Shanna with critically endangered Antiguan Racer (Photo by Chaso Media)
BirdsCaribbean is delighted by the news that the Environmental Awareness Group’s (EAG) Shanna Challenger, based on the island of Antigua, has received the Euan P. McFarlane Environmental Leadership Award. The award, which honors young Caribbean environmental leaders under the age of 30, was announced recently by the Community Foundation of the Virgin Islands (CFVI). Puerto Rican water specialist Amira Odeh was also a recipient.
Lisa Sorenson, Executive Director of BirdsCaribbean, noted that EAG has been a long-standing partner of the organization on several important projects.
“Shanna is truly a star!” said Sorenson. “We have worked closely with her for the past four years and have been impressed by her energy, her enthusiasm, and her leadership skills. Shanna participated in our surveys of the Barbuda Warbler, following the devastation of Hurricane Maria on Antigua’s sister isle in 2017. We congratulate Shanna on her outstanding work on the Redonda Restoration Program, which was tremendously successful.”
An Honors graduate in Ecology from the University of the West Indies in 2016, Shanna went on to study for her Master of Science in Conservation Biology, which she achieved with Distinction at the University of Kent in the UK under a Chevening Scholarship. She joined EAG in 2016, managing the Redonda Restoration Program, and working on plans for a proposed protection area on the small island with government, regional bodies, and international non-governmental organizations.
Redonda Tree Lizard (Anolis nubilus). (Photo by Ed Marshall).
She now coordinates the Offshore Islands Conservation Program, which was responsible for saving the world’s rarest snake, the Antigua Racer, from extinction. Shanna is developing a ridge-to-reef program, working with communities to conserve species and habitats. As if that is not enough, she continues to volunteer with a local youth non-profit organization.
Lisa Sorenson noted Shanna’s dynamic personality, which enlivens meetings of BirdsCaribbean’s Media Working Group meetings, as well as our training workshops and conferences. Shanna helps to promote the value of Antigua and Barbuda’s ecosystems and wildlife on local media, planning and implementing BirdsCaribbean activities such as the Caribbean Waterbird Census, Caribbean Endemic Bird Festival, and World Migratory Bird Day, particularly in Antigua’s extensive mangrove areas.
Shanna dressed as Barbuda Warbler for the Caribbean Endemic Bird Festival (Photo by Rudolph Zachariah)
“Shanna has been known to enthusiastically impersonate a Barbuda Warbler in full costume for children during the Caribbean Endemic Bird Festival. This past May, Shanna and her talented EAG colleagues Natalya Lawrence and Andrea Otto, presented a six-session Zoom course for beginning birders on bird identification and monitoring. As a result, the study group formed a birding club, the Wadadli Warblers, which keeps in touch on the WhatsApp platform and meets regularly for birding trips. Club members are also undertaking Caribbean Waterbird Census (CWC) surveys in Antigua for this year’s census. This is quite an achievement when COVID-19 restrictions are still in place,” added Sorenson.
“There is no doubt that the Caribbean needs more “home grown” youth activists in the conservation field. We commend the CFVI on offering this award, which we feel sure will inspire other young people across the region to take up the reins in the field of biodiversity conservation. We are equally convinced that Shanna will keep on growing as a leader. We look forward to continuing our vibrant partnership with her and with EAG.”
Male Brown Booby with nest in vegetation (Photo by Shanna Challenger)
Shanna diving on Redonda’s reefs (Photo by Ruleo Camacho)
Shanna about to board the helicopter to Redonda (Photo by Sophia Steele)
Barren landscape on Redonda in 2012 before invasive rats and goats were removed (Photo by Jenny Daltry)
Redonda transformed from bare rock to a carpet of vegetation in 2020, after removal of invasive species (Photo by Cole White)
Find out more about the Euan P. McFarlane Environmental Leadership Award winners & The TransforMAtion of Rodonda Island:
Despite the challenges of the year 2020, JCO’s Volume 33 includes 16 publications, 3 book reviews, and a review of the recent ornithological literature from the Caribbean. The volume includes articles on a diversity of topics and taxa from 11 island territories and one Caribbean basin continental site. The content is a credit to all of the authors, reviewers, and JCO staff who overcame the pandemic challenges to contribute to the publication effort in a timely fashion. We thank all involved in this effort for their contributions, which have advanced our knowledge of Caribbean birds in 2020.
Please take some time to enjoy all of Volume 33. We should all take pride in this work and make the time to congratulate each other on all of these accomplishments, especially during this challenging year. If you enjoyed reading a publication, please send the authors a quick email letting them know. That is what makes Caribbean ornithology special—a sense of community and comradery unlike anywhere else.
— Joseph M. Wunderle, Jr., JCO Editor-in-Chief, and Justin Proctor, JCO Managing Editor
P.S. More good news: we have a lot of great manuscripts at various stages in the pipeline right now, which means that V34 is already off to a strong start!
Map depicting research locations of the studies published in Volume 33.
Cristina Sainz-Borgo, Jhonathan Miranda, and Miguel Lentino
In Henri Pittier National Park, Venezuela, the low-lying Portachuelo Pass provides essential habitat for both resident and migratory bird species. Despite this, information about the composition of the bird community is scarce. In this study, Sainz-Borgo et al. survey and describe the species inhabiting Portachuelo Pass, highlighting key characteristics of the avifauna in this important ecosystem.
On 13 October, 2016, Hurricane Nicole made landfall over Bermuda. Mejias and Meijas acted quickly, utilizing the hurricane as an opportunity to document a species fallout event. Here, they present the results of their post-hurricane songbird surveys, documenting a significant fallout of Blackpoll Warblers and underscoring the importance of remote oceanic island refuges for fallout migrants.
While historically, Bermuda was home to lush, native, evergreen forests, human colonization in 1612 led to progressive habitat fragmentation and introduction of exotic trees. In this study, Mejías and Nol explore the impact of woodland size and vegetation features on species richness and bird abundance, specifically emphasizing the effects on White-eyed Vireos. Critically, they show that larger, less-fragmented woodlands are essential for supporting abundant and diverse bird communities.
Early accounts from the Bermuda Islands suggest the presence of myriad nesting tern species on the islands; however, only the Common Tern survived into the 20th century. Here, Wingate and Nisbet review both the historic and recent records of terns on Bermuda, shedding light on the prospect of restoration and species recolonization using modern conservation techniques.
Louise M. Soanes, Judy Pierce, Daniel Nellis, Susan Zaluski, and Lewis G. Halsey
Due to a severe decline in the North Atlantic Roseate Tern populations in the 1900s, countries worldwide initiated conservation plans. However, few studies have focused on the Caribbean population of Roseate Terns. Using three decades of survey data, Soanes et al. detail the abundance and distribution of Roseate Terns in the Virgin Islands, identifying key breeding sites, reporting a gradual population decline, and calling for further conservation and research efforts.
Though the Antillean Nighthawk is a relatively common species in the Caribbean, its migration routes and non-breeding location remain a mystery. In an effort to identify these locations, Perlut and Levesque attach a geolocator to a female Antillean Nighthawk, tracking and documenting her movements throughout a one-year period.
Antonio García-Quintas, Laritza González Leiva, and Ariandy González González
The second breeding record of Audubon’s Shearwater (Puffinus lherminieri) and the fourth breeding record of Common Tern (Sterna hirundo), were detected in the Felipe de Sotavento and Barlovento cays of northern Ciego de Ávila, Cuba. These seabirds are uncommon in the country; so, new records of nests with eggs and chicks indicate the need for increased sampling in northern cays of the country. The studied cays are among the most important nesting sites for seabird colonies in Cuba in terms of number of species and breeding pairs.
An error was found in the García-Quintas et al. manuscript published earlier in this volume, in which the photographs of an egg and chick in Figure 2 represent Roseate Tern (Sterna dougallii), not Common Tern (S. hirundo).
Adrianne G. Tossas, Osvaldo Rullán, Robert J. Mayer, and Jean P. González
Throughout the 20th century, Finca Nolla, a wetland on the northwestern coast of Puerto Rico, was severely disturbed by agricultural and industrial practices. However, in 2011, the Puerto Rico Department of Natural and Environmental Resources purchased the land, designated it as a protected area, and began restoration activities. By thoroughly documenting the avifauna within Finca Nolla, Tossas et al. establish a baseline for future avian assessments and propose an upgrade of the conservation status to nature reserve.
Wayne A. Smart, Natalia Collier, and Virginie Rolland
Historically, overexploitation has contributed significantly to seabird population declines. Though protective laws have since been enacted, the extent of continued, illegal seabird harvest is unclear. Through their survey of the fishers and recreationists at the Fisheries Division office in Sauters, Grenada, Smart et al. shine a light on the persistence of seabird harvest in Grenada, highlight the sociodemographic factors that are associated with seabird harvest, and propose a possible community-based monitoring program. Photo
Fernando Simal, Adriana Vallarino, Elsmarie Beukenboom, Rutsel Paula, Henry Beaumont, George Zaragoza, Esther Wolfs, Patrick Holian, and Elisabeth Albers
After anecdotal reports suggested that the seabirds roosting on the northwestern coast of Bonaire had been reduced to less than 60 individuals, Simal et al. began to investigate. From 2008–2010, they conducted roost counts at seven sites in Washington-Slagbaai National Park. Here, they document substantially higher seabird counts than previously suggested, with a maximum of 240 Brown Boobies in July 2009.
Juliana Coffey, Natalia Collier, Vaughn Thomas, and Romould Compton
Though historically considered very rare in the West Indies, Lesser Black-backed Gulls have become fairly common non-breeding visitors to many Carribean islands, including most of the larger Lesser Antilles. Continuing this trend, here, Coffey et al. document the first records of Lesser Black-backed Gulls on both Saint Vincent and the Grenadines and Grenada.
Despite the rarity of Burrowing Owls on Abaco, The Bahamas, today, many Pleistocene Burrowing Owl fossils have been recovered from the island. Using skeletal measurements, Patel and Steadman compare these fossils to modern specimens from western North America, South America, and Florida. Their results shed light on possible morphological adaptations of the Abaco owls to the island’s biogeography.
Briana M. Yancy, Janine M. Antalffy, Michael G. Rowley, Cierra N. McKoy, Daniel C. Stonko, Lebron E. Rolle, Jennifer L. Christhilf, Scott B. Johnson, Shelley Cant-Woodside, and Kevin E. Omland
Building on the first documentation of Bahama Orioles nesting in pine forests on Abaco, The Bahamas, in this study, Yancy et al. further characterize these nest sites. By identifying specific habitat characteristics that are important for pine forest nests, this work not only enhances our understanding of Bahama Oriole nesting ecology, but also helps inform critical conservation efforts.
Ruby Bagwyn, Kylen Bao, Zuzana Burivalova, and David S. Wilcove
The widespread use of the citizen-science database eBird offers a unique opportunity to analyze trends in bird populations. Here, Bagwyn et al. use eight years of eBird sightings toidentify Bahamian bird populations that have recently gone unrecorded. Through this, they find 43 populations, representing 25 species, that are potentially declining or extinct, suggesting areas that should be of key conservation concern.
Qwahn D. Kent, Maia Edwards, Tim Wu, and André A. Dhondt
While other communal-nesting species show clear nest tree preferences, little is known about whether Palmchats prefer to nest in certain palm species over others. To investigate this gap, Kent et al. characterized Palmchat nest trees in Punta Cana, Dominican Republic. Overall, Palmchats nested more frequently in royal palms and Hispaniolan silver thatch palms compared with cana and coconut palms and in taller, thicker trees, regardless of tree species.
The author sets out to bring attention to an ongoing misidentification problem between Roseate Terns (Sterna dougallii) and Common Terns (S. hirundo) on their breeding grounds in the West Indies and Bahamas. Observers should pay special attention to: adult bill color and breeding plumage, clutch size, and characteristics of nestling down feathers as well as leg color.
Article by (1) Simon Campo – Editor for the Journal of Caribbean Ornithology and a Graduate Student at the University of California, Berkeley; Connect with Simon via LinkedIn or email; (2) Justin Proctor – Managing Editor for the Journal of Caribbean Ornithology; and (3) Joe Wunderle –Editor-in-Chief for the Journal of Caribbean Ornithology.
Journal of Caribbean Ornithology relies on donations to keep all of our publications free and open-access. If you’re interested in supporting our mission and the broader goal of giving a voice to Caribbean ornithologists and their work, please consider becoming a supporter of JCO. Thank you in advance!
Sales of music and merchandise by Shika Shika have raised just over U$30,000 so far
Since the launch of their “A Guide to the Birdsong of Mexico, Central America, & the Caribbean” album Shika Shika have raised an amazing $30, 000 USD for bird conservation! The digital album and single tracks are available online as well as limited numbers of the vinyl album, posters, prints and t-shirts. Profits go to BirdsCaribbean and three other conservation organizations in Mexica, Central and South America.
It’s musical activism! Listen to the call of the endemic (and elusive) Jamaican Blackbird with a hypnotic beat. The Zapata Wren of Cuba sings sweetly, accompanied by delicate electronic notes. The Keel-billed Motmot of Central America emerges from behind gentle rhythms. The cries of Mexico’s Thick-billed Parrot blend with a finger snapping background.
These are some of the exciting tracks on the album, A Guide to the Birdsong of Mexico, Central America and the Caribbean. Released online in June by Shika Shika, sales of the music and merchandise have raised just over U$30,000 to date, the non-profit label announced. Profits will go to BirdsCaribbean as well as three other bird conservation organizations in Mexica, Central and South America.
A limited number of these vinyl records are available from Shika Shika
A unique fusion of music and birdsong with a purpose, the ten-track electronic music album, incorporating the songs and calls of endangered birds, is still available, along with vibrant and attractive merchandise. Single tracks, the full digital album, limited numbers of the vinyl edition as well as limited edition posters, prints and T-shirts with the album’s colourful artwork, can be purchased on the Shika Shika website and Shika-Shika’s Bandcamp website.
In celebration of this fund-raising milestone, Shika Shika has produced a podcast in English and Spanish, The podcast includes interviews with the directors of the four non-profit organizations it has partnered with to produce this musical gem. BirdsCaribbean Executive Directer, Lisa Sorenson, and the others explain how the funds will help in their conservation efforts.
“We are delighted to learn that the album is such a success, and we are extremely grateful for the partnership with Shika Shika and the funds raised so far. We encourage music lovers and bird lovers to continue to purchase this wonderful music for gifts or for themselves, in support of our birds,” said BirdsCaribbean’s Executive Director Lisa Sorenson. “All these bird species, many of them forest dwellers, are threatened by development and the destruction of their habitats. BirdsCaribbean is committed to working with local partners for the conservation of habitats for birds such as the highly endangered Bay-breasted Cuckoo of Hispaniola, one of the birds featured on this album.”
Zapata Wren and Jamaican Blackbird designs
The project is the brainchild of Robin Perkins, also known as El Búho (“The Owl”) , a UK-born musician music producer, and environmental campaigner. It is a follow-up to A Guide to the Birdsong of South America, released in 2015. Perkins first researched the most endangered birds in various countries and then invited locally based electronic DJs and composers to produce one track each featuring the song of a particular bird. The contributors include some who are passionate birders themselves, like the Belizean guitarist and manager of the well-known indigenous group Garifuna Collective, whose song features the Black Catbird.
Listen to the album, learn more about the project and artists, and shop here and Here. You can also listen and buy using the links below.
T-shirts with the album artwork are available for sale.
Radio spots about the album on various BBC World Service programmes. Here are the links to listen:
BirdsCaribbean is deeply concerned about the proposed changes to the United States Migratory Bird Treaty Act (MBTA). The rule changes will significantly increase the hazard levels for our migratory birds. We are asking you to please take action by signing and sharing the petitions below as soon as possible & by December the 27th at the latest!
Prairie Warbler numbers have declined in recent years due to loss of their preferred habitats. Along with many other migratory birds, they also face threats such as collisions with glass and predation from free-roaming cats. (Photo by Beth Hamel)
BirdsCaribbean, the largest non-governmental conservation organization in the Caribbean, is registering its strong opposition to proposed changes to rules governing the 1918 Migratory Bird Treaty Act (MBTA). In its Final Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) on Regulations Governing the Take of Migratory Birds dated November 2020, the U.S. Department of the Interior claims that the new regulation “would provide legal certainty for the public regarding what actions are prohibited under the MBTA.” In effect, however, it would reduce liability for the accidental “take” of migratory birds by corporate entities such as oil and gas companies, construction firms and the like.
“We are deeply concerned by the persistent efforts to undermine the MBTA, which has protected our birds for well for over a century,” said Executive Director of BirdsCaribbean, Lisa Sorenson. “Many of the 350 migratory bird species that breed in North America and winter further south are already endangered. This proposed action is another setback for the many international conservation organizations such as ours that are working diligently together to protect these species. Scientists, researchers, and governments across the region have been collaborating to create networks such as the Western Hemisphere Shorebird Reserve Network that are critical to the birds’ survival.”
Red Knots breed in the far north, in the Arctic & can spend the winter as far south as the southern most tip of South America. This means they make some amazing migratory journeys of tens of thousands of miles overall. Red Knots gather in large groups in some places during autumn and winter; this makes them vulnerable to threats like sea-level rise and hunting, their population is currently declining. (Photo by Matt Grube)
BirdsCaribbean believes that these rule changes will significantly increase the hazard levels for the birds themselves. Migratory birds already have to contend with numerous obstacles, including the growing impacts of climate change and a spectrum of human activities that damage their habitats and cause their deaths, such as oil spills and collisions with infrastructure. They must be protected throughout their annual cycles, including where they breed, overwinter, and stop to refuel during their remarkable journeys.
“Migratory birds are the life and soul of the Americas,” noted Sorenson. “Not only do migratory birds bring diversity and an irreplaceable balance to our ecosystems, they bring happiness to individuals and communities across the region, who look forward to their arrival each year. Whether tiny warblers, birds of prey, or shorebirds, migratory birds are embedded in the cultures—and oftentimes livelihoods—of all the countries they visit. Every year on World Migratory Bird Day we celebrate their unique qualities and recognize the amazing natural phenomenon which is migration, about which there is still so much to learn.”
This is not the first attempt that the U.S. Department of the Interior has attempted to weaken the MBTA rule. The proposed efforts have already been rejected by a federal district court back in December of 2017. However, if successful this time, this change will add to more than 125 environmental policies that have been undermined by the Trump administration, causing untold harm to the environment and bird habitats.
How You Can Help
The Bicknell’s Thrush population is small and numbers are declining. Classified as Vulnerable by the IUCN, it is considered one of North America’s most at-risk breeding songbirds. They migrate through North America and spend the winter on only four Greater Antillean islands – Hispaniola, Cuba, Jamaica, and Puerto Rico. (Photo by Dax Roman)
Please sign and share the action alerts/ petitions below, which will let your state representatives know that you do not agree with weakening the MBTA. (note – you need to be a US resident to participate in the action alerts).
Osprey catching a fish. This species was endangered by the effects of pesticides in the mid-20th century. It relies on wetlands for it food during migration, as well as its breeding habitat. (Photo by Bernie Duhamel)
Join Adam Brown as he takes us on a trip to Haiti, to the remote mountain village of Boukan Chat. This village and the people who live there are the focus of conservation efforts to save the elusive and endangered Black-capped Petrel. Find out more about village life and how sustainable agriculture has been helping both the people and the petrels.
The village of Boukan Chat, Haiti is a one-dirt road, dusty small village on the frontier of the Haitian border with the Dominican Republic. To get there from the capital city of Port au Prince is a 6-hour driving adventure that takes you from paved roads, to dirt roads, to riverbeds, and finally up a steep climb to the remote mountain outpost.
EPIC research team driving from Port au Prince to Boukan Chat, Haiti (Photo by SoulCraft)
Life in the Village of Boukan Chat
With an average income of around $5/day, the residents of Boukan Chat all live in small and simple houses, constructed of concrete blocks with sheet metal roofing that is weighted down on the structure with assorted rocks. There is no power in the village, however, there is a single solar powered streetlight, which is a popular hangout for people after dark.
Everybody in the village is a farmer, from the moms and dads, to the grandparents, to the kids, to the babies on their parents’ (or siblings!) back. The food the people of Boukan Chat eat, is the food they grow. Farm plots range from backyard gardens at residents’ houses in the village to expansive multi-acre farms up in the hills behind town. The local farmers market is on Tuesdays, and as you can imagine, the whole village turns out for the weekly event.
Farmers market day in Boukan Chat, Haiti (Photo by EPIC)
There is no running water in or around the village. During the rainy season, residents capture and store water in cisterns, but in the dry season, they must travel up to 10 miles by foot, horse, or motorbike to collect their water from a community pump.
Petrel team member Jose Luis, painting a Black-capped Petrel mural on a cistern in Boukan Chat, Haiti (Photo by EPIC)
There are schools in the village, all of which are private. Often, what this means is that a single teacher in a one-classroom building teaches a mixed-age class of youth, ranging from kindergarten to high school. The classes meet for a couple hours each day, except in the summer – unless the weather is too severe, or a large farm harvest is taking place.
The village is represented in the regional men’s soccer league by an incredibly competitive group of local young men. Games on the weekend are highlights for the whole village and hundreds of people show up to the soccer field, one of the only flat spots in the whole village, to cheer the local squad on.
Two members of the Boukan Chat soccer team (Photo by SoulCraft)
The Search for the Black-capped Petrel Begins
The Black-capped Petrel is an endangered seabird that nests in the Caribbean region. Its local name is Diablotín, which means ‘little devil’, a name likely arising from supernatural beliefs associated with the species’ habit of calling in the dark of night. Currently, the only known nesting colonies are on the island of Hispaniola, although recent evidence suggests that there might also be a small colony on the island of Dominica. With an estimated global population of between 1,000-2,000 nesting pairs, the species is endangered due to habitat loss, threats by introduced predators, and collision hazards along its flight pathways.
Adult Black-capped Petrel sitting on its nest near Boukan Chat, Haiti (Photo by SoulCraft)
In 2011, the team from EPIC’s partner foundation, Grupo Jaragua, led by Ernst Rupp and consisting of an intrepid group of young field assistants, crossed the border from the Dominican Republic into Haiti and began searching for nesting endangered Black-capped Petrels on the slopes just above Boukan Chat. The team knew little of the village of Boukan Chat but were driven to search these hills, known as Morne Vincent, as they contained some of the last forested areas in Haiti and therefore were likely home to nesting petrels. That year, on that first mission to this area, the team discovered the first known active Black-capped Petrel nests ever recorded.
Petrel team member Perrin using a camera to investigate a Black-capped Petrel nest near Boukan Chat, Haiti (Photo by SoulCraft)
The Forests and the Farmers
The nesting colony on the forested slopes of Morne Vincent are immediately adjacent to the farming areas of Boukan Chat. These forests and slopes serve as a natural water catchment for the agricultural areas. While surveying on Morne Vincent, the petrel team made introductions with the farmers in the village. Realizing that preserving the forests of this area was crucial to conserving petrel habitat, the team from Grupo Jaragua, along with its partners from EPIC, JACSEH, SoulCraft, and Plant with Purpose endeavored to work alongside these farmers to conserve petrel habitat through sustainable agriculture, increased youth environmental education programming, and improved community savings programs that increase economic resiliency in the face of natural disasters (or a global pandemic!)
The evolution of our Black-capped Petrel conservation initiatives in Boukan Chat and the immediate impact they made on preserving local populations of the petrel, have made it the flagship program of the overall effort to preserve the petrel. With the idea of conserving the petrel through poverty alleviation, our initiatives penetrated most aspects of the Boukan Chat community.
Sustainable Agriculture in Action in Boukan Chat
As part of our sustainable agriculture program in Boukan Chat, we supported the creation of 22 Village Savings Farm Groups, made up of 2,600 people from 409 family farms. Within this program, we do classroom lessons that explain the theory behind sustainable agriculture. Specifically, farmers learned how improved human land use and crop management leads to higher yields, less soil erosion, and increased family incomes. In the field with the farmers, we have together created 520 compost piles, controlled 1,200 linear meters of gullies, installed 6,750 linear meters of anti-erosive barriers, and replaced 96 gallons of chemical pesticides with natural pesticides. Annually, the farm groups together save about $56,280. What do all these numbers mean for the Black-capped Petrel? Less stress on the human communities and reduced encroachment into the last remaining forested nesting habitat of the petrel.
Farmers in Boukan Chat, Haiti working together to build a soil erosion barrier (Photo by Plant with Purpose)
As part of our youth environmental education program, we annually reach 3,600 students in Boukan Chat. Our programs focus on basic environmental themes such as soil and water conservation, the role of plants in the environment, and environmental stewardship in the community. With an eye towards the future, realizing that the youth of the community today will be the farmers of the community tomorrow, we are setting the foundation towards continued sustainable agricultural practices moving forward.
Petrel team members Jose Luis, Rene Jene, and Anderson Jean teaching a class on petrel biology to a school in Boukan Chat, Haiti (Photo by EPIC)
The Black-capped Petrel: A Village Icon
Along with the community, we celebrate the collaboration and commitment that we have made together to improve lives of both humans and petrels. We do this through sponsoring the local soccer team, who in turn wear a patch of the petrel on their soccer jerseys. We hire local artists to paint iconic images of the petrel on cisterns in the village. Annually, as part of the Black-capped Petrel Festival, we march together through the village, led by the Black-capped Petrel mascot and the local carnival band, and celebrate our successes together.
Black-capped Petrel mascot leading the parade for the Diablotin Festival in Boukan Chat, Haiti (Photo by EPIC)
The conservation of the imperiled Black-capped Petrel is about the long game. While we measure our success in short term impacts, true lasting success and firm conservation of the Black-capped Petrel will take decades to implement. Its about buy in with human communities that live among nesting petrels and supporting the improvement of those human lives so that those humans, in turn, are able to make the choice to both support their families at the same time as preserving the petrel. While we have had great success since the first nest was found in 2011, we look forward to the challenges that lay ahead.
This project is funded in part by the Betty Petersen Conservation Fund (BirdsCaribbean), the US Fish and Wildlife Service, the American Bird Conservancy, and numerous individual donors.
ADAM BROWN is a Senior Biologist with Environmental Protection in the Caribbean (EPIC). Adam oversees EPIC’s Black-capped Petrel Conservation Program and has been an active member of the International Black-capped Petrel Conservation Group since 2011. Adam has pioneered the use of radar to track Black-capped Petrels to their nesting colonies on Hispaniola, has led expeditions to locate petrels on islands throughout the Caribbean, and is a strong advocate of collaboration among petrel conservation organizations within the Caribbean region.
find out more about this project and the Black-capped petrel working group here & Here and in the wonderful Videos and articles below!
Rhiannon and Yvan from our Seabird Working Group recently had the chance to catch up with Juliana Coffey, one of the main seabird biologists working with the seabird populations and local communities in St Vincent and the Grenadines and Grenada, to hear about her recent seabird-related activities!
Juliana Coffey is leading EPIC’s seabird program in the Grenadines.
BC: How did you get involved with seabirds in general, and what is your experience with seabirds?
Juliana: I am originally from the island of Newfoundland, off of northeastern Canada. Newfoundland and its surrounding areas are home to millions of breeding seabirds, and our offshore waters are known as a “busy marine bird highway”. So, seabirds are a core part of our natural and cultural heritage: our fisherfolk have their own local names, folklore, superstitions, and knowledge of seabirds acquired over generations at sea.
I first became involved with seabirds when I was 16 through a summer internship at the local university. I was working as a field assistant for a well-known marine ornithologist who exposed me to seabird research and conservation. This was my first taste of field work, and first experience working directly with fisherfolk and indigenous communities on seabird issues. Over the next 20 years, I built up a significant amount of sea-time, including pelagic trips in the Atlantic, Arctic, Indian and Southern Oceans, and have lived at sea or in a tent for months at a time. I have been involved in various types of seabird research, including studies on satellite telemetry, marine debris, nest shelter construction, traditional knowledge collection, as well as outreach activities. Most of these activities have focused on seabirds in the Atlantic and Indian Oceans.
BC: Can you tell us about the Grenadines and how you ended up working with seabirds there?
Juliana: The Grenadines Island chain consists of about 80 islands, islets and cays spanning approximately 100 kilometers. We refer to this region as “transboundary” since these islands are politically divided between the nations of Grenada and Saint Vincent and the Grenadines. Despite there being numerous islands, only nine are inhabited.
The Grenadines archipelago consists of more than 80 islands, islets and cays which host globally and regionally significant seabird populations (Photo by J. James)
I first came to the Grenadines in 2011 through an internship at the Sustainable Grenadines organization on Union Island, where my work involved conducting bird surveys for the Caribbean Waterbird Census. Through this role, I started to become more familiar with Caribbean seabirds, as well as migrant species from North America. It was interesting to see the same species I recognised from my work further north, and to realize how far they travel on a yearly basis!
BC: You co-authored a book on Grenadines’ birds. Can you describe that project and explain how you incorporated local knowledge?
Birds of the Transboundary Grenadines Book (Coffey and Ollivierre 2019)
Juliana: In most of my prior work elsewhere, I always had a field guide to consult when I was challenged with identifying a bird, or wanted to know its habitat or range. Nothing of that sort existed at the time specifically for Saint Vincent and the Grenadines or Grenada. Because I had no idea what a mammoth task writing a field guide would be, I naïvely decided to initiate what ended up being quite a consuming project. Luckily, my co-author Aly Ollivierre (BirdsCaribbean) got involved very early on, and we were able to motivate each other through the process. We finally released the book last year.
Collecting local ecological knowledge of birds from residents of the Grenadines (Photo by A. Ollivierre)
I had spent many years working in the Canadian north on Inuit lands, where traditional knowledge and experience is valued, especially with regards to resource management issues, and I had worked on many projects that utilised this undocumented knowledge. When I began the bird book for the Grenadines, I wanted to gather as much information as possible. I was keen to gather local knowledge, local names, folklore and cultural appreciation of birds in the Grenadines and to include it in the book. The aim was to create a final product that would be of interest to the local communities and build a bridge between culture and conservation. The most rewarding part of this project was returning to the Grenadines with printed copies and showing individuals how their knowledge had been represented. This was an opportunity to preserve and promote this piece of heritage for future generations.
BC: You are now working as a Project Coordinator for Environmental Protection in the Caribbean (EPIC). Can you tell us how you became involved with EPIC and more about your role?
Brown Boobies at Lee Rock, Grenada (Photo by J. Coffey)
Juliana: I first became interested in EPIC when I learned of their monumental efforts to survey all the seabird breeding colonies throughout the Lesser Antilles between 2009-2010. These surveys documented three sites of global importance and 18 of regional significance, on remote and inaccessible islands in the Grenadines island chain. Prior to this, little was known about breeding seabirds on these islands. EPIC’s surveys put this archipelago on the map as one of the top breeding seabird hotspots in the region! Twelve seabird species breed on these islands and over thirty more species have been recorded. However, many of these populations are threatened by human activities such as illegal harvesting, the presence of rats, cats and goats, periodic vegetation control fires in colonies, and coastal development.
Magnificent Frigatebird colony on Battowia (Photo by J. Coffey)
I first became involved with EPIC as an Associate in 2017, and have been working as their Project Coordinator for the Grenadines program for the past two years. My role with EPIC includes a wide range of tasks, including fieldwork, training, and coordinating local citizen scientists, grant and report writing, and advocacy and outreach. My work involves enhancing awareness of threatened seabirds in the region in general, and promoting their protection locally and internationally. I work closely with the project team, including Natalia Collier (Program Director), Lystra Culzac (Lead Educator), and Quincy Augustine (Project Assistant).
BC: EPIC recently compiled a conservation plan for seabirds of the Grenadines. Please tell us more about this and how it developed?
Grenadines Seabird Management Plan
Juliana: The community-based conservation management plan was developed through stakeholder consultation throughout both nations. It draws together all available information on seabirds from these remote islands. The twelve breeding species were each given a profile including information on population size, their breeding distribution, and the timing of their annual cycles. The document also includes an overview of what threats exist on particular islands and throughout the region; the legal context for protection; human values for seabirds; information on what other endangered and endemic species are found on the islands; and finally, recommendations for future research and management. This is the first time much of this information has been presented side-by-side, and we hope that it can be used as a planning document for seabirds and island conservation in the Grenadines going forward.
Community consultations on Mustique (Photo by V. Thomas)
BC: Can you tell us more about your involvement in the training of citizen scientists?
Grenadines Seabird Guardians surveying seabirds at Grenadines’ islands (Photo by A. Ollivierre)
Juliana: Many of the breeding colonies in the Grenadines are remote and difficult to access. As there are over 80 islands and cays in the Grenadines, enforcement and monitoring is incredibly complicated and often not feasible due to the high costs and human input required. Nevertheless, many of these uninhabited islands are visited regularly by fisherfolk, tour operators and recreationists from nearby inhabited islands. We wanted to develop a program that could address the challenges of research and monitoring while increasing local awareness and involvement.
Grenadines Seabird Guardians surveying seabirds at Grenadines’ islands (Photo by J. Coffey)
Over the course of several years, through group and one-on-one trainings, we have formed a dedicated team of citizen scientists called the “Grenadines Seabird Guardians”. Members of this group visit seabird colonies and collect population estimates, as well as information on threats. I provide ongoing support to the Guardians on seabird identification and maintain a central database of observations. Communication within the group is primarily through WhatsApp where members can share their observations and provide support to one another. Some of the Guardians were recently involved in cleanups at offshore islands which host nesting seabirds, but which have not previously been the focus on conservation efforts.
BC: What kind of specific information are the Guardians reporting?
Juliana: Despite all the complications that Covid-19 restrictions have caused in 2020, this has actually been our best year for receiving reports from the Guardians. Anyone involved with seabird research would probably agree that studying seabirds is a great way to self-isolate! This year, we have received reports of seabird egg and chick harvesting, a threat previously identified by EPIC as one of the most pressing for seabirds in this region. We are also receiving reports of introduced mammal sightings, marine litter, vegetation control fires and human disturbance. Through this program, we have also documented rare sightings of seabirds such as Lesser Black-backed Gulls. The work is therefore enhancing our knowledge of how the region is used by non-breeding resident and migratory seabirds. In 2019, we also documented a thriving Magnificent Frigatebird colony on one of the islands. This turned out to be one of only four in the Lesser Antilles, and the only one known from the southern islands!
Threats in the Grenadines: Disturbance (Photo by J. Coffey)
Threats in the Grenadines: Harvesting (Anonymous)
Threats in the Grenadines: Introduced species (Photo by J. Coffey)
BC: There seem to be many human-induced threats in the Grenadines. What work is being done in terms of outreach and education?
Community outreach (Photo by L. Culzac)
Juliana: Because many of the threats are related to human activities, we are strategically making efforts to show people how important seabirds are to their culture and livelihoods in the Grenadines. Fisherfolk for example use seabirds to find fish, navigate and understand weather patterns. They have superstitions concerning certain species. For example, storm petrels are believed to indicate that bad weather is coming! Seabird guano fertilizes coral reefs and nearshore habitats adjacent to their colonies, which in turn benefits fisheries and tourism. Seabirds in many other areas have actually become viable ecotourism attractions, which is something we want to promote as an option for supplemental or alternative livelihoods in this heavily tourism-dependent region.
Wildlife Reserve sign installation (Photo by J. Coffey)
To reach the various groups involved in management, including the general public, we have designed a multi-faceted education program, targeting various age groups and sectors. Lystra Culzac, our Lead Educator, conducts school and community presentations and has recently drafted a school curriculum that we are aiming to integrate into the school systems in both nations. We have also recently launched a Waste-to-Art contest open to residents of Grenada and Saint Vincent and the Grenadines. Earlier in 2020 we released a mini-documentary which is intended to reach a wide audience, and we also issue monthly press releases to local and regional media. We have also designed and distributed posters and brochures concerning seabirds. We conducted an updated “harvest study” to determine the extent that seabird chick and egg consumption is still practiced. We also installed “Wildlife Reserve” signs on two major colonies with the help of several fisherfolk from Carriacou and Bequia. This was a nice transboundary collaboration between fisherfolk coming together for seabird protection.
School seabird presentations (Photo by L. Culzac)
Unfortunately, many islands in the Grenadines are privately owned, and listed on the international Real Estate market. A major hotel and resort development was recently announced for one of the regionally important colonies. Education and awareness can help to mitigate threats from human activity, but if the island is sold to a developer the seabird colonies can quickly disappear. We are working hard to ensure that this doesn’t happen.
BC: What other activities is EPIC hoping to undertake going forward?
EPIC and local partners have targeted islands with seabird colonies for marine litter removal (Photo D. Baker)
We are using the recent Conservation Plan as a guide for the activities that we undertake. We have recently added several other types of data collection to our citizen science program, which can easily be undertaken by the seabird guardians with minimal training. These include enhanced invasive species surveys using camera traps and tracking tunnels, assessments of the quantity of plastics in seabird nests and feather collection from seabird carcasses for heavy metal analysis. We are hoping to train others in the use of drones and other remote monitoring tools, given that the area is incredibly difficult and expensive to access. It is now over ten years since the last population census, so we are planning to conduct new surveys to allow a better idea of population trends. We also plan to do some telemetry work in the near future, in order to gauge the at-sea movements of some species while away from their colonies, and assess how much seabirds move back and forth between nations when searching for food. This work will hopefully promote the reality that seabirds are a shared resource. To successfully preserve them in areas such as the Lesser Antilles requires management cooperation from multiple nations.
EPIC and local partners have targeted islands with seabird colonies for marine litter removal (Photo by D. Baker)
One of the core items in the Conservation Plan is the formation of a transboundary wildlife working group, focused on seabirds, who met virtually for the first time in early November. This group consists of various stakeholders from both nations, such as fisherfolk, forestry officers, NGOs, tour operators and biologists. This group was put together to begin implementing priorities from the Conservation Plan, and to continue the momentum of participatory management.
We also recently undertook several beach clean-ups at known seabird colonies; this is the first time that these islands have received any attention for litter removal. We hope that these activities will ensure that seabirds have a safe place to nest and rear their young. As litter keeps arriving on these shores from both local and distant sources, we hope to continue these clean-ups during our regular seabird surveys.
BC: What is your favorite part of your work in the region?
Project Assistant Quincy Augustine and Wildlife Biologist Wayne Smart lead a team of Grenadian biologists conducting seabird surveys at Diamond Rock (Photo by Q. Augustine)
Juliana: Just as seabirds unite air, land and sea, we have been able to unite people in both nations (and beyond), through seabirds. With our Seabird Guardians program, it has been wonderful to see individuals take leadership roles, and also to deploy multi-disciplinary teams that are able to learn from each other. This has enabled us to discover much along the way, such as the Magnificent Frigatebird colony on Battowia. Such discoveries highlight the need to take swift conservation action in the region.
The small and seemingly insignificant moments are really the most memorable. For example, during a fisherfolk consultation last year, one younger fisherman expressed a lot of interest in learning more about seabirds, as he was aware that it could make him a more successful fisherman. Cases such as this provide positive feedback that our discussions with community members are having an impact, and that individuals are able to find links to their own livelihoods about why seabirds matter. I suppose my favorite part overall is that, despite populations in the Grenadines being highly threatened, the seabird colonies are still quite remarkable. This is really at the core of why we do that we do, and to speak up for these seabirds who cannot advocate for themselves.
We thank Juliana and the team at EPIC for their efforts on seabird conservation in the Grenadines, and look forward to hearing more about EPIC’s activities in the future. For more information on the work that EPIC does, please visit the organization’s website at www.epicislands.org or follow its Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/epicislands
Grenadines Seabird Guardian Vaughn Thomas conducting a seabird survey (Photo by J. Coffey)
Brown Noddy and chick in the Tobago Cays Marine Park (Photo by J. Coffey)
Brown Noddies incorporating marine litter into nest construction (Photo by J. Coffey)
International Coastal Cleanup (ICC) at Mabouya Island with local partners Ocean Spirits and Kipaji Inc. (Photo by V. Thomas)
Veterinarian Dr. Kenrith Carter (Grenada) generously assists with injured seabird rehabilitation (Photo by K. Charles)
Petit Canouan (Saint Vincent and the Grenadines) hosts more than 40,000 pairs of Sooty Terns (J. Coffey)
Goat presence at globally and regionally important seabird colonies (Photo by J. Coffey)
Project Assistant Quincy Augustine and Wildlife Biologist Wayne Smart lead a team of Grenadian biologists conducting seabird surveys at Diamond Rock (Photo by Q. Augustine)
Grenadian biologists conducting a seabird survey at Diamond Rock (Photo by A. Mitchell)
“Birds of the Transboundary Grenadines” authors presenting a book to Mayreau fisherman Philman Ollivierre (Photo by V. Ollivierre)
Brown Noddies incorporating marine litter into nest construction (Photo by J. Coffey)
Kate Charles (Ocean Spirits) coordinating a clean up at a seabird colony (Sandy Island), Grenada (Photo by K. Drew)
School presentation on Petite Martinique (Photo by V. Thomas)
Wildlife Reserve sign installed on Battowia, a globally important seabird nesting island (Photo by V. Thomas)
Laughing Gull and Grenadines Pink Rhino Iguana endemic subspecies (Photo by J. Coffey)
Lystra Culzac conducting community outreach on Grenadines’ seabirds (Photo by EPIC)
Lystra Culzac conducting a school presentation on seabirds (Photo by EPIC)
Magnificent Frigatebirds nesting at Battowia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines (Photo by J. Coffey)
Brown Pelicans are present in the Grenadines in abundance during non-breeding season (Photo by J. Coffey)
Dr. Kenrith Carter conducting a necropsy on a Laughing Gull, assisted by Kate Charles (Ocean Spirits) and Vaughn Francis (Tropical Adventures) (Photo by V. Thomas)
Marine litter at seabird colonies (Photo J. Coffey)
Red-billed Tropicbird on nest (Photo by J. Coffey)
Red-billed Tropicbird chick (Photo by J. Coffey)
Red-footed Boobies nest in globally important numbers at sites in the Grenadines (Photo by J. Coffey)
Grenadines Seabird Guardian conducting a seabird survey (Photo by J. Coffey)
Grenadines Seabird Guardian citizen scientists (Photo by A. Ollivierre)
The Grenadines archipelago provides important habitat for non-resident and migratory seabirds (Photo by J. Coffey)
Field training trip with Grenadines Seabird Guardians (Photo J. Coffey)
EPIC and local partners have targeted islands with seabird colonies for marine litter removal (Photo by D. Baker)
EPIC and local partners have targeted islands with seabird colonies for marine litter removal (Photo D. Baker)
Lystra Culzac and team conducting community outreach on Saint Vincent (Photo by EPIC)
Local field team member preparing to climb into a Ridgway’s Hawk nest (Photo by Eladio Fernandez)
For almost everyone 2020 has been a year of challenges and unexpected changes. The onset of COVID-19 has required all of us to adapt in unforeseen ways. For those working on the Ridgway’s Hawk Conservation Project in Dominican Republic, it has been a year full of surprises, compromises and hope. Find out from Marta Curti what has happened with Ridgway’s Hawk and efforts to promote its conservation in the DR since COVID hit.
Over the past ten years, The Peregrine Fund has invested heavily in recruiting, hiring and training a local team of dedicated, hard-working and passionate parabiologists – local community members who assist conservationists working in the field. We believe our conservation projects can only be successful when they have the support, cooperation and involvement of local people. We believe in this so strongly that a major goal is to build sustainability by eventually having it managed entirely by locals. In a normal year we rely a great deal on our in-country staff, but 2020 put them to the test. They took up the challenge. Even though neither our project manager, Thomas Hayes, nor I were able to travel to Dominican Republic during 2020, our teams on the ground kept working despite the pandemic. Remarkably, they have achieved most of the project objectives to date.
The Most Successful Breeding Year
In 2009, we began a Ridgway’s Hawk reintroduction program in Punta Cana. Prior to that, hawks had not been documented in the area for decades. Thanks to this program, we observed the first successful breeding attempt in 2013, when a young male hatched and fledged from a wild nest. Each year thereafter, the population has been growing steadily. We are very happy to report that 2020 has been the most successful nesting season in Punta Cana to date! During this breeding season, our team monitored 18 pairs of Ridgway’s Hawks, 17 of which made nesting attempts. A whopping 21 nestlings successfully fledged, and our crew was able to band 18 of them. Placing bands on young birds is a way for us to monitor the survival of the fledglings and their dispersal patterns.
Some Hitches and Delays
While our field work continued quite smoothly, we had to postpone a few important activities due to COVID-19. First, we postponed releasing any additional young hawks at our second reintroduction site (Aniana Vargas National Park) until 2021. Despite this setback, our team continued to monitor the hawks we had released there in 2019. While it did not observe any successful breeding attempts this season, a few bonded pairs and some nest building activity were reported!
Adapting to the Pandemic with Online Education
Ridgway’s Hawk adult (photo by John Hannan)
Our education and community outreach programs were negatively affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. We were unable to conduct face-to-face education outreach for most of 2020, and we had to postpone our pilot education campaign which had been scheduled for June.
This is disappointing after such great success in 2019 where, in October alone, we had reached 1,600 adults and children through our environmental outreach program. We were also unable to build on 2019’s outreach momentum. We had distributed 10 chicken coops, held 3 workshops (reaching 34 people, 19 of which were teachers) and visited 18 communities and 4 schools. However, islanders and conservationists are always willing and able to adapt to adverse situations. Although we could not engage in any live Ridgway’s Hawk Day activities this year, we hosted an online presentation followed by a question and answer session with members of our field teams in Los Limones and Punta Cana. We had 17 participants for this event.
An Exciting New Education Guide Goes Bilingual
Children from Santo Domingo spent a morning learning about birds of prey and engaging in art activities related to the Critically Endangered Ridgway’s Hawk (Photo by ZOODOM)
We designed and printed new bilingual education materials (in Spanish and Haitian Creole). We provided some of these materials to our counterparts in Haiti for their community education activities. We continue to work on the text and design of our raptor-based environmental education guide, which we originally planned to distribute only in the Dominican Republic. The scope of the guide has now grown, and it will be made available to educators throughout the Caribbean, available in English, Haitian, and Creole Spanish.
Happily, last month, we were able to begin face-to-face educational programs on a limited basis. Partnering with the local platform ZOODOM, we worked with 12 children and 8 adults. They saw a live Red-tailed Hawk and Ashy-faced Owl and then received a short presentation on the Ridgway’s Hawk. Afterwards, the children colored a picture of the Ridgway’s Hawk.
The COVID Experience Has Taught Resilience
As we look to 2021, a great deal of uncertainty remains regarding travel and our ability to carry out face-to-face programs. Our main concern is the safety of our teams and the people in the communities where we work. However, what 2020 has taught us is that we are resilient and so is the Ridgway’s Hawk. Despite the pandemic, this year’s results and the efforts of our team truly give us hope that our project’s sustainability goals are achievable. The long-term protection of this Critically Endangered raptor is also making progress, before our very eyes. We want to thank the Betty Petersen Conservation Fund and all its supporters for making this work possible. Even in the midst of a global pandemic, please rest assured that we will carry on the work and the dream of community-based conservation.
Children from Santo Domingo spent a morning learning about birds of prey and engaging in art activities related to the Critically Endangered Ridgway’s Hawk (Photo by ZOODOM)
Gabriela Diaz, a biologist and environmental education with the The Peregrine Fund, works with children from Santo Domingo to teach them about birds of prey and the Critically Endangered Ridgway’s Hawk (Photo ZOODOM).
Coloring in a Ridgway’s Hawk (Photo by ZOODOM)
Find out more about the work of The Peregrine Fund to save this critically endangered raptor and read past updates from the project here:
The White-breasted Thrasher (Ramphocinclus brachyurus) is an Endangered songbird with an extremely small and increasingly fragmented range. Over 80% of the global population is found in Saint Lucia, most of it within the Mandelé range, which is considered the stronghold for the species at about 1,000 adults. (the remaining 20% is in Martinique). Bela Barata, Field Programme Officer with Durrell Wildlife Conservation Trust, takes us into the field to find and study this elusive bird.
A pair of White-breasted Thrashers in the wild (Photo by Robert Curry, 2007)
On a sunny February morning, beneath the canopy of dry scrub forest along the central East Coast of Saint Lucia, staff of Durrell Wildlife Conservation Trust, Saint Lucia National Trust and the Division of Forestry prepared to complete the day’s task: checking camera traps in White-breasted Thrasher territory. One factor that limits reproductive success of this bird is nest predation by native predators such as the Saint Lucia boa constrictor and non-native predators such as rats, cats, and mongoose. The team had recently installed a network of camera traps, which take photos when trigged by motion, across the Mandelé range to get an indication of potential predator abundance in the area. These cameras were being monitored on a regular basis by Durrell and our partners.
Saphira Prepares to Meet the Thrasher
This assignment would turn out to be a great occasion for Saphira Hunt, Conservation Assistant at the Saint Lucia National Trust and Durrell’s Project Officer. Saphira has been working to raise people’s awareness to conserve this endangered bird for a number of years. Surprisingly, she has never seen a thrasher in the bush. On that day, however, while checking the cameras, she would come across the Endangered White-breasted Thrasher for the very first time in her life.
Saphira was thrilled with the opportunity and she vividly recalls her excitement: ‘We were trekking into Fer de Lance (Saint Lucia pit viper) territory with two tasks at hand. One was to check on the camera traps placed in the thrashers’ nesting sites and the second task was to see a White-breasted Thrasher live in its habitat—a first for me. Adorned with knee high snake gators, rubber boots, machetes, and snake hooks, we set off on the first trail ever, vigilant for any Fer de Lance along the way. The first camera trap was 5 meters ahead. Guided by a GPS unit, we walked single file; I strategically placed myself between two Forestry Officers each wielding a machete. I figured this positioning would decrease my chances of encountering the venomous Fer de Lance. As much as I was excited to see the White-breasted Thrasher in the wild, it would also be my first time seeing the Fer de Lance in the wild.’
Saphira Hunt, Conservation Assistant at Saint Lucia National Trust and Durrell’s Project Officer, ready for work and moments before spotting a White-breasted Thrasher in the wild. (photo by Durrell Wildlife)
The Sound of Silence (and the Thrasher’s Call)
As we trotted on, we kept our ears and eyes peeled, looking to the ground in hope of seeing the bird thrashing in the leaf litter or calling out to a mate. The lead Forest Officer spotted the first camera trap, while our team got ready to check the SD card for photos of potential predators. The area was scanned for any presence of Fer de Lance. We checked the first camera, and then another one. While we were on the move, a member of our team spotted the thrasher. Everyone stopped to admire, and then silence ruled: we heard nothing but the thrasher’s call.
Saphira describes her first sighting: ‘Onward, forward we went, checking two more camera traps along the trail. Suddenly, we heard the distinctive call of the White-breasted Thrasher. Pius Haynes (Senior Wildlife Conservation Officer of the Forestry Division) moved slowly forward, trying to spot the pair. There they were, perched on a low hanging branch. Everyone moved aside to allow me to quietly walk up to meet Pius where he pointed out the White-breasted Thrasher to me. Oh, what a sight! With their dark topcoats and blinding white under bellies, they were a stunning pair. I stood there in total silence letting the sounds of the forest fill my senses as I watched in awe.’
Pius Haynes sets up a camera trap at the correct height to take photos of our target mammal species. The camera is triggered by motion and will take a photo when an animal passes by (Photo by Jennifer Mortensen)The team getting prepared to check camera traps in White-breasted Thrasher territory. (photo by Durrell Wildlife)
An Action Plan Took Shape in 2014
Saphira experienced a unique moment; the view of a rare and magnificent bird is something hard to forget. The White-breasted Thrasher was once more widespread in Saint Lucia, but the population is thought to be declining due to fragmentation of dry forest, the thrasher’s habitat, and increased depredation by non-native invasive species, such as rats, domestic cats, and mongoose. Our collaborator, Jennifer Mortensen from the University of Arkansas has been studying the ecology of the White-breasted Thrasher since 2006 and co-wrote the Species Action Plan (produced in 2014). Jennifer describes with great satisfaction how it feels to see a conservation plan being put forward for this species:
“I remember the day. It was 2014. A beautiful February afternoon. This was my 8th trip to Saint Lucia, but the first time visiting during the “winter.” Clear skies, slight breeze, low humidity, few mosquitos. Why had I always come during the “summer” rainy season? Well, for one, the mangoes. But more importantly, I suppose, the rainy season is the breeding season for the White-breasted Thrasher. And I love that bird. They are kings of the dry forest. They are spunky. Some say they have an understated elegance that is unrivalled across the Caribbean. And they are Endangered, which is why we met that afternoon in Dennery in February of 2014 to hash out the species’ first conservation plan. This plan, called the Gòj Blan Plan after the thrasher’s local Kwéyòl name, leads directly to the work we are doing now, six years later. To see those discussions and all that planning turning into conservation action is really exciting.”
Jennifer Mortensen, from the University of Arkansas, retrieving camera trap data with a team of conservationists from the Saint Lucia Forestry Department, including Stephen Lesmond, Therence Eugene, Jeannette Victor, and Jonathan Cornibert (from right to left). (photo by Durrell Wildlife)
Jennifer recently returned to Saint Lucia to support implementation of our White-breasted Thrasher project. She was a little nervous to return to Saint Lucia after six years away. She recalled, “While I’d kept in touch with friends and colleagues, and often thought about thrashers (still analysing field data), I didn’t know what to expect. However, seeing the Pitons as we approached the island, the colourful roofs of Vieux Fort, the faces of friends at airport arrivals, and then finally, being back in the bush with the thrashers—it felt, at once, like no time and all the time had passed. Birds we banded in 2012, now 8 years older, were still thrashing about in the leaf litter only 60m from where we last encountered them.”
Betty Petersen Grant Supports Predator Study
We are working with a wide range of collaborators, partners, and funders to save and protect this endangered bird. With the support of BirdsCaribbean’s Betty Petersen Conservation Fund, our current work is looking into nest predation and investigating the abundance and activities of invasive predators like the mongoose. Predation is considered the primary cause of White-breasted Thrasher nest failure. It is also suspected to be the most important cause of juvenile mortality. Data we collect on non-native predator abundance and locations via our camera trap network will serve as a baseline and will assist us in the design of a non-native predator control programme, which is the next step of the project.
Non-native mammal predators caught on our network of camera traps. Starting bottom left and moving clockwise: mongoose, opossum, rats, cat. (photo by Durrell Wildlife)
These activities are based on the Gòj Blan Species Action Plan and will help determine if directed non-native predator control is a viable management strategy to improve nesting success of the White-breasted Thrasher or whether efforts should be focused on other management strategies. We have a dedicated team comprised of wildlife officers, naturalists, and conservationists from the Saint Lucia Forestry Department, Saint Lucia National Trust, and Durrell Wildlife Conservation Trust. Together, and with BirdsCaribbean support, we are ready to promote the conservation of the White-breasted Thrasher in Saint Lucia. We look forward to reporting back after our next field season!
COVID-19 UPDATE
First case of Covid-19 in Saint Lucia was recorded in March 2020, followed by the government announcement of restricted rules to contain the spread of the virus: international flights were prohibited, a curfew was imposed, only essential shops remained opened, and schools were closed.
Our 2020 project goals of beginning the non-native predator control program and schools-based outreach activities could clearly not go on as planned. With schools closed, awareness activities will be postponed until the next academic year. Given the major disruption in international shipping, the equipment needed to implement the invasive species control program could not be delivered, causing us to shift this activity to next year as well. However, all was not put off… Ahead of us was the challenging task of completing another season of White-breasted Thrasher nest monitoring, initially proposed to start shortly after the predator control program in May 2020.
A Safe and Successful Nest Monitoring Season
Field activities were on-hold until July 2020, which is when the government granted permission to start reopening businesses and offices, following specific guidance and safety measures. Since outdoor activities such as fieldwork were considered safe, our team could proceed with nest monitoring. Bela Barata, Programme Officer for Durrell Wildlife Conservation Trust, said ‘of primary concern was the health and safety of our local staff, who are essential in delivering fieldwork and collecting all the data that underlie our efforts to save and protect the White-breasted Thrasher’.
In Saint Lucia, White-breasted Thrashers may breed between April and September, so we had to act quickly if we wanted to get a good sample of nests to monitor this year: ‘we had to adapt to the current scenario, make appropriate changes to deploy a reasonable survey effort and also ensure this could be done in the safest way possible’, said Bela. To safely deliver this activity, we reduced the field team to two people to ensure social distancing and used trail cameras to ‘watch’ nests. The cameras allowed us to reduce site visits to only once per week where we simply retrieved camera data, limiting contact between team members.
Camera traps were successfully installed in July 2020 and deployed for 1½ months. We recorded a total of 19 White-breasted Thrasher nests during this period, with nests occurring across each of our four field sites. Most importantly, by the end of the monitoring season, our team was well and healthy. We are now working to share the dataset, which contains thousands of photos. With this data our team will be able to calculate nest success, stages of nest failure, nest visitation by potential predators, and depredation events.
The success of this season survey under a global pandemic scenario was only made possible due to a well-coordinated response and the support of multiple partners. Saint Lucia National Trust and Durrell Project Officer, Saphira Hunt, was able to put together all equipment needed for field work in a noticeably short time. Saint Lucia Forestry Department staff was on stand-by, ready to install the cameras at any moment. Our White-Breasted Thrasher expert, Jennifer Mortensen from the University of Arkansas, worked quickly to provide a revised and updated monitoring protocol, setting a step-by-step guide that supported our field team without in-person supervision. From all lessons learnt, the delivery of the nest monitoring this year proved that we have a terrific in-country capacity, which is the bedrock of a relationship of trust and crucial for the long-term sustainability of this project. Together, we are working to achieve one shared goal: saving the White-breasted Thrasher from extinction.
By Bela Barata. Bela is Project Officer with Durrell Wildlife Conservation Trust. She coordinates this project, providing logistic support to the team in the field to deliver project activities, and she provides regular updates on the activity plan.
Close-up of the White-breasted Thrasher (Photo by Hank Tseng and Adams Toussaint)
Celebrate World Migratory Bird Day (WMBD) with us in our virtual “Birds Connect Our World” edition! Have fun learning about a new migratory bird every day. We have colouring pages, puzzles, activities, and more. Download for free and enjoy nature with your family at home.
Migratory Bird of the Day: Black-and-white Warbler
Our final ‘migratory bird of the day’ is the distinctive Black-and-white Warbler. These active little birds are easily recognised by the bold black-and-white stripes over their entire body and head. Look closely and you’ll see that some birds have black ear patches while others have gray. The ones with black are adult males. Females and immature birds are also paler and have a white throat.
Black-and-white Warblers creep up and down the trunks and branches of trees, probing in the bark with their slightly down-curved bill for insects and spiders. They can even hang upside down as they feed—an extra-long hind claw helps them hold onto and move around on bark. Their local name in Jamaica is ‘Ants Bird’ or ‘Ants Picker,’ reflecting their fondness for picking ants off of tree bark.
Black-and-white Warblers breed in forests across eastern parts of the US and Canada. Starting in late August, this long distance migrant heads south to winter in Florida, Mexico, Central America, northern South America, and the Caribbean. During winter these warblers can be found across the Caribbean, although they are more common in the Bahamas, Greater Antilles, Cayman Islands, and Virgin Islands. This species clearly enjoys the Caribbean, as June is the only month of the year when it has not been recorded in the region!
Black-and-white Warblers can be found in a wide range of habitats. As well as forests and woodlands, they can be seen in gardens, shade-coffee plantations, wetlands, and mangroves. These warblers are very territorial, even during winter! They will chase away any other Black-and-white Warblers who come into their ‘patch,’ even if they are feeding with a group of other species. Learn more about this species, including its range, photos, and calls here.
Colour in the Black-and-white Warbler!
Download the page from Migratory Birds of the West Indies Colouring Book. Use the photos below as your guide, or you can look up pictures of the bird online or in a bird field guide if you have one. Share your coloured-in page with us by posting it online and tagging us @BirdsCaribbean #WMBD2020Carib
Listen to the calls of the Black-and-white Warbler
The calls of the Black-and-white Warbler are a sharp “chit” or “pit.”
Puzzle of the Day
Click on the images below to do the puzzles. You can make the puzzle as easy or as hard as you like – for example, 6, 8, or 12 pieces for young children, all the way up to 1,024 pieces for those that are up for a challenge!
Male Black-and-white Warbler on Tree. Like nuthatches, Black-and-white Warblers creep up and down the trunks and branches of trees, probing in the bark with their slightly down-curved bill for insects and spiders (Photo by Hemant Kishan)Female Black-and-white Warbler Foraging on Tree. She has gray ear-patches rather than black, and a paler chest. In winter they can be found in forests and woodlands, gardens, shade-coffee plantations, wetlands, and mangroves (Photo by Hemant Kishan)
Activity of the Day
FOR KIDS: We have met many migratory birds during this series. You can see all of them here in this colourful graphic! Use this as a reminder and test your memory with our Migratory Bird Memory Game . Can you match up all the pictures of the different migratory birds to their names? Each correct match will reveal an interesting fact.
FOR KIDS AND ADULTS:
Take a walk and see if you can spot any migratory warblers, look up in the trees to look for any Black-and-white Warblers creeping along the trunk or branches. Use a bird field guide or the FREE Merlin bird ID app to help you identify the birds you are seeing.
Enjoy the videos below of Black-and-White Warblers in the wild! The first shows a bird feeding on a tree – do you think it’s a male or a female? You can see the typical ‘creeping’ behaviour of this Warbler, as it moves across the bark looking for food. The second video shows a male perched up in a tree, you can hear him singing. They mainly sing only during the breeding season, in winter you might hear their “chit” calls.
Visit MigratoryBirdDay.org for many more free activities and resources to learn about migratory birds, their threats and conservation actions you can take.
Celebrate World Migratory Bird Day (WMBD) with us in our virtual “Birds Connect Our World” edition! Have fun learning about a new migratory bird every day. We have colouring pages, puzzles, activities, and more. Download for free and enjoy nature with your family at home.
Migratory Bird of the Day: Ovenbird
Ovenbirds are olive-brown above and have bold dark streaks on a white breast. Their coloration might make you think you’re looking at a small thrush, but these birds are actually warblers! They also have an orange crown stripe bordered by black on both sides and a white eyering. Ovenbirds also behave like thrushes. They are often seen on the ground, with their tail up in the air, searching through leaf litter for food. If you look carefully you’ll notice they walk, rather than hop like a thrush.
You might wonder how this bird got its curious name. Ovenbirds are named after the shape of the nest. These are made on the ground and have a woven dome above them, which looks like an outdoor bread-oven. Ovenbirds breed in forests across the northeastern US and Canada. Although they are not the most colourful birds they do make their presence known during the breeding season with their very loud tea-cher, tea-cher, tea-cher calls.
Ovenbirds are long distance migrants and head south in fall to spend the winter in Mexico, Central America, Florida and the Caribbean. They are most commonly seen in the Bahamas and Greater Antilles, from August through to May. They also winter in the Virgin and Cayman Islands, and can sometimes be seen in the Lesser Antilles. Our winter visitors will be birds that nested on the Eastern Side of the Appalachian mountains.
During winter Ovenbirds can be found in a wide variety of habitats, including forests, woodlands, scrub, mangroves, and shade coffee plantations, often near streams or pools. Ovenbirds search for ants, beetles, and other insects on the forest floor. They bob their heads and flick their tails when walking, but their dull colours make them difficult to see. Ovenbirds often migrate with storm fronts, which affect the route they take. If these fronts pass by cities large numbers of Ovenbirds can be victims of collisions with tall buildings. Learn more about this species, including its range, photos, and calls here.
Colour in the Ovenbird!
Download the page from Migratory Birds of the West Indies Colouring Book. Use the photos below as your guide, or you can look up pictures of the bird online or in a bird field guide if you have one. Share your coloured-in page with us by posting it online and tagging us @BirdsCaribbean #WMBD2020Carib
Listen to the calls of the Ovenbird
During the winter Ovenbirds do not tend to sing, but do make a sharp “tsuk” call which they repeat.
Puzzle of the Day
Click on the images below to do the puzzles. You can make the puzzle as easy or as hard as you like – for example, 6, 8, or 12 pieces for young children, all the way up to 1,024 pieces for those that are up for a challenge!
Ovenbird Singing . Ovenbirds breed in forests across the northeastern US and Canada they have a loud their very loud tea-cher, tea-cher, tea-cher song during the breeding season. (Photo by BN Singh)Ovenbird on ground. Ovenbirds search for ants, beetles, and other insects on the forest floor. They bob their heads and flick their tails when walking, but their dull colours make them difficult to see. (Photo by Hemant Kishan)
Activity of the Day
FOR KIDS: We have met many migratory birds during this series. Download this poster showing some of them! On the poster you can see some routes of the amazing migratory journeys that these birds make- twice every year! The poster is also available to download here in French. There are also version in Spanish for CubaPuerto Rico and the Dominican Republic.
FOR KIDS AND ADULTS:
Take a walk and see if you can spot any migratory warblers, look up in the trees to look for any American Redstarts flitting about amongst the leaves. Use a bird field guide or the FREE Merlin bird ID app to help you identify the birds you are seeing.
Enjoy the videos below of Ovenbirds in the Wild! The first shows a bird on the ground, searching for food. This is typical behaviour for Ovenbirds, notice it walks rather than hops! The second video shows a bird perched up in a tree and singing during the breeding season. You will hear the distinctive and loud “Tea-cher, Tea-cher Tea-chear” refrain.
Visit MigratoryBirdDay.org for many more free activities and resources to learn about migratory birds, their threats and conservation actions you can take.
Celebrate World Migratory Bird Day (WMBD) with us in our virtual “Birds Connect Our World” edition! Have fun learning about a new migratory bird every day. We have colouring pages, puzzles, activities, and more. Download for free and enjoy nature with your family at home.
Migratory Bird of the Day: Black-throated Blue Warbler
A striking, bold colored Warbler that you will be able to recognize and identify even as a beginning birder! Just looking at the male’s colors will give you his name: predominantly slate-blue head and back, black throat, face and sides, and snow-white underparts – and here is your Black-throated Blue Warbler! Now it becomes difficult as he and his mate have almost nothing in common. As a matter of fact, this pair looks so different from each other that they were originally described as two separate species! She is greenish-gray above, light tan below, sports a white stripe above the eye, and a white arc below. The only fieldmark they share is a white little “handkerchief” tucked into their wings!
Black-throated Blue Warblers do not spend much time in the treetops so you will not get a case of “warbler neck” observing this bird! They prefer foraging for insects, small berries, and even sips of nectar from blossoms in the understory of the forest.
Black-throated Blue Warblers raise their families in the boreal forest of the Eastern Canadian Provinces, around the Great Lakes and the northeastern US down to the Carolinas and Tennessee. In September their migratory journey takes them south to the Bahamas, Cuba, Hispaniola, Cayman Islands, Jamaica, and Puerto Rico. There they remain until family responsibilities awaken within them and they begin their return trip north in April. Unlike other warblers that molt into “confusing” fall plumage, male Black-throated Blue Warblers keep their distinctive plumage year around.
Listen for their call during their visit to our region – a distinct “tick, tick, tick” coming from the thick understory. And don’t forget to get your bird bath or the soft spray of an upside down hose nozzle ready if you want to attract this little warbler jewel to your backyard!
Download the page from Migratory Birds of the West Indies Colouring Book. Use the photos below as your guide, or you can look up pictures of the bird online or in a bird field guide if you have one. Share your coloured-in page with us by posting it online and tagging us @BirdsCaribbean #WMBD2020Carib
Listen to the calls of the Black-throated Blue Warbler
The calls of the Black-throated Blue Warbler are a sharp repeated ‘tick’
Puzzle of the Day
Click on the images below to do the puzzles. You can make the puzzle as easy or as hard as you like – for example, 6, 8, or 12 pieces for young children, all the way up to 1,024 pieces for those that are up for a challenge!
Male Black-throated Blue Warbler with his striking easily recognised colours. Unlike other warblers that molt into “confusing” fall plumage, male Black-throated Blue Warblers keep their distinctive plumage year around (Photo by Paul Chung)Female Black-throated Blue Warbler . She looks so different from the male that they were originally described as two separate species! Look out for the small white patch on her wing to help identify her (Photo by Linda Petersen).
Activity of the Day
FOR KIDS: During migration we see many different warblers arriving in the Caribbean. They can be tricky to identify! For some warblers, if you look carefully at their colours, it can really help you to narrow down which species you are seeing. Help to hone your knowledge of warbler colour with our colour matching game. Look carefully at the pictures of each species and match to the correct colour palette. You can find the answers here.
FOR KIDS AND ADULTS:
Take a walk and see if you can spot any migratory warblers, you might see a Black-throated Blue Warbler. Use a bird field guide or the FREE Merlin bird ID app to help you identify the birds you are seeing.
Enjoy the videos below of Black-throated Blue Warblers spending the winter in Cuba! The first shows a male perched on the ground, you can see his beautiful blue plumage and black throat, which give this warbler its name. In the second you can see a female, she is not a colourful as the male but she has the small white patch in her wing, which gives away which species she is!
Visit MigratoryBirdDay.org for many more free activities and resources to learn about migratory birds, their threats and conservation actions you can take.
Celebrate World Migratory Bird Day (WMBD) with us in our virtual “Birds Connect Our World” edition! Have fun learning about a new migratory bird every day. We have colouring pages, puzzles, activities, and more. Download for free and enjoy nature with your family at home.
Migratory Bird of the Day: American Redstart
These small, active warblers flit around in trees and bushes giving flashes of their colourful plumage. Males are a striking mix of glossy-black upperparts, head and breast, with large, bright orange patches on the wings, tail and sides. Females and immature males have gray heads, olive-green backs, and yellow patches instead of orange. These lively birds frequently fan and flick their long, colourful tails and wings as they hop about in the foliage.
American Redstarts breed across northern parts of the US and Canada. They are long distance migrants, flying south to winter in Mexico, Central America, northern South America, and throughout the Caribbean. The birds that winter here are most likely to have come from breeding areas in eastern North American. They start arriving in late August and stay until early May.
American Redstarts eat insects, which they glean from leaves, or sally out to catch mid-air. The bright flashes of colour seen as these birds flick and droop their wings and fan their tail flushes insects out into the open, making them easier to catch. The flicking and fanning behavior is also used for communication between individuals.
During the winter American Redstarts can be found in all habitat types—swamps, gardens, mangroves, shade coffee plantations, scrub, woodland, and forests. In coffee plantations, they are known to feast on the borer beetle, the world’s most serious coffee pest, just when the beetles are attempting to invade maturing coffee berries. Research has shown that by helping to control this pest, redstarts increase the profits of coffee farmers in Jamaica by about 12%. American Redstarts are mainly migratory visitors in the Caribbean, but there are a few records of pairs breeding in Cuba! Learn more about this species, including its range, photos, and calls here.
Colour in the American Redstart!
Download the page from Migratory Birds of the West Indies Colouring Book. Use the photos below as your guide, or you can look up pictures of the bird online or in a bird field guide if you have one. Share your coloured-in page with us by posting it online and tagging us @BirdsCaribbean #WMBD2020Carib
Listen to the calls of the American Redstart
American Redstart calls are an emphatic sharp ‘chip’ which they often repeat.
Puzzle of the Day
Click on the images below to do the puzzles. You can make the puzzle as easy or as hard as you like – for example, 6, 8, or 12 pieces for young children, all the way up to 1,024 pieces for those that are up for a challenge!
Male American Redstart, with his striking mix of orange and black plumage. The bright flashes of colour seen as these birds flick and droop their wings and fan their tail flushes insects out into the open, making them easier to catch (Photo by Hank Halsey)Female American Redstart, fanning her tail, showing the large yellow patches. The flicking and tail-fanning behavior is also used for communication between individuals. (Photo by Linda Petersen)
American Redstart pair at their nest. American Redstarts breed across northern parts of the US and Canada. They are long distance migrants, flying south to winter in Mexico, Central America, northern South America, and throughout the Caribbean. (Photo by BN Singh)
Activity of the Day
FOR KIDS: So far we have met quite a few different types of warblers. How much can you remember about each one? Test your knowledge with our crossword puzzle all about warblers and their migration. If you are not sure of an answer you can check back to previous posts to find the warbler facts . And you can find the answers here.
FOR KIDS AND ADULTS:
Take a walk and see if you can spot any migratory warblers, look up in the trees to look for any American Redstarts flitting about amongst the leaves. Use a bird field guide or the FREE Merlin bird ID app to help you identify the birds you are seeing.
Enjoy the videos below of American Redstarts in the Wild! The first shows the male in his striking orange and black plumage. This video features his sweet song that he sings in spring and during the breeding season. In the second you can see a female American Redstart hopping through a mangrove in search of food. Finally the last video shows a Male flicking is tail as he feeds on small insects.
Visit MigratoryBirdDay.org for many more free activities and resources to learn about migratory birds, their threats and conservation actions you can take.
Celebrate World Migratory Bird Day (WMBD) with us in our virtual “Birds Connect Our World” edition! Have fun learning about a new migratory bird every day. We have colouring pages, puzzles, activities, and more. Download for free and enjoy nature with your family at home.
Migratory Bird of the Day: Belted Kingfisher
The Belted Kingfisher is easy to spot, sitting on a branch or wire overlooking water. It has a big head with a shaggy crest, stout pointed bill, and short legs. Both males and female birds have a slate-blue head and back, white collar and underparts with a blue breast band. Unlike many birds the female is more colorful than the male! They have an orange-brown lower band and sides. Juveniles are similar to adults, but with a browner chest band.
Belted Kingfisher breed across North America, from the southern US all the way up to Canada and Alaska. They nest in burrows in earth banks close to water. During the fall and winter some Belted Kingfishers will stay put, as long as there is plenty of unfrozen water for them to continue to feed in. Many others head south and spend the winter in Mexico, Central America, northern South America, and the Caribbean, where they can be seen from September to April. In most islands they are the only Kingfisher species present. But be careful not to confuse the Belted Kingfisher with the resident Ringed Kingfisher in Dominica, Martinique and Guadeloupe. This species is larger, has a heavier bill and more extensive reddish-brown underparts.
Belted Kingfishers live up to their name by catching and eating fish. They also eat crayfish, other crustaceans and insects. This diet means you are most likely to spot them close to water. They watch for fish perched on branches over water and telephone wires, then dive head-first to grab prey with their hefty bills. They also sometimes hover over water when fishing. Learn more about this species, including its range, photos, and calls here.
Colour in the Belted Kingfisher!
Download the page from Migratory Birds of the West Indies Colouring Book. Use the photos below as your guide, or you can look up pictures of the bird online or in a bird field guide if you have one. Share your coloured-in page with us by posting it online and tagging us @BirdsCaribbean #WMBD2020Carib
Listen to the calls of the Belted Kingfisher
Belted Kingfishers make distinctive loud ‘rattling’ calls – you might hear one before seeing it!
Puzzle of the Day
Click on the images below to do the puzzles. You can make the puzzle as easy or as hard as you like – for example, 6, 8, or 12 pieces for young children, all the way up to 1,024 pieces for those that are up for a challenge!
Male Belted Kingfisher, with a fish. These birds will plunge into the water head-first, from a perch to catch fish; or sometimes they can be seen hovering above the water as they search for fish. (Photo by Chuck Hantis)Juvenile Male Belted Kingfisher. During the fall and winter some Belted Kingfishers will stay put, as long as there is plenty of unfrozen water for them to continue to feed in. Many others head south and spend the winter in Mexico, Central America, northern South America, and the Caribbean (Photo by Daniel W Glenn)
Activity of the Day
FOR KIDS: Find out more about Belted Kingfishers with this colourful Information sheet. With more facts about their natural history, Including their breeding behaviour and what they eat. Also find out how they can be affected by plastic pollution.
FOR KIDS AND ADULTS:
Take a walk and see if you can spot any migratory birds. Use a bird field guide or the FREE Merlin bird ID app to help you identify the birds you are seeing.
Enjoy the videos below of Belted Kingfishers at the waters edge! The first is an amazing ‘perch eye’ view of a female hunting for, catching, and eating a fish! In the second you can see a male Belted Kingfisher calling from his perch.
Visit MigratoryBirdDay.org for many more free activities and resources to learn about migratory birds, their threats and conservation actions you can take.
Celebrate World Migratory Bird Day (WMBD) with us in our virtual “Birds Connect Our World” edition! Have fun learning about a new migratory bird every day. We have colouring pages, puzzles, activities, and more. Download for free and enjoy nature with your family at home.
Migratory Bird of the Day: Antillean Nighthawk
Querebebé! Querebebé! That is the Spanish name for the Antillean Nighthawk, and it is the sound you’ll hear at dusk when these birds take to the sky. (Local names in English-speaking countries are pid-i-mi-dix or gimme-me-bit). Look up and enjoy the show, because there’s nothing that isn’t awesome about Antillean Nighthawks.
Take for example their flight. You might at first think you’re seeing some sort of falcon because of their long, dark, pointed wings and their fast, agile flight. But an obvious white patch on the underside of the outer wing feathers will be the give-away that you’re seeing a nighthawk. And the somewhat erratic flight behavior you observe is the result of this large bird being in constant pursuit of airborne insects—from ballooning spiders to mayflies to mosquitos. To help them catch their aerial prey, Antillean Nighthawks have evolved wide mouths with a specialized jaw that can open both vertically and horizontally, creating a bigger “net.” They also have large and specially modified eyes that allow them to see acutely and in low-light conditions.
Antillean Nighthawks can be found throughout the northern Caribbean islands during their summer breeding season. Outside of that time, however, their whereabouts have remained mysterious. A few years ago in Guadeloupe, however, researchers caught a female Antillean Nighthawk on her summer nest, and tagged her with a solar-powered geolocator. A year later, she returned, and they were able to recapture her. When they downloaded the data of where she’d been during the rest of the year, they discovered that she had headed to South America, where she spent much of the time in the heart of the Brazilian rainforest! Read more about this incredible journey here.
During the day Antillean Nighthawks rest on limbs or on the ground where their mottled brown and gray plumage make them very difficult to see. Your best chance to see them is by taking a walk at dusk, listening for their characteristic call, “Querebebé!”. Learn more about this species, including its range, photos, and calls here.
Colour in the Antillean Nighthawk!
Download the page from Migratory Birds of the West Indies Colouring Book. Use the photos below as your guide, or you can look up pictures of the bird online or in a bird field guide if you have one. Share your coloured-in page with us by posting it online and tagging us @BirdsCaribbean #WMBD2020Carib
Listen to the calls of the Antillean Nighthawk
The calls of the Antillean Nighthawk are a distinctive “pid-i-mi-dix” or “querebebé”, often repeated.
Puzzle of the Day
Click on the images below to do the puzzles. You can make the puzzle as easy or as hard as you like – for example, 6, 8, or 12 pieces for young children, all the way up to 1,024 pieces for those that are up for a challenge!
Antillean Nighthawk, the coloration of these birds can make them perfectly camouflaged in their environment. This makes them hard to see- so listen out for their characteristic ‘Querebebé!’ calls (Photo by Dax Roman).Antillean Nighthawk takes flight. When you see them fly you might at first think you’re seeing some sort of falcon because of their long, dark, pointed wings and their fast, agile flight. But an obvious white patch on the underside of the outer wing feathers will be the give-away that you’re seeing a nighthawk. (Photo by Dax Roman)Antillean Nighthawk Chicks. Antillean Nighthawks breed in the Northern Islands of the Caribbean. They migrate south outside the breeding season. Until recently their destination was a mystery, but recent tracking has shown at least one bird headed to Brazilian rainforest! (Photo by Dax Roman)
Activity of the Day
FOR KIDS: The colours of the Antillean Nighthawk can make them blend in with their surroundings. Especially when they are sitting on the ground! This make then very hard to see. Can you spot all 7 hiding Antillean Nighthawks? Find the answers here.
FOR KIDS AND ADULTS:
Take a walk and see if you can spot any migratory birds. Use a bird field guide or the FREE Merlin bird ID app to help you identify the birds you are seeing.
Enjoy the videos below of the Antillean Nighthawks in the Caribbean! The first shows a bird perched on the branch of a tree, keeping perfectly still, to maintain its camouflage. In the second you can see an Antillean Nighthawk calling from the ground. In the final video you can see what Antillean Nighthawks look like when they are flying.
Visit MigratoryBirdDay.org for many more free activities and resources to learn about migratory birds, their threats and conservation actions you can take.
Yes, you read the headline right. We already know that birds enhance our well-being in so many remarkable ways. Now we are partnering with Spinning Arrow Yoga on a creative new series of classes that has a special new “twist” – a bird twist.
COVID-19 continues to have a major impact across the globe, and like everyone else we at BirdsCaribbean recognise the pandemic’s negative effects on our physical and mental health. Many of us still have restrictions on our movements, and on the number of people who can gather together. With all of these limitations in place for at least the foreseeable future, it is more important than ever to find a dynamic and welcoming online fitness class that will give us a little ‘me’ time.
Alex – finding some balance in Eagle pose (Garudasana)
We recently introduced you to our new well-being partner Spinning Arrow Yoga. We are collaborating with Founder Alex on our innovative range of rejuvenating Yoga & Birding Tours through the Caribbean. We are very excited about our first tour – scheduled for 10-19 March, 2022 – where we will practise yoga and go birding daily; visit places of cultural, historical and spiritual significance; cruise with whales; swim with turtles; and so much more on the stunning islands of St. Lucia, Dominica & Barbados. The tour has taken its first bookings! Click here to find out more about this incredible journey ‘Back to Nature…Back to Yourself’.
Birds of Yoga Online Classes – 15 Nov 2020, 10 AM EST
Now Alex – Founder of Spinning Arrow Yoga – is delighted to offer a series of online Yoga classes catering specifically to the birding community and to all those who love and appreciate birds. Each class in the ‘Birds of Yoga’ series will feature a gentle flow towards a different bird-themed ‘peak’ pose and a short talk from Birding the Islands’ Director, Ryan, about some of the fascinating species of birds that the poses are named after, and the Caribbean islands where you can find them.
If you’ve never participated in a live online Yoga class before, there’s no time like the present to try something new! The classes will be live-streamed on Zoom (which is free for individual users) and on Spinning Arrow Yoga’s Facebook page (also free).
The first class in the series, themed around the majestic Heron (Krounchasana) will be going live at 10am EST on Sunday 15 November. Practicing yoga in a live class from the comfort of your own home has never been so fly 😉
The classes are being offered on a donation basis with 100% of the proceeds going directly towards supporting BirdsCaribbean’s conservation efforts throughout the Caribbean region. Thanks in advance if you are able to help out!
Looking forward to seeing you on the virtual mat!
A Green Heron finding some balance of its own at Graeme Hall mangrove swamp, Barbados (photo by Alex Chenery)
To find out more about the Birding and Yoga Tour, and book your place, click here or contact Alex at spinningarrowyoga@gmail.com.
Some warblers are resident in the Caribbean year-round, some spend the whole winter with us and others are brief visitors in Fall and Spring. These beautiful, active little birds can sometimes be a challenge to identify! Gail Karlsson tells us about her warbler encounters in the Virgin Islands and provides some helpful hints for warbler watching.
Migrating warblers generally arrive in the Virgin Islands without great fanfare. They are small and don’t travel in big groups. Then after they land, they hide in the treetops or underbrush. And although they are songbirds, they usually sing to attract mates during their breeding season up north and are pretty quiet when they are here.
I only recently began looking for migrating warblers. It takes a lot of patience, but if you look carefully, you can probably spot some of these tiny travelers.
Adelaide’s Warblers On The Move
The Yellow Warblers I do see near the mangroves are mostly permanent residents. At first, I thought those were the only ones living in the Virgin Islands year-round, but then I heard that some Adelaide’s Warblers had begun to move over to the Virgin Islands from Puerto Rico. I learned about them from Richard Veit, a professor from the College of Staten Island and the City University of New York Graduate Center, who for many years brought students to St. John for a Tropical Ecology course.
A resident male Yellow Warbler, with distinctive chestnut streaking on his chest. Females and young Yellow Warblers are less brightly colored and do not have this streaking. Listen out for its sweet song when breeding or its metallic ‘chipping’ calls (Photo Gail Karlsson).
The Adelaide’s Warblers were first reported on St. Thomas in 2012. Then in January 2015, Professor Veit and his colleagues counted five near Lameshur Bay, far out on the south shore of St. John. They identified at least three different males that were singing and appeared to have established breeding territories. When they counted again in January 2016, there were eight birds. Soon after that, I trekked out along the south shore trail with a visiting birder friend and we were thrilled to actually see, and hear, a pair of them – although only after we spent quite a long time searching and waiting.
Adelaide’s Warblers recently started living in the Virgin Islands. This bird has gray upperparts and is yellow below. It can be found in woodlands and scrub, actively gleaning insects from leaves and twigs. It sings with sweet rapidly accelerating notes (Photo Richard Veit).
After the Storms
Then in January 2019, I had an unexpected opportunity to go out warbler hunting in connection with a field study to assess the impacts of Hurricanes Irma and Maria, which hit the islands hard in September 2017. Many resident birds were lost during the storms and others went hungry because the trees and plants they relied on as food sources were destroyed. The warbler field study was done by Robert Askins, a researcher from Connecticut College, and his colleague David Ewert from Michigan, who had done previous studies of birds in the Virgin Islands National Park on St. John.
When I went along on one of the early morning bird hunts, I was surprised that the experts were not actually looking for the warblers – just listening.
The Elusive Warblers: Keeping Ears and Eyes Open
Although warblers don’t usually sing unless they are breeding, they do make small ‘chip’ sounds to communicate with each other. I learned that there are slight differences in the ‘chips’ produced by different birds, which experts can recognize. I couldn’t do that, so I was mostly looking around for movement in the trees, but I did get interested in spotting warblers.
I started paying more attention when I heard little ‘chip’ sounds in the trees and spent more time quietly waiting for the birds to show themselves. After a while I began to be able to identify some of them by how they moved around.
It also helps to learn more about which types of migrating warblers visit the Virgin Islands, and what they look like.
Black and White Warblers generally crawl along a tree’s trunk or branches, looking for bugs.
Black and White Warblers are distinctively black-and-white striped birds, with males and females looking similar. They have an extra-long hind claw to help them hold onto bark as they crawl along trunks and branches, picking insects from within moss and bark. (Photo Gail Karlsson)
American Redstarts flit around in the tops of trees, using their bright tails to scare up insects.
Female American Redstart. She is grey and olive colored, you can see the yellow patches on her sides and tail, she also has yellow on the wings. Males are black with orangey-red patches in the same places. These are very active little birds, constantly hopping about in canopy of trees. (Photo Gail Karlsson)
Northern Parulas often quietly chase moths and other bugs in upland trees.
Northern Parula, these are tiny colorful warblers with bluish upper-parts, yellow throat and breast, white belly, two white wing bars and white eye-arcs. Note that males have black and reddish chest bands when breeding. There might be some faint remains of this still visible during fall migration (Photo Gail Karlsson)
Occasionally I will see a bright, yellow Prairie Warbler near the mangroves, bobbing its tail as it hunts for insects.
Prairie Warbler, with its bright yellow face and belly. Despite its name, the Prairie Warbler does not in fact breed in the open prairies. It breeds in forests and scrubby areas in the southeastern US. The entire population of this species spends the winter either in the Caribbean or Florida (Photo Gail Karlsson)
Northern Waterthrushes creep around low down in the wetlands hunting for insects and small crustaceans. They are usually well-concealed but announce their presence by making really loud ‘chips’.
Northern Waterthrush, although its name and coloration suggest that this bird is a thrush, it is actually a warbler. These birds migrate from Canada and the Norther US to spend the winter in the Caribbean, Central America, and northern South America. When you hear them call look out for them along the water’s edge bobbing their tails (Photo Gail Karlsson)
The Blackpoll Warblers’ Exhausting Journey
Recently, I was also excited to spot a few Blackpoll Warblers. Warblers generally move north in the spring to take advantage of the seasonal burst of plants and insects to feed their young. The Blackpolls go really long distances – some flying up from South America and then across the northern United States and Canada, as far west as Alaska. In breeding season, the male Blackpolls have distinctive black caps, and black and white streaks on their bodies.
Male Blackpoll Warbler summer, he has a distinctive black cap and white face. He also has orange legs. These birds weigh less than 14g, but they make some epic journeys on migration. They can fly nonstop for up to 3 days! (Photo Gail Karlsson)
In the fall, the Blackpolls look totally different. The males have no caps, and they all have a dull olive-greenish color.
Blackpoll Warbler winter. Both the male and female become more uniformly olive. But the orange legs and wing bars help to identify them. They can be found in many places, such as mangroves, scrubby areas, and woodlands (Photo Gail Karlsson)
On their way back to South America in the fall, the Blackpolls gather along the northern part of the east coast (a 3000-mile trip for the ones in Alaska). They wait for a night when there is a favorable tailwind blowing out of the northwest, and then take off. They head away from the coast far out into the Atlantic Ocean, flapping their tiny wings about 20 times per second. After a few tiring days, they get far enough south to be pushed back eastward towards South America by the trade winds.
A few Blackpolls sometimes stop in the Virgin Islands during their fall migration, though they don’t usually stay long. What a thrill to see them on their journey.
The Importance of Native Trees
For people living in the Caribbean, one of the best ways to be able to see wintering warblers is to preserve native trees that support a variety of insects. Non-native plants are often unattractive to local insects, and so are not useful for bug-eating birds. Also, cutting down trees, and using pesticides can eliminate important food supplies for birds.
It can be frustrating to try to see the visiting warblers. But I like the way that looking for birds gets me out exploring – walking in the woods or along the shoreline, feeling connected to the great rhythms of nature, and forgetting about the day’s troubles and turmoil for a while.
________________________________________
Gail Karlsson is an environmental lawyer, writer and photographer – author of The Wild Life in an Island House, plus the guide book Learning About Trees and Plants – A Project of the Unitarian Universalist Fellowship of St. John. She writes frequently about connecting with nature, including for the St. John Source. See gvkarlsson.blogspot.com and uufstjohn.com/treeproject. Follow her on Instagram @gailkarlsson.
This story is adapted in part from a recent St. John Source article.
Their entire population of Prairie Warblers spends the winter either in the Caribbean or Florida, making this a very important region for the species. During the winter Prairie Warblers like to live in coastal dry forests, mangroves, woodlands, orchards, and coffee farms; they may even show up in your garden!
BirdsCaribbean’s Bird Monitoring Group Working Group is developing an exciting new regional project to build capacity for more landbird monitoring in the Caribbean. It is essential to increase our knowledge about the status, trends, and habitat use of landbird populations as many species continue to decline. This includes our resident and endemic birds, as well as over 100 migratory species, many of them of conservation concern.
We plan to focus on developing a regional landbird monitoring program (modeled after our successful Caribbean Waterbird Census program). This will include training and resources to carry out:
Standardized Surveys – with different levels of monitoring available, depending on the questions and capacity of local partners,
Bird Banding – assisting partners ready for this step to establish banding stations to answer more detailed questions about movement patterns, habitat use and quality, abundance, survival, etc., and
Motus Tracking – expanding the network of Motus towers in the Caribbean to monitor migrant and resident birds. (the Motus Wildlife Tracking System is an exciting collaborative research network that uses coordinated automated radio telemetry arrays to study movements of small animals – learn more here)
Each of the three areas of monitoring have their strengths and weaknesses and are suited to answering different types of questions about our bird populations. To ensure that we are meeting the needs of local researchers, managers, and communities, we would like to gather information from those who are currently monitoring and/or banding landbirds in the Caribbean, that have done so in the past, or are interested in doing so in the future.
You can help us plan our work by letting us know who you are, what you do, where your activities take place, and how the Bird Monitoring Working group can help you. Just fill out our survey here:
Your input will help us to design our project with everyone’s background, expertise, and research needs incorporated into the project.The success of this project will depend on the involvement of our many partners across the region, including wildlife professionals, scientists, educators, students, and volunteers/ citizen scientists.
Thank you in advance for your time and help!!!
Note: We recognize that most landbird work will likely be affected by the Covid-19 pandemic, and we understand that your activities this year will be very different from any other year: when filling out the survey, just let us know what you would have done in a ‘normal’ year. Most importantly, we hope that everyone is safe.
Why Landbirds?
The beautiful White-crown Pigeon is an important bird in the Caribbean. It eats fruits of many hardwood trees and helps to regenerate forests by spreading seeds. (photo by Erika Gates)
Landbirds face many threats, including destruction and degradation of their habitats from human causes, such as inappropriate development, deforestation for agriculture, pollution, and invasive species. Severe hurricanes, droughts, and forest fires are also increasing, likely due to climate change. It is vital that we work together to monitor our landbird species so that we can identify the highest priority sites for conservation, restore habitats, and assess the impacts from threats and effectiveness of our conservation actions.
About the Bird Monitoring Working Group
The BirdsCaribbean Bird Monitoring Working Group is a committee that works to promote and support monitoring efforts throughout the Caribbean. The long-term vision of the group is to enable Caribbean stakeholders to build high-quality bird monitoring and training programs that have regional relevance and significance because of shared species and habitats. Within this context, the goals of the Working Group are to:
Foster inter-island cooperation and collaboration in the regional monitoring of shared species of birds (including neotropical migrants) and their associated habitats;
Work to significantly increase the number of skilled field biologists living in the region;
Build regional capacity to carry out standardized monitoring and training programs, including bird banding.
Celebrate World Migratory Bird Day (WMBD) with us in our virtual “Birds Connect Our World” edition! Have fun learning about a new migratory bird every day. We have colouring pages, puzzles, activities, and more. Download for free and enjoy nature with your family at home.
Migratory Bird of the Day: Northern Waterthrush
Although its name and plumage suggest this bird is a thrush, the Northern Waterthrush is in fact a warbler. This large, long-legged, long-tailed warbler spends much of its time on the ground. It has dark olive-brown upperparts, and buffy or yellowish underparts. The underparts are marked with dark brown streaks that become finer on the throat. It has a prominent, buffy stripe above the eye, usually narrowing towards the nape. The sexes are identical.
The Northern Waterthrush is sparsely distributed across a vast breeding range from Alaska eastward across Canada, with some birds breeding in the northern US. They are long-distance migrants and travel to the Caribbean, Central America, and northern South America in fall. In winter, Northern Waterthrushes can be found throughout the Caribbean. Some birds will stay for the whole winter, but many more will pass through the islands for wintering grounds further south.
As their name suggests, Northern Waterthrushes occur in wet habitats. On the breeding grounds, these include wooded swamps, bogs, or other wetlands bordered by shrubs or thickets. On the wintering grounds, Northern Waterthrush are most often found in or near mangroves or other wetlands.
In the Caribbean, Northern Waterthrushes are solitary and hold territories. They frequently advertise their presence with loud, metallic, chink calls. If you hear one, look for it walking along the water’s edge. It bobs and teeters, jumps over obstacles, and rhythmically pumps its tail. Northern Waterthrushes feed mainly on aquatic insects, but they may also take snails, small clams, and crabs. The Northern Waterthrush is not currently threatened, but the loss of mangroves through development and climate change may be impacting this species. Learn more about this species, including its range, photos, and calls here.
Colour in the Northern Waterthrush!
Download the page from Migratory Birds of the West Indies Colouring Book. Use the photos below as your guide, or you can look up pictures of the bird online or in a bird field guide if you have one. Share your coloured-in page with us by posting it online and tagging us @BirdsCaribbean #WMBD2020Carib
Listen to the calls of the Northern Waterthrush
The calls of the Northern Waterthrush are a loud sharp “tchip”
Puzzle of the Day
Click on the images below to do the puzzles. You can make the puzzle as easy or as hard as you like – for example, 6, 8, or 12 pieces for young children, all the way up to 1,024 pieces for those that are up for a challenge!
Northern Waterthrush, although its name and coloration suggest that this bird is a thrush, it is actually a warbler. These birds migrate from Canada and the Norther US to spend the winter in the Caribbean, Central America, and northern South America (Photo by David S Hall)Northern Waterthrush. Often seen close to water, listen for their loud repeated ‘chinking’ calls and look from them as the walk along the water’s edge bobbing their tails. (Photo by Jesse Gordon)
Activity of the Day
FOR KIDS: Some warblers give you a big clue to the group of birds they belong to in their names, like ‘Hooded Warbler’ or ‘Yellow-rumped Warbler’. But some other warblers do not! Do you remember which of our migratory birds are warblers? Test your knowledge in our “Warbler or Not a Warbler” game. You can find the answers by looking at previous blog posts. You can find the answers here.
FOR KIDS AND ADULTS:
Take a walk and see if you can spot any migratory warblers. Use a bird field guide or the FREE Merlin bird ID app to help you identify the birds you are seeing.
Enjoy the videos below of Northern Waterthrushes in the wild! The first show a bird foraging on the ground in a mangrove, bobbing its tail up and down. The second shows a bird repeatedly giving its loud distinctive call, hearing this call is often a first clue that a Northern Waterthrush is around.
Visit MigratoryBirdDay.org for many more free activities and resources to learn about migratory birds, their threats and conservation actions you can take.
Celebrate World Migratory Bird Day (WMBD) with us in our virtual “Birds Connect Our World” edition! Have fun learning about a new migratory bird every day. We have colouring pages, puzzles, activities, and more. Download for free and enjoy nature with your family at home.
Migratory Bird of the Day: Indigo Bunting
Indigo Buntings are well named. Males in breeding plumage are bright blue all over, with a purple-blue hue on the head. Females are cinnamon brown above, and paler below with faint streaking on the breast, and a blue tinge on the wings and tail. During fall and winter, males are a ‘patchy’ mix of brown and blue. Immature males resemble females. These stocky birds have finch-like conical bills and short tails.
Indigo Buntings breed across eastern North America. Most migrate in flocks to their wintering grounds in Mexico, Central America, southern Florida, and the northern Caribbean. You can follow their movements throughout the year on this ebird science page. These birds migrate at night, and use the stars to find their way. Unfortunately, Indigo Buntings are popular birds for the pet trade and are the target of illegal bird trappers in many countries, including Cuba, where they are prized for their beautiful songs.
Indigo Buntings are in the Caribbean from October through to early May. They are most commonly seen in the Bahamas, Cuba, Cayman Islands, Puerto Rico, and the Virgin Islands. They can also be found on other islands, such as Jamaica, Hispaniola, northern Less Antilles, but are less common there. In the Caribbean you might spot a bright blue male Indigo Bunting during spring, just before they head back to their breeding areas.
Indigo Buntings often feed in groups, and can be quite vocal as they flock together. Listen for their sharp twit calls. These shy birds can be found in grassy areas, rice-fields, woodlands, pasture edges, and dry scrub. They feed on small seeds, berries and a variety of insects. Indigo Buntings will also come to seed-feeders, so if you have one, keep an eye out for this lovely bird in your garden.Learn more about this species, including its range, photos, and calls here.
Colour in the Indigo Bunting!
Download the page from Migratory Birds of the West Indies Colouring Book. Use the photos below as your guide, or you can look up pictures of the bird online or in a bird field guide if you have one. Share your coloured-in page with us by posting it online and tagging us @BirdsCaribbean #WMBD2020Carib
Listen to the calls and song of the Indigo Bunting
The calls of the Indigo Bunting are repeated emphatic “chip” sounds
The song of the Indigo Bunting sound like, “Sweet, sweet–where, where–here, here—see it, see it.”
Puzzle of the Day
Click on the images below to do the puzzles. You can make the puzzle as easy or as hard as you like – for example, 6, 8, or 12 pieces for young children, all the way up to 1,024 pieces for those that are up for a challenge!
Female Indigo Bunting. Indigo Buntings arrive in the Caribbean from October and stay until early May. They migrate at night, from North America, using the stars to navigate. (Photo by Karen Gallo)Male Indigo Bunting , in breeding plumage they are bright blue all over. During fall and winter, males are a ‘patchy’ mix of brown and blue. (Photo by Stephen Buckingham)
Activity of the Day
FOR KIDS: How much do you know about Indigo Buntings? Test your knowledge with this Indigo Bunting Word Scramble. You can find the answers by reading the text in this blog post, and by looking at the pictures of Indigo Buntings. You can find the answers here.
FOR KIDS AND ADULTS:
Take a walk and see if you can spot any migratory birds, perhaps you might spot and Indigo Bunting. Use a bird field guide or the FREE Merlin bird ID app to help you identify the birds you are seeing.
Enjoy the videos below of Indigo Buntings in the wild! The first shows a male Indigo Bunting feeding on seeds at a bird feeder. He is moulting so has patches of blue and brown feathers. The second shows the all-brown female foraging on the ground. In the third video a completely blue male, in breeding plumage, is feeding on seeds from a plant.
Visit MigratoryBirdDay.org for many more free activities and resources to learn about migratory birds, their threats and conservation actions you can take.
Celebrate World Migratory Bird Day (WMBD) with us in our virtual “Birds Connect Our World” edition! Have fun learning about a new migratory bird every day. We have colouring pages, puzzles, activities, and more. Download for free and enjoy nature with your family at home.
Migratory Bird of the Day: Common Yellowthroat
Common Yellowthroats are small active warblers, olive colored above with a bright yellow throat and upper breast. Males have a striking black ‘bandit’ mask, edged above with whitish gray. Females are plainer but show a contrast between a yellow throat and olive-brown face.
This warbler tends to skulk and hide in thick vegetation, often staying near to the ground. In fact, ‘Geothlypis’ the name of the genus (group of birds) this warbler is in, means ‘earth finch.’ It’s ground-dwelling foraging habits also give this bird its local name ‘Reinita Pica Tierra’ in Puerto Rico. Although often out of sight, you can find this warbler by listening for its call—a distinctive loud tchuck.
Common Yellowthroats breed across a huge area of the US and Canada. After breeding their behaviour varies, some birds stay put while others migrate. Some make long journeys, travelling from Canada to Central America. Others spend the winter in the Caribbean. They are most common in the Bahamas, Greater Antilles and Cayman Islands. In the Bahamas take care not to confuse Common Yellowthroats with the Bahama Yellowthroat! This endemic bird looks very similar but is larger, slow moving, has a longer heavier looking bill, and more uniformly yellow underparts.
During the winter you can find Common Yellowthroats in a variety of habitats, including pine, dry and montane forests, pastures, shade coffee, mangroves, and bushy areas often close to wetlands. They eat insects, which they often search for on the ground. Their diet includes flies, beetles, ants, termites, bees, wasps, grasshoppers, dragonflies, damselflies, moths, butterflies, and caterpillars! Like many warblers Common Yellowthroats migrate at night, making them vulnerable to collisions with buildings and other man-made structures. Learn more about this species, including its range, photos, and calls here.
Colour in the Common Yellowthroat!
Download the page from Migratory Birds of the West Indies Colouring Book. Use the photos below as your guide, or you can look up pictures of the bird online or in a bird field guide if you have one. Share your coloured-in page with us by posting it online and tagging us @BirdsCaribbean #WMBD2020Carib
Listen to the calls of the Common Yellowthroat
The calls of the Common Yellowthroat are a strong “chuck” sound.
Puzzle of the Day
Click on the images below to do the puzzles. You can make the puzzle as easy or as hard as you like – for example, 6, 8, or 12 pieces for young children, all the way up to 1,024 pieces for those that are up for a challenge!
Breeding Male Common Yellowthroat with his striking black ‘bandit’ mask, edged above with whitish gray. During the winter you can find Common Yellowthroats in a variety of habitats, including pine, dry and montane forests, pastures, shade coffee, mangroves, and bushy areas often close to wetlands. (Photo by Hemant Kishan)Female Common Yellowthroat, she doesn’t have a mask but still has a yellowthroat. This warbler tends to skulk and hide in thick vegetation, often staying near to the ground. (Photo by Linda Petersen)
Activity of the Day
FOR KIDS: Watching a birds behaviour can be a really great way to helping to identify which species you are seeing. Especially with tricky birds like warblers that can look similar to each other. Practice your bird behaviour watching skills with our bird behaviour bingo game. Spend some time watching birds and tick off behaviours as you spot them.
FOR KIDS AND ADULTS:
Take a walk and see if you can spot any migratory warblers. Use a bird field guide or the FREE Merlin bird ID app to help you identify the birds you are seeing.
Enjoy the videos below of Common Yellowthroats in the wild! The first shows a male in breeding pluming, singing his characteristic “whichity-whichity-whichity” song; in the Caribbean you might hear this in spring before males migrate northwards. The second video shows a female Common Yellowthroat perched, you can see the difference in plumage between her and the male. Finally there is a Common Yellowthroat in winter plumage feeding on the ground, where this species can often be found!
Visit MigratoryBirdDay.org for many more free activities and resources to learn about migratory birds, their threats and conservation actions you can take.
Celebrate World Migratory Bird Day (WMBD) with us in our virtual “Birds Connect Our World” edition! Have fun learning about a new migratory bird every day. We have colouring pages, puzzles, activities, and more. Download for free and enjoy nature with your family at home.
Migratory Bird of the Day: Rose-breasted Grosbeak
These stocky looking birds have whitish, heavy cone-shaped bills, perfect for cracking open seeds and eating berries. Male Rose-breasted Grosbeaks are very eye-catching. They have a bright rosy-red triangle on their breast, a black head and back, white belly and rump, and broad white wing-bars. Females are striped olive brown above, and buffy underneath with brown streaking on the breast and flanks. They have a broad white eyebrow bordered by a dark crown and whitish wing bars. The large pale bill and strong face pattern helps to identify females.
Rose-breasted Grosbeaks breed in deciduous woods across most of Canada and North Eastern parts of the US. This species is a long-distance migrant, travelling south in the fall to spend the winter in Central America, northern South America, and the Caribbean. They often migrate in small groups, sometimes joining other types of birds like tanagers and thrushes.
Rose-breasted Grosbeaks are most commonly seen in the Caribbean during migration, in October or April, as individuals stopover on their journeys south or back north. Others will spend the whole winter here. They are most commonly seen in the Bahamas, Cuba, Jamaica, and Cayman Islands. They are less common in Hispaniola, Puerto Rico, and the rest of the Lesser Antilles.
Rose-breasted Grosbeaks have a varied diet. During migration they mostly eat fruits, but on the breeding and wintering grounds, they also eat seeds, flowers, and insects. They glean insects from leaves or fly out to catch them in mid-air. Rose-breasted Grosbeaks can be found in woodlands, coffee plantations, at forest edges and sometimes in gardens. They will visit feeders so be sure to keep them stocked with their favorite foods, including sunflower seeds, safflower seeds, and raw peanuts. Learn more about this species, including its range, photos, and calls here.
Colour in the Rose-breasted Grosbeak!
Download the page from Migratory Birds of the West Indies Colouring Book. Use the photos below as your guide, or you can look up pictures of the bird online or in a bird field guide if you have one. Share your coloured-in page with us by posting it online and tagging us @BirdsCaribbean #WMBD2020Carib
Listen to the calls of the Rose-breasted Grosbeak
The calls of the Rose-breasted Grosbeak a high-pitched metallic sounding “Chink”
Puzzle of the Day
Click on the images below to do the puzzles. You can make the puzzle as easy or as hard as you like – for example, 6, 8, or 12 pieces for young children, all the way up to 1,024 pieces for those that are up for a challenge!
Female Rose-breasted Grosbeak, the large pale bill and strong face pattern helps to identify females (Photo by Linda Petersen)Male Rose-breasted Grosbeak, in the Caribbean they are most commonly seen in the Bahamas, Cuba, Jamaica, and Cayman Islands. They will visit feeders so be sure to keep them stocked with their favorite foods, including sunflower seeds, safflower seeds, and raw peanuts (Photo by Jesse Gordon)
Take a walk and see if you can spot any migratory birds, maybe you will see a Rose-breasted Grosbeak or another colorful migratory species. Use a bird field guide or the FREE Merlin bird ID app to help you identify the birds you are seeing.
Enjoy the videos below of the Rose-breasted Grosbeaks feeding! The first video shows a male bird feeding on seeds, you can see him breaking them open with his heavy bill. The second shows some females, that are brown colored and steaked looking, eating fruits; this species will also eat insects. In spring male Rose-breasted Grosbeaks have a beautiful fluting song, you can hear it in the final video.
Visit MigratoryBirdDay.org for many more free activities and resources to learn about migratory birds, their threats and conservation actions you can take.
Celebrate World Migratory Bird Day (WMBD) with us in our virtual “Birds Connect Our World” edition! Have fun learning about a new migratory bird every day. We have colouring pages, puzzles, activities, and more. Download for free and enjoy nature with your family at home.
Migratory Bird of the Day: Cape May Warbler
Cape May Warblers are small warblers with a thin, slightly down-curved bill. Breeding males have a bright yellow breast streaked with black, a greenish back, and a yellow rump. They have a distinctive reddish brown cheek patch surrounded by yellow, a black eyeline and crown, yellow collar, and a white wing patch. Females are less brightly colored, with a grayish-olive cheek and a white wing-bar. In fall and winter, males are duller with a reduced cheek patch.
Over 80% of the population of Cape May Warblers breed in the boreal forests of Canada. Here they specialise in eating insects, especially spruce budworms. During fall birds migrate south to the Caribbean. The West Indies supports nearly the entire population of this species during the winter. Cape May Warblers are most common in the Bahamas, Greater Antilles, and Cayman Islands.
You might see this species congregating around flowering plants. This is because nectar is one of their main food sources during the winter. In fact they are the only warbler that has a curled straw-like tongue which they use to drink nectar. Cape May Warblers can be found in almost any habitat with flowering plants in the Caribbean. This includes mountain forests, pine and broadleaf forests, dry scrub, pasture, shade coffee, mangroves, coastal thickets, gardens, and backyards.
Populations of Cape May Warblers have been declining over the last few decades; with a range-wide decline over a 45-year period (1970–2014) of 76%. This is partly due to deforestation and loss of its breeding habitat. In addition, like many other warblers, they migrate at night and are vulnerable to collisions with buildings and other man-made structures. Birds are also vulnerable to predation by cats. Let’s make sure Cape May Warblers have safe places to spend their winter in the Caribbean. You can help them survive by providing a bird-friendly habitat in your backyard, including bushy vegetation for cover, a source of fresh water, and native flowering plants that will provide plenty of nectar and fruits. Learn more about this species, including its range, photos, and calls here.
Colour in the Cape May Warbler!
Download the page from Migratory Birds of the West Indies Colouring Book. Use the photos below as your guide, or you can look up pictures of the bird online or in a bird field guide if you have one. Share your coloured-in page with us by posting it online and tagging us @BirdsCaribbean #WMBD2020Carib
Listen to the calls of the Cape May Warbler
The calls of the Cape May Warbler are a short very high-pitched “tseet” which they tend to repeat.
Puzzle of the Day
Click on the images below to do the puzzles. You can make the puzzle as easy or as hard as you like – for example, 6, 8, or 12 pieces for young children, all the way up to 1,024 pieces for those that are up for a challenge!
Male Breeding Cape May Warbler, you can see his distinctive reddish-brown cheek patch, yellow neck collar and breast streaked with black, and white wing-patch. This species is declining and is threatened by breeding habitat loss. As almost the whole population spend winter in the Caribbean we can help them survive by providing a bird-friendly habitat in our backyards. (Photo by Linda Petersen)Female Cape May Warbler. They are the only warbler that has a curled straw-like tongue which they use to drink nectar. You might see them congregating around flowering plants (Photo by Linda Petersen)
Activity of the Day
FOR KIDS: Warblers can sometimes be tricky to identify. They can look bit like other types of birds you might be seeing. Knowing about the size, shape and posture of birds can help. Can you find the warbler using its silhouette? Match the bird type to the correct silhouette. There are some hints to help you. Find the answers here.
FOR KIDS AND ADULTS:
Take a walk and see if you can spot any migratory warblers. Use a bird field guide or the FREE Merlin bird ID app to help you identify the birds you are seeing.
Enjoy the videos below of Cape May Warblers in the wild! The first video shows a male feeding on nectar from flowers in Cuba. In the second video you can see a male perched; his reddish-brown cheeks, yellow neck and underparts, streaked breast, and white wing patch are easy to see. As a comparison the final clip show a male Cape May Warbler in winter plumage, you can see him picking flies out the air to eat.
Visit MigratoryBirdDay.org for many more free activities and resources to learn about migratory birds, their threats and conservation actions you can take.
Celebrate World Migratory Bird Day (WMBD) with us in our virtual “Birds Connect Our World” edition! Have fun learning about a new migratory bird every day. We have colouring pages, puzzles, activities, and more. Download for free and enjoy nature with your family at home.
Migratory Bird of the Day: Blue-winged Teal
Blue-winged Teal are small dabbling ducks. This means they feed near the surface of the water, rather than diving down into the water for food. Males in breeding plumage have blue-gray heads with a striking white crescent in front of their eye. Their underparts and sides are cinnamon-buffy colored with dense black spots, and they have a white patch near their black tails. Females are mottled brown all over with a whitish patch at the base of their bills and a dark eye line. In flight, both sexes show large pale-blue wing patches, which gives this species its name.
Blue-winged Teals breed across a wide swathe of the northern US and Canada. They winter in large flocks in the southern US, Mexico, the Caribbean, and Central and northern South America. They are the most common wintering ducks in the Caribbean. Some Blue-winged Teals have had their journeys tracked from the breeding grounds to their wintering areas, using satellite tags. You can see a map showing the migration route to Cuba of one of the tagged birds. Zoom in and you can see exactly where this Blue-winged Teal was during the winter.
As a long-distance migrant Blue-winged Teals are one of the first ducks to leave their breeding grounds. Males arrive on their wintering areas in drab ‘eclipse’ or hiding plumage, which looks very similar to the female. This plumage provides protection from predators when they are going through the wing moult in late summer and are flightless for about a month. Males gradually moult into their breeding plumage over the winter. Courtship and pair formation takes place on the wintering grounds and males follow their mates back to their natal area to breed.
Blue-winged Teals eat aquatic insects, molluscs, crustaceans and vegetation. You can find them in shallow fresh or saltwater habitats. They depend on these wetlands during the many months they spend in the Caribbean. It is therefore vital that we protect all our remaining wetlands to provide a winter home for Blue-winged Teals and so many other species. Learn more about this species, including its range, photos, and calls here.
Colour in the Blue-winged Teal!
Download the page from Migratory Birds of the West Indies Colouring Book. Use the photos below as your guide, or you can look up pictures of the bird online or in a bird field guide if you have one. Share your coloured-in page with us by posting it online and tagging us @BirdsCaribbean #WMBD2020Carib
Listen to the call of the Blue-winged Teal
The calls of the Blue-winged Teal can vary, males give a nasal “chuck chuck chuck” females might make soft quacking sounds.
Puzzle of the Day
Click on the images below to do the puzzles. You can make the puzzle as easy or as hard as you like – for example, 6, 8, or 12 pieces for young children, all the way up to 1,024 pieces for those that are up for a challenge!
Male Blue-winged Teal in flight, you can see the white crescent on his face and blue wing patches, that have a white border on the male. Blue-winged Teals also have a green speculum (bright in the male and duller in the female). Males arrive on their wintering areas in drab ‘eclipse’ or hiding plumage, which looks very similar to the female. Then moult into this breeding plumage over the winter (Photo by Kinan Echtay)Female Blue-winged Teals are mainly mottled brown, as are ‘eclipse’ males; but in flight you can see that they also have blue on the wing (Photo by Ray Robles)Blue-winged Teal pair. Courtship and pair formation takes place on the wintering grounds and males follow their mates back to their natal area to breed. (Photo by Sharon Cardin)
Activity of the Day
FOR KIDS: Can you find the real Teal? Work out which one of the Blue-winged Teals is NOT an imposter! Look at the pictures of the Teal and read the description above to help you spot the bird will all the correct features. And you can find the answer here.
FOR KIDS AND ADULTS:
Take a walk and see if you can spot any migratory birds, if you are visiting a wetland look out for Blue-winged Teals or any other migratory ducks. Use a bird field guide or the FREE Merlin bird ID app to help you identify the birds you are seeing.
Enjoy the videos below of of Blue-winged Teal using wetlands! The first video shows a small group of 2 males and a female swimming and dabbling for food. You can see the differences in color and plumage. In the second video some Blue-winged Teals are with other ducks and shorebirds in a wetland. When they make a brief flight you can catch a glimpse of their blue shoulder patches.
Visit MigratoryBirdDay.org for many more free activities and resources to learn about migratory birds, their threats and conservation actions you can take.
Celebrate World Migratory Bird Day (WMBD) with us in our virtual “Birds Connect Our World” edition! Have fun learning about a new migratory bird every day. We have colouring pages, puzzles, activities, and more. Download for free and enjoy nature with your family at home.
Migratory Bird of the Day: Merlin
Merlins are a small falcon and a powerful, fast flier. Their upperparts are blackish gray to pale blue-gray in the male, and dark brown in the larger female. The darkness of the plumage varies geographically. The underparts are pale with heavy brown streaking and the tail is barred with black stripes. When perched look for the pale tan stripe above the eye. In flight, their pointed wings, long tail, and rapid powerful wing-beats help with identification.
Merlins have a wide distribution globally, through North and Central America and across Europe and Asia. In North America, this species breeds in the northern-most parts of the US and throughout most of Canada. Some Merlins winter in the south-central US and northern Mexico. Others undertake much longer migrations to the Caribbean, Central and South America, spending the winter as far south as Ecuador.
Merlins start arriving in the Caribbean in September. Some pass through the islands on their journey to points further south. Others stay for the whole winter, departing in April or early May. Merlins are winter residents in The Bahamas, Greater Antilles, US and British Virgin Islands, and the Cayman Islands. They are not as common in the Lesser Antilles.
An agile and skillful hunter, Merlins specialize in catching and eating other birds. They also eat large insects like dragonflies and small rodents. Merlins often hunt by flying fast and low and using sudden bursts of speed to take their prey by surprise in mid-air. During migration you might spot them by coastal lagoons or salt ponds, where there are plenty of shorebirds for them to hunt. They might also be in woodlands and forests hunting for other small birds. Learn more about this species, including its range, photos, and calls here.
Colour in the Merlin!
Download the page from Migratory Birds of the West Indies Colouring Book. Use the photos below as your guide, or you can look up pictures of the bird online or in a bird field guide if you have one. Share your coloured-in page with us by posting it online and tagging us @BirdsCaribbean #WMBD2020Carib
Listen to the call of the Merlin
Merlins give high-pitched chattering calls, which they repeat.
Puzzle of the Day
Click on the images below to do the puzzles. You can make the puzzle as easy or as hard as you like – for example, 6, 8, or 12 pieces for young children, all the way up to 1,024 pieces for those that are up for a challenge!
Female Merlin eating a dragonfly. These birds specialise on hunting small birds; but also eat large insects and rodents (Photo by Hank Halsey)Male Merlin perched, notice the blue-grey upper parts, with heavy steaking on the breast, and a pale eye-stripe (Photo by Beth Hamel)Male Merlin in Flight – these birds are agile and skilful hunters, using sudden bursts of speed to take their prey by surprise in mid-air. (Photo by BN Singh)
Activity of the Day
FOR KIDS: Use our template to write a poem about a Merlin. Each line of your poem should start with the letters of this birds name. This type of poem is called an ‘acrostic’. You can use words from the description and information about Merlins above. Think about how this bird looks, the way it flies, where is lives and how it finds food.
FOR KIDS AND ADULTS:
Take a walk and see if you can spot any migratory birds, if you are visiting a wetland or woodland area keep an eye out for a Merlin, which might be hunting for shorebirds or songbirds. Use a bird field guide or the FREE Merlin bird ID app to help you identify the birds you are seeing.
Enjoy the videos below of Merlin in the wild! The first video shows a female perched on a post eating, after catching a small bird Merlins find somewhere safe to perch and have their meal. In the second video you can see a Merlin in flight, look for the barring on the long tail, its sharp pointed wings and the characteristic fast wing-beats.
Visit MigratoryBirdDay.org for many more free activities and resources to learn about migratory birds, their threats and conservation actions you can take.
Celebrate World Migratory Bird Day (WMBD) with us in our virtual “Birds Connect Our World” edition! Have fun learning about a new migratory bird every day. We have colouring pages, puzzles, activities, and more. Download for free and enjoy nature with your family at home.
Migratory Bird of the Day: Black-whiskered Vireo
The Black-whiskered Vireo is a small bird with a big voice. In fact, it is best identified by its song because it is elusive and difficult to see! It is olive greenish-brown above and pale below with a long, hooked gray bill. It’s pale eyebrow stripe contrasts with a dark cap and eye stripe. The vireo’s name comes from the fine dark ‘whiskers’ or moustache stripe edging the throat. The whiskers and the absence of wing-bars help distinguish this vireo from other birds. Adults have a reddish iris. Juveniles are duller with faint whiskers.
Black-whiskered Vireos live in mangroves, woodlands, forests and gardens, feeding on insects and berries which it gleans from leaves. They often stay very still, up in the canopy of a tree. It can be hard to know they are there – unless they are singing!
The monotonous song of this Black-whiskered Vireo can be heard all day long. It consists of short 2-4 syllable phrases that differ slightly with a pause in between: John-chew-it!—Sweet-John!—Chew-it-John! Or the full Sweet-John-Chew-it! Many of the local names of this bird are renditions of the song, for example, ‘Julián Chiví’ and ‘Bien-te-veo’ in Puerto Rico and the Dominican Republic and ‘John-Chew-it’ in Jamaica. They also have a thin high-pitched tsit call and a sharp, nasal note yeeea.
In parts of the West Indies Black-whiskered Vireos are resident all year round; including on Hispaniola and in the Lesser Antilles. In other areas, including the Bahamas, Cuba, Jamaica and Puerto Rico, they are ‘summer migrants’. They spend the fall and winter in northern South America and migrate north in late winter or spring to breed in the Caribbean. Breeding birds prefer to nest in open areas of woodland or farmland areas with trees. They build a cup nest in a forked tree branch. Learn more about this species, including its range, photos, and calls here.
Colour in the Black-whiskered Vireo!
Download the page from Migratory Birds of the West Indies Colouring Book. Use the photos below as your guide, or you can look up pictures of the bird online or in a bird field guide if you have one. Share your coloured-in page with us by posting it online and tagging us @BirdsCaribbean #WMBD2020Carib
Listen to the song of the Black-whiskered Vireo
The song of the Black-whiskered Vireo is an emphatic repeat of 2 or 3 notes.
Puzzle of the Day
Click on the images below to do the puzzles. You can make the puzzle as easy or as hard as you like – for example, 6, 8, or 12 pieces for young children, all the way up to 1,024 pieces for those that are up for a challenge!
Black-whiskered Vireo, you can see the fine dark ‘whiskers’ or moustache stripe edging the throat that give this bird its name (Photo by David S Hall)Black-whiskered Vireo perched. They often stay very still & it can be hard to know they are there – unless they are singing (Photo by Hank Halsey)Black-whiskered Vireo on Nest. In the Bahamas, Cuba, Jamaica and Puerto Rico, these birds are ‘summer migrants’. They spend the fall and winter in northern South America and migrate north in late winter or spring to breed in the Caribbean. (Photo by Dax Roman)
Activity of the Day
FOR KIDS: Whilst you are looking out for migratory birds, why not play our ‘bird spy bingo’ game. Keep an eye out for what the birds you see are doing, any signs that birds have been around, or the numbers of birds you see together in a group. There are 4 cards so you can either play on your own or with some friends!
FOR KIDS AND ADULTS:
Take a walk and see if you can spot any migratory birds. Use a bird field guide or the FREE Merlin bird ID app to help you identify the birds you are seeing.
Enjoy the videos below of Black-whiskered Vireos in the wild! The first video shows a bird singing loudly in Cuba. In the second video you can see a Black-whiskered Vireo giving it’s high-pitched tsit call as it searches for food. In both look out for the characteristic black ‘moustache’ lines on the throat.
Visit MigratoryBirdDay.org for many more free activities and resources to learn about migratory birds, their threats and conservation actions you can take.
BirdsCaribbean approves of Dominica’s plans to launch new efforts to protect the Sisserou and Jaco parrots. Both species are rare and live nowhere else in the world. A recent letter from the Ministry of Environment, Rural Modernization and Kalinago Upliftment, attached here, reaffirms Government’s pledge to help these birds locally, with the help of long-term international and local partners. This includes the return of parrots secretly taken to Germany in March 2018. Other measures include parrot surveys, further repair of the Parrot Centre, and more.
The Sisserou, or Imperial Parrot, is a national symbol found only on Dominica and is classified as Endangered by the IUCN. This bird was photographed in the wild feeding after Hurricane Maria. (Photo by Stephen Durand)
On March 18th, 2018, a few months after Hurricane Maria ravaged the island, the Association for the Conservation of Threatened Parrots (ACTP) took rare parrots from Dominica. This included two Sisserou (Imperial Parrots, Amazona imperialis) and ten Jaco (Red-necked Parrots, Amazona arausiaca), all hatched in the wild. Claiming this was an “emergency measure,” ACTP took the parrots to a private facility in Germany. All the parrots had survived Maria and had been rehabilitated.
The export was not approved by Dominica’s management or scientific authorities for the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES). Dominica’s Forestry, Wildlife and Parks Division was not consulted or warned. BirdsCaribbean expressed its deep concern and was among thirteen groups that wrote a letter to the United Nations.
On May 1, 2018, over forty well-known scientists from around the world wrote to Dominican and German authorities. They urged the return of the birds and an investigation into ACTP. ACTP was the subject of two investigative reports in the Australian Guardian later that year. They were also featured in an in-depth article in Audubon Magazine’s Summer 2020 issue, among others. These revealed that the group also had removed hundreds of rare parrots from Australia and Brazil, and rare parrots from St. Lucia and St. Vincent. The articles also revealed that ACTP’s director was convicted of kidnapping, extortion and other crimes, and has no scientific credentials.
Rescued and rehabilitated Jaco (Red-necked Parrots) at the aviary in Dominica in 2018. (photo by Stephen Durand)
BirdsCaribbean stands ready to support its members and partners across the region, who work hard to protect and support threatened species such as the iconic Sisserou – nurturing them within their own native ecosystems. We continue to urge the immediate return of Dominica’s parrots (as well as any offspring) to the Parrot Conservation and Research Centre in Roseau, Dominica after first transferring them to a reputable zoological facility to ensure the birds are disease-free. We welcome plans to renovate the Centre in Roseau to enable it to continue its work in wildlife rehabilitation and research under a parrot monitoring program and for increased capacity-building and training for Forestry staff and other scientists on the island.
Building on partnerships, this kind of empowerment of local expertise will provide for a hopeful future for these birds. BirdsCaribbean supports the government’s Wildlife Conservation Partnership plan. We look forward to hearing more about these positive developments, a welcome ray of light in these hard times.
Join us for OCTOBER BIG DAY on Saturday, October 17th!
OCTOBER BIG DAY is a 24-hr period for all of us to commit to going out and safely birding. No matter where you are in the world, we invite you to carve out some time on October 17th to go birding, record all of the birds you see, and then submit that information to eBird.
For those of you that are new to eBird, it’s a fun and easy (and very powerful!) platform to record your bird sightings, find the best places to bird, and more. And your data helps scientists better understand and conserve birds. To get started and create an account, follow the quick instructions here.
We know that you don’t need even more incentive to get outdoors and birdwatch (it’s already so much fun and a welcome distraction from everything else!), but we’re going to give you one anyway! Send us the link to your eBird checklist(s) from October 17th, and we’ll send you back a special coupon for 25% off a BirdsCaribbean annual membership, or membership renewal if you are already a member with us. BirdsCaribbean is a big supporter of eBird as well as creating opportunities for all of us to get excited about connecting with nature and birds, so the membership discount is our thanks to all of you for getting involved!
Friday, October 16th: Take a few minutes to sketch out a plan for where you are going to go birding the next day. Even just 10 minutes observing and recording birds in your backyard would be a great contribution to citizen science, once you enter your sightings into eBird. Make sure that you choose a safe place to do so. And don’t forget to start piling up the snacks that you’ll take along with you (a critical detail for successful birding).
Saturday, October 17th:Go birding! Have a great time! Take pictures and good notes of what you see. Don’t forget to look for owls and other nocturnal birds that night — the big day goes until 11:59pm in whatever time zone you are in!
Sunday, October 18th:Upload your checklist(s) to eBird (feel free to do this on Saturday if you have the time) via the website or mobile app. Then, send the link to your completed checklist(s) by email to: Justin Proctor at justin.proctor@birdscaribbean.org. We’ll send you back a coupon for membership, and easy directions on how to use it! Please send us any great pictures from the day as well!
Keep in mind that a membership* with BirdsCaribbean is a great value — there’s a lot included!
• FREE subscription to Birds of the World — the most comprehensive online resource about birds — a $49 value!
• Immediate access to our quarterly newsletters, packed to the brim with great information on birds and all of the projects we have going on around the Caribbean
• Meet and network with scientists, birders, educators, and conservationists across the region
• Receive discounts on our products, conferences, and workshops
• Be a hero to Caribbean birds! — Through your BirdsCaribbean membership, you are directly helping in our urgent fight to save critically important habitats from destruction and birds from extinction.
*Because our annual memberships run from January 1st thru December 31st each year, participants of October Big Day will receive a complimentary membership for the remainder of this calendar year, AND a full membership for the entirety of 2021!
To our monthly donors, Life, Benefactor, Corporate, Sponsored, and Comped members — we can’t thank you enough for your continued support of BirdsCaribbean and our mission. We will be reaching out to you over the coming weeks with more information about your membership status and benefits. In the meantime, we hope that you join us for OCTOBER BIG DAY!
We are looking forward to birding “with” all of you on Saturday, October 17th.
PS. OCTOBER BIG DAY is part of the first Global Bird Weekend. If you’d like to be a part of this bigger event, you can join for free as an individual or join a group. Once you are registered, you will be eligible to win some great prizes. Don’t forget to also send BirdsCaribbean your eBird checklist(s) to receive your membership coupon. There are a lot of great opportunities this weekend, so make sure you get out birding and record your observations.
We look forward to birding “with” you on Saturday!
Please share this invite with your friends and family, and encourage them to allocate some time for birdwatching, too!
Celebrate World Migratory Bird Day (WMBD) with us in our virtual “Birds Connect Our World” edition! Have fun learning about a new migratory bird every day. We have colouring pages, puzzles, activities, and more. Download for free and enjoy nature with your family at home.
Migratory Bird of the Day: Baltimore Oriole
Male Baltimore Orioles are stunning birds, with fiery orange underparts and black on the head, mantle, tail, and wings. They also have orange rumps and tail patches, and white wing-bars. Females range in colour from yellow to brownish with a mottled brownish-olive head and mantle. Immature birds resemble females. All birds are medium sized and sturdy looking, with sharply pointed blue-gray bills.
Baltimore Oriole breed across the mid-US and up through central Canada. These birds weave amazing gourd-shaped, hanging nests from hair, human-made fibers such as string or wool, and plant fibers such as grasses, plant stems, and Spanish moss. They are known for their rich, beautiful, flute-like songs.
Baltimore Orioles are mid to long distance migrants. They spend the winter in Florida, the northern Caribbean, Central America, and northern South America. In the Caribbean they are most commonly seen in the Bahamas, Cuba, Jamaica and Puerto Rico. Baltimore Orioles migrate in large flocks, and even during the winter you might spot them together in a group. They can be found in gardens, open woodlands, scrub, swamps, and at forest edges.
Baltimore Orioles eat insects (especially caterpillars), spiders, fruit, and nectar. Before and during migration they prefer nectar and ripe fruits. The sugars in these foods are easily converted into fat, which supplies energy for migration. You might spot them eating any fruits in your garden, or you could put some out from them. Baltimore Orioles sometimes use their slender beaks to feed in an unusual way, called “gaping.” They stab their sharp closed bill into a soft fruit. As they open their beaks inside the fruit they make a cut from which they drink the juice with their tongues. Learn more about this species, including its range, photos, and calls here.
Colour in the Baltimore Oriole!
Download the page from Migratory Birds of the West Indies Colouring Book. Use the photos below as your guide, or you can look up pictures of the bird online or in a bird field guide if you have one. Share your coloured-in page with us by posting it online and tagging us @BirdsCaribbean #WMBD2020Carib
Listen to the call of the Baltimore Oriole
Baltimore Orioles are often silent when spending the winter in the Caribbean, but you might hear this rattling alarm call.
Puzzle of the Day
Click on the images below to do the puzzles. You can make the puzzle as easy or as hard as you like – for example, 6, 8, or 12 pieces for young children, all the way up to 1,024 pieces for those that are up for a challenge!
Female Baltimore Oriole, she is brownish yellow. Notice the sharp blue-grey bill, which she can use to cut into fruits and drink the juices. (Photo by Linda Petersen)Beautiful male Baltimore Oriole, with contrasting fiery orange and black plumage. (Photo by Daniel W Glenn)
Take a walk and see if you can spot any migratory birds or maybe some have arrived in your garden? Use a bird field guide or the FREE Merlin bird ID app to help you identify the birds you are seeing.
Enjoy the videos below of Baltimore Orioles. In the first you can see the stunning plumage of the male Oriole. In the second a Female Oriole is feeding on some fruit somebody have left out for her.
Visit MigratoryBirdDay.org for many more free activities and resources to learn about migratory birds, their threats and conservation actions you can take.
Celebrate World Migratory Bird Day (WMBD) with us in our virtual “Birds Connect Our World” edition! Have fun learning about a new migratory bird every day. We have colouring pages, puzzles, activities, and more. Download for free and enjoy nature with your family at home.
Migratory Bird of the Day: Osprey
The Osprey is a big, powerful fish-eating bird, with a hooked black beak. It has a white head with dark eye stripe, chocolate brown upperparts, and white underparts, with variable brown speckling on the breast. These birds fly with a slight bend at the ‘wrist’. This distinctive ‘M’ shaped silhouette, when seen from below, means Ospreys can be identified from far away or when light conditions are not good enough to see their colouring. You might also hear their shrill high-pitched whistling call before you spot them.
In some parts of the Caribbean, including the Bahamas and parts of Cuba, Ospreys are present year-round and breed. During the autumn these resident birds are joined by migratory individuals from North America. Ospreys make long journeys from their breeding areas, sometimestravelling thousands of miles. Some birds pass through the Caribbean to areas further south,such as this individual called Edwin, whose migration was one of many tracked with satellite tags. Others remain in the Caribbean during the winter.
The Ospreys that breed in the Caribbean are a different sub-species than the migratory birds. These birds, with the sub-species name ridgwayi, look quite different. The brown eye stripe tends to be very faint (in some birds it is almost absent), and they do not show brown markings on their breast. This gives birds the appearance of having overwhelmingly white heads and chests.
This species was endangered by the effects of pesticides in the mid-20th century. After such pesticides were banned in the US in 1972, Ospreys have made a comeback. Ospreys specialize on catching and eating fish and so are most commonly seen in coastal areas and around wetlands and ponds. If you watch for long enough you might spot one carrying a fish in its talons. If you are lucky you may even, see an Osprey plunge feet first into the water and pluck out a fish! Learn more about this species, including its range, photos, and calls here.
Colour in the Osprey!
Download the page from Migratory Birds of the West Indies Colouring Book. Use the photos below as your guide, or you can look up pictures of the bird online or in a bird field guide if you have one. Share your coloured-in page with us by posting it online and tagging us @BirdsCaribbean #WMBD2020Carib
Listen to the call of the Osprey
The calls of the Osprey are high-pitched whistles, often repeated.
Puzzle of the Day
Click on the images below to do the puzzles. You can make the puzzle as easy or as hard as you like – for example, 6, 8, or 12 pieces for young children, all the way up to 1,024 pieces for those that are up for a challenge!
Osprey in flight. Ospreys make long journeys, sometimes thousands of miles, from their breeding areas in North America to wintering areas . (Photo by Hemant Kishan)Osprey with Fish. Ospreys specialise on eating fish, they hunt by plunging feet-first into the water. (Photo by Bernie Duhamel)An Osprey of the Caribbean resident ridgwayi sub-species, taken in the Bahamas. You can see that this bird lacks the bold dark brown eye-stripe seen in the migratory birds. (Photo by Tom Sheley)
Activity of the Day
FOR KIDS: Take a look at this interesting infographic! In it you can find out more about Ospreys, where they breed in the US and how they are being affected by plastic pollution.
FOR KIDS AND ADULTS:
Take a walk along the coast or at a wetland and see if you can spot an Osprey or any other migratory birds. Use a bird field guide or the FREE Merlin bird ID app to help you identify the birds you are seeing.
Enjoy the videos below of Ospreys. The first shows the Ospreys’ amazing hunting method, with the bird grabbing a fish from the water! The second shows a Osprey, having made a successful catch, eating a fish.
Visit MigratoryBirdDay.org for many more free activities and resources to learn about migratory birds, their threats and conservation actions you can take.
Celebrate World Migratory Bird Day (WMBD) with us in our virtual “Birds Connect Our World” edition! Have fun learning about a new migratory bird every day. We have colouring pages, puzzles, activities, and more. Download for free and enjoy nature with your family at home.
Migratory Bird of the Day: Magnolia Warbler
The handsome Magnolia Warbler is an active warbler that often stays low in trees, flitting about and showing off its distinctive tail pattern—white near the base and black at the tip. Breeding males have bright yellow underparts with heavy black streaking, sometimes forming a necklace band on its upper breast. They also have a black mask and back, gray crown, white eyebrow behind the eye, and a wide white patch on their wings. Females are paler in colour with gray upper parts and mask, olive back, and two white wing-bars. Non-breeding birds have a gray head, much less streaking, 2 wing bars, and a hint of a pale gray breast band.
Magnolia Warblers breed mainly in northern parts of Canada, preferring to nest in young conifer trees. They spend the winter in Central America, including south-eastern Mexico to Panama, and in parts of the Caribbean. They are most common in the Bahamas and Cuba, and are also found in the rest of the Greater Antilles.
During the winter the Magnolia Warbler can be found in nearly all habitat types, including swamp edges, woodlands, cocoa plantations, orchards, and gardens, from sea-level all the way up into the mountains. Here they will be looking for insects and occasionally fruit to eat.
Magnolia Warblers do not in fact have a strong preference for magnolia trees. They got their name because the scientist who first documented them found them in a magnolia tree. These warblers, like many others, migrate at night in large mixed species flocks. All birds migrating at night are vulnerable to collisions with tall structures such as buildings, communications towers, and energy infrastructure. Learn more about this species, including its range, photos, and calls here.
Colour in the Magnolia Warbler!
Download the page from Migratory Birds of the West Indies Colouring Book. Use the photos below as your guide, or you can look up pictures of the bird online or in a bird field guide if you have one. Share your coloured-in page with us by posting it online and tagging us @BirdsCaribbean #WMBD2020Carib
Listen to the call of the Magnolia Warbler
The calls of the Magnolia Warbler are a slightly rasping “zeep”
Puzzle of the Day
Click on the images below to do the puzzles. You can make the puzzle as easy or as hard as you like – for example, 6, 8, or 12 pieces for young children, all the way up to 1,024 pieces for those that are up for a challenge!
A Magnolia Warbler with an insect in its bill. During the winter Magnolia Warblers can be found in nearly all habitat types and from sea-level all the way up into the mountains. (Photo by Linda Petersen)A male Magnolia Warbler in breeding plumage, with his bright yellow underparts and heavy black streaking, forming a necklace band on its upper breast (Photo by BN Singh)
Activity of the Day
FOR KIDS: We have met quite a few migratory warblers so far & will be meeting a few more! Some of these birds can look similar to each other. Take a look at this helpful guide, from wildlife artist Christine Elder, for identifying warblers. Add colors of the bird you see, look at its behavior and add some notes to help you identify and remember it.
Take a walk and see if you can spot any migratory Warblers. Try using the identification guide above, and a bird field guide or the FREE Merlin bird ID app to help you identify the birds you are seeing.
Enjoy the videos below of Magnolia Warblers feeding. In the first video there is a female foraging on the ground, there is a male, in breeding plumage visible in the background near to the end, so you can compare plumages. In the second video a male is feeding, picking insects from the leaves. You can also see the male fan his tail, showing the unique black and white tail pattern of this species.
Visit MigratoryBirdDay.org for many more free activities and resources to learn about migratory birds, their threats and conservation actions you can take.
