Bird Dispatches from the Hurricane Front Lines

10 comments

  1. Sam says:

    I spoke with staff at the USFW SE region office in Atlanta on 9/27. They confirmed that the USFW facility staff and captive flock, which rode out the storm in the hurricane building, survived just fine.

    On the 28th, a friend living in San Juan who was fortunate to have cell/internet service and a working generator, posted online that a local radio station reported that morning that 36 wild Puerto Rican Amazons had been seen and confirmed to have survived.

    On Facebook there have been reports from both of the captive breeding facilities for the Puerto Rican Amazon.

    Ricardo Valentin, at the Rio Abajo Aviary facility, confirmed in a brief post on 9/30 that the staff and captive flock which rode out the storm in the hurricane building are all fine and that “a significant number of wild ones survived.”

    In a post on 10/9 Ricardo reports that the captive flock is fine and around 80 of the wild parrots survived, but the damage to the forest is significant, as is damage to the aviary.

    On 10/2 Jafet Velez-Valentin, at the USFW El Yunque Aviary facility, confirmed in a brief post that all the staff and captive flock were fine. FWS firefighters are there with chainsaws helping to open trails. At that point, due to the severe damage in the forest, they had not yet been able to access the area where the wild flock is.

    There have not yet been any further posts from Jafet.

    Also, I highly recommend the Facebook group Biodiversidad de Puerto Rico as a source for photos, videos, and reports confirming the survival of species – bees, birds, bats, the coqui (frogs,) snakes, turtles, and more have been documented and the page is now pretty active.

  2. Debbie Hilaire says:

    Thank you so much for the updates on the birds of these decimated islands. It was my first thought as the storms were passing through and I hope you will continue to keep us posted.

  3. Cathy M says:

    Thank you so much for all you are doing to assist birds in the effected areas. I will make a go fund me donation tomorrow and have shared the link on my fb page.

    So touched by your dedication to the beauties.

  4. Marion Stein says:

    Thank you for this important information about the hurricane’s impact on birds and habitats. We’ve been to Cuba and seen the flamingos there on the north side. I hope they are all right.

  5. Thanks for writing Marion! How wonderful that you have been to Cuba and send the gorgeous flamingos on the north coast. We have heard that many have been killed but don’t have a recent update on how they are doing. We will share news as soon as we have it. Best, Lisa

  6. Dear Cathy, We are grateful for your kind words and donation. We are indeed dedicated to the Caribbean’s beauties – they enrich our lives and need looking after too! Warm greetings, Lisa

  7. Dear Sam, Thanks so much for this informative update on what is happening in PR – sorry I missed seeing this earlier. Some of the early reports are indeed encouraging about the survival of the parrots, but I heard recently that the population at El Yunque has still not been located. We are hoping they have dispersed to other areas and pockets of forest and are finding food and still alive! Please keep in touch! Best, Lisa p.s. Thanks for the tip on the FB group.

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