Working Groups
Seabird Working Group
“Seabird” is a general term used to collectively describe any species of bird that spends a substantial part of its life foraging and breeding in the marine environment. Twenty-two (possibly 23) species of seabirds breed in the Caribbean, and dozens more occur as migrants in the region. Because these birds spend most of their life out at sea, it is a unique challenge to monitor populations and manage threats to their habitats, marine and nesting cays and beaches. Working Group Chair/s: Ann Haynes-Sutton (asutton@cwjamaica.com), Yvan Satgé (ysatge@g.clemson.edu), and Rhiannon Austin (r.e.austin@liverpool.ac.uk)
Black-capped Petrel Working Group
The Black-capped Petrel (Pterodroma hasitata), also known as the Diablotin, is one of the Caribbean’s most fascinating seabirds, and one of its most threatened. Spending most of its life at sea, this species comes to land only to breed, nesting in burrows or crevices which they visit only in cover of darkness. Almost wiped out by over-hunting, the species only persists in remote mountain areas of a few Caribbean nations. It is a truly fascinating time to study the Black-capped Petrel. This Working Group is currently using multiple methods to learn more about the nesting sites and nesting behavior of this species. This information will be used to guide conservation plans and help ensure the survival of this remarkable seabird. Working Group Chair/s: Jennifer Wheeler (jennifer.wheeler@birdscaribbean.org) and Hannah Nevins (hnevins@abcbirds.org)
Media Working Group
The goal of the Media Working Group is to raise the profile of BirdsCaribbean using all available media. Raising awareness and facilitating a public response on issues related to Caribbean bird conservation is critical to our mission as a regional organization. This group also provides support and training in media relations to interested members and organizations to increase their capacity to reach local audiences with important conservation messages. Working Group Chair/s: Emma Lewis (petchary@gmail.com)
Sustainable Bird and Nature Tourism and CBT Project Working Group
Working Group Chair/s: Holly Robertson (holly.robertson@birdscaribbean.org)
Bird Monitoring Working Group
The long-term goal of this group is to enable Caribbean countries to build high-quality, bird monitoring and training programs that have regional relevance and significance because of shared species and habitats. This includes developing standardized protocols for training programs, increasing the number of skilled biologists living in the region, and fostering inter-island cooperation and collaboration in the regional monitoring of shared species of birds (including neotropical migrants) and their associated habitats. Working Group Chair/s: Ann Haynes-Sutton (asutton@cwjamaica.com) and Jeff Gerbracht (jeff.gerbracht@cornell.edu)
Endangered and Threatened Species Working Group
Over 10% of the Caribbean’s avifauna (57 of 560+ species) is considered globally threatened following the IUCN Red List criteria. Twelve of these are critically endangered, 21 endangered and 24 vulnerable, with an additional 18 species near threatened. These birds will be the next to go extinct (due to a number of different threat factors) if we do not intervene with appropriate conservation actions and monitoring activities. A program developed to prevent species extinctions is the Alliance for Zero Extinction (AZE). AZE does this by identifying and safeguarding the places where species are evaluated to be Endangered or Critically Endangered and are restricted to single remaining sites. This working group uses information and resources from the IUCN and AZE to direct our work in conserving our region’s most threatened bird species. Working Group Chair/s: Howard Nelson (h.nelson@chester.ac.uk) and Ellie Devenish-Nelson (ellie.devenish@ed.ac.uk)
Invasive Species Working Group
In insular ecosystems like the Caribbean, invasive species are responsible for two-thirds of extinctions and represent the greatest current threat to biodiversity. Invasive species are the primary threat to Caribbean seabird populations as well as many endemic plants, birds, and reptiles. After invasive species have been eradicated from uninhabited or lightly populated islands around the world, populations of seabirds and other sensitive species have increased dramatically. This working group serves to advance eradication as a conservation tool, which to date has been under-utilized in the Caribbean. Working Group Chair/s: Laura Bambini (laura.bambini@rspb.org.uk)
Caribbean Wildlife Art Working Group
Art has the ability to move and inspire people in ways that words cannot. This group works to foster and promote a wildlife artistic movement throughout the Caribbean that focuses on the richness of Caribbean biodiversity, particularly the region’s bird life. In so doing, we hope to raise awareness and appreciation for birds and their habitats, reach out to and inspire new audiences, and provide a means to sustainably finance the work of BirdsCaribbean. Working Group Chair/s: Nils Navarro (nilsarts71@gmail.com), Arnaldo Toledo (arnaldotoledo88@gmail.com), and Aslam Ibrahim Castellón (aslam870@gmail.com)
West Indies Checklist Working Group
Working Group Chair/s: Jeff Gerbracht (jeff.gerbracht@cornell.edu) and Anthony Levesque (anthony.levesque@wanadoo.fr)
Waterbird Working Group
BirdsCaribbean works to conserve waterbirds and the wetlands that support them in the Caribbean region. Several of our programs focus on this urgent conservation need, however, the group’s primary function is to support the successful implementation of the Caribbean Waterbird Census (CWC) program. Working Group Chair/s: Jessica Rozek Cañizares (jessica.rozek@birdscaribbean.org)
West Indian Whistling-Duck and Wetlands Working Group
The West Indian Whistling-Duck (WIWD) Working Group works to reverse the decline of this globally threatened species, a Caribbean regional endemic, and to prevent the further loss and degradation of wetlands in the Caribbean, particularly through the West Indian Whistling-Duck and Wetlands Conservation Project. Working Group Chair/s: Lisa Sorenson (lisa.sorenson@birdscaribbean.org)
Flamingo Working Group
Working Group Chair/s: Fernando Simal (perisimal@gmail.com)
Caribbean Parrots Working Group
This working group was created to address the threats that are unique to parrots in the Caribbean. Parrots are highly sought after for the illegal pet trade and as a consequence populations in the wild have been on a decline. Another contributing factor is illegal killing by farmers as a means to reduce crop damage from parrots. The group addresses these primary threats by developing educational materials as well as by training wildlife professionals on these islands to resolve this particular kind of human-wildlife conflict. Working Group Chair/s: Jane Haakonsson (jane.haakonsson@gov.ky)
International Bicknell’s Thrush Conservation Working Group
The Bicknell’s Thrush is among the landbird species of highest conservation concern in North America. A rare and geographically restricted habitat specialist of balsam fir-dominated forests in the northeastern U.S. and southeastern Canada, Bicknell’s Thrush is estimated to number fewer than ~125,000 individuals. On its Caribbean wintering grounds, where an estimated 90% of the global population is concentrated on Hispaniola, loss of forested habitats has been severe and is ongoing. Recent monitoring of breeding populations indicates consistent, rangewide declines, especially in Canada. The International Bicknell’s Thrush Conservation Group (IBTCG) has established an overall goal of increasing the global population of Bicknell’s Thrush by 25% over the next 50 years (2011–60), with no further net loss of distribution. Working Group Chair/s: Chris Rimmer (crimmer@vtecostudies.org)
White-crowned Pigeon Working Group
The White-crowned Pigeon is a popular game species throughout the Caribbean and hunting seasons are regulated on several islands. Harvest levels and seasons should be based on sound data, which is what this working group seeks to provide island governments. In the absence of reliable information, hunting should be strictly limited until population monitoring can establish abundance and trends and demographic study can justify greater hunting pressure. The group also works to promote cooperative and collaborative research and conservation planning that links national efforts across the White-crowned Pigeon’s entire Caribbean range. Working Group Chair/s: [Not Active]