brochures, reports, promotional graphics for upcoming events, e.g., bird festivals, conferences, training workshops, webinars, contests, etc.), including graphic design needs
Executing clear and engaging copywriting for emails, blogs, press releases, and other promotional materials; coordinating and editing the work of other authors on our team
Drafting and sending out our monthly newsletter, and other email communications with members, donors, partners, etc.
Editing and approving press releases, articles, graphics, announcements, etc.
Helping to develop and manage fundraising and membership campaigns
Analyzing and documenting the effectiveness of all executed marketing and communications
Managing a calendar of organizational priorities and weekly tasks for internal coordination with the team
Managing photography and videography needs for events (e.g., conferences), activities, online, and print publications, as well as social media
Ensuring consistency of messaging across all marketing and communications channels to convey the organization’s brand, mission, vision, and values
Working in partnership with the Executive Director, and Fundraising, Media, Education, and Program Committees
Education: Bachelor’s Degree in marketing, communications, public relations, journalism, or a related field strongly preferred
Qualifications:
Minimum of 5 to 7 years of demonstrated experience in marketing/communications/public relations, including marketing and managing communications across a diverse set of platforms
Outstanding writing, editing, and proofreading skills; understanding of science grammar is a plus
Graphic design skills – Adobe Creative Suite and Canva strongly preferred
High proficiency with MS Office and WordPress strongly preferred
Advanced proficiency with Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, LinkedIn, and YouTube
Ability to prepare and edit audiovisual materials (including videos) for social media posts or brand content
Knowledge of the media industry and ability to stay on top of market changes and relevant media opportunities
A passion and curiosity for environmental science and conservation in the Caribbean; strong interest and/or experience with Caribbean birds or ornithology/ecology is a plus
Strong attention to detail and the desire to deliver high-quality work without exceptions
Ability to prioritize tasks, simultaneously manage multiple projects, and set/meet deadlines
Capacity to oversee a small team that develops communications and educational content
Self-motivated, detail-oriented, focused, and ambitious; creative and innovative thinking
Professional demeanor, team player, and a consistent positive attitude
A reliable internet connection that supports Zoom video meetings without a problem
Ability to communicate professionally and respectfully with a highly diverse audience
Desired Knowledge and Experience:
Experience or working knowledge of Caribbean birds and environmental conservation issues
Experience with non-profit communications, marketing, and fundraising strongly preferred
Excellent oral communications skills
Professional working proficiency in Spanish and/or French language
Familiarity with Mailchimp
This is a full-time (40 hours/week) position that will require the flexibility to be available outside of normal working hours (i.e., 9am – 5pm) in certain cases, depending on the timing of specific deliverables and project deadlines. Pay will be commensurate with experience and local wage/cost-of-living considerations, and a benefits package will be developed in consultation with the candidate.
Interested applicants should send an email to Lisa Sorenson (Lisa.Sorenson@BirdsCaribbean.org) and Adrianne Tossas (Adrianne.Tossas@BirdsCaribbean.org) with the subject line reading “Communications Manager Application.” Within the email, please include the following:
– Briefly introduce yourself
– Attach a cover letter (1 page or less) that expresses why you are interested in this position and summarizes your qualifications and experience
– Attach a current copy of your resume
– Include a compilation of any of the following of your work: newsletter or blog articles, public relations or promotional materials, and/or social media posts that you have written
Application period: June 21, 2021 to July 31, 2021
About Us: BirdsCaribbean (BC) is a vibrant international network of members and partners committed to conserving Caribbean birds and their habitats in the insular Caribbean (including Bermuda, the Bahamas, and all islands within the Caribbean basin). Our mission is to raise awareness, promote sound science, and empower local partners to build a region where people appreciate, conserve, and benefit from thriving bird populations and ecosystems. We are a non-profit membership organization based in the U.S. With 33 years of experience, BirdsCaribbean has built an extensive and active network of more than 60 partners across 31 countries, which include environmental organizations, government agencies, institutions, businesses, tour guides, educators, and individuals.
BirdsCaribbean is an equal opportunity employer that is committed to diversity and inclusion in the workplace. We prohibit discrimination and harassment of any kind based on race, color, sex, religion, sexual orientation, national origin, disability, genetic information, pregnancy, or any other protected characteristic as outlined by federal, state, or local laws. This policy applies to all employment practices within our organization, including hiring, recruiting, promotion, termination, layoff, recall, leave of absence, compensation, benefits, training, and apprenticeship. BirdsCaribbean makes hiring decisions based solely on qualifications, merit, and business needs at the time.
Wilson’s Plover parent and two downy chicks. This species breeds on beaches and in mangrove areas in the Caribbean. (photo by R. J. Wiley)
It’s beach season! That means vacationers, boaters, photographers, and beach-lovers will be heading to the seashore to enjoy the water and beat the heat. But remember this is also the time when shorebirds are nesting and raising their adorably fluffy chicks. These shorebirds have travelled very long distances and we want to reduce the additional challenges that they face upon reaching our shores.
Eggs and chicks are at risk of being crushed or trampled over because these fluffy little beach bumblers have a knack for blending in. You will definitely want to double or even triple check where you set down your beach chairs, umbrellas, bags, and coolers. Vulnerable young birds and adults can be stressed or killed by predators when they are flushed from their areas. Some adult birds may abandon their nests altogether!
Here are some easy tips for sharing the shore with shorebirds this summer and making your trip more enjoyable:
Watch your distance. Sure these birds know how to camouflage but if you do find a nest, give them space, at least 100 feet. Getting too close can alarm the parents causing them to use precious energy in nest defense behavior that would have been used to forage for food. Some parents will do a broken wing display – where they may appear injured by dragging their wing along the ground. If you see this, the bird is likely fine and just trying to distract you from a nearby nest! Walk away and give these birds space.
Respect posted areas. Do not wander into roped-off or fenced-in areas where birds are nesting.
Never force birds to fly! These birds spent a lot of energy arriving here—shorebirds and seabirds make some of the most impressive migrations! Don’t chase these little beach runners.
Keep pets away from nesting areas. Even the most well trained dogs can be tempted to chase birds. They also do not know that these birds need space to comfortably nest. It is therefore always best to keep your pets on a leash near nesting sites.
Help keep the beach clean. Seabirds and shorebirds have some of the highest ingestion rates of plastic – help those little fluffs get the proper nutrition they need by using bins, if provided, or taking a garbage bag with you to the beach.
Do not feed the wildlife. Growing fluff balls have specific nutrition requirements that only parents can provide.
Spread the word! If you see people disturbing nesting shorebirds, gently remind them that shorebirds’ survival depends on our actions. Some areas even have hotlines to report offenders.
Together we can share the beach and give shorebirds and their adorable growing fluffs the best chance of survival!
Here is an infographic that you can use to encourage others to #ShareTheShore this beach season:
There will be many different species nesting on the shores, but they have similar behaviors and reactions to being disturbed. Here are some notable shore-nesting birds in the Caribbean and the US.
American Oystercatcher with two chicks (photo by J. Gray)
Black-necked Stilt with four chicks. (photo by Rick Evets)
Killdeer performing a broken wing act to lure potential predators away from its nest.
This young Killdeer chick is growing its characteristic black breast band. (photo by Dave Irving)
Piping Plover downy chick, vulnerable to predators and people as it blends in perfectly with its sandy environment. (photo by Dave Irving)
Respect posted protected areas for shorebird or seabird nesting. (photo by Erika Gates)
This Snowy Plover chick and egg blend in perfectly with the sandy beach substrate. (photo by Antonio Ros)
Snowy Plover chick running on the sand. Shorebird chicks are precocial, meaning they are born with downy feathers and can walk and feed themselves soon after they hatch. (photo by Hartmut Walter)
Wilson’s Plover nest in the Bahamas. Most shorebird species nests are a simple scrape in the ground, lined with a few shells and rocks. (photo by M. Zdravkovic)
We are excited to announce that the David S. Lee Fund for the Conservation of Caribbean Birds will fund 9 projects in 2021! In the previous 4 years (2016-2020), the fund has provided assistance for 15 projects in 6 countries for work on dozens of species in the Caribbean.
This fund was created by generous donations from the family, friends, and collaborators of David S. Lee to continue his inspiring legacy of conservation in the Caribbean. You can help us to continue supporting these invaluable projects by making a donation here.
Congratulations to these exemplary researchers, and we look forward to hearing about your results in future blog articles and publications!
Investigating variation in cooperative breeding behavior between Puerto Rican Tody populations
Amber Wendler, Virginia Tech
Cooperative breeding occurs when some individuals, known as “helpers,” assist with raising their siblings, rather than reproducing themselves. This breeding strategy is used by many bird species, including the Puerto Rican Tody (Todus mexicanus). However, only some individuals of this species breed cooperatively, and differences are thought to be linked to habitat. Amber’s research will examine how the Tody’s cooperative breeding behavior differs in rainforest and dry forest habitats. By increasing our understanding of the Tody’s natural history, her work can help manage and conserve this endemic species.
Territory use of the Critically Endangered Bahama Oriole across the annual cycle
Michelle Moyer, University of Maryland Baltimore County (UMBC)
The Bahama Oriole (Icterus northropi) is a Critically Endangered species that is found only on Andros Island in The Bahamas. Thanks to recent work by the Bahama Oriole Project — a collaboration between UMBC and the Bahamas National Trust (BNT)— we have learned a lot about this species’ breeding habitat, including that it uses the native pine forest much more than previously thought. However, it is unknown how Orioles use the pine forest and other habitats outside of the breeding season. Using tiny, solar-powered transmitters (CTT Life Tags™ ), which will be attached to Orioles and detected by a central receiver (CTT Node), Michelle will track their movements throughout the full annual cycle. The results of her research will inform BNT’s conservation management strategies for the Oriole.
Caribbean psittacines as indirect controllers of ecosystem dynamics through commensal feeding associations and ecosystem engineering
Damion Whyte, University of the West Indies at Mona
Parrots and parakeets are notorious for not finishing the fruits that they open. As a result, they are often viewed as wasteful pests, and are feared by farmers. However, we do not have a great understanding of the impacts that this behavior can have on the local ecosystem, such as providing easier access to the fruit by other species and dispersing seeds. Damion’s research will quantify the ecosystem-wide effects of foraging by parrots and parakeets on the island of Curacao. Using observations and camera-traps, he will identify which species visit fruit that has been opened by, and how their behaviors vary. By providing insight into these species interactions, his work will support bird conservation and management in protected areas.
Pre-reproductive survival, movements, and habitat use of the Yellow-shouldered Blackbird (Agelaius xanthomus) in Southwestern Puerto Rico
Jean P. Gonzalez Crespo, University of Wisconsin
The Yellow-shouldered Blackbird (Agelaius xanthomus) is an Endangered species that is endemic to Puerto Rico. Although conservation measures such as artificial nesting structures increased the reproductive success of this species, populations have continued to decline. Using CTT Life Tag™ transmitters Jean will track Blackbirds after they fledge from the nest and estimate their survival during this critical period. His work will help local and federal agencies determine whether survival rates before breeding are contributing to population declines, and identify the factors that influence survival.
Establishing a long-term banding program for migratory birds in Isla Contoy National Park, Mexico
Jonathan Nochebuena Jaramillo, Estación de Anillamiento Parque Nacional Isla Contoy
Isla Contoy National Park (PNIC) is a small Caribbean island (238 hectares) near the Yucatan Peninsula in Mexico. The island is an important site for many migratory birds to rest and refuel on their long journeys between North, Central, and South America. In 2019, Jonathan personally initiated a banding program in PNIC. He will continue and expand this program to document and spread awareness of the importance of the island for a wide diversity of birds, and provide information to conserve birds and their habitats on the island.
Understanding nestling diet composition of Roseate Terns (Sterna dougallii) through fecal DNA Metabarcoding
Luis Ramos, University of Puerto Rico, Mayaguez
Environmental changes such as rising sea temperatures and ocean acidification pose many threats to seabirds and the marine food sources that they depend on. The Roseate Tern (Sterna dougallii ) is a species of conservation concern in the Caribbean, including in Puerto Rico. Yet we know little about foraging behavior, ecology, and population trends of this species. Luis’s research will use an advanced molecular method (DNA metabarcoding) to assess the diet composition of chicks in Tern populations on the southern and northern coasts of Puerto Rico. His work will identify the fish and other prey that are available to Terns in different colonies, and advance our understanding of DNA metabarcoding as an important biomonitoring tool.
Evaluating the effects of greening actions on avian diversity on tropical urban landscapes
Julissa Irizarry, Penn State University
Expansion of urban areas contributes to loss and fragmentation of habitats across the globe. These drastic landscape changes can negatively impact biodiversity, especially on islands. Large-scale tree planting efforts, such as those planned in Puerto Rico following Hurricane Maria, have the potential to increase the suitability of urban areas for native wildlife. Julissa’s project will investigate the benefits of urban reforestation for resident and migratory birds. Using an experimental approach, she will compare how birds use newly planted trees—“functional” tree species that are known to be important for foraging and “structural” plants that are traditionally used for landscaping. Her work will inform best practices for implementing urban greening projects in order to maximize conservation benefits.
Current status of the breeding colonies of Red-footed Booby, Brown Booby, and Masked Booby in Los Roques Archipelago, Venezuela
Los Roques Archipelago National Park is in the Caribbean Sea 130 km north of Venezuela. It has 42 islets and 200 sandbanks arranged around an internal lagoon. It is home to all the typical ecosystems of tropical maritime and coastal areas: sandy beaches, coral formations, salt and brackish water lagoons, seagrass meadows, and mangroves. This archipelago was declared a National Park in 1972, and its Use Regulation and Management Plan was finalized in 1990. Los Roques is home to a great diversity of seabirds and is a priority area for conservation. Conserving seabirds in the Caribbean is essential, as their numbers have been decreasing over time. Documenting their status and trends is needed to develop conservation plans. Two species of boobies have breeding colonies in Los Roques: Red-footed Booby and Brown Booby. Masked Booby’s presence has been documented, but their reproduction has not been confirmed. 20 years have passed since the last assessment of the population of seabirds in the Los Roques Archipelago. Since then there have been many political, economic and environmental changes in Venezuela—changes that may put the Los Roques Archipelago and the booby colonies at risk. We propose to survey and evaluate the reproductive colonies of boobies in 4 keys of the archipelago. We will also explore other cays to look for confirmation of breeding activity. We will integrate the local “Roqueños” communities in the censuses and outreach activities.
Population dynamics, conservation and management of the American Flamingo (Phoenicopterus ruber) on Margarita Island, Venezuela
Anahy Marcano , INPARQUES / AveZona / PAAVe
Venezuela has about 38% of the total population of American Flamingos, Phoenicopterus ruber. It is considered a resident species on the Isla de Margarita in Venezuela. Although its population has shown variations in size and distribution, historically, American Flamingos have been observed on the Isla de Margarita since the beginning of the last century. Recently, a new flamingo nesting area has been identified on Margarita Island in the Laguna de las Marites Natural Monument. However, its population status is unknown and currently there is no plan for its conservation and management. As the first stage of this project we will estimate the size of the breeding population, the reproductive success, and the demographic parameters in two of the nine areas occupied by the American Flamingos on Margarita Island, las Marites Lake Natural Monument and La Restinga National Park. Visual observations will be conducted from a safe distance so as not to disturb the breeding areas. After the breeding season, the area used for the nests will be evaluated. As part of this project, we will involve local communities in the censuses and an educational campaign will be established.
The David S. Lee Fund for Conservation seeks to continue David’s passion for protecting wildlife. The fund supports direct, innovative conservation work in the Caribbean Region for birds and their habitats. The fund is managed by BirdsCaribbean and used for annual small grants. We are grateful to all those who have supported the fund, and also to our David S. Lee Fund Review Committee who carefully reviews proposals each year and makes recommendations on funding.
You can you help us to continue to fund invaluable research to conserve Caribbean birds by making a gift to the fund.
If you prefer to donate with a check, please make the check out to “BirdsCaribbean” and in the memo section, note that it is for the David S. Lee Fund. If you have questions or to make other arrangements for donating, please feel free to contact Jennifer Wheeler, BirdsCaribbean Financial Officer (jennifer.wheeler@birdscaribbean.org)
Checks can be mailed to: BirdsCaribbean, 841 Worcester St. #130, Natick, MA 01760-2076
Did you ever wish you had an interactive bird guide in your pocket wherever you go? For smartphone users in Puerto Rico and the northern Lesser Antilles, your dream has come true. “All Birds Puerto Rico, Virgin Islands & northern Lesser Antilles” birding app has recently been released!
The new ALL BIRDS app covers Puerto Rico, the Virgin Islands, Saint-Martin, Saint Eustatius, Saint-Barthélemy, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Saba, Montserrat, Antigua-Barbuda, and Anguilla! This unique app encompasses not only common birds but also all migrants, vagrants, and established introduced species.
This bilingual (English & Spanish) app features all 415 bird species found from Puerto Rico east to Antigua and Montserrat. The mobile app expands the previous version called “Puerto Rico and Virgin Islands Birds in Photos and Audio.” It is the perfect companion in the field.
This user-friendly app lets you identify birds by browsing alphabetically or taxonomically, or selecting on individual islands or on specific features or colors. Beginning birders looking to identify the species in their backyards can filter listings to display only common species. Users can also use the app to record their own bird sightings and even export this information.
Listings for each bird include detailed species accounts and 2,570 outstanding photos showing distinct plumages, including variations and subspecies. Advanced birders will love the audio that is included for each species: over 670 bird songs and calls are just a touch away. The resource section includes information about Caribbean birds and introductions to key topics like biogeography, conservation and migratory birds.
You can download the app from the Apple App Store or Google Play Store. The Apple version is compatible with iPhone, iPad, iPod Touch and Mac M1 chip. Once downloaded no internet connection is needed and all updates are free of charge.
BirdsCaribbean is excited to finally announce all of our Global Big Day 2021 photography winners and share some of the many awesome photos that were taken on Global Big Day! We already reported on the team and individual stats and awards – click here if you missed the results from our record-breaking day!
Thanks to everyone that participated, especially our team leaders and generous donors, Global Big Day 2021 was a huge success. We had a record number of teams participating (15). And thanks to a game-changing challenge grant from a member of the President’s Perch team, we were able to raised close to $20,000 for our new Caribean Motus Collaboration – so amazing! Congrats to all the winners – enjoy the photos and gallery below!!!
PHOTOGRAPHY AWARDS
Best Bird Photo: Rafy Rodriguez – Puerto Rican Tody
Second Best Bird Photo: Roberto Jovel — Cuban Sharp-shinned Hawk, Cuba
Third Best Bird Photo: Jerome Foster — Little Blue Heron, immature (molting), St. Lucia
Best Shorebird: Julian Moore — Ruddy Turnstone, Barbados
Youngest GBDer: (1) Joanne Gaymes – Maeson Gaymes in St. Vincent; (2) Anneke Mace – Holly Mace birding in New Zealand
Best Smiles: Andrew Dobson and teammates Patricia Zurita and Katrina-Dobson – UK
Best Selfie: Maikel Cañizares – The Bee Hummers Cuban Dream team, Cuba
Most Beautiful Landscape: Rafy Rodriguez
Urban Birds: Jerome Foster – Gray Kingbird on nest, St. Lucia
Life in the Wild: (1) Jerome Foster – American Kestrels mating, St. Lucia; (2) John Kricher – Mute Swan parent banishing Canada Goose; (3) Joanne Gaymes – Black-faced Grassquit female collecting nesting material, St. Vincent
Sweetest Fluffiest Birds: (1) John Kricher – Mute Swan cygnets; (2) Rafy Rodriguez – Green Heron immature
Enjoy this gallery of bird, people and scenery photos taken on Global Big Day by various team members in the Caribbean, US, UK, Costa Rica, Panama, Netherlands, and more!
Yellow-crowned Night-Heron juvenile in Canash, St. Vincent (Joanne Gaymes)
Jamaican Becard with insect prey (Claude Fletcher)
Jeff Gerbracht selfie, yes, it’s snowing again for GBD in Ithaca, NY.
On Saturday, May 8th, birders and BirdsCaribbean members around the world went outside birding to celebrate Global Big Day—the biggest birding day of the year which is timed to coincide with peak spring migration for many places in the USA. Approximately 53,000 participants joined in the fun—with 365 observers representing the West Indies and submitting 1,995 checklists—way to go!
This year, observers found 364 species in the West Indies—beating last year’s record by a whopping 19 species! (see Figure 1). Cuba clinched the lead for most species seen—161, followed by Puerto Rico at 139 species, The Bahamas coming in hot at 131 species, Dominican Republic close behind at 127 species, Jamaica swinging in at a nice 104, and Cayman islands finishing with a solid tally of 94 species.
And more Caribbean “eBirders” too…
The number of eBird observers in the West Indies—365—increased by 62 persons from 2020, and the total number of checklists submitted—1,670—increased by a colossal 619! (see Figure 1). This jump in participation helped fuel the increased number of species seen in every country/ island.
Figure 1. The top graph shows that the total number of eBird Observers in the West Indies, total species seen, and total number of eBird checklists submitted increased from 2020 to 2021. The bottom graph shows the number of species observed on Global Big Day for the top 6 West Indies countries increased from 2020 to 2021.
Inspired by last year, many of us continued to bird together from afar on teams that raised funds for bird conservation. This year, those funds will target new Motus bird monitoring stations in the Caribbean. Our Global Big Day was hugely successful on all fronts, with 15 teams participating, including 10national teams!!! (up from 7 teams in 2020). And we raised $19,113 USD, very close to our goal of $20,000 USD—congrats and thank you to everyone for your participation and support! Read on for all the exciting details and final team stats…
The Bee Hummers Mighty Achievements – Congratulations to our Cuban Friends!
How did our BirdsCaribbean teams fare? Once again, the indomitable, multinational Flying Pintails, led by Executive Director Lisa Sorenson, claimed the title for the most species observed: 714 (see Figure 2). President’s Perch, led by Past President Andrew Dobson, and the Bee Hummers Dream Team, the Cuban national team led by BC board member Maikel Cañizares, came in second and third with 597 and 465 species seen, respectively. The Bee Hummers swept three other categories, however, with the most eBird checklists (241), most eBird observers (65), and most West Indies endemics (48). Congrats to the team named after the smallest bird in the world for all of these great achievements!!!
Figure 2. Global Big Day results for our 15 BirdsCaribbean teams, which included 10 national teams. The numbers in red show which team had the highest number for each category. A total of 1,348 species and 136 West Indies endemics were observed by all 15 teams combined. ( a total of 147 West Indies endemics were seen by all eBirders, i.e., including those not on a team).
Tracking the Endemics on our GBD Teams
This year, with our 10 new national (Caribbean country or island) teams, we were excited to see which national team would see the highest proportion of their endemic birds on Global Big Day (a category created to control for differences in the number of endemic species on each island – see Figure 3). There were two winners for this title: the One Love Jamaica Birders, whose well-organized sub-teams and individuals fanned out over the entire island and managed to see all 28 Jamaican endemics, and the Bajan Birders who also worked hard and made sure to get their one endemic (Barbados Bullfinch) on their lists! 😉 The Peeping Cuckoos (Puerto Rico), Bee Hummers (Cuba), and Team Jaragua (Dominican Republic) also did well finding their island endemics.
Figure 3. The 7 teams who saw the highest proportion of their island endemics on Global Big Day 2021. The One Love Jamaica Birders managed to see all 28 of their endemics – congrats! And the Bajan Birders easily checked off their one endemic, the Barbados Bullfinch.
Small was Beautiful
Smaller and more local teams also had their advantages. When the total number of species seen was divided by the number of people on the team, Far Flung Flock came in first, with an average of 27 species observed per person (see Figure 4). The Statia Tropicbirders were a close second with 23 species per person, followed by the Flying Pintails (19), Abaco Island Big Day Birders (17), WANSIRI (16), and Turks and Caicos Island Blue Jays (14). The accomplishment of the Abaco Island Big Day Birders is especially impressive, since this was a small team of 5 persons birding on a relatively small island that had been largely decimated by a hurricane less than 2 years ago!
Figure 4. The average number of species observed per person for each of the 15 Global Big Day teams. Far Flung Flock of Friends was the winner in this category with an average of 27 species per person. Statia Tropicbirders came in 2nd with 23, followed by the Flying Pintails (19), Abaco Island Big Day Birders (17), WANSIRI (16), and the TCI Blue Jays (14).
Congratulations and thank you to all the teams for your enthusiastic participation. We will be sharing more about our experiences, including photos and prizes, in a second Global Big Day 2021 blog article.
Handing out Bouquets to these eBirders
The most distinguished eBirders from our Global Big Day campaign were Holly Garrod and Josh Covill (birding together in Costa Rica) of the Flying Pintails, who over 16 hours recorded an incredible 208 species! Richard Korpi and Phil Lehman, both on the Barefoot Bobwhites team, came in 2nd and 3rd with 138 and 136 species, respectively. Holly and Josh both win a year’s membership in BirdsCaribbean and some awesome BC swag!
Special commendations go out to the following birders who had 20 or more West Indies Endemics on their GBD checklist on May 8th:
Maria Paulino (gray shirt) leading a group of urban birders in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic on Global Big Day.
Maria Paulino (Dominican Republic) – 30
Lyndon Johnson (Jamaica) – 27
Wendy Lee (Jamaica) – 27
Adrian Cobas (Cuba) – 26
Ana M. Suárez (Cuba) – 25
Maikel Cañizares Morera (Cuba) – 24
Miguel Landestoy (Dominican Republic) – 23
Tania Piñeiro (Cuba) – 23
Alina Perez (Cuba) – 22
Wayne Arendt (Puerto Rico) – 22
Noelia Nieves (Puerto Rico) – 21
Robert Jovel (Cuba) – 21
Wisdenilde Navarro (Cuba) – 21
Alondra Medina Charriez (Cuba) – 21
Karlos Ross (Cuba) – 20
An Exciting Finish to our Fundraising, and Thank You!
After the success of last year’s fundraiser we have carried the tradition onward. This year’s donations will help fund our newly launched Caribbean Motus Collaboration, which is part of our Caribbean Landbird Monitoring network.
The final days of our fundraiser were incredible! We were still a ways out from our target goal of $20K when a most generous BirdsCaribbean member on the President’s Perch team stepped up and offered a $5K match. In other words, if the President’s Perch Team could raise $5K in 3 days, the donor would match it with a donation of $5K, giving us the opportunity to double the funds!
We quickly put out the call and many generous people answered it! With a few hours to spare before the deadline, we reached the $5K goal on President’s Perch team, which was then promptly doubled by our generous supporter! Thus, to date, thanks to your generous donations and support we have raised a total of $19,113, which will help to install at least 4 Motus stations in the islands!!! (note: it is not too late to donate if you want to help us reach our $20K goal).
2021 BirdsCaribbean Global Big Day Teams*
You can visit each birding team’s page profile on eBird to see maps of the team’s countries/ islands where birds were sighted and their checklists. You can also visit each team’s GoFundMe page and donate to specific teams to help them reach their fundraising goal, or donate to the general campaign.
Black-whiskered-Vireo spotted on Global Big Day in the Dominican Republic. (photo by Maria-Paulino)
BirdsCaribbean has celebrated the Caribbean Endemic Bird Festival (CEBF) for the past 20 years with the encouragement and support of a diverse group of partners throughout the Caribbean. The festival highlights the region’s rich bird community, with special attention given to the 171 species found only in the Caribbean. Each year the CEBF activities are planned around a theme.
This year the theme is “Sing, Fly, Soar—Like a Bird!” Due to the coronavirus pandemic we are celebrating virtually again. Virtual events often leave little room for meaningful interaction. However, it is extremely important to us that we provide our members and partners with the opportunity to share their experiences with us.
Therefore we invite you to tell us, in your own words, what this year’s theme means to you! Whether you are camera shy or not, the guidelines below will help you capture a compelling video. All you will need is a smartphone, laptop, or camera capable of recording video. There will be no need for fancy equipment or spending long hours editing. We need less than a minute of your time!
All suitable submissions will be used to create a video collage which will be shared at the end of the CEBF 2021 on the BirdsCaribbean website and social media accounts.
Guidelines and Tips for Creating your Short Video
Instructions for the video content:
Have fun! Remember this is not a school project or work assignment.
Speak in your native language; if possible, please send us the English script if it is not English.
First introduce yourself: your name and where you’re from
Then let us know what our theme “Sing, Fly, Soar—Like A Bird!” means to you. Smile, speak naturally, from the heart, and feel free to be creative!Some ideas: You can talk about how birds inspire you, how you got into birding, what you love about birds, your birding activities, how birds changed your life, your “spark” bird, why birds matter, how birds unite us, how you relate to this theme personally, your work conserving, studying or educating about birds, etc. Do your best to relate it to the theme, and don’t be shy about conveying your enthusiasm!
Instructions for recording the video:
Videos should be up to one minute in length – two or three sentences is great (20-30 seconds). If you need a little longer to tell your story, that’s okay too!
If possible, shoot your video with a DSLR camera, iPhone, or smartphone at high resolution.
If you shoot the video from a phone, use landscape (horizontal), not portrait (vertical) mode. It’s best to place yourself in the left or right ⅓ of the image, rather than the center.
Shoot from about an arm’s distance from the phone so that the video covers till your stomach and make sure there is a little headspace on the top.
Check your lighting. Natural light outdoors in nature works best (the sun should be behind the camera). If using a lamp or other light source make sure it is in front of you- NOT behind, overhead, or to the side.
Check your sound. Make sure the audio is clear and there is minimal or no background noise.
Ask a friend or family member to handle the camera work while you focus on delivering your best performance.
Optional: If it’s helpful, feel free to check out some past video testimonials on our website or youtube channel.
Videos must NOT contain:
Copyrighted material (such as music tracks, photos) without necessary authorizations.
Material that is inappropriate, indecent, obscene or hateful
Instructions for sending us your video:
Email video, consent form (if needed), and English script (if needed) toAliya.Hosein@birdscaribbean.org. Note: the file may be too large to send via email; you may also send it via Dropbox, Google Drive, WeTransfer, OneDrive, etc. Please send reasonably high resolution, e.g., 1080 px).
For adults, by submitting your video you give BirdsCaribbean consent to use the video for purposes specified above.
For those under the adult age in your country, the minor’s video must be accompanied with a consent form signed by a parent or guardian – download the form here.
If you’re working today, you shouldn’t be. Tomorrow is Global Big Day for crying out loud. There is much to do.
And so, here’s your Friday Checklist:
Global Big Day – May 14, 2022Polish up your binos with one of those sweet microfiber cloths. Nobody knows what microfiber actually is; maybe spider silk, or the amazingly soft armpit hair of a baby goat, or dandelion seed fluffs sewn together. Scholars are mystified, so just be happy it works. Wipe away.
Begin carb-loading. Finding time to eat tomorrow will be challenging, so aim for consuming somewhere around four to five thousand calories today and you should be good to go. Pig out.
Play around on social media. Not just because it’s routine for you to do so at the top of every hour (isn’t working from home nice?!), but because you need to get the down-low on what other birders are up to. Some might already be tailgating in preparation for Global Big Day. Don’t let their cool personas get to you. Stay strong.
Take a nap from at least noon to 3pm. You’ve earned it. Plus, tomorrow is going to be an early one. Sunrise waits for no one, neither do those birds. Sleep easy.
It’s time to plan out the ground that you’re going to cover. Hour by hour planning is fun, but so is winging it. Keep some spontaneity on the docket. Remember that high vantage points can be really advantageous. Even though birds hate being looked down upon, it’s your best shot at seeing a lot of them at one time. Go high.
Refresh your knowledge of intricate molt patterns, especially with gulls. Rumor has it that some gull species have over 300 plumage variations, and that no mortal man or woman could possibly comprehend them all. Good luck.
Avoid people at all costs (unless you like people) because you might encounter other Global Big Day’ers out there. They may look friendly at first glance, but what they really want is information. Act naive, maybe even slightly disappointed, and ask them if they wouldn’t mind giving you advice on how to find whatever the most common species is in your area. They’ll leave you alone after that. Fly casual.
It’s gonna be a long day, so be sure to hydrate like crazy. Electrolytes are all the rage these days, and because they taste like hell by themselves you’ve got a great excuse to mix in a few cups of sugar. Nectar for the birds, and nectar for you. Pace yourself.
Reflect on which sock type to wear: tube socks or low-cuts? Don’t kid yourself, you’re a birder. That choice was made long ago. Tube up!
Tell a family member about Global Big Day. Not your second cousins on your mother’s side, they won’t care. But maybe your sweet aunt or the brother you’ve neglected for far too long. Convince them that birding is fun and that they should join you. Remember that family is obligated to love you and the things you do. Milk that.
Cue up your eBird account, make sure it still works, and take note of your GBD team’s username that you’ll be sharing your final list(s) with. Your role as a citizen scientist makes you awesome. And remind yourself that LBBs (Little Brown Birds) are not an acceptable species entry in eBird. That’s unfortunate.
With all this prep, your Global Big Day will surely be unforgettable. But your memory isn’t what it once was, so you might actually forget a lot of it. Best to document your exploits. While it’s highly likely that Uncle Sam is continuously taking beautiful photos of you from above, some good shots from ground-level of birds and people birdwatching will make you eligible for more prize giveaways—so be sure to pack a camera. Say cheese!
If you’re not having fun, then you’re not birding. And if you’re not birding, you’re definitely not having fun. Let’s make Global Big Day 2022 the best one yet!
p.s. It’s not too late to join one of our 17 awesome teams!!! Just click here to choose a team – or create one of your own! And here’s a link to our Global Big Day blog article with more information about how this fundraiser will benefit conservation of the Caribbean’s AMAZING birds!Any questions whatsoever about your birding mission tomorrow, don’t hesitate to email us! Lisa Sorenson – lisa.sorenson@birdscaribbean.org;Tahira Carter – tahira.carter@birdscaribbean.org; Justin Proctor – justin.proctor@birdscaribbean.org; and Jeff Gerbracht – jeffgerbracht@gmail.com.
St. Vincent’s iconic Parrot still faces challenges from the La Soufrière eruption, but work is being done to help the parrot and relief supplies are on the way (thanks to many generous donors who responded to our emergency appeal)! As the dramatic month of April draws to a close, it is still a mixed picture for the island of St. Vincent, its wonderful parrots and other wildlife, and its people. This level of uncertainty is likely to persist for the foreseeable future, according to scientists, who are monitoring La Soufrière on a daily basis. Their message is that the smoldering, steaming volcano, which is fairly quiet for now, is “still dangerous.” As we have learned, the situation can change rapidly.
Remobilization of ash at surrounding areas of La Soufriere, St. Vincent (Photo by Ilias Papadopoulos, UWI-SRC)
La Soufrière’s destructive path
Since we wrote about the volcano’s first eruption on April 9th, the volcano erupted again on the morning of Earth Day (April 22), with the plume of ash reaching as high as eight kilometers. This created some pyroclastic flows – a mixture of extremely hot volcanic ash and rocks that burns everything in its path. Since then, there have been flows of lahars (these are very fast-moving, dense mudflows or debris flows consisting of pyroclastic material, rocky debris, ash and water) along river valleys and gullies. To make matters worse, torrential rains on April 28 and 29 have created floods and landslides in several parts of the island (including the capital, Kingstown) exacerbating the flow of lahars through valleys. Residents are being advised not to go near rivers or streams, especially in the dangerous Red Zone in the north.
Lahars observed in the Wallibou River (Red Zone, Leeward side of the island) on the morning of 29 April, 2021. The rainfall overnight generated lahars (mudflows) in the red and orange zones. (photo by Richard Robertson, UWI Seismic Research Centre)
Lahars are fast moving, dense mixture of rocks, ash and vegetation and water originating from a volcano. It has the consistency of wet concrete and can cause severe damage to rivers and valleys around the volcano. (photo by Richard Robertson, UWI Seismic Research Centre)
As of the evening of Thursday, April 29, the University of the West Indies (UWI) Seismic Centre reported that the volcano’s activity remained low. However, the lahars (some extremely hot) have caused considerable erosion and damage in all valleys that drain the volcano, bringing down many trees that have been carried into the ocean and are creating a hazard for shipping. In several parts of the island, damage to the forest has been quite extensive and rivers are filled with sediment. Earth tremors have been frequent. A recent survey noted many broken trees, weighed down by the heavy ash falls – even in the southern Green Zone where the danger is less. In some areas (for example, Jennings, Tiberoux, and Perseverance) trees have lost their tops and there was little sign of life in the forest. This is not good news for birds, including not only the St. Vincent Parrot but species such as the endangered Whistling Warbler and twelve other restricted-range endemic species, including the Grenada Flycatcher, Rufous-throated Solitaire, Purple-throated Carib, Brown Trembler, Lesser Antillean Tanager, Antillean Euphonia, and others.
Valley on the Leeward side of St. Vincent showing severe damage to trees and vegetation. (photo by Richard Robertson, UWI Seismic Research Centre)
Vincentians working hard for the birds
However, there is good news! Our partners on the ground at the Forestry Department of St. Vincent and the Grenadines are still seeing and hearing parrots. Local foresters are working hard for the birds; take a look at the photos and great videos below and on their Facebook page, where you will see them preparing and resupplying fresh fruit to the tall, spindly, but sturdy feeding platform stations that they constructed in the island’s Orange Zone (the central area where many of the parrots are located). Forestry staff have been clearing paths through the damaged forest, looking for stressed parrots and where they are concentrating, clearing waterways of fallen trees and branches in order to restore water supply in several areas, and at the same time doing humanitarian work – helping out their fellow Vincentians with supplies for shelters. Kudos to these brave and hard-working foresters!!! Forestry reports that they have a number of farmers that work with them and they are sympathetic to the plight of the parrots and putting our fresh fruit for them. Forestry is helping to supply this fruit. Members of the public are also calling in to Forestry to report that parrots, hummingbirds and other birds are showing up in areas where they do not normally occur. This shows that parrots are moving around searching for food – thank goodness they have wings! Hopefully, much of the population has been able to escape the eruptions and most damaged areas – time will tell as surveys continue in the coming weeks and months.
Help is on the way!
Thanks to the generous donations from friends and donors to the BirdsCaribbean fundraising effort, and the great support of international partners, we have shipped off supplies for the Forestry Department: a range of field equipment, including binoculars, respirators, backpacks, machetes, GPS units, walkie-talkies, cameras, and head-lamp flashlights; also tools and supplies such as hand drills, aviary wire, tarps, and hardware to repair and enhance the Forestry Department’s facilities for breeding captive parrots at the Botanical Gardens. The shipment also includes supplies to treat and care for rescued parrots—two veterinary “go-bags” (field kits containing all the critical care supplies needed to treat parrots in the field), Vita Seed Top Parrot Mix (300 pounds), hand-feeding formula and medicines to treat rescued parrots, and a portable oxygen generator and St Vincent Parrot-sized mask to help parrots in respiratory distress. The first shipment including all of the above items (1,625 pounds) is now en route to St. Vincent via Tropical Shipping sea freight – it will arrive on May 5th! Additional items still to be sent include nectar feeders for hummingbirds (many flowering plants have been badly damaged), seed feeders for other birds, and camping supplies to allow Forestry to spend the night in the field during parrot survey watches.
Recovery and relief supplies in the first shipment to St. Vincent include field equipment, supplies to care for rescued parrots, and hardware to repair and enhance the St. Vincent Parrot Aviary at the Botanical Gardens. (photos by Paul and Karen Reillo).
In these uncertain times, our caring local partners will continue to need our support. They are working hard in very challenging, often dangerous conditions to ensure that some of our most vulnerable Caribbean birds are assured of a safe and secure future. Later on, there will be a great deal of restoration work to do. At the moment, the volcano remains “in a state of unrest,” according to the UWI.
Jan 2022 Update
Our crowdfunding platform for this appeal, GoFundMe Charity, a separate arm of GoFundMe, unfortunately closed down this site, with a plan for all charities to operate fundraising pages on their main site, thus our crowdfunding page for this fundraiser is no longer available. However, you can donate here and designate your donation in the comments to help with the continued recovery of the St Vincent Parrot, Whistling Warbler, and other wildlife in St Vincent. We owe it to the gorgeous St. Vincent Parrots and their beautiful island home!
Thank you to all of the incredibly generous donors to our fundraising campaign for your support. This has been critical to allow us to purchase and ship relief supplies as well as send funds to our local partners in St. Vincent. A huge thank you also to our international partners who are supporting this relief effort, including Rare Species Conservatory Foundation, Caribaea Initiative, Fauna & Flora International, Vortex Optics, and the Farallon Islands Foundation. We thank our amazing local partners SCIENCE Initiative, the St. Vincent & the Grenadines Environment Fund, and the Forestry Dept for your support and hard work.
Some of the recovery and relief supplies sent to the St Vincent Forestry Dept in the first shipment (April 2021). (photo by Paul and Karen Reillo)
Portable oxygen generator with a mask adjusted to fit the St Vincent Parrot. (photo by Paul and Karen Reillo)
Aviary wire and other relief supplies loaded up and ready to take to the port in West Palm Beach. (photo by Karen Reillo)
Relief supplies (1,200 pounds) ready to go the port to get on Tropical Shipping’s next boat to St Vincent on 28 April. Huge thanks to Paul and Karen Reillo for assembling and repacking all of the supplies for shipping! (photo by Karen Reillo)
Scientists studying the impacts of the volcano in the Wallibou River area on 26 April before lahars hit the area on 29 April. (photo by Prof. Jenni Barclay)
The Wallibou River area on 29 April AFTER a lahars hit the area on 29 April. Never underestimate the power of a lahar! (photo by Prof. Jenni Barclay)
St Vincent Parrot in better times, eating monkey goblet fruit (Clusia major), May 2018. (photo by Glenroy Gaymes)
Map of La Soufrière danger zones in St. Vincent. The St Vincent Parrot’s main habitats are in the forests in the orange and yellow zones.
It’s that time of year again—spring migration! And that means birders from around the globe will be gathering for Global Big Day, happening on May 8th, 2021. This year, BirdsCaribbean is excited to be hosting another fundraiser that harnesses the energy, excitement, and comradery of Global Big Day (GBD), and uses the money to further conservation work in the Caribbean!
Last year’s GBD, at the peak of our pandemic lockdown, was a welcome respite from isolation as we connected with each other through birding. We want to do it again this year and make it even bigger and better! Read on for more details!
What is Global Big Day (GBD)?
Twice a year, during peak migration times (once in spring and once in fall) birders gather (often in teams) and travel around an area trying to observe as many bird species as they can in a 24-hr period of time.
BirdsCaribbean virtual teams will bird “together” and engage in friendly competition to (1) raise the most funds, and (2) collectively see the most species of birds on Global Big Day.
This year we’re excited to announce all the money raised from participating BirdsCaribbean GBD teams will benefit BirdsCaribbean’s exciting new Caribbean Motus Collaboration! And new this year, all funds raised by Caribbean island teams will go directly to fund Motus stations in their countries.
Because of continued safety concerns with COVID-19, many of us will be birding again individually, and from a safe place*.
If you choose to create a team, personalize it with a fun name, photos and your own lingo. NOTE: if you are outside the US or Canada, we will need to assist you with the first step of creating your own team; after this you will be able to manage the team (email Lisa.Sorenson@BirdsCaribbean.org and she will get you set up pronto!)
All team leaders and members should then invite family, friends, colleagues, and members of your birding community to join your team and/or donate to your team. It helps to set your own personal fundraising goal to help your team reach it’s overall goal!
By inviting people to your team, you are (1) raising awareness for BirdsCaribbean and the Caribbean Motus Collaboration, (2) helping to raise funds for Caribbean Motus, and (3) promoting Global Big Day, citizen science, and the importance of conserving birds and their habitats.
and/or . . .
Simply making a donation to one of the birding and fundraising teams.
By doing so, you will have (1) helped advance knowledge and conservation through supporting Caribbean Motus Collaboration, and (2) encouraged that team to bird as hard as they can on Global Big Day.
and/or . . .
Committing to spending some time (or the entire day!) birding on Global Big Day (May 8), being sure to keep track of what you see and then entering that information into eBird. We hope everyone will do this, whether or not they join a team or fundraise.
This will be a fun event to fundraise for and get excited about birds! Be ready to visit birding hotspots or set yourself up in a safe place* and bird for as much of the day as possible, knowing that all of your teammates, friends, and BirdsCaribbean community members are doing the same!
Why This is Important
The insular Caribbean is a critical region for birds. There are 171 species that occur here and nowhere else in the world! In addition, the islands provide essential habitat for over 100 migratory birds. Many stay 6 months or longer while others rely on the islands as stopover sites to rest and refuel during their long journeys.
As vital as the region is for birds, we still lack basic information on many species. In addition, Caribbean birds face a whole range of threats, including habitat loss and fragmentation, pollution, invasive species, and climate change.
We plan to address these issues by identifying the most critical sites and habitats for our birds. We will use an exciting new monitoring tool: the Motus Wildlife Tracking System. Motus, Latin for movement, is a powerful collaborative research network that uses automated radio telemetry to monitor the movements of small animals. The system consists of hundreds of receiver stations and tens of thousands of deployed bird tags.
Motus is also a great tool for engaging the public and youth in science and conservation – we plan to involve local communities and schools in our efforts!
Data from the Motus network has already expanded our understanding of bird migration. The Motus network is widely established in Canada and the US, and beginning to spread throughout Central and South America. Currently, however, there are no active receiver stations in the Caribbean, and many species of conservation concern have not yet been tagged. We want to fill this critical geographical gap!
Our plan is to raise funds for Motus stations and work with our partners to install them in priority areas throughout the islands. We need your help to do this!
We need to raise funds to install and maintain Motus receiver stations in strategic locations throughout the islands. The components of stations cost approximately ~$4,800, and the total cost of a station (including shipping, installation, maintenance, etc.) is ~$10K.
Keep in mind that each station is able to detect thousands of tagged birds flying by, every second of the year, and that the more stations we install, the more detailed information we learn about critically important migration flyways and stopover sites throughout the Caribbean.
We also need to deploy nanotags on priority bird species in the islands to track their movements. Each tag costs ~$225.
Any amount that we can raise is helpful! This is a highly tangible way to get involved in the conservation of Caribbean species.
As with everything in the Caribbean we will be successful when our whole community pitches in, so let’s do this together. We know we can count on you to help!
About Global Big Day
Global Big Day is organized by the Cornell Lab of Ornithology. Last year, more than 50,000 people across 175 countries collectively reported an astounding 120,000 eBird checklists. Learn more here about this citizen scientist initiative.
Prizes will be Awarded to
(1) the team that raises the most funds
(2) the team with the most creative name and stylish fundraising page
(3) the team that sees the most bird species on Global Big Day
(4) the “country/island team” that sees the highest proportion of their birds on Global Big Day (to control for differences in the number of species on each island!)
(5) the team with the best “find” of the day (unusual, rare, plumage aberration, etc.)
(6) the team with the best bird photo of the day (must be posted on eBird along with your list)
And others, TBD! Remember that all funds raised by island/country teams will go to support Motus in that country!
*Safety
While COVID is decreasing in some islands and more and more people are getting vaccinated, it’s still important to be cautious. Be sure to choose birding locations that (1) comply with your municipality’s COVID-19 safety guidelines (i.e. social distancing, wearing a mask, and travel guidelines), and (2) comply with your personal safety preferences. And so whether you will be birding at local parks, reserves, wetlands, beaches, neighborhood or backyard, we will all be enjoying the opportunity to distract ourselves with some safe, fun birdwatching. Additionally, we will all be birdwatching “together” for a great cause that unites us!
Thanks in advance for participating and supporting our fundraiser, however you can! We hope to see lots of teams forming throughout the Caribbean, US, Canada ,and beyond! We will keep you updated with more news and details about our Global Big Day, such as how to keep a count of your birds and enter your data on line – stay tuned!
The first powerful eruption of La Soufriére Volcano on the morning of April 9th, 2021. (photo by Richard Robertson-UWI Seismic Research Centre)
At 8:41 a.m. on Friday, April 9, 2021, La Soufrière volcano, located in the north of the island of St. Vincent, erupted for the first time in 42 years. There have been many additional and more explosive eruptions since then, including a collapse of the volcano’s dome and pyroclastic flows starting on April 12th, decimating villages, farms, and housing. St. Vincent and neighboring islands are now covered in ash, in particular Barbados. The ash plume is also affecting St. Lucia, Grenada, and the Grenadines Islands of Grenada and St. Vincent via surface or sea level winds.
Our hearts go out to our dear friends and colleagues and the people of St. Vincent, as they continue to cope with the devastation caused by the continuing eruptions and dangerous falling rock and ash. Thankfully, many people in the danger (red) zone have been evacuated, but the entire country is impacted by ash fall, power outages, and water shortages. Humanitarian efforts are well underway, but the wildlife also needs our help! Together with our international partners we are organizing funding support to help with the rescue and recovery of the threatened St. Vincent Parrot. (see updated link to donate below under “Jan 2022 Update”).
Please donate generously if you can so that we can provide emergency funding for on-the-ground partners and volunteers to rescue and provide care to injured parrots facing a loss of habitat and food. note: our gofundme page was taken down when their system was changed, so please donate here.
St. Vincent landscape covered in ash, view from Belmont Observatory in St. Vincent, 11 April 2021. (photo by UWI Seismic Research Centre)
Impacts on the St. Vincent Parrot and Other Wildlife
The St. Vincent Parrot, locally known as Vincie, is the National Bird of St. Vincent. It is listed as Threatened. (photo by Nandani Bridglal)
The normally lush green landscape of this beautiful country is now blanketed in gray ash. It’s possible that the eruptions and ash fall could go on for weeks, devastating an island already suffering from the health and economic impacts of the pandemic. We are very concerned about the impacts to many regional and endemic birds on St. Vincent, particularly the threatened St. Vincent Parrot (Amazona guildingii), listed as Vulnerable, and the Whistling Warbler, listed as Endangered. Other restricted-range endemic species (12) include the Grenada Flycatcher, Rufous-throated Solitaire, Purple-throated Carib, Brown Trembler, Lesser Antillean Tanager, Antillean Euphonia, and others. The St. Vincent Parrot is a gorgeous, vibrant symbol of national pride, which bears the country’s national colors. It stands apart from many other Caribbean parrots with the typical green body feathers instead showing iridescent bronze feathers, edged in sunset orange. These striking parrots were once common, but destruction of their forest habitat, illegal trade, hunting, and hurricanes all led to the parrot’s decline to only 370-470 birds in the 1980s. Thankfully, the parrot and its habitat are now protected by law and the population is slowly increasing. It is now listed as Vulnerable with a wild population of about 750 birds. Parrots are generally resilient, but they need our help to make it through this devastating natural disaster.
The Threatened St. Vincent Parrot Needs our Help
Impacts on the wildlife from the eruptions: This St. Vincent Parrot was found in a weakened state. It’s eye were crusted with ash and its crop was empty. Unfortunately, it did not make it. (photo by St Vincent Forestry Department).
Our colleague in St. Vincent, Lystra Culzac, is optimistic that any parrots in the area of the volcano would have moved to safer zones (their main population area is in the west and east slopes of the central mountain range south of the Soufriére Volcano). However, with continuing eruptions many birds have and will continue to perish as ecosystems are devastated from the atmospheric gases and heavy ash fall blanketing the country, as well as pyroclastic flows. We’re very concerned about the impacts on the health and survival of the St. Vincent Parrot, Whistling Warbler, and other birds and wildlife. Breathing volcanic ash and dust is extremely harmful; Radio Grenadines reported Scaly-naped Pigeons falling dead out of the sky on nearby Union Island the day after the first eruption. One adult St. Vincent Parrot in the Jennings area has been rescued so far. The bird was found in the Jennings area on Thursday 15th. Bradford Latham (Acting Forest Supervisor for Wildlife Conservation) reported that the bird was very weak when found—its eyes were swollen and crusty with ash and its crop was empty. Sadly the veterinarian worked to save it, but was not able to.
How Your Gift Will be Used
We are working closely with other concerned conservation organizations that want to help, such as the Rare Species Conservatory Foundation, Caribaea Initiative, and Fauna and Flora International, in partnership with the Forestry Department in St. Vincent, who is directing the recovery effort. Plans are being formulated for the rescue and rehabilitation of St. Vincent Parrots that are impacted by the volcano. However, carrying them out will be complicated and take time, due to the pandemic and also the understandable need to deal with the humanitarian crisis first. Birds that are rescued will be cared for in the Botanical Gardens of St. Vincent, set up as a rehab and breeding facility. Aviary building supplies are needed to expand aviaries and holding enclosures for rescued birds. Survey equipment, parrot feed, and veterinary supplies are needed to provide care, food, and shelter to rescued birds.
Ensuring the long-term health and recovery of the St. Vincent Parrot will require sustained support and effort as the eruptions may continue for weeks or months (Univ of West Indies Seismic Research Centre). The immediate priorities are field expeditions to search for injured and weakened parrots, put out ripe fruit, nuts and parrot feed on platforms in forest areas with high concentrations of parrots, and expanding accommodations for rescued birds. Down the line, habitats and park infrastructure may need restoration and repair. In addition, surveys to assess the damage to habitats and the parrots’ overall population size will be critical. We will keep our community informed about these plans and our progress in the coming days and weeks. Keeping the parrots within SVG territory is a conservation priority. Rescued birds will be cared for until is safe for them to return to their mountain forest habitat.
Please help us to provide the financial resources that our on-the-ground partners need to carry out the rescue and rehab work and save as many St. Vincent Parrots as possible.
Jan 2022 Update
Our crowdfunding platform for this appeal, GoFundMe Charity, a separate arm of GoFundMe, unfortunately closed down this site, thus our crowdfunding page for this fundraiser is no longer available. However, you can donate here and designate your donation to go towards “St Vincent Volcano Recovery” to help with our continued recovery of the St Vincent Parrot, Whistling Warbler, and other wildlife in St Vincent. We owe it to the gorgeous St. Vincent Parrots and their beautiful island home!
Any donation that you can make at this time will be greatly appreciated!
Thank you!!!
Enjoy the photo gallery below – click on first photo to see a slide show with captions.
Eruption of La Soufriére Volcano, as seen from Kingston. (photo by Lystra Culzac)
Grenada Flycatcher, endemic to Grenada and St. Vincent and the Grenadines (photo by Ted Eubanks)
Palm trees giving way to the weight of volcanic ash. (photo by UWI Seismic Research Centre).
Measuring the thickness of the ash fall in St. Vincent. (Photo by UWI Seismic Research Centre).
Purple-throated Carib, endemic to the Lesser Antilles. (photo by Alistair Homer)
Roof collapsing under the weight of the volcanic ash. (photo by UWI Seismic Research Centre)
St Vincent Parrot portrait (photo by St. Vincent Parrot Project)
Warning sign up put in December when La Soufriére began to show signs of increased activity. The University of the West Indies Seismic Research Centre has been monitoring the volcano closely and warned of imminent eruption.
Vermont Natural Trail (photo by Amos Glasgow)
Parrot Lookout on the Vermont Nature Trail (photo by Amos Glasgow)
Rufous-throated Solitaire, endemic subspecies in the Lesser Antilles. (photo by Frantz Delcroix)
Dead Scaly-naped Pigeon found in Union Island, one of the Grenadines Islands of St. Vincent and the Grenadines.
Whistling Warbler, endemic to St Vincent, classified as Endangered.
Ash plume on April 9th at 4 PM, the first day of eruptions (photo by Richard Robertson, UWI Seismic Research Centre)
Eruption of La Soufriére Volcano, as seen from Kingston. (photo by Lystra Culzac)
Brown Trembler, restricted range species. (photo by James Scriber Daley)
Antillean Euphonia, endemic to the Lesser Antilles (photo by Anthony Levesque)
We have a new activity for the Caribbean Endemic Bird Festival (CEBF) and we think you’re going to love it! This year’s CEBF theme is “Sing, Fly, Soar — Like A Bird!” And BirdsCaribbean has lots of fun events and activities planned around this theme, including a zine (pronounced zeen) making contest!
We are very excited to invite you to participate in our first Bird Zine Contest. This is a fantastic opportunity for children and adults to revisit and creatively express their understanding of birds. You will find detailed guidelines and judging criteria in these docs: Bird Zine Contest Guidelines and What is a Zine and Bird Zine Contest Instructions. Be sure to read both documents carefully. There are prizes for each age category and two awesome GRAND PRIZES of a pair of waterproof Vortex Optics Binoculars!
What is a Zine?
A zine is a self-published booklet. Zines tend to be a collage of different images, text, and messages put together by writing, drawing, and/or cutting and gluing content into a booklet. The booklet can be reproduced through photocopying and hand-binding, or shared online via a PDF or flip booklet. Because they are informal and colorful, they are an engaging way to learn and accessible to different types of learners. Need more information? We’ve put together this document that explains how it works, and how you can make your very own!
The Bird Zine Contest was created to allow people in all walks of life, children and adults, to creatively explore the fascinating world of birds. Entries could be from researchers, educators, photographers, students, tour guides, storytellers, artists, advocates – even the ‘I saw my first bird in the wild yesterday’ people! We hope that these zines will also illuminate the intimate relationship between birds and people. It can also be an enjoyable way to further connect our community, so that zine creators will communicate with each other, find opportunities, or even collaborate on future projects.
Remember, birds are super clever and resourceful. They freely express themselves everyday. So should YOU!
We look forward to receiving your bird zines. This collection is meant to reflect our incredibly diverse species of birds and culture and your creativity.
Help us spread the word! Tell your friends and family about the contest and the cool prizes.
Be sure to read these 2 documents and follow instructions carefully:
St Lucia Parrot Zine cover, created by Aliya Hosein, Trinidad and Tobago. You can view the full zine booklet below.
Bird Zine Contest Guidelines – information on who is eligible to participate in the contest, how to submit your zine, prizes, judging, and more.
The deadline for submission is 11:59 PM EDT on Sunday, May 30th, 2021.
Learn More About Zines
A quick online search for ‘Zines’ can provide you with endless examples and tutorials. Here are some zines, many environmental, to look at to get your creative juices flowing.
The Caribbean Endemic Bird Festival (CEBF), now in its 21st year, announces its return for a month-long celebration of the region’s endemic birds! This year’s theme is “Sing, Fly, Soar — Like a Bird!” We will learn about our feathered friends, exploring their beautiful songs and astounding power of flight. Their flight expresses pure freedom and their songs reach out to us, as we connect with them and reflect on their amazing journeys with mixed feelings of envy and admiration. Who hasn’t wished they were able to slip “the surly bonds of Earth” and “danced the skies on laughter-silvered wings”?* These emotions stir us as we embrace this evocative theme.
CEBF creativity – online
How are we reflecting the theme in our CEBF 2021 activities? The #HumansofBirdsCaribbean have been busy behind the scenes preparing webinars, e-books, art classes, colouring pages, videos, origami, puzzles, activity sheets and so much more. A fan favourite, the ‘Endemic Bird of the Day’ series is back with a line-up of 30 new endemic bird species. Be sure to follow BirdsCaribbean on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter to see if your favourite bird made the cut. BirdsCaribbean is also excited to host our first ever Bird Zine Contest (pronounced zeen) and a virtual social event, Bird Jeopardy, this year to the festival!
Last spring the event kicked off with a discussion on the Bahamas’ mysterious “Chickcharney” led by the Bahamas National Trust’s Scott Johnson. Dr Ancilleno Davis led a wonderful story time session about mangroves and gave us a virtual tour of his backyard, which happened to be a thriving mangrove habitat! Christine Elder and Josmar Esteban Marquez helped us to realize our potential as artists by inviting us to follow along as they sketched Caribbean birds. New birders were treated to a six-session course “Birding for Beginners,” organized and hosted by Antigua’ Environmental Awareness Group (EAG). The BirdsCaribbean flock has expanded considerably and we hope to continue to build interest and enthusiasm for the region’s rich bird diversity.
An interactive festival experience
This year, during April and May, we have another astonishing line-up of talks. We will dive into a range of topics, including how to record and use birdsongs to understand bird behavior; endemic hummingbirds in the Bahamas; the role of wildlife rehabilitators in nurturing the next generation of champion conservationists; and new discoveries in regional bird research.
However, CEBF participants will not only be sitting and watching; we have also worked on making the CEBF even more interactive. For the past 18 months we have collected stories, myths, and beliefs about birds from our members, which are currently being compiled into an e-book. We have also launched a zine-making contest called the Bird Zine Contest: you will find more details here. And throughout the festival we will be accepting short videos of our members, explaining what this year’s theme means to them – more details on this coming shortly!
Meanwhile, stay safe…
The well-being of our partners and supporters remains the highest priority for BirdsCaribbean. Following the model of our hugely successful virtual “From the Nest” edition of CEBF in 2020 we will provide activities that can be done from the safety of your homes. Some countries are still experiencing serious COVID challenges, while others are doing better. Do follow your local public health guidelines and mask up, socially distance, and stay home if this is called for. With vaccinations now being administered, there is a light at the end of the tunnel—hopefully we will be able to up meet at birding hotspots across the region in the coming months!
The CEBF is a great opportunity for people of all ages to learn about and connect with the Caribbean’s 171 endemic bird species. These birds inspire us to rise above our challenges. In spite of the threats they face; from loss of their habitats to hurricanes to invasive species, they continue to sing, fly and soar!
Visit birdscaribbean.org or follow @BirdsCaribbean on social media for fun and free activities this spring.
Welcome to our first ever Bird Zine Contest, being held as part of our Caribbean Endemic Bird Festival 2021 activities! We hope to inspire you to get creative and join the contest. We have some awesome prizes for winners in each age category plus 2 overall grand prize winners – see below! Please read the Contest Guidelines and Rules carefully and be sure to follow them. Read more about the CEBF theme for 2021 (Sing, Fly, Soar — Like a Bird) and the contest here.Detailed Instructions for making a Zine and the contest categories/ topics for your zine are in the ‘What is a Zine and Bird Zine Contest Instructions‘ document.
Contest Guidelines and Rules
Eligibility
Participants must belong to one of the following four age categories:
7 – 9 years old
10 – 12 years old
13 – 15 years old
16+ (Adult)
We welcome submissions to the contest* from all the insular West Indies including: the Bahamas, Bermuda, Turks and Caicos Islands, Greater Antilles (Cuba, Hispaniola, Jamaica, Puerto Rico, Cayman Islands), Lesser Antilles, Trinidad and Tobago, Aruba, Bonaire and Curacao. *Children and adults from other countries are most welcome to create a zine and share it with us, for inclusion in our Bird Zine Library online, but only folks from the countries/ islands listed above are eligible to be part of the contest.
Language
We will accept zines in English, Spanish and French.
What to enter: you may create a physical zine or digital zine – details on each are below. Zines must be created using one of the four topics identified and described in the What is a Zine and Bird Zine Contest Instructions.
Physical Zines:
Participants must select ONE topic from the list below.
Choose between a four (4) page zine, i.e. one letter sized page folded in half OR an eight (8) page zine i.e. two letter sized pages folded in half and binded in the middle .
The first page of the zine must be used as the cover with a title.
Participants may use images (photos & artwork) only or images and text. Text-only zines will be disqualified.
Participants may draw/trace or cut & paste images into your zine.
At least one full body photo or drawing of an endemic bird must be included in the zine (see list of endemic birds here).
The common name/s of the endemic bird/s featured in your zine must be included. You may include local bird names too.
The information must be written in your own words, not copied from a source.
Pages must be numbered (bottom left); excluding the cover page
ONE SUBMISSION PER PERSON.
Digital Zines:
St Lucia Parrot Zine cover, created by Aliya Hosein, Trinidad and Tobago. You can view the full zine booklet below.
Same as the above with the following additional guidelines:
The zine can be created using Microsoft Word (blank template provided) or any other online design software.
Zine must be created from scratch.
Participants must obtain permission to use photos and credit the photographer.
No videos may be embedded and no links may be shared in the digital zine.
See example of St. Lucia Parrot digital zine booklet below.
Winners from each age category will receive the following:
7-9 year old – coloring books, colored pencil set, BirdsCaribbean hat & buff
10-12 year old- coloring books, coloured pencil set, BirdsCaribbean hat & buff
13-15 year old – coloured pencil set, copy of ‘Birds of the West Indies Field Guide’ (Herbert A. Raffaele et al.), BirdsCaribbean hat & buff
16+ year- coloured pencil set, copy of ‘Birds of the West Indies Field Guide’ (Herbert A. Raffaele et al.), BirdsCaribbean hat & buff
There will also be a Grand Prize for children (overall) and adults (overall). Each grand prize winner will receive a brand new pair of binoculars, outstanding for birding: Vortex Diamondback HD 8 x 42 waterproof binoculars which come with an Unlimited Unconditional Lifetime Warranty.
How to Enter your Zine
You or an adult can email completed zines to info@birdscaribbean.org with copy to aliya.hosein@birdscaribbean.org. Include your full name, age, country, selected topic, title of zine. Email subject: Bird Zine Contest
Physical zines: Scan and save as a PDF. Name PDF as follows [first name-last name-age-topic]
Digital zines: Save as PDF. Name PDF as above.
Submissions Deadline
By 11:59PM (EDT) on Sunday, May 30th, 2021
By submitting your zine to BirdsCaribbean as part of this contest, you agree that your zine may be shared on our website, social media, and BirdsCaribbean Zine Library online. All authors retain copyright and all zines will be credited with your name.
Judging
Zines will be reviewed by a panel of judges with points awarded for each of the following criteria:
Originality
Creativity and visual appeal
Details clearly seen in art and images i.e. not blurry/ too large/ too small
Correct bird photos or drawings used
Correct information given; use of technical terms for e.g., endangered, dimorphic, nocturnal
Easy to read and understand
Interesting and correct details about bird/s included relevant to selected topic
Handwriting is legible/ Font is legible (digital zines)
BirdsCaribbean is very excited to announce that we are launching a new bird monitoring initiative — the Caribbean Motus Collaboration. And we need your help and involvement! Read on to learn more about this program and how you can help.
What is Motus?
Kirtland’s Warbler fitted with a lightweight nano-tag. These tiny transmitters, which weigh as little as 0.2 g, allow researchers to track the movements of small animals with precision across thousands of miles. (photo by Scott Weidensaul)
The Motus Wildlife Tracking System is a powerful collaborative research network developed by Birds Canada. Named after the Latin word for movement, Motus uses automated radio telemetry arrays to study the movements and behavior of flying animals (birds, bats, and insects) that are nano-tagged and tracked by Motus receivers.
Motus’ main objective is to enable conservation and ecological research by tracking the movement of animals. The system consists of hundreds of receiver stations and thousands of deployed nanotags on 236+ species, mostly birds. Data from this network have already expanded our understanding of bird movements, including pinpointing migration routes and key stopover sites, as well as movements, habitat use, and behavior during breeding and non-breeding seasons. We are only just beginning to tap into the enormous potential of this new technology and growing network of partnerships and data sharing for conservation.
Motus technology is also a valuable educational tool that can advance conservation education both in and out of the classroom. Birds Canada and the Northeast Motus Collaboration have developed a curriculum that combines interactive classroom activities with Motus tracking tools that can be used to teach local children about birds, migration, and conservation.
Expanding the Motus Network in the Caribbean
Motus is widely established in Canada and the US, and beginning to spread throughout Central and South America; however, there are currently no active receiver stations in the Caribbean. The more Motus stations we can put up, the more we can increase our understanding of where tagged birds are moving. In addition, many species of conservation concern that live in or migrate through/ to the region have not yet been tagged. We want to fill this critical geographical gap.
Yellow dots represent the active Motus receiver stations. The white box outlines the insular Caribbean. A few Motus stations that were put up in several islands have been damaged by storms and hurricanes, and need repair.
The Caribbean Motus Collaboration (CMC) is developing a multi-pronged strategy to expand the Motus network by installing and maintaining receiver stations in strategic locations throughout the islands, deploying nanotags on priority bird species, and implementing a specially adapted Caribbean educational curriculum.
Why is this Important?
Our birds are declining at alarming rates.
The Painted Bunting is a declining songbird that winters in FL, Cuba, the Bahamas, Mexico, and Central America. (photo by Ray Robles)
The insular Caribbean is a global biodiversity conservation “hotspot” that is home to over 700 species of birds. Roughly half of these bird species are residents in the Caribbean, including 171 that are endemic – meaning they are found nowhere else in the world! The other half are migratory, splitting their time between temperate and tropical habitats in the Americas, and shared among multiple countries along the way.
For some migratory birds, the Caribbean islands are the perfect winter retreat — they arrive in early fall and stay until spring. Others use one or more islands as stopover sites to rest and refuel as they fly between their breeding and wintering grounds further south. Whether they stay or move on, they are much-loved visitors, reflecting the seasons and inspiring our cultural expressions.
Unfortunately, bird populations are declining. Fifty-nine Caribbean species are at risk of extinction, listed as Vulnerable (30), Endangered (24), or Critically Endangered (5) by the International Union for Conservation of Nature. A recent study found that nearly 30% of the bird populations in North America since 1970 have been lost, and Caribbean species are among the many that are in trouble.
Birds in the Caribbean face an entire suite of threats, including habitat loss and fragmentation, pollution, and invasive species. In addition, climate change has become a constant danger to the region, not only to people, but also to wildlife. The Caribbean is experiencing increasingly intense hurricanes, long droughts, and dramatic changes to the marine environment. The threats are growing for our vulnerable birds, and we can’t afford to lose any more.
Needed now: An effective bird monitoring system in the Caribbean
Research on our birds has progressed considerably in recent decades, but we still lack basic information on many species. We need to understand them better if we are to save them.
We need to identify the most critical sites and habitats for our migratory, resident, and endemic birds, and we need to assess the threats they face. Importantly, we need to raise awareness about why all of this matters.
At BirdsCaribbean we partner with international, regional, and local partners to develop long-term monitoring programs, e.g. our Caribbean Waterbird Census program. We are using several strategic tools for doing so, and we are confident that the Motus Wildlife Tracking System will become an invaluable resource for strengthening our efforts.
Motus receiving stations function similar to automated toll booths on a highway – every time a bird passes over the station it’s recorded, just as automated toll booths record license plates. The stations have a range of about 9 miles or 15 km. (Ruddy Turnstone photo by Maikel Cañizares)
The Caribbean Motus Collaboration (CMC) can inform and promote bird conservation
Colleagues from the Northeast Motus Collaboration stand by a newly installed Motus station in Pennsylvania. (photo credit: Northeast Motus Collaboration)
Our partners are eager to build the Motus network in the Caribbean. The initiative is gaining momentum quickly and the time to act is now! As a regional organization, BirdsCaribbean is keen to facilitate this effort and assist our partners.
Our collaboration will enhance the efforts of those working to grow the network in other regions of the Americas. And it will shed light on the movements and habitat use of bird species of conservation concern. This knowledge is essential to safeguarding birds throughout their full life cycles and reversing population declines.
Caribbean natural resource managers, including many of our partner organizations throughout the region, will be able to use information from the Motus network to identify the most important sites and habitats for our resident and migratory birds. Once identified, those in the Caribbean network and beyond will be able to focus our work on these most critical areas, alleviating threats and protecting these sites. By building the capacity to use this powerful tool, we will also be contributing to the development of local research and environmental education programs. The knowledge, skills, and appreciation for birds will multiply. It’s a “win-win” for the birds, and for those who work to conserve them in the region.
We Need Your Help!
To grow the CMC, we are seeking funding from granting agencies and private donors, and looking to establish partnerships with international and regional organizations, landowners, and businesses in the Caribbean.
Can you suggest a good site for a Motus receiver station? Stations should be located in secure areas that are optimal for detecting movements of birds (e.g., migration flyways, prime habitat for resident and migratory birds). Receivers can be installed as independent structures that are powered by solar panels. However, installing a station on existing structures (e.g., building roofs, fire towers, abandoned telephone towers, radio towers, etc.), especially those with access to electricity, can significantly reduce costs.
Would you or your organization be willing to maintain Motus receiver stations on your island? Motus stations should require minimal maintenance. However, depending on the station setup, data might need to be downloaded a few times each year. It is also important to regularly check that the stations are in working order, particularly following a storm or other disturbance.
Are you interested in sponsoring a Motus receiver station or nanotags, or know of an individual, organization, or business who would be? The components of receiver stations cost approximately ~$4,800, and the total cost of a station (including installation, maintenance, personnel, etc.) is ~$10k. Nanotags, which will be deployed on priority species to track their movements, cost ~$225 each. But any amount is helpful! This is a highly tangible way to get involved in the conservation of Caribbean species.
*NOTE: This year, our fundraiser for Global Big Day (May 8th, 2021) will raise funds for the Caribbean Motus Collaboration. We hope that you will participate – stay tuned!
If you are interested in contributing to the CMC in any capacity, we want to hear from you! Please fill out this short survey so that we can gather information and follow up with you.
Special thanks to the Northeast Motus Collaboration for their generous help, advice, and encouragement in developing this project!
We are pleased to share with you the new edition of the Annotated Checklist of the Birds of Cuba, number 4, 2021, by Nils Navarro Pacheco.
The Annotated Checklist of the Birds of Cuba is an annual publication that constitutes the most complete and updated official list of Cuban avifauna. It is the result of a deep and thorough bibliographic review and updating from the field. It serves as a basis for generating regional and global listings and is standardized for use with eBird.
In this new issue Nils urges us to pay special attention to the final comments he always include, with the aim of clarifying important information, taxonomic status, as well as other information of interest.
This year the cover is rich with a beautiful photo of the Cuban Tody, aka Cartacuba, taken by Karlos Ross. The beautiful cover design by Scott Schiller. From 2021 on, each edition will be published in both Spanish and English, and available in PDF for free download from the BirdsCaribbean website (see below). The printed version is available on Amazon at a good price.
The 2021 edition includes details of the status of 398 recognized species on the main list, and for the first time, a list of the late Quaternary extinct birds of Cuba. It is not intended to be a field identification guide. It is a checklist, updated in accordance with the 60th supplement of AOS. Nils and the publisher, Ediciones Nuevos Mundos, hope this publication fulfills its role and is useful to all persons interested in Cuban birds and ornithology. Nils welcomes questions or suggestions about the checklist (Nils Navarro)
If you are looking for a Field Guide to the Birds of Cuba, you can purchase it here or on Amazon.Read about the first checklist published in 2017 here:
With this year’s Caribbean Waterbird Census (CWC) in full swing BirdsCaribbean recently held some webinars to help out those who want to get involved. One attendee, Emma Lewis, shares her thoughts with us on why counting birds matters so much, and the trials and tribulations (sometimes humorous) of learning to identify shorebirds and waterbirds.
The devil is in the details, they say, and as birders across the region gird themselves up and go out to muddy, sandy, wet places to spot birds, figuring out what is what is no joke. The birds are – what’s the word, indefinable? – at times.
As I may have mentioned before, it’s always important to find birds, but it’s also very important to count them. This helps scientists figure out populations – what, when, where, and how many – and to map them to see how these populations are moving around the planet. What has become apparent in recent years is that waterbirds, especially shorebirds, have been declining in numbers around the world for decades now. In the UK, for example, waterbird numbers have declined by 25 per cent in just the past ten years, according to one survey. There are many reasons for the global decline (some 40 per cent since the 1970s in our hemisphere), with climate change and coastal development high on the list in the Caribbean.
Population trends of different species groups since 1970. Shorebirds have declined by 40%. (Screen shot from BirdsCaribbean Shorebird ID webinar).
Bearing in mind that we need to understand more about our waterbirds, by observing and recording them, in order to conserve them, BirdsCaribbean has organized the Caribbean Waterbirds Census (CWC), now in its twelfth year (January 14 to February 3; including World Wetlands Day on February 2). This year, three webinars were organized to help confused birders identify those delightful birds, of all shapes and sizes, that potter around on our beaches, salt flats, marshes, mangroves, mudflats,and riversides at this time of year.
In descending order… Big, little and…smaller still, like the Least Sandpiper. Last, but not least. Full guide and other resources available here (Screenshot from BirdsCaribbean shorebird ID webinar)
Ducks a-dabbling. These are Blue-winged Teals, which are the most common migratory duck to visit us in the Caribbean. The male has a distinctive white crescent on his face & both sexes have a large blue-wing patch. (Photo by Sharon Cardin)
The thing is, you see, there are ~185 species of waterbirds around the Caribbean. These include dabbling ducks and diving ducks, tall stately herons and small crouching herons, egrets with various colored legs and bills, and a baffling (and disconcertingly large) group of sandpipers and plovers – breeding, non-breeding, and in between (sometimes they are molting in or out of their breeding plumage). Males, females, and immature ones. Most of them actually are super-migrants, breeding way up in the Arctic and making their way all the way down to the Caribbean in winter to just hang out, rest, feed, and prepare to migrate back again.
I took this photo in Portland Bight, Clarendon, in 2019. Could it be…? Is it…a Lesser Yellowlegs? **see end of post
I had some little chuckles to myself during the webinars. It was harder than the most difficult New York Times crossword at times – the Sunday one. We had regular quizzes throughout to “test our knowledge,” during which I felt increasingly desperate and took wild guesses. Is A or B a Semipalmated Sandpiper? Or could it be a Spotted Sandpiper? Is it “front heavy” (it could be a Western Sandpiper)? Is its back the color of wet sand, or dry sand? What is the difference between a Greater Yellowlegs and a Lesser Yellowlegs (if you saw just one of them)?
Look for clues, our presenters urged. Sometimes the differences can be “very subtle.” Indeed.
So, next weekend, all being well, I will be taking the “Waterbird Challenge.” Why don’t you try it too? If you need some inspiration, go to BirdsCaribbean’s YouTube page (see links below). The webinars were all streamed live on Facebook, so you can find them there, too. I would also recommend downloading the free Merlin bird ID app from the Cornell Lab on your phone! And of course, don’t forget to enter your birding checklists on eBird Caribbean (be sure to choose one of the Caribbean Waterbird Census protocols – see instructions here) – your data are invaluable to science and conservation.
Ultimately, as for so many things in life, the best advice is “practice makes perfect.” In other words, the more you get out there and tackle those waterbirds, the better. Spend hours with them!
And, as Jeff Gerbracht from the Cornell Lab of Ornithology, who gave us those finer points, reminded us: “Waterbirds need the Caribbean.”
We learned the finer points of waterbird and shorebird ID – many valuable tips were provided. Now I just need to study! (image from Waterbirds ID Webinar Part II: Shorebirds; photo by Ray Robles)
If you would like to become a member of BirdsCaribbean, you do not have to be an expert at all! What unites us is our love of birds. For students and Caribbean nationals, the membership is only US$25 annually. If you are a Caribbean institution, the membership is US$60. Your membership helps BirdsCaribbean’s efforts to raise awareness, train and mentor conservation professionals, support research and monitoring, advocate for birds and their habitats, and engage people in citizen science and conservation actions. One big plus is that as a member you get free access to Birds of the World, a fabulous online resource which costs more than your membership fee to subscribe to!
**This shorebird does have yellow legs but it is in fact a Spotted Sandpiper. It has shorter legs than a Lesser Yellowlegs and a heavier bill. Note the white “smudge” or wedge at the shoulder, another good field mark. It also shows the typical ’tilted forward’ posture of a Spotted Sandpiper and lacks the speckled plumage on the back, you would expect on a Lesser Yellowlegs.
Many thanks to Emma Lewis for this inspiring and fun article. Emma is a blogger, social and environmental activist, and avid birder based in Jamaica. She also recently joined the board of BirdsCaribbean. Thank you to the US Fish and Wildlife Service, US Forest Service, Canadian Wildlife Service, and our members and donors for supporting our Caribbean Waterbird Census and Waterbird-Shorebird Education, Monitoring and Conservation Projects!
Size of Award: Several grants up to $1,000 each Application Deadline: February 19th, 2021 at 5 p.m. EST. Address Questions and Send Application to: Will Mackin, BirdsCaribbean, willmackin@gmail.com with copy to info@birdscaribbean.orgAnnouncement of Awards: March 15th, 2021 Donations to the Fund: Tax-deductible (U.S.) at this link. ___________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Dave Lee holding a White-tailed Tropicbird in the Bahamas. (photo by Mary Kay Clark)
David S. Lee (1943-2014) was a pioneering naturalist and conservation biologist who helped get BirdsCaribbean started nearly 30 years ago. He inspired many naturalists with his work and his writing. He was a man of many interests, and with respect to the Caribbean, published numerous papers and articles in the popular press on seabirds, Bahamian fish, turtles, snakes, bats, and orchids.
Donations from Dave’s wife, Mary Kay Clark and his mother, June Bash, allowed the establishment of the David S. Lee Fund for the Conservation of Caribbean Birds that will award money to conservation projects in his honor. The money is being held in a trust and will be used to award annual grants for innovative projects that protect Caribbean birds and their habitats.
Goal of the Fund: The David S. Lee Fund for Conservation seeks to continue David’s passion for protecting wildlife. The fund will support direct, innovative conservation work in the Caribbean Region for birds and their habitats. The fund will be managed by BirdsCaribbean and used for annual small grants. Applicants should demonstrate how their project will work with conservation groups and local communities in the Caribbean.
Eligibility: Scientists/naturalists working in the Caribbean, in conservation organizations or academic programs, may apply. Applicants should be students or early career ornithologists, conservationists, or wildlife professionals (i.e., not established faculty or senior staff of a conservation organization, less than 10 years post-graduation). A student must be enrolled in accredited Masters or PhD program in ecology, biology, conservation, or related field to be eligible. Applicants must be paid or sponsored members of BirdsCaribbean at the time of application.
Use of Funds: The funds can cover travel to field sites, living expenses in the field, or costs for equipment and supplies to conduct conservation projects. Examples of equipment and supplies include traps, cameras, automated recording units, nest boxes, etc. Ineligible costs include salary or other wages, overhead fees, etc. Projects that foster collaboration between scientists/naturalists in different island groups of the Caribbean, such as joint projects to test conservation techniques for similar species, will be favored. Application Guidelines:
Proposals may be submitted in English, French, or Spanish. All should have an English version of the abstract.
Applications should be emailed as a Microsoft Word document.
The application should include a cover page, proposal (download guidelines below), and a curriculum vitae for the applicant.
Separately, by email, three individuals who can attest to your effectiveness in previous work should submit letters of recommendation. For students, this would include your academic advisor.
Evaluation:
A committee appointed by BirdsCaribbean will review the proposals and award the grants.
The awardee will be required to submit a report one year from the day of the award explaining how the award money was spent and the results of the project to that point. The awardee is also asked to write an article for BirdsCaribbean’s blog about their work (informal article for a lay audience).
Eligible applicants can download the application here. ___________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Help support the Dave Lee Fund by being a sponsor!
Reddish Egrets (dark morph). (photo by Tania Thomson, Shutterstock)
This fund will be for the conservation of any bird in the Caribbean as a reflection of Dave’s diverse interests. He was an important part of many projects, ranging from those of the Black-capped Petrel and Seabird Working Group to the scholarly debate leading to the elevation of the Bahama Yellow-throated Warbler to a full species. At the moment the fund contains $12,000. Our initial goal is to raise $25,000 so that we can award $1,000 every year to a worthy student or early career ornithologist, conservationist or wildlife professional. Not only will this fund encourage creative field work for projects that make a difference, but it will also help build the knowledge and skills of young conservationists that are urgently needed to make sure that the Caribbean birds and habitats that Dave treasured are still around for future generations to enjoy.
Cuban Parrot surveying his domain. (photo by Elliotte Rusty-Harold, Shutterstock)
At the 2015 BirdsCaribbean meeting in Kingston, Jamaica, a round of beers was purchased in Dave’s honor, since he always seemed to have a cooler full when people wanted one (and even when they didn’t). Think of this fund like a cooler full of refreshing beverages that Dave would have around if he were here. We owe it to Dave to stock that cooler—to vitalize naturalists and empower them in their work to help wildlife. Please give a tax deductible donation to the David S. Lee Fund. Give generously. The more we put into the fund, the more we can give out each year. Thanks to all those that have contributed to the fund!
If you prefer to donate with a check, please make the check out to “BirdsCaribbean” and in the memo section, note that it is for the David S. Lee Fund. If you have questions or to make other arrangements for donating, please feel free to contact Jennifer Wheeler, BirdsCaribbean Financial Officer (jennifer.wheeler@birdscaribbean.org) Checks can be mailed to: BirdsCaribbean, 841 Worcester St. #130, Natick, MA 01760-2076
Thank you for your participation and support!
Reports from Projects Supported with Dave Lee Fund Scholarships:
West Indian Whistling-Ducks swimming through duckweed at Negril Royal Palm Reserve in Jamaica. WIWDs are endemic to the West Indies. Their long-term survival is threatened by destruction and degradation of their wetland habitats from development, climate change, and pollution, as well as poaching and predation by invasive species. (photo by Ann Sutton)
We are pleased and proud to announce that Inauguration Day, 20th January 2021 was the start of a new and wonderful initiative. This big event happened far from Washington D.C., in a remote wetland near Negril, Jamaica. On this day, two West Indian Whistling-Ducks, nicknamed “Joe” and “Kamala”, became the first of their kind to bear GPS trackers. From now on, like their namesakes, these birds will be the focus of constant scrutiny and international attention. Their solar–powered backpack trackers will report their locations every hour. Read on as Dr. Ann Haynes-Sutton shares more with us about this exciting new initiative.
West Indian Whistling-Ducks (WIWD) are one of the rarest ducks in the Americas. We know very little about the behavior and movements of these secretive ducks, which are found only in the northern Caribbean (including the Bahamas, Turks and Caicos Islands, Cuba, Hispaniola, Jamaica, Cayman Islands, Puerto Rico, Antigua and Barbuda; extirpated, very rare, or vagrant elsewhere). WIWDs are classified by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) as “Near Threatened.” Threats to these ducks include destruction of their wetland habitats, climate change (severe droughts, storms, and flooding), predation by invasive species (e.g., mongoose), poaching, and pollution from agriculture and other sources. BirdsCaribbean members have long reported declines in the population of Whistling-Ducks and their habitats throughout their range, which led to the creation of the WIWD and Wetlands Conservation Project. Jamaican populations are among the worst affected in recent years.
Three GPS trackers ready for application. (photo by Ann Sutton)
About 10 years ago, I regularly saw more than 150 in the Negril wetlands but over the years I heard reports that their numbers had declined catastrophically. The reports reached the Jamaican Government, who made the recovery of the WIWD the focus of part of their Global Environment Facility Project “Integrating Water, Land and Ecosystems Management in Caribbean Small Island States – Jamaica sub-project Biodiversity Mainstreaming in Coastal Landscapes within the Negril Environmental Protection Area of Jamaica.” The Government hired me as the lead expert for the West Indian Whistling-Duck component.
In order to plan for the ducks’ recovery, I needed detailed information, for example, how many there are, where they feed, nest, and roost, and the threats they face. I couldn’t find any such data, for Negril or any other part of Jamaica. I set out to survey the ducks from the ground, from roads, and by boat, using tapes, drones and cameras. All these approaches failed. Apart from one location, I could not find any ducks, although with the help of the Negril Environmental Protection Trust I received some reports from local community members.
Thus, I was more than delighted when BirdsCaribbean and Hope Zoo Preservation Foundation supported the purchase and importation of some GPS trackers from Cellular Tracking Technologies. These state-of-the-art trackers, used successfully on species like Peregrine Falcons and Greater Sage Grouse, will plot the positions of the ducks every hour to within a few metres.
BirdsCaribbean Executive Director, Lisa Sorenson commented, “We are thrilled with the launch of this exciting project. I expect it will lead to major improvements in our knowledge of the ducks’ movements and habitat use. If so, BirdsCaribbean will seek to do tracking in other parts of the Caribbean. WIWDs populations are small on every island where they occur (with the exception perhaps of Cuba) and they have been extirpated from several countries. We hope to ramp up our knowledge and conservation of this important regional endemic.”
Brandon Hay and Ricardo Miller taking measurements on one of the two WIWDs that were captured. (photo by Ann Sutton)
On 20th January 2021, our small team – composed of Ricardo Miller of the National Environment and Planning Agency, D. Brandon Hay of the Caribbean Coastal Area Management Foundation, and myself – captured two West Indian Whistling-Ducks in Negril and fitted them with transmitters. It was an amazing thrill to hold these beautiful birds in our hands and very carefully attach the devices. Gina Kent from the Avian Research and Conservation Institute in Florida and Lisa Sorenson of BirdsCaribbean were on hand remotely to provide us with technical advice and support.
With excitement and trepidation we set the ducks free. Now we are looking forward to see what we can learn from them. The information I gather will support my work with the local and international communities to develop and implement measures to preserve West Indian Whistling-Ducks in Negril. No doubt our findings will promote initiatives to assess and conserve the ducks in the rest of Jamaica, and throughout their range.
We decided to call the ducks “Joe” and “Kamala” in honour of the very auspicious date and our hope that they can help to save the species. Go for it Kamala and Joe – we wish you well!
Dr. Ann Haynes-Sutton is a Conservation Ecologist and Co-Chair of BirdsCaribbean’s Bird Monitoring Working Group and Seabird Working Group. She has been a long-time member of BirdsCaribbean’s WIWD Working Group and is also the senior author of Wondrous West Indian Wetlands: Teachers’ Resource Book, published by BirdsCaribbean and used in over 145 Wetlands Education Training Workshops since 2002.
Acknowledgements: We are thankful to BirdsCaribbean members and donors whose financial support made this project possible. We are also thankful to National Environment and Planning Agency, Caribbean Coastal Area Management Foundation, Avian Research and Conservation Institute, Hope Zoo Preservation Foundation, and Cellular Tracking Technologies for support and assistance with this exciting project.
If you would like to donate to support this project, please click here. Thank you in advance!
Brandon Hay with Joe, one of the two WIWD. (photo by Ann Sutton)
WIWD with GPS tracker attached using a backpack style harness. The tracker weighs about 20 g, which is about 2% of the species’ body weight. The batteries are solar powered. (photo by Ann Sutton)
WIWDs are a secretive duck, difficult to survey and study, as they typically roost in mangroves or other dense vegetation during the day. They become active at dusk, flying around to different wetlands to feed. (photo by Ann Sutton)
The team at work, taking measurements on one of the two ducks that were fitted with GPS transmitters.
First data coming in from “Kamala” showing her movements around the Negril Royal Palm Reserve in Jamaica.
Rhiannon and Yvan from our Seabird Working Group recently had the chance to catch up with Juliana Coffey, one of the main seabird biologists working with the seabird populations and local communities in St Vincent and the Grenadines and Grenada, to hear about her recent seabird-related activities!
Juliana Coffey is leading EPIC’s seabird program in the Grenadines.
BC: How did you get involved with seabirds in general, and what is your experience with seabirds?
Juliana: I am originally from the island of Newfoundland, off of northeastern Canada. Newfoundland and its surrounding areas are home to millions of breeding seabirds, and our offshore waters are known as a “busy marine bird highway”. So, seabirds are a core part of our natural and cultural heritage: our fisherfolk have their own local names, folklore, superstitions, and knowledge of seabirds acquired over generations at sea.
I first became involved with seabirds when I was 16 through a summer internship at the local university. I was working as a field assistant for a well-known marine ornithologist who exposed me to seabird research and conservation. This was my first taste of field work, and first experience working directly with fisherfolk and indigenous communities on seabird issues. Over the next 20 years, I built up a significant amount of sea-time, including pelagic trips in the Atlantic, Arctic, Indian and Southern Oceans, and have lived at sea or in a tent for months at a time. I have been involved in various types of seabird research, including studies on satellite telemetry, marine debris, nest shelter construction, traditional knowledge collection, as well as outreach activities. Most of these activities have focused on seabirds in the Atlantic and Indian Oceans.
BC: Can you tell us about the Grenadines and how you ended up working with seabirds there?
Juliana: The Grenadines Island chain consists of about 80 islands, islets and cays spanning approximately 100 kilometers. We refer to this region as “transboundary” since these islands are politically divided between the nations of Grenada and Saint Vincent and the Grenadines. Despite there being numerous islands, only nine are inhabited.
The Grenadines archipelago consists of more than 80 islands, islets and cays which host globally and regionally significant seabird populations (Photo by J. James)
I first came to the Grenadines in 2011 through an internship at the Sustainable Grenadines organization on Union Island, where my work involved conducting bird surveys for the Caribbean Waterbird Census. Through this role, I started to become more familiar with Caribbean seabirds, as well as migrant species from North America. It was interesting to see the same species I recognised from my work further north, and to realize how far they travel on a yearly basis!
BC: You co-authored a book on Grenadines’ birds. Can you describe that project and explain how you incorporated local knowledge?
Birds of the Transboundary Grenadines Book (Coffey and Ollivierre 2019)
Juliana: In most of my prior work elsewhere, I always had a field guide to consult when I was challenged with identifying a bird, or wanted to know its habitat or range. Nothing of that sort existed at the time specifically for Saint Vincent and the Grenadines or Grenada. Because I had no idea what a mammoth task writing a field guide would be, I naïvely decided to initiate what ended up being quite a consuming project. Luckily, my co-author Aly Ollivierre (BirdsCaribbean) got involved very early on, and we were able to motivate each other through the process. We finally released the book last year.
Collecting local ecological knowledge of birds from residents of the Grenadines (Photo by A. Ollivierre)
I had spent many years working in the Canadian north on Inuit lands, where traditional knowledge and experience is valued, especially with regards to resource management issues, and I had worked on many projects that utilised this undocumented knowledge. When I began the bird book for the Grenadines, I wanted to gather as much information as possible. I was keen to gather local knowledge, local names, folklore and cultural appreciation of birds in the Grenadines and to include it in the book. The aim was to create a final product that would be of interest to the local communities and build a bridge between culture and conservation. The most rewarding part of this project was returning to the Grenadines with printed copies and showing individuals how their knowledge had been represented. This was an opportunity to preserve and promote this piece of heritage for future generations.
BC: You are now working as a Project Coordinator for Environmental Protection in the Caribbean (EPIC). Can you tell us how you became involved with EPIC and more about your role?
Brown Boobies at Lee Rock, Grenada (Photo by J. Coffey)
Juliana: I first became interested in EPIC when I learned of their monumental efforts to survey all the seabird breeding colonies throughout the Lesser Antilles between 2009-2010. These surveys documented three sites of global importance and 18 of regional significance, on remote and inaccessible islands in the Grenadines island chain. Prior to this, little was known about breeding seabirds on these islands. EPIC’s surveys put this archipelago on the map as one of the top breeding seabird hotspots in the region! Twelve seabird species breed on these islands and over thirty more species have been recorded. However, many of these populations are threatened by human activities such as illegal harvesting, the presence of rats, cats and goats, periodic vegetation control fires in colonies, and coastal development.
Magnificent Frigatebird colony on Battowia (Photo by J. Coffey)
I first became involved with EPIC as an Associate in 2017, and have been working as their Project Coordinator for the Grenadines program for the past two years. My role with EPIC includes a wide range of tasks, including fieldwork, training, and coordinating local citizen scientists, grant and report writing, and advocacy and outreach. My work involves enhancing awareness of threatened seabirds in the region in general, and promoting their protection locally and internationally. I work closely with the project team, including Natalia Collier (Program Director), Lystra Culzac (Lead Educator), and Quincy Augustine (Project Assistant).
BC: EPIC recently compiled a conservation plan for seabirds of the Grenadines. Please tell us more about this and how it developed?
Grenadines Seabird Management Plan
Juliana: The community-based conservation management plan was developed through stakeholder consultation throughout both nations. It draws together all available information on seabirds from these remote islands. The twelve breeding species were each given a profile including information on population size, their breeding distribution, and the timing of their annual cycles. The document also includes an overview of what threats exist on particular islands and throughout the region; the legal context for protection; human values for seabirds; information on what other endangered and endemic species are found on the islands; and finally, recommendations for future research and management. This is the first time much of this information has been presented side-by-side, and we hope that it can be used as a planning document for seabirds and island conservation in the Grenadines going forward.
Community consultations on Mustique (Photo by V. Thomas)
BC: Can you tell us more about your involvement in the training of citizen scientists?
Grenadines Seabird Guardians surveying seabirds at Grenadines’ islands (Photo by A. Ollivierre)
Juliana: Many of the breeding colonies in the Grenadines are remote and difficult to access. As there are over 80 islands and cays in the Grenadines, enforcement and monitoring is incredibly complicated and often not feasible due to the high costs and human input required. Nevertheless, many of these uninhabited islands are visited regularly by fisherfolk, tour operators and recreationists from nearby inhabited islands. We wanted to develop a program that could address the challenges of research and monitoring while increasing local awareness and involvement.
Grenadines Seabird Guardians surveying seabirds at Grenadines’ islands (Photo by J. Coffey)
Over the course of several years, through group and one-on-one trainings, we have formed a dedicated team of citizen scientists called the “Grenadines Seabird Guardians”. Members of this group visit seabird colonies and collect population estimates, as well as information on threats. I provide ongoing support to the Guardians on seabird identification and maintain a central database of observations. Communication within the group is primarily through WhatsApp where members can share their observations and provide support to one another. Some of the Guardians were recently involved in cleanups at offshore islands which host nesting seabirds, but which have not previously been the focus on conservation efforts.
BC: What kind of specific information are the Guardians reporting?
Juliana: Despite all the complications that Covid-19 restrictions have caused in 2020, this has actually been our best year for receiving reports from the Guardians. Anyone involved with seabird research would probably agree that studying seabirds is a great way to self-isolate! This year, we have received reports of seabird egg and chick harvesting, a threat previously identified by EPIC as one of the most pressing for seabirds in this region. We are also receiving reports of introduced mammal sightings, marine litter, vegetation control fires and human disturbance. Through this program, we have also documented rare sightings of seabirds such as Lesser Black-backed Gulls. The work is therefore enhancing our knowledge of how the region is used by non-breeding resident and migratory seabirds. In 2019, we also documented a thriving Magnificent Frigatebird colony on one of the islands. This turned out to be one of only four in the Lesser Antilles, and the only one known from the southern islands!
Threats in the Grenadines: Disturbance (Photo by J. Coffey)
Threats in the Grenadines: Harvesting (Anonymous)
Threats in the Grenadines: Introduced species (Photo by J. Coffey)
BC: There seem to be many human-induced threats in the Grenadines. What work is being done in terms of outreach and education?
Community outreach (Photo by L. Culzac)
Juliana: Because many of the threats are related to human activities, we are strategically making efforts to show people how important seabirds are to their culture and livelihoods in the Grenadines. Fisherfolk for example use seabirds to find fish, navigate and understand weather patterns. They have superstitions concerning certain species. For example, storm petrels are believed to indicate that bad weather is coming! Seabird guano fertilizes coral reefs and nearshore habitats adjacent to their colonies, which in turn benefits fisheries and tourism. Seabirds in many other areas have actually become viable ecotourism attractions, which is something we want to promote as an option for supplemental or alternative livelihoods in this heavily tourism-dependent region.
Wildlife Reserve sign installation (Photo by J. Coffey)
To reach the various groups involved in management, including the general public, we have designed a multi-faceted education program, targeting various age groups and sectors. Lystra Culzac, our Lead Educator, conducts school and community presentations and has recently drafted a school curriculum that we are aiming to integrate into the school systems in both nations. We have also recently launched a Waste-to-Art contest open to residents of Grenada and Saint Vincent and the Grenadines. Earlier in 2020 we released a mini-documentary which is intended to reach a wide audience, and we also issue monthly press releases to local and regional media. We have also designed and distributed posters and brochures concerning seabirds. We conducted an updated “harvest study” to determine the extent that seabird chick and egg consumption is still practiced. We also installed “Wildlife Reserve” signs on two major colonies with the help of several fisherfolk from Carriacou and Bequia. This was a nice transboundary collaboration between fisherfolk coming together for seabird protection.
School seabird presentations (Photo by L. Culzac)
Unfortunately, many islands in the Grenadines are privately owned, and listed on the international Real Estate market. A major hotel and resort development was recently announced for one of the regionally important colonies. Education and awareness can help to mitigate threats from human activity, but if the island is sold to a developer the seabird colonies can quickly disappear. We are working hard to ensure that this doesn’t happen.
BC: What other activities is EPIC hoping to undertake going forward?
EPIC and local partners have targeted islands with seabird colonies for marine litter removal (Photo D. Baker)
We are using the recent Conservation Plan as a guide for the activities that we undertake. We have recently added several other types of data collection to our citizen science program, which can easily be undertaken by the seabird guardians with minimal training. These include enhanced invasive species surveys using camera traps and tracking tunnels, assessments of the quantity of plastics in seabird nests and feather collection from seabird carcasses for heavy metal analysis. We are hoping to train others in the use of drones and other remote monitoring tools, given that the area is incredibly difficult and expensive to access. It is now over ten years since the last population census, so we are planning to conduct new surveys to allow a better idea of population trends. We also plan to do some telemetry work in the near future, in order to gauge the at-sea movements of some species while away from their colonies, and assess how much seabirds move back and forth between nations when searching for food. This work will hopefully promote the reality that seabirds are a shared resource. To successfully preserve them in areas such as the Lesser Antilles requires management cooperation from multiple nations.
EPIC and local partners have targeted islands with seabird colonies for marine litter removal (Photo by D. Baker)
One of the core items in the Conservation Plan is the formation of a transboundary wildlife working group, focused on seabirds, who met virtually for the first time in early November. This group consists of various stakeholders from both nations, such as fisherfolk, forestry officers, NGOs, tour operators and biologists. This group was put together to begin implementing priorities from the Conservation Plan, and to continue the momentum of participatory management.
We also recently undertook several beach clean-ups at known seabird colonies; this is the first time that these islands have received any attention for litter removal. We hope that these activities will ensure that seabirds have a safe place to nest and rear their young. As litter keeps arriving on these shores from both local and distant sources, we hope to continue these clean-ups during our regular seabird surveys.
BC: What is your favorite part of your work in the region?
Project Assistant Quincy Augustine and Wildlife Biologist Wayne Smart lead a team of Grenadian biologists conducting seabird surveys at Diamond Rock (Photo by Q. Augustine)
Juliana: Just as seabirds unite air, land and sea, we have been able to unite people in both nations (and beyond), through seabirds. With our Seabird Guardians program, it has been wonderful to see individuals take leadership roles, and also to deploy multi-disciplinary teams that are able to learn from each other. This has enabled us to discover much along the way, such as the Magnificent Frigatebird colony on Battowia. Such discoveries highlight the need to take swift conservation action in the region.
The small and seemingly insignificant moments are really the most memorable. For example, during a fisherfolk consultation last year, one younger fisherman expressed a lot of interest in learning more about seabirds, as he was aware that it could make him a more successful fisherman. Cases such as this provide positive feedback that our discussions with community members are having an impact, and that individuals are able to find links to their own livelihoods about why seabirds matter. I suppose my favorite part overall is that, despite populations in the Grenadines being highly threatened, the seabird colonies are still quite remarkable. This is really at the core of why we do that we do, and to speak up for these seabirds who cannot advocate for themselves.
We thank Juliana and the team at EPIC for their efforts on seabird conservation in the Grenadines, and look forward to hearing more about EPIC’s activities in the future. For more information on the work that EPIC does, please visit the organization’s website at www.epicislands.org or follow its Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/epicislands
Grenadines Seabird Guardian Vaughn Thomas conducting a seabird survey (Photo by J. Coffey)
Brown Noddy and chick in the Tobago Cays Marine Park (Photo by J. Coffey)
Brown Noddies incorporating marine litter into nest construction (Photo by J. Coffey)
International Coastal Cleanup (ICC) at Mabouya Island with local partners Ocean Spirits and Kipaji Inc. (Photo by V. Thomas)
Veterinarian Dr. Kenrith Carter (Grenada) generously assists with injured seabird rehabilitation (Photo by K. Charles)
Petit Canouan (Saint Vincent and the Grenadines) hosts more than 40,000 pairs of Sooty Terns (J. Coffey)
Goat presence at globally and regionally important seabird colonies (Photo by J. Coffey)
Project Assistant Quincy Augustine and Wildlife Biologist Wayne Smart lead a team of Grenadian biologists conducting seabird surveys at Diamond Rock (Photo by Q. Augustine)
Grenadian biologists conducting a seabird survey at Diamond Rock (Photo by A. Mitchell)
“Birds of the Transboundary Grenadines” authors presenting a book to Mayreau fisherman Philman Ollivierre (Photo by V. Ollivierre)
Brown Noddies incorporating marine litter into nest construction (Photo by J. Coffey)
Kate Charles (Ocean Spirits) coordinating a clean up at a seabird colony (Sandy Island), Grenada (Photo by K. Drew)
School presentation on Petite Martinique (Photo by V. Thomas)
Wildlife Reserve sign installed on Battowia, a globally important seabird nesting island (Photo by V. Thomas)
Laughing Gull and Grenadines Pink Rhino Iguana endemic subspecies (Photo by J. Coffey)
Lystra Culzac conducting community outreach on Grenadines’ seabirds (Photo by EPIC)
Lystra Culzac conducting a school presentation on seabirds (Photo by EPIC)
Magnificent Frigatebirds nesting at Battowia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines (Photo by J. Coffey)
Brown Pelicans are present in the Grenadines in abundance during non-breeding season (Photo by J. Coffey)
Dr. Kenrith Carter conducting a necropsy on a Laughing Gull, assisted by Kate Charles (Ocean Spirits) and Vaughn Francis (Tropical Adventures) (Photo by V. Thomas)
Marine litter at seabird colonies (Photo J. Coffey)
Red-billed Tropicbird on nest (Photo by J. Coffey)
Red-billed Tropicbird chick (Photo by J. Coffey)
Red-footed Boobies nest in globally important numbers at sites in the Grenadines (Photo by J. Coffey)
Grenadines Seabird Guardian conducting a seabird survey (Photo by J. Coffey)
Grenadines Seabird Guardian citizen scientists (Photo by A. Ollivierre)
The Grenadines archipelago provides important habitat for non-resident and migratory seabirds (Photo by J. Coffey)
Field training trip with Grenadines Seabird Guardians (Photo J. Coffey)
EPIC and local partners have targeted islands with seabird colonies for marine litter removal (Photo by D. Baker)
EPIC and local partners have targeted islands with seabird colonies for marine litter removal (Photo D. Baker)
Lystra Culzac and team conducting community outreach on Saint Vincent (Photo by EPIC)
Their entire population of Prairie Warblers spends the winter either in the Caribbean or Florida, making this a very important region for the species. During the winter Prairie Warblers like to live in coastal dry forests, mangroves, woodlands, orchards, and coffee farms; they may even show up in your garden!
BirdsCaribbean’s Bird Monitoring Group Working Group is developing an exciting new regional project to build capacity for more landbird monitoring in the Caribbean. It is essential to increase our knowledge about the status, trends, and habitat use of landbird populations as many species continue to decline. This includes our resident and endemic birds, as well as over 100 migratory species, many of them of conservation concern.
We plan to focus on developing a regional landbird monitoring program (modeled after our successful Caribbean Waterbird Census program). This will include training and resources to carry out:
Standardized Surveys – with different levels of monitoring available, depending on the questions and capacity of local partners,
Bird Banding – assisting partners ready for this step to establish banding stations to answer more detailed questions about movement patterns, habitat use and quality, abundance, survival, etc., and
Motus Tracking – expanding the network of Motus towers in the Caribbean to monitor migrant and resident birds. (the Motus Wildlife Tracking System is an exciting collaborative research network that uses coordinated automated radio telemetry arrays to study movements of small animals – learn more here)
Each of the three areas of monitoring have their strengths and weaknesses and are suited to answering different types of questions about our bird populations. To ensure that we are meeting the needs of local researchers, managers, and communities, we would like to gather information from those who are currently monitoring and/or banding landbirds in the Caribbean, that have done so in the past, or are interested in doing so in the future.
You can help us plan our work by letting us know who you are, what you do, where your activities take place, and how the Bird Monitoring Working group can help you. Just fill out our survey here:
Your input will help us to design our project with everyone’s background, expertise, and research needs incorporated into the project.The success of this project will depend on the involvement of our many partners across the region, including wildlife professionals, scientists, educators, students, and volunteers/ citizen scientists.
Thank you in advance for your time and help!!!
Note: We recognize that most landbird work will likely be affected by the Covid-19 pandemic, and we understand that your activities this year will be very different from any other year: when filling out the survey, just let us know what you would have done in a ‘normal’ year. Most importantly, we hope that everyone is safe.
Why Landbirds?
The beautiful White-crown Pigeon is an important bird in the Caribbean. It eats fruits of many hardwood trees and helps to regenerate forests by spreading seeds. (photo by Erika Gates)
Landbirds face many threats, including destruction and degradation of their habitats from human causes, such as inappropriate development, deforestation for agriculture, pollution, and invasive species. Severe hurricanes, droughts, and forest fires are also increasing, likely due to climate change. It is vital that we work together to monitor our landbird species so that we can identify the highest priority sites for conservation, restore habitats, and assess the impacts from threats and effectiveness of our conservation actions.
About the Bird Monitoring Working Group
The BirdsCaribbean Bird Monitoring Working Group is a committee that works to promote and support monitoring efforts throughout the Caribbean. The long-term vision of the group is to enable Caribbean stakeholders to build high-quality bird monitoring and training programs that have regional relevance and significance because of shared species and habitats. Within this context, the goals of the Working Group are to:
Foster inter-island cooperation and collaboration in the regional monitoring of shared species of birds (including neotropical migrants) and their associated habitats;
Work to significantly increase the number of skilled field biologists living in the region;
Build regional capacity to carry out standardized monitoring and training programs, including bird banding.
The Caribbean is celebrating World Migratory Bird Day (WMBD) this fall! Hundreds of different birds migrate to spend part of their year in the Caribbean. To honor them, BirdsCaribbean is sharing fun stuff for the whole family. Enjoy Migratory Bird of the Day activities every day for free, from the safety of your home.
BirdsCaribbean has fun activities for kids and adults that will teach you about migratory birds. You can learn to draw and colour birds. Caribbean scientists will read stories about nature. You can learn how to do bird origami on our YouTube channel. In addition to daily coloring pages and activities like puzzles, we will host online talks on the incredible journeys these birds make. Check our BirdsCaribbean Live page and Bird Day Live for a schedule of upcoming events, including 3 days of fun virtual events from October 8 to 10. This is hosted by Environment for the Americas, who organizes World Migratory Bird Day in the Americas. There will be a special focus on the Caribbean on October 8th!
This year’s WMBD theme is “Birds Connect Our World.” Migratory birds cross countries, seas and national borders. They depend upon on sites all along the way for food, rest and shelter. They can be found along our shores, in wetlands, in forests, cities, and even in our yards.
One migratory bird is the Lesser Scaup (Aythya affinis). It breeds in Canada and part of the United States, then heads south to spend the winter in warmer areas. These ducks wait until there is ice on the lakes in North America before they travel. During November some will arrive in the Caribbean. They are most common in the Bahamas, Cuba, Cayman Islands, Jamaica, Hispaniola, and Puerto Rico. They can be found in other islands too. They are usually seen on ponds or in the sea near the coast. These ducks connect Caribbean ponds and Canadian lakes, teaching us that we are all connected.
Migratory birds face threats like climate change, habitat loss and hunting. Global action is needed to protect their habitats. For migrants, these can include wild spaces in several different countries. Also, the current pandemic proves that the destruction of wild areas can help the spread of diseases. Urgent action is needed to better protect and sustain wildlife and their habitats.
Visit our Birds Connect Our World page for access to our Migratory Bird of the Day series, including natural history information, coloring pages, online puzzles, games, videos, activities for kids, and more. And be sure to follow us on social media (Facebook, Twitter and Instagram) and YouTube for the latest posts!
One migratory bird that comes to the Caribbean is the Lesser Scaup. The male in breeding plumage is shown on top, the female is below. (Photos by Rick Evets and Matt Grube)
Celebrate World Migratory Bird Day (WMBD) with us in our virtual “Birds Connect Our World” edition! Have fun learning about a new migratory bird every day. We have colouring pages, puzzles, activities, and more. Download for free and enjoy nature with your family at home. This week we are also celebrating World Shorebirds Day and Global Shorebird Count (3 to 9 September).
Migratory Bird of the Day: Black-necked Stilt
Unlike many shorebirds, the elegant Black-necked Stilt is instantly recognizable. It has very long stilt-like red-pink legs and is bright white with striking black on the head, neck and back. When it flies you can see its long pink legs trailing out behind. It uses its long thin beak to probe for food in mud and water. This group of shorebirds has the second-longest legs, in relation to its body size, of any bird in the word! Only the flamingos beat them.
This shorebird is resident in the Caribbean and breeds here, especially in parts of the Bahamas, the Virgin and Cayman Islands and Greater Antilles. This means you might see juvenile birds as well as adults. These are often smaller, with paler pink legs, and dark brown, rather than black on their necks and backs. Unlike some of our other migratory shorebirds, Black-necked Stilts may actually become less common in some areas of the Caribbean in the autumn and winter.
When disturbed, Black-necked Stilts are very noisy birds – they sound the alarm with a loud raucous series of notes wit-wit-wit-wit-wit-wit that they give incessantly until the disturbance goes away. Vigilant parents will also dive at predators and feign a broken wing to lead predators away from the nest.
Black-necked Stilts can be found in all sorts of wetlands, inland or by the coast. They use wetland areas to nest as well as to spend the winter. They are very adaptable and will use man-made wetlands such as sewage ponds and rice-fields. They feed by wading through the water, catching aquatic insects, crustaceans and even small frogs and fish! Learn more about this species, including its range, photos, and calls here.
Colour in the Black-necked Stilt!
Download the page from Migratory Birds of the West Indies Colouring Book. Use the photos below as your guide, or you can look up pictures of the bird online or in a bird field guide if you have one. Share your coloured-in page with us by posting it online and tagging us @BirdsCaribbean @WorldShorebirdsDay #WMBD2020Carib #WorldShoreBirdsDay
Listen to the call of the Black-necked Stilt
When disturbed, Black-necked Stilt sound the alarm with a loud raucous series of notes wit-wit-wit-wit-wit-wit that they give incessantly until the disturbance goes away.
Puzzle of the Day
Click on the images below to do the puzzles. You can make the puzzle as easy or as hard as you like – for example, 6, 8, or 12 pieces for young children, all the way up to 1,024 pieces for those that are up for a challenge!
The Black-necked Stilt has striking black and white plumage and impossibly long pinkish red legs. These smart looking shorebirds could fittingly be described as ‘Tuxedo birds’! (Photo by Hemant Kishan)Black-necked Stilt parent and 4 fluffy chicks – the chicks leave the nest within a day and can feed themselves, but the parents brood them and guard them until they older. (Photo by Rick Evets)Black-necked Stilts are impressive in flight with their long pink legs trailing behind and calling loudly as they fly. (Photo by Ray Robles)
Activity of the Day
FOR KIDS: Today we have reached the end of our celebration of shorebirds in the Caribbean! We have told you about 10 different species of shorebirds. How many do you know? Remind yourself of each on of these amazing birds by playing our Shorebirds Memory Matching Game. Each time you make a match there will be a short paragraph on the species main ID tips. Don’t forget that some of these birds look different in their breeding plumage compared to their winter plumage! Having trouble seeing all 10 pairs on your screen? Just use the drop-down box in the top right of the screen to reduce the number of pairs.FOR KIDS AND ADULTS:
Visit a pond, wetland or nearby beach and see how many different shorebirds and waterbirds you can find and identify. Use a bird field guide or the FREE Merlin bird ID app to help you identify the birds you are seeing.
Enjoy the videos below of Black-necked Stilts. In the first one you can see a Black-necked Stilt using it’s long legs to wade into deep water, and plunging in its head to look for food. In the second video a flock of Black-necked Stilts take flight; notice their striking black and white plumage and their long legs trailing behind them!
Visit MigratoryBirdDay.org for many more free activities and resources to learn about migratory birds, their threats and conservation actions you can take.
Celebrate World Migratory Bird Day (WMBD) with us in our virtual “Birds Connect Our World” edition! Have fun learning about a new migratory bird every day. We have colouring pages, puzzles, activities, and more. Download for free and enjoy nature with your family at home. This week we are also celebrating World Shorebirds Day and Global Shorebird Count (3 to 9 September).
Migratory Bird of the Day: Red Knot
Depending on the time of year you see this shorebird its name will either make perfect sense or leave you confused. During the spring and summer it is bright rusty red on the chest and belly. But, in the autumn it gradually replaces its feathers. By winter it becomes white underneath and pale grey above. This medium size shorebird, is chunky looking with a mid-length beak (for a shorebird).
Red Knots are most likely to be in the Caribbean during the autumn and are more common on some islands, like Barbados. They stop on their way to wintering areas much further south. You are most likely to find Red knots on the coast, in tidal sandy or muddy areas. They like to hang out in groups together and with other species of shorebird. They feed mainly on small mollusks in the winter, but also eat marine worms and small crabs.
Download the page from Migratory Birds of the West Indies Colouring Book. Use the photos below as your guide, or you can look up pictures of the bird online or in a bird field guide if you have one. Share your coloured-in page with us by posting it online and tagging us @BirdsCaribbean @WorldShorebirdsDay #WMBD2020Carib #WorldShoreBirdsDay
Listen to the call of the Red Knot
The Red Knot is often silent but sometimes makes a soft “chunt chunt” call
Puzzle of the Day
Click on the images below to do the puzzles. You can make the puzzle as easy or as hard as you like – for example, 6, 8, or 12 pieces for young children, all the way up to 1,024 pieces for those that are up for a challenge!
Red Knot in Winter Plumage. Red Knots breed in the far north, in the Arctic. They can spend the winter as far south as the southern most tip of South America. This means they make some amazing migratory journeys of tens of thousands of miles overall! (Photo by Beth Hamel)Breeding Red Knot n the autumn it gradually replaces its feathers to become gray all over. (Photo by Rick Evets)
Activity of the Day
FOR KIDS AND ADULTS: Shorebirds are one of the most difficult groups of birds to learn to ID, but with a little practice and time in the field, you will soon be able to ID the most common species. We’ve put together some helpful tips of things to look for. You can download a PDF of this file here for printing. For long-term use in the field, print on card stock and laminate.
FOR KIDS AND ADULTS:
Visit a pond, wetland or nearby beach and see how many different shorebirds and waterbirds you can find and identify. Use a bird field guide or the FREE Merlin bird ID app to help you identify the birds you are seeing.
Enjoy the videos below of Red Knots feeding on the beach. In the first you will notice traces on the red plumage that give this birds its name, this bird is still in between breeding and winter plumage. In the second video the birds look grey above and pale below, they are in full winter plumage.
Visit MigratoryBirdDay.org for many more free activities and resources to learn about migratory birds, their threats and conservation actions you can take.
Cover of the New Coloring Book: Color and Protect the Snowy Plover, illustrations by Josmar Marquez, text by Josmar et al. Produced by BirdsCaribbean for World Shorebirds Day, September 3 to 9, 2020
We’re excited to share with you a new coloring book: Color and Protect the Snowy Plover. The coloring book was created by talented artist and naturalist, Josmar Esteban-Márquez, in honor of this year’s World Shorebirds Day celebration (3 to 9 September).
Josmar created this coloring book to provide a fun resource for kids to learn about Snowy Plovers—small gray-brown and white shorebirds that live on Caribbean beaches and salt flats. The coloring book highlights how vulnerable these birds are to disturbance and predation, and how each of us must take care not to step on or trample their nests or disturb them when they are breeding.
Josmar studies and monitors shorebirds on offshore islands and cays of Venezuela. He bands migratory and resident shorebirds to learn more about their movements, habitat use, survival, and population size.
Josmar is also a passionate conservationist. He is well aware of the many threats to shorebirds and is doing all he can to raise awareness about how special these birds are and how everyone can help to protect them. Josmar takes youth of all ages birding, creates amazing bird art murals with kids, and holds community festivals to celebrate shorebirds.
A newly marked Snowy Plover. (Photo by Antonio Ros)
The Coloring book is available for free download in English and Spanish. We anticipate having a French version available soon. Enjoy the coloring book story and illustrations with your kids and download pages or the whole book for your child to color in. Learn more about Snowy Plovers here.
Celebrate World Migratory Bird Day (WMBD) with us in our virtual “Birds Connect Our World” edition! Have fun learning about a new migratory bird every day. We have colouring pages, puzzles, activities, and more. Download for free and enjoy nature with your family at home. This week we are also celebrating World Shorebirds Day and Global Shorebird Count (3 to 9 September).
Migratory Bird of the Day: Black-bellied Plover
This stocky looking shorebird gets its name from its breeding plumage, when it has a striking black chest, face and belly. When we see it on its journey south there might still be traces of this black, but by winter it has all gone, and birds look a bit plain and grey. In fact, in some parts of its wide range this species is called a ‘Grey Plover’, but look out for their black ‘wingpits’ when they fly – this will help you clinch the ID.Black-bellied Plovers breed mainly in the Arctic but come south for the winter. They pass through the Caribbean on their way to their wintering areas even further south, although some stay for the winter on our beaches. Scientists have tracked their migration south, and found plovers can fly incredibly long distances over water. One bird made its way all the way from Newfoundland, Canada to the coast of Brazil in a single flight!As birds make their way south in autumn they can mainly be found on mudflats and beaches. Black-bellied Plovers tend to feed ‘alone’ and not in a flock with other Black-bellied Plovers. They feed by sight and can be seen making short runs across the mud, then stopping to pick up a tasty worm, snail, or perhaps a crustacean. Listen for their loud mournful sounding whistling calls. Learn more about this species, including its range, photos, and calls here.
Colour in the Black-bellied Plover!
Download the page from Migratory Birds of the West Indies Colouring Book. Use the photos below as your guide, or you can look up pictures of the bird online or in a bird field guide if you have one. Share your coloured-in page with us by posting it online and tagging us @BirdsCaribbean @WorldShorebirdsDay #WMBD2020Carib #WorldShoreBirdsDay
Listen to the call of the Black-bellied Plover
The Black-bellied Plover’s call is a single plaintive klee and also a klee-a-lee.
Puzzle of the Day
Click on the images below to do the puzzles. You can make the puzzle as easy or as hard as you like – for example, 6, 8, or 12 pieces for young children, all the way up to 1,024 pieces for those that are up for a challenge!
Black-bellied Plover with its wings raised showing black ‘wingpits’. This bird is in winter plumage, it has lost the black belly and chest which give it its name and will remain plain grey until spring. When they fly or raise their wings these black patches can help you to identify this species. (Photo by Ray Robles)Black-bellied Plovers make amazing long-distance journeys on migration. The non-stop flight some plovers make of 3200km, from Nova Scotia to the Caribbean, is equivalent to a human of running 4-min miles for 80 hours! (Photo by Ray Robles)
Visit a pond, wetland or nearby beach and see how many different shorebirds and waterbirds you can find and identify. Use a bird field guide or the FREE Merlin bird ID app to help you identify the birds you are seeing.
Enjoy the two videos below of a Black-bellied Plover in the wild! In the first video, the bird is in its grey winter plumage, feeding on some mud and finding a juicy worm to eat. The second video shows a Black-bellied Plover in the autumn, showing some patches of the black which give it its name. This bird is moulting into winter plumage, when it will become completely pale on its chest and belly by winter.
Visit MigratoryBirdDay.org for many more free activities and resources to learn about migratory birds, their threats and conservation actions you can take.
In 2014, BirdsCaribbean forged an exciting partnership with Carefree Birding, a group of fun and relaxed birders that offer unique birding trips for cruise line passengers. Carefree Birding has developed opportunities for passengers to observe native birds and wildlife while experiencing all the fun and relaxation of cruising.
Owners Ken Burgener and Linda Warschauer are the hosts on each cruise, and their Carefree Birding concept looks something like this:
“Board cruise ship, unpack gear, get a full night’s sleep, disembark when the ship reaches port, spend no more than five or six hours birding, return to ship and relax, meet to discuss the following day’s excursions, have dinner with other birders, repeat next day.” (2013 Porthole Cruise Magazine)
On select cruises, expert birding guides are invited to join the group. Carefree Birding, with the help of local environmental organizations, arranges birding field trips at each port of call. 100% of the money collected for the tours is routed directly to these local groups. The excursions are slow paced, short, physically easy, and fun-filled.
Carefree Birding owner, Ken Burgener, having a lot of fun “on the job” with Adams Toussaint, local birding guide on St. Lucia. (photo by Carefree Birding)
BirdsCaribbean recently conducted an interview with Ken and Linda about their company’s plans for launching their first birding cruise since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. Join us for a conversation on what the cruise will entail, and whether or not it’s a good fit for you!
BirdsCaribbean: We are betting that Carefree Birding is excited to start making plans for 2021, after a very quiet and challenging year for your business. Tell us about the trip that you have slated for next March?
Carefree Birding: Yes—we are very excited to get back out on the water in March of 2021, following strict safety guidelines of course. As you can imagine, with the shutdown of the cruise line industry, we are holding our breath. We have been very lucky as we did not have any cruises planned until Feb 2021. We did have to cut this year’s Peru trip in March a week short (though we did finish our Amazon Cruise), but we all got back safe and sound. The March 2021 trip will be aboard the Celebrity Reflection, departing out of and returning to Ft. Lauderdale, Florida. The 11-night cruise will visit the islands of Bonaire, Curacao, Aruba, and Grand Cayman with a stop in the South American city of Cartagena, Colombia.
One of the best aspects of going on a Carefree Birding cruise is the great people that you get to meet along the way. Not only will you get to know your fellow birders, but we also work with some of the best guides in the Caribbean. Since teaming up with BirdsCaribbean (BC), we have been introduced to an entirely new suite of local birding talent, several of them trained in BirdsCaribbean’s Guide Training Program, as part of the Caribbean Birding Trail initiative. We are always excited to reconnect with our skilled and personable bird guides each time we go back to their islands. And thanks to these new relationships, we have also been able to expand our itineraries.
During our time on the Celebrity Reflection, we will have group meetings during our days out at sea. We take advantage of this sailing time to show you short presentations on the destinations coming up next, as well as videos and photos of the birds we hope to see there. And if you so desire, you can eat with the group during dinner where we have tables reserved. We have selected an area off the main dining room, where it is much quieter and easier to talk. We suggest that you sit with different people in our group during the evening meal, that way you can meet more people and learn about their birding experiences. Remember this is Carefree, so if you have other plans no problem!
Carefree Birding group in Barbados, with expert local guide, John Webster (far left). (photo by Carefree Birding)
BirdsCaribbean: This sounds excellent. You mentioned safety guidelines. What will 2021 look like in terms of cruise ship safety precautions?
Carefree Birding: We are hoping that the cruise industry is on stable grounds (make that stable water!) and it will be safe for all the passengers and the crews around the world. Celebrity Cruises has developed a Healthy Sail Panel—11 expert doctors, scientists, and health specialists—that will be guiding our way to safely cruising the new world. As things change, these top medical and science experts will make sure that we and the staff on the ship stay safe. They know that for the boat to continue sailing, protocols need to prioritize safety, and they will do whatever it takes to ensure our health, even if that means canceling the cruise.
BirdsCaribbean: It sounds like Celebrity Cruises has a good plan in place. However, if the Caribbean islands are not ready to receive tourism by that time, what will happen?
Carefree Birding: If the cruise cannot be safely done, Celebrity Cruises will cancel with 100% money reimbursed or put on deposit for any cruise with them in the future. Our travel agent—Travel Services—will take care of your booking and explain your options with the cruise line. Carefree Birding only collects money for your Birding Package, which consists of the shore excursions and our administration fees. If the cruise is canceled we will refund all of your Birding Package money.
BirdsCaribbean: And what if the trip is deemed safe, but an already signed-up passenger doesn’t feel comfortable with the idea any more?
Carefree Birding: No problem at all, Carefree Birding will accept cancellations—no questions asked—up until 30 days of departure, with 100% of your Birding Package money reimbursed. We don’t want to pressure anyone. Currently, when you put a deposit down for your cabin onboard the Celebrity Reflection ($900), that deposit is totally refundable up until the moment you complete your final payment for your cruise cabin. If you have paid the final payment, Travel Services will inform you with the most up-to-date information about their cancellation and refund policy with Celebrity.
White-cheeked Pintail in St. Martin. This is an endemic subspecies in the Caribbean (Anas bahamensis bahamensis). (photo by Binkie van Es)
BirdsCaribbean: We are sure that a lot of people will be put at ease knowing that all of these safeguards and money-back guarantees have been put in place. So, can you tell us a bit more about the fun that awaits?
Carefree Birding: Absolutely! Imagine getting off the cruise ship with our small birding group and having a local islander come to personally pick us up and guide us around their home island for several hours! Not only does the guide know the local birds and birding hotspots really well, we get to learn about local history. The guides enjoy answering questions about life on their island. Our group comes away knowing more about the islands and their culture and people. This is a great way to make new friends throughout the Caribbean.
BirdsCaribbean: Sounds like a perfect way to connect with the local culture and birds in a sustainable and respectful way. And it also sounds like an island experience that nobody else on that cruise will get!
Carefree Birding: You got it—that’s the spirit of Carefree Birding! By using local guides, our birders get to experience the real island, and visit more “off the beaten path” sites. And of course the birding experience is excellent: small groups, lots of one-on-one interaction with the guide, and a built-in flexibility to go wherever the best birds are that day—not where they were three weeks ago. As you know, birds can and do move a lot, but our guides scope out the best spots the days just before we arrive. We have gone to private houses and farms, where the birds are thriving, and often observe many other types of wildlife. Ever been birding on a goat farm? Been there done that! How about on an almost deserted beach, with a cold drink in your hand? If not for our local guides, we never would have access to such unique experiences. Once a guide even arranged to have a private Portajohn sent out to the beach where we were birding. Talk about personal service!
Carefree Birding embraces the local culture (including local transportation) at every port-of-call. It’s all about having fun, meeting new people, seeing some great birds, and supporting smaller towns and businesses along the way. (photo by Carefree Birding)
BirdsCaribbean: Your trips sound amazing. How does someone go about signing up, and are there any restrictions?
Carefree Birding: Anyone on the cruise is welcome to sign up for a Carefree Birding trip. If you have a SOB (Spouse of Birder), they can also come on the cruise for the same price, and they do not have to pay the Birding Package with Carefree Birding. They will also be able to eat with us and enjoy a great cruise while you are away looking at birds. We can help you get set up for both the cruise and our birding trips. Please reach out to us [Ken and Linda] at: carefreebirding@aol.com, 954-766-2919
After you visit our website, go to the registration page, fill out the big yellow box at the bottom of the page and send it. Travel Services will contact you and help book your cruise. Travel Services helps you select the type of cabin, and answer any of the other important questions you might have about the cruise and how to book it. Ken and Linda will answer any questions about the field trips, and any other non-ship questions. Booking the cruise seems to be the hardest part of the entire trip. Once you get on the ship, all is well!!! Carefree Birding will send you tips on how to get ready for the cruise.
We have done over 40 cruises, and we can’t wait for the next one! Join us!
A Carefree Birding group enjoys spotting waterbirds in beautiful Sint Maarten / St. Martin with Binkie van Es, BirdsCaribbean member and Caribbean Birding Trail trained guide. (photo by Carefree Birding)Hudsonian Godwit — one of the many migratory shorebirds you can see in the Caribbean. (photo by Binkie van Es)
It was a bit of a gamble. The speakers were all ready to speak. The agenda was set.
But…would anyone show up?
Well, they did, in the thousands. The North American Ornithological Conference (NAOC) 2020, originally scheduled to take place in San Juan, Puerto Rico from August 10 to 15, had switched gears. It took the brave decision to go virtual in light of the COVID-19 pandemic. It was a tremendous, complex undertaking – and the organizers pulled it off, in style. Hundreds of live, oral presentations took place in general sessions and in symposia, while 80 “lightning talks” and 3 minute poster presentations added excitement. Round tables, workshops and networking opportunities were all well attended by participants from far and wide, under the appropriate theme: “Flight paths addressing global challenges.”
The Caribbean Presence: Island Treasures
NAOC 2020 commented on its website: “The virtual format of the conference attracted particularly high attendance from students and colleagues in Mexico, Central and South America, and Caribbean countries.” In total, nearly 3,000 attended the conference from countries as far-flung as Australia and China.
BirdsCaribbean hosted a symposium called “Island Treasures: Lessons learned from 30 years of avian research, education, and conservation,” which drew a substantial audience from the region and beyond. Sixteen outstanding presentations showcased the exciting conservation work being carried out across the islands, ranging from restoration of key habitats to saving endangered species to wildlife trafficking (see list of talks and presenters in the image gallery below). We had a stimulating panel discussion at the end of the symposia where presenters answered questions from the audience and shared their opinions and expertise on a range of challenging conservation issues.
Island Treasures Symposium Panel discussion on Zoom at the end of the Symposium where presenters answered questions from the audience and shared their opinions on conservation challenges facing the Caribbean region.
An additional symposium organized by Dr. Joseph M. Wunderle, Jr. (the new Editor-in-Chief of the Journal of Caribbean Ornithology) focused on the impact of hurricanes on birds called “Birds and hurricanes: effects, responses, resilience, and conservation.”
If you missed the conference or wish to view any of the talks in the above symposia, stay tuned, we will be posting the presentations on our YouTube channel!
The Socializing Side: Virtual Cocktails or a Cup of Tea
The “Caribbean Meet and Greet” session on August 12 was a resounding success. Around sixty guests gathered, cocktails in hand (or in some cases a cup of tea), to chat and get to know each other. It was a time to reconnect with old friends and to make new ones. We answered fun trivia questions about Caribbean birds and gathered in smaller chat rooms for 10 minutes at a time for more intimate chats.
BirdsCaribbean Meet and Greet – some of the folks that stopped by for our Zoom cocktail hour. It was great fun to catch up with old friends and meet some new ones!
Of course, there was no final banquet – and was it really necessary, one participant wondered, when one could just go to the kitchen and fix oneself a peanut butter sandwich? Perhaps virtual banquet menus could be submitted next time, she suggested.
Could Virtual Conferencing be the Way of the Future?
Conference goers, including BirdsCaribbean members and partners, were impressed not only by the quality of the presentations, but also by the fact that the technology smoothly facilitated them. For some, like conservation ecologist Ann Sutton Haynes in Jamaica, it was a new experience:
“This was my first experience of an online conference and I was surprised how well it went. The good things were the low cost, the flexibility to attend when it was convenient and even the online questions and responses went well. There was even a weird pleasure in attending real time sessions…If it’s affordable I think it would be great if all our conferences in future could be both in person and virtual.”
Science Officer at the Bahamas National Trust Scott Johnson was also enthusiastic about the benefits of virtual conferencing:
“My experience participating in the NAOC online symposium was most enjoyable. I had the opportunity to meet up with old friends and some of my mentors as well as listen to some amazing talks including bird smuggling, hurricanes and its effects on birds, and more. I think this is a great alternative to expensive travelling and the logistics associated with it and would like for an online conference like this to continue moving forward.”
Scott Johnson (bottom), Science Officer at the Bahamas National Trust, talking with 2 fellow panelists, Stephen Durand (left), Forestry Officer, Dominica, and Dr. Ancilleno Davis (right), Science and Perspective, at the BirdsCaribbean Island Treasures Symposium.
Biologist Quincy Augustine, staff at the Windward Islands Research & Education Foundation (WINDREF), St. George’s University in Grenada was also pleased with his experience:
“Despite the unforeseen challenges we are currently experiencing, I must commend the organizers for putting together such a great conference – hats off to you! It was one of the best conferences I’ve ever attended with a twist and additional perks – could you imagine what it would have been like if this conference was face to face! The topics, presentations, and the opportunity to build a network are so needed, especially for researchers like myself.”
A Key Focus on Diversity and Inclusion
Colombian ornithologist and Professor Andres Cuervo stressed the significance of the conference, enthusing on the conference Slack channel: “I want to highlight the diversity, quality, and great composition of the keynote plenary speakers of NAOC 2020. I’ve loved every single one of them, and they have been so different in approaches and people. Thank you for that. Today’s Daniel Cadena’s plenary was truly outstanding. His closing remarks are important messages for ornithology and for this meeting.”
Diversity and inclusion was a particularly important aspect of the conference for BirdsCaribbean. The Diversity and Inclusion Committee – including BirdsCaribbean’s Jessica Cañizares and Environment of the Americas’ Sheylda DÍaz-Méndez – worked hard to help “increase the awareness of the importance of diversity and inclusion in ornithology and to help cultivate an ornithological community that is committed to the recruitment, retention, and support of all of its members at and beyond NAOC 2020.”
Participants also expressed appreciation for the English and Spanish translations and subtitles in presentations. The organizers were pleased to note: “Many people who would not otherwise have been able to attend were able to do so, due to a grant from the U.S. National Science Foundation and sponsorships from the Cornell Laboratory of Ornithology and other partnering organizations, through generous underwriting for free registration for students and greatly reduced registration fees for everyone else.” BirdsCaribbean thanks the US Forest Service International Programs for providing scholarships for Caribbean nationals to attend the conference.
Hope for the Future…and Trinidad?
Social media and our @BirdsCaribbean twitter feed were hoppin’ during the 5 days of the conference as people shared what they were learning. #NAOC2020
BirdsCaribbean Executive Director Lisa Sorenson concluded that the online event filled her with optimism.
“We were thrilled to make such a substantial contribution to what is one of the largest ornithological conferences in the world,” she noted. “We were happy with the positive feedback we have received; this encourages us and our partners, who are doing really worthwhile and inspiring work in the region.”
“Yes, challenges and threats are unrelenting, but we have many more active projects, with people and partners working on research, monitoring, engaging with the public to change the culture, and carrying out successful conservation initiatives to save and restore species and habitats.”
Registered attendees will have access to all recorded presentations through the EventPilot app through Wednesday, September 9.
Meanwhile, we are keeping our fingers crossed for our planned International Conference in Trinidad. We hope to see all our friends and collaborators, old and new, in late July 2021! If you are a new friend of BirdsCaribbean, don’t forget to sign up to our monthly newsletter here for further updates.
BirdsCaribbean was one of nine partner organizations hosting the NAOC 2020 Conference. We thank the US Forest Service International Programs and other sponsors for providing generous support to allow our Caribbean delegates and others to attend the virtual conference at no cost or a reduced fee. #NAOC2020
The gallery below shows the 16 presentations in our Island Treasures Symposium. No worries if you missed the talks, we will be uploading them to our YouTube Channel.
BirdsCaribbean Meet and Greet – more of the folks that stopped by for our Zoom cocktail hour. It was great fun to catch up with old friends and meet some new ones!
Depending on the time of year you see this shorebird its name will either make perfect sense or leave you confused. During the spring and summer it is bright rusty red on the chest and belly. But, in the autumn it gradually replaces its feathers. By winter it becomes white underneath and pale grey above. This medium size shorebird, is chunky looking with a mid-length beak (for a shorebird). 
