How the most recent supplement to the AOU Checklist of North American Birds impacts the way we see and define Coots and Bullfinches in the Caribbean.
Every year, new ornithological research digs deeper into furthering our understanding of the complex behaviors, distributions, morphologies, and relationships among bird species across the world. As new information rolls in, proposals are made to modify our current classifications of all these species. The North American Classification Committee (NACC) is an official committee within the American Ornithologists’ Union (AOU) that bears the responsibility of weighing and subsequently incorporating these proposals into the current ornithological taxonomy and nomenclature.
Beginning in 1886, the NACC has published the AOU Checklist of North American Birds that comprehensively catalogues bird species known to North and Middle America. Most recently, their 57th Supplement to this checklist was released in June via the AOU’s peer-reviewed scientific journal, The Auk: Ornithological Advances. Within that supplement, two species well-known to Caribbean birders have undergone important changes, and are discussed below.
The Caribbean Coot, with its white shield extending up on to the top of the head, is no longer regarded as a separate species, but rather a sub-species of the American Coot. Enter your sightings in eBird Caribbean as “American Coot (White-shielded).” (photo by Mario Espinosa)
CARIBBEAN COOT – NOT A UNIQUE SPECIES
The Caribbean Coot (formerly Fulica caribaea) was – until recently – considered to be its own species of coot endemic to the Caribbean Basin (residing in Venezuela as well as the West Indies). It is a regular member of wetland communities where it can be seen swimming on ponds and lakes as well as walking about on the shore.
It was historically thought that Caribbean Coots and their very similar appearing congener, the American Coot, were separate species. As of this year, however, the AOU has decided that Caribbean Coots actually belong to the American Coot species.1 The best evidence for this comes from research on their breeding biology by Douglas McNair and Carol Cramer-Burke.2 It seems that St. Croix Caribbean and American Coots choose mates randomly with no regard for species, implying that there is no reproductive isolation on St. Croix. While occasional hybridization is ok, if the two were actually unique species, birds would have at least some preference (a strong preference, in fact) for breeding with fellow birds from their own species.
American Coot (Red-shielded). (photo by Shannon O’Shea)
Adding to that, the birding community originally thought Caribbean and American Coots could be distinguished by the morphology (size, length) and color of the shields and calluses located on their foreheads. However, that has become….messy. Furthermore, there are no discerning characteristics between their vocalizations.
All this implies that the Caribbean Coot has not actually differentiated from the American Coot enough to be its own unique species.3
Should I Identify and Report “Caribbean” Coots on eBird Caribbean Checklists?
(Note: options may be considered “rare” in certain areas and will be hidden from the default list when you enter sightings.) All previous eBird Caribbean records of Caribbean Coot have now been listed under American Coot (White-shielded). Please use this option whenever you successfully identify a Caribbean-type coot and use the American Coot (Red-shielded) option for American-type coots. For more information click here.
American Coot (White- shielded) with downy chick. (photo by Mario Espinosa)
Sometimes, however, you may not be able to identify the coot as either a Caribbean or American-type (for example, when the bird is facing away and the shield is not visible, or the bird’s appearance is in between). When this happens, enter the bird as just an American Coot. Do not use the more specific options, even if your location makes one or the other extremely unlikely (this goes for other subspecies that can be reported in eBird Caribbean too!). Similarly, when conducting Caribbean Waterbird Census (CWC) counts, you should continue to count birds with white and red shields separately because the CWC will continue to monitor the Caribbean Coot’s status in the Caribbean.
CUBAN BULLFINCH – MULTIPLE SPECIES?
Cuban Bullfinch on Grand Cayman. (photo by Ray Robles)
The Cuban Bullfinch (Melopyrrha nigra) is a black and white songbird known to scrub and forest habitats on the islands of Cuba and Grand Cayman. Populations from each island have differentiated enough from one another that they can be identified as distinct subspecies. Specifically, the Cuban subspecies differs from the Grand Cayman subspecies by exhibiting a deeper shade of black and smaller body size, but the more noticeable difference can be found in their songs and calls.3,4
Cuban Bullfinch in Cuba. (photo by Allan Hopkins)
Unfortunately, the isolation of these populations makes it difficult to tell if the bullfinches are species or subspecies, because unlike the Caribbean and American Coots, biologists are unable to study their mating preferences easily. However, after re-assessing the populations’ traits, the AOU has decided that they are still subspecies, at least for now.1
Regardless of how many Cuban Bullfinch species there are, the two populations are clearly unique and of great conservation value. It is very possible that additional research will convince the AOU to change its decision. In the meantime, eBird Caribbean is including both populations separately as “subspecies groups” so keep entering your sightings of Cuban Bullfinches from both the Cayman Islands and Cuba.
Cuban Bullfinch on Grand Cayman. (photo by Ray Robles)
1Chesser, R.T., et al., 2016. Fifty-seventh Supplement to the American Ornithologists’ Union Check-list of North American Birds. Auk 133:544-560.
2McNair, D.B., and C. Cramer-Burke. 2006. Breeding ecology of American and Caribbean Coots at Southgate Pond, St. Croix: use of woody vegetation. Wilson Journal of Ornithology 118:208–217.
4Garrido, O.H., et al., 2014. Revision of the endemic West Indian genus Melopyrrha from Cuba and the Cayman Islands. Bull. B.O.C. 134:134-144.
By Doug Weidemann, production editor for JCO and Justin Proctor, Caribbean Ornithologist; Freelance Writer; Loving Husband. Justin is part of our JCO Editorial and Production team and a frequent contributor to our blog.
The 6th North American Ornithological Conference (NAOC) – 16-20 August 2016, Washington Hilton Hotel, Washington DC—BRINGING SCIENCE AND CONSERVATION TOGETHER #NAOC2016
BirdsCaribbean co-hosts an Outstandingly Successful Conference
Our Caribbean flock gathers at our BirdsCaribbean booth, a popular spot in the Exhibition Hall – Kate Wallace, Erika Gates, Lisa Sorenson, Wayne Smart, Jennifer Wheeler, Howard Nelson and Ellie Devenish.
Between 16-20 August BirdsCaribbean joined with the Smithsonian Institution/Migratory Bird Center, American Ornithologists Union, Association of Field Ornithologists, CIPAMEX, Cooper Ornithological Society, Wilson Ornithological Society, Society of Canadian Ornithologists and Sociedad de Ornitologia Neotropical to co-host the sixth North American Ornithological Conference (NAOC) – the largest meeting of American ornithologists ever held. More than 2,000 scientists, students, and conservationists met in Washington DC to share their work on the theme “Bringing Science and Conservation Together.”
As co-host to the meeting, BirdsCaribbean helped with the preparations, planning and program development—not an easy task given the hundreds of symposia, sessions, lightening talks, and posters that were presented, not to mention the myriad social events, field trips and other opportunities for networking. Fourteen concurrent sessions kept everyone constantly on the move but it all worked beautifully, thanks to the brilliant leadership of the meeting Chair, Dr. Pete Marra, of the Smithsonian Institution, and many hard-working committees as well as the stellar work of the conference organizers Crabtree and Company.
For BirdsCaribbean, the conference was a fantastic opportunity to share information about the work being done in the Caribbean and the many urgent threats faced by Caribbean birds. We also learned new approaches and techniques, made new contacts, welcomed new members, and discussed fresh ways we can work together to address urgent Caribbean conservation issues. It would be impossible to list all the insights we gained from the meeting and the many outstanding talks, but we have mentioned a few below.
The Plight of Caribbean Forest Birds
Howard Nelson presenting about the status of Caribbean forest birds. (photo by Lisa Sorenson)
According to Howard Nelson (previous President of BirdsCaribbean and a current board member), of the 171 forest endemic bird species, an astonishing 86% do not have estimates of population size in the literature and 69% have no published research on conservation efforts. Research effort remains consistently low across both common and rare endemic species. Only the most charismatic groups, such has the parrots are relatively well known.
Dr. Nelson’s talk was the kick-off presentation of our symposia on August 18th highlighting recent research and conservation efforts on Caribbean forest endemic birds. Illuminating talks in our session included (PDFs are available below): Jen Mortensen, who presented strong genetic evidence for separate species of the White-breasted Thrasher on St. Lucia and Martinique. Frank Rivera updated us on numbers of the Critically Endangered Grenada Dove and Hook-billed Kite (less than 200 individuals of each species remain). Chris Rimmer pointed out that of the 31 endemics on Hispaniola, more than half are threatened and we know very little about any of these species. Jane Haakonsson showed data on how Cuban Parrot populations in the Cayman Islands were able to recover from hurricanes, but that these populations are now badly threatened by development. James Goetz summarized a decade of research and conservation progress on the endangered Black-capped Petrel – his concluding message was that the fate of the petrel, i.e., how the story ends, is in our hands.
Enthusiasm and a Bicycle
Dr. Lourdes Mugica inspiring plenary talk included highlights from her many years of research on Cuban waterbirds and wetlands, interwoven with many humorous stories from the field. (photo by Lisa Sorenson)
One surprising exception to the low level of scientific information to support conservation is Cuba. Dr. Lourdes Mugica of the University of Havana – a previous board member of BC – gave a fascinating plenary in which she talked about Cuban ornithology and her own research on wetland birds in the rice fields of Cuba. She reminded us that Cuban scientists continued to do first rate science when the only resources they had (because of the embargo) were enthusiasm and a bicycle. Later, as part of “Cuba Day,” Cornell Laboratory of Ornithology hosted an excellent symposium on Cuban Birds, with six Cuban ornithologists presenting. We live-streamed Lourdes’ plenary talk from our Facebook page – the video can be viewed at this link. More fun photos from the conference are posted here.
The Relative Importance of Conservation of Wintering Habitats for Migratory Birds
But it is not just Caribbean birds that are suffering declines. Mike Parr of the American Bird Conservancy emphasized the declines that many migrants are suffering and showed through scientific models that conservation on the wintering grounds is more likely to address these declines than anything that can be done on the breeding grounds.
The Never-Ending Importance of Education and Awareness
Science can identify the problems and solutions but only through education and awareness can we engage people to implement conservation measures. This was the theme of an excellent “lightening” session hosted by Environment for the Americas, at which both Lisa Sorenson and Leo Douglas presented papers on Caribbean outreach through the media, and an innovative study on impacts of environmental education on Jamaican youth.
BirdsCaribbean Reaching Out
Robyn Bath-Rosenfeld and Darshan Narang present their poster on Magnificent Frigatebirds on Tobago. (photo by Erika Gates)
BirdsCaribbean was well represented in the sessions, workshops and symposia by a wide range of members and board members, young and old. We also took the opportunity to bring people together at a “Get-to-know BirdsCaribbean” social, at which more than 50 old and new friends came to meet, discuss on-going work and new directions, and drink rum to the sounds of Caribbean music. Our colorful booth in the exhibition hall was a hub for those interested in Caribbean birds, and was thronged by people who wanted to learn more about us and our work and buy T-shirts, field shirts, mugs, hats, artwork, crafts, and field guides to Caribbean islands. Many thanks are due to all our members and friends who volunteered to work at the booth and supported the booth by purchasing items throughout the meeting.
The future is Caribbean
Group gathered for Happy Hour at our booth: Leno Davis, Richard Johnston Gonzalez, Ann Sutton, Jennifer Wheeler, Lisa Sorenson, Chris Rimmer, and Pam Hunt.
There was much interest in two upcoming meetings in the Caribbean. BC shared the announcement of its next International Meeting in Cuba 13-17 July 2017. The NAOC announced that its next meeting will take place in Puerto Rico in August 2020. Both these meetings will help BC to raise interest in ornithology and conservation in the region.
For more information about the NAOC please visit their website, where you can download the program and abstracts.
The following is a list of papers presented at NAOC that mentioned the Caribbean. PDFs of some presentations are available for review (files are continuing to be uploaded).
Conservation of Caribbean Forest Endemic Birds Symposium (organized by BirdsCaribbean):
Red List Status of Forest Endemic Birds in the Caribbean. Nelson, Howard – University of Chester; Eleanor Devenish-Nelson – University of Chester; Doug Weidemann – BirdsCaribbean Journal of Caribbean Ornithology; Jason Townsend – BirdsCaribbean Journal of Caribbean Ornithology
Clear differentiation between island races of the White-breasted Thrasher (Ramphocinclus brachyurus), an endangered Antillean passerine. Mortensen, Jennifer, Tufts University.
Population Assessment of the Grenada Dove (Leptotila wellsi) and Hook-Billed Kite (Chondrohierax uncinatus mirus) using Distance Sampling and Repeated Count Methods. Rivera-Milán, Frank – US Fish and Wildlife Service, Division of Migratory Bird Management, Branch of Population and Habitat Assessments
A Decade of Advances in Black-capped Petrel (Pterodroma hasitata) Research and Conservation. Goetz, James – Dept. Nat. Resources, Cornell University; Adam Brown – Environmental Protection in the Caribbean; Ernst Rupp – Grupo Jaragua; Anderson Jean – Société Audubon Haiti; Matthew McKown – Conservation Metrics; Patrick Jodice – USGS South Carolina Cooperative Fish & Wildlife Research Unit, Clemson University; George Wallace – American Bird Conservancy; Jennifer Wheeler – BirdsCaribbean
Other talks that were about or mentioned Caribbean birds:
Unifying the Voice for Migratory Bird Conservation Across the Western Hemisphere through Festivals. Bonfield, S. Environment for the Americas.
Interspecific competition between resident and wintering warblers: Evidence from a 3D removal experiment. Powell, Luke – Smithsonian Migratory Bird Center; Elizabeth Ames – The Ohio State University; James Wright – The Ohio State University; Nathan Cooper – Smithsonian Migratory Bird Center; Peter Marra – Smithsonian Migratory Bird Center
A snapshot of the movements of White-crowned Pigeons satellite-tracked in Florida and the Caribbean. Kent, Gina – Avian Research and Conservation Institute (ARCI); Ken Meyer – Avian Research and Conservation Institute; Ricardo Miller – Jamaica National Environment and Planning Agency; Alexis Martinez – Puerto Rico Department of Natural and Environmental Resources; Predensa Moore – Bahamas National Trust; Paul Watler – National Trust for the Cayman Islands
Estimating population density of a Magnificent Frigatebird (Fregata magnificens) colony in St. Giles Islands, Tobago using photographic surveys. Bath-Rosenfeld, Robyn – University of the West Indies/UC Riverside; Darshan Narang – University of the West Indies, Trinidad & Tobago
Conservation Biology of the Critically Endangered Bahama Oriole: Estimating Current Population Size and Evaluating Threats. Omland, Kevin – University of Maryland, Baltimore County; Shelley Cant – Bahamas National Trust; Scott Johnson – Bahamas National Trust/ BirdsCaribbean; Matthew Jeffery – Audubon; John Tschirky – American Bird Conservancy; Holly Robertson – American Bird Conservancy; Melissa Price – University of Hawaii at Mānoa; Scott Sillett – Smithsonian Migratory Bird Center.
Population biology, life history, ecology, and conservation of the endangered Bahama Swallow (Tachycineta cyaneoviridis). Wilson, Maya – Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University; Jeffrey Walters – Virginia Tech
Pelicanus occidentalis’ nesting disturbance on a small island in the Guadeloupe archipelago. Priam, Judith – Servicios Cientificos y Tecnicos
Conservation Action Plan for Bicknell’s Thrush: outcomes and next actions in both breeding and wintering grounds. Lloyd, John – Vermont Center for Ecostudies; Eduardo Inigo-Elias – Cornell Lab of Ornithology; Kent McFarland – Vermont Center for Ecostudies; Christopher Rimmer – Vermont Center for Ecostudies; Juan Carlos Martinez-Sanchez – Vermont Center for Ecostudies; Yves Aubry – Environment and Climate change Canada
Narrowing the Search for Overwintering Bicknell’s Thrush in the Caribbean. Rimmer, Christopher – Vermont Center for Ecostudies; John Lloyd – Vermont Center for Ecostudies; Jose Salguero – Puerto Rico Department of Natural and Environmental Resources
Sustainability Assessment of Plain Pigeons (Patagioenas inornata wetmorei) Illegally Hunted in Puerto Rico. Rivera-Milán, Frank – United States Fish and Wildlife Service, Division of Migratory Bird Management, Branch of Population and Habitat Assessments
Management and conservation of cavity nesting birds in Monte Cabaniguan Wildlife Refuge, Las Tunas, Cuba. Rodríguez, Aryamne Serrano
Cuban Bird diversity and habitat conservation through the Cuban National System of Protected Areas (SNAP). Mugica, Susana
Genetic characterization of Cuban colonies of American flamingos: impacts on its management and conservation. Quevedo, Alexander Llanes – University of Havana, Cuba; Roberto Frías Soler – University of Heidelberg, Germany; Georgina Espinosa López – University of Havana, Cuba
Bird migration across western Cuba. Hernández, Alina Perez
What a permanent banding monitoring scheme tell us about migration, territoriality and effects of hurricanes on birds of tropical dry forests of southeastern Cuba. Segovia Vega, Yasit
The current and future effects of climatic variation and change on tropical Frugivores. Boyle, Alice – Kansas State University
Seasonal changes in habitat utilization of Swainson’s Warblers in response to moisture and prey abundance. Brunner, Alicia – The Ohio State University; Christopher Tonra – The Ohio State University
Where and for how long do migrating landbirds stopover along the northern Gulf of Mexico? A radar perspective. Buler, Jeffrey – University of Delaware; Matthew Boone – University of Delaware; Jill LaFleur – University of Southern Mississippi; Frank Moore – University of Southern Mississippi; Timothy Schreckengost – University of Delaware; Jaclyn Smolinsky – University of Delaware
Assessing Plasticity in the Migratory Behavior of a Songbird Wintering in the Caribbean Using the Motus Wildlife Tracking System. Dossman, Bryant – Cornell University; Colin Studds – University of Maryland, Baltimore County; Peter Marra – Smithsonian Migratory Bird Center; Amanda Rodewald – Cornell University
Recovery of Birds Under the Endangered Species Act. Greenwald, Noah – Center for Biological Diversity; Kieran Suckling – Center for Biological Diversity; Ryan Beam – Center for Biological Diversity; Loyal Mehrhoff – Center for Biological Diversity; Brett Hartl – Center for Biological Diversity
Constructing a range-wide migratory network in an aerial insectivore to assess which seasons drive long-term changes in abundance. Knight, Samantha – University of Guelph; David Bradley – Bird Studies Canada; Robert Clark – Environment and Climate Change Canada; Marc Bélisle – Université de Sherbrooke; Lisha Berzins – University of Northern British Columbia; Tricia Blake – Alaska Songbird Institute; Eli Bridge – Oklahoma Biological Survey; Russell D. Dawson – University of Northern British Columbia; Peter Dunn – University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee; Dany Garant – Université de Sherbrooke; Geoff Holroyd – Beaverhill Bird Observatory; Andrew Horn – Dalhousie University; David Hussell – Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources; Olga Lansdorp – Simon Fraser University; Andrew Laughlin – University of North Carolina Asheville; Marty Leonard – Dalhousie University; Fanie Pelletier – Université de Sherbrooke; Dave Shutler – Acadia University; Lynn Siefferman – Appalachian State University; Caz Taylor – Tulane University; Helen Trefry – Beaverhill Bird Observatory; Carol Vleck – Iowa State University; David Vleck – Iowa State University; Linda Whittingham – University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee; David Winkler – Cornell University; D. Ryan Norris – University of Guelph
Tri-trophic ecology of native nest flies (Philornis trinitensis) in grassquits and mockingbirds of Tobago. Knutie, Sarah – University of South Florida; Jordan Herman – University of Utah; Jeb Owen – Washington State University; Dale Clayton – University of Utah
Prioritizing and implementing projects for the rarest bird species in the Americas. Lebbin, Daniel – American Bird Conservancy
Autumn migration ecology and biogeography of Red Knots at the Altamaha River Delta, Georgia, USA. Lyons, James – USGS Patuxent Wildlife Research Center; Tim Keyes – Georgia DNR; Bradford Winn – Manomet; Kevin Kalasz – Delaware DFW
A Place to Land: Stopover Ecology and Conservation of Migratory Songbirds. Moore, Frank – University of Southern Mississippi; Emily Cohen – Smithsonian Migratory Bird Center; Jeffrey Buler – University of Delaware
Phylogenomic analysis using ultraconserved elements reveals cryptic diversity in the complex Neotropical genus Pachyramphus. Musher, Lukas – American Museum of Natural History; Joel Cracraft – Department of Ornithology, American Museum of Natural History
Abundance and body condition of a Neotropical migratory bird overwintering in mangrove forests in Colombia. Reese, Jessie – Virginia Commonwealth University; Lesley Bulluck – Virginia Commonwealth University
Examining dietary overlap in resident and wintering migratory warblers using next generation metabarcoding of feces. Welch, Andreanna – Durham University; Luke Powell – Smithsonian Migratory Bird Center; Peter Marra – Smithsonian Migratory Bird Center; Robert Fleischer – Smithsonian Institution
The Population Genetic Structure of the Red-Billed Tropicbird (Phaethon aethereus) in the Gulf of California, México. Piña-Ortiz, Alberto – Centro de Investigaciónen Alimentación y Desarrollo, A.C. Unidad Mazatlán; Luis Enriquez-Paredes – Facultad de Ciencias Marinas – Universidad Autónoma de Baja California; José Castillo- Guerrero – Centro Universitario de la Costa Sur, Universidad de Guadalajara.; Albert van der Heiden – Centro de Investigación en Alimentación y Desarrollo, A.C. Unidad Mazatlán
Cuba’s beautiful endemic Bee Hummingbird, the smallest bird in the world. (photo by Aslam Ibrahim)
Celebrating the Diversity of the Caribbean
BirdsCaribbean is excited to announce its 21st International Meeting, to be held from 13-17 July 2017 at Topes de Collantes Nature Reserve Park, Cuba. Situated in the Escambray mountain range in south central Cuba, Topes de Collantes peak is the third highest mountain in the reserve rising to 800 meters, and gives its name to the surrounding park and its tourist center. The area offers breathtaking attractions such as caves, rivers, grottos, canyons, waterfalls, and natural pools. The nearest city is Trinidad, a UNESCO World Heritage site famous for being one of the best preserved cities in the Caribbean.
The forest-dwelling Blue-headed Quail-dove, endemic to Cuba. (photo by Aslam Ibrahim)
Cuba is an incredibly beautiful country with a rich diversity of birds, biodiversity, stunning landscapes, and cultural treasurers. It is home to 26 endemic bird species, many of which occur in the area, and many endemic mammals, herptiles, invertebrates, and plants. Wildlife enthusiasts will not want to miss this incredible opportunity to couple ecotourism with conservation learning and networking. The Local Organizing Committee will ensure we have a productive and enjoyable meeting as well as memorable tours and social events.
Cuba’s national bird, the Cuban Trogon. (photo by Aslam Ibrahim)
As always, the meeting aims to bring together Caribbean and international wildlife professionals, ornithologists, educators, decision makers, tourism interests, community leaders, students and others to share information and learn about the latest avian research and initiatives to conserve Caribbean birds and their habitats and devise new approaches to conservation. The meeting will feature exciting keynote speakers, symposia and paper sessions as well as training workshops, round-table discussions, and working group meetings that promote applied conservation and collaboration to solve our shared environmental challenges.
The theme of the meeting is “Celebrating the Diversity of the Caribbean.” This theme relates not only to the wonderful diversity of avian species found in the region, but also to the diversity of passionate and dedicated scientists and conservationists that work tirelessly to study and protect them. From todies and trogons to parrots, peeps and petrels, there is ample reason why the Caribbean is a biodiversity hotspot. As more and more people appreciate the importance of avifauna and work towards conserving critical habitats, this meeting is a fantastic opportunity to get together and share information and ideas and plan projects.
A relatively common species, the endemic Cuban Pigmy Owl. (photo by Aslam Ibrahim)
In addition to the 5 days of the main conference, there will be unforgettable pre- and post-conference workshops and field trips to the best birding sites in Cuba offering the opportunity to see more of Cuba’s endemic birds and experience rich culture and the warmth and generosity of the Cuban people. You will definitely want to spend time exploring this spectacular country and should plan some extra time for this. Plan a holiday with your family or friends before or after the meeting!
Mark your calendars for July 13-17 (plus time before and after) and plan to attend the BirdsCaribbean 21st International Meeting!
Bookmark the meeting website – more information will be added as it becomes available.
Vegas Grande Waterfall, one of manyl in Topes de Collante, Trinidad, Cuba. (Shutterstock)
In an inspirational move towards seabird protection, concerned advocates pledge to work together to monitor and protect the seabirds and natural heritage of the Grenadine Islands. Will Mackin and colleagues share their journey in forming the Grenadines Seabird Team.
Handsome Brown Noddies and a Roseate Tern taking a mid-day break on a rocky outcrop in the Grenadines. (photo by Julianna Coffey)
Seabirds are a common sight when you live by or work on the ocean—especially in the tiny remote islands that stretch between the “mainlands” of St. Vincent and Grenada. But residents of the transboundary Grenadines have the opportunity to gain a much deeper appreciation of these magnificent birds, particularly if they make their living from the sea. Similar to seabirds, citizens of the Grenadines practice livelihoods that are inextricably and ultimately reliant upon the marine environment. Although they live on the land, they look towards the ocean for sustenance and stability. Until recently, outsiders did not know much about seabirds on these islands, however local fishermen and naturalists knew and valued them for their beauty, fish-finding skills, ability to foretell weather events, and their eggs and meat. In recent years they noticed that many were in decline.
In 2004, scientists Hayes, Frost, Sutton, and Hay visited the Grenadines and discovered high numbers of boobies and terns, but with respect to numbers of breeding seabirds there was little other existing research. They summarized their results in a chapter in An Inventory of Breeding Seabirds in the Caribbean in 2009. Soon after, this work was followed up through the collaboration of adventurers David and Katherine Lowrie and Environmental Protection in the Caribbean (EPIC) who set out to catalog seabird colonies throughout the Lesser Antilles in the first standardized surveys of the region. These surveys resulted in the Seabird Breeding Atlas of the Lesser Antilles, which featured firsthand visits to all the colonies and numerous newly identified sites. These surveys showed that two of the Grenadine islands—Battowia and Petit Canouan—supported globally important seabird colonies but were relatively unprotected, with birds being heavily exploited for food. Furthermore, dozens of other islands had active colonies but local residents were becoming alarmed by decreases in recent years. We accepted the challenge this presented and sought to engage local communities to learn more about how seabirds are used for food and fishing. Simultaneously we built a locally relevant and practical conservation presence in an effort to restore and protect populations.
Workshop participants taking a quiz on seabird identification. (photo by Aly DeGraff)
This year’s workshop took place from July 22–23rd in Clifton, Union Island, with volunteers primarily from the Southern and Grenada Grenadines, including Mayreau, Union, and Carriacou (plus one participant from Mustique). This team recognized the importance of addressing the entire Grenadines from a transboundary conservation approach, since historically, culturally, and ecologically, the transboundary Grenadines are more closely related to one another than to their respective mainlands. Therefore, it was considered more valuable to work across the entire Grenadines archipelago than to use arbitrary political boundaries to define the extent of the project area (not to mention that seabirds do not care about political boundaries). With representatives from the Grenada Grenadines in attendance this year, we can now consider this initiative to be truly transboundary!
Brown Noddy chick on nest – its underside is still downy but it’s head and back have feathers. (photo by Juliana Coffey)
The workshop included a day of presentations on seabirds and their identification, as well as a field trip for participants to learn how to collect data on breeding sites. Most of those involved were beginners with little formal training in bird identification, so the first day was devoted to teaching participants how to distinguish between the many species of seabirds that occur in the Grenadines. We discussed basic seabird biology and threats, answering questions such as: Why are seabirds doing so poorly in comparison to other bird species? What is being done to promote and protect seabirds? What kind of management activities can we implement? How is this type of citizen science data collection useful? And, most importantly, how can concerned residents within the Grenadines contribute to the conservation and management of their diminishing seabird resources?
Participants also learned how seabirds have been integral to Grenadines’ cultural heritage for many centuries, providing additional conservation rationale rooted in a cultural context. The Birds of the Transboundary Grenadines team was able to pass around a draft copy of its Grenadines bird identification guide, containing local knowledge and folklore collected between 2012–16 from residents throughout the archipelago. The first day ended with attendees taking part in an identification quiz, defining their favorite seabird, and signing a voluntary pledge to establish their commitment to the program. Many people admired the Magnificent Frigatebird for its astounding flight abilities, and the Brown Pelican was a favorite for its diving expertise.
Workshop participants proudly show their signed pledge to help protect Grenadines’ seabirds. (photo by Julianna Coffey)
The course instructors included: Dr. Will Mackin, seabird biologist, co-chair of the Seabird Working Group of BirdsCaribbean and board member of EPIC; Lystra Culzac, founder of the St. Vincent-based NGO SCIENCE; Aly DeGraff, a cartographer for National Geographic and BirdsCaribbean, and partner on the Birds of the Transboundary Grenadines project with over five years’ experience in the Grenadines; Juliana Coffey, a seabird biologist with extensive field research and community outreach experience in the Grenadines and the founder and local knowledge expert behind the Birds of the Transboundary Grenadines project; and Wayne Smart, a Master’s Degree student at Arkansas State University who studies breeding biology of seabirds on the southernmost islands of the Grenada Grenadines.
The attendees included staff from the Sustainable Grenadines NGO and two youth members who represented their Junior Ranger program; employees of the Tobago Cays Marine Park; and local fishermen, entrepreneurs, tour guides, teachers, divers, and naturalists. We took a field trip on the second day to the Tobago Cays Marine Park. Here, we conducted sea-based surveys aboard the traditional working schooner Scaramouche around Jamesby, Petit Bateau, and Petit Rameau, and a land-based survey on Baradal to practice newly acquired field and identification skills. Participants identified Brown Boobies, Brown Noddies, Laughing Gulls, Brown Pelicans, and Bridled and Roseate Terns from the boat, and visited a nesting Brown Noddy colony on Baradal. It was a very rewarding moment when one of the most knowledgeable and experienced fishermen in the Grenadines declared in awe, “I didn’t know the birds was nesting here like this!”
Juliana Coffey identifying seabirds with participants from Carriacou. (photo by Aly DeGraff)
After the field trip, the team practiced using data entry forms to enter results from the surveys into the West Indian Breeding Seabird Atlas that keeps records of breeding seabirds in the Caribbean. Post-workshop evaluations indicated the participants enjoyed the discussion-based format of the training and found the identification section very helpful. They left feeling energized and excited about putting their new skills into practice to help protect seabirds. In typical Caribbean fashion, we spotted one of the workshop participants standing by the water sipping a rum punch and scanning the sea with his binoculars. As he practiced his newfound seabird identification skills, he proudly exclaimed, “I got a new hobby now!”
Encouraging participants to explore their islands has enabled them to observe seabird interactions with other wildlife species and gain a greater appreciation for the natural history of their islands. One participant observed Royal Tern activity over a particular area of a beach and, when he went to investigate, he discovered their focus had been on turtle hatchlings making their first trek to the sea!
We plan to meet again in 2017, where participants from the previous two workshops will meet to discuss their observations from the 2017 breeding season and learn more survey methods. The team stays in contact through WhatsApp and Facebook groups, where they can ask questions and report sightings. Data are submitted through a standardized format, and surveyors are reimbursed for their fuel costs. With sufficient funding, EPIC would like to make these workshops an annual event, building a broader coalition of patrol members throughout the region.
Nesting Brown Noddies spotted on Baradal in the Tobago Cays on the workshop field trip. (photo by Aly DeGraff)
Juliana Coffey notes, “We have been working with some of these fishermen for over five years through a shared concern for the welfare of seabirds in the Grenadines, and their continued participation in the ‘Birds of the Transboundary Grenadines’ project. We have been carefully documenting their detailed knowledge and folklore as it pertains to birds, accompanying them on field trips to offshore islands and providing them with informal support for the questions they have had. It is wonderful to finally be able to offer a more formalized training within a network of concerned individuals, so that they can realistically contribute to the fate of seabirds in the Grenadines, made possible through EPIC and SCIENCE.”
Already, the Grenadines Seabird Team has documented several threats including rats, mice, discarded fishing gear, goats and invasive grass. Some areas, such as the Sooty Tern colony at the Petit Canouan Important Bird Area, may need vegetation management; years of burning to facilitate egg collection have altered the plant composition to just a few species. We will need to carefully craft a solution with our partners to make sure the seabirds at Petit Canouan can continue to thrive. There are many opportunities for the team to initiate restoration projects to increase and enrich wildlife populations around this magnificent archipelago. We also want to provide the Grenadines Seabird Team with the necessary support, guidance and resources to allow for accurate data collection and reporting, including access to expert advice, digital cameras, and identification guides.
Equipped with their newly acquired skills and enhanced knowledge, the Grenadines Seabird Team members are now effective advocates for seabirds in their respective communities. This program offers hope for seabirds and concerned citizens in the region, and can serve as a model for other areas facing similar challenges. To support this project, please consider donating to our ongoing Protect Baby Seabirds Campaign!
by Will Mackin, Alison DeGraff, Juliana Coffey, and Natalia Collier
Marina Fastigi of KIDO Foundation in the Grenadines shares how they were able to transform a small island community that had never had a bird and wildlife conservation culture by engaging its younger citizens in birding activities.
Dover school teacher Mr. Allen with some of his students spotting birds in the Petit Caranage Wetland. (photo by Marina Fastigi)
Based in Carriacou in the Grenadine Islands of Grenada, KIDO Foundation, a local NGO, has for years endeavored to establish a formally-recognized Bird Sanctuary in the outstanding mangrove wetland of Petite Carenage, part of High North National Park without much success. So when BirdCaribbean offered a Teacher Training Workshop, Engaging Youth in Science and Conservation, through its BirdSleuth Caribbean program – and supplied top-notch birding equipment and educational material – we took this wonderful opportunity and flew with it!
It all started in November, 2014, when Antonia Peters, our new Project Officer attended the 3-day training workshop in Nassau, Bahamas along with 23 other educators and conservationists from across the region. At the workshop, participants learned how to implement the innovative BirdSleuth curriculum, “Connecting Kids Through Birds” which was adapted for the Caribbean context by BirdsCaribbean from the BirdSleuth International curriculum developed by the Cornell Lab of Ornithology.
The premise of the program is that birds are engaging and a fun way to get youth interested in nature, science, and inquiry-based learning. We hoped to involve our young people in the natural world and build their science skills, as well as increase their appreciation of nature and commitment to environmental stewardship. The curriculum is supported by a kit of materials for educators that contain resources and materials needed for carrying out the lessons, such as laminated bird silhouettes, identification cards, games, field guides, binoculars and spotting scopes, art and craft supplies, and much more.
One of the first activities at the workshop is creating a birding notebook with hand-drawn artwork. (photo by Marina Fastigi)
After Antonia attended the training workshop in Nassau, we were ready to deliver our own local workshops. Given many local residents’ hectic daily schedules, we sought out a number of potential stakeholders, from the Ministry of Education to small primary schools tucked away behind the mountain range. Our phone bill grew exponentially, however, we received positive commitments from 14 teachers of the Carriacou and Petit Martinique primary schools, the Ministry of Education, 4H Club, and NADMA (National Disaster Management Agency) personnel.
On November 19, 20 & 21, 2015, KIDO Foundation, in collaboration with the Grenada Fund for Conservation (GFC) and Education Conservation Outreach (ECO), held a three-day workshop for a group of Carriacou and Petit Martinique educators, in how to use the BirdSleuth Caribbean curriculum. Antonia and her team were excited to pass on their knowledge to our interested and lively educators so that they would in turn teach their youths how to study, appreciate and conserve Caribbean birds.
Teachers practice bird identification outdoors at KIDO Foundation and record their observations in their birding notebooks. (photo by Marina Fastigi)
During the workshop, held at our green hilltop KIDO Environmental Learning Center, seven teachers participated in the first two days, and on the third they enjoyed a bird watching field trip to the new Bird Sanctuary, located in the Petit Carenage wetland area (some 100 forested acres, part of High North proposed National Park). They also visited Big Pond, another birding stopover, tucked among tall trees near the hamlet of Dover, close to Petit Carenage. The vice-principal of Dover Primary School also participated in the field trip, emphasizing his experience and passion for nature protection on his beloved island, in particular Petit Carenage Wetland and the adjacent turtle nesting beach and protected coastline.
Mount Pleasant child at the spotting scope with ever watchful KIDO co-founder Dario Sandrini. (photo by Marina Fastigi)
The participants enjoyed the hands-on learning activities, peppered with sharply humored interventions, both in the classroom and during field trip activities. By the end of the three-day session they also came up with two new projects, formalized in two groups (schools from the south and north of Carriacou), direct off-shoots of the BirdSleuth Caribbean training.
The northern group proposed to create several shelters and waterholes for birds in the Mt. Pleasant, Windward and Dover areas, to help them during the long and often dramatically waterless dry season. Also on the agenda was the prevention of topsoil erosion along the coast by planting red mangroves and large shade trees, as well as launching a clean-up campaign at the community level to remove plastic litter from the mangroves.
Teacher Mr. Matheson and a few of his keen birding team members from Mount Pleasant observe birds from our blind. (Photo by Marina Fastigi).
The southern group reinforced the idea of a bird haven by suggesting the construction of bird houses around all the schools of Carriacou, as well as planting native flower and fruit trees around school yards to attract more birds. They also proposed conducting an awareness campaign on bird conservation among kids and parents, 4H clubs, and in the wider community. Ms Lynette Kisha Isaac of M.O.E. asked for birdhouses and watering dishes to be placed around their church yard, and with regards to the BirdSleuth workshop commented, “It was very interactive and informative and learning involved many facets: speaking, viewing, doing.”
Hillsborough Government School show off their bird identification cards in the new Petite Carenage Turtle and Bird Sanctuary gazebo. (photo by Davon Baker)
We strongly believe that such conservation projects would not have been conceived and formulated had the BirdSleuth Training Torkshop not taken place in Nassau. Several teachers reportedly taught the BirdSleuth Caribbean curriculum and practiced bird conservation with their students utilizing the materials provided despite their busy curriculum. With their students they joined KIDO staff, expertly assisted by two KIDO university volunteers from Chicago, on exciting birding trips along the new Bird Sanctuary trails of Petit Carenage, which had also recently been supported by street signage from the Ministry of Tourism, being an important asset for Carriacou.
Trained educators receive their certificate of achievement at KIDO. (photo by Marina Fastigi)
All in all, to date, 261 children, 25 teachers and nine community members participated in the BirdSleuth Caribbean program, which was enthusiastically received by children, and word spread that the bird-watching program was so much fun that the youths did not want to leave – even after several hours. The use of binoculars and the Vortex scope really helped awaken their interest in Carriacou’s resident and migratory birds. Vivid close-up observations of our island’s breathtaking birds generated awe and surprise that Carriacou is home to such hidden natural treasures.
Birding trainees from 4 primary schools enter the Bird Sanctuary of Petit Carnage. (photo by Marina Fastigi)
When youth are provided the opportunity to quietly observe and learn about birds in their natural habitat, they appreciate their precious role in the web of life. Only by understanding the interdependence of all species, including humans, can children genuinely care for them and help to conserve island biodiversity, engaging their teachers and families in the process. Form 3 student and keen birder Anthony Matheson said about BirdSleuth in Carriacou: “It was an invigorating experience that brought us closer to nature and closer to ourselves.”
KIDO will continue to provide assistance to the trainers and educators in order to continue the BirdSleuth Caribbean program with new students, as well as help teachers and students of Carriacou Primary Schools to build houses and water bowls for resident birds. Bird activity around schools and churches will be monitored, by counting and identifying resident and migratory birds in the mangrove Bird Sanctuary of Petit Carenage and Big Pond, and mangroves will be planted in critical areas in order to protect the bird sanctuary.
Stilt Sandpiper at the Petit Caranage Wetland in Carriacou, one of the many species that can be seen at the site. (Photo by Lisa Sorenson)
We wish to thank BirdsCaribbean, Optics of the Tropics, and the Neotropical Migratory Bird Conservation Act (NMBCA) fund of the US Fish & Wildlife Service for the funds, equipment and materials provided to complete this exciting project and create a birding and nature conservation culture in our community. More photos of our BirdSleuth Caribbean program in Carriacou may be viewed at YWF-KIDO Foundation Facebook page.
Marina Fastigi, is the Director of KIDO Foundation, in Carriacou, Grenada.
Children learn about the challenges of migration and breeding successfully in the Bird Survivor game, part of the BirdSleuth Caribbean curriculum. (photo by Marina Fastigi)Harvey Vale schoolchildren behind the Blind to spot birds feeding in the Petit Caranage wetland. (photo by Marina Fastigi)Education Officer Antonia Peters teaching how to identify by birds by their size and shape to the junior group at KIDO. (photo by Marina Fastigi)Children drawing their favorite bird on their notebook cover at KIDO. (photo by Marina Fastigi)Learning parts of a bird exercise at KIDO Foundation with secondary school students. (photo by Marina Fastigi)Mount Pleasant group, a brilliant lot instructed by teacher Mr. Matheson, spot birds in the Petit Caranage wetland. (photo by Marina Fastigi)
Gyorgy Szimuly is on a mission to raise global awareness about the astonishing lives of shorebirds. World Shorebirds Day celebrates their journeys but also brings attention to their plights.
American Oystercatcher grabbing a crab breakfast on the beach in Puerto Rico. (photo by Rafy Rodriguez)
We are fast approaching the date that many consider to be one of the best shorebird weekends of the year. The third annual World Shorebirds Day and the popular Global Shorebird Counting Program will be held from 2-6 September 2016. The count will be completed by hundreds of enthusiasts, including birdwatchers, educators, conservationists, researchers, politicians, and even hunters. When I first initiated 6 September as a special day to celebrate shorebirds and the hard-working people dedicated to saving them, I received a wonderful response from around the world. I have a life-long passion for shorebirds as well as their conservation, and the birth of World Shorebirds Day was one of the major milestones in my life.
Semipalmated Sandpiper (photo by Sipke Stapert)
With this special day I aim to encourage bird enthusiasts all over the world to go out anywhere and count shorebirds over the dedicated weekend. The reason for this is obvious: shorebirds are a wonderful group of birds inhabiting most parts of the world, adapted to incredible habitats but facing tremendous challenges through their annual lifecycle. Most of them are extraordinary migrants, which makes effective conservation difficult and requires cooperative, coordinated research and conservation projects. Shorebird numbers, in general, are plummeting and some populations have already reached critical levels where immediate action is required to reverse the negative trends. The link between these activities and the Global Shorebird Counting Program is to introduce structured citizen science programs to more and more people.
This year, the Global Shorebird Counting Program covers five days and ends with World Shorebirds Day on 6 September. Dozens of sites have already registered, and as we approach the weekend the numbers will soar. The enthusiasm and dedication towards World Shorebirds Day by BirdsCaribbean members has bee
Whimbrel in flight at a wetland in the Dominican Republic. (photo by Dax Roman)
n absolutely amazing. We are thrilled to see sites registered from tiny and exotic islands such as the U.S. Virgin Islands, Anguilla and Montserrat, to name but a few. All we wish is that this dedication will be followed by other participants in every corner of the world as well. Every count is important and yields valuable information, as has been found on Bonaire recently. The counts should not be regarded as a competition but rather as a way to raise awareness about declining populations of shorebirds on a global scale. Counting and watching shorebirds is fun and being a part of something global is great.
I have been working on a wonderful new project for World Shorebirds Day which will be unveiled later this year and will hopefully impact those organisations working for the conservation of shorebirds and their habitats. Until then there is much work to do and we have a wonderful counting weekend ahead. I wish everyone a very exciting time in the field between 2–6 September 2016 and I look forward to seeing your shared data in eBird.
Semipalmated plover in Bonaire. (photo by Sipke Stapert).
Please visit the World Shorebirds Day website for more information and updates, including registration to participate in the count, maps, and other related information. Help us make the third Global Shorebird Counting a huge success by planning your count and inviting everyone in your local or national birding community to join the fun.
Gyorgy Szimuly was born in Hungary but currently lives in the United Kingdom. He works in the retail sector for a living but shorebirds are his main passion, including a major publishing project on the Shorebirds of the World.
Resources to help you with your shorebird counts:
eBird Caribbean – enter your counts for World Shorebirds Day here – eBird is collecting all the counts from around the world. Be sure to choose one of the Caribbean Waterbird Census (CWC) counts on step 2 of data entry – that way your count will also be included in the CWC.
Seabirds are among the most endangered of all vertebrate groups. A new crowdfunding campaign is underway to support three critical scientific projects that will drive new discoveries and aid conservation of these most amazing birds. Please help us succeed!
Roseate Tern, a seabird of conservation concern that breeds in the Caribbean. (photo by Jenny Daltry)
Three projects that will advance conservation of Caribbean seabirds via a crowdfunding grant have just been launched by BirdsCaribbean biologists. Crowdfunding is the practice of funding a project or venture by raising many small amounts of money from a large number of people, typically via the Internet. According to a study by Massolutions.com, the crowdfunding industry is on track to account for more funding in 2016 than traditional venture capital sources (wealthy investors or financial institutions)! The websites, Kickstarter or Indiegogo, are two of the most well-known crowdsourcing websites, but there are many other sites.
Experiment.com is a crowdfunding site that focuses on promoting “science for the people, by the people.” It recently launched an initiative focused on seabirds, a group of wildlife urgently in need of science-based conservation. The call went out to BirdsCaribbean’s Seabird Working Group to consider projects. Three Caribbean seabird projects were submitted, accepted and are now ready to receive your backing!
Seabird colony in the northern Bahamas. (photo by Will Mackin).
This project will seek the causes behind the disappearance of thousands of breeding seabirds in the Northern Bahamas. The project leaders, Will Mackin, Ann Sutton, Margo Zdravkovic, Lisa Sorenson, and Scott Johnson, will use surveys and mark-recapture techniques to find out whether the missing seabirds moved, suffered nesting failure due to invasive predators, or changed their behavior due to disturbance…or some combination of the above. The project builds on work underway by Conservian, an NGO which began a new monitoring and habitat restoration program for coastal birds in the Bahamas in 2016.
The endangered Diablotin, or Black-Capped Petrel, is the focus of this project. Françoise Benjamin and Juan Carlos Martínez-Sánchez seek to reduce collisions of petrels at communication towers along their breeding colonies in Southern Haiti, a threat brought to light by the International Black-capped Petrel Conservation Group. They will map and characterize communication towers located along known flying corridors and colonies of petrels, record bird collisions through personal observations and interviews, then take their findings to government and industry in order to recommend solutions to this concerning source of mortality.
Wayne Smart and Natalia Collier want to determine the causes of documented declines in southern Grenadine seabird populations. In specific, they will look at how human and rat predation affects trends in six different seabird populations located north of Grenada. The findings of this project will be summarized, and made available to the public, and government agencies, in order to recommend and stimulate conservation actions.
Each of these projects has a specific fundraising goal. With Experiment.com, as with most crowdfunding sites, funding is all-or-nothing (that is, pledges by backers are collected only if the fundraising goal is achieved). Experiment.com has designated this initiative as a funding “challenge,” in that it will award additional funds to the three projects (of 15 total seabird projects) that have received the greatest number of backers by 6 PM on August 9th.
So don’t delay – Please support one or all of these worthy projects! Small donations from many people are most welcome as this will help all of us to be in the top 3 of seabird supported projects and win extra funds.
We thank you in advance for your support!
Will Mackin, Ann Sutton, Margo Zdravkovic, Lisa Sorenson, Scott Johnson, Françoise Benjamin, Juan Carlos Martínez-Sánchez, Wayne Smart and Natalia Collier
Members of BirdsCaribbean Seabird Working Group
p.s. Please share this post with your networks, colleagues and friends!
A peek into the sometimes elusive world of the Caribbean’s Piping Plover and the challenges of finding them on their wintering grounds. Elise Elliott-Smith reports Caribbean results for the 2016 International Piping Plover Census, held every 5 years.
A flock of Piping Plovers and a Sanderling found in South Caicos, Turks and Caicos Islands. (photo by Craig Watson).
I’ll never forget the excitement, relief, and wonder I felt in seeing a group of ten Piping Plovers (Charadrius melodus) on Little Water Cay, Turks and Caicos Islands. It was January 27, our first day of the 2016 International Piping Plover Census, and I had been more than a little anxious that we might not see any at all. I had made contact with Eric Salamanca of the Turks and Caicos Department of the Environment and Coastal Resources (DECR) through BirdsCaribbean, and with the assistance of the US Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) we successfully launched the first ever Piping Plover census in the Turks and Caicos Islands. Many people helped make this possible although it had been challenging getting the necessary funding, permits, and planning. Aerial images of the habitat looked good but there were only a handful of reports of only one or two Piping Plover in TCI, and more than one person had discouraged me from trying to survey there.
Elise Elliott-Smith, Craig Watson and Eric Salamanca count Piping Plovers on Fort George Cay, Turks and Caicos Islands. (photo by Caleb Spiegel).
Nevertheless, against all odds our census confirmed that these little birds had successfully flown over one thousand miles from their North American breeding grounds to land here on Little Water Cay, an island inhabited only by the critically endangered Turks and Caicos Iguana and other native wildlife. As we excitedly set up our scopes, the Piping Plovers quietly foraged on a little sand-spit near a couple of American Oystercatchers and a small fishing boat.
Piping Plovers in the Joulter Cays, Bahamas. (photo by Walker Golder).
Piping Plover are a threatened/ endangered shorebird that breed in North America along the Atlantic Coast (Charadrius melodus melodus) and the interior’s Great Lakes and Great Plains regions (Charadrius melodus circumcinctus) of Canada and the United States. They are better studied on their breeding grounds, and their tendency to disperse across their winter grounds makes monitoring and conservation efforts quite a challenge. In order to understand their distribution and track changes in populations, the International Piping Plover Census has been conducted every five years since 1991 across the bird’s winter and breeding range. Counts are always lower during winter, and we suspected we were missing birds outside the U.S. However, we didn’t have an inkling of the importance of the Caribbean to this at-risk species until we found over 400 Piping Plover in the Bahamas in 2006 and around 1,000 in 2011.
Location and numbers of Piping Plovers seen in the Bahamas, Turks and Caicos, Islands and Cuba during the 2016 International Piping Plover Winter Census. Over 1,500 birds were counted. Map courtesy of Audubon.
During the 2016 International Piping Plover Census we coordinated the biggest search to date for this species in the Bahamas and northern Caribbean, resulting in over 1,500 observations. Multi-national teams of biologists and volunteers from the Bahamas National Trust, National Audubon, US Geological Survey, US Fish and Wildlife Service, Canadian Wildlife Service, Conserve Wildlife Foundation of New Jersey, BirdsCaribbean, and many others surveyed the Bahamas, Cuba, and Turks and Caicos Islands. The Piping Plover surveys were well-publicized with instructions and identification tips published on eBird Caribbean, helping to garner support and volunteers counters. Surveys on other Caribbean islands were conducted as part of the Caribbean Waterbird Census; incidental reports also helped increase our understanding of this species’ presence in the Caribbean.
A stunning Reddish Egret in the Bahamas. (photo by Walker Golder).
It is an exciting time for biologists wishing to learn more about the distribution of Piping Plover and threats it faces during the non-breeding season. We also learned about other shorebird species in the Caribbean, including Wilson’s Plover and Snowy Plover, which is crucial to understanding why many shorebird species are declining, as well as learning more about their winter distribution. Although their eggs and young are vulnerable, recovery of the Piping Plover and other species depends on protection across their life-cycle. For example, the 2011 Census led to the designation of a National Park and Important Bird Area in the Bahamas. The 2016 results will hopefully inform many other conservation initiatives. Below is a summary of the Census on different islands/ island groups and additional photos and maps showing locations of surveys and numbers of different species of plovers that were counted.
Cuba 2016
University of Havana’s Bird Ecology Lab (left to right) – volunteer: Ral Gomez, Bird Ecology Lab: Alieny Gonzalez, MartÌn Acosta, Lourdes Mugica, Ianela GarcÌa-Lau, Ariam Jiménez. (photo by Jen Rock).
For the fifth time (5 out of 6 census years) the Canadian Wildlife Service partnered with local Cuban biologists to survey sites on the Caribbean’s largest island. 2016 marked a new collaboration with the University of Havana’s Bird Ecology Group led by Dr. Ariam Jiménez. Surveys differed from previous years in that there was greater capacity and improved coverage, with the addition of new survey sites and more local engagement.
Francois Shaffer (Canadian Wildlife Service) and Ianela Garcia-Lau (University of Havana) surveying for Piping Plover at Cayo Coco, Ciego de Ávila Province, Cuba. (photo by Jen Rock)
A total of 105 Piping Plover were detected, an increase from the previous count of 89 birds during the 2006 census. Without a doubt, one highlight was identifying five banded birds from various breeding grounds including: Atlantic US, U.S. Great Lakes, U.S. Great Plains and Eastern Canada. However, our greatest delight was spotting birds from home: one banded in New Brunswick’s Acadian Peninsula and the other on the island of Newfoundland – the latter where only 12 birds have previously been banded! Overall the trip was a great success and we are happy to have engaged the expertise of the University of Havana; all of which was made possible via partnerships with Birds Studies Canada and through connections made via BirdsCaribbean.
The team was excited to spot a Piping Plover banded by Environment Canada at Plover ground North, Acadian Peninsula New Brunswick (summer 2015)! The banded bird (left foreground) was seen at playa Covarubias, Camaguey Province, Cuba, January 2016. (photo by Jen Rock)Dr. Ariam Jiménez counting plovers at playa Santa Lucia, Camagüey Province, Cuba. (photo by Jen Rock)
The Bahamas 2016
Braving the elements to conduct the census in the Bahamas. (photo by Walker Golder).
Between January 18 and 25, teams of Bahamians, U.S. and Canadian scientists spread out across the Bahama Archipelago to participate in the 2016 International Plover Census. The census was coordinated by Bahamas National Trust, Audubon, USGS and Conserve Wildlife Foundation of New Jersey. Funding from USFWS, Disney and Audubon, helped engage an impressive thirty Bahamian volunteers who joined international scientists and volunteers to participate, develop skills, and increase our collective knowledge of shorebirds across the Bahamas.
American Oystercatchers in the Bahamas (photo by Walker Golder).
Faced with many logistical challenges and some uncooperative weather, the teams still managed to survey Grand Bahama, Abaco, Eleuthera, Harbour Island, Andros, New Providence, Inagua, the Berry Islands, the Joulter Cays, Water Cays, the Exumas and Ragged Island chain. Shorebird research and improved Bahamian capacity between the 2011 and 2016 censuses helped focus efforts, which resulted in a successful count and the final data points to create at least two new Important Bird and Biodiversity Areas. The total number of Piping Plovers counted seen is still being finalized but is between 1,350 and 1,400, an increase from 2011 effort. Several banded birds were tracked back to their breeding grounds in the United States and Canada.
Turks and Caicos Islands 2016
Plover counters on North Caicos in the Turks and Caicos Islands (left to right): Elise Elliott-Smith, Caleb Spiegel, Brian Naqqi Manco of the DECR, and Craig Watson.
The 2016 Census was the first ever survey for Piping Plover on any of the Turks and Caicos Islands (TCI), thanks to support from USFWS Migratory Birds, two USFWS and a USGS biologist worked with local biologists from the TCI Dept of Environment and Coastal Resources (DECR). Additionally, a School for Field Studies professor accompanied us on one survey and we received support from local boat and fishing guides. Many of the larger Islands and smaller Cays were surveyed including Providenciales, North Caicos, Middle Caicos, South Caicos, Little Ambergris Cay, Dick Hill Cay, and others. Piping Plover were found throughout the Turks and Caicos Islands on 6 different islands/cays.
Wet work! Caleb Spiegel (USFWS) looks for plovers on Little Ambergris Cay, TCI. (photo by Craig Watson)
The preliminary total for surveys in the Turks and Caicos Islands was 96. Since little is known about shorebirds in Turks and Caicos and there is conservation concern for other species, efforts were made to record all shorebirds encountered, resulting in over 3,200 shorebirds from 17 species. We surveyed many of the most promising areas in the Turks and Caicos Islands, however there is additional habitat that we were unable to explore. The highlight of the trip was finding a flock of 42 Piping Plover on a small cay near South Caicos, including banded birds from New Brunswick (Canada), Massachusetts, and Rhode Island (U.S.).
Other Islands
One of two Piping Plovers spotted by Sipke Stapert in Bonaire, winter 2016. (photo by Sipke Stapert)
Although unable to organize surveys on other Caribbean islands as part of the 2016 International Census, we requested participants in the Caribbean Waterbird Census to make an effort to visit suitable habitat to look for Piping Plovers. Two surveys were conducted in Aruba but no Piping Plovers were seen. However, two were seen incidentally in Bonaire after the census in early March. Small numbers of Piping Plover have been reported in prior years on islands throughout the Caribbean including the Dominican Republic, Puerto Rico, Antigua, St. Croix, Guadeloupe, and others. Generally these reports have been of only one or two birds, but there was one sighting of a group of 12 observed in the Dominican Republic in 2006. Since the Piping Plover is rare, cryptic, and widely dispersed in winter they could be more widespread in the Caribbean than we know at this time. Hence, we encourage biologists and birders on all islands to look for them on sand-spits, beaches, and other unvegetated or sparsely vegetated habitat on or adjacent to the shore.
Looking Forward to 2021 and Beyond
Wilson’s Plover, one of the few shorebirds that breeds in the Bahamas, photographed on Andros Island in the Bahamas. (photo by David Jones).
Participating in the 2016 International Census was an amazing experience and I long to return in order to explore further and access sites we couldn’t get to in 2016. Flying from South Caicos to Providenciales in a tiny Twin Otter, I had a view of all the Caicos and little cays and it was impossible not to be struck by the beauty of the crystal clear waters and wonderful habitat. One thing that surprised me was the breadth of undeveloped and lightly developed land in Turks and Caicos. I did not realize that such areas still existed in the Caribbean, and these areas are an excellent resource for locals, visitors and birds. Birding eco-tourism is being promoted by the Turks and Caicos National Museum and the Tourism Board. National Audubon has been doing great work training locals in the Bahamas. Bird and nature tourism is also being developed throughout the Caribbean through the Caribbean Birding Trail, which has trained guides in Grenada, Jamaica and the Dominican Republic. There is huge potential for much more, as long as natural areas are protected. Learning more about Piping Plovers and other shorebird species in the Caribbean informs conservation efforts and leverages international support to protect the vital habitat on which they depend. So, open your field guides to the shorebird section and read up on your plovers, then go look for them next winter, participate in the 2021 International Piping Plover Census, take pictures, and report all your observations on eBird Caribbean (and any Piping Plover sightings to me as well please!). With luck and your help, we might ensure that this fascinating but vulnerable shorebird remains for future generations to enjoy. Elise Elliott-Smith is a Wildlife Biologist for US Geological Survey Forest and Rangeland Ecosystem Science Center in Corvallis, Oregon. She works on a variety of research and monitoring projects related to shorebird species of conservation concern. Email: eelliott-smith@usgs.govMany thanks to Jen Rock (Canadian Wildlife Service) and Matt Jeffery (National Audubon Society) for summary information on the counts in Cuba and the Bahamas, respectively, and Karen Aguilar Mugica for the Cuba maps. P.S. Please continue to look for Piping Plovers whenever you are visiting coastal areas and/or doing a Caribbean Waterbird Census count. Plover identification tips and photographs are available here. Enter your checklists in eBird Caribbean and help advance our knowledge of all Caribbean waterbirds. Be on the lookout for banded birds and do your best to read the band colors and flags as described at this website and be sure to report any banded bands you see. Thanks! P.P.S. Guide booklets on bird-watching in the Turks and Caicos Islands are available at this website.
Location and numbers of Wilson’s Plovers seen in the Bahamas, Turks and Caicos, Islands and Cuba during the 2016 International Piping Plover Winter Census. Map courtesy of Audubon.Location and numbers of Snowy Plovers seen in the Bahamas, Turks and Caicos, Islands and Cuba during the 2016 International Piping Plover Winter Census. Map courtesy of Audubon.A closer look at Piping Plover survey sites in Cuba, 2016. Map courtesy of Karen Aguilar Mugica.A closer look at Piping Plover numbers at each of the survey sites in Cuba, 2016. Map courtesy of Karen Aguilar Mugica.Piping Plover in the Berry Islands. (photo by Walker Golder)
The Journal of Caribbean Ornithology is a free, peer-reviewed journal produced by BirdsCaribbean.
As we round the bend into the second half of the calendar year, the Journal of Caribbean Ornithology (JCO) is excited to have already published four fantastic peer-reviewed articles since the beginning of 2016. We encourage you to follow the embedded links to the Journal of Caribbean Ornithology’s website where you can download and read the complete articles for free. Don’t hesitate to pass them around, discuss them with colleagues, and reach out to the authors themselves if you are interested in learning more about their research. The Caribbean is home to a unique, tight-knit community of researchers, conservationists, and students throughout the sciences; the JCO is excited to be at the forefront of all the incredible new ornithological knowledge coming from the islands and is equally excited to offer free access to all of the journal’s publications.
First up is an article by Hiram González Alonso, Alejandro Llanes Sosa, and Eneider Pérez Mena, entitled: Inventario de las poblaciones de aves en San Vicente y las Granadinas [Inventory of Avian Populations in Saint Vincent and the Grenadines]. The authors conducted avian surveys at 25 localities around Saint Vincent and the Grenadines with the objective of updating our current knowledge of the species diversity and distributions found on these islands. The authors identified 89 species in total, and use their results to highlight several geographic areas of conservation importance, some of which are not currently recognized as IBA’s (Important Bird Areas) yet were found to serve as essential breeding and foraging grounds for multiple species of birds.
Cerulean Warbler on Margarita Island (photo by Elysa Silva).
Next we head ~350 km to the southwest for our second article, Registros de nuevas especies de aves accidentales y exóticas en la isla de Margarita, Venezuela [Records of new accidental and exotic bird species on Margarita Island, Venezuela], by Virginia Sanz, Elysa Silva and Gianco Angelozzi. Margarita Island is located 22 km off the northeast coast of Venezuela and as of 2009 there were 193 bird species that had been recorded there. This article updates that list with an additional five species that were recorded for the first time on the island during the authors’ 2010–2014 study period. Those species include Plain-breasted Ground Dove (Columbina minuta), Cerulean Warbler (Setophaga cerulea), Wattled Jacana (Jacana jacana), Scarlet-fronted Parakeet (Psittacara wagleri), and Chestnut-fronted Macaw (Ara severus). The dove and warbler are accidental visitors, while the jacana is a widely distributed species known to inhabit various aquatic habitats in South America and may possibly be expanding its range onto Margarita Island. The two parrot species are most likely escapees from the local parrot trade. Documenting changes to diversity on islands is important as we strive to better understand how the addition of both natural and introduced species impact island ecosystems.
Barn Owl in Jamaica (photo by Gary R. Graves).
The third article, Observation of a Barn Owl (Tyto alba) bathing in a rainwater pool in Jamaica by Gary R. Graves, stems from the south-central coast of Jamaica. Graves was able to document what may be the first record from the Western Hemisphere of bathing behavior being exhibited by a Barn Owl in the wild. The plumage of the individual indicates that it was T. a. furcata, the resident race known to the Greater Antilles, as opposed to the North American race, T. a. pratincola, which has been documented as a migrant to the region. Natural history observations such as this one by Graves are important in helping ornithologists identify all of the resources (in this case limited freshwater pools) a species needs in order to survive, which in turn helps to build a more holistic foundation of knowledge that conservation management policies can draw from.
Eastern Phoebe (photo by Mike Burrell).
Lastly, we have Kenneth G. D. Burrell and Lillian A. Knopf’s article, The status of the Eastern Phoebe (Sayornis phoebe) in Cuba. The authors describe what appears to be the eighth formal record of an Easter Phoebe individual on the island of Cuba, documented in February of 2015. Burrell and Knopf summarize the other seven documented sightings of Eastern Phoebe in Cuba and attribute these occurrences to specific weather patterns happening at the time of fall migration or in winter. Specifically, the species may be susceptible to being blown off course by cold fronts and extreme winter weather.
The Journal of Caribbean Ornithology is a peer-reviewed scientific journal produced by BirdsCaribbean, the largest regional organization dedicated to the conservation of wild birds and their habitats in the insular Caribbean. The JCO has been in publication since 1988 (before 2003 as El Pitirre), offering authors the opportunity to publish avian-focused research from the Caribbean in any of the three most commonly used languages: English, Spanish, and French. In an effort to maximize ornithological knowledge throughout the Caribbean, the JCO offers free and open access to all of its publications.
Map depicting research locations of the four studies published by the Journal of Caribbean Ornithology in the first half of 2016.
By Justin Proctor, Caribbean Ornithologist; Freelance Writer; Loving Husband. Justin is part of our JCO Editorial and Production team and a frequent contributor to our blog.
Colorful and friendly, the Cuban Tody is one of Cuba’s most beloved endemic birds. (photo by Aslam Ibrahim)
Join BirdsCaribbean, the Caribbean Birding Trail and acclaimed Cuban bird guide, Ernesto Reyes Mouriño, on the adventure of a lifetime in January or March of 2017.
Cuba is well-known for its amazing landscapes, vibrant culture and unique biodiversity. According to the new Endemic Birds of Cuba: A Comprehensive Field Guide, 371 birds have been recorded in Cuba, including 26 which are endemic to the island and 30 which are considered globally threatened. Due to its large land area and geographical position within the Caribbean, Cuba is also extraordinarily important for Neotropical migratory birds—more than 180 species pass through during migration or spend the winter on the island.
Our itinerary takes you to several of the best and most beautiful birding locations in Cuba, providing opportunities to see many of Cuba’s endemic species and subspecies as well as many migrants. Along the way, we will meet people in local communities, stay mainly in Bed & Breakfast establishments (casas particulares) and eat in private restaurants (paladars), allowing you to experience Cuba’s rich culture, delicious food, friendly people, and generous hospitality. We will also have the opportunity to meet and have discussions with local ornithologists and conservationists that have been working with BirdsCaribbean for many years.
BirdsCaribbean is offering two tours in 2017: an 8-day trip in January and an 11-day trip in March. Find detailed itineraries for both trips below. Traveling with us helps Caribbean birds as a portion of the proceeds from the trip supports our bird conservation programs in Cuba and the Caribbean. With new relations opening up, this is the perfect time to take your birding trip to Cuba, don’t delay!
Space is limited so sign up now to reserve your spot!
Check out the report and photos from our January 2016 trip here. Purchase the new Endemic Birds of Cuba Field Guide here.
Dave Lee holding a White-tailed Tropicbird in the Bahamas. (photo by Mary Kay Clark)
David S. Lee was a pioneering naturalist and conservation biologist who helped get BirdsCaribbean started nearly 30 years ago, and inspired many naturalists with his work and his writing. He was a man of many interests, and with respect to the Caribbean, published numerous papers and articles in the popular press on seabirds, Bahamian fish, turtles, snakes, bats, and orchids.
Donations from Dave’s wife, Mary Kay Clark and his mother, June Bash, allowed the establishment of the David S. Lee Fund for the Conservation of Caribbean Birds that will award money to conservation projects in his honor. The money is being held in a trust and will be used to award an annual grant for innovative projects that protect Caribbean birds and their habitats.
This fund will be for the conservation of any bird in the Caribbean as a reflection of Dave’s diverse interests. He was an important part of many projects, ranging from those of the Black-capped Petrel and Seabird Working Groups to the scholarly debate leading to the elevation of the Bahama Yellow-throated Warbler to a full species.
At the moment the fund contains $12,000. Our initial goal is to raise $25,000 so that we can award $1,000 every year to a worthy student or early career ornithologist, conservationist or wildlife professional. Not only will this fund encourage creative field work for projects that make a difference, but it will also help build the knowledge and skills of young conservationists that are urgently needed to make sure that the Caribbean birds and habitats that Dave treasured are still around for future generations to enjoy.
The first call for proposals for proposals has been announced (deadline 15 December 2016) click here for information on how to apply) and the first award will be made in early 2017.
At the BirdsCaribbean meeting in Kingston, Jamaica in 2015, a round of beers was purchased in Dave’s honor, since he always seemed to have a cooler full when people wanted one (and even when they didn’t). Think of this fund like a cooler full of refreshing beverages that Dave would have around if he were here. We owe it to Dave to stock that cooler—to vitalize naturalists and empower them in their work to help wildlife.
Please give a tax deductible donation to the David S. Lee Fund. Give generously. The more we put into the fund, the more we can give out each year.
If you prefer to donate with a check, please make the check out to “BirdsCaribbean” and in the memo section, note that it is for the David S. Lee Fund. If you have questions or wish to make other arrangements for donating, please feel free to contact Jennifer Wheeler, BirdsCaribbean Financial Officer (jennifer.wheeler@birdscaribbean.org)
Checks can be mailed to: BirdsCaribbean, 841 Worcester St. #130, Natick, MA 01760-2076
Insightful and humorous, Justin Proctor offers some convincing reasons to look for the Caribbean’s ‘Big Five’ aerial acrobats and tips for how to identify them.
Aerial Insectivore silhouettes in front of sun. (photo by Justin Proctor)
Are you tired of really crisp, up-close views of beautiful Caribbean birds? Are you repulsed at the idea of having an extended period of time to view a bird, jot down detailed notes about its breath-taking plumage, and really connect with the moment? Well, I knew it; and I’m happy to say that here at Proctor & Proctor Inc., we can offer you something much more challenging! Let’s start by having a long, long look at the following Rorschach test (pictured right). And if at any time it becomes painful to keep your eyes on the image, just keep looking…
Alright, let’s reflect. Did you see a hamster? If you did, I’m gonna ask you to just kindly walk away now. If rather you saw some intriguing silhouettes of our feathered friends in front of our beloved Yellow Star, you’re sitting pretty. And if you took one quick glance and were able to immediately identify all the different species present, I think we can probably get you a movie deal.
Welcome to Aerial Insectivore 101. Class materials you’ll want to bring along include a good pair of Ray-bans, an imagination, and just a little bit of patience. Now let’s see if we can get you an ‘A’!
The “aerial insectivores” of the avian world are birds that predominantly forage in flight on airborne insects, and are largely represented by five families: potoos (Nyctibiidae), nightjars (Caprimulgidae), swifts (Apodidae), flycatchers (Tyrannidae), and swallows (Hirundinidae). However, even though they belong to the same dietary guild, each one of these families has a unique set of life history traits, which results in sometimes very different types of behavior. The swallows and swifts, in particular, can be a formidable challenge. Their flight is often fast and irregular, and the glimpse that an observer is afforded is usually a quick one, coming at an inopportune time, and more likely than not, set against an unforgiving background (the sun!). That being said, there are ways to offset some of these obstacles, with the most obvious one (to me) involving starting off with some of the easier to see species and working your way up (literally). Bird watchers, therefore, must implement different strategies for viewing — and ultimately identifying — the array of species in this group.
Within the Greater Antilles, whether you’re heading to the forests of Puerto Rico, the mountains of Hispaniola, the streets of Havana, or the beaches of Jamaica, there are several species of aerial insectivores that you have an excellent chance of getting to know. And whether you’re an expert birdwatcher capable of identifying Empidonax flycatchers from a hundred meters out, or you’re fairly new to the countless ID challenges that the avian world offers, the five species I’m going to highlight in this article are capable of entertaining (and surprising!) birders of all skill levels. I’ve chosen these species in particular because you can get fairly close to them in their natural habitats (well, you might think that White-collared Swifts are a stretch in that case, but I’ll do my best to convince you otherwise later on), which ultimately means that you’ll have an easier time relating to them.
With some of the species, I’ve included photo collages composed of shots taken by me “on the fly”, so to speak, so that you can get a more realistic idea of what you’ll probably be seeing through your pair of binoculars.
A pair of Cave Swallows looking out from their mud nest erected in an alcove of a limestone arch overhanging Jamaica’s northern coastline. (photo by Justin Proctor)
Cave Swallow (Petrochelidon fulva)
These little guys are a great species to start with because they are known to all of the Greater Antilles islands. One of the best contexts to find Cave Swallows in would be nearby to one of their communal roosts / nesting sites. Terrestrially, look around cave entrances or pocket-like formations in the sides of rocky cliffs. Coastally, look for limestone formations along the beach or just offshore. If they are there, you won’t miss them. Their nests are primarily made up of a mix of mud and plant fibers that have been attached to a vertical wall. If you can manage to get close, you might be lucky enough to see a pair of Cave Swallows sitting still in a nest giving you that famous 1000-yard stare.
Cave Swallows in flight from multiple angles under different lighting conditions, Jamaica. (photos by Justin Proctor)
However, let me be brutally honest for a second – Cave Swallows often have a way of mixing in with other foraging swallow and swift species, and simply put, these mixed-species flocks can be a nightmare of a time to sort your way through. And yes, when mixed in with Barn Swallows, Tree Swallows, and just as often a handful of swifts, Cave Swallows can become easily “lost in the crowd”. However, with a little practice, the subtle differences in plumage, size, and flight patterns will help you tease the birds apart. Cave Swallows are really stocky looking with short, square tails.
Caribbean Martin (Progne dominicensis) & Cuban Martin (Progne cryptoleuca)
Cuban Martin perched outside of nesting cavity, Cuba. (photo by Ianela García Lau)
This is a two-for-one special. If you’re going to be island-hopping, then I can’t include one without the other. Your search target is going to be similar for both. Caribbean Martins can be found from the Cayman Islands eastwards to the Lesser Antilles, ultimately down to Tobago. They are not found in Cuba, yet their conspecific, the Cuban Martin, is only found there. Both martins are hefty birds; to give you an idea they weigh roughly twice that of a Cave Swallow. They are incredibly adept cavity nesters, mastering the use of crevices in high mountain trees, urban buildings, coastal lighthouses, limestone cliffs, and even the masts of moving sailboats. You may already have some knowledge of their more widely spread congener, the Purple Martin (Progne subis), the mental image of which would be helpful as you seek out their Cuban and Caribbean counterparts. To see both Caribbean Martins and Cave Swallows nesting side by side, head to Cabo Rojo, Dominican Republic. For Cuban Martins, check out the beautiful Convento San Francisco de Asís in Havana, Cuba, where they are nesting in large numbers in the church walls.
Cuban Martin in flight, Cuba. (photo by Martín Acosta)
For photos of Caribbean Martins, and to become acquainted with an ongoing effort tracking their numbers and distribution, check out the Caribbean Martin Survey information page.
Antillean Palm-Swift (Tachornis phoenicobia)
This is going to be the most noticeable and easy to identify swift out there. However, that doesn’t mean you’re going to get a really good look at one right away. They are fast, and they are small. Luckily they are gregarious and colonial nesters, which means that you will usually come across them in large numbers as they forage or move into and out of their nests – which, amazingly, are a blend of saliva, plant fibers, and feathers attached to the undersides of dead, hanging palm fronds. Look for Antillean Palm-Swifts nesting in large, isolated palms either in the country-side or in urban parks. Or, if you’re a fan of the beach, keep a watchful eye on any nearby “tiki-huts” that have roofs made of palm fronds. You’ll find it mesmerizing to watch the little swifts fly seamlessly up into a mat-like cluster of palm fronds at what seems to be an impossible speed. The strong contrast of their dark grey / black bodies with their white rumps will be an immediate indication of who you are looking at.
Antillean Palm-Swifts in flight as well as entering and exiting nests located within the hanging fronds of palm trees, Jamaica. (photos by Justin Proctor)
4. I’ve introduced you to the smallest swift you’ll find in the Greater Antilles, so it seems appropriate to bring the largest swift of the region into the equation. An all-around phenomenal bird, the White-collared Swift doesn’t get the attention it deserves, and I think I know why. Wetmore and Swales (1931) summarize the problem perfectly:
“…through its great speed in flight so annihilates distance that flocks may appear temporarily almost anywhere.”
I can attest to that. They are damn fast. Most birdwatchers, in fact, struggle to describe their behaviors from anything more than observations lasting a handful of seconds. The reason is that White-collared Swifts are true residents of what we call the “seventh habitat”- the skies above us – and their movements through that habitat are extremely difficult to track by conventional methods. Normally, in that case, we would default to observing them at and around their nests. Yet these swifts nest on vertical cliffs alongside or behind waterfalls, usually located in the most remote, rugged terrain available. It is no wonder then why following them to a nesting site and subsequently studying them there are often daunting tasks.
White-collared Swifts in flight, Jamaica; top photo is a good depiction of the species viewed head-on from a mountain top. (with the observer positioned at the same elevation that the swifts are flying) as they come together to flock in the evening. (photos by Justin Proctor)
But despite our resulting paucity of scientific knowledge on this species in the Caribbean, I can still try to promise you great views of White-collared Swifts. Go inland, climb to the top of a low-vegetated hill or mountain (ideal if you are offered 360 degrees of view), sit down and begin scanning the horizons. Target the hours around dusk and dawn, when White-collared Swifts are known to flock up, as opposed to midday when they tend to disperse into smaller foraging pairs. I’ve had extremely good luck following this protocol, finding myself within stone-throw distance of large foraging flocks. The white collar around the neck and scythe-shaped wing profile are solid indicators that you’re seeing the correct bird. [If at any time Black Swifts decide to enter the equation (the only other commonly occurring swift species in the Greater Antilles), I’ll have to encourage you to attend Aerial Insectivores 401, a (pricey) advanced class that requires a higher level of discipline, courage and utter confusion.
Northern Potoo perched on a fence post near the Windsor Research Station, Trelawny Parish, Jamaica. (photo by Justin Proctor)
Northern Potoo (Nyctibius jamaicensis)
Let’s move now from the diurnal species to a nocturnal favorite, the Northern Potoo. These birds actively hunt for insects at night by sallying out from low-lying perches where they remain camouflaged and motionless until prey is spotted. If you’ve got a little bit of energy left in you after the sun goes down, and you also remembered to pack a decent headlamp or flashlight, I can’t encourage you enough to just go for a little walk down a quiet road nearby. Pasture roads are best, as they are often lined with fence posts – a favorite perching spot for potoos. But before you start shining your light slowly around from one potential perch to the next, stand still in the dark and just listen. Oftentimes the call of a potoo will help navigate you close enough to the bird to get an immediate visual upon turning on your light. Keep in mind that potoos rely on darkness to hunt, and that a beam of light to the eye is unnatural and stressful. Illuminate the bird with only the outer, weaker edge of your light’s beam, and keep your observations brief. A good sighting of a potoo is an unforgettable memory to take home from your Caribbean vacation.
So why are aerial insectivores worth your time and effort?
My answer to that is “high rewards”. Many of these species display incredible behaviors that you won’t see anywhere else. Once you cue into them, they become addicting to watch. They also make you think differently about the complexities of the sky above you and the ecosystem that it supports. Amazingly, most of this goes largely unnoticed by the masses. Aerial insectivores are an entire branch [metaphorical pun, not taxonomical] of the avian world that often gets pushed to the back pages of birders’ “must-see” lists because of the challenges often associated with seeing and identifying them. However, I think it’s important to reinforce the fact that most of them aren’t more difficult to view compared to other families of birds, they just require the implementation of different search tactics. So why not be the first one in your birding group to notice a vortex of swirling White-collared Swifts, or identify a mixed flock of four different aerial insectivore species feeding together on a swarm of flying ants over the beach?
The scientific community is discovering new and exciting information about these guys all the time, which is important, because there are growing concerns that several of the aerial insectivore species have been facing noticeable long-term population declines. The cause(s) aren’t definitive yet, but likely point towards an amalgam of changes to their habitats and food supply. Excitingly, a lot of the ground-breaking work underway has been – and continues to be – sparked by observations from birdwatchers like you. That’s why it is critical that you contribute to these efforts by entering your observation checklists into eBird Caribbean. So the next time you find yourself in the Caribbean, shoo those obnoxious Crested Quail-doves and Rufous-throated Solitaires away, and set yourself up in a good position to scan the skies for some aerial insectivores cruising by.
Who’s with me?
Justin Proctor is a long-time contributor to BirdsCaribbean. His professional career includes lead roles in movies such as Jurassic Park 18 as well as the Titanic sequel: Jack and the Penguins Strike Back. Modestly put, he dabbles (4x consecutive Pulitzer Prize winner) in writing mildly comical pieces for scientific magazines. Although he’s 30 years old, some people think he only looks 29. He lives in Raleigh, North Carolina with his exotic wife and no children that he knows of.
On the evening of April 27th, the Dreamcatcher’s captain, John Duke, and I sat at the 75-foot schooner’s large, wooden, galley table. With the sun setting over our research vessel, we studied charts and made final adjustments to plans that had been years in the making. We sailed out of Key West on the 26th, following the Florida Keys north, our schooner efficiently loaded with food, water, gear, and materials for the expedition. At sunrise we would set out and cross to Bimini, entering the infamous Bermuda Triangle. By the 29th we would clear Bahamian Customs in Freeport.
The five week long, 900-mile round-trip expedition would take us to the far reaches of the Bahama’s northern islands, including Grand Bahama Island, Great Abaco, the Atlantic Abaco Cays, and the Berry Islands. Anchored out, the nighttime sky was clear and endlessly full of constellations not easily seen from land. For me, sleep off the Florida coast tonight would be difficult, but essential. The dream was actually happening. At sunrise, with the invaluable partnerships and cooperation of so many, Conservian’s 2016 Bahamas Shorebird Conservation Expedition would, at last, become reality.
Conservian’s mission is to conserve coastal birds and their habitats throughout the western hemisphere. The Bahamas archipelago is comprised of more than 700 islands and cays, and thousands of miles of sandy shorelines, sand flats, mud flats, and mangroves, possessing prime habitat for migratory and breeding shorebirds, much of it yet unexplored. Even now in 2016, as human-created pressures increase globally, very little information exists on many species of shorebirds in the Bahamas, particularly solitary beach-nesting birds like the Wilson’s Plover.
Why should anyone be concerned about such species? Well, the Wilson’s Plover can be thought of as a “canary in a coal mine” or species that indicates the diversity level of a specific coastal habitat. To thrive, the Wilson’s Plover, much like the endangered Piping Plover, needs healthy coastal habitats that are protected from human-caused disturbance. Plovers are fairly resilient and do well if provided with a safe stretch of coastal habitat to hatch nests and raise young. Protection for plover species can also act as an “umbrella” to benefit other coastally-dependent species.
American Oystercatcher with young (Photo by J. Gray)Least Tern parents feeding young. (Photo by J. Gray)
The seedling concept for Conservian’s shorebird habitat conservation work in the Bahamas had taken root in 2011 during face-to-face discussions with Bahamas National Trust and other partners at the BirdsCaribbean International Conference on Grand Bahama Island. Later that year the Dream Catcher partnership began with Captain Duke’s idea of a live-aboard expedition. In 2014 LightHawk funded Conservian’s Bahamas aerial surveys that provided essential habitat data necessary to begin on-the-ground work. Discussions and planning continued through 2015 at the BirdsCaribbean Conference in Jamaica, where Conservian was invited to present a vision for new shorebird conservation work in the Bahamas. Resulting partnerships led to a cooperative Neotropical Migratory Bird Conservation Act grant award which will help fund the project through 2017. The International Conservation Fund of Canada is also a key supporting partner of Conservian’s Bahamas conservation work.
With the start of our expedition Conservian and partners would begin the first program in the Bahamas to implement on-the-ground protective measures to limit human-caused disturbance to beach-nesting birds, and initiate control of invasive Casuarina pine at key shorebird and seabird sites. We would accomplish these goals by working together in the field with our local partners and community members to conserve the Bahamas coastal treasures.
Designed in 1996 by Captain Duke, the Dreamcatcher schooner, our home and floating field station, proved, as planned, the most efficient way to transport our crew, field equipment, and materials throughout the northern Bahamas archipelago. Solidly built of steel, she made a perfect expedition vessel. Her 20-foot beam provided great stability in open waters, yet her shallow, 5-foot draft allowed us close approach to our targeted landing areas. For ferrying field crew and equipment to shore we towed a traditional, custom-crafted, 30-foot, wooden longboat, the “Aida”, built by Captain Duke.
The expedition was planned for the month of May. After our three-day Atlantic crossing with only essential sailing crew, each week saw a new volunteer field team fly into Bahamian airports to join the project. The first team member, and one of our expedition photographers, arrived on Sunday May 1, followed by our first week’s crew on Monday at Freeport International Airport. Conservian’s team and ship’s crew adapted quickly to shared onboard duties of cooking, cleaning, and sailing.
Each morning, we’d awake early to the welcome aroma of the Captain’s freshly brewed coffee along with views of golden sunrises, open horizons, and almost impossibly vibrant turquoise water surrounds. Each night and each following morning, Captain Duke and I, along with first mate Andrew, would review planned navigation routes and logistics for the schooner and longboat, as well as deployment and retrieval plans for field crew and equipment.
Key elements of our mission on every island we visited centered on conducting surveys for beach-nesting bird target species and habitat assessments for human-caused disturbance. In planned areas, we posted signs to alert beach-goers to the presence of beach-nesting birds to reduce disturbance to birds, nests, and chicks. We made new friends wherever we went as the Bahamian locals were very interested in our expedition, desired to help, expressed appreciation, and discussed the future.
During survey work, we typically divided into smaller field teams of two or three, to cover the maximum area possible. Reaching shorebird sites, first by water and then by land, often proved to be our toughest daily task. Challenges began with finding suitably calm waters for team drop offs.
To reach potential habitat on islands with Atlantic beachfront, we often hiked on overgrown trails, through vegetated terrain, and across rocky shorelines. We made use of a variety of land-based transportation modes, from rental van and taxis to hitch-hiking on local golf-carts.
We walked many miles enduring May’s tropical heat, humidity, and biting insects while searching for beach-nesting birds or posting shorebird sites. Rewards, were abundant, however, with exciting new data collected, new shorebird sites posted, frequent nest and chick sightings, and unforgettable vistas of Caribbean sands and seas, as well as an occasional quick dip in the blue to cool off. Often when the Dreamcatcher was anchored off shore, our adventurous and productive days ended with a boat-side swim or snorkel in the clear, near-shore waters followed by a hearty meal from the galley, or on-deck barbecue, jointly prepared by the group.
We conducted ground surveys for beach-nesting birds on 29 islands and cays, collecting new data on habitats, and breeding abundance and distribution. Local volunteer stewards participated in ground surveys and assisted with posting and signing of imperiled shorebird areas. Noted conservationist Erika Gates and her dedicated volunteers joined us aboard the Dreamcatcher for a sign posting mini-expedition to protect Bridled Terns at Peterson Cay National Park, where Conservian also conducted Casuarina eradication. On Grand Bahama Island and Great Abaco, by invitation, we gave educational presentations, speaking about Conservian’s shorebird work and the expedition.
With assistance from Ellsworth Weir, manager of Lucaya National Park, we conducted a pilot project to control the invasive species Casuarina pine, which has spread throughout the Bahamas eroding beaches and destroying shorebird habitat. Conservian provided in-the-field Casuarina control training for staff from the Bahamas National Trust and Bahamas Public Parks and Beaches Authority. Our local Casuarina control team began eradication at Lucaya National Park’s Gold Rock Beach with herbicide donated to the project by Dow AgroScience.
Conservian’s Bahamas cooperative shorebird conservation work is a new and innovative program with long-term objectives for conserving and protecting the natural coastal resources of the Bahamas through directed assistance and local capacity building. With essential support from our partners BirdsCaribbean, Bahamas National Trust, local volunteer coordinators Erika Gates, Honorable Pericles Maillis, Dr. Elwood Bracey, Shamie Rolle, and many others, we were able to accomplish major project objectives during our first year of the project. Our present and future successes are attributable in great measure to our increasing family of supporting partners, whom we look forward to working with again soon.
In May 2017, Conservian/Coastal Bird Conservation will embark on our second Bahamas conservation expedition in the northern Bahamas. Keep a weather eye on our Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/CoastalBirdConservation for our other project updates and message us or email margoZ@coastalbird.org for information on joining Conservian’s conservation team on our next adventure.
Our Supporting Partner Organizations and Individuals
BirdsCaribbean, Bahamas National Trust, International Conservation Fund of Canada, US Fish and Wildlife Service/Neotropical Migratory Bird Conservation Act Grant, LightHawk, Dream Catcher Coastal Sailing Adventures, Dow AgroSciences, Grand Bahama Nature Tours, Optics for the Tropics, Grand Bahama Port Authority, Bahamas Public Parks & Beaches Authority, Bahamas Environment, Science & Technology Commission, Rand Nature Center, Abaco Friends of the Environment, Treasure Cay Community Center, Royal Bahamas Police Force/Marine Support, University of Florida, University of Miami, Mobile Bay Audubon Society, Atlantic Design Homes.
Honorable Pericles Maillis, Dr. Lisa Sorenson, Eric Carey, Erika Gates, Captain John O. Duke, Dr. Elwood Bracey, Shamie Rolle, Ellsworth Weir, Linda Barry-Cooper, Keith Kemp, James Madison Roswell, Andrew McDowell, Thomas Wilmers, Lee Pagni, Daniel Leckie, William Gravitter, Robert Gravitter, Edward Guerry, David Cummins, David L’Hereux, and Thomas Wilmers. Conservian 2016 Supporting Volunteer Crew: Maureen Lilla, Scott Hecker, Alexandra Newton, Tyler Kovacs, Emma Rhodes, Shona Lawson, Dawn Rasmussen, Carolyn Wardle, Janet Vertin, Robyn Darley, Robin Bjork, Ben Bowman, Pete Monte, Corina McBride, Coralina Meyer, Mihala Reedy, Charla Lower, Susan Silvia, Louis Wray.
Erika Gates is an inspiring powerhouse whose work in the Bahamas has not gone unnoticed. She has been involved in a multitude of projects in Grand Bahama to raise awareness, restore native habitats and foster sustainable tourism. This article highlights one of her successful campaigns—certifying Lucaya International School as a wildlife habitat.
Wetland Trail team with Dr. Batemann, Marilyn Laing, and Erika Gates displaying the certification sign.
Last year, Erika suggested to Lucaya International School’s (LIS) headmaster and board to get the school certified as a Wildlife Habitat. Erika had certified her own backyard garden a few years back and thought, “Why not get youth involved in creating habitat for birds and wildlife at their school?” The National Wildlife Federation’s Garden for Wildlife Program helps people to restore habitat and wildlife populations to our cities, towns and neighborhoods. It encourages schools to create outdoor classrooms where educators and students learn how to attract and support local wildlife. These wildlife habitats become places where students not only learn about wildlife species and ecosystems, but also hone their academic skills and nurture innate curiosity and creativity.
Marilyn Laing and Chad Haddad pruning a tree in the LIS schoolyard. (photo by Erika Gates)To meet the criteria for certification, the students had to create a wildlife habitat that provides a number of specific elements for each of the following habitat essentials: food, water, cover, places to raise young, and sustainable practices. The site also needed to be used as a teaching tool. Work began in October 2015 to prepare a portion of the school grounds as a bird and butterfly habitat. A trail, extended dock and observation tower were also created at the wonderfully productive wetland. Marilyn Laing of Garden of the Groves and Erika provided assistance with the program and helped the students select appropriate native plants that provide nectar for hummingbirds and butterflies, as well as berries and fruit for birds. They instructed them in pruning the existing trees in the habitat area, preparing the ground, composting and planting. Two birdbaths provided the water feature, and bird feeders were installed.
Sophila Clark, Jim Pierson and Brickelle Sands mulch the area after planting (photo by Erika Gates)While the Gardening Team was led by teacher Martin Suarez, the Wetland Trail Team was led by Dr. Sylvia Bateman. The school is fortunate to be located adjacent to a wetland, a perfect outdoor classroom for bird observation, water sampling and plant biodiversity. This location was enhanced by Dr. Bateman’s team through the creation of a trail along its southern shoreline. A boardwalk and dock for better access into the wetland was built and donated by Grand Bahama Nature Tours. The students’ team created an observation stand for better viewing of the wetland, and the site also received the Wildlife Habitat Certification.
Year 5 class birding from the dock at LIS wetland (photo by Erika Gates)The certified Garden and Wetland Wildlife Habitats at Lucaya International School have already become outdoor classrooms for librarian Susan Krupica’s Year 5 and 6 birding classes. Ms. Krupica has been trained by BirdsCaribbean through their BirdSleuth Caribbean program to teach young children how to spot, identify and record birds as well as submit them into eBird Caribbean, a real-time online checklist program used by birders and ornithologists all over the world to gather basic information on bird abundance and distribution. Over the past six months LIS has submitted observations of 48 different bird species!Erika was delighted to accompany and lecture the young birders on their fieldtrips. BirdsCaribbean sponsored the BirdSleuth educational materials and also provided the binoculars for the Birding Class.A pair of Black-necked Stilts nested at the LIS school wetland this spring. (photo by Erika Gates)Dr. Lisa Sorenson, Executive Director of BirdsCaribbean, stated, “The Garden for Wildlife program combined with birding and science activities in the BirdSleuth Caribbean curriculum provides a hands-on way for youth in learn about and care for the birds and nature all around them. It also provides much-needed habitat for wildlife, every little bit helps! Congratulations to the LIS school and Garden of the Groves for this initiative—it’s a wonderful model for other schools around the Caribbean to follow.”
Over 300 schools participate in the National Wildlife Federation program in the United States but Lucaya International School is the first school in the Bahamas to have received the Wildlife Habitat Certification. Mr. Michael Lowerey, Principal of the school, commented: “Students need an area in which they can take the theory learned in the classroom and put it into practice. These two areas give our students a hands-on learning experience. We are so grateful to have the assistance of Erika Gates and The Garden of Groves and all of their expertise. The outdoor classrooms also allow our students to receive a better understanding of our island and all of its resources and how important the environment is for our future.”
Erika Gates is owner and operator of Garden of the Groves, Grand Bahama Nature Tours and Grand Bahama Birders’ Bed and Breakfast. She also serves as a Board member of BirdsCaribbean. A free eBook is available from BirdsCaribbean: “Heritage Plants: Native Trees and Plants for Birds and People in the Caribbean.” This illustrated book explains the importance of native trees to birds and other animals, includes a guide featuring dozens of native trees of particular value, and serves as a resource to foster habitat restoration within local communities. It is available in English and Spanish at this page.Certified Wildlife Habitat signs are placed in the school’s gardening area and along the wetland trail. (photo by Erika Gates)Greater- and Lesser Yellowlegs fly from Alaska to spend the winter at LIS wetland (photo by Erika Gates)Blue-winged Teal migrate in large flocks from Canada to LIS wetland.Zebra Longwing butterfly on Jatropha, a genus of flowering plants in the spurge family, Euphorbiaceae. (photo by Erika Gates)Year 5 class at Lucayan International School observing and studying birds at the school grounds. (photo by Erika Gates)Cattle Egrets at the playing field. (photo by Erika Gates)Members of the Eco Gardening Team (standing) with Mr. Suarez receiving sign by Erika and Marilyn on behalf of the National Wildlife Federation. Sitting in front are the LIS Birding students with Ms. Krupica.Julia butterfly on Golden Dewdrop. (photo by Erika Gates)
Steffen Oppel from the UK’s Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB) recently visited St. Lucia to assist the Department of Forestry with setting up bird counts in order to search for the elusive Semper’s Warbler. This is his story.
An artist’s rendition of the Semper’s Warbler – the last confirmed sighting was in 1961. (Joseph Smit [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons)The Semper’s Warbler (Leucopeza semperi) is a small songbird endemic to St Lucia, but sadly the species has not been seen with certainty for more than 50 years and may be extinct. In 2003, at the BirdsCaribbean (then known as the Society for the Study and Conservation of Caribbean Birds) meeting in Tobago, forester Donald Anthony from St. Lucia reported on his efforts to find this warbler. He said that a few years ago, he saw what he could only describe as this bird somewhere on one of the Pitons. His efforts subsequent to that turned up nothing.
St. Lucia’s breathtaking cloud forest in Edmund forest reserve. (photo by Steffen Oppel)
Martin Frost believes he saw a Semper’s Warbler in the early 1990s. This triggered several trips by Martin, Edward Massiah and forestry guides to find the bird in the mid-1990s. Although they were not able to detect the warbler, they never gave up hope that it still exists, noting that there are some very hard-to-access areas that are never visited by humans, and would take days to explore. Edward commented, “If you assume this bird is shy and possibly even ground-dwelling and very local then it is possible it has not yet been located.”
Fast forward to 2016. Unconfirmed reports of warbler sightings continue to trickle in, even as recently as 2014 and 2015, but there have been no major efforts to search for the bird despite a lot of interest in carrying out more searches. With such an appealing subject and always up for a challenge, I was sent to help give our St. Lucian friends the tools to search for one of the country’s rarest species.
Need for a proper search
Showing the staff of the Department of Forestry how to use mist nets and safely extract birds. (photo by Steffen Oppel)
Numerous invasive species introduced by humans, such as rats, cats, and mongooses, roam freely around St Lucia and unfortunately these skillful predators have caused the extirpation of some of the island’s endemic species. However, the Semper’s Warbler is a small, nondescript brownish warbler that hops around the floor of St. Lucia’s dense rainforest, and for this reason it may be easily overlooked. Given also that St Lucia still has extensive tracts of seemingly intact rainforest where the species may persist, it would be foolish to write off the Semper’s Warbler without conducting a systematic search.
The rainforest on St Lucia is so extensive and rugged that a proper search for this tiny, secretive bird would require a little more than just a weekend of intensive birding. Until now, it was not known how long the search would have to be, or what manpower would be required. Therefore in April 2016, my colleague Lyndon John and I facilitated a workshop on St. Lucia to determine the effort needed to search for the Semper’s Warbler.
The team practicing point counts in St. Lucia’s tropical montane forest. (photo by Pius Haynes)
Together with experienced and enthusiastic rangers from the Department of Forestry, we first pored over maps to identify suitable habitats where the species might still persist. We then slogged through rugged hills to assess the feasibility of sufficiently covering the remote areas where intact rainforest still remains. After two weeks, we concluded that a proper search would likely require 84 days to search ten priority areas covering the most natural rainforests on St Lucia. This means that the search team will need to be skilled and hardy, able to cope with venomous snakes, rugged terrain, and will need to use equipment such as mistnets, sound recorders and camera traps to comb the hills for this small and elusive bird.
Surveying for endemics whilst in the forest
The St Lucia Oriole is one of five species endemic to St Lucia. (photo by Steffen Oppel)
During the workshop, we established 20 permanent sampling stations in order to count birds. Conducting regular annual surveys of all forest birds might increase the chance of detecting a Semper’s Warbler while also providing valuable information on other endemic species that are still more common, such as the St. Lucia Black Finch (Melanospiza richardsoni), the St. Lucia Oriole (Icterus laudabilis), or the White-breasted Thrasher (Ramphocinclus brachyurus).
White-breasted Thrasher, a threatened species whose population stronghold is on St. Lucia. (photo by Steffen Oppel)
While no Semper’s Warblers were detected during our field work, the team emerged inspired and hopeful that the species may still persist in some of the remote valleys and ridges off the beaten paths of St. Lucia’s lush interior. Forestry Officer, Pius Haynes remarked, “We at the Forestry Department in St. Lucia are highly confident the species may still persist in some remote pocket of our rainforest. The rediscovery of the iconic Semper’s warbler would be a remarkable thing as it would boost our conservation efforts and showcase the value of our native biodiversity. The Forestry Department in St. Lucia was very happy to collaborate with the RSPB in executing a training workshop aimed at developing a feasible strategy to undertake searches for the Semper’s warbler. We were also very happy to receive much needed technical assistance and equipment to better undertake bird surveys. We are confident that the training and equipment received will go a long way in assist us in our quest to rediscover the Semper’s warbler.”
The steep slopes of Morne Tomassie could also provide hideouts for an endemic species. (photo by Steffen Oppel)
I’ve been on a Warbler-fest. I am very fortunate to have recently observed several endemic Caribbean warblers, from the Elfin-woods Warbler of Puerto Rico to the Plumbeous Warbler on Guadeloupe. I also watched dozens of North American migrants as they island-hopped northward from the tropics. And, I just returned from Magee Marsh on the shore of Lake Erie, where many warbler species make their final stops before reaching their breeding grounds. Warblers are among the most beautiful and entertaining Caribbean birds, but they can also be some of the most challenging birds to identify. As an educator and professional naturalist, I want to help you make species identification fun and simple.
The Lesser Antillean endemic Plumbeous Warbler, showing its boldly contrasting facial and wing markings; winter in Guadeloupe. (Photo by Stephen Shunk.)Male Black-throated Blue Warbler, overwintering at Goblin Hills Villas in Portland, Jamaica. Aptly named, this is one of the easiest warblers to identify and remember! (Photo by Stephen Shunk)
The New World Warblers—family Parulidae—include approximately 115 species in 25 genera found from South America to Alaska. With about 40 regularly occurring species in the Caribbean, they are a family every birder should know. Caribbean endemics comprise 15 species; 20 more are winter residents; and a few more only pass through the islands on their bi-annual migratory journeys between the Americas. This wide variety of warblers makes the Caribbean a year-round land of colorful ornaments glowing across the landscape.
The Hooded Warbler has a yellow face with black crown and throat forming a “hood.” This male was photographed in Puerto Rico. (Photo by Luis R. Alvarez Lugo)
From winter through spring, males molt into their flashy breeding, or alternate, plumages; this is prime time to witness their brightest colors. Each fall, however, the southbound birds—adults and young—arrive in the Caribbean showing their remarkably more subtle fall, or basic, plumages. I can’t think of a better place to study “those confusing fall warblers.” Let’s learn a bit more about identifying these fascinating birds—in all seasons.
Hints on Observing and Identifying Caribbean Warblers
What is a Warbler?
Comparison of warbler head profile with other birds. Note the short and slender bill of the warbler, adapted for catching tiny insect prey. (Illustration by Christine Elder)
Many Caribbean songbirds are easily confused with warblers, but observing a few subtle characters can help identify birds in the warbler family. For example, sparrows, grassquits, and finches are similar in size and shape, but warblers have more delicate bills adapted for catching their tiny insect prey. Warblers also superficially resemble vireos, but the vireo bill is typically thicker than that of the warbler, usually with a noticeable hook on the upper mandible. Other warbler-esque birds include gnatcatchers, which are smaller bodied but with longer tails; wrens, with longer bills and hunched postures; and the larger thrushes, which forage mainly on the ground.
Comparison of warbler body profile with other birds. (Illustration by Christine Elder)
The New World Warblers do have a suite of unifying characters that will help separate them from these other songbirds. Most warblers are small-bodied and thin-billed. Most are colorful and more strongly patterned than similar birds. A majority have some yellow and black, with various species adding red, blue, grey or brown markings. And warbler songs tend to be fast and high-pitched. A handful of warblers are a bit less ‘warbler-like,’ including the slightly larger ground-feeding Ovenbird and two species of waterthrush.
Start with the Species Characteristics
Late spring male Northern Parula, showing its brightest colors at Magee Marsh, Ohio, USA. Note the broken eye ring, two white wing bars, yellow breast and throat, and black and reddish band across the breast. (Photo by Stephen Shunk)
Identifying showy males in their breeding colors can make one feel like an instant expert, but it helps to learn a few subtle field marks that are typically displayed by both sexes. For example, the male and female Northern Parula both exhibit a broken eye ring, a yellow lower mandible and two white wing bars. If you happen to spot a colorful male first, search nearby branches for a female to study her more subdued colors. In many cases, Caribbean endemic species, such as the St. Lucia, Adelaide’s, and Barbuda Warblers, show less sexual dimorphism than migratory species.
Note Behavior
Palm Warblers constantly bob their tails, a behavior that helps to identify this species. This handsome male was spotted in Puerto Rico – the dark reddish brown crown shows this male is in breeding plumage. (Photo by Gabriel Lugo)
We often think of warblers as nervous birds flitting among the branches high in the treetops, but exceptions abound. The Black-and-White Warbler acts more like a nuthatch, climbing up and down along the tree trunks; the Palm Warbler is a habitual tail-pumper; and the male American Redstart fans its beautiful black and orange tail when foraging. As breeding season approaches, only males of the resident species will typically be heard singing, with migrants only uttering a confusing array of ‘chip’ notes.
Location, Location, Location
Ovenbirds tend to forage among the woodland leaf litter. Note the bold white eye ring, heavily streaked white underparts and orange crown bordered by blackish stripes. This adult was photographed in spring in Puerto Rico. (Photo by Gabriel Lugo)
Knowing the habitat preferences of different species could quickly help you make an identification. Coastal mangroves, dry scrub lands, pine forests and mountain-top cloud forests will each have its unique assemblage of species. And within each habitat, you’ll find certain species partitioned into microhabitats. While the Ovenbird, Northern Waterthrush and Lousiana Waterthrush share similar habitat on the forest floor, you’ll notice that the waterthrush species are nearly always seen foraging right along a muddy creek bank or pond edge, while the Ovenbird tends to forage among the woodland leaf litter.
Observe Color and Patterns
A male Common Yellowthroat singing on Abaco Island, in the Bahamas. Note the bold black face mask, yellow throat and breast. (Photo by Keith Salvesen)
You mainly see the underparts of canopy-loving species, but many of these species are identifiable from this angle. The American Redstart shows a patchy orange and black undertail, and the Yellow Warbler shows a solid yellow tail, undertail coverts, and belly. If you’re lucky enough to observe a bird lower in the canopy, you’ll want to pay attention to plumage features like eye rings, crown stripes, cheek patches, breast streaking, wing bars and rump patches. Many species have patchy yellow and black, so note the locations of each color; the male Common Yellowthroat sports a bold black face mask but the Hooded Warbler shows a yellow face with black crown and throat!
Watch from All Angles
Male Yellow Warbler showing the red crown and deep breast streaking of the Lesser Antillean race. (Photo by Stephen Shunk)
Many species may be readily identified from a single field mark—like Martinique’s Yellow Warbler, with its reddish-brown head or the Magnolia Warbler with its bold black breast streaks. Identifying other species, however, may require that you see the bird from different angles to observe multiple field marks. Challenge yourself to keep watching a bird and learn its more subtle markings. The next time you get only a fleeting glimpse of the same bird’s rump or belly, you’ll be more confident in its identification, not to mention, impressing your less observant birding pals!
Use a Field Guide
A male Blackpoll Warbler in fall migration and winter plumage, like this male seen in Guadeloupe, is rather nondescript – look for white wing bars and under tail coverts, faint side streaks and pale legs. Males in breeding plumage in spring look very different—they have a black cap and white cheek patch. (Photo by Anthony Levesque)
A good field guide will help narrow down the possibilities with each bird’s status, range and habitat descriptions. For example, if you’re in Puerto Rico, your field guide will tell you that that the Elfin-woods Warbler is endemic on the island but that the similarly streaked Blackpoll Warbler is not likely to be found in the same forests. Field guides can also help you decide among similar-looking species by comparing their levels of abundance. Thus, a yellowish warbler seen in the Bahamas is more likely to be a Pine or Yellow Warbler than the locally rare Nashville.
Sketch the Birds!
Quick field sketches of different warblers with simple watercolors showing some key field marks. (By Christine Elder)
Follow the lead of the early naturalists. Keep a journal of your bird observations with notes and sketches. If you look at a bird long enough to sketch it, you will have a much better image in your mind than if you simply see the bird in your binoculars. Don’t dwell on how rough your finished sketches may seem; the simple act of sketching will help you learn the birds. Add written notes to your sketches to increase your chance of identifying a given bird –jot down characters of its song, its feeding behavior, its habitat and its color (be specific, like lemon yellow or slate blue).
Study Warblers throughout the Year
Don’t be intimidated by the thought of your sketches needing to look like ‘fine art’ or to resemble those found in field guides. Approach sketching as just another way to document your time in the field, valuing the process over the product, and I promise you’ll gain much in your ability to recognize a species the next time it crosses your path. Once you have a handle on knowing your fancy late winter and spring warblers, keep watching them through the late summer and fall, as they fade into their basic plumages. Learn the shapes and postures of the birds, as well as their favorite habitats during this season. Warblers give you a year-round reason for taking a sketching stroll, or just spending time outside. Key into subtle differences among similar species, and you will be a warbler star before the birds leave the islands the following spring!
Summary of Things to Notice when Identifying a Warbler
Most warblers have a similar body size and shape with a fairly short and slender bill. So your challenge is to notice what is different about them, which mostly comes down to plumage and behavior.
Coloration and color patterns:
Warblers come in two basic varieties; one type is relatively plain brown with some subtle streaking (like Ovenbirds and waterthrushes) and the other type is brightly colored and patterned, with varying amounts of yellow, red, blue, white and black (like the Prothonotary Warbler or the Black-throated Blue Warbler).
Also look for the following:
This male Prairie Warbler, spotted in the Blue Mountains of Jamaica, has yellow underparts, distinctive black side streaks, yellow eyebrow stripe and yellow patch below the eye. It bobs its tail while foraging. (Photo by Sam Woods).
• An eye ring; its color, and whether it is complete or broken • Stripes around eye; either across, above, or below the eye • Patches of color on the cheeks or rump and their color • Stripes or streaking on the throat or breast • Wing bars and their color • Underparts (since that’s the only view you’ll often get of many species who flit quickly about in the treetops!). Notice the colors and patterns on their breast, belly, sides and undertail coverts.
Behavior:
• Is your warbler foraging in the trees or on the ground? • Does it fan its tail, spread its wings, bob or ‘wag’ its tail? • What angle does the bird hold its tail in relation to its body? • Is the bird’s gait hopping, walking or shuffling? • Character of its voice, the male’s song and the call and flight notes of both sexes
Identifying Warblers in the Field cheat sheet (illustrations by Christine Elder)
I have created this handy-dandy info-graphic for you to download. This Identifying Warblers in the Field downloadable pdf has bird templates for you to sketch on, adding field marks you see in the field, with tips on what to look for on birds to help identify them. Print it out, attach it to a clip board, and bring some colored pens or pencils with you next time you’re in the field.
Parts of a bird cheat sheet (illustrations by Christine Elder)
Many warblers have complex color patterns, especially on their heads. These patterns often follow the feather groups, for example, a stripe on the crown or a cheek patch on the auriculars, so it’s a good idea to learn the names and placement of these groups. This is a two-page pdf that includes a blank page for you to color code. By Christine Elder, a naturalist, educator and artist from Oregon who loves to travel, write and sketch birds. Christine taught sketching to Jamaican youth at our one-week BirdSleuth Caribbean summer camp (July 2015), held in conjunction with our 20th International Conference in Kingston, Jamaica, and gave a workshop on how to sketch birds at the conference. Find more hints on identifying warblers and using sketching as a learning tool at www.ChristineElder.com/warblers.
Late spring male Magnolia Warbler, showing his bold black under-stripes and just a bit of its bright yellow rump. Magee Marsh, Ohio, USA. (Photo by Stephen Shunk)
Recommended Field Guides for the Caribbean:
Birds of the West Indies (Second Edition). 2020. H. Raffaele, J. Wiley, O. Garrido, A. Keith and J. Raffaele. Princeton University Press. 288 pages. A Guide to the Birds of the West Indies. 1998. H. Raffaele, J. Wiley, O. Garrido, A. Keith and J. Raffaele. Princeton University Press. 511 pages. Note: although this book needs updating, it contains a wealth of information about all the species that occur in the West Indies. The hardcover has 86 color plates, detailed species notes, range maps and a handy Locality Checklist in the back; the softcover has 94 color plates, species notes and colored range maps.Birds of the Dominican Republic and Haiti. 2006. S. Latta, C. Rimmer, A. Keith, J. Wiley, H. Raffaele, K. McFarland, and E. Fernandez. Princeton Univeristy Press. 258 pages. Endemic Birds of Cuba: A Comprehensive Field Guide, including West Indian Endemics Residing in Cuba, by Nils Navarro. Available for purchase on our website at the link above (scroll down). 2015. Ediciones Nuevos Mundos, 168 pp.
Black-and-white Warblers are one of the easiest to identify for obvious reasons. They are known also for their behavior of climbing tree trunks and branches upward or downward probing the bark for insects and spiders. This male was spotted foraging in the Dominican Republic. (Photo by Dax Roman).
Cape May Warbler male in winter plumage in Jamaica. Note the heavy striping on the breast, eye stripe and faint cheek patch. The cheek patch is a bright chestnut-orange when the male is in breeding plumage. Females are duller, with a grayish-olive cheek. (Photo by Ricardo Miller)
A lovely Cuban Emerald hummingbird (female), one of the species spotted by Erika Gates and her team on Global Big Day, Crabbing Bay, East Grand Bahama. (Photo by Erika Gates)
More than one hundred Caribbean birders participated in this year’s Global Big Day, helping to set a new world record of 6,299 species, as well as set a new Global Big Day record for the Caribbean itself! In order to break the old record, birders all over the world spent the 24 hours of May 14 observing and counting as many species as possible—jointly recording over 60% of all living birds in only one day and passing the old record by 141 species! In the eBird Caribbean region*, the 428 species seen (278 in the West Indies) was 42 more than last year. By joining the Global Big Day, participants enjoyed an exciting day of birding, but also showed their support for bird conservation and citizen science in the Caribbean and around the world.
Below are some statistics and a few of the many highlights from Global Big Day in the Caribbean. You can further explore Global Big Day results and statistics for the Caribbean and the rest of the world at the Global Big Day Headquarters, while a global summary and highlights can be found here.
Highlights from the Caribbean
In the West Indies sub-region, the Big Day total of 278 species was 41% of the species on the eBird West Indies species list. A major accomplishment, considering that many wintering species had already left the Caribbean while others are rare species which are not present every year. Complete Global Big Day lists for specific countries can be found by typing the name of the country in the “Explore a Region” box on the Global Big Day page, while a West Indies-only regional list can be found at this link. If you saw a species on May 14 that is missing from the list, you can still enter sightings and have them count!Click here to enter your sightings in eBird Caribbean.
Of the 21 Caribbean countries that participated in the Global Big Day, Trinidad and Tobago again reported the most species (171). However, this was way more than the 112 species seen in Trinidad and Tobago last year, and good for 40th place worldwide! Puerto Rico was next with 129 species, then Bahamas (121), Cayman Islands (74), and Curaçao (71) for the rest of the top five. You can find the worldwide list of country rankings here.
Number of species seen in each country in the Caribbean during the 2016 Global Big Day. See how your country or island compares with the rest of the Caribbean.
This year 60% more checklists (586) were entered in eBird Caribbean from 133 eBirders, representing a large improvement in participation over last year. Puerto Rico (122 checklists) and the Bahamas (118) showed especially large increases in the number of checklists, with twice as many for Puerto Rico and four times as many for the Bahamas. This allowed these two countries to lead the Caribbean for numbers of checklists this year and also to rank in the global top 25! Other countries with strong participation included the Cayman Islands (62 checklists) and Curaçao (48).
Number of checklists from each country in the Caribbean during the 2016 Global Big Day. Puerto Rico submitted the most checklists: 122 in just one day!Caribbean eBirders were very successful in this year’s Global Big Day, finding more species, submitting more checklists, and getting more participants involved than last year.
The most species seen by one person was 122 by Julio Salgado, John Garrett, and Gerardo Toledo on Puerto Rico. John Garrett and Julio Salgado also tied the Curaçao Footprint Foundation in submitting the most complete checklists with 17. You can find out how your personal Global Big Day totals compared to other Caribbean birders here (West Indies only).
107 out of 172 possible West Indies endemics were found by Caribbean birders this year, making an important contribution to breaking the Global Big Day world record.
Birds were not only counted but also photographed: photographs of 129 species were added to Global Big Day checklists. We’ve linked to a very small sample of them here, including nicely illustrated checklists from Erika Gates in the Bahamas (here and here), Michael Good in the Dominican Republic (here), and Henriette de Vries on Curaçao (here), and a rare Striated Heron (Butorides striata) photographed by John Garrett on Puerto Rico.
Thank you to everyone who participated and made this Global Big Day successful. We hope you had a great time and will continue to participate in eBird Caribbean and future Global Big Days. Of course, eBird Caribbean doesn’t only exist on one day of the year. Global Big Day is just one of 365 opportunities/year to be a part of a global network of birdwatchers, researchers, and conservationists working together with a shared passion for birds. Any bird that you see, anywhere, at any time, can become a part of this global resource—helping your fellow birdwatchers as well as the birds that we all care about. So take a look at eBird Mobile, or how to find birds near you. Go out, explore, have fun, and let all of us know what you saw. Your sightings can help change the world. We’ll see you out there.
Team eBird and Doug Weidemann
*The countries comprising the eBird Caribbean portal consist of the West Indies plus Trinidad and Tobago, Aruba, Bonaire, Curaçao, and Bermuda.
A rare Striated Heron seen by John Garrett and his team on Global Bird Day in Puerto Rico (Valle de Lajas, Lajas, PR). (Photo by John Garrett)Hispaniola Woodpecker, endemic to the Dominican Republic was photographed by Michael Good in Puerto Plata, DR on his Global Big Day count.Palmchat perched on a branch, another DR endemic spotted on Global Big Day. (photo by Michael Good)American Flamingo in Curacao, counted and photographed on Global Big Day, was part of Henriette de Vries count. (photo by Henriette de Vries)
A child releases a banded bird at Belmont Estates in Grenada. Adults and children learned about how birds are captured and banded for research, as well as how to use binoculars and identify birds in birding walks. (Photo by Dwain Thomas).
In Puerto Rico’s Cabo Rojo National Wildlife Refuge, members of the public went on a morning birding session, followed by a talk on endemic birds, in particular the “Reinita” – the Adelaide’s Warbler, known for its delightful song. On Grenada’s Belmont Estate, fifth-graders excitedly held bird bags, learned about mist netting and banding, and enjoyed releasing the birds. At the University of Havana’s School of Biology students organized knowledge piñatas, endemic bird bingo and other games and exhibits. And in Bermuda, besides the annual bluebird nestbox competition, members of the Bermuda Audubon Society sailed to Nonsuch Island in search of the National Bird, the endemic Bermuda Petrel, known locally as the “Cahow.”
What was all the fun and activity about? Well, one major clue in all of the above is the word “endemic.” The annual Caribbean Endemic Bird Festival (CEBF), coordinated by BirdsCaribbean and its energetic partners across the region, begins on Earth Day (April 22) and ends on International Biodiversity Day (May 22). The festival celebrates the
A child shares what he can do to help birds in an art activity in Puerto Rico (Photo courtesy of Centro Ambiental Santa Ana/ Sociedad de Historia Natural de Puerto Rico).
exceptionally high endemism in the region—173 species of birds call the Caribbean home, that is, they are found nowhere else in the world. Many of these species live only on a single island, and many are endangered or threatened. These birds are the most unique examples of the Caribbean’s natural heritage, and they often occupy specialized niches in the ecology of the islands where they live.
This year, dozens of events involved the active participation of thousands of islanders, young and old. The overall theme was “Spread Your Wings for Bird Conservation” which raised awareness about the different laws and programs that protect our unique birds and how everyone can participate in activities that help safeguard their long-term survival.
Grandparents (a group called “Renacer”) taking part in a bird knowledge game organized by students in the Biology Department at the University of Havana, Cuba. (Photo courtesy of the University of Havana).
For the organizers of CEBF celebrations across the region, it is important to reach out to different groups. Birds – and in particular the “special” endemics that are unique to each island – have widespread appeal, touching hearts and minds in different ways. Each year, CEBF partners such as
Grupo Acción Ecológica in the Dominican Republic, the Natural History Society of Puerto Rico and Jamaica’s Caribbean Coastal Area Management Foundation (C-CAM) offer new perspectives on endemic birds for visitors from overseas as well as students of all ages, educators, local families and youth groups such as Boy Scouts. Members of a group of grandparents (“Renacer”) were among those visiting the University of Havana exhibition. Many events were advertised via social media as well as traditional media.
Brahim Diop, Forestry Dept. Jamaica, hands out prizes to student winners of the Bird Art Competition organized by C-CAM (Caribbean Coastal Area Management Foundation) in partnership with NEPA (National Environment and Planning Agency), the Forestry Department, and the Institute of Jamaica.
In Jamaica, C-CAM’s new Portland Bight Discovery Centre, in the Salt River wetland area, was the setting for an exciting day of activities for local high school students and teachers. Prizes (including Ann Haynes Sutton’s “Birds of Jamaica” field guide) were awarded in four categories for a student art exhibition with some stunning entries. An exploration of the surrounding mangroves and bird hide, including binocular practice, was literally an “eye-opener” for the students. Earlier, the National Environment & Planning Agency (NEPA) partnered with a local non-profit organization in deep rural Trelawny for the Spring Garden Bird Festival, where the very young Team Hummingbird were champion birdwatchers.
Students from the Mary Hutchinson Primary School and the Stephanie Primary School having fun with binoculars during a bird-watching session on Union Island with Sustainable Grenadines, Inc. (Photo by Orisha Joseph)
Over in the eastern Caribbean, the trans-boundary non-governmental organization Sustainable Grenadines Inc (SusGren) took to the seas and led a series of bird-watching trips with its Junior Rangers and graduate BirdSleuth teachers. Their island excursions included an early morning trip at the invitation of the exclusive Palm Island Beach Resort (breakfast included); and extensive seabird and shorebird viewing and counting via boat trips and on foot, around Union Island and its surrounding islets and rocks.
The CEBF would be nothing without partnerships, and new ones are being forged every year on every island. Non-governmental organizations such as “SOPI” (Sociedad Ornitológica Puertorriqueña), in Puerto Rico; private sector sponsors such as the Bermuda Electricity Company; government agencies such as Jamaica’s Forestry Department; and academic institutions such as the Cuban Zoological Society and the Institute of Jamaica’s Natural History Museum – all bring extra value to the activities by lending additional local expertise, materials and funds.
On the trail looking for birds with home-made binoculars in Puerto Rico. (Photo courtesy of Centro Ambiental Santa Ana/ Sociedad de Historia Natural de Puerto Rico)
CEBF 2016 was, once again, an expression of joy and appreciation, as well as a learning experience for many. As the leader of a Boy Scouts group in Caguas, Puerto Rico put it: “What I was most pleased with were the activities for my students, teachers and the families. My boys thoroughly enjoyed it all.”
BirdsCaribbean thanks all of our partners for their leadership and hard work and the US Forest Service, US Fish and Wildlife Service, Environment for the Americas and Optics for the Tropics for materials and support.
Hannah Madden with Red-billed Tropicbird in hand. “Despite the vertigo, scrapes and bites, the rewards of seabird fieldwork are endless.”
Back in 2005, I first visited St. Eustatius on vacation. I was living in Amsterdam at the time and thought I’d give one of the lesser known Dutch Caribbean islands a try. Vacation turned into a ‘year off’ when I decided to return to the island in 2006, and that year off has since turned into a career in ecology, a house, a partner, and a child in 2016. The island has a way of grabbing hold of your heart—I had fallen in love with the way of life here, unhurried and unspoiled, and also the island’s inhabitants—namely its Red-billed Tropicbirds.
St. Eustatius, affectionately known as Statia, is a small landmass with a big history. Famous (but not well known) for being the first foreign nation to recognize the United States of America’s long sought-after independence in 1776, the island reached its economic peak around 1795. Each year, thousands of ships anchored on the roadstead of Oranjestad, and the shore of the Bay was lined with hundreds of warehouses packed with goods. In fact, more trade (both legal and illegal) transpired here after the end of the American Revolution than on any other Caribbean island.
Red-billed Tropicbird nesting inside a naturally occurring cavity of the sandstone cliff on Zeelandia Beach on Statia. This is actually the least favorable site due to erosion.
But we are here to talk about birds, seabirds specifically. As the eighteenth century drew to a close, St. Eustatius gradually lost its importance as a trading center and most merchants and planters left the island. Through the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, Statia became and remained a quiet island. In contrast to the rapid and excessive environmental destruction that has ravaged many Caribbean islands in their quest for economic development, the coastlines of Statia have remained untouched by high-rise hotels or boardwalks. This means that, despite its small size, the island has become one of the main nesting sites for Red-billed Tropicbirds in the region (Saba and Little Tobago being the others).
In 2012 I participated in a tropicbird monitoring workshop on Statia, led by Dr. Adrian Delnevo and facilitated by the Dutch Caribbean Nature Alliance. That same year I also attended an international training workshop for seabird research and conservation on San Salvador, the Bahamas, organized by BirdsCaribbean, Clemson University and Defenders of Wildlife. It was then that I realized the increasing vulnerability of seabirds and the importance of better understanding their threats and population dynamics. I also learned field techniques for monitoring and studying seabirds in these workshops. So, in 2012, together with former intern Andrew Ellis, and employed by STENAPA, the local conservation NGO, we embarked on a mammoth quest to find the island’s main nesting sites. We initially only knew that tropicbirds nested along Zeelandia Beach, which faces the Atlantic Ocean, because we could see them inside crevices in the cliff face. But where else did they nest?
Some call me a wuss for wearing gloves but I am rather fond of my fingers.
According to earlier published literature, there were estimated to be only 30 pairs of Red-billed Tropicbirds on Statia (Lee and McGehee, 2000). This was followed by EPIC’s estimate of 100-200 pairs in 2003. Having traversed the entire island in search of nests during 2012-2013, however, we believe the population more likely totals around 300-500 pairs. To our surprise, the main nesting site was not Zeelandia Beach – in fact we realized this was one of the worst habitats for tropicbirds due to erosion of the sandstone cliff. After clambering over giant boulders along Statia’s north-west coast, we finally hit gold. At elevations of just 20-40 meters above sea level, we were able to (safely) access some 85 nests along a narrow strip of coastline spanning approximately 1km. While there are many more nests at higher elevations, our lack of levitation prowess prevented us from accessing those.
My youngest and most entertaining field tech (aka my daughter, Lalia), who apparently enjoys rock climbing and retrieving angry birds from nests.
And so, since 2012, from mid-October to mid-May, we have faithfully monitored this magnificent seabird. We measure, weigh and band adults and chicks and record nest success. Sticking your hand into the nest of a ferociously angry and defensive tropicbird’s nest may not sound like fun to some, but I like to think my family would be proud. I have become accustomed to the joys of regurgitated fish, pooped-on pants, and new scars after every visit. When my daughter comes home from school I show her my new collection of scrapes and bites. She has even joined me on fieldwork (see photo) and is now the go-to person at school for anything nature-related.
Since 2012 we have banded about 450 tropicbirds. We’ve also attached geolocators and GPS loggers to a few individuals, with varying rates of retrieval success. We have learned that they can travel great distances inside and outside the breeding season, and we now have a better understanding of the threats they face (mainly rats, which prey on eggs and young), but this is just the beginning. As I write this, we are submitting a proposal to further study Red-billed Tropicbirds on Statia and Saba. If approved, I will spend another four years doing my PhD on this enigmatic species. Being able to contribute to regional knowledge and the long-term conservation of this beautiful bird is a worthy endeavor and well worth the battle scars. I am grateful for the exciting opportunities that have allowed me to stay on Statia and study Red-billed Tropicbirds; hopefully my Caribbean seabird journey will continue – stay tuned!
Map showing a single foraging trip of an adult tropicbird in the incubating stage. The bird flew around the island twice and then traveled past Montserrat towards Guadeloupe. The diet of tropicbirds primarily consists of pelagic species such as flying fish and squid.
Students from Port Royal Primary School studying the ID cards during a trip to Spittal Pond Nature Reserve in Bermuda. (photo by Andrew Dobson)
The Bermuda Audubon Society (BAS) is delighted to report that the new Bermuda bird identification cards produced with the assistance of BirdsCaribbean have proven to be a great success. Class sets of the cards have been distributed to every school on the island free of charge thanks to a grant from the Bank of Bermuda Foundation and they have been met with a very favourable response.
Budding birders learning to identify Bermuda’s birds. (photo by Andrew Dobson).
“There has been a demand for this sort of card for a long time,” commented Andrew Dobson, BAS President. “The cards are being used in both the classroom and on field trips and everyone loves them. They are a fantastic tool for helping people to learn more about Bermuda’s birds.”
One card features all of Bermuda’s breeding birds with migratory land birds on the reverse side. The second card features Bermuda’s seabirds with migratory wetland birds on the reverse. The cards are available for only $5 each to both residents and visitors from the Bermuda Audubon Society and local gift shops, book stores, and nurseries in Bermuda.
The Bermuda bird cards are the latest in a series produced by BirdsCaribbean for a number of Caribbean countries, including the Bahamas, Puerto Rico, Jamaica, Antigua and Barbuda, St. Lucia, U.S. and British Virgin Islands, Curacao, Guadeloupe, Martinique, Grenada and St. Vincent and the Grenadines. Wetland Birds of the Caribbean and Seabirds of the Caribbean cards are also available in English, Spanish and French. The cards are laminated and perfect for birding field trips.
Bermuda youth enjoying a field trip with the new Birds of Bermuda identification cards. (photo by Andrew Dobson)
“We want to support the development of these beautiful cards in every Caribbean country,” said Lisa Sorenson, BirdsCaribbean Executive Director. “It’s a great joy for us to work with our partners to develop the cards and then see how effective they are at helping children and adults to discover and appreciate local birds, including resident and special endemic species as well as visiting migrants. One youth in our BirdSleuth Caribbean program in Jamaica was so excited about his first birding experience with us that he framed his bird list and card and hung it on his wall!”
BirdsCaribbean and the Bermuda Audubon Society are very grateful for permission to use illustrations from “A Guide to the Birds of the West Indies” by Herb Raffaele and co-authors (Princeton University Press) as well as additional illustrations from David Wingate, Andrew Dobson and the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds.
If you would like to develop a bird ID card for your country, contact Lisa Sorenson (Lisa.Sorenson@BirdsCaribbean.org). If you would like to support the development of this invaluable educational tool in a new Caribbean country, please click here to donate.
Breeding Birds of Bermuda – side 1Migratory Landlords of Bermuda side 2Seabirds of Bermuda-side 1Migratory Wetland Birds of Bermuda – side 2
Getting down to work: Teachers start looking at the BirdSleuth materials under the guidance of Ava Tomlinson (standing, in blue) and Patrice Gilpin (in orange).
Seville Great House in the parish of St. Ann, Jamaica is a place suffused with history on the site of the island’s first capital, Sevilla La Nueva. The property of over 300 acres reflects the changing fortunes of colonial powers, and the sugar industry. Like much of Jamaica’s past, its history – stretching back to the Tainos, whom Christopher Columbus first encountered there in 1494 – has its dark side. The Spaniards brought the first African slaves to the estate as early as 1513.
Yet, on a bright, windy Friday morning the mood was decidedly upbeat, as teachers from eleven St. Ann schools gathered for a BirdSleuth workshop on the long, sweeping verandah of the Great House, overlooking the Caribbean Sea. The focus was not on the cultural heritage but on the natural history of Jamaica, and specifically its endemic birds.
The National Planning & Environment Agency (NEPA) organized the workshop, with experienced Senior Public Education and Community Outreach Officer Ava Tomlinson at the helm. Her colleague Patrice Gilpin – who was involved for the first time in the BirdSleuth Caribbean curriculum – was her able assistant, while Renieve Rhoden ensured the group was nourished, with curry goat and more.
Teachers train their binoculars, looking from the verandah of Seville Great House.
The teachers were not sitting down all day. They lined up along the verandah for a binocular practice session, comparing notes, adjusting their sights and pointing out birds to focus on. An American Kestrel posed obligingly on a post, Turkey Vultures soared on the breeze overhead, and Cattle Egrets strutted on the wide lawns. Venturing into the wooded areas fringing the property, workshop participants practiced spotting birds and training their binoculars on them. Among the endemic birds they saw and heard were the Red-Billed Streamertail and the Jamaican Crow, or “Jabbering Crow.”
The “Sound Map” exercise involved the participants breaking up into small groups, sitting under trees and listening for bird sounds and “mapping” them. A much noisier exercise was the acting out of the perilous journeys of migratory birds, with the obstacles confronting them, in the shade of a large ackee tree. The energetically flapping, determined “birds” encountered equally determined “wind turbines” and other dangers. Some – but not all – managed to reach their destination.
Ms. Tomlinson, herself a Game Warden, took care to outline the local laws that protect birds. There is a relatively short and tightly regulated bird-shooting season in Jamaica. Ms. Tomlinson emphasized the areas where shooting is not allowed, including forest and game reserves.
The endemic Jamaican Crow (Corvus jamaicensis) made its presence felt while perched on a slender palm frond.
At the end of the day the teachers considered different ways in which they could use elements of the BirdSleuth curriculum to enhance their lessons. Those who taught general science said they could show how the birds use the elements – pointing to the “John Crows” (Turkey Vultures) that rise on air currents, for example. An English teacher said she could use birds to illustrate adjectives and prepositions – describing the bird and its position (up, under, on…?) A teacher of technical drawing and a mathematics teacher said drawing birds could show measurements and proportions. Of course, there are also many possibilities in art, music and drama.
During the day, the teachers also began to recognize the value of birding excursions for their young students. Some are very “hyper” and hard to calm down, they said – especially the boys, who usually enjoy outdoor activities. An hour or so listening for and watching birds (and not firing at them with a slingshot!) would very likely have positive effects on the children’s behavior, teaching them to quiet down, be patient and pay attention to their natural surroundings.
Khoren, who teaches technical drawing at Ferncourt High School, studies the bird identification card and bird shapes.
Here are some reactions to the training:
Avroy Harris, Exchange All Age School: In particular, I enjoyed the activity in which we used the bird map. This [can be] instrumental in teaching our students directions – north, south and so on.
Kenroy Brooks, Principal, Chalky Hill All Age School: I think this is a good tool to take back to my school – especially for the boys…This will be very beneficial to them, to enhance their learning.
Carol Brown, Mathematics Teacher, Bamboo Primary & Junior High School: The introduction of the BirdSleuth can really help the students in Math: Map reading, counting the birds, measuring the length of the birds in flight…
Dionne Thompson, Epworth Primary School: I loved this workshop…I love birds! As a child growing up…in my room through the window there was this hummingbird. It would come into my room and I would open my window for the bird to come in…As a child, up until an adult – I love birds.
Sabrina, Camperdown All Age: [The students] could make a sound collage when they go outside with the different sounds, after they have learned “which is which”… I am looking forward to early mornings when they can go out and see which birds they can find.
“Migratory bird” Sylvia Campbell from Brown’s Town Primary School (left) attempts to fly round “high tension wire” Dionne Thompson of Epworth Primary School (right) in a bird migration re-enactment.
Trainer Ava Tomlinson thought the workshop went well. She said all the teachers were enthusiastic, finding no difficulty in identifying areas of the curriculum where they could integrate the BirdSleuth lessons. She added that the practical aspects of the learning and observing the birds would be greatly enhanced when she handed over the kits for students and teachers. NEPA will continue to support the teachers and monitor progress with the curriculum. After two workshops (one took place in Trelawny last October) she wants to focus on capacity building for the teachers, so that they can fully implement the curriculum.
Ms. Tomlinson believes that Jamaica’s 28 endemic species of birds are a part of the island’s cultural, economic and social fabric. During the current Caribbean Endemic Bird Festival, NEPA, partnering with the Southern Trelawny Environmental Agency, is spearheading a bird festival with students from eleven local schools on May 13. NEPA now has 20 schools on board with BirdSleuth, while non-governmental organizations (Jamaica Environment Trust and Caribbean Coastal Area Management Foundation) have more.
NEPA’s Patrice Gilpin mused that many stories she hears about the destruction of the environment in Jamaica are depressing, focusing on the “negatives.” It’s important to talk about the good things, she feels: to encourage an appreciation of nature and thus the need for conservation.
In the shade of the ackee tree, Ava Tomlinson explains aspects of bird migration to the group.
Meanwhile, the birds drew attention to themselves with a dramatic display, which occurred two or three times during the afternoon. A Red-Tailed Hawk (“Chicken Hawk”) dipped too low over the sweeping lawn. Two Jamaican Crows pursued it furiously all around the building, with continuous loud croaks. The hawk itself responded with its high-pitched, eerie cries.
As Jamaicans would say, there was “nuff excitement” as teachers grabbed their binoculars to follow the high-speed chase. While workshop participants left satisfied, we sensed that the mid-air battle was not yet settled, and might continue tomorrow in the skies over Seville Great House.
BirdSleuth Caribbean is an inquiry-based science curriculum that engages youth in scientific study and real world data collection. The program encourages kids to answer their own question about nature using the scientific process. It will get your students outdoors, connecting with nature by focusing on the fascinating sights, sounds and behaviors of birds. BirdSleuth Caribbean was developed by BirdsCaribbean in partnership with the Cornell Lab of Ornithology. You can download the curriculum and accompanying materials here. Ava Tomlinson and other educators from around the Caribbean attended an international training workshop in Nassau, Bahamas to learn how to use the curriculum and receive workshop kits to implement the project in their home countries. For more information on the program, contact Lisa Sorenson (Lisa.Sorenson@BirdsCaribbean.org).
Please join us for another exciting webinar, which focuses on the issue of illegal trafficking of birds, on Thursday, May 5th, 1 to 2 p.m. (EDT). In this webinar, learn from our experts about Caribbean endemic birds, why they are important, what threatens them (focusing especially on the issue of illegal trade), the international and local laws that help protect birds, and what you can do to help.
This webinar is part of our ongoing Caribbean Endemic Bird Festival2016 activities. The theme for this year’s festival is, “Spread Your Wings for Bird Conservation.” The webinar will be presented by Mr. Scott Johnson, Science Officer at the Bahamas National Trust and Dr. Leo Douglas (BirdsCaribbean). Our special guest speaker is Ms. Alessandra Vanzella (Program Officer at the United Nations Environment Program, Caribbean Environment Program, Kingston, JA).
Space is limited so register early! Here is the link to register:
This black-whiskered vireo was one of three caught adjacent to a small cocoa plantation in St. David.
This story begins with a couple of biologists, from Montana and Winnipeg, meeting by chance in Hawai’i, and ends in Grenada – though this is an ending that is really a beginning. In this blog I’m going to focus on a banding project that students and I started in November 2015. But first, to really appreciate the serendipity that brought us to this point, I have to tell you about how I, a conservation biologist from the University of Manitoba, came to this little paradise.
At The Wildlife Society conference on Hawai’i in 2011, I hoped to catch a glimpse of some of the endemic species that generally avoid the resort-laden perimeter of the island, so when I overheard another attendee asking where she could go to see birds, I introduced myself. We decided on the spot to rent a car together to check out the island, and spent a delightful day snorkelling and visiting local coffee plantations. I had had the good luck to meet Dr. Andrea Easter-Pilcher, a professor who was originally from Montana, and now teaches at St. George’s University (SGU) in Grenada. Andrea is also an active member of BirdsCaribbean and was on the organizing committee for the 19th Regional Conference held at SGU in July 2013. During our drive we hatched a plan to bring Canadian students down to Grenada, which in 2014 was realized as a field course (we will be returning for another field course in 2017).
Belmont Estate, one of our banding sites in Grenada, is a unique and authentic 17th century plantation that offers guests an opportunity to participate in and observe the workings of a fully functional historic plantation, growing spices, cocoa and more.
This collaboration has naturally developed further into a fledgling research program. In April 2016 we will be starting our first big field season, with 3 graduate students starting or continuing different projects. However, we initiated this program in November 2015, when we started a mist-netting and banding project focussing on passerines and near-passerines in three sites spread across Grenada’s rural habitats.
Myself, four graduate students (Paulson Des Brisay, Chelsea Enslow, Alexandra Heathcote and Christoph Ng) and Paula Grieef, bander-in-charge from Oak Hammock Marsh, Manitoba, participated in the initial banding period. We were welcomed with open arms by our amazing partners. Initially we stayed with Claudette David (of SPECTO, an environmental NGO) at High Hopes Villa in Bathway. We had the most wonderful time getting to know Claudette and many additional volunteers and staff from SPECTO. We mist-netted and banded in gardens, orchards and cocoa plantations both at High Hopes and at Belmont Estates, an award-winning organic plantation and agri-tourism destination nearby. Shadel Nyack Compton, owner of Belmont, and her staff were just as welcoming as Claudette. Finally, we moved to a more southern cocoa and mixed-species plantation at a small farm in St. David, where we had the pleasure of working with Shelley Roberts and Phillip Patrick of Little Cocoa cottage.
Paula Grief, bander-in-charge at Oak Hammock Marsh (OHM) Interpretive Centre, giving a training talk to students about bird banding. OHM also collaborates on BIrdsCaribbean’s West Indian Whistling-Duck and Wetlands Conservation Project.
In November we banded 244 individuals of 14 species, including Lesser Antillean Tanagers, Antillean House Wrens, Lesser Antillean Bullfinches, and many other passerines of forest-agriculture ecosystems. Even though we only banded for a couple of weeks so far, we have found interesting results. Between 50 and 100% of the individuals of every species we captured were in active moult, a much higher rate than we expected in November. Many species showed morphological differences relative to other populations that have been reported in the literature. We are really excited to be back banding in April and May this year, so that we can increase sample sizes, compare body condition between rainy and dry seasons, and get a better handle on moult and breeding periods.
Christoph Ng laughs with Jody Daniel, instructor at SGU and former student of both Andrea Easter-Pilcher and Nicola Koper, and a SGU marine, wildlife and conservation program student, while releasing banded birds.
We also contributed to the training of a class of students, taught by Dr. Miya Warrington, at St. George’s University. Miya’s class in ecological methods joined us at Belmont Estates and learned about mist-netting and banding a variety of different species. We have many plans to collaborate further with SGU to work towards learning about and conserving many of Grenada’s bird species. Our research lab group has already included two Masters students who are graduates of SGU’s marine, wildlife, and conservation biology program (Ezra Campbell and Jody Daniel, who served as Chairs of the organizing committee of the 2013 BirdsCaribbean Conference), and we have plans to integrate more SGU students and grads into our research activities. This has been a great opportunity to increase the international composition of the University of Manitoba’s graduate programs, while also contributing to the education and training of Grenadians.
Antillean House Wren, a subspecies endemic to Grenada, netted and banded at Belmont Estates.
One of the best parts of the trip was realizing how interested the local community members are in conservation of their birds. In St. David, lots of locals stopped to chat as they saw us banding near roads, and offered us encouragement for our work. Claudette and several of her staff, especially Valdon Paul and Shaundel Franklyn, participated in many of our banding activities, and showed great delight in seeing many different species up close. Shadel and her staff were also really engaged in our research, and were grateful that we chose to work at Belmont – indeed, this collaboration has been so wonderful that we’ve planned to collaborate further this year, participating with them and their visitors on activities for the 2026 Caribbean Endemic Bird Festival, as well as further banding. This response makes me even more excited about our research and our ongoing collaborations with Grenadian communities, and I continue to be grateful for the fates that brought Andrea and I together on that lucky day in Hawai’i. Stay tuned for more reports on our findings from the Spice Isle!
Hispaniolan Parakeets, native to Hispaniola, are illegally captured and sold for pets or smuggled out of the country for the pet trade.
“Spread Your Wings for Bird Conservation” is the theme for this year’s celebration of the Caribbean Endemic Bird Festival. At dozens of events throughout the region, participants of all ages will learn about the different laws and programs that protect our unique birds and how everyone can participate in activities that help safeguard their long-term survival.
The festival, now in its 15th year, is led by BirdsCaribbean, the largest organization devoted to wildlife conservation in the Caribbean. The month-long festival includes Caribbean-wide activities beginning today – Earth Day (April 22), through to International Biodiversity Day (May 22), in more than twenty countries. The event celebrates the 173 bird species that are found only in the Caribbean, known as endemics. The highly successful program attracts over 80,000 participants and volunteers each year.
“Thanks to environmental laws, programs, and treaties set up to protect wild birds, there is a very good chance that our children and grandchildren will get to enjoy the same birds in their backyards, forests and wetlands that we do,” said Dr. Lisa Sorenson, Executive Director of BirdsCaribbean. “This has not always been the case and the result can be tragic.” A notable example is the extinction of the Cuban Macaw in the late 1800s due to hunting and capture for the pet trade.
Fortunately, far-sighted leaders came together to formulate international conventions and treaties that protect wildlife. For example, CITES – the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora – was established in the 1960s to ensure that species threatened with extinction are not traded internationally. Another global agreement, the Convention on Biological Diversity, was set up in 1988 to increase biodiversity conservation.
Here in the Caribbean most countries have signed onto these and other conventions and treaties but it is up to each individual country to take action to protect their wildlife, for example, through Wild Bird Protection Acts and setting up parks and protected areas. Many have done so with great success but challenges remain. Illegal hunting and capture, sale and trade of wild birds is still a significant problem in some countries. Endemic parrots and parakeets are particularly vulnerable, as are migratory and resident or endemic songbirds such as bullfinches, orioles, buntings and warblers.
Cuban Parrots, native to the Bahamas, Cuba and the Cayman Islands are illegally captured and sold as pets or smuggled out of the country for the pet trade.
“Keeping wild birds as pets in cages is engrained in some Caribbean cultures,” commented Leo Douglas, President of BirdsCaribbean. “Through education campaigns carried out as part of our festival, we want to make sure people know that these activities are illegal and could cause a species to decline and eventually become extinct. It’s up to all of us to be good stewards of our environment so that our invaluable natural heritage is preserved for all Caribbean people to enjoy.”
The goal of the month-long Festival over its 15-year history has always been to increase public awareness of the region’s exceptionally rich and threatened bird life, using the Caribbean’s celebrated endemic birds as flagships of conservation. Festival activities include a diverse array of public events including bird-watching excursions, lectures, seminars, photographic exhibitions, school-based art and costume competitions, church services, media campaigns, and theatrical productions all in recognition of the region’s rich bird life, natural heritage, and interconnectedness of regional habitats to global events.
This year, festival participants will learn about actions that they can take to help conserve birds. Never buying wild-caught birds and reporting the capture and sale of wild birds to the authorities is very important. Educating your fellow citizens and asking your government to prioritize bird and habitat conservation is another great way to contribute to the cause—our birds are worth much more alive in nature than in a cage in another country! Finally, planting native trees for birds and supporting local environmental groups that work to conserve nature can provide a big boost to birds.
To view reports and photos of past Caribbean Endemic Bird Festivals, for downloadable Festival resources, and for updates on ongoing and planned activities in your area, visit the Celebrate Birds page at www.birdscaribbean.org
Male Hispaniolan Golden Swallow perched over-top an artificial nest-box in Parque Valle Nuevo, Dominican Republic; July 2014. (photo by Justin Proctor)
With a title like that, I’m hoping that many of you instinctively hucked your laptops across the room, sprinted out to the barn and started hitching your pride-and-joy appaloosa to the covered wagon your grandpappy gave to you as a belated wedding gift back in the summer of ‘69. Just don’t forget the “caulk the wagon and float” option if you’re coming from the mainland.
If you decide to make the journey, I suggest making landfall on the beautiful island of Hispaniola (gold deposits have all but dried up in Jamaica – but more on that later). Trade in your bikini and flip-flops for some long pants and hiking boots, because what you came for can only be reliably found high up in the mountains. Not that I like to give away too much insider advice, but if I were you, I’d keep heading up until you’ve reached the Hispaniolan pine forests – the highest altitude forest type you’ll find on the island. Find a grassy clearing, sit down, and wait, because at this point, the gold is going to come to you! With mighty wings (~11cm long each), fearsome talons (actually you’d have to strain to even notice the legs on this bird), and a relentless hunger for meat (prey doesn’t get much bigger than an 8mm march fly), watch out as the infamous Golden Swallow comes tearing over the nearest hillside radiating its majestic golden sheen across the lands…wait…wait…I can’t do this anymore. It’s a tiny bird that can’t peck to save its life, and unless the light of a passing-by solar flare manages to reflect off the swallow’s dorsal plumage at a perfect 47.86o angle, the bird is green!
Artificial nest-box mounted to a pole with a cone-shaped predator guard attached beneath, Parque Valle Nuevo, Dominican Republic; June 2014. (photo by Justin Proctor)
In 2010, in collaboration with the Golondrinas de Las Américas (Swallows of the Americas) project at Cornell University, researcher Jim Goetz and Dominican biologists Esteban Garrido and Jesus Almonthe erected nearly one hundred artificial nest-boxes across a national park known as Parque Valle Nuevo (Parque Nacional Juan Bautista Pérez Rancier) located in the Dominican Republic’s Cordillera Central. Their hope was to attract a sizeable, returning population of breeding Hispaniolan Golden Swallows (Tachycineta euchrysea sclateri) to those nest-boxes so that a formal study of the species could be carried out. By 2012 the plan had worked, and word spread back to Cornell that the time was ripe to find someone to undertake the research. Upon hearing about the opportunity – and conveniently in the very beginning planning stages of my master’s thesis – I decided to give it a go. I was fresh off two years of back-to-back-to-back field seasons working with Tachycineta swallows up and down the Western Hemisphere, and I was ready to find out where else this genus of acrobatic aerial insectivores could take me.
The Hispaniolan Golden Swallow, it turned out, was considered endemic to the island, threatened, and in steady decline. Furthermore, there was so very little known about it. Some work had been done with a very small breeding population that was nesting in crevices within the walls of abandoned bauxite mines located in the Aceitillar region of the Sierra de Bahoruco, but that was really about it. As I came to realize both the extent of what we didn’t know as well as the current plight of the species, I decided that a focused study of the swallow’s breeding biology would simply not be enough. The project would have to be more holistic. The work I decided to do would have to be chosen for its relevance and thus its ability to produce information that helped develop both short and long-term conservation management plans for the species. The project could only truly be successful if its every facet was geared towards having a broader impact on the future of the Golden Swallow. So, I had three years (roughly speaking – this is academia we’re talking about) to make some magic happen, and with the laundry list of ideas and goals growing daily, I knew I was going to need some help. Much to my good fortune, I found smiling faces and willing bodies around absolutely every bend in the road. [All of those people, groups, and foundations deserve their own article – and I plan to write it – but in the meantime let me just say that I’m hoping we all set some kind of record for the 400 word acknowledgment section within our Hispaniolan Golden Swallow monograph that’s currently under review for publication by the JCO.]
View of Parque Valle Nuevo from the top of the Pajon Blanco Fire Tower; Dominican Republic. (photo by Justin Proctor)
And so we set out on an adventure of a lifetime with the underlying goal of studying a bird and using what we learned to help save that bird, while simultaneously nourishing an already burgeoning sense of local stewardship over Hispaniola’s feathered friends and the habitats they so deeply depend upon. We set the bar high from the beginning, and I can be honest in saying that I feel good about what we accomplished and where the project stands today.
Two Golden Swallow chicks have just hatched. One begs for food, one contemplates life, and one refuses to come out; Parque Valle Nuevo, Dominican Republic, 2014. (photo by Justin Proctor)
However, as opposed to trying to tackle an impossible play-by-play of what transpired over those next three years (thankfully all of that information is in my master’s thesis and can be yours for just three easy payments of $29.99), I’m going to take a slightly different approach. I’m going to share with descriptions of images (and feelings) that go through my head when somebody kindly asks me, “So how’d that Golden Swallow Project go?” Little does that person know how much weight a question like that can have, or how it causes me to temporary black-out as my mind boards a high-speed emotional (and perhaps somewhat spiritual) roller-coaster from which there is little hope for return for at least the ensuing two minutes. So let’s go for a ride.
My wife, Marisol, and I are inside of a rental jeep that hasn’t had a tune-up since Elvis left the planet. It’s 10pm (pitch dark), and there is a rather large gathering of people around us. Some are cheering, others look nervous. We are momentarily stopped, looking out in front of us at a raging river flowing out of a stormy valley. The road, of course, stops at one side of the river and continues again on the other side. That “other side” is our only way home, back up into the mountains after having endured a long day of re-provisioning our food supplies down in town. It’s been an intense first field season so far. There have been high highs and some low lows. We really want to get back up to the cabin where we’ve been living, because field work awaits us again at 6am the next morning. Against my better judgment, we begin moving forward and into the river. Despite the water starting to come in through the driver’s side window, the four-wheel drive seems to be working well, and a grin starts creeping onto my face. That grin disappears quickly when all four tires stop making contact with the gravelly bottom of the river and the current begins carrying us downstream.
I successfully trap and get my first close-up look at a Golden Swallow. It’s a female, and she’s rather calm
Adult female Golden Swallow in the hand that will soon be measured, banded and then released; Parque Valle Nuevo, Dominican Republic. (photo by Justin Proctor)
in the hand. My rule is to keep her no longer than two minutes, during which time I’ll need to take at least four different biometric measurements, describe her plumage, and place an aluminum band on her leg. That doesn’t leave much time to just admire. But a few seconds turns out to be just enough.
I look at one of our 200 artificial nest-boxes (we expanded considerably our first year) and realize how simple it is. Yet, at the same time, it’s the solution to everything. First, the box provides a nesting cavity for swallows in a habitat where otherwise very few natural cavities exist, which results in more nesting attempts by more pairs of swallows. Second, with the boxes attached to free-standing poles, a predator guard in the form of a metallic cone can be fashioned below the box to thwart attacks from invasive rats and mongoose (not to mention those damn feral cats!). This results in higher rates of brood survival in the face of unnatural – and overwhelming – rates of predation and subsequent nest failure. Third, the boxes are built to be temporarily opened from the side by researchers studying the breeding life history of the swallows. This provides us access to a nearly limitless wealth of data. Fourth, the boxes are tangible, visible, and accessible. These are perhaps the most important features. The box itself becomes a curiosity, a talking point, and ultimately an icon for our collective efforts to protect and care for nature. Although maybe not the long-term answer, the nest-box is invaluable for now.
My field crew today consists of two Dominicans, one Haitian, two Argentinians, one Cuban, and one Venezuelan. It wasn’t necessarily easy, but we got them all here. Cross-culture-pollination is the bread and butter of great science and conservation work. Amazing how quickly good solutions come in an environment like this.
The Hispaniolan Woodpecker field team (led by Josh LaPergola, Cornell University) and the Hispaniolan Golden Swallow field team combine forces; Parque Valle Nuevo, Dominican Republic, 2014. (photo by Marisol Mata)
Josh LaPergola – the legend that studies Hispaniolan Woodpeckers in Jarabacoa – has come to visit me up in Valle Nuevo. He’s brought his entire field crew along with him in an attempt to help me piece together the riddle of why there are so few woodpeckers (and thus cavities that my swallows can use to nest in) in the high-altitude pine forests where I am working. We spent the last two days hard at work, so this evening I’m treating the group to a dip in the upper pool of Aguas Blancas, one of the best waterfalls on the island. Anyhow, Josh does a mean cannonball off the nearby rock face (perfect execution by the way), surfaces a few seconds later, and casually admits that he forgot to take his glasses off before he jumped in. Though the story only goes downhill from there, our admiration for Josh grew stronger that day as we saw in him an inhuman level of determination as he nearly went hypothermic (yes, that water is unforgivingly cold) by repeatedly diving down into the zero-visibility abyss trying desperately to save the fate of his summer. [A big shout-out to Josh, who just unfortunately suffered a serious accident during his 2016 field season, but is currently managing to push through a difficult recovery with nothing but a smile on his face. All our best buddy, we’re thinking of you!].
My field assistants and I sit down in front of an evening fire with the local park guards in Valle Nuevo. They
Field assistants Ianela García Lau (Habana, Cuba) and Milagros Jefferies (Mendoza, Argentina) busy checking all 185 nest-boxes for signs of nesting; Parque Valle Nuevo, Dominican Republic, 2014 (photo by Justin Proctor)
are bursting with energy, interrupting each other to tell me stories about the Golden Swallows they saw while making their rounds that day. One man says that he’ll give his life for those birds. I laugh, but make sure to grow a little more serious when I tell him that that’s not totally necessary…just in case. At the end of the night, I walk back to the cabin realizing that really well-done outreach takes your passion and makes it contagious.
I’m sitting at my office in Ithaca, NY in August, post field-season, and receiving a flurry of emails that Parque Valle Nuevo is burning. A forest fire spreads rampantly across the national park, directly through the areas where all of our nest-boxes are located. Everything is lost.
Not much later, I’m sent a flurry of photos that indicate otherwise. Because the nest-boxes are all mounted on metal posts in meadows away from the forest edge, the fires in those areas have burned low to the ground, passing quickly underneath them. The nest-boxes, in many areas, are the only things left standing. Though a few were lost, word soon comes back to me that they have been replaced. The project carries itself without me – a major success for everyone and a solid indication that many more good things are to come!
As my vision begins to clear, I know all-too-well what I’ll hear next…
“Whoa, sounds like an adventure! So, tell me, what are your plans for a PhD?”
[My vision goes dark again…]
Our (un)faithful jeep breaks down again. This time the rear axle snaps in half. Not good. Parque Valle Nuevo, Dominican Republic, 2012. (photo by Justin Proctor)
In 2014, I conducted my last full field season in the Dominican Republic (in other words, I had burnt up all of my NSF funding and the winds of change were blowing my wife and me from Ithaca down to Raleigh). That being said, I was (and still am) extremely passionate about Golden Swallows, and more and more so about aerial insectivores throughout the Caribbean (swifts and swallows of course; those flycatchers and nightjars will have to find other sponsors). I did, however, have the pleasure of sneaking in one more (big) Golden Swallow adventure before my master’s defense came around. I was asked by Gary Graves, the Curator of Birds at the Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History, to finish the long-running census work he had been carrying out in Jamaica in search of the critically endangered Jamaican Golden Swallow (T. e. euchrysea) – the only other known race of Golden Swallow and one that hadn’t been reliably seen since the 1980’s. Gary had scoured the island except for two places the Cockpit Country in the northwest and the Blue Mountains in the southeast.
I had never been to Jamaica before, and judging by its miniscule size relative to Hispaniola on a map, I figured I could probably walk across that island in a day. Easy. Well, Proctor men have been wrong before, which means it was bound to happen again. It turns out that remote census work in Jamaica was more physically demanding (by far) than anything else I’d ever done in my life. Luckily, with unwavering field assistants at my side (Seth only collapsed vomiting from the stress twice, mind you, and John only plunged off a cliff once), we hacked our way across as many miles of that terrain as we possibly could in two months’ time. Remember earlier on when I mentioned “gold” being scarce in Jamaica. Unfortunately, that’s the truth. By the end of our work, and in light of compounding evidence in favor, we made a formal declaration that the Jamaican Golden Swallow was indeed extinct (look to Volume 29 of the JCO!). Despite not finding our search target, we were able to document many other interesting behaviors exhibited by the swift and swallow species that still inhabit the island. Furthermore, the extinction of the Jamaican Golden Swallow race brings considerable perspective to the importance of the conservation efforts surrounding the remaining race in Hispaniola.
School children from the town of El Castillo spend the day helping researchers erect new nest-boxes; La Vega, Dominican Republic, 2013. (photo by Jose Delio Guzman)
I think that there is a slow, but powerful momentum growing behind the idea of conservation in Hispaniola, and I’m hopeful that the work that so many of us have put into the Golden Swallow Project will continue to help that movement grow. So I encourage all of you to put the mountains of Hispaniola on your bucket list – they won’t disappoint. Maybe there will be a little bit of gold waiting there for you when you arrive.
Your Caribbean Gold Digger,
Justin Proctor
PS. An afterthought – I want to encourage birders and ornithologists (especially those that have somehow made their way through the entirety of this blog post) to pay a little extra attention to aerial insectivores during your future outings, and to document what you see by entering your observations in eBirdCaribbean. We are going to need all the information we can muster in order to grow our information banks strong enough to better diagnose – and do something about – the causes behind the growing, widespread trend of aerial insectivore decline in North America. For many of these species, a little bit of information goes a long way. Thank you!
You can see a compilation video of our work in Jamaica with clips of birds and scenery from sunrise to sunset here.
Adult female Golden Swallow incubating her clutch; Parque Valle Nuevo, Dominican Republic, 2013. (photo by Justin Proctor)
BirdsCaribbean bird tour group at Viñales Valley, Cuba with our local bird guide Ernesto Reyes and Nils Navarro, author of “Field Guide to the Endemic Birds of Cuba.” From L to R: Lisa, Nils, Ernesto, Ann, David, Jeff, Vicki, Margaret, Joni, Jennifer and Susan.
Cuba—definitely on the bucket list of most birders and indeed world travelers, but not the easiest country in the world to travel to for Americans. “I’ve waited 57 years to take this trip,” declared David Hill. “The door slammed shut on me in 1959, but now, finally, I have the chance to visit.” David, a retired airline captain and founder of RARE, was one of nine persons that traveled to Cuba for a birding expedition organized by BirdsCaribbean, January 22-30.
The Caribbean Birding Trail tour, which included time in Havana, the Zapata Peninsula and Viñales Valley, was designed to not only see as many endemic birds (27!) as possible but also to experience Cuba’s vibrant culture, beautiful landscapes, and warm and friendly people.
The co-leaders of the trip were Lisa Sorenson and Jennifer Wheeler from BirdsCaribbean and Joni Ellis from Optics for the Tropics. We were well taken care of by our guide, Ernesto Reyes, Cuban bird guide extraordinaire and long-time BirdsCaribbean friend and colleague. Our group consisted of nine Americans, most traveling to Cuba for the first time with the exception of Lisa and Joni. All brought great enthusiasm for experiencing Cuba’s birds and culture, as well as much personal experience in the field of wildlife conservation. Everyone had a lot of interesting information and stories to share that added to the enjoyment and learning of the trip. The excitement of introductions and anticipation for a fantastic week made waiting in multiple lines at Tampa International Airport for document review, baggage check, security and boarding go quickly!
¡Havana!
Capital and old cars in Havana. (Photo by Margaret Kinnaird)
Havana airport was surprisingly small, and will certainly need to grow as tourism booms on the island. A large crowd of eager family members awaited arriving loved ones, but our guide, Ernesto, was able to pick out the first few of our group that ventured out – it is true that birders have a certain look about them!
We met our driver, the “other Ernesto,” nicknamed Soby, boarded our mini-bus and headed into the bustle of La Havana Vieja (Old Havana). It was everything the guidebooks described and more. Antique cars, bicycle-taxis, and the occasional horse cart traversed on cobblestone streets beneath stately buildings of colonial-era Andalusian-inspired and Baroque architecture, interrupted by the occasional Soviet-style high-rise. We were all completely captivated by the sites and sounds of this colorful and chaotic city, full of such rich history and seemingly frozen in time.
We spent the first evening and all the following day enjoying Havana. We were distributed for lodging in casas particulares (private bed-and-breakfasts) in the heart of the old city, and gathered to explore the streets and squares together. We saw waves crashing on the famous Malecón (shorefront promenade); Ernesto and his daughter Mariana guided us by the most historic buildings and plazas; we drank Mojitos on the roof of the hotel Ambos Mundos (where Hemingway wrote For Whom the Bell Tolls); and dined and drank at charming restaurants and bars.
Of course, we took advantage of the myriad photo opportunities with antique Oldsmobiles, Fairlanes, and Chevrolets, which were everywhere, and several of us visited the fabulous Museo Nacional de Bellas Artes – Arte Cubano, which houses artwork purely by Cuban artists. A few in the group also enjoyed wonderful Cuban music late into the night by the talented Cuban group Hearts of Fire at the Paris Club. There are not many birds to see in Havana, though it was noted that several of the stunning artworks in the Museo Nacional Palacio del Bellas Artes featured bird imagery of some kind!
Emeritus ornithologist and living legend, Orlando Garrido, sharing stories from the field while showing us his endemic bird collection (Photo by Susan Jacobson)
At our Havana evening meals, we were joined by our Cuban colleagues and dear friends; biologist Lourdes Mugica (Universidad de la Habana) who dined with us at La California, and Maikel Canizares (Instituto de Ecología y Sistemática) at El Canoñazo. Both work in bird conservation and are long-time BirdsCaribbean members and partners on BirdsCaribbean programs such as the Caribbean Endemic Bird Festival, Caribbean Waterbird Census, BirdSleuth Caribbean, and White-crowned Pigeon research. They are also serving on the Local Organizing Committee for the next BirdsCaribbean International Conference in Cuba in July 2017.
Another special visit in Havana was with emeritus ornithologist, the tireless and charming Orlando H. Garrido. Many of our party had his landmark book, Birds of Cuba (co-authored with Arturo Kirkconnell, 2000). Orlando, a living legend, regaled us with stories of his involvement in forming the bird collection for Cuba’s Museo Nacional de Historia Natural decades ago, and in debating the finer points of taxonomic lineages in current literature. Also, he gave us a close-up look at his collection of mounted Cuban endemic birds.
The Zapata Peninsula
Early morning light on Bay of Pigs, Zapata Peninsula. (Photo by Margaret Kinnaird)
On Day 3, we were up early and off to the Península de Zapata on the southern side of the island, considered to be the most important region in Cuba for birding. A bus ride on wide, well-maintained, but largely empty highways took us to the Playa Larga area, found on the llanura (plain) of Zapata between the east and west ciénagas (swamps) of Zapata. Traversing wetland areas, we started seeing waterbirds right away, including Limpkin, egrets, herons, and ticking off endemics such as the Cuban Black Hawk and Red-shouldered Blackbird. Playa Larga is found directly on the northern reach of Bahía de Cochinos (Bay of Pigs). Obviously this is a site of historic significance and the area was marked by individual monuments to those 161 Cubans who lost their lives defending the island during the US-backed 1961 invasion.
Bee Hummingbird – the world’s smallest bird (photo by Aslam Ibrahim Castellan Maure)
We stayed in casas in the small village of Caleton, a pretty little town with a beach, mangroves and just two little roads (one paved, one not) but experiencing a building boom associated with tourism. One of our first destinations was a nearby village neighborhood where endemic Bee Hummingbirds, the world’s smallest bird species! — are known to hang out. Indeed we had a great view of a pair from a rustic backyard – a male demonstrating his courtship flight (flying way up in a straight line, then zipping out to the side) to a seemingly less-than-attentive female (probably distracted by the flowering trees, as were several Cuban Emerald hummingbirds and migrant warblers).
Cuban Pygmy Owl (Photo by David Hill)
During our time on the Zapata Peninsula (Days 3, 4, 5), we visited a variety of diverse habitats. The Bermejas Reserve (Refugio de Fauna Bermeja), a forested area with nice trails, yielded such highlights as the beautiful Cuban Trogon (Cuba’s national bird), Cuban Crow, Bare-legged Owl,Cuban Parakeet, Great Lizard Cuckoo, Tawny-shouldered Blackbird, Cuban Vireo, and the adorable Cuban Tody, a favorite of everyone. We had great looks at more Bee Hummingbirds and a variety of migrants warblers were also seen including Yellow-headed Warbler, Worm-eating Warbler, Swainson’s Warbler, and Black-throated Green Warbler, among others.
At Cueva de los Peces, we had fantastic views of 4 Blue-headed Quail Dove casually strutting around, including a male courting a female. La Cuchilla was the place to see Fernandina’s Flicker, busily working on excavating a nesting hole in a dead palm tree. A Crested Caracara and Cuban Pygmy Owl were spotted nearby.
Counting flamingos, herons, egrets and many other waterbirds at Las Salinas, Zapata Swamp. (Photo by Jennifer Wheeler)
Las Salinas, an area of shallow tidal flats, wetlands, and mangrove-islets, showcased many hundreds of American Flamingos and a wide variety of herons, egrets, ibis, seabirds and shorebirds, including American White Pelicans, Brown Pelicans, Roseate Spoonbills, Neotropic Cormorants, Wood Stork, White Ibis, Black Skimmer, Clapper Rail, Royal Tern, Caspian Tern, Black-bellied Plover, and Short-billed Dowitcher.
At Boca de Guamá a wooded tourist spot around a lake we had excellent looks at the Cuban Oriole and West-Indian Woodpecker. Our target birds at La Turba, a grassy vegetated track between tree-lined canals, were the Zapata Sparrow and Zapata Wren. With a little help from playback, we were rewarded with four active sparrows at very close range! Unfortunately, the Zapata Wren was not so cooperative in the windy weather. Finally, one evening, we walked around the small eco-village of Los Hondones, a quiet in-holding in the National Park. Ernesto is building a house there and envisions a tranquil oasis where guests would be surrounded by a woodland of native trees and active birds. Before dark we had a long look at an industrious Cuban Green Woodpecker, Cuban Pewee, Cuban Parrot, and La Sagra’s Flycatcher, and after dark, a Greater Antillean Nightjar (Cuban) attracted to the insects under a streetlamp.
The adorable Cuban Tody – a unique beauty and huge favorite of everyone. (Photo by David Hill)
Back in Caleton, we enjoyed festive group meals with such treats as fresh coconut water from just-hacked-open coconuts and fresh fish pulled from nearby waters. We ate dinners at the casas, and were treated both nights by a very talented group of musicians, Son X Siempre, who provided excellent, authentic Cuban music, great for dancing.
We were also hosted to rum-and-honey shots and a presentation by Rosendo Martinez, the founder of Cuba’s Protected Areas Program (Centro Nacional de Areas Protegidas) and an advisor in Sustainable Tourism and Interpretation. Rosendo conducts workshops for casa owners and tour agencies, and is a great contact for BirdsCaribbean’s Caribbean Birding Trail program. Later, after dark, we went to take a look at the town’s Stygian Owl, perched and hunting for bats to provide its evening meal.
Viñales Valley, with stops in Las Terrazas
The Viñales Valley. (Photo by Lisa Sorenson)
On Day 6, we made our way to the West, to the Pinar del Río province. On the way, we made several stops to look for birds, of course. At the Niña Bonita Reservoir just west of Havana, we dodged raindrops to conduct a Caribbean Waterbird Census count, and tallied hundreds of Lesser Scaup along with a scattering of Ring-necked Ducks, Northern Shovelers, Blue-winged Teal, Ruddy Ducks and Brown Pelicans. In the Sierra del Rosario hills, we stopped at the eco-resort of Las Terrazas for lunch and were treated to a demonstration of the local chanting campesino music, while fighting off very aggressive chickens and peacocks mooching our lunches.
The Cuban Solitaire has a hauntingly beautiful song. (Photo by David Hill)
In January, the New York Times listed Viñales as a top destination to visit this year. We could see why. It is lush and beautiful valley punctuated with huge, flat-topped, limestone mountains called mogotes (which means “haystacks”). In between the mogotes are found rich, red-soiled fields renowned for their crops of tobacco. The developed and undeveloped areas are protected as the Parque Nacional de Viñales, and are rich in birdlife. Our first birding effort, however took place on the delightful terrace above the home of Nils Navarro, artist, naturalist, and author of the new book, Field Guide to the Endemic Birds of Cuba. In between sips of Cuba Libres (rum and Coke, with lime juice), and sighs of admiration at the pink skies of approaching sunset, we enjoyed watching hunting Merlins through the scope.
Day 7 was rainy, but we headed out to Maravillas de Viñales, a public use zone of the national park, where
Tobacco drying, Viñales Valley. (Photo by Jennifer Wheeler)
Ernesto and Nils sought to find the Cuban Solitaire for us. We heard it’s melodious song and soon spotted it near the observation platform. We also enjoyed many other birds in the area including the Western Spindalis, Cuban Bullfinch, Cuban Pewee, Red-legged Thrush, Cuban Crow, Yellow-headed Warbler, Cuban Tody, Cuban Trogon, Cuban Blackbird, and Red-legged Honeycreeper before rain drove us back to the village for lunch. That afternoon, we had a lesson in tobacco cultivation and harvest (all by hand, or with the help of oxen) and cigar rolling in a local tobacco drying barn, and had a chance to puff on a fine cigar constructed skillfully and rapidly before our eyes. We also enjoyed coffee at a little, local finca run by Nils’ in-laws, after touring their efforts at sustainable subsistence farming (raising vegetables, coffee, fruit, rabbits and other livestock).
Man with fowl at tobacco farm in Viñales. (Photo by Susan Jacobson)
This was meaningful as we later learned that Cuba imports the vast majority of its food supply, with typically 80% of household income going to the purchase of food. Much more on-island production of food is needed to correct this trade imbalance. A highlight of late afternoon birding along the road to the El Albino Reservoir was the Olive-capped Warbler, found only in Cuba and two islands in the Bahamas, as well as Antillean Palm Swift, numerous migrants and waterbirds.
Dinner was in our individual casas. Here is a good place to explain that the business of renting out rooms to tourists is one of the few individual businesses allowed by the Cuban government.
Nils sharing information with the group about the flora and fauna of Viñales. (Photo by Lisa Sorenson)
Homeowners have embraced this opportunity, and casas particulares form the most successful micro-enterprise in the country. Currently about 4,000 rooms are rented out to tourists in private homes, more rooms than are managed by all but one of the government tour agencies, which own the rooms in hotels and resorts. Casa particulares are registered with the government, and taxation is extremely heavy, but the income far exceeds formal salaries. Casa owners also provide meals and beverages to supplement the income. We found almost all casas to be rented at a similar low price, though quality was extremely varied!
On Day 8, we did a bit more birding in the hills behind Viñales, then headed east towards Havana. We stopped at a small fruit and coffee farm in Las Terrazas to check off the Cuban Grassquit (we got lovely close-up views of a group in the grass while the farmer provided us with sweet bananas) and also stopped along the highway to see the Cuban Kite and Eastern Meadowlark (Cuban race).
Hasta La Vista, Cuba
Western Spindales (Photo by Susan Jacobson)
Day 8, we spent our final afternoon and evening enjoying Havana again. Several of us sought out souvenirs – rum, cigars, jewelry, chocolate, bongo drums, and art were favorite choices. We checked out shops along Calle Obispo and street vendors along the Prado, and after supporting the Cuban economy, received a presentation on the topic from José Atonio Moreno (aka Pepe), a retired economist and professor. He provided an explanation for much of what we had experienced during our trip – a country with an economy that has languished for decades but is now committed to economic and political reforms that have already seen significant results as they are embraced by the innovative and resilient Cuban people.
We enjoyed a final, celebratory meal at the charming Café de Artes, decorated with vintage instruments and portraits of famous Cuban musicians. One last mojito! Then on Day 9, we were thanking Ernesto and Soby with hugs all around, back in airport lines, declaring to customs, and making plans to stay
Lisa, Ernesto, Jennifer and Nils at the end of a wonderful day in Viñales Valley.
in touch and share our photos. Already there is an intense yearning to go back to see and experience much more of this amazing country before it changes too much, but the wonderful memories of this magical trip will linger for a long time. David, affectionately nicknamed “el Capitan” by Ernesto, commented, “It was the trip of a lifetime, well worth the wait!”
By Lisa Sorenson and Jennifer Wheeler
Stay tuned for the trip report from our March 6-16, 2016 Cuba bird tour. BirdsCaribbean will lead two bird tours to Cuba again in 2017 (January 23-30 and March 3-13) – click here for information. Email us: info@BirdsCaribbean.org.
Cuban Bullfinch, another one of Cuba’s 27 endemic birds. (Photo by David Hill)
The Caribbean Birding Trail is being developed to raise global awareness of the unique birds and biodiversity of the Caribbean and to create a sustainable economy around these rare species, in an effort to protect them. This new project is an initiative of BirdsCaribbean. We have partnered with and/or trained local tour companies and guides, have first-hand knowledge of the best birding and heritage sites to visit, and know the communities and NGOs that are working to conserve Caribbean birds and nature. Our tours are well-suited for birdwatchers, nature lovers, wildlife photographers, and anyone looking for authentic, unique, and revelatory experiences. Travel with us and know that your tourism dollars will bring benefits to the organizations, communities and people that will put them to the best use. Learn more at www.CaribbeanBirdingTrail.org.
Semipalmated Sandpipers in flight. (Photo by Jeff Gerbracht)
The sandpiper flocks fly up in waves, blurred wings beating and gliding as one, they circle around after being flushed and land again in unison on the dike road ahead of us while another flock lands just behind us. “Ok, start counting!” I say to my colleague, Fernando Simal. Easier said than done! The little brown birds dart about constantly on land and at the water’s edge, deftly snapping brine flies off the ground. We do our best to count the number of birds of each species using tally counters and record the numbers on our data sheet. This particular flock was composed mostly of Least Sandpipers and Semipalmated Sandpipers with a few Sanderlings thrown in.
Least Sandpiper and Western Sandpiper foraging among the salt crystals at Cargill Salt Ponds. (Photo by Jeff Gerbracht)
Fernando and I are at our one of our “high density” points (counting stations) on the Cargill Salt Production Facility in southern Bonaire. We are driving the dike roads stopping every 400m to carry out a 6-minute count, recording all the birds in a 200m radius around our point. A second team, Jeff Gerbracht (Cornell Lab of Ornithology) and Binkie van Es (St. Maarten Nature Foundation) are covering another part of the facility. The conditions can only be described as harsh—non-stop winds of 25-30 knots, blazing sun and salt foam blowing at us constantly. But the shorebirds love it, and so do we—there are not very many places where you can see such large concentrations and diversity of shorebirds so close.
We have so far encountered over 20 species of shorebirds and waterbirds using the Cargill ponds, including American Flamingo, Great Blue Heron, Tricolored Heron, Reddish Egret, Black-bellied Plover, Snowy Plover, Greater yellowlegs, Lesser Yellowlegs, Ruddy Turnstone, Stilt Sandpiper, Least Sandpiper, Semipalmated Sandpiper, Western Sandpiper, Short-billed Dowitcher, Red Knot and more. Depending on where the point is in the Cargill Facility, we might encounter zero birds in areas of deeper water, or mixed flocks numbering in the hundreds or even thousands in areas with shallow water or exposed flats.
Fernando Simal braves harsh conditions at the Cargill salt ponds in Bonaire. (Photo by Lisa Sorenson)
The prime attraction to this habitat is food—some of the ponds team with brine shrimp or brine fly larvae and the dike roads separating crystallizer ponds are often covered with hordes of brine flies. These small organisms, adapted to thrive in extremely salty conditions, serve as an essential food resource for these wintering and migratory shorebirds.
This is the second year of intensive surveys conducted at Cargill in an effort to learn more about the species and numbers of birds using this site. Shorebirds have received much attention in recent years due to evidence of alarming hemispheric-wide declines in numbers. Loss of wetland habitats is one of the main threats, but other factors also play a role, such as hunting, human disturbance, impacts from climate change such as sea level rise, and predation from invasive species.
In the case of the Red Knot, a threatened shorebird, numbers plunged from 90,000 to 15,000 from overharvesting of Horseshoe Crabs in the Delaware Bay in the early 2000s. The Bay is a critical migration staging area in spring where as much as 90% of the Red Knot population congregates to feast on horseshoe crab eggs. These birds rely on the eggs as a vital food source at their final stopover to build up enough fat and energy to make it back to their breeding grounds in the Arctic. They arrive in Delaware Bay in mid-May weighing about 120 grams, and depart 2 weeks later weighing 180 grams or more, with one particularly large individual weighing in at 244 grams at departure!
Stunningly beautiful American Flamingos dot the stark landscape like pink flowers. (Photo by Lisa Sorenson)
How and why did these surveys get started? Two years ago, I had the chance to visit and tour the Cargill Salt Production Facility for the first time, thanks to Daniel Deanda (Production Manager), who attended our Wetlands Education Training Workshop in May 2014, hosted by STINAPA Bonaire. I was amazed at the number of migratory shorebirds and waterbirds on the property, including the stunningly beautiful American Flamingos which dot the stark landscape like pink flowers. I recognized that this small island and even smaller site was probably hugely important to migrant and wintering shorebirds, perhaps even qualifying as a Western Hemisphere Shorebird Reserve Network (WHSRN) site, a program set up by Manomet 30 years ago to protect the most important breeding, stopover, and wintering habitats for shorebirds throughout the Americas.
Thanks to funding support from Environment Canada, the blessing of Cargill managers, and partnerships with local organizations STINAPA Bonaire, WILDCONSCIENCE, and the Dutch Conservation Nature Alliance, our surveys are providing estimates of population numbers of target species at the site. Although we are still refining our population estimates, there is no doubt that this site provides a winter home for thousands of shorebirds, enough to nominate it for a WHSRN site. It could also be a critical stopover area during spring and fall migration for shorebirds that are spending the winter further south. Additional counts planned for spring and fall of 2016 will help answer that question.
The Red Knot breeds in the Tundra of the central Canadian Arctic from northern Hudson Bay to the southern Queen Elizabeth Islands. It winters as far south as Tierra del Fuego at the tip of South America, undergoing a migration of 9,300 miles each fall and spring, making it one of the world’s longest-distance migrants. (Photo by Fernando Simal)
One of the most exciting finds from our 2016 February surveys were fairly large flocks of Red Knots. We noticed a leg band (green flag) on one of the birds and were able to read the flag—CTK. After entering the banding data into BandedBirds.org and corresponding further with the ornithologist that had banded the bird, Dr. Larry Niles, I learned that this bird was first captured and banded in 2004, making it a very old bird, at least 12 years of age. It was recaptured again in 2008 and May of 2015 in Delaware Bay. Larry commented: “On May 30 which is the end of this stopover period, the bird weighed only 154 g which is 26 grams short of the 180 g threshold necessary for a successful flight to the Arctic. Nevertheless this bird survived and still breeds.”
We think it is really cool that the salt ponds of Bonaire are providing a home for this Red Knot for the winter of 2015-2016, and perhaps other years as well! WHSRN site designation will help to raise awareness about the importance of “this little island” and the Cargill Salt Facility as a haven for migratory shorebirds.
by Lisa Sorenson, Ph.D. Executive Director, BirdsCaribbean
Herb Raffaele in the field on a post-workshop excursion. (Photo by Lisa Sorenson)
We continue our series of BirdsCaribbean member profiles with Herb Raffaele, former chief of the US Fish and Wildlife Service’s Division of International Conservation, and author of Birds of the West Indies and other books related to birds and conservation in the region. He received a lifetime achievement award from BirdsCaribbean and is currently a Director-at-Large for the organization. We interviewed him via email.
What is your job (currently and in the recent past if different from your current position)?
I retired two years ago from my position as Chief of the Division of International Conservation of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. As division chief I managed a budget of over $20 million per year and hundreds of conservation projects around the world. Projects ranged from focusing on flagship species such as elephants, tigers, rhinos and the like, to regional and even global programs such as the Convention on Wetlands of International Importance. Prior to my 17 years as division chief I managed the Service’s conservation programs in Latin America and the Caribbean. In the 1970’s I served as a wildlife biologist for the Puerto Rican government and, for a number of years on the island, as the chief of wildlife planning for the island’s Department of Natural Resources.
How did you get interested in birds?
When I was a youth in the Boy Scouts, at the age of about 14, I needed a nature merit badge to become an Eagle Scout. I began to observe birds in order to obtain the badge, got hooked on watching them, and have done so ever since.
How did you get involved with BirdsCaribbean?
During the years that I served as the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s regional program coordinator for Latin America and the Caribbean I was contacted by Jorge Moreno of Puerto Rico about facilitating a meeting of Caribbean islanders interested in bird conservation. The concept was highly appealing and so our program funded not only the first meeting of the various predecessor organizations to BirdsCaribbean, but virtually every meeting for close to three decades. Besides supporting meetings, we placed a major focus on supporting educational and outreach programs as well as very practical and effective projects such as the West Indian Whistling-Duck and Wetlands Conservation Project.
How has the organization influenced you?
The organization has enabled me to help promote bird conservation in the Caribbean and meet many outstanding people throughout the region with the same interests.
What does being a member of the board mean for you?
I see it as an important opportunity to help BirdsCaribbean become a more effective and fiscally sound organization so that its impact on conservation in the region will be significant and long-standing.
What do you think is the biggest challenge facing Caribbean bird conservation?
I believe that undoubtedly the biggest challenge to bird conservation is that birds and nature in general are not important components of the cultural values of the region. If local values, attitudes and beliefs are not positive towards nature, then it is inevitable that negative actions and behaviors will follow. Unfortunately, many conservation programs focus on the symptoms and not this underlying problem. Until this changes, conservation cannot succeed. And while I am on this subject, the solution is not simply education — the distribution of informational materials — it is more complicated than that. I am pleased that BirdsCaribbean has highlighted this critical point in its mission and has accomplished a great deal on this front through teacher training workshops, working with youth in communities to get them out in nature to appreciate birds through programs like BirdSleuth Caribbean, articles in the media, creation of the Caribbean Endemic Bird Festival and implementation of International Migratory Bird Day, among other activities.
Illustrations from Raffaele’s book have been used to create many bird education resources, such as this bird identification card.
What do you think are BirdsCaribbean’s best programs and why?
BirdsCaribbean has a number of excellent programs but those which excite me the most are the ones that get to the root of conserving birds – people’s values and the behaviors which derive from them. To that end, I think the Caribbean Endemic Bird Festival is particularly special. The islands of the Caribbean are extraordinary in that all the major ones have birds unique to them – birds which are found nowhere else in the world. At the same time, I expect that all too few island residents are aware of this special aspect of their heritage. The Endemic Bird Festival creates this awareness and builds pride – a key underpinning of true conservation. I am also very fond of the West Indian Whistling-Duck and Wetlands Project, an initiative primarily aimed at training teachers to incorporate wetlands conservation into their curricula for young children. This focus on reaching youth and providing them positive outdoor experiences in local wetlands is essential if they are to be concerned as adults for the environment around them.
If you could encourage people to do one thing for birds, what would it be?
Get others to appreciate birds and then take actions to conserve them so as to make their conservation a societal norm—actions which are accepted and respected by everyone.
What was your most rewarding education/conservation/research success?
I have had a lot, but undoubtedly my most rewarding conservation success relating to the Caribbean was publishing of A Guide to the Birds of West Indies. It took about 9 years of work in my spare time, but publication of this book, and its sequel, has facilitated countless people in the region being able to better learn about and enjoy their unique birdlife. There is nothing more satisfying than seeing a copy of the book that has been frazzled from years of use in the field since this shows how important the book has been to someone. Publication of the book has also enabled, through free use of the illustrations, many dozens of other bird conservation initiatives throughout the region including posters, bird identification cards, interpretive signs, and the creation of local island bird guides. This too has been a very gratifying development.
“Do you see the Pelican?” Damian Whyte, environmental officer of the Urban Development Corporation, Jamaica, seems to be asking students of Swallowfield Primary School as he demonstrates how to use the telescope as a part of the Caribbean Waterbird Census 2016 in Palisadoes Port Royal Protected Area. The equipment was donated to NEPA and Jamaica Environment Trust by BirdsCaribbean (photo courtesy of Ava Tomlinson).
The first internationally coordinated waterbird count was organized in January 1967 by Wetlands International. Now entering its 50th year, the International Waterbird Census has become a vital source of information for the conservation and management of wetlands and waterbirds around the world. Seven years ago, the Caribbean Islands, under the auspices of BirdsCaribbean, formally began to contribute to the International Waterbird Census; and thus the Caribbean Waterbird Census, or CWC, was born. Every year since 2010, wetlands across the region have been visited by enthusiastic, adventure-seeking volunteers eager to observe and count waterbird populations. The CWC takes place over three weeks in January and February, and 2016 was another fantastic year.
The Caribbean is home to over 500 species of birds, 170 of which are endemic, and the region provides an important site for Neotropical migrants. Wetlands are critical for numerous waterbird species, providing a variety of habitats from swamps and lagoons to mudflats and lakes. Waterbirds depend on wetlands as a source of food or as nesting habitat. For example, one of the biggest wetlands in the Caribbean, Trinidad’s Nariva Swamp provides a vital nesting site for the magnificent Scarlet Ibis. Many species depend on wetlands for refueling and resting, especially during their long winter/summer migrations.
Braving the elements to count wetland birds in the Dominican Republic (photo by Maria Paulino).
For some, going out into the blistering heat, getting your shoes covered in mud, and being bitten by sandflies and mosquitoes does not sound like the most appealing activity. Yet for hundreds of birders across the region, the Caribbean Waterbird Census is the perfect excuse to take out their spotting scope, camera and binoculars, grab a pen and paper, and visit their nearest wetland in search of waterbirds.
We are pleased to announce that 13 countries across the Caribbean participated in this year’s CWC, and in the cases of Anguilla, Bonaire and Jamaica more than one count was conducted by different organizations and citizen scientists. A total of 321 checklists were submitted, and despite the ongoing drought across the region, a total of 191 species and 30,406 birds were observed in 152 locations! The US Virgin Islands submitted a record 78 checklists.
The most numerous species observed were the American Flamingo (6,265), Glossy Ibis (1,372), Short-billed Dowitcher (1,320), Cattle Egret (1,121), and the Blue-winger Teal (1,107). The most frequently reported species (i.e. on the most surveys) were the Yellow Warbler (142), Bananaquit (104), Gray Kingbird (98), Great Egret (85), Lesser Yellowlegs (83), and the Spotted Sandpiper (72).
Cuba used the CWC as an opportunity to conduct a workshop on wetland biodiversity for a local community in Los Palacios, Pinar del Río (photo courtesy of Alieny Gonzalez).
The CWC is critical in understanding the distribution, status and abundance of waterbirds on a local, regional and global level, thus helping BirdsCaribbean and local governments make informed decisions on their conservation and management. The CWC also helps determine which sites are important for supporting huge populations of waterbirds, as well as the key wintering and migration stopover sites for threatened and declining species such as the Red Knot, Whimbrel, Reddish Egret, American Oystercatcher, and Semipalmated Sandpiper.
Over 240 sites are currently monitored by volunteer counters in BirdsCaribbean’s network. However, with over 7,000 islands and islets in the Caribbean, many important sites have not yet been included. The CWC and other censuses are a great way to involve local communities in citizen science and get young people more connected with the region’s unique and often threatened birds.
Banded Red Knot “CTK” spotted at Cargill Salt Ponds, Bonaire (photo by Fernando Simal). This bird was first captured and banded in 2004, making it at least 12 years of age. The salt ponds of Bonaire are providing a home for this and other migratory birds during the winter of 2015-2016. Western Hemisphere Shorebird Reserve Network site designation will help raise awareness about the importance of Bonaire and the Cargill Salt Facility as a haven for migratory shorebirds.
For seabird lovers, Statia is the best place in the Caribbean to see Red-billed Tropicbirds up close. (Photo by Hannah Madden)
One of the Caribbean’s best kept secrets is St. Eustatius, a special municipality of the Netherlands that measures just 11 square miles. You might think there is little to see there, but nothing could be further from the truth. Affectionately known as Statia, the landmass has been spared the destructive development that plagues so many other islands in their search for economic sustainability through mass tourism. Bird-watching is a particularly rewarding pastime on Statia, which offers accessible birding across the island. In fact, a recently published paper in the Journal of Caribbean Ornithology lists a total of 75 recorded species!
Statia supports a number of species that may be of particular interest to ornithologists, such as the restricted-range Antillean Crested Hummingbird, Green- and Purple-throated Carib, Lesser Antillean Bullfinch, Caribbean Elaenia, Scaly-breasted Thrasher, and the Bridled Quail-dove. It is also an important stopover or nesting ground for migratory birds like the Short-billed Dowitcher and Red-billed Tropicbird.
A hike up the dormant Quill volcano will bring enthusiasts in close range of the Bridled Quail-dove. (Photo by Hannah Madden)
Visitors to Statia are always pleasantly surprised by the birding opportunities the island offers, and efforts are being made to develop and strengthen birding tourism, especially through the Caribbean Birding Trail and other collaborations with BirdsCaribbean. Director of the St. Eustatius Tourism Development Foundation, Mr. Charles Lindo, states: “Statia is known for its peace and tranquility, and with the new information of having 75 different bird species on our island only strengthens the fact that we need to maintain the avian fauna of our island by preserving their natural habitat.”
Two of Statia’s main selling points for bird-lovers are the Bridled Quail-dove and Red-billed Tropicbird. A hike up the dormant Quill volcano will bring enthusiasts in close range of the Bridled Quail-dove, which wanders the outer slopes of the dry forest at elevations of over 200 meters and inside the lush, liana-filled crater. According to Raffaele et al. (A Guide to the Birds of the West Indies), this bird is generally ‘uncommon to rare’ in the Lesser Antilles and is a declining species across its range. Nevertheless, sightings on Statia are common and thanks to the protected status of the Quill National Park, it is hoped that this bird’s habitat will remain untouched in the coming years.
A walk along Zeelandia beach offers visitors the opportunity to literally walk up to a Red-billed Tropicbird nesting in the sandstone cliff face. (Photo by Hannah Madden)
For seabird lovers, Statia is the best place in the Caribbean to see Red-billed Tropicbirds up close. A walk along Zeelandia Beach offers visitors the opportunity to literally walk up to a Red-billed Tropicbird nesting in the sandstone cliff face. Nesting season is from October to May, with peak activity from January to March. Statia and its sister island Saba, some 20 miles away, support one of the largest breeding populations of Red-billed Tropicbirds in the region. This may be due to a lack of coastal development on our small islands, which offer a safe nesting haven for a pelagic species with high site fidelity.
(Note: options may be considered “rare” in certain areas and will be hidden from the default list when you enter sightings.) All previous eBird Caribbean records of Caribbean Coot have now been listed under American Coot (White-shielded). Please use this option whenever you successfully identify a Caribbean-type coot and use the American Coot (Red-shielded) option for American-type coots. For more information click here.
![An artist's rendition of the Semper's Warbler (Joseph Smit [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons)](https://www.birdscaribbean.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/06/Sempers-Warbler-LeucopezaSemperiSmit-450x300.jpg)
