The Scarlet Ibis is the national bird of Trinidad and Tobago. (Photo by Faraaz Abdool)
Flying low over the water and glowing brilliant red in the light of the setting sun, thousands of Scarlet Ibis quietly assemble at their roosting site. While the Tricolored Herons and bright white Snowy Egrets disappear into the cover of the mangroves, the Scarlet Ibis remain perched on top, dotting the dark green with intense bursts of red. To witness this spectacular ritual— a daily occurrence in the Caroni Swamp in Trinidad—is to experience one of the most extraordinary events in the natural world.
The Scarlet Ibis (Eudocimus ruber) is both culturally and economically important to the twin island nation of Trinidad and Tobago. When the country gained independence in 1962, it was fitting to declare the Scarlet Ibis as the national bird and it is featured prominently on the nation’s coat of arms and one dollar bill. Since at least the early 1970s, bird-watching ecotours in Caroni Swamp were generating over $1 million TTD annually. Today, the swamp and the ibis are internationally known as a “must-see” natural treasure, and the ecotourism industry continues to support the livelihoods of many Trinidadians.
Scarlet Ibis return to their roosting site after a day of foraging. (Photo by Jessica Rozek)
Unfortunately, the Scarlet Ibis is also coveted for another reason: its meat. In an interview last month, the Chief Game Warden acknowledged that the bird is a black market delicacy illegally served at elite parties, driving the motivation for poaching. It has been speculated that eating the national bird is a status symbol. In 2013, a man with 18 ibis carcasses was sentenced to 18 months in prison (though he was allowed to serve them concurrently). And just this summer, three people were arrested in the possession of ibis carcasses and blasted on social media by Agriculture, Lands and Fisheries Minister Clarence Rambharat. His comments were widely shared and sparked dozens of newspaper articles, with the outraged public calling for action.
This image of poached Scarlet Ibis was shared on social media by Minister Clarence Rambharat in August 2017, resulting in public outrage. (Photo by Clarence Rambharat)
The national bird has a long history of persecution and is incredibly sensitive to disturbance. As early as the 1860s, colonial records warn that “a fierce war has been made on this bird…already it comes in fewer numbers and soon it will be very rare.” Other reports from the early 1930s and 1950s acknowledge that the Scarlet Ibis are “shot ruthlessly for food or so-called sport” and that they are very wary as a consequence. Richard ffrench, the neotropical ornithologist based in Trinidad, noted that in the beginning of the 20th century, hunting prevented the Scarlet Ibis from breeding on the island until 1953.
In 2013, poachers were caught with 18 dead Scarlet Ibis. (Photo by Rishi Ragoonath)
Currently, the fine for hunting or possessing the Scarlet Ibis is just $1,000 TTD (~$150 USD) or three months in prison. But due to the vast expanse of the Caroni Swamp and limited manpower, enforcement is difficult. In 2010, six individuals were fined $750 TT each for poaching offences that took place in 2007. Surprisingly, this marked the first time in the country’s history that someone was convicted of hunting the Scarlet Ibis.
Minister Rambharat has petitioned the Environmental Management Authority (EMA) to initiate the process to change the designation of the Scarlet Ibis to an Environmentally Sensitive Species (ESS). Under this protected status, poachers could receive a maximum of a $100,000 TTD fine or up to two years imprisonment. An ESS status would also facilitate interagency and joint patrols in Caroni Swamp, increasing warden and police presence. In addition, the EMA is exploring changing the status of the Caroni Swamp to an Environmentally Sensitive Area (ESA). The swamp is already designated a Ramsar site (1993) and a Prohibited Area under the Forests Acts.
Young moko jumbie performers in Trinidad raise awareness about the plight of the Scarlet Ibis. (Photo by Alice Yard)
Even young Trinidadians are raising awareness about the poaching of the national bird. In August, 45 performers aged 9-17 years old from the Moko Jumbie Cultural Camp dressed as Scarlet Ibis and marched in the capital’s Queen’s Park Savannah. This Caribbean stilt-walking art form is common during carnival season, and the camp’s mission is to preserve this custom and create cultural legacies by engaging children. It was a fantastic idea to combine this unique cultural heritage with the natural heritage of the Scarlet Ibis! Click here to see the video.
What you can do to help:
Please spread the word that the EMA is requesting information (including observations), research, or data about the Scarlet Ibis to assist with changing its status to an ESS. Information can be submitted here.
The mandatory 30-day public comment period for the change in status to ESS will be announced shortly. Please check the EMA website or Facebook page for updates and send a letter in support of this change in protected status.
Please scroll over or click on the photos for captions
A Scarlet Ibis perched on a mangrove. (Photo by Faraaz Abdool)
The Caroni Swamp ecotour is very popular for residents and tourists alike. (Photo by Lisa Sorenson)
Scarlet Ibis in the Caroni Swamp, Trinidad. (Photo by Jessica Rozek)
The Scarlet Ibis is featured on the nation’s Coat of Arms, along with the Rufous-vented Chachalaca, the national bird of Tobago.
Scarlet Ibis settle on top of the mangroves at their Caroni Swamp roosting site. (Photo by Jessica Rozek)
These Scarlet Ibis in Trinidad will be worth the wait! (Photo by Lisa Sorenson)
Wildlife watchers enjoying the tour in Caroni Swamp. (Photo by Lisa Sorenson)
Scarlet Ibis fly above a pair of American Flamingos. (Photo by Jessica Rozek)
Jessica Rozek is a PhD student at Tufts University, where she is focusing her research on Caribbean wetland conservation and human-wetland-bird interactions. Learn more about her research here.
Take care of yourselves and, once you and your loved ones are safe, remember our birds and consider their plight.
Flooding caused by Hurricane Irma in Old Havana, Cuba. (Photo by Juvenal Balán)
There is no doubt that the landscape on some islands has already changed, perhaps irreversibly so, after the passage of the strongest hurricane on record in the Caribbean. The Codrington Lagoon on Barbuda, for example – a beautifully preserved RAMSAR site – is home to the largest colony of Magnificent Frigatebirds in the region (around 2,500 pairs). It was breached during the storm and the sea has flowed in. Barbuda itself is now a scene of devastation, with almost all buildings damaged or destroyed and most inhabitants evacuated. So, what of the endemic Barbuda Warbler, a small bird that is Near Threatened (likely less than 2,000 individuals) – did it survive?
Moreover, human activity is already contributing to the changing island landscape on a perhaps unprecedented level. Barbuda itself is the proposed site of a tourism development that has already triggered controversy because of its possible impact on its fragile environment. Other large tourism and housing developments, mining and other industrial activities and urbanization are all threatening bird habitats across the region. The unchecked over-development of the Houston area, which replaced wetlands and woodlands with concrete was a major contributing factor to the excessive flooding.
The Barbuda Warbler is endemic to the tiny island of Barbuda which was decimated by Hurricane Irma. (Photo by Ted Eubanks)
While discussion and research into the impact of climate change on tropical weather patterns (in particular, the link to hurricanes) continues, issues such as rising sea levels and warming seas are becoming increasingly evident in the Caribbean. All of these factors combined increase the chance that a single event like Hurricane Irma may cause a species, such as the Barbuda Warbler to go extinct.
Last year, we recorded the devastating impact of Hurricane Matthew on birds in the Bahamas and Haiti, in particular. We also noted that some species “bounce back” more quickly than others. After the storm passes, those birds that survive face long-term problems. In the path of the storm, trees and shrubs lose all their leaves, buds, flowers and fruits. Trees (often the older, larger trees that provide food and shelter) may be uprooted. Riverbanks are scoured and whole neighborhoods transformed. In hills and mountains, there is the threat of landslides. Damage to reefs and seagrass beds may decrease marine productivity. Nesting beaches may be washed away. Birds may lose their nests, shelter and food. Others get displaced to new areas, where they may not thrive.
What happens to birds in a hurricane?
Casper Burrows, a Bahamas National Trust Park Warden on Great Inagua, home to 40,000+ breeding American Flamingos, was elated to spot resident flamingoes feeding just after Hurricane Irma roared through the island. The flamingos had taken shelter in the mangrove vegetation. (Photo by Casper Burrows)
We know that many species can respond to the indicators that a storm is nearby, such as a drop in barometric pressure, changes in temperature, rainfall and light. In some species these changes trigger them to change location. The Bahamas National Trust notes that its flamingoes, for example, will fly away ahead of a storm and some seabirds on the wing will increase their altitude to try to get above the storm. Many other species respond to threats by trying to hunker down in safe places. Migratory birds may change their plans, and depart earlier than usual. Some very brave Whimbrels have even been recorded flying directly into a storm – for example, one named Chinquapin, braved Hurricane Irene in 2011. Read more here.
During and just after the passage of Hurricane Irma, Bahamian flamingoes were spotted, sheltered by coastal forest and mangroves, in storm conditions on the island of Great Inagua; and Cuban Parrots (Bahamas subspecies) were seen feeding on guinep fruit off the trees, which had somehow managed to retain its fruits. Some birds are true survivors, but with such a large and powerful storm as Irma, nowhere is entirely safe. Evidence is just now coming to light that many birds were killed outright during the storm, including thousands of flamingos in the Cayo Coco Cays of Cuba. Juvenile birds will fare worse than the adults. Often the impacts – on breeding cycles, for example – are indirect and more long term.
In 1998, Hurricane Gilbert displaced Black-billed Streamertail hummingbirds about 35 miles east from the dense wet limestone forests of eastern Jamaica to Kingston. A kind citizen found many of these streamertails on her veranda, weak and hardly able to fly. She went from putting out two or three small bottles of sugar water to supplying more than 2 gallons a day. Her efforts undoubtedly saved hundreds of birds.
What can we do to help birds after a hurricane?
It may take weeks, months or decades for our forests, wetlands and gardens to return to their former glory. In the meantime, you can do a lot to help your local birds.
A Black-throated Blue Warbler feeding on fruit; this species winters in the Caribbean. (Photo by Anne Sutton)
Remember the birds as you stock up with supplies, and maintain your hummingbird and seed feeders and bird baths.
Provide food for birds following the storm. Feeding birds does not require expensive feeders or equipment.
Seeds. Many pigeons and doves will eat cracked corn and small seed-eaters will take cracked rice. Watch out for changes in bird behaviour which may indicate food shortages. For example, White-crowned Pigeons may suddenly start feeding on the ground. If you see this, put out food in suitable places (ideally where birds are not vulnerable to cats).
Sugar water. You can make a hummingbird feeder from a bottle with a screw on cap by piercing a small hole in the cap. Fill it with sugar water (1 part sugar to 4 parts water). Use some wire to suspend the bottle at an angle in a place where hummingbirds will find it. You may need to put something red on the bottle to attract the birds initially.
Fruit. To provide fruit for birds, use a horizontal stake with 2 inch nails driven into it to put out left over fruit skins for birds.
What else can we do?
Unfortunately, many flamingos in the Cayo Coco Cays on the the north coast of Cuba did not survive the hurricane. (Photo by Granma.cu)
We need to document the impacts of hurricanes on birds so that we can determine which species have been affected and what we can do to help them. As soon as you can after the storm, take photographs and videos or take notes about:
the extent of damage to habitats (and the process of recovery);
observations of unusual behaviour by familiar birds;
observations of threatened or rare species in their habitat (that might indicate that they survived);
Note that because birds may travel to or get blown off course to other islands during storms and hurricanes, it’s just as important to survey birds in other islands that were NOT affected. For example, the more southern Lesser Antillean islands (Grenada, St. Lucia and St. Vincent and the Grenadines) may serve as a refuge from hurricane events. Please go out and do some surveys and keep an eye out for different birds and vagrants in your islands!
Donate to help our Caribbean partners and birds recover
BirdsCaribbean has launched a fundraising effort for hurricane relief for our Caribbean partners and birds. All the funds will be distributed to bird conservation partners across the Greater and Lesser Antilles islands to help them get back on their feet and replace what was lost in the storm—from notebooks, materials and binoculars to offices and infrastructure. The Fund will also support field surveys to assess the status of endemic, resident and many migrant species, as well as recovery and habitat rehabilitation actions by our partners, such as planting native trees that feed birds and provide habitat. Sincere thanks to those that have donated already!
In the long-term
A Magnificent Frigatebird chick, part of the large nesting colony in Barbuda. (Photo by Ted Eubanks)
We need to take the opportunity to remind our policy-makers of the importance of maintaining and protecting our natural areas, and to continue public education among stakeholders. Intact mangroves provide the most effective protection from storm surge for coastal settlements and infrastructure. Wetlands soak up and store excess rain and protect surrounding areas and property from flooding. Forests prevent land slippage and flash flooding. Caribbean residents – whether town dwellers, farmers or fishermen – are seeing this for themselves in their daily lives.
Hurricane Irma will perhaps serve as a reminder that the delicate balance of our widely varied ecosystems is in jeopardy. As the University of Oklahoma’s Jeremy D. Ross notes in his September 9 article, if we do not maintain a healthy natural environment, “We stand to lose not just an isolated songbird most people have never heard of, but potentially the vibrancy of entire ecosystems that provide the Caribbean its inherent allure.”
Old Havana with it’s beautiful colonial architecture. (Photo by Jessica Rozek)
Seventeen strangers from three countries, Bahamas, Bermuda, and the United States, became fast friends on the BirdsCaribbean 4-day Pre-conference Tour. Naturalists, biologists, students, professors, teachers, accountants, business owners and managers, and retirees all shared one common interest – to explore Cuba and see the birds of Cuba and the Caribbean.
We were met at the airport on Saturday July 8th, settled in to the elegant Meliá Cohiba, and given our freedom for the first evening in Havana to stroll the Malecón and to explore the sights and sounds of Cuba. We were told that walking anywhere, anytime in Cuba was safe, and our experiences verified this truth. On Sunday morning, Atila, our Cuban tour guide, started us off with a walking tour of Old Havana. Ambling along while learning history, seeing colonial architecture, street musicians, and cobbled streets busy with tourists and locals alike made for a lovely morning. Lunch was to the accompaniment of music – music everywhere.
With our tour guide Atila during the walking tour of old Havana. (Photo by Erika Gates)
Between observations around our hotel and our tour of the City we saw the first of our Cuban endemics – the Cuban Blackbird. After lunch, the group piled in to taxis for a walk through the National Botanical Gardens about 30 minutes outside of Havana. There we spotted 13 different species including the Red-legged Honeycreeper, the Great Lizard Cuckoo, and the Yellow-faced Grassquit, not endemics, but exciting none the less. A note here – we were a large group of birders, so numbers of birds observed are from my notes, and many of the more experienced might well have seen more species!
On Sunday evening we were treated to a spectacular Caribbean sunset from the Castillo de San Carlos de la Cabaña. The old fort overlooks the beautiful the Havana harbor, and we watched as darkness fell and the city came to a sparkling enchantment of lights. We had gathered for the re-enactment of the firing of the cannon – a centuries old tradition warning the population that the gates to the fort were about to be closed for the evening.
Red-legged Honeycreeper at the Botanical Gardens outside Havana. (Photo by Erika Gates)
Monday morning we loaded on to our comfortable, air-conditioned bus with Atila, and picked up our bird guide extraordinaire, Maydiel Cañizares Morera, who works for Zapata Swamp National Park. We headed off for Playa Larga in the Bay of Pigs (Bahía de Cochinos) and settled in to our little bungalow accommodations. That afternoon Maydiel took us to “Zunzuncito House” in Paplite, where our hosts Bernabe and Juanita, introduced us to their frequent visitors, the Bee Hummingbirds. The smallest bird in the world – what a treat! There we also saw the Cuban Oriole, the Cuban Emeralds, West Indian Woodpecker, and the ever-present Cuban Blackbirds and House Sparrows.
Our next stop was the forests and savannahs of Soplillar. Despite threatening rain clouds and thick swarms of mosquitos, we intrepidly followed Maydiel, binoculars and cameras at the ready. We were delighted with seeing the Gray-fronted Quail-Dove, the Bare-legged Owl, the Cuban Pygmy-Owl, the Cuban Trogan, the Cuban Tody, the Cuban Green Woodpecker, and the illusive Fernandina’s Flicker. Seeing seven Cuban endemics in one afternoon reflects on Maydiel’s knowledge and skill as a guide. He’s brilliant! This was just day one of birding with Maydiel.
Several female Bee Humingbirds showed off while the group caught fleeting glimpses of two males. (Photo by Erika Gates)
Tuesday morning, ah, Tuesday morning. Our bus took us to the Cocorilla Canals in Santo Tomás, a saw-grass filled swampy area of Zapata. This small hamlet sits back off the grid of power and telephone lines, and it was here that we met the boatmen that would glide us through the swamp. As we drove up to the small cluster of homes, Maydiel commented, “There’s been a lot of rain, and we have to walk to the boats,” a subtle warning that the trail to our boats would be a wet one. Ha! We were headed to one of only two known locations for the Zapata Wren and one of three locations for the Zapata Sparrow (also known as the Cuban Sparrow) so not a single member of the group hesitated to carry on.
As we trekked through thigh-high water I asked the renowned Bermudian octogenarian conservationist, David Wingate, on his journeys to see a particular bird, how did this experience rate? “Oh, right up there at the top,” he commented, “right up there at the top.” It was worth it, though, as we were serenaded by the Zapata Wren, and spotted three more endemics, the Zapata Sparrow, the Cuban Vireo, the Cuban Bullfinch. In addition, that morning we saw another 31 species, including a Crested Caracara on the ride back to Playa Larga.
Heading out into Zapata Swamp. (Photo by Erika Gates)Catching a glimpse of Cuban Vireos and Yellow-headed Warblers in Bermejas. (Photo by Erika Gates)
After a casual lunch near the beach, we were bused 18 miles to Sandero Salinas de Brito. Riding and walking the road surrounded on both sides by salt flats, we added the Cuban Black Hawk to our list of endemics. We also had the pleasure of seeing about 800 American Flamingos, a Stygian Owl, Osprey, Reddish Egrets, a white morph Great Blue Heron, White Ibis, a Snowy Egret, and a lone Roseate Spoonbill – 25 species in all that afternoon. I especially enjoyed watching the hundreds of land crabs scuttling out of the way of our bus as we headed back to Playa Larga.
After our final dinner at Playa Larga, we packed for an early departure in search of the Blue-headed Quail-Dove in the Refugio de Fauna Bermejas. Despite a long quiet walk through the forest we had no luck with the Quail-Doves. Though many in our group had previously seen this bird, it was my first good look at the endemic Yellow-headed Warbler. We saw and heard 14 species on that walk, and long will I remember the sound of the Cuban Trogan echoing through woods, a haunting, whooping call from Cuban’s national bird.
Since we were early for lunch at Caleta Buena, we birdwatched and idled on the beach, swam in the rock formation pools, and sipped drinks in the shade of palm trees while Cave Swallows swooped overhead. We spotted the singular Laughing Gull seen on the trip. After a generous buffet lunch, we continued with our slow, steady climb up to Topes de Collantes for the BirdCaribbean 2017 conference.
What a memorable birding experience! Seventeen amazing, talented dedicated birders sharing and enjoying our four-day trip through the lush, green Cuban countryside. The trip was well-organized, and our tour guide Atila was thoughtful and informative. Food was plentiful and for me, that cold Cristal cerveza provided with our meals hit the spot! Our birding guide, Maydiel, made finding so many endemics look easy, a reflection of his knowledge of his country and its birds. We learned about Cuba, the history, the habitats and the birds. I think I speak for all of the participants when we tumbled in to our hotels in Topes de Collantes, we were blown away with our four-day pre-conference birding experience and it will be a cherished memory of a lifetime.
Please scroll over or click on the photos below for captions.
By Martha Cartwright. Martha is a U.S. citizen who has lived in Freeport, Bahamas for 31 years. After becoming a widow in 2013 she started feeding and studying the fish in her canal. One day she looked up and noticed the birds and hasn’t looked down since. She counts her blessings for the tutelage of eBird’s Erika Gates and for a dedicated birding community on Grand Bahama. She teaches yoga and postural alignment therapy when she isn’t birding.
A Bare-legged Owl peeks out of his roosting cavity. (Photo by David Southall)
The Cuban Vireo. (Photo by David Southall)
A boat ride through Zapata Swamp. (Photo by Erika Gates)
The perfectly positioned Pygmy Owl. (photo by Erika Gates)
In the Savannah Soplillar of Zapata Swamp, seeking Bare-legged and Pygmy Owls. (Photo by Erika Gates)
Our fantastic tour guides Atíla and Maydeil. (Photo by Jen Mortensen)
The most popular bird of the trip: easy to see and hear – the national bird, the Cuban Trogan! (Photo by Ericka Gates)
Wading through the waters of Santo Tomás. (Photo by Erika Gates)
The male Bee Hummingbird. (Photo by David Southall)
Enjoying the pristine waters at Caleta Buena. (Photo by Jessica Rozek)
Las Salinas. (Photo by Erika Gates)
West Indian Woodpecker at the Botanical Gardens. (Photo by Erika Gates)
The Yellow-headed Warbler, one of two endemic warblers to Cuba. (Photo by David Southall)
American Flamingos in Las Salinas – we never got tired of watching and photographing this elegant bird. (Photo by Erika Gates)
House of Juanita and Bernabe in Paplite observing the smallest bird in the world. (Photo by Erika Gates)
White morph American Kestrel in Zapata Swamp. (Photo by David Southall)
Waiting for the Blue-headed Quail-Dove. (Photo by Erika Gates)
On a hike through Refugio de Fauna Bermejas – BirdsCaribbean headwear not only looks good but it is very useful against mosquitoes – modeled here in the Bermejas Refuge! (Photo by Erika Gates)
A very lucky view of a Stygian Owl on the way to Las Salinas. (Photo by David Southall)
Wading through Zapata Swamp—on a quest for the Zapata Wren! (Photo by Erika Gates)
Captain Erika Gates on the way to see the Zapata Wren and Zapata Sparrow – “a happy adventure, thank you Maydiel!”
A Black-whiskered Vireo. (Photo by David Southall)
The Zapata Wren. (Photo by Erika Gates)
Gina and Maydiel on their way to see Zapata endemics – just another walk in the park! (Photo by Erika Gates)
For more fun articles on the BirdsCaribbean 21st International Conference in Cuba, July 2017, check out the following:
World Shorebirds Day logo featuring a Ruddy Turnstone.
World Shorebirds Day, September 6th, is right around the corner. According to the founder of this annual event, Gyorgy Szimuly, “World Shorebirds Day is a special day to celebrate shorebirds and the hard-working people dedicated to saving them.” Since it’s inception four years ago, the event has received a wonderful response with people from all over the planet joining together to enjoy shorebirds and promote their conservation.
One of the main activities of World Shorebirds Day is the Global Shorebird Count—hundreds of enthusiasts, including birdwatchers, educators, conservationists, researchers, politicians, and even hunters, will take part between 1-7 September. “The Caribbean region has been a great supporter since the beginning,” commented Gyorgy. “We hope that people from many different islands plan an event and again participate in the count. It would be fantastic to hit an all-time high in the number of registered sites in 2017!”
Registration is open and available at this link. For committed and returning counters there is even a Loyalty Program – read about it on the blog. Everyone is encouraged to register through the form on this page and have a chance to win one of the fantastic prizes.
Piping Plover on Pedro Pond, Jamaica – spotted during last year’s World Shorebirds Day, first record for the island. (photo by Ann Sutton)
You never know what exciting new birds you might see on World Shorebirds Day. For example, last year Ann Sutton spotted the first Piping Plover ever seen in Jamaica on Pedro Pond! All observations are valuable, however. Many shorebird species are declining and we still know very little about shorebird migration in the Caribbean, such as where birds are stopping to rest and feed on migration and numbers of each species. So be sure to head out and find some shorebirds for World Shorebirds Day and enter your checklists for your Global Shorebird Count in eBird Caribbean. If you’re new to eBird, check out this Quick Start guide.
To make your submitted data visible to World Shorebirds Day, please be sure to share your checklist with worldshorebirdsday eBird username of World Shorebirds Day (WorldShorebirdsDay) or add shorebirdsday@gmail.com email address, to your contact list, and share all your related checklists with us (only checklists made during the World Shorebirds Day count period between 1–7 September 2017 are eligible). Guidelines for sharing checklists are here.
Don’t forget also that any counts carried out at a wetland or beach count as a Caribbean Waterbird Census (CWC) count; enter your data as a CWC count on step 2 of data entry on eBird Caribbean. In addition, your shorebird count can be part of the International Shorebird Survey, which we are just beginning to encourage in the Caribbean – read more here.
Hat’s off to our partner in Puerto Rico, Sociedad Ornitológica Puertorriqueña (SOPI), who are going all out this year with their World Shorebirds Day celebration. They have organized the 1st Shorebird Festival—a 3-day event from September 1-3. A variety of exciting activities are planned including educational talks, shorebird identification workshops, activities for children, live music, shorebird artwork, and a photographic exhibition of shorebirds presented by local photographers. According to organizer Luis Ramos, “We want to educate the community about the great variety of shorebirds that migrate to the island and promote the conservation and restoration of habitats for them.” If you live in Puerto Rico, be sure to participate!
Good luck to SOPI on their festival! And we look forward to hearing back from many of you about your findings on World Shorebirds Day!
First Shorebird Festival in Puerto Rico, organized by Sociedad Ornitológica Puertorriqueña (SOPI).
Schedule of activities for the 1st Shorebird Festival in Puerto Rico – join the fun!
The endemic Cuban Parrot was a daily visitor to the conference site in Topes de Collantes. (Photo by David Southall)
Standing on the balcony of the Kurhotel in Topes de Collantes, Cuba, it is impossible to ignore the Cuban Martins darting about, the excited chattering of the Cuban Parrots, and the soft tocoro-tocoro of the Cuban Trogon coming from the forest. This location, high in the Escambray Mountains, was the perfect venue for the BirdsCaribbean 21st International Conference.
Hailing from 30 different islands and countries, 240 enthusiastic students, researchers and other professionals came together for five days to support Caribbean birds by networking, learning and sharing. The theme of the conference was “Celebrating Caribbean Diversity” and what better way to start than with the spectacularly diverse host country? Cuba Day included a range of fantastic talks discussing topics from introduced species and their effects to educational efforts of the National Museum of Natural History to the birds of Cuba only known from the archaeological record.
Each morning of the conference thereafter, dedicated individuals met bright and early before the sessions for working group meetings—concentrated discussions focusing on a common theme or species. There was a place for everyone at the table and new ideas were shared about the conservation of Bicknell’s Thrush, Black-capped Petrels, West Indian Whistling-Ducks, parrots, flamingos, and other endemic and threatened species.
Executive Director Lisa Sorenson addresses the conference in the opening ceremony. (Photo by Ingrid Flores)
Another common early morning activity was- of course- birding! Before sunrise every day, birders from different countries would meet in the hotel lobbies, form small groups and walk off together into the morning light, hoping to get a glimpse of one of Cuba’s many endemic species found in Topes de Collantes. “I heard there is a Stygian Owl with young here!” said a duo from Cornell- a rumor that fueled many fruitless searches. The morning trips around Hotel Los Helechos were invariably filled with the call of Limpkins, Cuban Pewees, and new friends eager to be sharing their passion together.
The conference program was filled with outstanding presentations, representing the hard work and dedication to conservation of individuals across the Caribbean. In addition to learning critical information, participants were treated to special media that shared intimate moments of Caribbean avifauna. For example, during the Recent Advances in Seabird Conservation session, the audience was able to see a “bird’s-eye” view of foraging behavior in Magnificent Frigatebirds, with a camera mounted on the back of a wild bird. And who could forget the fantastic up-close photographs documenting the nesting cycle of the smallest bird in the world (a Cuba endemic), the Bee Hummingbird?
An early morning hike in Tope de Collantes yielded a Cuban Pygmy Owl, one of two endemic owls on the island. (Photo by David Southall)
One of the highlights at the conference came from Herbert Raffaele, when he announced that he will be updating the Birds of the West Indies field guide. The new version will include updated information about ranges, changes in taxonomy, and some new illustrations. This announcement is especially exciting because the project is fully supported by Princeton University Press.
On the third day of the conference, participants set off in all directions for a day of field trips to explore the beauty and uniqueness of Cuba. A large contingent took buses down the mountain to the nearby town of Trinidad, a UNESCO World Heritage site. There they were greeted with a rainbow of brightly colored colonial buildings, unpaved roads and mid-century era cars, all of which evoked a sense that time had forgotten this charming city. The tour gave the history of the area while meandering through the streets, stopping occasionally to admire the exquisite handiwork of local artisans. Some conference goers were even able to try their hand at pottery making themselves!
Two St. Lucian delegates, Valance (Vision) James and Adams Toussaint, pose at the gorgeous entrance of Gruta Batata, a cave with pools and waterfalls. (Photo by Jessica Rozek)
Those participants that did not go to Trinidad headed in the other direction – for the hills – on a variety of gorgeous hikes around the Topes de Collantes Nature Reserve. One group took a hike to picturesque Vegas Grande waterfall, the second largest on the island. With cool, blue water at the bottom of the falls, swimmers were rewarded with a front row seat to White-collared Swifts exiting their roosting site. Groups were also given a tour of a coffee house and learned the traditional ways of harvesting and roasting the beans- and even got to enjoy a small, very strong cup. In addition to all the new life birds seen on the trails, all the hikers from this day will remember the fun of the open-air Russian vehicles that proved to be more like a roller coaster than a truck ride.
A field trip to Vegas Grande was filled with spectacular views and a cold swim. Left to right: Maydiel Cañizares, Jen Mortensen, Jessica Rozek, and Arnaldo Toledo. (Photo by Maydiel Cañizares)
While the days were filled with bird watching and absorbing all the information at the conference, the nights were filled with live music, professional dancers, and dancing. The cool air of the mountains made the outdoor performances a delight and it was difficult to say no when asked to dance with your new (and old) friends.
Leaving the conference after five full days of intense knowledge sharing and exploring the incredible uniqueness of Cuba, participants were clearly motivated and instilled with a renewed commitment to conservation in the Caribbean. We are so excited to hear about all of the great research and outreach this momentum leads to at our next conference in Guadeloupe in 2019!
Learning how to salsa at the welcome reception. (Photo by Arnaldo Toledo)
Our hiking group heads out to Gruta Batata. Left to right: David Southall, Valance (Vision) James, Jessica Rozek, Jen Mortensen, Adams Toussaint. (Photo by David Southall)
Jessica Rozek is a PhD student at Tufts University, where she is focusing her research on Caribbean wetland conservation and human-wetland-bird interactions. Learn more about her research here.
Here’s your chance to win one of four fabulous prizes and support conservation of Caribbean birds!
Raffle prizes include gorgeous endemic bird artwork and a fantastic pair of Vortex binoculars.
BirdsCaribbean’s 1017 Raffle features Cuban Endemic Bird Original Art: the Bee Hummingbird (the world’s smallest bird), the charismatic Cuban Tody, and the gorgeous Cuban Trogon (national bird of Cuba). These paintings are by acclaimed Cuban wildlife artist Nils Navarro and were generously donated by the artist. The giclee prints are signed and numbered, and ~8.5 x 11 inches in size.
The fourth prize is a brand new pair of binoculars—Vortex VIPER HD 8X42 ROOF PRISM BINOCULAR. This premium-quality, award winning binocular is packed with everything you need and nothing you don’t. It is rugged, waterproof, compact and lightweight (one of the lightest full-size binoculars on the market)! In addition, the binoculars come with Vortex’s amazing unlimited, unconditional life-time VIP Warranty! Thanks to Vortex Optics for kindly donating this prize!
The drawing for the Raffle is on Saturday October 21st, 2017. Now is the time to purchase tickets! Proceeds from the raffle support our conservation programs and provide travel support for BirdsCaribbean delegates to attend our workshops and conferences.
Tickets are $5 each or five for $20.Contact us to let us know how many tickets you would like. You can pay for the tickets online, or request other payment options when you contact us. Remember to get your tickets before October 21st, and good luck!
It only takes one to win, but you can’t win without one!
The moment had finally arrived. It was time to add my name to the list for the mid-conference field trip to Trinidad. Leading up to my arrival in Cuba I religiously kept tabs on the mid-conference field trip page. I had an unfounded fear that the trip to the nearby town of Trinidad would be cancelled. I expected that by the third day I would be over-stimulated by the greenery of Topes de Collantes from early morning birding and that visiting a town would be a welcomed change of scenery.
Unfortunately, the comfortable bed at Los Helechos had a stronghold on me and I never joined the early morning birders. To compensate for my lack of will I wrote my name down for the Batata-Codina trip which promised a visit to a coffee house museum, a hike to a cave, lunch at Hacienda Codina and a mini- tour through one of the villages within El Parque Codina. I was quite satisfied by my decision and did not waste time second guessing myself.
Inside the coffee museum (Photo by Aliya Hosein)
The trip started from outside the Los Helechos Hotel where the tour guide had herded everyone and was ticking off names from his list. We were taken to the coffee house museum in an old Russian army truck—the primary mode of transport for conference attendees and really an adventure in itself. Although small the museum allows visitors to sip and enjoy the aromatic local brew while learning about coffee’s boom-bust history in Cuba. It was hard for me to concentrate on history when each window of the museum provided breath-taking vistas of mountain peaks in the park.
While some people were still enjoying their coffee others decided to look for birds. And I was very glad to be part of the latter group. Cuban Parrots were squawking among themselves in some trees across the road. A few minutes later a pair flew out and perched on a mostly leafless tree in the morning sunlight. We also saw a West Indian Woodpecker, Western Spindalis, Smooth-billed Ani, Scaly-Naped Pigeon and an American Kestrel.
Our tour guide taking multiple photos with multiple cameras (Photo by Aliya Hosein)
Further down the road someone saw a Cuban Grassquit which sent the entire group jogging in that direction. But before we got to the grassquit a Cuban Trogon was spotted which prematurely stopped our jog and redirected our excitement. The trogon kept flying from tree to tree until it settled on a branch when we thought it had finally adjusted to our presence. It had not! It flew off again, leaving me, and possibly a few others, with my camera set to take a great shot. By this time the grassquit had also left. Nonetheless the trip started off with much excitement and we were hopeful that it would carry on during our hike through the forest.
Field Trip Route through Topes de Collantes (Map by Aly Ollivierre)
Not too far from where the trogon was spotted we began our trek to the cave. The trail at first was very narrow. We stopped momentarily to smell flowers and inquire about origin and scientific names. I can’t recall seeing any birds at the beginning but we saw lots of trail signs. When we finally reached the La Batata sign a group photo was definitely needed. Our guide offered to take our photo and so he did equipped with about six cameras. Fortunately he had a system after each picture was taken he transferred the camera to his left arm.
Flat slug on trail (Photo by Aliya Hosein)
As the incline began to grow our guide spotted a Cuban Tody. Because of the bird’s small size I spent no less than 15 minutes on this first incline trying to locate the bird. The next bird we encountered was a Great Lizard-Cuckoo. A relatively large bird with a long gorgeous tail when fanned. Like the trogon we saw at the beginning it did not sit still. The cuckoo kept flying up and down the trail and we willingly followed just to catch a glimpse. Not long after we continued climbing up the mountain did we see a Cuban Pygmy Owl. It was amazing to see an owl perched so close to the trail and generally nonchalant about a group of people staring at it.
We began our descent as we got closer to the cave. Mentally and physically I felt fine the air was cool and the only nuisance up until now was mosquitoes. My toes however felt like they were about to burst through the toe cap of my hiking boots. Every so often I had to stop and knock my heels against the floor for some much needed relief.
Entrance to Codina Park (Photo by Aliya Hosein)
Eventually we reached the stream leading into the Batata cave where some brave souls refilled water bottles. Stream rocks are notorious for being slippery and these were no exception. One group member tried crossing the shallow stream on his own and ended up slipping off a rock. In unison we all asked if his camera was okay. He was using a professional camera with the type of lens you think is long enough to see into your soul. Yes, the camera was okay but everything else got drenched as well as I suspect his dignity. I did not venture into the cave as I am not a fan of hiking in wet socks and boots. We were only at the halfway point.
Once cave exploration was completed, we began our second ascent and it was steep! Our birding/photo hiking group was broken into the healthy hikers and summit hikers. The summit hikers were at the forefront with their eyes glued on the prize. I certainly was not a member of this sub-group. Although not terribly drained from the uphill climb and distance the healthy hikers were not interested in bagging a prize. I am really not ashamed to say I welcomed rest stops that allowed me to rehydrate and power on.
Dining area at Hacienda Codina (Photo by Aliya Hosein)
By the time everyone had regrouped by the entrance to Codina Park I was anxious to get to Hacienda Codina to feast on authentic Cuban food. Hacienda Codina is situated in a pine forest clearing and because it is literally off the beaten track it is a tranquil spot. It has a lovely little restaurant and bar surrounded by local flora. I ate one of the best meals at the restaurant. During lunch I also learned about life on islands in the Greater Antilles. BirdsCaribbean has the most diverse group of passionate and absolutely hilarious members.
After lunch it was back on our Russian army truck for a scenic drive through rural landscapes. Although overcast I really enjoyed seeing the houses and villagers trotting down the road on horseback. We stopped by a market/ craft stall ran by a local villager. She offered us samples of her homemade fudge and nut bars. The coffee lovers could not resist purchasing the fresh coffee beans.
Complimentary shot of espresso (Photo by Aliya Hosein)
To end the trip we went back to the coffee museum to enjoy our complimentary shot of espresso. I was a bit hesitant since I had never had it before and I was warned that it would not be able to sleep that night. Casting all fears aside I accepted my shot of espresso and was not disappointed. Although considered taboo in some cultures I added a demitasse spoonful of sugar to it. The only side effect I suffered was the inability to control the pitch of my voice and I had the sudden urge to talk to everyone. If you are wondering, I slept like a log that night. Sleep came easily, most likely from being pleasantly exhausted from a full day of coffee history lesson, birding at an incline, and enjoying a locally prepared meal.
This article was contributed by BirdsCaribbean member Aliya Hosein from Trinidad and Tobago. When she’s not on a BirdsCaribbean mid-conference field trip, she’s often writing about parrots and helping people understand that they belong in the wild.
Mark Yokoyama leads a writing workshop at the BirdsCaribbean International Conference, July 2017, Topes de Collantes, Cuba. (Photo by Jenn Yerkes)
Primaries and ceres, tarsi and rookeries, vagrants and barbules—good words for birders, mumbo jumbo to most folks. Avoiding jargon was one of many tips shared in the writing workshop Reaching People. The workshop was led by Mark Yokoyama as part of BirdsCaribbean’s 21st International Conference in Cuba.
Most people like birds, but many people writing about birds fail to connect with a general audience. We forget to tell a story. Facts are given without context. There is no natural flow from one idea to the next. Often, the writing itself is too difficult for most people to read.
It doesn’t have to be that way. Science writing can be engaging—our favorite writers do it all the time. Complex ideas can be explained simply—great teachers know how. The workshop focused on these two ideas: storytelling and accessibility.
Workshop participants practice and get peer feedback. (Photo by Jenn Yerkes)
Picking key facts and ordering them logically helps turn a topic into a story. Adding details that grab a reader, and knowing what to cut are also crucial. Participants worked on their own stories during the class. Some even worked on a press release about the conference to send out when they got home.
The second half of the workshop focused on accessibility. Many were surprised to learn that the average adult in the US reads at about an 8th grade level. Unfortunately, many press materials are written at college level. This is a serious mismatch.
Luckily, we can be more readable just by using plain language and clear sentences. During one activity, participants found they had written sentences up to 60 words long without knowing it. Want to be easier to read? Find out what’s making your writing hard. There are even online tools that measure readability and suggest what you can change.
In just three hours, the group had a new set of writing tools and some hands-on practice. Jealous? Don’t be! You can download the workshop as a handout and run through it yourself. You can also download a copy of the slides and lead your own workshop. With birds and habitats under threat in the Caribbean, it has never been more vital to spread our message. Writing for everyone is a great start.
Soaring above the tree tops of Los Haitises National Park is the mighty Ridgway’s Hawk. Conflicts with humans and changes in its forest habitat have made it hard for this species to survive. Marta Curti tells us about the work of The Peregrine Fund to save this critically endangered raptor.
Ridgway’s Hawks are critically endangered and found only in Los Haitises National Park in the Dominican Republic. (Photo by The Peregrine Fund)
The Ridgway’s Hawk is endemic to the Caribbean island of Hispaniola, but is now considered to be extinct in Haiti. The last remaining population of this species is in a small national park, Los Haitises, in the Dominican Republic (DR). There are only an estimated 350-450 individuals left in the wild.
I have been working as a biologist for The Peregrine Fund for the past 17 years. I have been lucky enough to have been a part of several of their projects helping to conserve birds of prey in many countries around the world. In 2011, I joined the team working in DR to help to save the Ridgway’s Hawk from extinction.
The Peregrine Fund’s Ridgway’s Hawk conservation project has been running since 2002 and has many facets. When I was asked to share a short article about our project on the BirdsCaribbean blog, I spent a long time thinking what to write about. I could focus on the advances we have made to prevent botfly (Philornis pici) infestations in nestling Ridgway’s Hawks – an issue that, if left untreated, could cause over 70% mortality in young hawks.
Or I could discuss the successes of our Assisted Dispersal Program: bringing young hawks from Los Haitises National Park and releasing them in Ojos Indígenas Reserve in Punta Cana in an effort to create additional populations of the hawk in other protected areas on the island. Assisted Dispersal has resulted in the formation of 15 breeding pairs to date and 22 wild fledged young!
Ridgway’s Hawks hatched in Punta Cana, Dominican Republic thanks to The Peregrine Fund’s Assisted Dispersal Program. (Photo by The Peregrine Fund)
Another aspect of the project I could mention is our collaboration with Fundación Grupo PUNTACANA and the Disney Conservation Fund to retrofit dangerous power lines preventing electrocutions of not only Ridgway’s Hawks, but other species of birds as well. A whole other blog post could focus on our program to provide free chicken coops to individuals in small communities, an effort to help avoid conflicts between humans and hawks that sometimes prey on young poultry.
Instead, today I would like to tell you about our community development and our environmental education programs. One important aspect of The Peregrine Fund’s work, is to improve the lives of people in areas where we are conserving birds of prey, whether through training, educational activities, or employment opportunities.
In the communities surrounding LHNP we are working with 17 local technicians that we have trained and hired. Some are in their 40s and 50s and have been with the project since its inception. Others are in their early twenties and are just beginning their careers. In small towns around LHNP, there are limited job opportunities and our project is able to provide economic benefits, employment and valuable training in skills such as tree climbing, data collection, bird banding, nest searching, as well as computer data entry and leadership skills.
A completed painting of a Ridgway’s Hawk, done by one of the local schoolchildren. (Photo by The Peregrine Fund)
We began our environmental education program in Punta Cana in 2013, after three of our released Ridgway’s Hawks were shot in a nearby community. Since then, we have expanded our efforts and now work with over 15 communities and have reached over 7,000 individuals in a wide radius around the release site through door-to-door visits, educational presentations, school activities and teacher training workshops. One of the most fun and successful activities that we do every year (as part of our Caribbean Endemic Bird Festival) is the celebration of Ridgway’s Hawk Day, May 25th.
Thanks to a generous donation from BirdsCaribbean, this year we celebrated Ridgway’s Hawk Day with three separate activities around the country! The first, we held with two of our local partners: the National Zoo (ZOODOM) and Fundación Propagas. Schoolchildren from Santo Domingo were treated to a close-up view of a live Ridgway’s Hawk at the zoo, and also participated in an art project, receiving a raptor inspired mask at the end of their visit.
The second and third Ridgway’s Hawk Day activities took place in Punta Cana, where, with the help of Fundación Grupo PUNTACANA – another important local partner, we hosted two celebrations on June 1st and 2nd. Over 80 children visited our Ridgway’s Hawk release site in Punta Cana and saw young hawks up close, learning about the release process and the importance of protecting wildlife. Participants also learned how to use binoculars on a nature walk while practicing birding in forests and lagoons. The children also created beautiful art, painting and coloring on recycled wood – which focused on Ridgway’s Hawks, nature, and other wildlife observed during their visit. Select pieces will be displayed at an event in a local art museum early next year.
Participants are beginning to paint images of Ridgway’s Hawks and other wildlife and nature scenes from the day. (Photo by The Peregrine Fund)
To end the day, we headed down to a nearby beach where the kids played games in the sand, learning about the importance of a balanced ecosystem for creatures both on land and in the sea. After a picnic lunch under the shade of nearby trees, students clapped hands and swayed to the rhythm of drums during an interactive dance performance by one of our volunteers, in a full Ridgway’s Hawk costume!
We have already begun to see the positive effects of our education efforts in communities, especially in the attitudes of individual people. Most notably, in the community where our three Ridgway’s Hawks were killed a number of years ago, we now have a nesting pair of hawks who just fledged two perfectly healthy young! The entire community knows of the presence of the hawks and is now actively supporting their protection!
Though we still have a long way to go to ensure the conservation of the species, we continue to be encouraged by the changes we see taking place, making great strides each year and we look forward to the day that the Ridgway’s Hawk is no longer an endangered species.
A “Ridgway’s Hawk” comes to visit. (photo by The Peregrine Fund)
Marta Curti works as a biologist with The Peregrine Fund, a non-profit organization whose mission is to conserve birds of prey worldwide.
Dr. Wingate is pictured with BC President Andrew Dobson and BC Executive Director Lisa Sorenson.
At the recently concluded BirdsCaribbean 21st Conference Meeting in Cuba, Dr. David Wingate was honoured with a Lifetime Achievement Award in recognition of his “exceptional knowledge and contributions to avian knowledge and conservation in Bermuda and the Caribbean”.
David Wingate was born in 1935 in Bermuda, he studied Zoology at Cornell University and went on to become the Conservation Officer for the Bermuda Government Parks Department from 1966 to his retirement in 2000.
For almost 300 years, no Cahows were reported from Bermuda (or anywhere else) until occasional corpses were found on the islands through the first half of the 20th Century. In 1950, David Wingate was a 15 year-old schoolboy in Bermuda, and was certain that the bird survived and must be breeding somewhere on the islets at the entrance to Castle Harbour. He determined to locate the nests and took a kayak across the bay to search for them. The sea was too rough for him to land, but he returned the following year with the eminent seabird biologist Robert Murphy, and nesting Cahows were found.
David Wingate at bird art competition in Bermuda.
However, the species was still critically endangered. There were only a handful of pairs, and in 1951 perhaps eight chicks were reared. David Wingate determined to save this bird from extinction and has spent most of his life spent endeavouring to do so. Problems were faced and surmounted. Nest burrows were frequently taken over by White-tailed Tropicbirds Phaethon lepturus and the contents destroyed. Wingate designed and installed ‘bafflers’ with an entrance too small for tropicbirds but allowing access for Cahows. There were few burrows on the islets. Wingate created artificial burrows – with access ports so the nests could be monitored. By his retirement in 2000, the population had grown to over 50 pairs.
Crucially David mentored and trained Jeremy Madeiros to take over the recovery programme. Birds are now breeding on six islands including birds translocated onto Nonsuch Island. The Cahow population continues to grow with a record 117 pairs and 61 fledglings in 2017.
The re-discovery of the Cahow’s breeding grounds was his inspiration for a life involving birds and natural history. He is also credited with rediscovering the Black-capped Petrel in Haiti in 1963. The restoration of the once barren Nonsuch Island into a ‘Living Museum of pre-colonial Bermuda’ is Dr. Wingate’s lifetime work, and part of his effort to bring back from near-extinction Bermuda’s national bird, the Cahow. He has been a crucial part of Bermuda Audubon Society (since its formation in 1954) and a founder of the Bermuda National Trust. He also served on the board of the Bermuda Institute of Ocean Sciences, and as a research associate of the Bermuda Zoological Society.
David Wingate with baffler.
David’s conservation efforts have been wide-ranging, focussing on many species including the Green Sea Turtle Chelonia mydas, Bermuda Rock Skink Plestiodon longirostris, Yellow-crowned Night-Heron Nyctanassa violacea, and Bermuda population of Common Tern Sterna hirundo, Eastern Bluebird Sialia sialis, and White-eyed Vireo Vireo griseus. It is remarkable that at 81 years old David Wingate remains an active and leading conservationist on Bermuda. He has been responsible for the creation and restoration of numerous wetland habitats in Bermuda.
Amongst his many honours are two from Queen Elizabeth ll and one from the King of the Netherlands. Few Bermudians are known outside their country. David is one of those who commands respect for his conservation efforts. The success of the Nonsuch Island restoration project is used as a model worldwide. The success of the Cahow recovery programme is known throughout the world. He is quite simply the most influential, passionate, knowledgeable and untiring conservationist and naturalist that Bermuda has ever seen.
BirdsCaribbean members learn the latest in bird science and conservation.
Over 240 scientists, teachers and conservationists came together in Cuba this month at BirdsCaribbean’s 21st International Conference in Topes de Collantes Nature Reserve Park. Held every two years, it is the only time when this far-flung community has a chance to work face-to-face to improve how birds are studied and protected. The event included nearly 150 presentations and workshops over five days.
“This year’s theme was Celebrating Caribbean Diversity,” explained BirdsCaribbean Director Lisa Sorenson. “We love the variety of birds here, but the diversity of our members is even more important. We brought people here from dozens of islands. We have different cultures and languages, but we all face similar challenges. The chance to share ideas improves our work all over the region.”
Vegas Grande waterfall was one of the many amazing sites in Topes de Collantes. (Photo by Arnaldo Toledo)
BirdsCaribbean is the region’s largest conservation group. Programs like the Caribbean Endemic Bird Festival, which highlights birds found only in the region, reach over 100,000 people each year. At the conference, festival coordinators on different islands share ideas and activities. Others are inspired to launch festivals on their islands for the first time.
Researchers sharing their work give ideas that can help save birds. Members learn how birds recover after hurricanes or prosper when farmers plant shade trees over their coffee. Then they can bring bird-saving tools back to their own islands. This year, one highlight was the large number of Cuban scientists; 69 attended from all over the country.
“For almost 30 years, BirdsCaribbean has helped share the work of Cuban scientists with the rest of the world,” said BirdsCaribbean President Andrew Dobson. “Helping this collaboration has been a very rewarding part of our mission. It was also a joy to spend time with so many Cuban friends in one of the Caribbean’s most beautiful nature reserves.”
Program cover for BirdsCaribbean’s 21st International Conference in Cuba. (design by Rolando Ata)
After five days of sharing stories and bird-sightings, members flew home to their islands. Each one brought back new skills and ideas. Tools developed on one island will soon be helping birds on others. Though many may do their work alone, they have friends and allies across the sea. In two years, the next conference will unite them again.
More information on the conference, including the program (file available for download), is available here.
Enjoying birds and photography in Viñales Valley, Cuba (photo by Lora Leschner, BirdsCaribbean March 2017 Bird Tour).
2017 is the UN’s International Year of Sustainable Tourism for Development. So, what better topic to consider than that of Caribbean bird tourism for sustainable development and conservation?
Speakers at the BirdsCaribbean 21st International Conference in Topes de Collantes, Cuba (July 13 – 17) will be digging deeper into the eco-tourism field, and the potential of birding as a tourist attraction. Recent trends suggest that a more discerning and independent traveler in the Caribbean – as elsewhere in the world – has emerged, who is looking for a unique, authentic experience. Much greater sensitivity towards the culture and environment is a critical component of this – and of sustainable tourism in general.
Skip Glenn, Marking Professor at University of Pittsburgh.
So, although Caribbean tourism was built on the “sun, sea and sand” concept, it is evolving. In a highly competitive field some models need to be redesigned to cope with changing demands, says Assistant Professor of Marketing and Entrepreneurship at the University of Pittsburgh Skip Glenn. In Cuba, Glenn will discuss that critical “balance” that will build profit for entrepreneurs, while at the same time ensuring the preservation of natural resources and sustainable growth in communities.
Another recent trend is “sharing” via social media and online in general. Judy Karwacki of Small Planet Consulting in Vancouver, Canada will explore this growing tendency among travelers, many of whom are looking to “live like a local.” At the Cuba conference, Karwacki will provide practical marketing information and tips for birding tourism destinations.
Judy Karwacki of Small Planet travel (photo by Tamea Burd Photography)
One example of a bird tourism model is the Caribbean Birding Trail (CBT), developed by BirdsCaribbean, which aims to raise awareness (and enjoyment) of the remarkable diversity of birds in the region and to encourage their conservation. CBT’s aim is to work with partners on every island to offer training at the local level in bird-centered, sustainable tourism that includes experiencing local culture and heritage.
Holly Robertson and Lisa Sorenson will have plenty to update participants at the Cuba conference on the “latest” from the CBT, which has held interpretive guide trainings in Grenada, Jamaica, Dominican Republic and Bonaire to date. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the Marshall-Reynolds Foundation have funded supporting activities, including marketing products, an interpretive panel for Jamaica’s Cockpit Country, and improving trails and infrastructure in the Dominican Republic. The CBT is moving ahead!
Trying a Cuban cigar at a tobacco farm in Viñales Valley is part of the fun on the Caribbean Birding Trail in Cuba (photo by Lisa Sorenson, BirdsCaribbean January 2017 Bird Tour)
There is much more to absorb and enjoy at the conference in Topes de Collantes. An informative and interactive Cuba Day will celebrate advances in the study and conservation of the island’s endemic, resident and migratory birds. A specific threat to bird populations on the island is the culture of caged birds; a workshop led by Gary Markowski of the Caribbean Conservation Trust will address this major concern and seek solutions.
The use of technology is something that no conservationist can ignore; the range of available tools expands almost daily. The use of drones for conservation is a fascinating topic, for example. Dr. David Bird, Professor Emeritus of Wildlife Biology at McGill University, will discuss the use of small unmanned aerial vehicle systems in monitoring populations of birds that are hard to access. Other technology-related topics will include how to use a GPS, mapping, and the value of eBird for conservation planning.
Would you like to write more fluently about birds, for a more general audience? The energetic Mark Yokoyama, co-founder of Les Fruits de Mer in St. Martin, will guide participants through a practical and motivating workshop on non-technical writing.
Zapata Wren, a rare Cuban endemic, confined to the Zapata Swamp is a much sought after bird for both avi-tourists on the Caribbean Birding Trail and researchers. (photo by Anne Brooks, BirdsCaribbean January 2017 Bird Tour).
The conference schedule will also include stimulating talks and workshops on the Cornell Lab of Ornithology’s exciting BirdSleuth Caribbean program, which is making an impact in science education throughout the islands; a symposium on recent advances in seabird conservation in the Caribbean; and a roundtable discussion on long-term bird monitoring and banding in the region.
By the way – it’s not too late to register for the 21st International Conference in the beautiful Topes de Collantes Nature Reserve Park. For more details, please visit the Conference website.
Read more about the conference at this link and more about keynote speakers at this link. Thank you so much to the generous sponsors supporting our conference!
A birding trip to Jobos Bay Reserve in Puerto Rico.Thousands of people throughout the region had fun experiences with birds and nature over the past month during the Caribbean Endemic Bird Festival. Dozens of festival events took place on different islands to celebrate the birds that live only here.
Activities were held for pre-school and primary students to adults and families. Bird talks were held on many islands to help people understand the unique birds that live only on specific islands or only in the region. Guided bird walks brought people of all ages out into nature to see these amazing birds firsthand. For many, it was their first chance to get an up-close view of birds through binoculars or a scope.
Games make it fun to learn about birds in Puerto Rico. (Photo by Eliezer Nieves).
Other activities were as diverse as the region itself. In the Dominican Republic, The Peregrine Fund hosted Ridgway’s Hawk Day to celebrate the endangered Ridgway’s Hawk, that lives only on Hispaniola. In Trinidad, bird education was brought to the streets with bird education stand at a local market hosted by the Trinidad and Tobago Field Naturalist Club. In Puerto Rico, a special training workshop at the Centro Educativo del Corredor del Yaguazo gave teachers learning tools about birds to use in classes year-round. On St. Martin, festival attendees planted coconut trees with Environmental Protection in the Caribbean and painted bird feeders with Les Fruits de Mer.
Students go birding in Dominica. (Photo by Stephen Durand)Other groups that held events this year in Puerto Rico included Jobos Bay National Estuarine Research Reserve, Programa del Estuario de la Bahia de San Juan, Sociedad Ornitológica Puertorriqueña Inc., Centro Ambiental Santa Ana, Sociedad de Historia Natural de Puerto Rico, Proyecto: Reverdece Tu Comunidad – University of Puerto Rico Ponce Campus, and Universitarios Pro-Ambiente y Biodiversidad (UPABi) UPR-Ponce. In Dominica, the Forestry, Wildlife and Parks Division held events, as did Grupo Acción Ecológica in the Dominican Republic. Environmental Awareness Group hosted events in Antigua and Barbuda. Caribbean neighbors Fundación Científica Ara Macao in Venezuela and the Bermuda Audobon Society also hosted activities.
The Caribbean Endemic Bird Festival is one of the Caribbean’s only regional events about birds and nature. It is organized by BirdsCaribbean each spring, and dozens of non-profits, schools, parks and other organizations develop events in their communities.
On St. Martin, festival attendees painted bird feeders to bring home. (Photo by Tim Chin)Endemic birds—those that live only on one island or within a small range—are at special risk of extinction. The Caribbean is home to many endemic species, and many are already in danger.
Roseate Tern chick, ready for sample collection. (Photo by Paige Byerly)
In the pursuit of wildlife research, I’ve climbed cliffs, dodged black bears, ridden in tiny planes through turbulent mountain air, jumped into surging ocean waters, and hiked alone through remote wilderness. None of these activities have scared me as much as handling my first Roseate Tern chick, a delicate ball of fluff just hours from the egg.
As I prepared to take a blood sample, hands shaking, I carefully stretched out the chick’s back leg, searching for the threadlike femoral vein. Anxious tern parents called and swooped above us in the early morning sky, and the chick peeped quietly in my hand. I angled the needle and, taking a deep breath, slid it gently in. My reward was a perfect bead of red blood. I transferred the blood into a vial of storage solution, handed Daniel the chick to return to the nest, and leaned back to savor the short moment of victory. One sample down, 29 to go.
Paige taking time to enjoy the moment in the LeDuck island colony, chick in hand. (Photo by Chris Pavlik)
This spring I started my first full field season researching Caribbean Roseate Terns. These gorgeous Larids (bird family Laridae includes gulls, terns, and skimmers) are an especially challenging seabird to study, as anyone who’s tried will be quick to tell you. Like many seabirds, Roseate Terns nest on small islands, which offer a relatively predator-free habitat to raise chicks. Unlike many seabirds, they move colony sites almost yearly, for reasons we haven’t yet been able to determine.
In the Virgin Islands, which host ~50% of the Caribbean population, Roseate Terns have over 26 potential nesting cays that they choose from. That means that any research activities must first involve locating the birds, then figuring out a plan for that unique colony site. Caribbean Roseate Terns are also easily disturbed, and are prone to colony abandonment. Too much research activity in the colony could lower their reproductive success, which is the opposite goal of our efforts. For all these reasons, determining colony success through means such regular nest checks is not possible for this population, forcing us to get a little more creative.
Adult Roseate Tern pair displaying courtship behavior in the LeDuck island colony. (Photo by Daniel Nellis)
Because Roseate Terns have such a large range, and aren’t too interested in country boundaries, effective conservation planning for this species requires collaborating across borders. I’ve teamed up with researchers from several organizations in the Caribbean for this project, chief among them Susan Zaluski from the British Virgin Islands’ Jost Van Dyke Preservation Society and Daniel Nellis from the US Virgin Islands Division of Fisheries and Wildlife.
In addition to developing a standardized monitoring plan to use between the two territories, we are working to answer some of the basic questions regarding Roseate Tern ecology in the region. Because nesting cays are so difficult to regularly access, we’re using motion-activated game cameras installed at nests to be our eyes in the colonies. This year, we have cameras in six active colonies. We’re hoping that the images from these cameras will help us better understand the role of predation in colonies, as well as incubation behavior and hatching success.
The USVI Division of Fisheries and Wildlife’s trusty boat, the R/V Bananaquit, waiting for us at a colony site. (Photo by Paige Byerly)
Roseate Terns are declining across the Caribbean, and we don’t know why. Are population declines due to low nest success at colony sites, or to low adult survival on wintering grounds? The breeding season is only part of a Roseate Tern’s year, and come August they will leave the Virgin Islands. Band returns have indicated that the birds travel to wintering grounds in South America, but we know very little about their non-breeding movements.
Roseate Terns are smaller and lighter than other terns, and this has made following their movements using technology like satellite tags difficult. To answer some of the larger questions regarding population health and movement, we’re turning to another source: DNA. Caribbean Roseate Terns aren’t alone in North America—there is also a well-studied population in New England. These two populations are believed to share wintering grounds, but aren’t thought to interbreed. Such isolation is unusual for such far-flying seabirds, particularly as it’s thought that the migratory pathway of the Northeastern population takes them through the Caribbean.
We’re partnering with agencies in the US to determine relatedness between Caribbean and Northeastern Roseate Terns through genetic analysis. Genetic information will give us a better idea of the population health of Caribbean Roseate Terns, and will provide some intriguing clues on who they’re mixing with on their wintering grounds, which might better help us understand where they’re going.
Vial of precious Roseate Tern blood, ready for analysis! (Photo by Paige Byerly)
Which brings us back to that first morning of sampling. It’s best to get blood from chicks less than 3 days old. Younger chicks are easier to catch, and their skin is thinner and easier to pierce with a needle. They also seem to heal more quickly, with bleeding stopping within seconds—sometimes too quickly for me to get a full sample. All these sampling considerations make geneticist researchers like myself sound particularly, well, bloodthirsty, and have led to us being characterized as “vampires.” It’s a nickname I’ll proudly answer to, knowing as I do all the amazing secrets hidden in that remarkable substance.
Unlike mammal blood, avian blood is nucleated, meaning that every blood cell contains copies of DNA. That DNA can tell us the history of an entire species and beyond, if only we can find exactly the right questions to ask and the right tools for answering them.
Figuring out the best timing for our DNA sampling required four separate boat excursions to locate the most accessible tern colony and estimate when the majority of eggs would hatch. After deciding that LeDuck island would be the best candidate for sampling, we returned early one morning to swim our gear onto the islands in waterproof coolers, then hiked through waist-length thorny brush to reach the terns. I set up my sampling station on a flat boulder, and Daniel and my visiting husband worked the colony, locating the tiny chicks and bringing them to me bundled up in hats, hands, pockets, and bandanas. We moved between colony sections to allow anxious tern parents to return to their nests, working as quickly as possible to minimize stress to the colony.
Intrepid tern biologist Daniel Nellis swims ashore with research gear. Watch out for sea urchins! (Photo by Paige Byerly)
In all the haste, I still made sure to take a moment to breathe, look around, and enjoy the view. All that research planning, all those questions, came down to two short hours in the field and those 30 precious vials of blood. A year of collaborative effort went into my sitting on that boulder, first chick in hand, and I wanted to make sure that I took the time to appreciate it.
After the Birds Caribbean conference in Cuba (hope to see you there!) I’ll be heading back to Louisiana to lock myself in the lab and get started on analyzing all this data. I’m so excited to see where these results take us, and look forward to sharing my findings with you all in the future!
Paige Byerly is a PhD student at the University of Louisiana at Lafayette. Her research investigating genetic diversity among Roseate Terns in the Virgin Islands is supported by a grant from the BirdsCaribbean David S. Lee Fund and a research fellowship from the National Science Foundation. The Caribbean Roseate Tern, is a threatened metapopulation of Sterna dougallii dougallii, and thought to be declining across its range. Her research will help conservationists better understand the migratory ecology and population vulnerability of Roseate Terns.
The journal British Birds is keen to highlight Important Bird Areas (IBAs) in the UK Overseas Territories (UKOT) and Crown Dependencies in the Caribbean. Developed by BirdLife International, the IBA program strives to identify, document and protect all places on earth of greatest significance for the conservation of birds. Our members may already know how important IBAs are in the Caribbean – especially for the protection of restricted-range species and endemics. It is fantastic to see these unique areas receiving wider exposure.
Four UKOTs in the Caribbean region have already been featured in the journal: Bermuda, Montserrat, The Cayman Islands, and Anguilla. Each one provides a thorough account of bird life in the territory with over 10,000 words, numerous photos and maps, making them an excellent addition to the region’s ornithological literature. Well done to all the authors. We have included the abstracts of the four reports here; to read the full articles you can subscribe to British Birds or you can buy an individual issue at their website.
A Bermuda Petrel, also known as a Cahow. (Photo by Andrew Dobson)
Important Bird Areas: Bermuda
Published on 08 March 2017 Andrew Dobson and Jeremy Madeiros
Bermuda is a UK Overseas Territory in the western North Atlantic and was uninhabited before being settled by the British over 400 years ago. It is one of the most isolated inhabited islands in the world. Despite its remoteness and its suburban landscape, it has a remarkable avian richness and history. The rediscovery of the breeding grounds of the Cahow, or Bermuda Petrel Pterodroma cahow, in 1951 made international news in an age without social media. The continuing success of the Cahow recovery programme provides hope for similar projects elsewhere. There is a globally significant population of White-tailed Tropicbirds Phaethon lepturus and there are proposals to confer endemic subspecies status on the locally breeding Common Tern Sterna hirundo. Current threats to Bermuda’s biodiversity include climate change, the increasing frequency and intensity of tropical storms, and invasive species.
Important Bird Areas: Montserrat
Published on 16 February 2015 Steffen Oppel, Gerard Gray, James Daley, Stephen Mendes, Calvin Fenton, Gemma Galbraith, Shawn Daniel and James Millett
The Montserrat Oriole is endemic to the island of Montserrat and is the national bird of this UKOT. (Photo by Andrew Dobson)
Montserrat is a small jewel of an island in the eastern Caribbean. After a major volcanic eruption in 1995, two-thirds of the island became uninhabitable, and today Montserrat is off the beaten track for most tourists. The island is easily accessible, however, and a range of habitats support a variety of interesting native biodiversity. Three hill ranges exist on the island, the southernmost being an active volcano and mostly devoid of vegetation. The Centre Hills, an area of semi-natural forest, is home to endemic species such as the Montserrat Oriole Icterus oberi, the Montserrat Galliwasp Diploglossus montisserrati (a skink), and the ‘Mountain Chicken’ Leptodactylus fallax (a frog). Besides the Centre Hills forest, there are dry scrublands in the northern hill range, coastal cliffs, and some unspoilt beaches with scenic reefs suitable for snorkelling and diving. The island’s habitats suffer from the effects of multiple non-native species such as feral pigs, goats, cattle, rats and cats. Efforts to control these are under way, and the Centre Hills forest is protected. Protecting the forest on Montserrat is the most critical target both for native biodiversity and for water supply on the island.
The Cayman Islands, in the western Caribbean, are a UK Overseas Territory. Three main islands support a wide range of birds, with 17 endemic races of breeding landbird. The Grand Cayman Thrush Turdus ravidus, currently treated as the only endemic bird species, was last seen in 1938. However, taxonomic research may mean that ‘Taylor’s Bullfinch’ Melanopyrrha (nigra) taylori, which occurs only on Grand Cayman, is treated as full species. There are many challenges of managing a conservation strategy on small islands such as these. The currently rapid human population growth (with a variety of associated development pressures), and the prospect of increased number and severity of tropical storms, are two of the most important threats to the biodiversity of these islands. Strategies to address these issues by the National Trust and National Conservation Council are discussed.
Important Bird Areas: Anguilla
Published on 04 August 2015 Steve Holliday, Karim Hodge, Farah Mukhida, Clarissa Lloyd, James Millett and Louise Soanes
Anguilla is an important breeding site for seabirds, including Brown Boobies. (Photo by Fiona Dobson)
Anguilla is a UK Overseas Territory, the northernmost of the island groups in the Lesser Antilles, in the eastern Caribbean. It has been long known for its seabirds; 16 species currently breed, with Red-billed Tropicbird Phaethon aethereus, Brown Booby Sula leucogaster and Sooty Tern Onychoprion fuscatus occurring in globally important numbers. There are 16 Important Bird and Biodiversity Areas (IBAs), including five of the islands holding the main seabird colonies. The mainland IBAs are identified for populations of breeding seabirds, including Least Terns Sternula antillarum, and/or five restricted-range terrestrial species confined to the Lesser Antilles Endemic Bird Area (EBA). The Dog Island IBA is one of the most important seabird colonies in the Caribbean. Considerable economic growth in recent decades, especially from increased tourism, presents challenges to ensure that new development is sustainable, helping to maintain the rich biodiversity and natural resources upon which the growth is founded.
Cuban Tody was one of the 26 species reported from Cuba on Global Big Day. (photo by Photo by Yeray Seminario/ Macaulay Library)
Birds are inspiring creatures. Their amazing migrations and behaviors capture our imagination, and their global presence lets us appreciate them wherever we are in the world. The power that birds have to bring people together across cultures, languages, and international borders is truly exceptional. Global Big Day is the realization of the magic of birds—a single day where the birding world unites in a shared pursuit, seeking to answer the simple question: how many birds can be seen in one day?
On 13 May 2017, almost 20,000 birders from 150 countries around the world joined together as a global team, contributing more than 50,000 checklists containing 6,564 species—more than 60% of the world’s birds. This is a new record for the number of bird species reported in a single day!
Crested Quail-Dove, endemic to Jamaica, was spotted by Ann Sutton. (photo by Sam Woods)
With one of the highest endemic species ratios, the avifauna of the West Indies is important to have represented on Global Big Day. In the eBird Caribbean region*, 280 species were seen – Check out the list of species reported. Ninety-two participants submitted 334 checklists. These totals are lower than last year’s Global Big Day, but perhaps some people still have not entered their data. Note that it is not too late – your checklists will still be counted!
Birders in Trinidad and Tobago sighted the most number of species—164 in the region. The Bahamas and Puerto Rico were in second and third place with 129 and 95 species observed, respectively, and there was participation through many of the islands—21 countries/islands submitted checklists (see how your country compared to the rest of the region and world here). Thanks to all of you that helped spread the word and participated!
Global Big Day is a celebration of birds. By bringing people together, Global Big Day showcases the great birds from each region—helping bring awareness to birding and conservation regionally and globally. Cornell Lab of Ornithology reports that this year (as in previous Global Big Days), the friendly competition in South America continued to evolve as an inspiring story, with four countries topping 1,000 for the single-day tally: Brazil, Ecuador, Peru, and Colombia. In past years Brazil and Peru had always vied for the #1 slot for species totals, and in 2017 there is a new champion: Colombia. Next year, let’s set a goal for the West Indies to see the most endemics in a region, it can be done!
Thanks again to everyone who participated and made this Global Big Day successful. We hope you had a great time and will continue to participate in eBird Caribbean and future Global Big Days. Of course, eBird Caribbean doesn’t only exist on one day of the year. Global Big Day is just one of 365 opportunities/year to be a part of a global network of birdwatchers, researchers, and conservationists working together with a shared passion for birds. Any bird that you see, anywhere, at any time, can become a part of this global resource—helping your fellow birdwatchers as well as the birds that we all care about. So take a look at eBird Mobile, or how to find birds near you. Go out, explore, have fun, and let all of us know what you saw. Your sightings can help change the world. We’ll see you out there.
*The countries comprising the eBird Caribbean portal consist of the West Indies plus Trinidad and Tobago, Aruba, Bonaire, Curaçao, and Bermuda.
For a more complete report on Global Big Day, click here.
Lisa Sorenson and Jennifer Wheeler wave from one of the many beautiful waterfalls at Topes de Collantes National Park. (photo by Maikel Canizares)
The BirdsCaribbean International Conferences, which take place every two years, are always enriching experiences for scientists, ornithologists, conservationists, students, teachers and bird enthusiasts from across the Caribbean. This year’s conference, which will take place in the beautiful Topes de Collantes region of southern Cuba from 13-17 July, 2017, promises to be no exception.
This year’s theme is “Celebrating Caribbean Diversity.” The organizers aim to make the 2017 meeting even more exciting than the 2015 meeting in Jamaica, which was attended by over 260 delegates. The planned conference program offers a taste of what’s in store. Distinguished keynote speakers will discuss a range of topics of significance to the region’s ecology and biodiversity, including conservation challenges, technological advances, civil society outreach and the latest research and educational programs.
Dr. Lourdes Mugica Valdez, ornithologist and professor at the University of Havana, Cuba.
Headlining the all-star line-up of international keynote speakers is award-winning ornithologist Professor Lourdes Mugica Valdés of the University of Havana. Dr. Mugica will discuss her three decades of work on Cuba’s aquatic birds and their wetland habitats conducted with the University’s Bird Ecology Group.
Dr. Hiram González will present the work of Cuba’s Institute of Ecology and Systematics group on bird migration. Cuba is an incredibly important stopover and wintering site for migratory birds and the Cuban government has set up an impressive network of protected areas to conserve biodiversity, including Cuba’s 26 endemic bird species. As more and more tourists and birders flock to Cuba, however, there is more to be done with international partners to ensure that as many important habitats as possible are not destroyed for development.
Dr. Robert Ricklefs, Ornithologist and Ecologist, Curators’ Professor of Biology at the University of Missouri, St. Louis.
Dr. Robert Ricklefs, Ornithologist and Ecologist and Curators’ Professor of Biology at the University of Missouri, St. Louis, will give a talk focusing on the conference theme of diversity, highlighting how the Caribbean is a global hotspot for birds. He will provide an overview of the evolutionary history of Caribbean birds, island biogeography, and host-parasite evolution (i.e., birds and malaria), using his own research in the Caribbean as well as others, to illustrate how populations expand(which may lead to the formation of new species), and decline over time. He will show how understanding genetic differences between avian populations also informs us about evolutionary uniqueness of island birds and can help us to develop conservation programs.
David Winkler, professor of ecology and evolutionary biology (EEB) at Cornell University.
Cornell University’s Professor of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Dr. David W. Winkler, will talk about his comparative research on swallows in the genus Tachycineta with partners throughout the Western Hemisphere. He will also share the work he is doing with engineers to develop new technologies for tracking bids and discovering more about their lives, including very lightweight, long-lasting radio tags with ever-expanding capabilities.
Conservation issues are always high on the agenda, and Dr. Nicasio Viña Dávila, Technical Coordinator of the Caribbean Biological Corridor of the United Nations Environment Programme, will present his perspective on those burning issues directly impacting conservation in the Caribbean.
Dominican Republic-based consultant Ms. Leida Buglass, who is Secretary for the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Caribbean Regional Committee, will talk about how important it is to engage with partners in civil society to advance bird and habitat conservation, including case studies and lessons learned from many years of community work.
Dr. Nicasio Viña Dávila, Conservation Biologist, Technical Coordinator of the Caribbean Biological Corridor.
And there’s more. Informative sessions and training workshops include promoting sustainable bird tourism and updates on the Caribbean Birding Trail, bird education, the use of media to promote conservation issues, the state of Caribbean forest endemic birds, ecology of migrants, and many more.
There will also be a special Cuba Day, where local ornithologists will share the work they are doing to study and conserve the island’s rich bird life and habitats. There is much to learn and enjoy!
For additional information and registration information, visit the meeting website here. Read more about the conference here and other speakers and sessions here.
Thank you so much to the generous sponsors supporting our conference!
A male Bahama Swallow. (Photo by Melanie Rose Wells)
Maya Wilson is a graduate student at Virginia Tech researching the ecology and life history of the Bahama Swallow, an endangered species endemic to the Bahamas. She is one of the dedicated young scholars who was awarded the BirdsCaribbean David S. Lee Fund Grant and her work is critical to understanding the Bahama Swallow and informing conservation strategies. Here, she discusses her research and describes her exciting field experiences with this unique species.
As we exit the truck, I hear a series of aggressive clicks and feel a rush of air as a wing brushes only a couple inches from my head.
When the Bahama Swallows began breeding, we started watching this particular area intensely, suspecting that the large, still-standing dead pine tree (i.e. pine snag) only a few paces from the old logging road would be a choice spot for a pair of swallows to make their nest. Sure enough, a couple weeks ago we found three white eggs. We are now scheduled to come back to see if those three eggs have hatched, and the parents are obviously well aware of that.
Peeper camera used to study Bahama Swallow nests that are otherwise well out of normal reach. (Photo by Daniel Stonko)
The bird that dove at my head joins its mate on a small exposed branch in a nearby tree and they chatter to each other, seeming to make a plan, before taking off again to resume their “attack.” It is hard to resist the urge to duck as I watch the male turn toward me and dive again, this time straight at my face. However, just like every other time, he changes direction at the last possible second — a signature move of a swallow. In reality, these small (~15 g) birds can’t hurt us.
The three of us walk to the back of the truck and begin to assemble the “peeper” camera so that we can take a closer look. Using several specialized pieces of hardware, we attach the camera to a large extension pole. I hoist the apparatus onto my shoulder to keep it steady, carefully climb over the pile of loose limestone along the road, and circle around to the other side of the snag. The nest is inside a hole (i.e. cavity) about 31 feet (9.4 meters) up, making this one of the highest nests we have studied, and therefore one of the hardest to observe.
I turn the camera on, and Mel confirms that it is wirelessly sending images to the monitor she is holding. I begin hoisting the pole upward, locking each section into place. Finally, the camera is near the correct height, and Shannan, who is standing back so that she has a good vantage point, guides me until it slips into the nesting cavity.
The 2015 Bahama Swallow field team (left to right): Tivonia Potts (Bahamian), me – Maya Wilson, and Nicole Acosta (Ecuadorian)
“Two chicks!” Mel shouts, and then, “wait, the last egg is hatching!” There is a bustle of activity as we all try to look at the small screen to see what is happening in the nest. Sure enough, the last egg has a crack down the middle, and a nestling is trying to fight its way out to join its two siblings in the nest.
We record a short video and then I bring the camera down. We all head back to the truck, disassemble the camera, and pile back in while the adult swallows take turns making sure that their newly hatched nestlings are okay. We have to try our hardest to disturb the nest as little as possible, so we decide to leave this family alone for a few days.
Bahamian pine forest is prime nesting habitat for the Bahama Swallow. (Photo by Melanie Rose Wells)
The memory of watching a Bahama Swallow nestling hatch during the summer of 2016 will stick with me for the rest of my life. I am back on Great Abaco Island again in 2017, and for the third field season in a row our team will be made up of three women in their twenties. Dressed in worn-out field clothes and carrying our peeper camera and other equipment through the forest, we certainly get our fair share of confused stares. But we spend several months of the year in the northern Bahamas for a reason. Great Abaco, Grand Bahama, Andros and New Providence are the only islands within the more than 700 islands that make up the Bahama Archipelago that contain large areas of the native Caribbean pine (Pinus caribaeabahamensis). This is why these three islands have rightfully earned the nickname, “pine islands.”
These pine forests are home to many birds, including five of the six Bahamian endemic species. One of these endemic species is the endangered Bahama Swallow (Tachycineta cyaneoviridis), which has only ever been found to breed on the pine islands. This bird, along with many other Caribbean endemics, is severely understudied.
My graduate research focuses on three main areas, with the overarching goal of providing information that is relevant to the species’ conservation to my main collaborator, the Bahamas National Trust, as well as other local organizations.
(1) How many Bahama Swallows are left, how are they spread across the pine islands, and do birds on the different islands breed with each another?
There have only been a few official estimates of Bahama Swallow population levels over the past 30 years, and they indicate a rather dramatic decline. The IUCN Red List estimates a current population of 1500-4000 individuals. Using multiple survey techniques, I hope to provide a more precise estimate that will shed some light on overall species abundance and whether Bahama Swallows favor certain habitats or islands in general. Using genetic information, we can determine whether the species has become separated into smaller, isolated populations, which would have significant implications for the survival of the Bahama Swallow and subsequent conservation management plans.
(2) When and where do Bahama Swallows breed, and how successful are each of their nesting attempts?
Time series of Bahama Swallow nest monitoring. (Photo by Maya Wilson)
Bahama Swallows are obligate secondary cavity-nesters, meaning that they will only build nests inside a cavity; however, they do not have the ability to create that cavity themselves. Rather, they rely on natural processes or other excavating species to create cavities for them. In 1995, Allen (1996) conducted a study that revealed important information about Bahama Swallow breeding biology and behavior. The swallows breed between April and July, laying an average of three eggs in abandoned woodpecker cavities in pine snags and various other cavities. By locating swallow nests in all cavity types, and then monitoring those that we can safely access, we hope to provide additional information on the determinants and limitations to the breeding biology of the species.
(3) Is breeding habitat limited? How do Bahama Swallows interact with other cavity-nesting species in the same habitat?
Male Bahama Swallow in the hand. (Photo by Maya Wilson)
Almost all of the forest on the pine islands is secondary growth, the result of extensive logging that took place from 1905-1969. It still is not clear what effects the logging and subsequent disturbances (e.g., fire and hurricanes) have had on the structure of the pine forest or the surrounding habitats, and on the species that inhabit them. The Hairy Woodpecker (Leuconotopicus villosus) is present on all of the pine islands, and is closely associated with the pine forest, although it can be found in other habitats. In The Bahamas, the larger West Indian Woodpecker (Melanerpes superciliaris) is mostly limited to Great Abaco, where it is mostly associated with dry broadleaf “coppice” and human habitation. The swallows and other secondary cavity-nesters rely on these woodpeckers to create cavities for them. However, the availability of cavities and the competition for those cavities may vary between habitats (e.g., pine forest vs. towns). We can look at these interactions by assessing the availability of nesting resources and documenting nests of all cavity-nesting species.
My research has come a long way since it began in 2014, though there is still much to accomplish. My team and I continue to unravel the ecology and biology behind the pine islands and their Bahama Swallows, and are currently getting our 2017 field season underway. I look forward to keeping the BirdsCaribbean community updated as the project progresses and am excited to meet more of you at the Cuba Conference this July.
Roni Rolle observing a Bahama Oriole nest on Andros Island (Bahamas). (Photo by Dan Stonko)
Dan Stonko joined Dr. Kevin Omland’s research group studying the Bahama Oriole as an undergraduate at the University of Maryland, Baltimore County. With the research team, he traveled to Andros in the Bahamas to search for the nesting Bahama Oriole and gained invaluable field experience while making memories of a lifetime (check out his recent blog article). Here, Dan summarizes his perspective of science, education and mentoring as learned through his undergraduate experiences.
As an undergraduate, I have been incredibly lucky with the opportunities I’ve received. Taking on undergraduate students into your lab can be risky in itself for multiple reasons – we are usually inexperienced, require time and effort to train, and usually can’t contribute nearly as much as a higher-level student/employee. For these very reasons, I have come to be evermore grateful for getting the kinds of opportunities as amazing and impactful as I’ve shared in my previous blog post. Whenever anyone asks me about our lab’s work, I start off by discussing the science and research. Before long, I tend to catch myself getting into the unexpected and memorable lessons I’ve learned. So here are just a few of those lessons:
1. The most impactful learning can happen outside of the classroom
Okay, this might sound cliché. But when I started college, I felt certain that most of my time in college would be spent either in class or studying. I then reasoned that most of my learning would therefore happen in class or while studying.
I graduate in two months and can definitely confirm that this is how I spend most of my time. Yes, as a biochemistry major I have gained much of the central scientific knowledge through classes. However, the science I study has come to life through my research. I’ve applied my knowledge to real-world situations, designed experimental procedures, built relationships with mentors, collaborated with peers, and worked in the field. These lessons and experiences will be with me forever, and they’re the kinds of things you can’t get by simply sitting in class or reading a textbook.
Getting out of a messy situation while in the field in the Bahamas. Photo by Dan Stonko
2. Science is a verb
Whether doing field research in a pine forest, looking through a microscope or telescope, or mixing chemicals in a beaker – I have come to see science, in its purest form, as the pursuit of knowledge. Not a noun, but a verb. It is the act of careful observation, meticulous investigation, and ceaseless questioning of the things around us. If the pieces fit together just right, our curiosity can be rewarded with an expanded understanding of our world.
3. Modern discoveries in science are made possible by our predecessors
Isaac Newton once wrote that, “If I have seen further it is by standing on the shoulders of giants.” Before I got involved with research, that adage sometimes crossed my mind; often it would do so while reading or hearing about some unimaginably complex discovery that undoubtedly depended on contributions from many people. This thought always gave me a fundamental admiration for the explorers and scientists who came before us. As a researcher, I’ve gained a new and deeper understanding of Newton’s words.
Going into our first trip, most of what was known about the Bahama Oriole came from earlier research by Dr. Melissa Price. Her work provided the most recent population estimates and gave thorough information on the reproductive ecology of the species. Whether I was in the field collecting data or in lab drafting the manuscript to share our findings – I knew that her work (and that of countless others) influenced our work. It’s a humbling reminder for a scientist to keep in mind: with every day that we work and every discovery that we make, our progress is possible because we stand on the shoulders of the giants who mentor us and came before us to provide our foundation.
4. Observation is the true driver of science
Some areas of popularized science today seem to reinforce (what I believe to be) a subtle yet significant misconception, which presumes that questions are at the bedrock of any scientific endeavor. However, I have found observations are the truest foundation. Countless scientific advances throughout history didn’t arise by seeking answers to specific questions. Even when questions have led to advances, initial observations were always there to lead to those questions in the first place. In other words, we first make observations about our world, which then allow us ask questions such as: What? Why? When? How? It all may seem like semantics, but I believe that grasping this subtle distinction instills a sense of deserved respect for observation as the most critical scientific tool for discovery.
Some of our research on this first trip was oriented towards specific questions or goals, such as the distance sampling surveys that we used to estimate population size. The majority of our efforts, however, occurred without particular goals and depended simply on observation (e.g. catching and banding orioles, recording observations on bird behavior, and finding nests). At first, this idea of working without a particular goal in mind may seem counterintuitive. Nevertheless, the work proved invaluable as it led to us finding orioles nesting in the pine forests. This trip serves as reminder that simply listening, watching, and being present to make observations can lead to unexpected discovery.
The West Indian Woodpecker, endemic to the Bahamas, Cuba and the Cayman Islands, is one of the 172 Caribbean endemics we hope will be counted on Global Big Day. (Photo by Bill Hebner)
How many birds can a world of birders find in one day? Hopefully, you will join us to find out on May 13th — Global Big Day. This is the single biggest day for eBird and we’re inviting everyone to spend some time counting and enjoying Caribbean birds to help support global conservation efforts (and to have some fun in the process). Last year was a huge success that broke records around the world and across the Caribbean. The question is: Can we do it again?
More than one hundred Caribbean birders participated in last year’s Global Big Day, setting a new Global Big Day record for the Caribbean itself- 428 species! Thank you for making this possible. Your contributions to the past two Global Big Days have set back-to-back world records for the most bird species seen in a single day. Last year’s Global Big Day featured more than 60% of the world’s bird species in a single day (6,299!), with sightings coming in from more than 17,500 eBirders spread across 154 countries.
Want to be a part of the fun this year? If you need an excuse to go enjoy birds on a lovely weekend day in May, we’ve got you covered. The West Indies, with it’s 175 endemic bird species, along with it’s near endemics and endemic subspecies, will be key in gathering a snapshot of bird distribution around the globe.
If you’re looking to get started preparing for this year’s Global Big Day, here are four quick ways to have the most fun:
“Scout” your birding spots for May 13. Finding where the birds are ahead of time makes the big day birding more fun, and also gives you more chances to be out enjoying birds. Perfect. Learn how to use eBird to find birds.
Hopefully, a few migrants, like this Ovenbird, are still lingering in the islands and will be included in some checklists! (photo by Bill Hebner)
Use eBird Mobile. This free data-entry app makes it so you don’t have to enter your sightings at the end of the day, and tools like Quick Entry mean you have less time with your face in a notebook. Get eBird Mobile here.
Get a friend involved. Perhaps this is a good birding buddy, or someone who has never been birding before. Make it a friendly competition, or join forces as a Global Big Day team, and put your marker on the global participation map. Share on social media using #eBird_GBD. Check out the Facebook event.
Participating in Global Big Day is a great way to celebrate the Caribbean Endemic Bird Festival, ongoing now! Make this a part of your celebration and organize a birding outing with family, friends or your community.
No matter what you do—have a great time, enjoy the birds around you, and let us know what you find! We’re excited to see what we can achieve together on Global Big Day.
Identifying and counting birds in Cockpit Country, Jamaica. (Photo by Lisa Sorenson)
And don’t forget to enter your Caribbean bird counts into eBird Caribbean – our own portal. All the data goes to the same place but we have some of our own protocols (Step 2 of data submission), for example, counts conducted at wetlands, ponds, mud flats and beaches can be entered as Caribbean Waterbird Census counts.
The new French version of BirdSleuth Caribbean (Connecting Kids through Birds—Teaching how to study, appreciate, and conserve endemic and migratory birds in the Caribbean) – 57 pages of lessons and activities.
BirdsCaribbean is excited to announce that our popular BirdSleuth Caribbean curriculum and supporting materials are now available in French.
BirdSleuth Caribbean is an innovative program designed to teach young learners how to study, appreciate and conserve Caribbean birds. It is part of a larger BirdSleuth program developed by the Cornell Lab of Ornithology. The original, US-based BirdSleuth program was adapted specifically for the Caribbean and has been a success in engaging students across the region with their native birds.
This BirdSleuth curriculum includes many fun activities which are perfect for kids that benefit from a hands-on lesson—and who doesn’t? Activities include creating a bird journal, learning how to use binoculars, and conducting bird counts. The best part is, these are the same skills that adult birdwatchers and scientists use. In fact, the bird counts can be entered into the citizen science website eBird Caribbean and used in actual scientific research! This teaches kids that their observations are important in addition to building their science skills. Their data can help scientists learn more about complicated topics like bird migration.
Educators from Puerto Rico, Cuba and the Dominican Republic share their bird journals from the International Training workshop in Nassau, Bahamas. Left to right: Israel Guzmán (Sociedad Ornitológica Puertorriqueña Inc., Puerto Rico), Ianela Garcia Lau (University of Havana, Cuba), Johanna Rodriguez Paulino (Grupo Acción Ecologica, Dominican Republic).
One benefit of the program is the opportunity to get kids out into nature where they can be active, and observe and connect with the animals in their environment. The overall goal is to develop a strong conservation ethic in young people and promote commitment to environmental stewardship by increasing their knowledge and interest in birds, nature and science. Because of the diverse cultural backgrounds in the Caribbean, it is important that BirdSleuth is available in the languages spoken across the region.
Twenty-seven educators from around the region attended an intensive 3-day International Training Workshop for BirdSleuth in the fall of 2014 in Nassau, Bahamas. Since then they have been using the English and Spanish versions of the curriculum to train local teachers how to use the program. They have also been using BirdSleuth activities in their annual bird festival events, after-school programs and summer camps with great success.
Jermy Shroeter, a ranger at the Blue and John Crow Mountains National Park, helps a BirdSleuth Caribbean camp participant in Jamaica identify a bird in the Bird Detective game (Lesson 8)
“We can’t wait to use the curriculum here in Guadeloupe” said Anthony Levesque. “It’s so important to teach our young people about science, nature and conservation – birds can definitely act as that spark to ignite an interest in the natural world. Students also learn that they can contribute to local conservation efforts and science through their actions.”
Read more about our BirdSleuth Caribbean program here. The curriculum and supporting materials are available for free download in English, Spanish and French at this link. A limited number of printed copies will also be available. Contact Lisa Sorenson at Lisa.Sorenson@BirdsCaribbean.org for more information.
We are grateful to Parc National de la Guadeloupe for funding the translation of the curriculum to French. Many thanks to Nathalie Hecker for her excellent translation of the BirdSleuth Caribbean curriculum and materials.
Every two years, bird educators, scientists and conservationists from throughout the Caribbean and beyond gather for BirdsCaribbean’s International Conference. This year’s conference will take place in southern Cuba from 13-17 July 2017. More than 250 international delegates are expected to join dozens of Cuban delegates to share the latest in Caribbean bird science, conservation and education.
The Cuban Trogon is not only a beautiful endemic but also the national bird of Cuba. (Photo by Max Schwenne)
The theme for the conference is “Celebrating Caribbean Diversity.” The Caribbean is a hotspot of biodiversity, with many unique plants and animals. Birds are no exception: 172 species are found only in the Caribbean. The Caribbean is also a cultural melting pot, home to the most diverse group of bird scientists in the world.
“BirdsCaribbean conferences have always been a place for scientists to collaborate beyond political boundaries,” said Andrew Dobson, President of BirdsCaribbean, “Bringing an international group together in Cuba is particularly exciting. We are excited to have the chance to work face-to-face with our Cuban colleagues. We are very excited to be able to give our members and partners the opportunity to experience Cuba, to meet Cuban ornithologists and conservationists, and to enhance our joint efforts to conserve birds in the Caribbean.”
The 2017 program will offer something of interest for anyone interested in conservation of Caribbean birds and their habitats. “Whether you want to share your latest findings, upgrade your skills, discuss your work with people with similar interests, or see the 26 Cuban endemic bird species, you will find an opportunity in our agenda,” explained Andrew Dobson, “We will also be supporting participation of spouses and children.”
As always, the conference will focus on the practicalities of implementing conservation backed by sound science. Featured events will start with world-famous keynote speakers talking about current issues in ornithology. There will also be training workshops, symposia and discussions on a wide range of topics including bird tourism (the Caribbean Birding Trail), bird monitoring, how to write effectively to promote conservation, conservation of island endemics, environmental awareness, and many other themes.
The world’s smallest bird, the Bee Hummingbird, is endemic to Cuba. (Photo by Max Schwenne)
The conference will take place at Topes de Callantes, in the Sierra de Escambray- Cuba’s second largest mountain range and home to many unique birds. This is a fantastic opportunity to visit Cuba to learn more about the important role it is playing in conserving the biodiversity of the region, while experiencing its dynamic culture, rich and varied history and wonderful food. There will be many opportunities for exploration, including early morning bird walks, mid-conference field trips to the forests, trails and waterfalls of the Topes de Collantes protected area or to the historic town of Trinidad, as well as options for pre- or post conference field trips to see the endemic birds of Cuba and explore Havana.
“This is BirdsCaribbean’s 21st International Conference,” said Lisa Sorenson, Executive Director. “We are celebrating our anniversary by celebrating the outstanding diversity of the Caribbean in one of the most amazing places in the region. And we are expecting all those who want to get engaged in conserving that diversity to join us. Our meeting in Jamaica in 2015 was one of our best ever. Cuba is going to be even better!”
Registration for the conference is open! Please visit the conference website for more details.
Interested in giving a talk or presenting a poster? Please check out the Call for Papers, we look forward to your submission.
Please also visit our Travel Support page for information about travel scholarships.
Read more about the conference keynote speakers here and other speakers and sessions here.
Thank you so much to the generous sponsors supporting our conference!
The Antillean Crested Hummingbird is a regional endemic. It is a common resident throughout the Lesser Antilles, Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico. Photo by Sipke Stapert.
It’s that time of year again! The Caribbean Endemic Bird Festival (CEBF) begins on Earth Day, April 22nd. This regional celebration highlights the birds that are endemic—the ones that live only in the Caribbean. A wide variety of events will take place across the region through May 22nd, International Biodiversity Day. This annual celebration is organized by BirdsCaribbean, and events are hosted by groups on many islands.
This year’s theme is Our Endemic Birds—Sharing “Stopover Sites.” While the festivals will celebrate the birds that live here and nowhere else in the world, they will also highlight habitat. Our endemic birds share their habitat with migratory birds that are here for only part of the year. Does sharing habitat mean more competition for food and shelter? How can we protect, conserve or even restore these shared habitats? What native plants and trees are beneficial? Which species are especially vulnerable?
The Great Lizard Cuckoo is a regional endemic bird. It is found on the islands of the Bahamas and Cuba. Photo by Carrol Henderson.
The CEBF is a month-long event that Caribbean citizens of all ages enjoy – whether they are senior citizens in Havana, conservationists in Bermuda or schoolchildren in Grenada. And since we are in the Caribbean, our overseas visitors always get involved, too. In 2016, dozens of events celebrating endemic birds took place, providing opportunities for learning and enjoyment for thousands.
Springtime in the Caribbean is always marked by the activities of the birds. As the winter visitors get ready to leave, many of our local birds are already busy building nests and raising families. Hills, valleys, wetlands, fields and gardens are alive with the urgent calls of fledglings, making it the perfect time to enjoy and appreciate our endemic birds. Find out what is happening in your area, or consider hosting an endemic bird event yourself. Visit birdscaribbean.org or find BirdsCaribbean on Facebook for more information about the festival and updates throughout the month.
Dan Stonko, an undergraduate at the University of Maryland, Baltimore County, takes us on the journey of his first experience with international fieldwork: into the wilds of the Bahamas to unravel the mystery of where Bahama Orioles nest.
A male Bahama Oriole in all its glory on Andros (Bahamas). (Photo by Dan Stonko)
I can’t remember the last time I was so thrilled to be awake at 4:30 in the morning. There I was – meeting our team and boarding a plane to Nassau as part of a research team studying the Bahama Oriole (Icterus northropi)– considered to be one of the most endangered songbirds in the Caribbean. One thing kept running through my mind: if at the very start of college someone had asked me what sort of opportunities I thought I’d get as an undergraduate, I couldn’t have dreamed this would be one of them. What awaited me in the Bahamas were two incredible weeks filled with intense fieldwork, scientific discovery, a fair share of car troubles, and as much exploring as we could possibly squeeze into our spare time.
The Backstory
Here’s a quick summary of what our team was doing and how I ended up in the middle of it all. In 2015, Dr. Kevin Omland, my professor at the University of Maryland, Baltimore County (UMBC), began the Bahama Oriole Project in collaboration with Bahamas National Trust. At that time, the latest research on the species had come out in 2011 and indicated a declining population of less than 300 individuals. However, conservation efforts were hindered in large part due to the lack of sufficient information about this species. The Bahama Oriole Project was launched with the goal of reversing the bird’s decline through research, conservation and education. I was fortunate enough to join the team, and funded in part by a grant from The Explorers Club Youth Activity Fund, take part in this field research trip alongside Dr. Omland and three other UMBC undergrads. This was the Project’s first official research trip and my first experience with international fieldwork.
The Research
On that oh-so-early early morning in May 2016, we flew from Baltimore to Nassau, then chartered a six-seater plane that took us to the only place in the world where the Bahama Oriole is found today: Andros. It’s the largest and least developed island in the Bahamas with a population of nearly 8,000 people. Andros is a sort of island complex made up of three major landmasses (North Andros, Mangrove Cay, and South Andros) and smaller cays that are separated by channels and creeks. For now, our research is primarily confined to our study site in the northern portion of North Andros. Once we landed, we headed to where we’d be staying (Nicholls Town). After unpacking, the exploration finally began.
The University of Maryland, Baltimore County Omland Lab on site in the Bahamas.
When I take a step back for a second, the thought of taking four undergrads that don’t know each other to another country for two weeks of field research might seem a little crazy. But to what I’m sure was Dr. Omland’s delight – our team ran like a well-oiled machine from day one. While we did spend some of our time all working together, each undergrad had a particular focus throughout the trip. Jennifer Christhilf was our team’s Magellan; she traversed our study area recording GPS points and habitat measurements to construct habitat maps of the island. Alex Scarselletta and Michael Rowley concentrated on the population surveys. Roni Rolle, a local college student from the Bahamas Agriculture & Marine Science Institute (BAMSI), also joined our team. His expertise on all-things-local was a tremendous contribution to our work. Before our UMBC team even reached Andros, he worked in the field to collect preliminary data by locating orioles and nests. A few days before we arrived, he found something particularly compelling while working in a pine forest– an apparent active oriole nest in a pine tree (Pinus caribaea).
Out of context this finding may seem insignificant, but here’s the thing: all previous research indicated that the orioles nest primarily in nonnative coconut palms (Cocos nucifera) in or near residential and agricultural (anthropogenic) land– but never in pine forests. Not only that, the research suggested that the oriole is dependent on the anthropogenic habitat for nesting. These findings formed the basis of what we thought we knew about the Bahama Oriole and had several important implications. Notably, these assumptions played a defining role in population estimates; and also in determining what conservation efforts would be most effective to protect the species. Any real discovery of pine forest nesting would then have the potential to shake up the basic understanding of Bahama Oriole breeding ecology and affect research and conservation efforts.
On our first day of fieldwork, Roni took us all to the nest site and to our surprise, there it was: an active nest in the pine forest, and actually in a Caribbean pine. This turned out to be a nest of two adult Bahama Orioles that successfully fledged young several weeks later. One of our questions now became whether this nest was an outlier or whether we were on the cusp of an important discovery.
Finding Nests in Understory Palms
A memorable selfie: Roni Rolle (front) and Dan Stonko (back) search for the nesting Bahama Oriole. (Photo by Roni Rolle)
Roni and I ended up working together for most of the trip. We primarily focused on finding orioles and locating nests, especially in the pine forest. All the while- the pine nest was in the back of our minds. What if there were more nests in pine trees? Even more likely, we speculated: what if they’re also nesting in the native palms within the pine forest understory?
During their randomized point counts, Michael, Alex and Dr. Omland heard Bahama Oriole vocalizations at several other locations in and near pine forests. Using these locations as leads, Roni and I scouted them out to see what we would find. One morning in the later portion of the trip we followed one of these leads, which took us down to the southern part of our study site (near the nest Roni found before we arrived). The area is an expansive pine forest with little human development nearby. We parked our car just as the sun was rising and set out hiking. To our surprise, we quickly found a pair of orioles. After over an hour of vigilant following, the pair eventually flew too far away to track. We headed back to the car, glad to have found the pair but sorry that we had lost track of them. As we packed our things up, Roni and I immediately froze at the same instant. We had both just heard it – the distinctive song of the oriole. The bird was perched in a nearby understory palm, but it quickly flew further into the forest.
Now, it is worth taking a moment to describe the typical understory of pine forests on Andros. First of all, the ground is sharp, jagged limestone that makes simply walking an ankle-twisting hazard. Worst of all though, the understory is often dominated by poisonwood (Metopium toxiferum), a type of tree in the same family as poison ivy. Poisonwood can cause some wicked blisters if you contact any part of the plant.
Once we saw the bird fly deeper into the forest, I think we both had the same internal questions: how badly do we really want to follow this bird/potentially find a nest, and would be it be worth the potential poisonwood rashes?? Throwing caution to the wind, we sprinted after the bird and into the forest in close pursuit. All in the name of science! We did our best to keep it in our sights and listened carefully for any vocalizations.
A female Bahama Oriole with nesting material. (photo by Dan Stonko)
In retrospect, I can say that the poisonwood rashes I ended up getting several days later were definitely worth it, because after nearly 20 minutes– we found the nest! On the underside of a frond, the oriole had built its nest in an understory thatch palm (Leucothrinax morrissii). After tracking the bird to the nest, another individual soon appeared. We stuck around for a while to gather measurements, observe more behavior, and– of course– take a nice selfie with the nest tree. I was particularly surprised by the pair’s nonchalance with our presence. Before we knew it, the female was hard at work building her nest once again. She hopped from frond to frond on a nearby palm and skillfully ripped off fibers. Then she flew back to the nest tree and artfully wove the pieces together. How cool was this?! Not only did we find the nest in an unexpected place, but we also got front row seats to watch the nest being built!
In the following days, our team found several more pairs with territories in the pine forest, and we even found a second nest in an understory thatch palm about one mile from the first understory palm nest. As the trip drew to a close, our team of undergraduate researchers was quite proud of our work. We all made significant advances on our respective research projects, plus spent some free time exploring, swimming in blue holes, and snorkeling in the ocean.
What’s Next?
A Bahama Oriole mid-flight in the pine forest. (Photo by Dan Stonko)
Our ability to protect any given species is contingent on having a relevant and accurate understanding of the species. These findings revealed, for the first time and contrary to previous assumptions, that pine forests on Andros are in fact a viable breeding habitat for Bahama Orioles. This new information elevates the significance of the pine forest habitat in terms of oriole breeding ecology. These findings also suggest a need to revisit prior population estimates, since their accuracy depended on the supposition that orioles don’t breed in the pine forests. The team is looking for funding to build on our initial findings and conduct comprehensive point counts across the entire Andros complex.
The discoveries and knowledge gained on this trip (through documentation of pine forest nesting, population sampling, habitat mapping) together allow the Bahama Oriole Project Team to refocus future research by refining the questions we ask. For example, we now know that the orioles nest in the pine forest; this provides unprecedented and critical justification to investigate the potential predators that are present in and/or unique to this habitat. Feral cats, for example, are infamous for their ability to prey on birds. We know they are present in residential areas throughout Andros, but what about deep within the pine forests? If so, could they (or other predators) threaten Bahama Oriole fledglings? On a second trip to Andros this past January, I used motion-activated trail cameras to see what exactly was lingering in the pine forests…but that’s an exciting story for another time.
Stay tuned for Part 2: Finding Bahama Oriole Nests in the Pine Forest—Reflections from a Young Scientist
Kirtland’s Warbler spotted on Cayo Guillermo Cay off the northern coast of Cuba. The bird (male) is identified by its yellow underparts with black streaks on flanks, white undertail coverts, blue-gray upperparts with black streaks, and conspicuous white eye-crescents that contrast with black lores and forehead. This appears to be a first winter male as the bird shows some brown on its upperparts and face. (photo by Anne Goulden)
Anne Goulden, from Sarnia, Ontario, spotted and photographed a Kirtland’s Warbler (Setophaga kirtlandii) on a recent birding trip to Cuba, making this the first “official” sighting of the bird on Cuba.
Anne Goulden has been an avid birder for ten years. “Birding has been a hobby—make that an obsession—since 2007,” she says. Anne had just finished a 9-day birding tour in Cuba with Eagle Eye Tours and had arranged to stay on an extra three nights at their last stop, the Cayo Coco Cays located along the northern coast of Cuba. She wanted to bird at a leisurely pace on her own before returning home. The group was staying at the Iberostar Playa Pilar Hotel in Cayo Guillermo, one of the Cayo Coco Cays, known as a birding hot spot because of the Cuban and regional Caribbean endemics that live in the area.
On February 22nd Anne’s tour group birded for about 1 km along the road between their hotel and the Playa Pilar Beach looking for a Bahama Mockingbird, a species found only in a few locales in Cuba, Jamaica, and in the Bahamas and Turks and Caicos Islands. “We were out for about an hour and were lucky enough to find a few Bahama Mockingbirds in addition to warblers and a few local birds,” Ann commented. The bus returned to the hotel to send everyone off to the airport to return home.
This photo shows the yellow throat, breast and belly, white undertail coverts and black lores of the Kirtland’s Warbler. The broken white eye ring is also clearly visible. Female Kirtland’s are similar to males but have no black on the face and their upperparts and face are more brown. (photo by Anne Goulden)
The next morning, February 23rd, Ann set out at on her own at about 7am along the same road to see what else she could find. She spotted an unfamiliar bird in a tree with red berries about an hour into her walk. “I wish I could say I knew what it was, but I didn’t,” said Anne. “I knew it was a warbler, but that was about it. I managed to get a few poor photos before it flew off.”
After Anne returned home she looked through her pictures, but still couldn’t place the bird. Ann was disappointed that her photos were not in sharp focus, but she knew that they were clear enough for an ID. She sent the pictures to two local birders who both suggested Kirtland’s Warbler, but it wasn’t even in Anne’s book so she did not include it in her e-bird checklist until the bird was also positively identified as a Kirtland’s by her two tour leaders, Hector Gomez de Silva and Colin Jones (the ID was also confirmed by eBird Caribbean reviewers). The individual appears to be a juvenile male (first winter).
The road where the Kirtland’s Warbler was spotted on Cayo Guillermo, one of the Cayo Coco Cays on the northern coast of Cuba. The road leads to Playa Pilar beach and beyond that to a new hotel under construction. (photo by Anne Goulden)
“I was very excited to have this bird confirmed as a Kirtland’s Warbler,” exclaimed Anne. “I live in Ontario so know about the Kirtland’s and what a rare bird it is, but I never expected to see one in Cuba. I have only had a fleeting look at this bird once before, in Ontario in 2014.”
One of the rarest songbirds in North America, the Kirtland’s Warbler is listed as “Endangered” under the Endangered Species Act of 1973. Its current status is Near Threatened on the IUCN “Red list of Threatened Species,” upgraded from Vulnerable in 2005, thanks to successful recovery efforts.
The Kirtland’s Warbler winters primarily in the Bahamas Archipelago, which includes The Commonwealth of The Bahamas and the Turks and Caicos Islands. It inhabits early successional broadleaf scrub or shrubby habitats, where it feeds on fruits, insects and spiders. Recent surveys indicate that the warblers most commonly winter in the central islands of The Bahamas including Eleuthera, Cat Island, San Salvador, and Long Island.
The Kirtland’s Warbler was spotted feeding on berries of the Gumbo Limbo tree (Bursera simaruba), a very important food source for many birds, including migratory warblers fattening up in their Caribbean wintering grounds for their long journey north to their breeding grounds in spring. (photo by Anne Goulden)
Kirtland’s Warblers are known to overwinter outside of the archipelago, however, as documented by a photograph of an individual during a Christmas bird count on Bermuda in 2004, and a bird photographed in Key West, Florida this past winter. In addition, there have been sight records of wintering Kirtland’s Warblers from northern Mexico, Dominican Republic, and Cuba. Unfortunately sight records alone are insufficient for “official” documentation, which requires either a good photo or a specimen of the bird. Thus, the fact that Ms. Goulden photographed a Kirtland’s Warbler (with typical field marks visible) verifies for the first time the “official” presence of the warbler in Cuba.
The habitat where the bird was found and the photo of the warbler feeding on the fruit of Gumbo Limbo or Gum Elemi (Bursera simaruba) are all typical of the habitat and behavior of the wintering Kirtland’s Warblers observed in The Bahamas. In addition, the first Cuban sight record of the warbler in 2006 was also from the Cayo Coco cays. The cays located off Cuba’s north coast have typical scrub vegetation including Black Torch (Erithalis fruticosa), Wild Sage (Lantana involucrata), and Snowberry (Chiococca spp.) which also produce the fruits favored by the warbler. The cays also host specialties such as the Bahama Mockingbird and Thick-billed Vireo, both of which are typical birds of the Bahamian bush.
A beautiful Western Spindalis spotted on Cayo Guillermo; this bird is endemic to Cuba, the Bahamas, Cayman Islands and Cozumel. (photo by Anne Goulden)
In recent years, more and more observations of the Kirtland’s Warblers have been made during the winter months. Some of the increase in observations might be attributable to more birders in the field in the warbler’s habitat. The more likely explanation, however, is that increased wintering grounds observations are attributable to the increase in the size of the Kirtland’s Warbler population at least since the 1970s and 1980s. This increase in the population of the warblers is directly attributable to the success of the intensive recovery effort focused on the warbler’s breeding grounds in Michigan.
Kirtland’s Warbler breeds in early successional Jack Pine (Pinus banksiana) habitat primarily in Michigan with recent breeding now established in similar habitat in southern Ontario and Wisconsin. Habitat loss and degradation coupled with nest parasitism by Brown-headed Cowbirds were the primary factors contributing to the species decline to record low populations of the 1970s and 80s. In that period, counts of approximately 200 singing males on the breeding grounds were typical, whereas today, thanks to habitat management and cowbird control, the recent breeding ground censuses of singing males is approximately 2,350 singing males. [The biologists are not being sexist, its just that females are difficult to detect and count in contrast to the males which are obvious as they sing on their territories in early spring; the sex ratio is assumed to be 50:50]. Thus the abundance of recent winter observations of the Kirtland’s Warbler is a testament of the success of the conservation program directed at the recovery of this endangered species.
Cuban Bullfinch on Cayo Guillermo, endemic to Cuba and the Cayman Islands. (photo by Anne Goulden)
A recently published article by Dr. Nathan Cooper and his colleagues from the Smithsonian Institution suggests the possibility of some Kirtland’s Warblers occurring in Cuba. The research, based on use of light-sensitive geolocators to track the warbler suggests the occurrence of Kirtland’s Warblers wintering in Cuba; the photo obtained by Ms. Goulden establishes the fact. Congratulations to Ms. Goulden!
“I don’t live far from Michigan and hope in the next year or two to make a trip to the Kirtland’s Warbler’s famed breeding grounds,” said Anne. “Seeing this rare bird on its wintering grounds is, however, probably the most exciting thing that is likely to ever happen to me as a birder! I’m thrilled I was in the right place at the right time and managed to get a photo of the bird. It’s certainly rewarding for ordinary citizens like myself to contribute to science through our birding activities and use of eBird Caribbean!”
By Lisa Sorenson and Joe Wunderle
Anne Goulden’s checklist from 23 February, 2017 with the Kirtland’s Warbler can be viewed at this link.
Andrew Dobson’s checklist from 19 December, 2004 with the Kirtlands Warbler can be viewed at this link.
Congratulations to Anne Goulden for her first official sighting of the Kirkland’s Warbler in Cuba. “Seeing this rare bird on its wintering grounds is probably the most exciting thing that is likely to ever happen to me as a birder! ” she exclaimed.
Cape May Warbler, a common wintering warbler in Cuba and throughout the entire Caribbean region, was also seen in the Cayo Coco Cays. (photo by Anne Goulden)
Beautiful Bahama Birds by Carolyn Wardle, Lynn Gape and Predensa Moore focuses on common birds and is targeted toward young and beginner birdwatchers, as well as tourists.
This attractive, informative little guide is the most recent contribution in a series of island-specific bird guides supported by BirdsCaribbean and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. Targeting high school-aged students, beginning bird watchers, and tourists to the Bahama Islands, the guide highlights 60 common birds of the islands. With illustrations borrowed from Herb Raffaele et al.’s (1998) A Guide to the Birds of the West Indies reproduced in a very nice, large format, the book does a good job of synthesizing a general description and habitat for these species. I particularly like the book’s design, with the use of large, bold fonts, and employing colors without overdoing it to the extent that a page becomes a busy mess.
But this book is more than an identification guide too. Introductory chapters in Part I address why birds are interesting to us, and curious facts about birds. A chapter relates how to identify birds, but also covers how to find a bird in your binoculars, and how to become a better birder through learning songs and calls, choosing equipment, and respecting a code of ethics. And Part I includes advice on how to make your yard more bird friendly so as to keep birds safe and coming back for your enjoyment.
Finally, Beautiful Bahama Birds concludes with a well-thoughtout section on conserving birds. Appropriately, lands managed by the Bahamas National Trust and Important Bird Areas are highlighted not only as conservation success stories, but also as bird watching destinations. The many threats facing birds are briefly addressed, as are first steps which newly engaged bird watchers might take to help provide for birds. Finally, the book concludes with a selection of stories and poems that illustrate nicely how birds contribute to Bahamian culture.
The guide includes 60 common birds of the Bahama Islands described using large fonts and simple language- a perfect addition to any new birder’s collection!
Overall, I found Beautiful Bahama Birds to be a well-written and pleasingly designed book which does extremely well in providing an introduction to Bahamian birds. I would recommend it without reservations to any young person or adult interested in exploring what bird watching is all about. I would also suggest to anyone else contemplating writing a similar guide to add to the growing stable of island-specific introductions to bird watching, that they would do well to mimic the many qualities of this fine contribution to Caribbean birdlife
Beautiful Bahama Birds: Common Birds of the Bahama Islands is written by Carolyn Wardle, Lynn Gape, and Predensa Moore and published by Bahamas National Trust and BirdsCaribbean. The guide can be purchased in the US through Amazon here.
This review was provided by Dr. Steven Latta, Director of Conservation and Field Research at the National Aviary. It is featured in the current issue of the Journal of Caribbean Ornithology and can be viewed here.
Scott Johnson, Science Officer with the Bahamas National Trust, shares the work that he and his fellow conservationists are doing to help raise awareness about the issue of wildlife smuggling.
CAWS (Caribbean Against Wildlife Smuggling) logo created by Team Traffic to help raise the profile of the threats to our native wildlife from wildlife smuggling and what everyone can do to help.
As a Caribbean native, I can wholeheartedly understand people’s obsession with our region. The lush green vegetation, white sandy beaches, turquoise waters, delicious food, and warm tropical climate are all hallmarks of the Caribbean experience. Every year many people, aka “snowbirds” flock to this region by the millions for a welcome respite from the frozen north.
In addition to “sun, sea and sand,” visitors also enjoy the Caribbean’s abundant wildlife, including the chance to spot spectacular native birds like parrots, trogons and todies, swim with sharks and rays, snorkel on a tropical reef, interact with rock iguanas, and even watch sea turtles laying their eggs in a nest they dig right on the beach. Unfortunately, some people want to do more than just observe the wildlife—they want to take a souvenir home, purchasing wildlife products for fashion, pets, and novel foods. This is causing a serious threat to the long-term survival of many native species.
Hispaniolan Parrot in the Dominican Republic, a species targeted by smugglers. Parrots are captured in the wild as adults and chicks and illegally kept as pets or sold for the pet trade. Nesting trees are usually damaged by poachers so that they cannot be used by parrots in the future—a hole is slashed or the tree is chopped down, and the eggs or chicks are stolen. This is tragic because good nesting trees are in short supply. (Photo by Dax Roman)
The Caribbean is a virtual treasure trove of biological diversity. In fact, it is one of the most important biological hotspots in the world, home to thousands of endemic plants and animals. For example, 172 species of birds are Caribbean endemics, found no place else on earth. Many of these species are found on only one or two islands in the entire region. The novelty of these species unfortunately makes them key targets for smugglers.
Wildlife smuggling is one of the largest illegal activities in the world, a multi-billion dollar industry worldwide. Every year, tens of thousands of animals and animal products are smuggled to places like Asia, the US and other countries to satisfy people’s insatiable appetites for the new and exotic. In Trinidad and Tobago, birds like the Chestnut-bellied Seed Finch and Blue-and-Yellow Macaw are key species targeted by smugglers. In 2011, 74 eggs from both Black-billed Parrots and Yellow-billed Parrots were smuggled out of Jamaica into Austria in rum cake boxes by tourists visiting Jamaica. On the island of Hispaniola, Hispaniolan Parrots have been captured and sold in the wildlife trade and are illegally kept as pets, while a single St. Vincent Parrot is said to be worth $100,000 on the black market.
St. Vincent Parrots, endemic to St. Vincent and the Grenadines, in flight. (Photo courtesy of the St. Vincent and the Grenadines Tourism Authority)
What’s being done to help curb this threat in the Caribbean?
Kareena Anderson and Laura Baboolal CLiC “Team Traffic” members giving a presentation to enforcement personnel of the Wildlife Section, Trinidad and Tobago. (Photo by Praimchand Anderson)
Law enforcement is an extremely important tool in the battle against wildlife smuggling. Sadly, protection of native wildlife from illegal capture and smuggling has not been a major priority for many Caribbean countries. In addition, many enforcers do not have a well-rounded knowledge about their native species. This is where wildlife sensitization comes in.
For the past two years, the Conservation Leadership in the Caribbean (CLiC) Program of the US Fish and Wildlife Service has been training emerging young conservation professionals from around the Caribbean to tackle wildlife conservation problems in the region. Several of the participants formed a group called TeamTraffic, and took on the challenging issue of wildlife smuggling in their home countries, the Bahamas and Trinidad and Tobago. Over the past year they have been assisting in the training of enforcers in each country, giving them the knowledge they need to properly identify animals in their country and put more emphasis on the protection of native wildlife.
Sharleen Khan holding a Blue-and-Yellow Macaw at the Emperor Valley Zoo in Trinidad. This macaw is the zoo’s Animal Ambassador and is part of the zoo’s education program where the macaw is used to raise awareness of wildlife conservation, specifically conservation of this species in the wild. (Photo courtesy of Emperor Valley Zoo)
Team Traffic has also created a Facebook page called CAWS-Caribbean Against Wildlife Smuggling, to help with outreach and education. International transportation companies such as JetBlue are helping to raise awareness through a public education campaign that advises travellers not to carry any wildlife products from countries visited.
In July 2016, The Bahamas hosted the Regional Wildlife Enforcement Workshop which brought together heads of enforcement agencies from across the Caribbean and International organizations such as CITES and the US Fish and Wildlife Service. The successful meeting led to the recommendation of the establishment of a Caribbean Wildlife Enforcement Network aimed at improving wildlife enforcement cooperation in the region.
Scott Johnson, CLiC “Team Traffic” member and BNT Science Officer speaks to Bahamian and Turks and Caicos Islands enforcers on wildlife smuggling during a workshop. (Photo courtesy of Scott Johnson)
CLiC’s Team Traffic group will continue to work with partners both locally and internationally to educate enforcers on the threats of wildlife smuggling in the region. With all of us working together, we will be a strong force against the ever-present threat of smuggling. Please support our CAWS!
What you can do to help
Don’t purchase items such as coral, products made from turtle shells, feathers, or any exotic animal product, as you may be helping to fuel the illegal wildlife trade market.
Never buy wild-caught birds.
Report the capture and sale of wild birds to the authorities.
Plant native trees and shrubs in your yard and support forest reforestation efforts.
Enjoy the beauty of the animals in their natural habitat to ensure them for future generations. If everyone puts in a concerted effort to learn about wildlife and wildlife smuggling, our region will be one step closer towards eradicating this illegal activity once and for all.
Trafficked Species Identification Guide developed by Team Traffic in the CLiC program (Conservation Leadership in the Caribbean).
Many thanks to Scott Johnson, Kareena Anderson, Laura Baboolal and Sharleen Khan, participants in the Conservation Leadership in the Caribbean (CLiC) Program, a U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service supported program. Please follow CAWS on their Facebook page! The issue of wildlife smuggling and how are laws and protected areas help conserve our birds was the theme of our 2016 celebrations of the Caribbean Endemic Bird Festival (CEBF) and International Migratory Bird Day (IMBD). Click here for more information.
Perhaps the only guide you’ll ever need for the island of Montserrat.If you are a birder visiting the island of Montserrat, this small book will be a necessary purchase. It has a full checklist of birds found on the island as well as photos and descriptions of all the most important and most commonly seen species. Unlike many books, the birds are grouped by habitat—wetlands, forest, open-country—which is practical in many ways and allows the authors to describe the birds and their place within an ecological community at the same time.
The title of this book is a bit misleading…in a good way. It contains a great deal of useful information above and beyond birds and birding. This volume gives a short history of the island, an overview of its geology, maps, directions and images of trails and points of interest and an overview of the non-bird vertebrates of the island. It even has notes on traditional uses of plants and highlights a few of the island’s insects and other invertebrates. It closes with a section of “Practical Information” covering transportation, shopping, dining and more.
Whether you think of it as a travel guide with a bird section or a bird guide with a travel guide added on, definitely get this book before your next trip to Montserrat. It is available as a PDF download for $8 or a print edition shipped internationally for 15 British Pounds, and you can purchase either both online. The book was written by Dr. Mike Pienkowski, Ann Pienkowski, Catherine Wensink, Sarita Francis and James “Scriber” Daley and published by the UK Overseas Territories Conservation Forum and Montserrat National Trust.
The Journal of Caribbean Ornithology (JCO) is a free, peer-reviewed journal produced by BirdsCaribbean.
With nine research articles, two book reviews, and an ornithological literature review, we are excited to announce the completion of Journal of Caribbean Ornithology’s Volume 29. Collectively the publications highlight valuable work spanning the entire arc of the Caribbean island chain, from Cuba to northern South America. The quality, quantity, and distribution of research represented in Volume 29 is testament to the JCO’s continued mission to build and grow a community of ornithologists around the advancement of scientific knowledge of all the unique avifauna of these island habitats.
These accomplishments would of course not be possible without the commendable teamwork that happens between researchers, reviewers, editors, and volunteers in all corners. Thank you so much for bringing your passion to the table and helping produce such a valuable resource to the field of ornithology.
Volume 29 wraps up with two complementary articles on the Adelaide’s Warblers:
Adelaide’s Warbler on St. Thomas, U.S. Virgin Islands. (photo by Sean Rune)
1. “First observations of Adelaide’s Warblers (Setophaga adelaidae) outside of Puerto Rico, in the U.S.VirginIslands” is an article by Sean M. Rune and LeAnn M. Conlon that documents the first sightings of this species of warbler outside its endemic range of Puerto Rico (and its island-munici palities of Vieques and Culebra). From one to four individuals were recorded during each of ten observation periods spanning from 24 March to 17 December 2012 on the island of St. Thomas. One observation of one individual on 6 January2013 occurred on the island of St. John. Seeing as Adelaide’s Warblers are known to breed during the late spring and early summer months, these observations may indicate the initiation of range expansion by the species from Puerto Rico to the U.S. Virgin Islands to the east.
Adelaide’s Warbler with white lower eye crescent – a possible female – on St. John. (photo by E. Dluhos in Veit et al. 2016)
2. Further evidence of range expansion by Adelaide’s Warblers follows in the article “Vagrancy and colonization of St. Thomas and St. John, U.S. Virgin Islands, by Adelaide’s Warblers (Setophaga adelaidae)” by Richard R. Veit, Lucinda C. Zawadzki, Lisa L. Manne, Pearl Cales, Danielle Fibikar, Shannon Curley, Elizabeth Dluhos, and Robert L. Norton. The authors observed five Adelaide’s Warblers on St. John during January of 2015 and eight individuals in the same area one year later. Given that these vagrants arrived against prevailing easterly trade winds and were observed in the same area from 2012-2016, Veit et al. hypothesize that in current time we are witnessing the eastward colonization of new islands by Adelaide’s Warblers.
A thorough overview of Adelaide’s Warblers highlighting these newly published articles has been written by Jason A. Crotty and can be found in a recent article of the magazine BirdWatching.
Map of the Caribbean; the two final publications in Volume 29 of the JCO focus on the hypothesized range expansion of Adelaide’s Warblers from Puerto Rico eastwards to the U.S. Virgin Islands.
The Archives Have Grown – We’re excited to announce that we’ve been able to put some serious time into uploading and making available older volumes of the journal. The JCO Archives are now completely catalogued back to the year 2005. Our goal is to continue working our way back in time, ultimately providing easy (and free!) online access to every article of every publication back to the journal’s beginning – Volume 1 in 1988. We encourage you to take some time looking around the archives to remember and discover all the great work that has been contributed over the years. We will continue to make announcements as more volumes are made available.
What’s Coming Up – The 21st International Meeting of BirdsCaribbean set to take place in Cuba this July promises to be an unforgettable event. Detailed information about the meeting can be found here, the meeting website will have a lot of updates in the coming weeks. Regular attendees of BirdsCaribbean conferences and seasoned Caribbean ornithologists should take advantage of this attractive venue to consider reaching out to young, burgeoning researchers across the islands that could greatly benefit from attending. BirdsCaribbean is making an active push to integrate new members into our community, and the best way to do so is by word of mouth from all of our members. Everyone planning on attending the conference should come ready to have an excellent time, and don’t forget to budget some extra time in Cuba if your schedule allows! Volume 30 of the JCO is already underway with a lot of great manuscripts in the pipeline. We’re also looking forward to the release of a Special Issue on Caribbean Forest Endemics that promises to be around a dozen articles in length. Rumor has it that we’ll be seeing some great articles on everything from Elfin-woods Warblers to Golden Swallows to Giant Kingbirds. Stay tuned!
By Justin Proctor, Caribbean Ornithologist; Freelance Writer; Loving Husband. Justin is part of our JCO Editorial and Production team and a frequent contributor to our blog.
David S. Lee Fund award recipient, Grenadian Wayne Smart, scans for seabirds in the Grenadine islands with his spotting scope.
BirdsCaribbean is excited to announce the first award recipients of the David S. Lee Fund for the Conservation of Caribbean Birds. We are extremely pleased to support these dedicated young scholars as they pursue important research that will increase our knowledge of and inform conservation management decisions for Caribbean birds. The award recipients are: Wayne Smart, Maya Wilson, Spencer Schubert, Ramon Williams, Holly Garrod, and Paige Byerly.
The David S. Lee Fund was established in 2016 to recognize the scientific and conservation efforts of David S. Lee, a biologist and naturalist dedicated to Caribbean biodiversity. The award funds innovative avian conservation research in the Caribbean. All projects demonstrate a commitment to engaging with local scientists, government officials, organizations and communities, as appropriate, to involve them in the research, share results, and build interest in local birds and their conservation.
Thanks to support from the David S. Lee Fund and contributions from an anonymous donor, BirdsCaribbean is able to provide grants of $900 to $1,000 for six exceptional conservation research projects in 2017, the first year of funding for the award. Congratulations to all the dedicated and hard-working student recipients, who embody the vision that we all share of a bright future for the conservation of Caribbean birds. We look forward to hearing about their work in forthcoming articles and publications.
Seabird nesting performance, colony declines and invasive predators in the Southern Grenadines.
Wayne Smart holds a Laughing Gull chick during a previous field season. (photo by Wayne Smart)
Wayne Smart, Arkansas State University
Seabird colonies are declining globally for multiple reasons such as habitat loss, introduced predators, and poaching. The Grenadines support five Important Bird Areas and host a number of seabird colonies, though little is known about local seabird decline. Wayne Smart will conduct field work on five uninhabited islands off the north coast of Grenada this summer. By interviewing locals, monitoring nests, and deploying cameras and two types of traps, he anticipates gathering valuable baseline knowledge about the current size and reproductive success of seabird colonies in the Grenadines and how they are impacted by introduced rats. The data will inform seabird management decisions for a community-based conservation program.
The Bahama Swallow is an endangered endemic found on only three islands in the Bahamas. (photo by Melanie Rose Wells)
Population biology, life history and ecology of the Bahama Swallow (Tachycineta cyaneoviridis): informing conservation of an endangered species.
Maya Wilson, Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University
The Bahama Swallow is an endangered species endemic to Grand Bahama Island, Great Abaco Island and Andros Island in the northern Bahamas. The swallow relies on pre-existing cavities in Caribbean Pine (Pinus caribaea), which are only found in large tracts on these island (they are also found on New Providence Island though the breeding Bahama Swallow likely was extirpated from here). Maya Wilson will undertake her third and final field season to investigate the population abundance, life history traits and nesting resource limitations of the Bahama Swallow. She is collaborating with the Bahama Oriole Project to develop survey techniques to estimate population and habitat data for both species. In addition, gene flow between islands will be analyzed from samples collected during mist netting efforts. Maya’s research will provide important information about two endangered Bahama endemics that will be used to inform conservation strategies for these species and their habitats.
Artificial perch installation as a method for enhancing avian seed dispersal and accelerating early-stage forest recovery in the central Dominican Republic.
Spencer Schubert, Old Dominion University
A group of seed-dispersing Palmchats using a natural perch. (photo by Spencer Schubert)
In Hispaniola, less than 15% of the original wet forest cover remains, primarily due to deforestation for cattle ranching. It is well known that frugivorous birds provide vital ecosystem services that aid in forest growth, such as pollination and seed dispersal. Spencer Schubert will travel to the Dominican Republic this summer to investigate the role of artificial perches as a strategy to increase natural seed dispersal and reforestation. From his previous work in the area, he has identified 24 species of frugivorous birds that aid in seed dispersal. Working with the local NGO Plan Yaque, he intends to install artificial perches in different spatial patterns and measure frugivore use and seed deposition. Results from this study will directly benefit Plan Yaque and their ongoing reforestation effort, local farmers, and the biodiversity and avian communities that rely on forests.
Distribution, diversity, and abundance of Grenadian birds, including endemic and restricted-range species.
The Lesser Antillean Tanager is one of the target species in the study of Grenada passerines proposed by Ramon Williams. (photo by Paulson Des Brisay)
Ramon Williams, University of Manitoba
Like many islands in the Caribbean, Grenada is undergoing rapid development leading to increased human disturbance and habitat loss. The conservation status of Grenadian passerines in response to development is poorly understood as there is little information regarding the distribution, diversity and abundance of species across the island. Thirty-five passerines are found on Grenada, including the critically endangered Grenada Dove (Leptotila wellsi), the endangered Grenada Hook-billed Kite (Chondrohierax uncinatus mirus) and the endemic Grenada Flycatcher (Myiarchus nugatory). Ramon Williams will begin field work this summer to estimate passerine species diversity and abundance, in addition to quantifying vegetation structure, in representative habitat types across Grenada. This study will produce a comprehensive assessment of the status of passerines on the island, potentially identifying areas of conservation priority.
Nest response of Broad-billed Todies (Todus subulatus) to an invasive nest predator, the small Asian mongoose.
The Broad-billed Tody is one of two endemic tody species found on Hispaniola. (photo by Holly Garrod)
Holly Garrod, Villanova University
The Broad-billed Tody is endemic to the island of Hispaniola. Like all todies, this species nests on the ground by building burrows in embankments. This nesting strategy makes todies extremely vulnerable to introduced predators, such as the small Asian mongoose (Herpestes javanicus auropunctatus). This summer, Holly Garrod will return to the Cordillera Central region of the Dominican Republic – where she conducted pilot research in 2016 – to monitor nesting todies and nest predation. She is interested in the behavioral differences of todies in undisturbed and disturbed sites and how this might affect reactions to nest predators and reproductive success. Understanding how birds respond to predators under different environmental conditions has the potential to improve anti-predator management techniques for native bird conservation.
Conservation genetics of the Caribbean Roseate Tern
Paige Byerly, University of Louisiana at Lafayette
Roseate Tern chicks in Buzzards Bay, Massachusetts. (photo by Paige Byerly)
The Caribbean Roseate Tern, a threatened metapopulation of Sterna dougallii dougallii, is thought to be declining across its range, though the trajectory of the population is not well understood. Paige Byerly will undertake a project to analyze the genetics of the Caribbean Roseate Tern in order to investigate gene flow patterns between this population and the similar Northeastern Atlantic population. It is thought there is no movement between the two groups; such genetic isolation has the potential to negatively impact population viability. In addition to gene flow, this analysis will yield information about genetic diversity and effective population size. Samples will be collected this summer from populations in the U.S. Virgin Islands and Massachusetts. Results from this study will provide researchers and conservation managers with valuable new information about connectivity, migratory ecology and population vulnerability.
To learn more about the David S. Lee Fund for the Conservation of Caribbean Birds, click here. If you would like to contribute to the fund and help support future projects, click here. You can choose to designate your gift to the David S. Lee Fund.
BirdsCaribbean thanks the scientists that provided thoughtful and constructive reviews of the proposals. We are very grateful to all that have donated to the David S. Lee Fund. We are pleased and proud to honor Dave’s legacy with the funding of these exciting projects that will advance the development of young Caribbean scientists and contribute to the conservation of Caribbean birds.
