Celebrate the Caribbean Endemic Bird Festival (CEBF) with us in our virtual “From the Nest” edition! Have fun learning about a new endemic bird every day. We have colouring pages, puzzles, activities, and more. Download for free and enjoy nature with your family at home.
Endemic Bird of the Day: Barbuda Warbler
A little bird with a big attitude, meet the Barbuda Warbler, known to Barbudans as the Christmas Bird! This gregarious bird, packed with energy and curiosity, is the sole endemic bird of Antigua & Barbuda. The Barbuda Warbler, though near-threatened, outnumbers the entire human population of Barbuda 5:1! This warbler measures between 12 and 13.5cm and weighs about 7 grams. It is characterized by bluish-gray upperparts and yellow throat and breast. It also bears a distinct yellow eyebrow stripe and a yellow crescent just below the eye. Females are slightly duller in appearance than males.
The Barbuda Warbler has a restricted range on Barbuda, preferring dry shrubland near wetlands. Besides its physical attractiveness, another nice thing about this endemic bird is that it is extremely easy to find when visiting the island. Barbuda Warblers are often found in the company of the Yellow Warbler although it appears that they have a competitive rather than friendly relationship with them.
Barbuda Warbler populations have suffered from loss of habitat. Though Barbuda remains largely undeveloped, in recent years the government has pushed for large scale development projects to boost the country’s economy. In 2017, the Barbuda Warbler population suffered a significant decline following the passage of catastrophic super Hurricane Irma. A surprising number of these tiny warblers survived, however, and have thankfully made a recovery since then. The sounds of the warbler’s sweet, melodic trill can again be heard when one wanders the paths through tropical dry shrubland on Barbuda.
Learn more about this species, including its range, photos, and calls here.
Colour in the Barbuda Warbler!
Download the page from Endemic Birds of the West Indies Colouring Book. Use the drawing above or 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 #CEBFfromthenest
Listen to the call of the Barbuda Warbler
The Barbuda Warbler’s call is a loud trill varying in pitch and speed as well as a mid-strength chick.
Puzzle of the Day
Click on the image below to do the puzzle. 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!
Barbuda Warbler (Photo by Ted Eubanks)Barbuda Warbler (Photo by Frantz Delcroix)
Activity of the Day
FOR KIDS: Endemic birds face many threats and dangers in their daily life—from habitat loss to storms to non-native predators like cats, rats and mongoose, it’s a challenge for birds to stay alive every day! Read about some of the threats that our birds face and how you can help birds. Then do our maze—Hazards Birds Face—help the bird get past the hazards back home to its nest!
FOR ADULTS: Learn The Truth About the Chickcharney in this fun webinar by Scott Johnson, Science Officer with the Bahamas National Trust.
The Caribbean is home to many different cultures, with intriguing folklore about creatures and spirits such as Bre Bouki and Bre Rabbi, the Lougaroo, Lajabless, Lusca, and many others. However, one creature called the Chickcharney is said to still inhabit the pine forests of Andros in The Bahamas. This bird-like creature with the face of a man is said to bring good and bad fortune to anyone who treats it with respect or disrespects it. What is most interesting about this creature… is that it may be based on a real animal!
Join Scott Johnson of the Bahamas National Trust and BirdsCaribbean as they explore the amazing story of the Chickcharney and the bird that is believed to be the basis of the myth. This webinar helped us launch our celebration of the Caribbean Endemic Bird Festival 2020, virtual edition, called “From the Nest.” For one month starting on April 22nd, we are celebrating every day with an Endemic Bird of the Day, coloring pages, puzzles, webinars, activities, and much more. All activities are available on our website: https://bit.ly/CEBFFromthenest
Celebrate the Caribbean Endemic Bird Festival (CEBF) with us in our virtual “From the Nest” edition! Have fun learning about a new endemic bird every day. We have colouring pages, puzzles, activities, and more. Download for free and enjoy nature with your family at home.
Endemic Bird of the Day: Montserrat Oriole
The Montserrat Oriole is endemic to the island of Montserrat, where it is the national bird. The male of this species is a striking combination of black and yellow: a rich black head, chest and back contrasts with deep yellowish-orange underparts and rump. The female is mostly olive-green above and yellowish-green below. Both have the characteristic sharp beak of the blackbird family, Icteridae; its color is silver-black.
While the Montserrat Oriole has always had a small range, things took a dramatic turn for this bird – and the entire island – due to volcanic activity in the mid-1990s. Eruptions of the Soufriere Hills volcano destroyed the southern half of this beautiful island. Lava flows and ash fall drastically reduced the amount of suitable forest habitat for the oriole by two thirds. The population of the oriole rapidly declined to less than 500 birds and the species was listed as Critically Endangered. After many years of conservation work, the birds have rebounded somewhat and the population is currently stable. As a result, it has been reclassified to Vulnerable. It’s survival is still threatened due to its small population size and extremely small range.
The oriole inhabits just two wet forested areas on the island: the Centre Hills and the South Soufriere Hills. It breeds mostly between late March and September, during the rainfall season. The nest, built entirely by the female, is a hanging basket structure sewn onto the underside of leaves. While we are thankful for the oriole’s recovery, its history shines an important light on how fragile island ecosystems truly are and the need for habitat conservation and management. Learn more about this species, including its range, photos, and calls here.
Colour in the Montserrat Oriole!
Download the page from Endemic Birds of the West Indies Colouring Book. Use the drawing above or photo 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 #CEBFfromthenest
Listen to the call of the Montserrat Oriole
The Montserrat Oriole’s call consists of loud whistles and a scolding, harsh chuur.
Puzzle of the Day
Click on the image below to do the puzzle. 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!
Montserrat Oriole (Photo by Alistair Homer)
Activity of the Day
FOR KIDS: Test your knowledge of where Caribbean endemic birds live with our Colouring Map Matching Activity! Draw lines from the colouring book drawings to match each Caribbean endemic songbird with its home island. And here is the Answer Key – don’t look until you have completed the activity!!! More information about our Endemic Birds of the West Indies Colouring Book is here. We are sharing a new colouring page from the book each day of our Caribbean Endemic Bird Festival 2020, From the Nest, Virtual Edition.
FOR ADULTS: Learn more about the efforts to save the Montserrat Oriole from extinction at this link.
Celebrate the Caribbean Endemic Bird Festival (CEBF) with us in our virtual “From the Nest” edition! Have fun learning about a new endemic bird every day. We have colouring pages, puzzles, activities, and more. Download for free and enjoy nature with your family at home.
Endemic Bird of the Day: Blue-headed Quail-Dove
The Blue-headed Quail-Dove (Starnoenas cyanocephala) is the largest and most eye-catching of Cuba’s terrestrial doves. It has a cobalt blue crown, black eye line, white facial stripe, and black medallion on the throat and breast bordered by white. The sides of the throat have iridescent blue lines. The body is a cinnamon-brown color that blends in with dead leaves. This shy bird lives in dense forests where it walks constantly on the ground, often in pairs or small groups, searching for seeds, insects, snails, grubs, berries, and other fruits in the leaf litter.
Blue-headed Quail-Doves are endemic to Cuba. They were formerly common and widespread throughout Cuba but today are rare and classified as Endangered. They are now found in only a few forested areas, including Guanahacabibes Peninsula, Zapata Swamp, and in the Pinar del Río Province. The major threats to this species are hunting and habitat destruction. Although protected, the species is still illegally trapped for its good-tasting meat. Blue-headed Quail-Doves nest on the ground or in cavities and low bushes between the months of March and June, and lay two white eggs. Their flight is clumsy, and they produce a characteristic loud noise when they are frightened, very similar to that of the European Partridge (Perdix perdix). This is probably why Spanish colonizers gave it its local name, Perdiz, which is Spanish for Partridge.
The Blue-headed Quail-Dove’s call, a series of two similar notes, whoooo-up, whoooo-up, seems like a whisper in the forest. It should remind us that the forest is the quail-dove’s only habitat and we must protect it to continue enjoying these beautiful birds—considered a jewel of the Cuban avifuana. Learn more about this species, including its range, photos, and calls here.
Colour in the Blue-headed Quail-Dove!
Download the page from Endemic Birds of the West Indies Colouring Book. Use the drawing above or photo 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 #CEBFfromthenest
Listen to the call of the Blue-headed Quail-Dove
The Blue-headed Quail-Dove’s call is a series of two similar notes, whoooo-up, whoooo-up, with the last syllable rising in tone and then stopping short. During the breeding season, male may call from a low perch for long periods at virtually any time of day. You can also hear the chattering call of the Cuban Tody in this recording.
Puzzle of the Day
Click on the image below to do the puzzle. You can make the puzzle as easy or as hard as you like – for example, 6, 8, or 12 pieces for young children, all the way up to 1,024 pieces for those that are up for a challenge!
The spectacular Blue-headed Quail-Dove is endemic to Cuba. Once common and widespread, it is now Endangered due to hunting and deforestation. It is now found in only a few areas in Cuba. (Photo by Aslam Ibrahim)
Activity of the Day
FOR KIDS & ADULTS: Enjoy this short video of a male Blue-headed Quail-Dove courting a female by following her and head-bobbing. Breeding pairs are socially monogamous and defend territories during the breeding season. The nest is built of loosely placed twigs lined with freshly fallen leaves, placed either on the ground or low to it in a stump cavity, the fork of a branch among the roots of trees, and sometimes among tangled vines.
Celebrate the Caribbean Endemic Bird Festival (CEBF) with us in our virtual “From the Nest” edition! Have fun learning about a new endemic bird every day. We have colouring pages, puzzles, activities, and more. Download for free and enjoy nature with your family at home.
Endemic Bird of the Day: Bahama Yellowthroat
The Bahama Yellowthroat is one of five endemic bird species found in The Bahamas. It was first discovered by Dr. Henry Bryant during an expedition to The Bahamas in 1865-1866. It is a relatively large warbler species in the Family Parulidae, about 5.5in (14cm) long. There are three subspecies and they can be found on the islands of Grand Bahama, Abaco, Andros, Eleuthera and Cat Island. There was a population on New Providence, but it is believed to be extirpated.
The Bahama Yellowthroat male has a striking black face mask that makes it look like a bandit. Its back, nape, and tail are olive green, contrasting with a bright yellow throat and belly. The bright yellow coloration may serve as an “honest” signal to potential mates, indicating a healthy mate. The female is duller colored with no face mask. Its song is a loud whichity-whichity-whichity similar to a Common Yellowthroat, but louder and richer. It also has a sharp chip note.They feed on arthropods and nest in low, scrubby vegetation.
The Bahama Yellowthroat is an attractive endemic Bahamian species but it is more often heard than seen due to its skulking behaviour. It can be distinguished from Common Yellowthroats, which are common and widespread winter visitors, by its greater size, longer and heavier bill, and more uniformly yellow underparts. They also live in different habitats—the Bahama Yellowthroat prefers wooded areas while the Common Yellowthroat lives in wetlands. Learn more about this species, including its range, photos, and calls here.
Colour in the Bahama Yellowthroat!
Download the page from Endemic Birds of the West Indies Colouring Book. Use the drawing above or photo 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 #CEBFfromthenest
Listen to the call of the Bahama Yellowthroat
The Bahama Yellowthroat’s song is remarkably similar to the Common Yellowthroat, calling loudly and clearly witchity-whitchity-witchity.
Puzzle of the Day
Click on the image below to do the puzzle. 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!
Bahama Yellowthroat (Photo by Keith Salveson)
Activity of the Day
FOR KIDS & ADULTS: Hone your observation skills and go on a Nature Scavenger Hunt! Print the cards on sturdy paper and use a clipboard or piece of cardboard as a writing surface outside. Younger children can do side 1 of the card, older children side 2. English, Spanish and French versions are available for free download here!
All living things have a habitat—a place that provides the food, water, cover, and space that they need to survive. Cover includes nesting areas, places to sleep or rest, places to hide or escape, and shelter. Space means a big enough area to hunt and feed, find nesting areas, and for some bird species, to migrate safely. If a place does not provide the right food, water, space, and cover in a suitable amount, a plant or animal cannot live there.
Talk about this with your kids and then go outside to investigate your habitat using the Habitat Scavenger Hunt cards. Instead of collecting the items on the list, this is an observation scavenger hunt. Have your child or children check off the items (with a pencil or pen), as they are located. When everyone has had a chance to look for the items listed, come back together to chat about where they were located. Were any difficult or impossible to find? Why do you think that was? For example, it might be impossible to find animal tracks when it is very dry, or certain animals depending on the time of year.
Celebrate the Caribbean Endemic Bird Festival (CEBF) with us in our virtual “From the Nest” edition! Have fun learning about a new endemic bird every day. We have colouring pages, puzzles, activities, and more. Download for free and enjoy nature with your family at home.
Endemic Bird of the Day: Puerto Rican Woodpecker
The Puerto Rican Woodpecker (Carpintero de Puerto Rico in Spanish) is one of the eight endemic bird species of the family Picidae in the Caribbean region, and one of the 17 endemic species of Puerto Rico. It is abundant and widely distributed in forest reserves throughout the island, but can also be found in woodlots, gardens, and parks in urban areas. The bright red throat and breast, contrasting with solid black upperparts and a white forehead, make this bird easy to identify. It is possible to tell the sexes apart because females have less red on their underparts than males.
The Puerto Rican Woodpecker is frequently found in pairs or groups of five or more birds, which are easily heard from a distance. Its common call is a series of wek-wek-wek or wicka-wicka-wicka notes, that get louder and faster.
Woodpeckers have a powerful bill that they use to probe insects (larvae and adults) from under the bark of trees, and to carve nest cavities in dead trunks or utility poles. Unlike many woodpeckers this is an omnivorous species, eating a wide variety of animals including insects, worms, spiders, and frogs. Fruits are eaten and fed to the young.
Old woodpecker nests can later be used by other nesting birds like Puerto Rican Flycatchers or Pearly-eyed Thrashers.For its beauty, gregarious habits, and wood-working skills this endemic species has been proposed as a national bird for Puerto Rico. Learn more about this species, including its range, photos, and calls here.
Colour in the Puerto Rican Woodpecker!
Download the page from Endemic Birds of the West Indies Colouring Book. Use the drawing above or 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 #CEBFfromthenest
Listen to the call of the Puerto Rican Woodpecker
While the Puerto Rican Woodpecker has a variety of calls, it most commonly says a fast and loud wek, wek, wek-wek-wek-wek-wek.
Puzzle of the Day
Click on the image below to do the puzzle. 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!
Puerto Rican Woodpecker (Photo by Alfredo Irizarry)Puerto Rican Woodpecker (Photo by Wilfred Marissen)
FOR ADULTS: Learn all about the endemic birds of Puerto Rico through a presentation by Adrianne Tossas, Ph.D. a Professor at the University of Puerto Rico, Aguadilla, and Board member of BirdsCaribbean. You can view the presentation here for now in Spanish. We will be adding closed caption/ subtitles in English and posting to our YouTube channel as well. Thank you to the Department of Natural Resources and Environment in Puerto Rico for sharing this poster and co-hosting the webinar!
Celebrate the Caribbean Endemic Bird Festival (CEBF) with us in our virtual “From the Nest” edition! Have fun learning about a new endemic bird every day. We have colouring pages, puzzles, activities, and more. Download for free and enjoy nature with your family at home.
Endemic Bird of the Day: Hispaniolan Lizard-Cuckoo
The Hispaniolan Lizard-Cuckoo is true to its common name: it is found nowhere else in the world but the island of Hispaniola, its diet includes lizards (as well as many different insects), and it belongs to the Cuculidae family. On the Dominican side of the island, this cuckoo is known as Pájaro Bobo (“Silly Bird”), while on the Haitian side it goes by the name, Tako.
Cuckoos are always a delight to see while birdwatching because they are both fun to watch and listen to. They are a little like squirrels—despite their size (~100g and 45cm in length) they are able to swiftly hop, run, creep, and crawl through dense highways of understory branches—sometimes without making a sound. But when they do decide to make themselves known, their long and drawn-out rattling call will get your attention right away. You may not think at first that the rattling sound belongs to a bird, but rather an insect or frog!
Any birdwatcher will tell you that cuckoos are all about the tail—it’s downright impressive. Not only does it double the length of the bird, the pattern of white spots checkered over a black base is mesmerizing. The Hispaniolan Lizard-Cuckoo’s striking tail pattern is complemented by a rufous belly and throat, offset by a smooth grey chest. Add in the long, dual-colored, hooked bill, and you’ve got yourself a very sleek looking bird.
Look for this cuckoo almost anywhere in Hispaniola, from the high mountain broadleaf forests down to suburban gardens. Once you catch sight of one, you’ll certainly want to get closer. While doing so you might be rewarded by this species’ inquisitive behavior, as it hops into a better position to look right back at you. Learn more about this species, including its range, photos, and calls here.
Colour in the Hispaniolan Lizard-Cuckoo!
Download the page from Endemic Birds of the West Indies Colouring Book. Use the drawing above or photo 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 #CEBFfromthenest
Listen to the call of the Hispaniolan Lizard-Cuckoo
The call of the Hispaniolan Lizard-Cuckoo is a throaty descending ka-ka-ka-ka-ka-ka-ka-ka-kau-kau-ko-ko.
Puzzle of the Day
Click on the image below to do the puzzle. 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!
Hispaniolan Lizard-Cuckoo are always a delight to see while birdwatching because they are both fun to watch and listen to. (Photo by Guillermo Armenteros)
FOR ADULTS: There’s no question that birds have a special place in the hearts of Caribbean people. The intimate cultural connection between people and birds is reflected in the local names for birds that vary from island to island. They are celebrated in art and literature from the region as well, receiving praise from Bob Marley for “singin’ sweet songs,” and representing the Caribbean spirit in the poems of Derek Walcott.
Celebrate the Caribbean Endemic Bird Festival (CEBF) with us in our virtual “From the Nest” edition! Have fun learning about a new endemic bird every day. We have colouring pages, puzzles, activities, and more. Download for free and enjoy nature with your family at home.
Endemic Bird of the Day: Red-billed Streamertail
For a long time there has been much controversy about the taxonomy of Jamaica’s two endemic Streamertail hummingbirds, the Red-billed and the Black-billed; in other words, how closely related were they, and were they one species or two? These two similar hummingbirds were at first considered separate species, but were later lumped into one species: the Streamertail. More recent scientific evidence, however, has suggested that they are indeed two separate species after all—leading them to be split again! Thus, Jamaica hosts two species of this stunningly beautiful bird—the Red-billed Streamertail has a much wider range, covering most of the island, while the Black-Billed Streamertail is restricted to just a small area in the east.
Males of both species have two long, thin, fluted tail feathers that flow out behind them when they fly. Their bodies are iridescent, their emerald green breasts contrasting with their black heads with two little tufts at the back of their necks and dark wing feathers. The males of the two species differ, however, in the colours of their bills, their body size, and mating behaviour. The two species interbreed to some extent in the John Crow Mountains where their ranges overlap, providing a rare example of ‘within island speciation,’ where one species divides into two on a small island ecosystem.
Confusingly, the females of both species look very similar to each other but completely different from the males. Females have dark bills, white bellies, greenish backs—and no streamers.
Some people say that the males look like old-fashioned doctors, in their top hats and tailcoats, paying house calls to the flowers to give them injections with their long sharp bills. Perhaps this is why the local name is Doctor Bird. Or maybe it is because the original inhabitants of Jamaica, the Tainos, believed the birds had spiritual or healing powers. The world may never know how these birds got their name! Regardless, everyone agrees that they are vitally important, both ecologically and economically. This is because of the role they play in fertilizing flowers and fruits in the forests, gardens and orchards, from sea level to the mountain tops, as they fly from flower to flower, feeding on nectar and small insects. That is why they are Jamaica’s national bird. Learn more about this species, including its range, photos, and calls here.
Colour in the Red-billed Streamertail!
Download the page from Endemic Birds of the West Indies Colouring Book. Use the drawing above or 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 #CEBFfromthenest
Listen to the call of the Red-billed Streamertail
The call of the Red-billed Streamertail is sharp, high-pitched, metallic tseet, tseet, tseet, tseet. The wings of the male also produce a low-pitched whrrrrrr sound in flight.
Puzzle of the Day
Click on the image below to do the puzzle. You can make the puzzle as easy or as hard as you like – for example, 6, 8, or 12 pieces for young children, all the way up to 1,024 pieces for those that are up for a challenge!
The Red-billed Streamertail is a common and widespread bird in Jamaica found wherever there are flowers, regardless of altitude. It’s range is western and central Jamaica. It is the national bird of Jamaica. (photo by Ann Sutton)The Black-billed Streamertail (close relative of the Red-billed Streamer) is found only in northeastern Jamaica. (Photo by Rey Millet)
Activity of the Day
FOR KIDS & ADULTS: Try your hand at writing some bird-themed poetry! Haiku is a form of poetry written in only three lines, each with their own set number of syllables. Windsparks is another form of poetry with 5 lines. Chose your favorite endemic bird, create a Haiku or Windsparks poem, and then post it to us on social media (Facebook or twitter) by tagging us @BirdsCaribbean and/or use hashtag #CEBFFromtheNest. Or, send your poem to us via email (info@BirdsCaribbean.org). We’d love to see what everyone comes up with!
Female Red-billed Streamertail – females of both Red-billed and Black-billed Streamertail look similar with a greenish back and head, white underparts, and no streamer. (photo by Paul Jones)
Celebrate the Caribbean Endemic Bird Festival (CEBF) with us in our virtual “From the Nest” edition! Have fun learning about a new endemic bird every day. We have colouring pages, puzzles, activities, and more. Download for free and enjoy nature with your family at home.
Endemic Bird of the Day: Imperial Parrot
The Imperial Parrot is only found on the island of Dominica, where it is the national bird. It is the largest of the 32 species of Amazon parrots in the world. Locally, it’s called the Sisserou.
This stunning bird is Critically Endangered—it was estimated at 300-400 birds in 2017, having recovered from a low of 50-100 birds following Hurricane David in 1979. Category 5 Hurricane Maria smashed Dominica and badly damaged the bird’s forest habitat in September 2017. Once again parrot numbers were reduced, perhaps to a similar low as in 1979. The birds that remain persist in wet, high-mountain forests where they feed on fruits, seeds, and shoots. As the habitat recovers, we hope that the parrot population is again making a steady recovery. Major threats to this species include illegal poaching for the international caged-bird trade (more info here and here) and habitat loss from hurricanes and development (e.g, conversion to agriculture).
Male and female Imperial Parrots look the same. The head and underparts of this bird are dark and beautiful: the chest is an iridescent deep purple, the head is a shimmering mix of dark blues and greens, while the cheeks and forehead are purple/brown. These features are in stark contrast with the bird’s vivid green wings and back. The Imperial Parrot nests in tree cavities of old-growth rainforest trees and the female typically lays just one egg, every other year. It is critical to protect mountain forests so this bird has all the resources it needs for nesting and foraging.
BirdsCaribbean and Rare Species Conservatory Foundation are helping to fund conservation work by the Forestry Department in Dominica to survey the population after Hurricane Maria devastated the island in 2017, and restore the habitat of this rare and magnificent parrot. Learn more about this species, including its range, photos, and calls here.
Imperial Parrot eating the Native Rain Forest Palm locally referred to as Palmiste (Euterpe dominicana) after Hurricane Maria in September 2017. (photo by Stephen Durand)
Colour in the Imperial Parrot!
Download the page from Endemic Birds of the West Indies Colouring Book. Use the drawing above or photo 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 #CEBFfromthenest
Listen to the call of the Imperial Parrot
The call of the Imperial Parrot is a trumpeting and metallic-sounding eeee-er that descends in pitch at the end. When it’s perched, it squawks, shrieks, and even whistles in a bubbly trill.
Puzzle of the Day
Click on the images below to do the puzzles. You can make the puzzles 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!
Imperial Parrots live mainly in the Morne Diablotin area and Northern and Central Forest Reserves in Dominica (Photo by Paul Reillo)Imperial Parrots (Painting by Christopher Cox)
Activity of the Day
FOR KIDS & ADULTS: Complete our All about the Sisserou Crossword Puzzle! How many words do you know? Be sure to read about the Sisserou, our Endemic Bird of the Day, for clues to the puzzle. If you need help, also check out our Glossary for some definitions that will help you complete this puzzle. And here is a the Answer Key to the puzzle. (thanks to Stephen Durand, Dominica Forestry Dept. for help creating this puzzle!)
FOR ADULTS: Learn more about the Imperial Parrot—including threats to its survival and recovery efforts following Hurricane Maria in 2017 in these articles:
Celebrate the Caribbean Endemic Bird Festival (CEBF) with us in our virtual “From the Nest” edition! Have fun learning about a new endemic bird every day. We have colouring pages, puzzles, activities, and more. Download for free and enjoy nature with your family at home.
Endemic Bird of the Day: Western Spindalis
The Western Spindalis is a colorful songbird that lives year-round in The Bahamas, Turks and Caicos Islands, Cuba, the Cayman Islands, and Mexico. Males have a bold black and white striped head, burnt orange neck, breast and rump, a black or olive back, and black and white wings. Females are much less colourful—grayish olive above and whitish below. Both sexes have short, thick bills. Plumage color varies throughout its range (there are 5 subspecies).
The Western Spindalis feeds mainly on fruits and berries, but it will also eat other plant parts as well as snails. It can live in many different habitats where it is often found in the tree canopy. This species was formerly called the Stripe-headed Tanager with eight recognized subspecies that included birds in Puerto Rico, Hispaniola and Jamaica. Based on differences in coloration, vocal behavior, nesting, and size, ornithologists split the species into four Spindalis species in 2000. In addition to the Western Spindalis, we now have the Hispaniolan Spindalis, Puerto Rican Spindalis, and Jamaica Spindalis. They are all strikingly beautiful! Learn more about this species, including its range, photos, and calls here.
Colour in the Western Spindalis!
Download the page from Endemic Birds of the West Indies Colouring Book. Use the drawing above or photo 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 #CEBFfromthenest
Listen to the call of the Western Spindalis
The call of the Western Spindalis is a variable thin and high-pitched trill.
Puzzle of the Day
Click on the image below to do the puzzle. 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!
Western Spindalis (Photo by Susan Jacobson)
Activity of the Day
FOR KIDS & ADULTS: Test your Caribbean geography skills: Can you name all of the islands and island groups in the Caribbean? Here’s your chance to try! Fill out each of the names on the Caribbean Map from the Endemic Colouring Book and, if you can’t remember a few, use our Map Activity Key to refresh your memory and learn some new islands. You can colour in the drawings on these pages too!
Celebrate the Caribbean Endemic Bird Festival (CEBF) with us in our virtual “From the Nest” edition! Have fun learning about a new endemic bird every day. We have colouring pages, puzzles, activities, and more. Download for free and enjoy nature with your family at home.
Endemic Bird of the Day: Cuban Tody
The Cuban Tody (called Cartacuba or Pedorrera in Cuba) belongs to an endemic family from the Caribbean, the Todidae Family. The five species of this family are confined to the Greater Antilles—one species each in Cuba, Jamaica, and Puerto Rico, and two species in Hispaniola. They are among the most remarkable and beautiful birds of these islands. The Cuban Tody (Todus multicolor) is the most colorful of all, and the only one with blue feathers on the sides of the neck. It is a small chubby bird with vivid green upperparts, red throat, mostly white underparts, and pink flanks. The bill is long and flat, red below and dark brown above.
Todies mainly eat insects. They feed by sitting on exposed perches from which they dart out to capture their prey, similar to flycatchers. During flight, a curious whirring rattle may be heard, a sound made with their wings. They are common in forests, woodlands and borders of rivers and streams in the Cuban mainland, Isle of Youth, and several north cays. Their small size and green coloration makes it difficult to see them when perched in vegetation. But they call frequently with a strong repeating chatter, and this makes it easier to find them. Todies have a voracious appetite and can eat almost 40% of their own weight in insects each day! In spring, they build a nest in a tunnel-like hole in banks on the sides of roads, mounds of earth, or natural cavities. The rate at which they feed their chicks is the highest of any recorded insectivorous bird. Learn more about this species, including its range, photos, and calls here.
Colour in the Cuban Tody!
Download the page from Endemic Birds of the West Indies Colouring Book. Use the drawing above or photo 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 #CEBFfromthenest
Listen to the call of the Cuban Tody
The call of the Cuban Tody is a strong, fast and sustained tot-tot-tot-tot tottottottottot tot-tot-tot-tot tottottottottot tot tot ppreeee.
Puzzle of the Day
Click on the image below to do the puzzle. 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!
Cuban Tody (Photo by Aslam Castellon)
Activity of the Day
FOR KIDS: Do you know what the different parts of a bird are called? Knowing them can help you to learn how to describe and identify birds, as well as colour them in. Learn the names for the parts of a bird by checking out the diagram in this page. Then test your knowledge by filling in the parts on this sheet.. You can colour in the drawings on these pages too!
FOR ADULTS: Take a virtual trip to Cuba and enjoy some of the birds, scenery and culture of this marvelous country with this short video on the Birds and Natural Life of Cuba. Thanks to Suzanne Abruzzo, participant in our January 2019 Cuba Bird Tour, for creating and sharing this wonderful video!
Celebrate the Caribbean Endemic Bird Festival (CEBF) with us in our virtual “From the Nest” edition! Have fun learning about a new endemic bird every day. We have colouring pages, puzzles, activities, and more. Download for free and enjoy nature with your family at home.
Endemic Bird of the Day: Ridgway’s Hawk
The Ridgway’s Hawk is found only on the island of Hispaniola, which is shared by the nations of Haiti and Dominican Republic. It is one of the most Critically Endangered raptors in the world, with fewer than 500 birds remaining. It hunts by maneuvering through the thick forest with the help of its broad wings and long tail, or by perching low to the ground in open areas scanning for prey. It feeds on snakes, as well as lizards and skinks, frogs and toads, small rodents, bats, and birds.
This hawk often builds its nest right on top of an active nest of the Palmchat, the national bird of the Dominican Republic. The hawks add larger twigs on top of the existing Palmchat nest, without causing any harm to the smaller birds nesting below. It’s like a two-story building for birds! The Ridgway’s Hawk is not shy around people and will even nest close to settlements and roads. However, nesting pairs are quick to defend their territory against humans or any other predator—they will vocalize loudly and chase off the intruders.
Since the late 19th century, the Ridgway’s Hawk population has been in steep decline. Much of their native habitat is disappearing through clear-cutting of forests and wildfires. Birds are also shot or chicks taken from the nest and killed as people fear these beautiful hawks will prey on their chickens. Fortunately conservationists at The Peregrine Fund, working in partnership with local communities, are making great progress in saving this species from extinction. BirdsCaribbean is supporting on-the-ground conservation work for this species through its Betty Petersen Conservation Fund. Learn more about this species, including its range, photos, and calls here.
Colour in the Ridgway’s Hawk!
Download the page from Endemic Birds of the West Indies Colouring Book. Use the drawing above or 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 #CEBFfromthenest
Listen to the call of the Ridgway’s Hawk
The Ridgway’s Hawk call, is a loud, shrill repeated wee-uh.
Puzzle of the Day
Click on the image below to do the puzzle. 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!
Adult Ridgway’s Hawk (Photo by Pedro Genaro)Immature Ridgway’s Hawk (Photo by Guillermo Armenteros)
Activity of the Day
FOR KIDS: Complete our Ridgway’s Hawk Word Scramble! How many words do you know? If you need help, check out our Glossary for some definitions that will help you figure out this word scramble. And here is a the Answer Key to the puzzle.
FOR ADULTS: Learn more about what is threatening the Ridgway’s Hawk survival and how conservationist Marta Curti and communities in the DR are working to save it, thanks to the Betty Petersen Conservation Fund and The Peregrine Fund. Donate here to support this project and save the hawk for future generations to enjoy!
Members of the community of Los Brazos create a home-made sign that reads “Welcome to Los Brazos. This community protects the Ridgway’s Hawk” to show their support of the conservation projectOur field crew in Los Limones organized the painting of a beautiful mural at the entrance to the community to highlight the importance of conserving Ridgway’s Hawk in the area (Photo by The Peregrine Fund)
Celebrate the Caribbean Endemic Bird Festival (CEBF) with us in our virtual “From the Nest” edition! Have fun learning about a new endemic bird every day. We have colouring pages, puzzles, activities, and more. Download for free and enjoy nature with your family at home.
Endemic Bird of the Day: Bridled Quail-Dove
The Bridled Quail-Dove is a mostly orange-brown dove with a white stripe below its eye. Its mournful who whooo call can usually be heard in May during peak breeding season. It is endemic to the West Indies and can be found in forested areas where it forages on the ground for seeds, fruits and the occasional gecko. They use their bill to toss aside leaf litter while searching for food.
It is exciting to see this species because they are quite shy and afraid of humans. If you’re lucky enough to see one, move slowly or stand very still and you may get a glimpse of its shimmering turquoise neck feathers. More often than not, the quail-dove will walk away rather than fly, allowing you a little time to admire its beauty.
The Bridled Quail-Dove is found in the Lesser Antilles, Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico. Its natural habitats are tropical dry forests or moist lowland forests. It is considered uncommon or rare everywhere in its range and isolated populations are declining. Habitat loss from development and hurricanes threaten this species, as well as predation by cats and rats.
Unfortunately, not much is known about the quail-dove due to its secretive nature, but BirdsCaribbean is working with partners to try to learn more about its status on different islands and how we can help. If you want to help too, you can start by teaching others about this bird, as well as supporting conservation of forests in the Caribbean where it occurs.Learn more about this species, including its range, photos, and calls here.
Colour in the Bridled Quail-Dove!
Download the page from Endemic Birds of the West Indies Colouring Book. Use the drawing above or photo 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 #CEBFfromthenest
Listen to the song of the Bridled Quail-Dove
The Bridled Quail-Dove call is a mournful who-whooo, on one pitch or descending towards the end, getting loudest in the middle of the second syllable, and then trailing off. Note that there is also a Zenaida Dove calling in this recording; it’s call is coo-oo, coo, coo, coo, the second syllable rising sharply.
Puzzle of the Day
Click on the image below to do the puzzle. 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!
Bridled Quail-Doves forage on the forest floor but they frequently perch on rocks or downed tree trunks to rest and preen. (Photo by Hannah Madden)Bridled Quail-dove (Geotrygon mystacea) in the Quill (photo by Hannah Madden)
Activity of the Day
FOR KIDS: Complete our All About Birds Crossword Puzzle! How many words do you know? If you need help, check out our Glossary for some definitions that will help you complete this puzzle. And here is a the Answer Key to the puzzle.
Celebrate the Caribbean Endemic Bird Festival (CEBF) with us in our virtual “From the Nest” edition! Have fun learning about a new endemic bird every day. We have colouring pages, puzzles, activities, and more. Download for free and enjoy nature with your family at home.
Endemic Bird of the Day: Bananaquit
Sugar Bird, Banana Bird, See-see Bird, Beeny Bird—these are all affectionate nicknames for our beloved Bananaquit. The Bananaquit is a small, friendly songbird found throughout the Caribbean (except mainland Cuba), and parts of Central and South America.
They are distinctive birds with down-curved bills, black upperparts, bright yellow belly, and a conspicuous white eyebrow. Their plumage color varies greatly across the Caribbean, however, with more than 41 recognized subspecies! Features such as the color of the throat (white, gray, or black), length of the bill, and amount of yellow on the belly vary. On Saint Vincent and Grenada, Bananaquits can even be entirely black!
Bananaquits are gregarious and are often found noisily foraging in large groups. Although they occur in nearly all habitats, they are especially common in gardens, parks, and other suburban areas where flowers are abundant. They are energetic birds, flitting from flower to flower in their search for nectar, their main diet. They also eat insects and insect larvae.
The Bananaquit’s nickname, Sugar Bird, comes from its fondness for bowls stocked with sugar, a common method of attracting these birds. Bananaquits can hang upside down to reach the nectar from flowers. And they sometimes “steal” nectar, piercing flowers from the side, to take the nectar without pollinating the plant. Despite this sneaky behavior, we all love this friendly songster; note that it is the logo bird for BirdsCaribbean! Learn more about this species, including its range, photos, and calls here.
Colour in the Bananaquit!
Download the page from Endemic Birds of the West Indies Colouring Book. Use the drawing above or 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 #CEBFFromTheNest
Listen to the song of the Bananaquit
The bananaquit’s song is a rapid series of high-pitched, shrill, unmelodious squeaks which is heard most noisily while foraging in groups.
Puzzle of the Day
Click on the images below to do the puzzles. You can make the puzzle as easy or as hard as you like – for example, 6, 8, or 12 pieces for young children, all the way up to 1,024 pieces for those that are up for a challenge!
The Bananaquit’s main diet is nectar. (Photo by Roger Zachary)Bananaquits feasting on bananas. (Photo by Mark Yokoyama)
Activity of the Day
FOR KIDS: Many birds can be recognized by their size, the way they stand or fly, or the shape of their body. Depending on the light, sometimes all you can see is the outlined shape of a bird – this is called a silhouette. Try our bird identification quiz! Try to notice any clues about these silhouettes that may help you figure out what type of bird they are, simply based on their shape! FOR ADULTS: Why are there so many different subspecies of Bananaquits throughout the Caribbean? And how did they become “superstars”? Learn more about this fascinating bird in this fun article published in ZiNG magazine, LIAT Airline’s in-flight magazine. (Birdscaribbean contributes articles on birds and nature to each issue). Download the PDF.
HAPPY EARTH DAY! On this 50th Anniversary of Earth Day and during these incredibly difficult days, we are thinking of all of our friends around the world and hope everyone is safe and healthy. Earth Day is a great time to reflect on how important the natural world is to all of us and the simple actions that we can all take to reduce our impacts. And while we are home-bound, we can learn to better know and appreciate the birds and nature in our own backyards.
To say that the times are challenging is an understatement. We are confused and fearful at times. Avoiding contact with others outside of our household is an unusual and difficult transition; we are social beings by nature. It is important that we find ways to adapt to this situation, so we protect our mental health, while preserving our physical health.
The most important piece of advice that can be given at this point, is to stay active. Although we may not be able to leave the confines of our yards, we cannot allow ourselves to sink into a state where all is gloom and doom. Apart from catching up on, or picking up new, hobbies such as reading, cooking, or learning a language, one of the easiest and quickest ways to lower stress and anxiety levels is to immerse yourself in nature. The natural world has not stopped. Whether COVID-19 is with us or not, taking the time to observe our surroundings does much to improve our health and well-being.
The majestic Broad-winged Hawk can often be seen atop street posts or on tree branches carefully surveying the ground beneath (Photo by Nick Hollands)
The Home Observatory
Many of us are “on lockdown” these days. Whether our home is a high-rise apartment in the city, a house with a garden, or a townhouse complex, we are spending almost all our time indoors. We are not encouraging anyone to break “stay home” orders designed for your own health and safety; but there are many simple ways you can be close to nature without any harmful side effects. Right from your window, patio, or back steps, you can observe the birds that pass by. You will likely start to see “new” birds! Sometimes these may be common residents, that you may have never observed properly before. It is almost as if you are seeing them for the first time.
Now is a great time to look for migrants that have started their journeys northward from the Caribbean. Look for warblers such as the lively American Redstart, the Black-and-White Warbler, or the attractive Prairie Warbler. Which migratory birds are still with us, and which ones are arriving? Make a note of the dates when you see a warbler for the first time, or a summer migrant, or a more unusual visitor that might just be passing through. It is a time of change in the bird world.
A Prairie Warbler male in striking breeding plumage. Prairie Warblers winter in the Caribbean and also pass through on migration. (Photo by Mark Tegges)
While some species are embarking on great journeys, other resident and endemic birds are settling down in yards and gardens across the region. It is springtime and that means the start of the breeding season for many. You may see a Bananaquit collecting nesting material in your yard. You can watch the amusing antics of the Loggerhead Kingbird darting for food for its young ones.
The handsome Loggerhead Kingbird is a common and widespread resident of pine forests in the Bahamas, Greater Antilles, and the Cayman Islands. (Photo by Sergey Uryadnikov)
Some birds, such as Jamaica’s White-chinned Thrush, sing melodiously during the breeding season. Like the Red-legged Thrush, it is a common visitor at gardens and can be seen hopping along country roads looking for insects, lizards, and frogs to eat. And now, at dusk, you may hear the rasping call of the Antillean Nighthawk, chasing flying insects.
The Red-legged Thrush is found in the northern Bahamas, Hispaniola, Cuba, Puerto Rico, Cayman Islands, and Dominica. It is a common and year-round resident and visitor to gardens and yards. It hops along the ground looking for insects, fruits and small invertebrates to eat. (Photo by Dax Roman)
Bringing the Birds to You
So, what can we do to bring birds closer to us? We would suggest that you maintain your feeders and if you have the space in your yard, put up a bird bath or spray to attract birds to your yard. The birds will come to you, happily bathing. As the weather is beginning to heat up, birds get thirsty too, so you will find them sipping water.
Or what about the raptors? There are still quite a number around, including the intimidating Broad-winged or Red-tailed Hawks, that boldly announce their arrival with a loud scream. Or even the fearless American Kestrels. How about the majestic, commanding presence of one of our larger visiting raptors, the Osprey? Nature has not stood still; it is alive and vibrant all around us.
Ospreys are one of the many species of birds that you may be able to see as you observe nature from the safety of your home (Photo by Natalya Lawrence)
Now you have time. Lots of it. So, why not spend it setting up an eBird account? (If you are in the Caribbean, use eBird Caribbean). You can start logging your counts on a daily basis and contribute to the global knowledge base on birds. Become a citizen scientist! You may enjoy wearing this new hat while on lock-down, and beyond. Do not forget to also keep a good bird guide at hand, or consult with a phone app, like Cornell Lab of Ornithology’s Merlin Bird ID App.
Yards Are Good for You…and the Birds Too!
There is another activity that you might also enjoy, whatever the size of your yard. And you and the birds will benefit! Gardening is a popular, but an often time-consuming pastime that you may find you now do have some time for! The plants that suffered months of neglect due to our busy schedules can now become the pride of our eyes as we nurture them with attentive care. Having trees and small plants around the house has many benefits: Gardening is therapeutic and a healthy occupation; flowering plants offer nectar to birds and bees; trees and plants provide shade and vegetation around our homes; and trees lining our streets can lower temperatures by a few degrees. Many plants attract birds (and butterflies) also! For more information and ideas on what can work, explore our free, downloadable eBook on Native Trees and Plants for Birds and People in the Caribbean. For the less adventurous, how about trying your hand at an herb collection that can thrive in small pots? Basil and French Thyme grow easily in tropical climates.
For the industrious, try your hand at composting! With a bit of extra time on our hands, it is much easier to separate your waste. Do not forget to separate plastics for recycling and to refrain from dumping organic matter. Compost it and use it to fertilize your garden.
Finding Balance…With Nature
You see, being at home is not that bad at all. Just sit down, plan out a list of actions, and if you have children in the house, get them involved. I will never forget the first time my son picked a sweet pepper from the tree he nurtured himself! He watched over that plant from seed in the dirt to picking that pepper, and the look of pride as he picked it, and watched it being incorporated into our meals is unforgettable.
While our daily routines are disrupted, the birds happily continue with theirs. We can learn more about them and enjoy their day-to-day behavior. Who knows, they may help us to achieve that mental and emotional balance that we are seeking these days.
While we wait out this pandemic in the safety of our homes, it is important that we keep ourselves busy, focused, and grounded. Most importantly, let’s be responsible and be safe!
Earth Day, April 22nd, is also the start of our one month Caribbean Endemic Bird Festival (CEBF). Join us as we celebrate the CEBF with our virtual “From the Nest” edition! The theme is Birds and Culture. We are sharing an Endemic Bird of the Day, colouring pages, online bird puzzles, webinars, and links to fun, free activities and resources to do with your kids. Follow us on social media (@BirdsCaribbean) and check our website every day for new stuff. We look forward to sharing with you about our beautiful endemic birds! #CEBFFromtheNest
Thanks so much to Natalya Lawrence, Emma Lewis, and Nathan Wilson for this inspiring essay.
Celebrate the Caribbean Endemic Bird Festival (CEBF) with us in our virtual “From the Nest” edition! Have fun learning about a new endemic bird every day. We have colouring pages, puzzles, activities, and more. Download for free and enjoy nature with your family at home.
Endemic Bird of the Day: Antillean Crested Hummingbird
The Antillean Crested Hummingbird is a small iridescent green hummingbird with a short, straight bill. It is easy to identify as it is one of the few hummingbirds with a tall spiky mohawk, that is, crest. The male is brightly colored while the female is more plain and lacks a crest. This hummingbird is a year-round resident throughout the Lesser Antilles (as well as the Virgin Islands and parts of Puerto Rico).
The Antillean Crested Hummingbird can be spotted in open vegetation like parks, plantations, and the borders of forests. It’s a wonderful visitor to backyard gardens. It spends its day visiting flowers to drink nectar. It also eats small insects and spiders. It breeds year-round but mainly from January to August. The nest is a tiny cup of cotton or fine fibers with lichens coating the outside and firmly bound together with spider webs (see photo below). Hummingbirds have to eat all day because it takes a lot of energy to keep their wings flapping so fast (up to 80 beats per second!). Learn more about this species, including its range, photos, and calls here.
Colour in the Antillean Crested Hummingbird!
Download the page from Endemic Birds of the West Indies Colouring Book. Use the drawing above or 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 #CEBFfromthenest
Listen to the call of the Antillean Crested Hummingbird
Puzzle of the Day
Click on the images below to do the puzzles. You can make the puzzles 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 Crested Hummingbird (Photo by Matt Elliott)Antillean Crested Hummingbird on nest (Photo by Howard Nelson)
FOR ADULTS: On this Earth Day, 50th Anniversary celebration, learn about key native plants that are beneficial to native and migratory birds with our eBook: Heritage Plants: Native Trees and Plants for Birds and People in the Caribbean. The plants highlighted in this book are perfect for backyard gardens, neighborhood landscaping, and other habitat restoration projects big and small. Browse the book, get inspired, and find new plants to grow in your backyard! Check with your local Forestry Department as they may have some of these plants available at no cost. Available in both English and Spanish!
Celebrate the Caribbean Endemic Bird Festival (CEBF) with us in our virtual “From the Nest” edition! Have fun learning about a new endemic bird every day. We have colouring pages, puzzles, activities, and more. Download for free and enjoy nature with your family at home.
Endemic Bird of the Day: West Indian Whistling-Duck
The West Indian Whistling-Duck (WIWD) is a tall, graceful, mostly brown duck with a beautiful haunting call. It is endemic to the West Indies and can be found in different wetland habitats, like salt ponds, mangroves, marshes, swamps, rice fields, and palm savannas. It is always a thrill to see this species because they often remain hidden during the day, roosting in mangrove trees or other vegetation. They become active at sunset when they fly around to different wetlands to feed.
This duck was once common, but populations are now very small and isolated on each island. Destruction of wetland habitats, illegal hunting, and invasive predators (like mongoose) have all contributed to the decline of this species. The gorgeous WIWD is the flagship species for wetlands conservation and education efforts by BirdsCaribbean and partners. You can help save this species by reporting illegal hunting, teaching others about this bird, and supporting conservation of mangroves, ponds and marshes on your island. Learn more about this species, including its range, photos, and calls here.
Colour in the West Indian Whistling-Duck!
Download the page from Endemic Birds of the West Indies Colouring Book. Use the drawing above or 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 #CEBFfromthenest
Listen to the call of the WIWD
The call of the WIWD is a shrilly whistled Chiriria, which is the origin of one of its Spanish names.
Puzzle of the Day
Click on the image below to do the puzzle. 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!
Close-up of the beautiful West Indian Whistling-Duck (photo by Ray Robles)Two West Indian Whistling-Ducks having a rainwater drink in Antigua (photo by Nick Hollands)
Activity of the Day
FOR KIDS! Learn about what makes a bird a bird, and play Bird Spy Bingo in your backyard. Parents – some great activities for your kids to help them enjoy and learn about nature in your own backyard. Do one or all of the activities described in this lesson. Print the Bird Spy Bingo game and play with the whole family!
BirdsCaribbean is excited to be hosting a fundraiser that focuses on the energy, excitement, and comradery that’s associated with Global Big Day!
Global Big Day is an annual event in which birders, often in teams, travel around an area trying to observe as many bird species as they can in a 24-hr period of time. Global Big Day is happening on May 9th this year!
Because of safety concerns with COVID-19, Global Big Day will have a different feel to it this year. Many of us will be birding individually, and from a safe place*.
In an effort to keep the event exciting, and give us all an opportunity to celebrate safe birding, BirdsCaribbean has created a fundraiser that brings us all “together” on virtual teams that can engage in friendly competition to (1) raise the most funds, and (2) collectively see the most species of birds on Global Big Day.
Once on a team, help personalize your team page with fun photos and your own lingo, and then invite family, friends, colleagues, or members of your birding community to join your team and/or donate to your team.
By inviting people to your team, you are (1) raising awareness for BirdsCaribbean and the Journal of Caribbean Ornithology, (2) encouraging more fundraising to keep the Journal going, and (3) promoting Global Big Day and the importance of conserving birds and their habitats.
and/or . . .
Simply making a donation to one of the birding and fundraising teams.
By doing so, you will have (1) helped support the Journal, and (2) encouraged that team to bird as hard as they can on Global Big Day.
and/or . . .
Committing to spending some time (or the entire day!) birding on Global Big Day (May 9), being sure to keep track of what you see and then entering that information into eBird. We hope everyone will do this, whether or not they join a team or fundraise.
This will be a fun event to fundraise for and get excited about! Be ready to set yourself up in a safe place* and go birdwatching for as much of the day as possible, knowing that all of your teammates, friends, and BirdsCaribbean community members are doing the same!
Everyone should plan to submit their observations to eBird (or eBird Caribbean). Then we’ll tally them up and see how we all did! We will send out more information about this as the event draws closer.
WHY THIS IS IMPORTANT
We are living in unprecedented times. The important role that science is playing in understanding COVID-19 and finding solutions is more clear than ever. What science does to inform and improve public health, it also does for conservation of wildlife and nature.
BirdsCaribbean’s mission is to conserve birds and habitats throughout the Caribbean islands. This depends in large part on science—investigating causes of species decline that can then inform management and conservation actions.
To share that science, our community of researchers depends on theJournal of Caribbean Ornithology (JCO). This in-house, peer-reviewed publication has served our community for 32 years and counting. But the JCO needs help to keep its publications free and open-access to the world. Explore the JCO here.
HOW YOUR GIFT WILL BE USED
This fundraiser will benefit the Journal of Caribbean Ornithology.
We are proud of our Journal and want to keep it free and open access to everyone. To do this, we need help fundraising to cover the Journal’s modest operating costs.
JCO has recently experienced remarkable growth, including adding many new and talented staff members, creating a highly efficient workflow, building a new website, completing fully-accessible Archives dating back to Volume 1, Issue 1 in 1988, and so much more.
JCO is an invaluable resource to thousands of Caribbean students, researchers, and conservationists, providing an unparalleled body of ornithological knowledge for the Caribbean region through its free, fully searchable website. This is why we are asking for your help in fundraising for JCO.
No matter what, we hope everyone will participate. You can bird by yourself, create a team or join a team, and then fundraise! Or you can simply make a donation, investing in science to help Caribbean birds. No gift is too large or too small.
As with everything in the Caribbean we will be successful when our whole community pitches in, so let’s do this together. We know we can count on you to help!
ABOUT GLOBAL BIG DAY
Global Big Day is organized by the Cornell Lab of Ornithology. Last year, people in more than 175 countries participated, setting a record for the most birds seen in one day all over the globe. Learn more here about this important citizen scientist initiative.
PRIZES WILL BE AWARDED TO:
(1) the team that raises the most funds
(2) the team with the most creative name and stylish fundraising page
(3) the team that sees the most bird species on Global Big Day
(4) the team that sees the most endemic species on Global Big Day
(5) the team with the best “find” of the day (unusual, rare, plumage aberration, etc.)
(6) the team with the best bird photo of the day (must be posted on eBird along with your list)
There will also be “Hidden Prizes”; the categories for these will be announced just prior to Global Big Day AND throughout the day on Global Big Day.
SAFETY
*Given the safety concerns the COVID-19 virus presents for doing Global Big Day counts, we recommend that you bird in your backyard. If it is safe to go out on May 9th be sure to choose birding locations that (1) comply with your municipality’s COVID-19 safety guidelines (i.e. social distancing and travel guidelines), and (2) comply with your personal safety preferences. And so whether you we will be birding at a local park, within your own backyards, or from your bedroom windows, we will all be enjoying the opportunity to distract ourselves with some safe, fun birdwatching. Additionally, we will all be birdwatching “together” for a great cause that unites us!
Thanks in advance for participating and supporting our fundraiser, however you can! We hope to see lots of teams forming throughout the Caribbean, US, Canada and beyond! We will keep you updated with more news and details about our Global Big Day, such as how to keep a count of your birds and enter your data on line – stay tuned!
Sharpen your pencils and prepare your paints, everyone!
The Caribbean Endemic Bird Festival (CEBF) is just around the corner. This year, much of it will be celebrated virtually, as we continue to experience unusual challenges at this time. Nevertheless, BirdsCaribbean has a special surprise for young (and not so young!) bird enthusiasts: a beautiful 64-page Endemic Birds of the West Indies Colouring Book.
Back and Front Covers of the Endemic Birds of the West Indies Colouring Book
“We will be shipping out boxes, free of charge, to our partners to use in their education programs on birds and nature — and of course for their Caribbean Endemic Bird Festival (CEBF) celebrations,” noted Lisa Sorenson, Executive Director of BirdsCaribbean. “Due to the current difficult situation, we realize that the usual exciting CEBF events will not be possible and distribution of the colouring books will be delayed. In the meantime, we will share some pages online with everyone as part of our celebration of CEBF at home.”
With delicate, detailed wildlife drawings by naturalist, educator, and illustrator Christine Elder, and informative text by writer Mark Yokoyama, the book offers children of all ages the opportunity to learn interesting facts while learning the techniques of colouring the birds’ vibrant plumage.
Barbuda Warbler and Hispaniolan Lizard-Cuckoo Colouring Pages
The Colouring Book includes 50 endemic birds, with a focus on the most vulnerable, widespread, and colorful species. The front cover has an extra page that folds in and provides a Colouring Key to all 50 birds. There are also colouring tips, and background information on endemic birds, the threats they face, and how kids can help. At the end of the book there are Activity pages and a Glossary.
Colouring Tips and Colouring Key
BirdsCaribbean is working on preparing the Spanish version of the colouring book — it should be ready within a few weeks’ time. The French version will follow soon after that.
“Kids are often amazed to learn that there are birds and other animals that live only on their island,” commented our writer, Mark. “These birds, and this book, can help them discover how special their home is.”
Artist Christine Elder said, “It was an honor to work with BirdsCaribbean to illustrate these beautiful endemic birds. I’m confident that this book will serve as a valuable tool for conservation and I look forward to seeing the children’s drawings.”
“BirdsCaribbean wishes to thank the U.S. Forest Service International Programs, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, and BirdsCaribbean members for their tremendous support for this project,” said Lisa Sorenson. “This Colouring Book has been a dream of ours for quite a long time. It was delayed by pressing issues, such as our urgent work on hurricane relief the past several years. We are so proud of the final product. We hope our partners and the public they serve will enjoy using it as a fun educational tool, and we look forward to receiving feedback.”
Help us get these books to children across the islands!
We are short on funds to ship this book to 25+ Caribbean countries as well as funding to print the Spanish and French versions. If you would like to help, please click here. No donation is too small!!
How to obtain copies of Birds of the West Indies Colouring Book
If you are an educator working for an NGO or government in the Caribbean and would like to receive one or more boxes of the coloring book, please fill out this form. To save on shipping costs, we are aiming to limit the number of shipments per country. We ask for help with distribution by a local institution to NGOs and governmental ministries for use at bird and nature education events.
You can download the colouring book for free on our Resources page.
If you would like to purchase a copy of the coloring book (US$7.99 + shipping), we anticipate that we will be able to ship you the book by the end of April. At this time, we can easily sell only to customers in the U.S. or Canada, and in small quantities (e.g., 6 or less). (Customers in other countries, or in need of large quantities, should contact Lisa Sorenson).
You can purchase up to 6 copies of the book via PayPal using the menus below (PayPal will add the shipping). If you prefer to purchase via check, please make the check out to BirdsCaribbean and mail to: BirdsCaribbean, 841 Worcester St. #130, Natick, MA 01760. On your check, indicate the total number of books you would like and calculate the total cost for the books plus shipping by referring to the chart below.
There is a $1 discount for paid-up (2020) BirdsCaribbean members; if you wish to join BirdsCaribbean, click here. If you need to renew your membership, click here. If you are not sure of your membership status, please contact our Membership Manager, Delores Kellman).
From all of us at JCO, thank you to all of the authors and reviewers that contributed to a very successful Volume 32!
Inside you’ll find a sizable number of publications, including 16 research articles, our first designated “Conservation Report,” 4 book reviews, Recent Ornithological Literature from the Caribbean, and a special In Memoriam for the late Dr. James. W. Wiley.
I want to give some much-earned recognition to the 2019–2020 JCO team. While they were undertaking the aforementioned load of manuscripts, they were working double-time to make some incredible improvements behind-the-scenes. Let me just say that it’s no easy task to create and adopt a new workflow while you simultaneously have a dozen manuscripts—each at different stages— moving through the old workflow. And this new workflow means better communication, a higher-caliber final product, and a more efficient pathway for a manuscript to proceed from submission to publication. All great things!
Please take some time to enjoy all of Volume 32. Inside you’ll find a suite of excellent work stemming from more than 17 countries across the Caribbean. We should all take pride in this work and make the time to congratulate each other on all of these accomplishments. 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.
Thank you for your support of JCO!
— Justin Proctor, JCO Managing Editor
Map depicting research locations of the studies published in Volume 32.
On December 3rd, 2014, ornithologists spotted an American Pipet during an annual Cuba Bird Survey led by the Caribbean Conservation Trust. Previously undocumented in Cuba, this observation marks the first report of this species on the island, and underscores the importance of the Guanahacabibes region as an important stopover for fall migrants.
James F. Dwyer, Thomas I. Hayes, Russell Thorstrom, and Richard E. Harness
After a translocation program for the Critically Endangered Ridgway’s Hawk was stymied by electrocutions in the Dominican Republic, Dwyer et al. began to investigate. In this article, the authors identify the errors made while retrofitting power poles and discuss the necessity of properly mitigating electrocution risks for this project, and others throughout the Caribbean.
Meghann B. Humphries, Maribel A. Gonzalez, and Robert E. Ricklefs
Currently, there are eight subspecies of Carib Grackle distributed across the Lesser Antilles and northern South America. By sequencing mitochondrial genes of Carib Grackles across their range, Meghann et al. shed light on the phylogenetic and geographic history of the species, bringing into question the bases for the subspecies classifications.
In response to the dearth of current literature on the White-crowned Pigeon, Acosta and Mugica compiled the latest data on this Vulnerable species in Cuba. Here, they present their findings, focusing on the current distribution of the species as well as conservation measures that have contributed to the perseverance of the species.
Anthony Levesque, Antoine Chabrolle, Frantz Delcroix, and Eric Delcroix
While the Sedge Wren commonly winters in Florida, it has yet to be recorded in the Caribbean, until now. In this article, Levesque et al. recount their sighting of this species on Grand Bahama Island, providing descriptions and photographs of the bird’s diagnostic features and the habitat where it was located.
Christopher C. Rimmer, John D. Lloyd, and Jose A. Salguero-Faria
After Puerto Rico was identified as potential overwintering habitat for the globally Vulnerable Bicknell’s Thrush, Rimmer et al. conducted surveys to clarify the species’ winter distribution on the island. Here, they report that Bicknell’s Thrush is a rare and local species in Puerto Rico and highlight the importance of conservation efforts in Hispaniola, where the species is more abundant.
In 1796, Nicolas-Thomas Baudin captained an expedition to the caribbean, bringing back close to 300 specimens; however, there is controversy surrounding their procurement. After investigating the origin and spread of these specimens, Jansen and Fuchs document their findings and address the arguments of theft made by David K. Wetherbee (1985, 1986).
Currently, the six subspecies of Turkey Vulture are delineated by external measurements and subtle plumage variations, with the Antillean Turkey Vultures falling under Cathartes aura aura. However, through photographic documentation and eBird records, Graves calls attention to the similarity of facial caruncles on Turkey Vultures throughout the caribbean to those present on the eastern United States and Middle America populations. As facial caruncles are largely absent from South American populations, Graves’ work brings into question the diagnostic nature of these markings.
While there are no species of geese native to Jamaica, vagrant or introduced species have been recorded intermittently on the island. Here, Levy amalgamates the scattered history of three geese species in Jamaica and presents a new record of a Snow Goose, illustrated in 1758: the second Snow Goose ever recorded in Jamaica.
Though the comb forkedfern is native to the New World tropics, it is invasive to protected areas in the Dominican Republic and Jamaica. By comparing the bird diversity between invaded habitats and fern-free habitats in the Mason River Protected Area, Davis demonstrates that increased incidence of comb forkedfern decreases bird diversity, particularly native species. Through this, Davis urges the importance of controlling fern spread to protect native bird and plant species.
Richard R. Schaefer, Susan E. Koenig, Gary R. Graves, and D. Craig Rudolph
Though the Jamaican Crow and Jamaican Boa co-occur in certain habitats in Jamaica, there are no published reports of their interactions. By detailing four accounts of mobbing by crows on boas and one probable instance of depredation of a crow’s nest by a boa, Schaefer et al. are the first to document a presumably ongoing feud between these two native species.
With violently strong winds, hurricanes are known to displace birds and transport them to new and unusual habitats. That is why, when Hurricane Maria passed over Puerto Rico on September 20th, 2017, Pérez-Rivera was ready. Here, he documents several unusual bird sightings made by him and others in the wake of Hurricane Maria.
The island of La Gonâve, Haiti, boasts a diversity of bird habitats and has historically sustained a variety of both diurnal and nocturnal raptor species. However, due to rampant environmental degradation and habitat destruction, it is rarely visited by ornithologists or wildlife researchers. After conducting raptor surveys on La Gonâve in 2012, White et al. compared their findings with historical records of raptors on the island, noting that only a few generalist species have been able to sustain populations.
While the Shiny Cowbird is native to South America, over the past century, this brood parasite has spread across the caribbean archipelago and into North America – but how and when did this dispersal occur? In an effort to document the introduction and spread of this species in Jamaica, Levy compiles historical observations of Shiny Cowbirds and postulates a potential hurricane-mediated arrival on the island.
André Dhondt, Jeremy L. Collison, Matthew H. Lam, Matthew J. D’Ambrosio, and Taylor L. Crisologo
Palmchats are among the few passerine species that build complex, multi-chambered nests; however, there are no published studies of their nest-related behavior. After studying Palmchat nests in the Dominican Republic, here, Dhondt et al. report on their observations, noting differences in group size, nest size, twig-related activities, twig length and shape, and nest construction.
William E. Davis, Lisa G. Sorenson, and Ernesto Reyes Mouriño
On January 28th, 2018, birders on the BirdsCaribbean Cuba Bird Tour in Ciénaga de Zapata National Park, Cuba, spotted an almost entirely white Willet amongst a group of Short-billed Dowitchers and other Willets. In this article, Davis et al. present photographic evidence and a detailed description of this leucistic Willet and use phenotypic characteristics to classify it as a western subspecies.
Since its introduction to Cuba in 2003, the Caribbean Endemic Bird Festival has achieved paramount recognition for its talks, conferences, competitions, workshops, exhibitions, and other ornithological events. By uniting and strengthening the national network of environmentalists, this festival has expanded its scope of activities and built its capacity to prepare and distribute educational materials.
[this is our first publication under the header “Conservation Reports” – we invite more of these!]
Jason M. Townsend, Rafaela Aguilera Román, Felisa Collazo Torres, José González Díaz, Chandra Degia, Hiram González Alonso, Floyd E. Hayes, Lyndon John, Steven C. Latta, Lourdes Mugica Valdés, Nils Navarro Pacheco, Fernando Nuñez-García, Carlos Peña, Herbert Raffaele, Pedro Regalado, Ernesto Reyes Mouriño, Yaroddy Rodríguez, Bárbara Sánchez Oria, Helen Snyder, Joseph Wunderle
Summary: This In Memoriam of Dr. James W. Wiley not only celebrates his foundational research career, with four decades of published work, but also the profound personal connections he built through his mentorship and friendship. Twenty authors contributed to this piece, paying homage to Jim and painting a beautiful picture of the life he lived.
A special thank you to Dr. Steven C. Latta, Director of Conservation and Field Research at the National Aviary and longtime editor for JCO, for his continued efforts undertaking this important section of our journal that compiles recent publications from around the Caribbean. Steve has been contributing ROLs to JCO since Volume 22 in 2009.
“My idea then was to catch everything that was published after the publication of Jim Wiley’s “A Bibliography of Ornithology in the West Indies” which I always thought was a tremendous effort and a tremendous resource. I wanted to make it easier for people across the Caribbean to have ready access to the most recent literature by knowing what had been published and how to contact the researchers for copies of their papers. I also wanted to make the updating of the bibliography a whole lot easier.”
Steve has done an outstanding job and we encourage our readers to look back through his work over the past 10 JCO volumes, which can all be found in our free and open-access Archives.
Article by (1) Simon Campo – Editor for the Journal of Caribbean Ornithology and a Researcher at the Yale School of Medicine in New Haven, CT; Connect with Simon via LinkedIn or email; (2) Justin Proctor – Managing Editor for the Journal of Caribbean Ornithology; and (3) Aliya Hosein – Centre for the Rescue of Endangered Species of Trinidad and Tobago.
Journal of Caribbean Ornithology relies on donations to keep all of our publications free and open-access. If you would like to support our mission and the broader goal of giving a voice to Caribbean ornithologists and their work, please consider becoming a supporter of JCO.
Trinidad is home to 18 species of hummingbirds – we are all envious of this diversity! Aliya Hosein shares a folk tale of the role these birds played in the creation of one of Trinidad’s natural wonders—The Pitch Lake—and also some amazing natural history facts about these tiny but mighty birds.
Glittering-throated Emerald (photo by David Huggins)
Most cultures around the world have superstitious beliefs, some of which involve birds. In Trinidad and Tobago—and possibly the entire Caribbean region—birds were thought to be messengers of the gods or representation of the gods themselves. Hummingbirds, in particular, were revered by Amerindian tribes. It is reported by historians that Amerindians first named Trinidad, Iere (or Kairi, Caeri) for the hummingbird yerette (or ierette).
These birds are also featured in the story of origin of one of Trinidad’s natural wonders: The Pitch Lake. The Pitch Lake is located in the village of La Brea in southwest Trinidad and covers 100 acres. At its centre it is about 250 feet deep. This Lake is the world’s largest commercial deposit of natural asphalt. It sluggishly replenishes itself causing a “stirring” action in the lake which causes trees and other objects to appear, disappear and re-emerge!
The Pitch Lake was believed to be covered by lush green forest inhabited by an Amerindian tribe. On one day a rival tribe made a sudden attack but the warriors fought with all their might to protect their land. The rival tribe surrendered and left the village as quickly as they could. Only a few huts were damaged.
The tribe was overcome with joy. They wanted to celebrate, but, since the unexpected attack prevented them from hunting that day, they feasted on hummingbirds. They plucked the shimmering feathers off the tiny birds and adorned their own bodies. They carried on with their celebrations paying no attention to their belief that these sacred hummingbirds held the spirits of their ancestors.
White-tailed Sabrewing (Photo by Steve Laycock)
As retribution for their evil deed, the hummingbird gods opened up the ground beneath the village and summoned a lake of pitch that swallowed everything, including the people! The hummingbirds, however, were spared and can now be found throughout the island.
Trinidad and Tobago is home to 18 dazzling species of hummingbirds. Most recently the Glittering-throated Emerald (Amazilia fimbriata) was sighted in the country’s Northern Range bumping the total up to an unofficial 19.
Hummingbirds make up their own bird family. They are tiny, about as heavy as a pack of gum. They have long, narrow bills to sip nectar. Their wings are sabre-shaped for precise flight control. Males, and sometimes females, have small, reflective, colourful feathers on the throat and upper chest. The true intensity of these colours are seen when the hummingbird turns its head to catch the sunlight.
Glittering-throated Emerald (Photo by David Huggins)
Despite being the smallest of birds, they have been built to live an extraordinary life. As expected, small birds mean small eggs. Hummingbirds lay eggs as tiny as peas in equally tiny cup-shaped nests made from spider webs and leaves. After mating, the female protects and cares for the eggs and chicks by herself.
Hummingbirds have powerful down- and up-beat wing flaps. They are tremendously agile fliers; they are the only vertebrates capable of staying in one place during flight and flying backward and upside-down as well. To the flying acrobatics add speed: their wings beat about 70 times per second in direct flight, and more than 200 times per second while diving.
Tufted Coquette (Photo by Luke Seitz)
In order to maintain their fast-paced lifestyle, hummingbirds must be able to locate reliable sources of nectar from flowering plants. This explains why their movements are often tied to the changing pattern of flower production over time and space.
Interestingly, hummingbirds do not forage or fend off predators together. They will instead compete with each other for nectar, which explains the hullabaloo around flowering gardens or bird feeders. However, they do have very good reasons for being obnoxious and feisty around flowering plants.
Flowers take time to produce nectar. Hummingbirds therefore wait to feed at flowers in order to lower the risk of losing a tasty meal to other hummingbirds. In areas where many species live together the largest tries to defend small territories where they know they can get the biggest sips of nectar. Since nectar is low in protein, they switch from flowers to insects during the breeding season. They catch small flying insects by hovering in mid-air which are then fed to their growing chicks. If hummingbirds cannot find enough food, they go into a sleep-like state in which their metabolism slows down and body temperature drops to conserve energy.
White-chested Emerald (Photo by Mark Hulme)
Unfortunately, as human settlements continue to expand, the flowers that hummingbirds prefer are disappearing. The good news is that by planting the right plants (for example: trumpet bush, vervain, powderpuff, and torch lily) in your yard and providing sugar water in hummingbird feeders, you help replace lost food sources.
And you can still help the hummingbirds, even if you are not the ‘gardening’ type, by drinking Bird Friendly certified coffee. When coffee is grown under a diverse canopy of shade trees, coffee plants, the trees that shade them, and the plants that grow on the trees provide a buffet of flowers for these birds and other wildlife that depend upon them.
Hummingbird species recorded in Trinidad and Tobago:
Glittering-throated Emerald (Photo by David Huggins)
Amethyst Woodstar (Calliphlox amethystina)
Copper-rumped Hummingbird (Amazilia tobaci): its subspecies if found only on Tobago
White- chested Emerald (Amazilia brevirostris)
Blue-tailed Emerald (Chlorostilbon mellisugus)
Blue-chinned Sapphire (Chlorestes notata)
White-necked Jacobin (Florisuga mellivora)
Black-throated Mango (Anthracothorax nigricollis)
Green-throated Mango (Anthracothorax viridigula)
White-tailed Goldenthroat (Polytmus guainumbi)
Long-billed Starthroat (Heliomaster longirostris)
Ruby Topaz (Chrysolampis mosquitus): annual visitor to Trinidad
Tufted Coquette (Lophornis ornatus): the lightest hummingbird recorded for Trinidad
Green Hermit (Phaethornis guy)
Rufous-breasted Hermit (Glaucis hirsutus)
Little Hermit (Phaethornis longuemareus)
Brown Violetear (Colibri delphinae)- favours high altitudes
Rufous Shafted Woodstar (Chaetocercus jourdanii)
White-tailed Sabrewing (Campylopterus ensipennis): listed as Near Threatened by the IUCN, found only on Tobago and Venezuela
Article by Aliya Hosein, member of BirdsCaribbean’s Media Working Group. Aliya works as the Leader of the Welfare and Wildlife Program at the Centre for the Rescue of Endangered Species of Trinidad and Tobago. She is a biologist and avid conservationist, especially fond of parrots and hummingbirds.
It goes without saying that every member of the BirdsCaribbean community deserves recognition for the amount of hard work and dedication they put into their professions—all of which are rooted in the effort to conserve Caribbean birds and their habitats. This is a family that knows long hours, hot days in the field, and perseverance in the face of work that is often unpredictable. It is a family of strong and passionate people.
But at every BirdsCaribbean conference we set aside a special block of time to acknowledge those of us that have managed to go even more above and beyond in a variety of distinguished ways. In the evening of the final day of the conference, all of our conference delegates gather in the largest presentation room. Although everyone is itching to hit the dance floor to celebrate the closing of another successful conference, they know that the Awards Ceremony is not only a ritual, but an important moment to show support for some of their amazing colleagues. We were pleased and proud to honor 12 special persons at our recent conference in Guadeloupe (July 2019) with an award.
On the final night of the Guadeloupe Conference, delegates gather in good spirits in anticipation of the Awards Ceremony.
Here’s a recap and another shoutout to all of our 2019 Award Winners:
Founders’ Award: This award is presented to the student who presents the best paper in conservation or management research at the biennial conference. All student presentations are judged by members of a Founders’ Award Committee, consisting of ~10 conference delegates and led by Joe Wunderle.
This year’s Founders’ Award went to Christopher Cambrone from Guadeloupe, for his outstanding presentation entitled, “Population genetic structures of two closely-related, Caribbean-endemic Columbid species, the Scaly-naped Pigeon, Patagioenas squamosa, and the White-crowned Pigeon, P. leucocephala.”
Christopher Cambrone takes home the Founders’ Award for best student presentation, recognition that earns him a Lifetime Membership to BirdsCaribbean. (photo by Mark Yokoyama)
This is the fourth year that this award has been presented, but the first time an Honorable Mentions category was instituted (no doubt as a response to there being so many great student presentations, year after year). The two Honorable Mentions include (1) Spencer Schubert and his presentation, “Artificial perches as a technique for enhancing tropical forest restoration: a case study from the central Dominican Republic, and (2) Laura Fidalgo and her presentation, “Characteristics of Elfin-woods Warbler (Setophaga angelae) post-hurricane habitat structure.” More information on these presentations and past winners of the Founders’ Award can be found here.
President’s Awards: There were three particularly special community members that received the President’s Award, hand chosen by BC’s current President, Andrew Dobson. These individuals stand out for services and work they have done that are simply extraordinary, raising the bar to new heights. The winners of the 2019 President’s Awards went to (1) Jennifer Wheeler for all of the blood, sweat, and tears that she relentlessly gives to the BirdsCaribbean organization, (2) Doug Weidemann for 10+ years of devoted service to the Journal of Caribbean Ornithology, and (3) Anthony Levesque for being a leader for birds and bird tourism on his home island of Guadeloupe.
Anthony Levesque (right) looks up in surprise to see that he has won the President’s Award for his nonstop work with birds and bird tourism on Guadeloupe. (photo by Mark Yokoyama)
Educators Awards: These awards are given jointly by BirdsCaribbean and their partner, Environment for the Americas, to those that have excelled as educators in their communities. With great enthusiasm and energy, these persons have consistently organized fun and creative communities activities for both the Caribbean Endemic Bird Festival and World Migratory Bird Day. Educators Awards were presented to (1) Andrea Thomen and (2) Hector Andujar, both affiliated with Grupo Jaragua in the Dominican Republic, (3) Ava Tomlinson who works with the National Environment and Planning Agency (NEPA) in Jamaica, and (4) Kate Wallace (stay tuned for much more on her).
Hector Andujar accepts the Educators’ Award for Grupo Jaragua. (photo by Mark Yokoyama)
Three organizations were recognized for doing wonderful events and faithfully turning in reports with a gift of 3 pairs of binoculars to their organizations, thanks to the generosity of Joni Ellis and Optics for the Tropics. These were the Environmental Awareness Group of Antigua and Barbuda (Natalya Lawrence and her son Jordan accepting), Les Fruits de Mer of St. Martin (Mark Yokoyama and Jenn Yerkes), and Adrianne Tossas (who leads the Avian Ecology and Conservation Project at the University of Puerto Rico, Aguadillas).
Les Fruits de Mer (Jenn Yerkes and Mark Yokoyama on right) receiving recognition and binoculars for turning in reports of their World Migratory Bird Day activities.
Site Fidelity Award: Have you ever noticed one particular bird that stays year-round on your property, despite all of its flock leaving for periods of time? It’s always there, it’s always singing, and somehow it gets by and is content no matter the season and no matter the weather. Over the years, you come to depend on that bird to be there to brighten your day, and to be your friend. And that bird always does; it never disappoints. There is a special someone in our community that fills that same niche. The Site Fidelity Award is a special award designed to be given only once, in recognition of an individual that has been loyal to and supportive of the BirdsCaribbean family since the very beginning of the society’s existence…since 1988. That amazing person is Joe Wunderle, and we are extremely lucky to have him in this family.
Joe Wunderle (second from left) receives the one and only Site Fidelity Award for being the longest running BirdsCaribbean member that has not missed a single conference in 30 years! (photo by Mark Yokoyama)
Lifetime Achievement Awards: These are the most prestigious awards, presented to the people in the BirdsCaribbean family that everyone knows and respects for the lifetime amount of work and dedication they have shown to our cause. It goes without saying, that these are remarkable individuals that have helped change the future for Caribbean birds and their habitats for the better. The 2019 Lifetime Achievement Awards went to (1) Kate Wallace, a woman that has served the Caribbean in so many capacities, including Peace Corps volunteer, researcher, naturalist, author, bird guide, educator, and community leader, and (2) Maurice Anselme, Director and longtime leading force behind the many environmental successes of the Parc National de la Guadeloupe.
Kate Wallace (far right), who earlier this year celebrated her 80th Birthday, is overwhelmed to have received a Lifetime Achievement Award (not to mention and Educators Award as well!)
Although these awards to Kate and Maurice do not include the extensive retirement packages they both deserve, they should each know that across the islands there are hundreds of doors open to them, with loving friends and colleagues waiting inside to welcome them.
So, congratulations again Christopher, Spencer, Laura, Jennifer, Doug, Anthony, Joe, Andrea, Hector, Ava, Kate, and Maurice. . .
You have, without a doubt, earned the recognition!
Photo gallery: Hover over each photo in the gallery to see the caption or click on a photo to view as a slide show.
Maurice Anselme (with plaque), the Director of the Parc National de la Guadeloupe, dedicates his Lifetime Achievement Award to all the staff of his national park. (photo by Mark Yokoyama)
Andrea Thomen (center) receives the Educators Award for the strong impact she has made with youth and communities in the Dominican Republic. (photo by Mark Yokoyama)
Laura Fidalgo (center) accepts an Honorable Mention Founders’ Award for her work with the Elfin-woods Warbler in Puerto Rico. (photo by Mark Yokoyama)
Jennifer Wheeler (right) has been a powerhouse for BirdsCaribbean. She fully deserves this President’s Award (and a night off)! (photo by Mark Yokoyama)
Ava Tomlinson, Senior Public Education Community Outreach Officer with the National Environment and Planning Agency (Jamaica) received an Educators Award for the many wonderful events she organizes in different communities in Jamaica (accepted by Ann Sutton). (photo by Mark Yokoyama)
Doug Weidemann (second from right) accepts a President’s Award for more than a decade of work he has invested into the Journal of Caribbean of Ornithology. (photo by Mark Yokoyama)
Hector Andujar and Andrea Thomen, both with Grupo Jaragua in the Dominican Republic show off their awards after the ceremony. (photo by Yolanda Leon)
The Dominican Republic swept the awards this year! Andrea Thomen, Hector Andujar and Kate Wallace of Grupo Jaragua (photo by Yolanda Leon)
The Avian Ecology and Conservation Project, led by Adrianne Tossas, receives recognition and a token of gratitude for organizing wonderful WMBD events and reporting back. (photo by Mark Yokoyama)
Spencer Schubert (center)) is proud to have received an Honorable Mention Founders’ Award for his graduate work in the Dominican Republic. (photo by Mark Yokoyama)
The Environmental Awareness Group, represented by Natalya Lawrence, receives recognition and a token of gratitude for organizing wonderful WMBD events and reporting back. (photo by Mark Yokoyama)
Youth decorate bird feeders made from plastic bottles at the Endemic Animal Festival on St. Martin. (Photo by Mark Yokoyama)
At dozens of events on more than 20 islands, people of all ages came together to celebrate and protect their birds. The events were part of the Caribbean Endemic Bird Festival, organized by BirdsCaribbean. The festival highlights endemic birds—the ones found only in the region—and how to protect them.
There are over 170 kinds of bird that live only in the Caribbean. Many of these live only on a single island, and many are rare. The events celebrating these unique birds are also unique. Groups all over the region find different ways to celebrate and learn about these birds.
This year’s festival theme was a profoundly important one: Protect Birds: Be the Solution to Plastic Pollution. As in other parts of the world, the Caribbean faces a serious plastics pollution problem. Coordinators enthusiastically tackled the topic with many activities featuring cleanups and learning about plastic waste. In Puerto Rico, the Department of Natural and Environmental Resources took part in several events, including presentations about plastics waste and microplastics (plastic particles less than 5 mm in size) and how they are harming birds and entering the food chain .
In Jamaica, the National Environment and Planning Agency led activities and games from the BirdSleuth Caribbean program. These activities help kids learn about the problems that birds face, like plastic debris. In Venezuela, the group Ave Zona held a beach cleanup on Isla de Coche. On the island of St. Martin, kids decorated bird feeders made from reused plastic bottles.
At the Ponce Museum of Art, Adrianne Tossas led a special guided tour that shared birds and nature in the museum’s artwork. Twenty visitors learned about topics related to ornithology, conservation and sustainable through 14 selected pieces of art. Participants were very enthusiastic and contributed interesting comments. This was the first tour of its kind in the 60 years since the museum was founded. Eliezer Nieves-Rodriguez shared a great video of CEBF activities at the San Juan Bay National Estuary, including learning all about micro plastics and the impacts on birds and the environment.
Child from Happy Day Preschool plants a tree with staff from Dominica’s Forestry Division.
In Dominica, the Forestry, Wildlife and Parks Division went all out with a full month of exciting activities. A major highlight was this year’s Choral Speech competition among the country’s schools with the CEBF festival theme: Protect Birds – Be the Solution to Plastics Pollution. The winner was a group of youngsters from Wesley Primary School who gave a rousing performance with an important message about reducing plastic pollution. The video can be seen at this link. Forestry staff also organized beach clean-ups with communities, bird watching excursions, presentations in schools, an art exhibition on endemic birds, a radio show on plastics pollution, and several tree planting activities with children. The trees species planted included Sea Grape, Almond, Anglin, Kenip and Pwa doux Maron, which will help provide habitat for birds, timber and protect the coastline from future storms and hurricanes.
In Montserrat the Department of Environment (DoE) led several activities including visits to primary schools to give talks on birds and taking kids birding. The schools received bird feeders, bird posters and a tree seedling of their choice. Students received prizes such as activity sheets, exercise books, bottles, bird bands, stickers and child temporary bird tattoos. The DoE also hosted an exhibition all about the birds of Montserrat and shared materials. During the event they gave away nectar feeders so that residents could enjoy the island’s endemic hummingbirds and Bananaquits—great preparation for the upcoming hurricane season. Guests also received bird seed, reusable shopping bags, and pamphlets with information about how to protect birds.
Children from “Verano Artístico Recreativo” of CREARTE in Puerto Rico show off their bird masks with Ingrid Flores, DNER Educator. (Photo by Carmen Peña)
“We are so happy that our 18th Caribbean Endemic Bird Festival reached so many people,” said festival coordinator Eduardo Llegus. “We are especially happy to see the many creative ways people have found to share, honor and help our birds. Our birds are unique symbols of our region. To protect them is to protect our heritage, our nature and our communities.”
The Caribbean Endemic Bird Festival is organized by BirdsCaribbean. Thousands of youth and adults participate each year in activities hosted by dozens of local groups on over 20 islands.
Thanks to all our dedicated and hard-working coordinators for the amazing and creative ways that you found to celebrate with your schools and communities. And big thanks to Environment for the Americas for providing materials and resources.
CEBF clean-up activity in Venezuela, led by Ave Zona.
Children visiting the Endemic Bird Art Exhibit at the Botanical Gardens, Dominica.
Schoolchildren celebrating endemic birds at Jobos Bay National Estuarine Research Reserve, Aguirre, PR.
Enthusiastic youth learning about Puerto Rico Endemic Birds, Endangered Species Conservation and Plastic Pollution to SU Oscar Porrata Doria School of Comerío, PR, thanks to the Dept. of Natural and Environmental Resources.
Youth learn about micro plastics in the environment; activity by Department of Natural and Environmental Resources in Puerto Rico.
Schoolchildren birding with coordinator, Ivelisse Rodriguez, from Jobos Bay National Estuarine Research Reserve, Aguirre, PR.
Visitors learn about nature in art during a guided tour of Ponce Museum of Art in Puerto Rico. (Photo: Adrianne G. Tossas)
Endemic Bird Exhibition in Montserrat, hosted by the Montserrat Dept of Environment. Ajhermae White, Environmental Officer shares materials with a visitor from the community.
Birding field trip in Dominica with Forestry Officer, Stephen Durand.
School children in the Dominican Republic learn about the many endemic birds in the DR, thanks to Grupo Accion Ecologica.
Celebrating CEBF 2019 at San Juan Bay National Estuary, children showing off their bird face masks. (photo by Eliezer Nieves)
Learning the parts of a bird in a CEBF educational activity in San Lorenzo, PR, educational project of the Department of Natural and Environmental Resources.
Ingrid Flores shares information about the dangers of micro plastics to birds and people; Department of Natural and Environmental Resources in Puerto rico.
The DNER celebrated the Caribbean and Puerto Rico Endemic Bird Festival with a talk presentation to a Community Group of Lomas Cubuy, Canóvanas, PR.
The Environmental Awareness Group in Antigua did a great job with a media campaign about plastics pollution and how everyone can reduce their use of plastic.
Many kids had the answer to questions about birds, presentation by Grupo Accion Ecologica.
Schoolchildren from local secondary school at coastal-cleanup in Punta Cucharas Nature Reserve, Municipality of Ponce, Puerto Rico. Organized by Proyecto: Reverdece y Educa tu Comunidad. Plastics was the most abundant category among wastes collected. (Photo credit: Aquela Photography by: Karla M. Oquendo)
Jamaican schoolchildren learn the parts of a bird, thanks to the National Environment and Planning Agency. (Photo by Otto Williamson)
Students learn while playing a game from the BirdSleuth Caribbean program. (Photo by Otto Williamson)
The Puerto Rico Dept. of Natural and Environmental Resources helped students of the Bayamón Central University with planting trees and creating an arboretum. (Photo provided by: DNER)
Jamaican youth record the birds they see on a CEBF field trip organized the National Environmental and Planning Agency. (Photo by Otto Williamson)
Spotting birds along the Blenim River in Dominica for CEBF 2019.
A classroom in Jamaica receives a BirdSleuth Caribbean kit filled with resources to learn about birds, thanks to the National Environment and Planning Agency.
Bird watching and learning to identify Jamaican endemic birds, activity led by the National Environment and Planning Agency. (Photo by Otto Williamson)
Haitian youth participated in a school presentation that focused bird arts and crafts , endemic birds and what threatens them (including hunting and plastic pollution). Activities by o Jeunes en Action pour la Sauvegarde de l’Ecologie .
Presentation about endemic birds to primary school children in Montserrat by Ajhermae White, Environmental Officer with the Dept of Environment.
Children birdwatching in Bosque Piñones, Puerto Rico celebrating CEBF 2019 with San Juan Bay National Estuary, San Juan, Puerto Rico. (photo by Eliezer Nieves)
Students on seabird watching excursion in Dominica.
Cuban Oriole, one of 26 endemic birds in Cuba. (photo by Aslam Ibrahim)
Last May, more than 30,000 people took to fields and forests around the world, noting 7,025 species in a single day—Global Big Day. A world record! In less than 2 weeks, birding’s biggest day is coming back.
On Saturday, May 4th, will you represent the Caribbean and join birders across the world as part of Global Big Day? You don’t have to commit to birding for 24 hours- just an hour or even 10 minutes of watching birds makes you part of the team. This annual event raises the profile of birds, conservation issues, and gathers a snapshot of bird distribution around the globe—and we need your help to do it!
The Caribbean Endemic Bird Festival is ongoing and incorporating Global Big Day as an activity into your events is the perfect opportunity to introduce newcomers to the joys of birding. You can practice bird identification, proper equipment use, and field skills like keeping a checklist. Visit your favorite spot or search out someplace new!
A Little Friendly Competition
In 2018, a total of 254 Caribbean birders reported an incredible 453 species on Global Big Day! Here are some of the top contenders from last year (see all the West Indies data on eBird). Will they be able to defend their titles in 2019?
Species diversity:
Trinidad and Tobago: 178 species (yes, yes, we know TT is on a different level, being so close to South America)
Puerto Rico: 136 species
The Bahamas: 135 species
Guadeloupe: 83 species
Cuba: 82 species
Number of checklists (of 926 total across the region):
Puerto Rico: 249 checklists
Bahamas: 167 Checklists
Cayman Islands: 50 checklists
Guadeloupe: 42 checklists
U.S. Virgin Islands: 41 checklists
In 2018, 104 of the 175 West Indian endemics were reported. Can we do better this year? If your island has endemic bird species, near endemics or endemic subspecies, make sure they are represented on the count!
Global Big Day last year also resulted in some interesting and rare birds in the Caribbean. In Barbados, a Pacific Golden Plover and a Eurasian Spoonbill were both spotted on the same day. In Antigua, a Black Kite was reported. We are curious what rarities or vagrants might show up this year!
How Do I Participate?
Birding at Ashton Lagoon, Union Island, St. Vincent and the Grenadines. (Photo by Lisa Sorenson)
You don’t need to be a bird expert, you just have to go out and enjoy birds. Here’s our two-step guide:
Watch birds on Saturday, May 4th: Can’t commit to an excursion? Even 10 minutes in your backyard will help. Global Big Day runs from midnight to midnight in your local time zone. You can report birds from anywhere in the world.
Enter what you see and hear on eBird Caribbean: You can enter your sightings via the website or—even easier—use the free eBird Mobile app. You can enter and submit lists while you’re still out birding, and the app will even keep track of how far you’ve walked, so you can just focus on watching birds. Counts conducted at wetlands, ponds, mud flats and beaches can be entered as Caribbean Waterbird Census counts. (On a desktop when entering your data on eBird.org, on Step 2 “Date and Effort” page, be sure to choose either the “CWC Point Count” “CWC Traveling Count” or “CWC Area Search” observation type. If you are using the EBird Mobile app – adjust your settings – choose eBird Caribbean as your portal and these options will show up!)
Global Big Day Tips:
If you’re looking for a new place to find birds, explore eBird Hotspots near you.
Get together with friends and set a goal for your birding—most unusual species? biggest flock? all the species in your favorite family? The possibilities are endless.
Make your sightings more valuable: submit complete checklists, keep counts of the birds that you see, and keep multiple checklists throughout the course of your birding—if you get in the car, end that checklist and start a new one when you get to the next location.
Share what you’re seeing on social media with #globalbigday! Add your planned May 4th location to the global map.
Last year’s Global Big Day was record-breaking in terms of effort and species reported. On May 4th, we hope you will join us for the word’s next birding record!
Plastic is killing our planet – not least our beautiful birds. But you can help! This year, the Caribbean Endemic Bird Festival (CEBF) and World Migratory Bird Day (WMBD) address this critical issue with the conservation theme Protect Birds: Be the Solution to Plastic Pollution.
While migration is in full swing, in the Caribbean, it’s a time to celebrate the birds that live only in the region and that stay here all year round. The Caribbean Endemic Bird Festival, organized by BirdsCaribbean, focuses on these special birds that we know and love. CEBF events are held between Earth Day on April 22nd and International Biodiversity Day on May 22nd.
What can we do about plastic?
BirdsCaribbean workshop participants clean up plastic trash in Cabo Rojo, Puerto Rico. (Photo by Lisa Sorenson)
We know that all the plastic ever manufactured since the 1950s is still with us, in some form or another. Globally, only around 9% of plastic is recycled. According to the Ocean Conservancy, which sponsors International Coastal Cleanups in the Caribbean and around the world, 8 million metric tons of plastic enter our seas annually – adding to the 150 million tons that is already floating around!
Like other parts of the world, the Caribbean has become increasingly aware of the scourge of plastic pollution. Several islands have already moved to ban various forms of plastic as well as Styrofoam, including Antigua & Barbuda, Dominica, Grenada, Jamaica, Saint Lucia and the French-speaking islands—kudos to these countries! Others have plans in place to reduce the use of single-use plastic in the next year or two. Meanwhile, private and government-led plastic recycling programmes have started up. But much more needs to be done.
Plastic pollution ruins our beautiful beaches and coastlines, and blocks drains and gullies. It impacts our own health and lifestyle and hampers economic growth, especially in the tourism sector. What is more, it is harming all kinds of marine life, including endangered Caribbean turtles.
During recent beach cleanups around the Caribbean, non-biodegradable, indigestible plastic has been by far the most common type of trash to be collected from our shorelines, rivers and gullies by local volunteers. Plastic bottles, especially for soda and water, are the most common plastics that end up in our waters and on our beaches, as well as small items such as bottle caps, single-use plastic cutlery and straws and toothbrushes. Electronics (e-waste) of various types is increasingly washing up on our shoreline. Plastic shopping bags are also a great danger to our marine life, including birds.
Killer Trash
A dead Albatross chick at the remote Midway Atoll National Wildlife Refuge; it’s stomach is filled with marine debris plastic.
Have we thought about how plastic affects our birds? It is estimated that 80% of seabirds and waterbirds have ingested plastic.
“Plastic pollution is a global issue. Here in the Caribbean it is having a major impact, not only on our important tourism product, but also on our fragile environment,” explained festival coordinator Sheylda Diaz Mendez. “Our islands are home to over 170 endemic birds – found nowhere else in the world. Just like our human visitors, the birds that live year-round on our islands need to feel welcome and comfortable in a clean, healthy environment. Solid waste, mostly consisting of plastics, is upsetting the balance of our ecosystems, for birds and for ourselves.”
“The number of seabirds dying as a result of plastic may be as high as one million annually,” said BirdsCaribbean Executive Director Lisa Sorenson. “Many Caribbean birds are eating plastic daily. The pileup of plastic can also hamper nesting, breeding and feeding on land and prevents important habitats such as mangroves and wetlands from flourishing. This year, our volunteer CEBF coordinators will be organizing this spring, to raise awareness about plastics pollution, how you can reduce your use of single use plastic, doing clean-ups and other activities.”
World Migratory Bird Day Poster showing different groups of birds that are affected by plastic pollution. (Artwork by Arnaldo Toledo)
Plastic breaks down into tiny fragments (microplastics), which can be ingested and lead to disease and suffering in birds – as well as in smaller members of the food chain that birds may eat. It can gradually kill a bird, filling its stomach and essentially starving it to death. Plastic bags can choke and smother birds and animals. In the Caribbean, birds often become entangled in plastic fishing nets, lines, and other equipment, causing serious injury or death.
Which birds are particularly impacted by plastic pollution? The twelve bird species selected for the beautiful WMBD poster produced by Environment for the Americas this year have each been negatively affected by plastic, even though their feeding habits and the places where they live are very different. They are the Magellanic Penguin; the Black Skimmer, which feeds by flying low over the waves; the Lesser Scaup, a diving duck; the Chilean Flamingo; the Common Tern; the Northern Fulmar; the Magnificent Frigatebird (which you may see soaring around our coastlines), the splendid Osprey, a fish hawk; the lively Belted Kingfisher; the stately Tricolored Heron; the Killdeer, a shorebird; and the lovely yellow Prothonotary Warbler.
By the way, the gorgeous artwork on this poster is by Arnaldo Toledo Sotolongo, from Santa Clara, Cuba, a BirdsCaribbean member, who works as a scientific illustrator, photographer and designer and volunteers in conservation projects in his free time.
Be the Solution
Plastic is a worldwide epidemic. We need to work together to be the solution, for the sake of our birds and ourselves!
What YOU Can Do to Beat Plastic Pollution:
Use reusable metal bottles for your drinking water.
Travel with your own metal cutlery and use glass or metal storage containers.
Take cloth shopping bags with you to the grocery store.
Try reusable bamboo or metal straws.
Refuse plastic straws or containers in restaurants and stores.
Avoid plastic packaging in food stores as much as possible, including clamshell containers.
Take your plastics to the nearest recycling centre.
Reuse plastic items as much as possible in and around the home.
Host a beach or community cleanup day. Get local companies on board as sponsors. Share your photos.
Get involved! Join a local environmental or community group. Get your neighbours involved, too!
Design art competitions highlighting the problem of plastic trash.
Contact your local environmental group to find out about events on your island, or contact BirdsCaribbean to organize an event of your own.
The Caribbean Endemic Bird Festival celebrates the 172 species of birds that are found only in the Caribbean and nowhere else in the world. World Migratory Bird Day (WMBD) is a celebration of the thousands of birds that make their way to and fro across the Americas and the Caribbean each year. To raise awareness about the need for bird conservation, volunteer coordinators organize events in the Caribbean in April and May for CEBF and September and October for WMBD. For much more information about CEBF, WMBD and the 2019 plastics theme, visit www.BirdsCaribbean.org and www.migratorybirdday.org/
We wrap up our series of our 30th Anniversary celebrations with this final video. In the Caribbean we celebrate not only the diversity of our birds (172 bird species found only in the region!), but also our members. For 30 years we have brought people together from dozens of countries to learn from each other, share ideas, and forge friendships and partnerships. Our members often tell us how much they value our network for the support and inspiration that it provides. It gives us the strength to keep going in the face of many challenges. And sometimes our members even fall in love.
First up is Jessica Rozek, graduate student at Tufts University. Jessica is studying sustainable use of wetlands in Trinidad and important stopover and wintering sites for shorebirds in the Caribbean. Jessica joined BirdsCaribbean in 2016 and has been an active member ever since. She is on the editorial board of the Journal of Caribbean Ornithology and a contributor to our blog. As our Waterbird Program Manager, Jessica is coordinating our upcoming Conserving Caribbean Shorebirds and their Habitats Workshop in Cabo Rojo, Puerto Rico and our Caribbean Waterbird Census Small Grants program.
Ingrid Flores worked for four years as Regional Coordinator of our Caribbean Endemic Bird and International Migratory Bird Festivals. The festivals introduce people to the joy and beauty oif local birds. They also help people understand how these birds are part of each island’s natural heritage and it is up to local communities to conserve them. Ingrid helped coordinators organize activities, shipped out materials, and managed social media around the festivals and bird education. She is passionate about Caribbean birds and encouraging people to become involved.
Glenroy Gaymes is the Chief Wildlife Officer in the Forestry Dept in St. Vincent and the Grenadines. He is well-known as a local expert on all aspects of the country’s flora and fauna, and is involved in many conservation initatives. Glenroy is also a founding member of SCIENCE, a local NGO. Together with member Lystra Culzac and other SCIENCE officers, Glenroy is active in teaching youth and local people about birds. His team carries out our BirdSleuth Caribbean program with school clubs and summer camps. He is also active as a local bird guide to residents and visitors alike.
Maydiel Canizares is a Cuban Biologist. For the past five years, he worked as a Biologist in the protected areas of Zapata Swamp Biosphere Reserve. Twenty three of the 28 endemic birds of Cuba can be seen here, in addition to ~300 resident and migratory birds. It’s a very important place for migration, featuring many types of diverse habitats. It’s also an Important Bird Area (IBA) and a Ramsar site. Two big conservation initiatives in Zapata Swamp that Maydiel worked on are: 1) encouraging locals to landscape with native plants (which will help endemics like the Bee Hummingbird), and 2) installing nest boxes for threatened psittacid species: the Cuban Parakeet and the Cuban Parrot. Maydiel is also an experienced bird guide and led several of BirdsCaribbean’s bird tours at our conference in Cuba in 2017.
Jen Mortenson is a Post Doctoral Fellow at the University of Arkansas . Through her PhD research Jen was able to provide key data and recommendations for the first conservation plan of the White-breasted Thrasher, an endangered bird found only on St Lucia and Martinique. You can read about Jen’s exciting research here. We are grateful to Jen for this important work and so happy to have her as an active member of BirdsCaribbean.
Lisa Sorenson (Executive Director) and Jennifer Wheeler (recently retired Treasurer) are well-known to the BirdsCaribbean community for their many years of service in developing programs, raising funds, helping partners, and keeping the organization running smoothly. They had fun wishing BirdsCaribbean a very happy 30th birthday.
Editor’s note: After many months of paperwork and a visit to the US Embassy in Guyana, Maydiel immigrated to the US this past October. He and Jessica married in November 2018, the second BirdsCaribbean couple that we know of – congratulations!!!
Sincere thanks to Esther Figueroa (Vagabond Media) for putting together this video and Ingrid Flores, JC Fernández-Ordóñez, and José Colón-López for Spanish translation. Thank you to José (Pepe) González Díaz and Felisa (Fela) Collazo Torres for the video footage of the Green Mango (hummingbird) in Puerto Rico feeding on one of our donated feeders after Hurricane Maria devastated the island. Golden Swallow photograph is by Dax Roman. Special thanks to our members, partners and supporters who make this work possible!!!
In case you missed them, view our other fun 30th Anniversary videos at links below:
Our 30th Anniversary celebration of BirdsCaribbean continues! We’re delighted to share another short fun video of our members and partners describing the work they are doing with us to conserve birds and sending messages of congratulations. Thanks to you all for being part of our community, and enjoy!
Starting us off is Scott Johnson, Science Officer for the Bahamas National Trust (BNT). Scott shares his thoughts on how BirdsCaribbean changed his life, including his gratitude to the organization for introducing him to his wife, Janeczka Johnson, from Anguilla – they were married one year ago! Scott and Jan met at our BirdSleuth Caribbean International Training Workshop in Nassau. Scott’s work at BNT focuses on terrestrial fauna in the national parks. He loves Bahamian birds and reptiles and is a talented naturalist and skilled educator.
Jody Daniel-Simon is from Grenada and is working on her Ph.D. She has been working with colleagues at Gaea Conservation Network and Grenada Fund for Conservation to share our BirdSleuth Caribbean education program with teachers and hundreds of island children. This has helped secure a long sought-after Bird Sanctuary in the outstanding mangrove wetland of Petite Carenage. BirdsCaribbean has provided binoculars and BirdSleuth curriculum materials to increase the understanding and appreciation of birds across Grenada and Grenadines.
Akeisha Clarke is from Petite Martinique, part of Grenada – she attended her first BirdsCaribbean 21 International Conference last year. Over 250 participants from 30 islands and countries met in Cuba in 2017 at this conference. For many this is the only opportunity to collaborate on how birds are studied and protected. BirdsCaribbean funded the participation of 120 students and young professionals (including 60 Cubans). Akeisha left the conference excited to start a bird education program at home and she has been going strong since then!
Justin Proctor, our Vice President, shows off his questionable bird ID skills (;-) since becoming a member. For over 10 years BirdsCaribbean has supported science and conservation of the Black-capped Petrel and BC Board Treasurer, Jennifer Wheeler, is the Working Group’s Co-Chair. Justin is Associate Editor of our journal, The Journal of Caribbean Ornithology, and is Head of our Organizing Committee for our 22nd International Conference in Guadeloupe.
Bertrand Jno Baptiste, aka “Dr. Birdy,” worked for many years as a Forestry Officer in the Forestry, Wildlife & Parks Division in Dominica, and has been a long-time member and partner of BirdsCaribbean. Since his retirement from Forestry, Birdy enjoys sharing his passion for birds and nature in Dominica as a bird tour guide and is part of BirdsCaribbean’s Caribbean Birding Trail program. This program seeks to build sustainable incomes for conservation-minded communities. Since its inception it has conducted 6 training workshops for more than 150 people, giving local residents the skills and tools needed to take visitors out birding as well as well interpret the cultural and natural resources of their islands.
Adrianne Tossas is an Adjunct Professor at the University of Puerto Rico, Aguadilla. She attended her first BC meeting in 1998 when she was a graduate student. She considers BirdsCaribbean the backbone of her career and a very significant part of her life, thanks to the support, mentoring and inspiration received from this organization and its members. She is now paying it forward teaching a new generation of students in Puerto Rico about the ecology of birds and conservation.
We especially thank Adrianne for working as our first Caribbean Endemic Bird Festival Coordinator starting in 2002. Each year this celebration raises public awareness, knowledge and appreciation for the region’s many resident and migratory bird species, especially the high number of endemic birds in the region (172)—species that exist nowhere else in the world.
Cynthia Pekarik works as the Coordinator of Migratory Birds Conservation with the Canadian Wildlife Service, a key partner for BirdsCaribbean. Cynthia has helped with funding to develop our Caribbean Waterbird Census program. Her support was key in gathering the data to have Cargill Salt Ponds in Bonaire designated a Western Hemisphere Shorebird Reserve Network Site. David Mizrahi is a shorebird biologist with New Jersey Audubon and also collaborates with BC on shorebird conservation.
Sincere thanks to Esther Figueroa (Vagabond Media) for putting together this video and Ingrid Flores, JC Fernández-Ordóñez, and José Colón-López for Spanish translation. Thanks to Scott Johnson for his brilliant mini-video. Photographs are by Bruce Hallett (Bahama Yellowthroat) and Gregg Homel (Grenada Dove). Special thanks to our members, partners and supporters who make this work possible!!!
With so many recent tragic and conflicted events occurring in the world, BirdsCaribbean wants to share something uplifting. As part of our continuing 30th Anniversary celebration, we present you with a two-minute glimpse of what our Cuban, Puerto Rican, and Mexican colleagues are doing to conserve birds and their expressions of appreciation to BirdsCaribbean. Please take a moment to enjoy their inspiring words and images.
First we hear from Alieny González-Alfonso, graduate student at the University of Havana. Together with her fellow students and professors, Alieny has been a a powerhouse of positive actions for understanding and conserving Cuba’s resident and migratory birds. She is studying Reddish Egrets for her PhD and participates in Caribbean Waterbird Census monitoring every year. Alieny also organizes events to celebrate our Caribbean Endemic Bird Festival and World Migratory Bird Day each year and coordinates activities across the island. Alieny also conducts teacher training workshops and leads activities for our BirdSleuth Caribbean education program. Congrats and thanks to Alieny and her team for her amazing work!
Next we travel to Puerto Rico and hear from José Colón-López. José is a legend in his native Puerto Rico. As a volunteer with SOPI, he has been active in studying and conserving the endemic and migratory birds of Puerto Rico and their habitats for over 30 years. He generously donates his time to train and mentor others, sharing his passion and vast knowledge with a new generation of conservationists. José is also a founding member of BirdsCaribbean and has been to every single conference of ours since the first one in St. Croix 30 years ago!!! Cheers to Jose and thanks for inspiring us with your dedication and energy!
Adriana Vallarino, Ph.D., is a professor a the Institute of Marine Sciences and Limnology, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México. She studies Masked Boobies and Least Terns in the Campeche Bank in the Gulf of Mexico and Caribbean Sea, vitally important nesting islands for many Caribbean seabirds. Adriana attended our International Seabird Training Workshop in San Salvador, Bahamas in 2012 and since then, has been carrying out innovative research and conservation work, including studying the impacts of micro plastics on seabirds. She also does a marvelous job organizing bird education events in Campeche, featuring birding walks, bird art and photography, mini workshops and more. We’re proud that Adriana is part of our network!
The videos highlight how our programs are engaging young and old in direct conservation, opening doors for scientific and educational exchange, and promoting sustainable livelihoods in ecotourism. Grab a cup of shade grown coffee, sit back and enjoy an inspirational moment.
Thank you to Esther Figueroa (Vagabond Media) for putting together this video and Ingrid Flores, JC Fernández-Ordóñez, and José Colón-López for Spanish translation. Photographs in the video are by Aslam Ibrahim Castellan Maure (Bee Hummingbird), Lisa Sorenson (American Flamingos), Wilfred Marissen (Reddish Egret), Aslam Ibrahim Castellan Maure (Blue-headed Quail-Dove), Jose Pantaleon (Cuban Trogon), Susan Jacobson (Western Spindalis), Lisa Sorenson (Viñales Valley, Cuba), Gary Donaldson (Trinidad, Cuba), Gary Donaldson (Zapata Swamp), AnnHaynes-Sutton (Masked Booby) and Arnaldo Toledo (Cuban Tody). Special thanks to our members, partners and supporters who make this work possible!!!
Haitian students plant trees to help local birds. (Photo by Société Écologique d’Haïti)
“We’re so excited to have an event in Haiti this year!”
Ingrid Flores is delighted to add a new country to her map of events. She is the coordinator of the Caribbean Endemic Bird Festival (CEBF), organized every year by BirdsCaribbean. Partners across the region host events as part of the festival each spring. Its focus is on the types of birds that are unique to each island, or to the Caribbean itself. This year, events took place in at least 16 islands and involved over 2,000 people. Activities take place between April 22 (Earth Day) and International Biodiversity Day (May 22). This year, celebrations took place in at least 16 territories and involved more than 2,000 participants. Events ranged from lectures to bird walks, arts and crafts, tree plantings, exhibitions, and more.
For the first time, partners in Haiti joined the celebrations. The Société Écologique d’Haïti saw the CEBF as “the perfect opportunity” to boost nature education in Haitian schools. 290 students in Forêt des Pins and Les Cayes learned how hunting and caging birds is harmful. They also enjoyed planting trees and learning how trees help birds and people.
Ready to enjoy and help the birds in Puerto Rico!!! Activity by Fundación Ecológica Educativa, Inc.
In neighboring Dominican Republic, The Peregrine Fund led activities in five places during Ridgway’s Hawk Week. This beautiful hawk lives only on the island of Hispaniola. Listed as “Critically Endangered,” its numbers are falling. Over 300 schoolchildren and residents went on bird walks. They were thrilled to see a live hawk at one event.
On Jamaica’s south coast, the Caribbean Coastal Area Management Foundation visited children from toddlers to age 11 years at four local schools. At one school, teachers hung bird art made by the children from classroom ceilings. To the east, 50 members of BirdLife Jamaica visited the Source Farm Foundation and Ecovillage. They joined residents for guided bird walks in the nearby hills.
On the island of St. Martin/Sint Maarten, groups worked to restore wild spaces. The island still shows damage from Hurricane Irma. Les Fruits de Mer launched a new nursery to provide native tree seedlings at their Endemic Animal Festival. Environmental Protection in the Caribbean (EPIC) hosted visits to the Little Bay Pond bird watching hut, which was rebuilt by with hurricane relief funds raised by BirdsCaribbean.
A glamorous “Barbuda Warbler” (Shanna Challenger) and youth pose for a pic at the CEBF Bird Fair in Antigua.
Many BirdsCaribbean partners in Puerto Rico were busy in 16 locations, including schools. Here they spread the word about endemic birds. Students at a science high school in San Juan were full of questions. They expressed a wish to conduct their own bird counts next year.
In Antigua, the Environmental Awareness Group, Dept. of Environment and Ministry of Education hosted a Bird Fair for 3 primary schools. Shanna Challenger, dressed as a colorful Barbuda Warbler, shared information with the students about the country’s only endemic bird. Through arts and crafts, birding, and other fun activities, the students also learned why birds are important in our environment. “The students were really into it!” commented organizer Natalya Lawrence.
Some endemic birds are iconic on particular islands. One of these is the splendid Guadeloupe Woodpecker, the island’s only endemic bird. It was among many other birds spotted during a CEBF bird walk in Guadeloupe – the location of BirdsCaribbean’s 22ndInternational Conference in July, 2019.
“As many islands still recover from hurricane damage, we were excited to share local birds and nature with people,” said Lisa Sorenson, Executive Director of BirdsCaribbean. “For the 17th year, the festival has reached thousands of people across the Caribbean.”
Hover over each photo to see the caption; click on photos to see larger images and a slide show.
Gorgeous Ruddy Quail Dove on the Caribbean Endemica Bird Festival promotional poster in Guadeloupe. (Photo by Franz Delcroix.)
Bird walk in Guadeloupe for the Caribbean Endemic Bird Festival
Adrianne Tossas giving a talk on Puerto Rico’s endemic birds at a girls Science Summer Camp.
Getting ready for a bird walk and survey at a girls Science Summer camp in Puerto Rico.
Introduction to bird watching in Haiti with Societe Ecologique d’Haiti.
Students in Haiti celebrate CEBF
Birding in St. Martin/ Sint Maarten with Binkie van Es.
The Wildlife Art Station was busy Les Fruit de Mer’s Endemic Animal Festival in St. Martin.
Boy Scouts in Puerto Rico learn all about Puerto Rico’s endemics birds.
Celebration of CEBF at Turabo University.
Arts and crafts for one of the bird festival events in Puerto Rico by Fundación Ecológica Educativa, Inc.
A fun celebration of CEBF in Puerto Rico with Fundación Ecológica Educativa, Inc.
A student compares her size to the size of various birds at an event in Puerto Rico with Fundación Ecológica Educativa, Inc. (Photo by Ingrid Flores)
Eliezer Nieves-Rodriguez and the San Juan Bay Estuary Program celebrating GLOBAL BIG DAY in the Piñones State Forest (Puerto Rico) as part of their CEBF.
Sharing information on the fascinating and beautiful endemic birds of Puerto Rico at the Ecoexploratorio (Science Museum).
Birding field trip at Jobos Bay National Estuarine Research Reserve (JOBANERR), Puerto Rico
Youth in Cuba enjoyed learning about endemic birds
Ridgway’s Hawk art activity in the Dominican Republic, organized by the Peregrine Fund and local partners.
Ridgeway’s Hawk Week in the Dominican Republic was a fantastic opportunity to learn about this critically endangered bird.
Birding from the observation tower for Ridgeway’s Hawk Week CEBF Celebration.
Birding Group poses for Global Big Day and CEBF 2018 in Ponce, Puerto Rico.
Youth spotting birds for Global Big Day, Puerto Rico.
Display at CEBF celebration in Trinidad organized by Lester Doodnath.
Learning how to use binoculars at the CEBF Bird Fair in Antigua.
Students participating in the CEBF Bird Fair in Antigua.
Learning how to set up a bird feeder at Roseau Primary School in Dominica (bird feeder donated by BirdsCaribbean).
Barbuda Warbler Shanna Challenger leads a flock of students for a short flight at the CEBF Bird Fair in Antigua.
A student shows off her bird art at the CEBF Bird Fair in Antigua.
Learning about Caribbean endemic birds and why birds matter at the CEBF Bird Fair in Antigua.
Junior Prosper shows youth in Antigua how to use a spotting scope
Students from St. Martin Primary School in Dominica planted native plants for CEBF 2018.
Youth birding in Dominica for CEBF 2018.
BirdLife Jamaica members and guests take a bird walk at Source Farm. (Photo by Source Farm)
Sociedad Ornitologica Puerto Rico shares information about birds for CEBF 2018.
High school students in the Dominican Republic planting Hamelia patens shrub a native plant good for birds, organized by Simón Guerrero.
Birding activity with special education group in Puerto Rico by Yogani Govender
Youth learn about birds in Jamaica at C-CAM’s headquarters in Jamaica.
Young students celebrate CEBF in Jamaica with C-CAM (Caribbean Coastal Area Management Foundation)
At Earth Day and the CEBF 2018 start date, Asociación Puertorriqueña de Interpretación y Educación, Inc. (APIE) celebrated our endemic birds as part of their Puerto Rico and the Caribbean Endemic Bird Festival. This activity was carried out with the co-host of the U.S. Forest Service and BIRDING PUERTO RICO.
CEBF Educational display @ Portalito HUB: Palmer of The U.S. Forest Service – El Yunque National Forest. (photo by Ingrid Flores)
Presentations on Puerto Rico’s endemic birds at Josefina Marrero Febus Elementary School. (photo by Glenda Lozada)
CEBF activity in PR at Centro Criollo de Ciencias y Tecnología del Caribe (C3Tec)
Endemic birds of PR poster – Centro Criollo de Ciencias y Tecnología del Caribe (C3Tec)
Presentation to children CEBF celebration Puerto Rico: Centro Criollo de Ciencias y Tecnología del Caribe (C3Tec)
Recording data for a habitat assessment activity in San Juan, Puerto Rico, Urban Green Lab. (photo by Laura Hidalgo)
Learning about endemic birds of Puerto Rico, Urban Green Lab activity (photo by Laura Hidalgo).
Materials to learn about the endemic birds of Puerto Rico, Urban Green Lab activity (photo by Laura Hidalgo).
Learning about endemic birds in Puerto Rico with Laura Fidalgo, Urban Green Lab
Enjoying Cuban endemic bird art for CEBF 2018 in Cuba.
Scarlet Tanager in full breeding plumage glory, observed on Grand Bahama, May 5th, 2018 (Erika Gates/ Macauley Library at the Cornell Lab of Ornithology)
Every year, Global Big Day is an all-out effort to get the “big picture” on birds across the planet. This year, it hit a new world record. In one single day (May 5, 2018) 29,866 people ventured outside in 170 countries, finding 6,963 species, These numbers equate to approximately two thirds of the world’s bird species in just 24 hours! 1.6 million bird sightings by citizen scientists and avid birders worldwide were recorded on eBird.
This year was a particularly important one for the Caribbean, since many islands are still in recovery mode after the passage of two hurricanes in 2017, and it was important to check in on how the bird populations are doing several months later. BirdsCaribbean members and partners made significant contributions to the global total from the Caribbean*, with 453 species reported. The weather was not kind on May 5, with stormy and rainy weather across several islands. Nevertheless, 254 participants braved the elements to count birds. They spotted an impressive 102 endemic birds on May 5. A much higher number of checklists was submitted this year: 926, nearly doubling the previous number of 567.
Which Caribbean islands came out on top? Trinidad and Tobago had 178 species (woo hoo!), but of course this is not a level playing field with the rest of the region! The Bahamas and Puerto Rico ended up “neck and neck”, with 136 and 135 species each – some way ahead of third-place Guadeloupe with 83. Cuba and the Cayman Islands rounded out the top five.
A rare Eurasian Spoonbill was included in Barbado’s Global Big Day checklist (Julian Moore/ Macauley Library at the Cornell Lab or Ornithology)
Top eBirders Eric Torres-Rivera and Julio Salgado from Puerto Rico spotted 104 species each; Puerto Rican birders submitted a remarkable total of 249 checklists. This was an encouraging result from the island that suffered such destruction from 2017 hurricanes. BirdsCaribbean is also happy to note that Dominica, which was ravaged by Hurricane Maria, recorded 32 species, thanks to Forestry Officer Stephen Durand.
Bermuda Petrel (Cahow) chick receiving a health check on Global Bird Day, Nonsuch Island, Bermuda (photo by Lisa Sorenson)
There were some rare and unexpected finds, noted Jeff Gerbracht, eBird’s Lead Application Developer at Cornell Lab of Ornithology. “Eurasian Spoonbill and Pacific Golden Plover were both seen at the same site in Barbados. It is most unusual for these species to be seen together, especially in the Western Hemisphere.” View the checklist here.
“The Black Kite, a European species rarely seen on this side of the Atlantic, was reported and photographed on the island of Inagua in the Bahamas,” said Gerbracht. “Also, Lisa Sorenson (BC Executive Director) and her husband Mike were on Bermuda with BC President Andrew Dobson, seeing all the local birds, including a robust Bermuda Petrel (Cahow) chick.
We hope everyone enjoyed the day and we thank you for your participation and commitment to our region’s beautiful birds. Next year will be even more fun!
How did your country do on Global Big Day? Find out here.
An overall report for Global Big Day is available here, with nice summaries for each region. The total species list for the West Indies (Bahamas, Greater and Lesser Antilles) is here.
*NOTE: The Global Big Day summary statistics in this article include the islands of the West Indies (Bahamas and Greater and Lesser Antilles), plus Bermuda, Aruba, Bonaire, and Curacao, and Trinidad and Tobago. These islands comprise the region where BirdsCaribbean carries out its mission.
Plenty of migrants were seen on Global Big Day, like this Blackpoll Warbler spotted in the Cayman Islands (Peter Davey/Macauley Library at Cornell Lab of Ornithology)
eBird is the world’s largest biodiversity-related citizen science project, with more than 100 million bird sightings contributed each year by eBirders around the world. A collaborative enterprise with hundreds of partner organizations, thousands of regional experts, and hundreds of thousands of users, eBird is managed by the Cornell Lab of Ornithology.Submit your birding checklists and join the eBird family! You will find more details on registering and recording your sightings here.
If you bird in the Caribbean, be sure to use our portal—eBird Caribbean. This will give you access to our special protocols for the region (e.g., Caribbean Waterbird Census) and our latest news and updates on birding in the islands.
By Emma Lewis (@petchary), blogger and birder in Jamaica
The Great Lizard Cuckoo is endemic to the Bahamas and Cuba. They have a loud ka-ka-ka-ka-ka call and can be spotted perched in trees and running along the branches. (Photo by Lisa Sorenson)
It’s springtime in the Caribbean and all across the islands, the landscape will be painted with the vivid colours of the striking yellow and pink poui trees, the gentle blue from the blossoms of the Lignum Vitae, and so many other trees, bursting with colour. This too is the time when our birds settle down to nest and raise their chicks.
This year, 2018, is an extra special celebration of our birds. The year was designated “The Year of the Bird” by the National Geographic Society (NatGeo) to commemorate 100 years of the Migratory Bird Treaty Act. This was (and remains) a powerful document that has lessened the human threats on birds. Some 15 Caribbean countries and 40 organizations will celebrate the Caribbean Endemic Bird Festival (CEBF), now in its 17thyear. More than 100,000 Caribbean residents, friends and visitors will join in the activities, led by BirdsCaribbean. For 2018, the region’s largest wildlife conservation-focused NGO will support the theme “The Year of the Bird.” April 22 (Earth Day) marks the beginning of the festival, which will end on May 22 – the International Day for Biological Diversity.
Children having fun on a bird walk and count at Ashton Lagoon, Union Island, St. Vincent and the Grenadine. (Photo by Orisha Joseph)
In the nearly two-decade history of the CEBF, BirdsCaribbean and its enthusiastic partners across the region have always found fun and creative ways to connect people to our Caribbean endemic birds. The endemics – which are found only in our region and nowhere else in the world – are one way in which people who live in or visit the Caribbean islands can easily appreciate and understand nature more deeply and incorporate these lovely birds into their lives. The birds simply “speak for themselves.” The festival seeks to encourage responsible behaviour in humans of all ages and walks of life to conserve our birds and our natural environment. This is even more critical in the wake of 2017’s devastating hurricanes. The recovery and the resilience of our bird populations must also be recognized in the coming months.
Why is the CEBF important? Well, the Caribbean is well known for its high level of endemism. Of the 565 species of birds in our region, 173 are unique to us. Some may be easier to spot than others; some may be only found in one country. The CEBF is also an expression of who we are and how we connect with the environment. It brings people together, whatever their ages, abilities, nationalities or cultural backgrounds. Learning about our birds takes place in a diverse, harmonious setting. In previous years, church services, radio and television interviews, street parades, fairs, information booths, drama and art competitions have all formed part of the CEBF celebrations.
Planting firebush (Hamelin patens), an excellent native plant for birds, especially hummingbirds. CEBF activity at The Academy in the Dominican Republic. (photo courtesy of Simon Guerrero)
You do not have to celebrate birds and support conservation through your local organization alone. Earth Day’s philosophy is for individuals to take action. There is a lot that you can do all by yourself, or in small groups, to help birds and the environment. Grab a friend or two and head outside to admire nature, noting the birds you see. Stick decals on your glass doors to reduce bird collisions. Plant a native tree, to add to the beauty of your home. This will also become a home for a variety of creatures – including birds. What other actions can you take that will help our birds?
NatGeo has partnered with the Cornell Lab of Ornithology, National Audubon Society and Birdlife International and many other organizations for The Year of the Bird. Each month brings a new theme and a new, specific call to action, promoting the conservation of birds: there are inspiring articles, informational features, fun quizzes, photographs and insights into the incredible world of birds to be explored online.
Visit birdscaribbean.org or find BirdsCaribbean on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram for more information about the CEBF, with updates throughout the month. For more information on how to #BirdYourWorld, visit the official site for tips and resources.
By Emma Lewis and Natalya Lawrence, members of BirdsCaribbean’s Media Working Group. Thanks to the US Forest Service, Environment for the Americas and Optics for the Tropics for supporting our Caribbean Endemic Bird Festival!
A little bird with a big attitude, meet the Barbuda Warbler, known to Barbudans as the Christmas Bird! This gregarious bird, packed with energy and curiosity, is the sole endemic bird of Antigua & Barbuda. The Barbuda Warbler, though near-threatened, outnumbers the entire human population of Barbuda 5:1! This warbler measures between 12 and 13.5cm and weighs about 7 grams. It is characterized by bluish-gray upperparts and yellow throat and breast. It also bears a distinct yellow eyebrow stripe and a yellow crescent just below the eye. Females are slightly duller in appearance than males. 
FOR KIDS: Endemic birds face many threats and dangers in their daily life—from habitat loss to storms to non-native predators like cats, rats and mongoose, it’s a challenge for birds to stay alive every day! Read about some of the threats that our birds face and how you can help birds. Then do our maze—Hazards Birds Face—help the bird get past the hazards back home to its nest!
The Hispaniolan Lizard-Cuckoo is true to its common name: it is found nowhere else in the world but the island of Hispaniola, its diet includes lizards (as well as many different insects), and it belongs to the Cuculidae family. On the Dominican side of the island, this cuckoo is known as Pájaro Bobo (“Silly Bird”), while on the Haitian side it goes by the name, Tako. 
FOR KIDS: Complete our 
