Category: Shorebirds

This festive season we introduced 12 fascinating Caribbean birds in our twist on the classic carol The Twelve Days of Christmas. This English Christmas carol was first published in 1780, and presented without accompanying music, in a children’s book of poems and stories Mirth Without Mischief.

It is believed that The Twelve Days of Christmas was intended to help young Catholics learn the tenets of their faith. However, this theory has been widely contested. The origins of the carol are unknown but perhaps it was written as a memory game.

We are certain, however, that no other Christmas carol features birds quite as prominently as The Twelve Days of Christmas. The lyrics are from old Europe with birds that are not found in the Caribbean. We thought it was time for an upbeat version so we put the spotlight on some magnificent migratory and endemic birds of the Caribbean!

If you follow us on social media (Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, LinkedIn), we shared a new bird every day or two for the last several weeks. (#12CaribBirdsOfChristmas) Here, we compile all the bird profiles into one blog in case you are not on social media, missed any, or would like to learn more about these amazing birds.

We really enjoyed curating posts for this series and had the pleasure of reading your lovely comments. Thank you for following along, bird after bird, with us. Let us know which bird was your favorite and why in the comments below .

And do sing along with us on our remix of this classic song! Any singers/ musicians out there—we would love to hear your recorded rendition of the song!!!

Photo credits: West Indian Whistling Duck by Ray Robles, Fernandina’s Flicker by Ken Pinnow, White-breasted Thrasher by Hank Tseng and Adams Toussaint, St Vincent Parrot by Nandani Bridglal , Golden Swallow by Francisco Alba, Jamaican Blackbird by Tom Johnson (ML890623210), Guadeloupe Woodpecker by Frantz Delcroix, Grenada Dove by Greg Homel, Bahama Oriole by Dan Stonko

Twelve Birds of Christmas – BirdsCaribbean Remix

An Oriole in a Pine Tree – Bahama Oriole

🎄On the first day of Christmas, my true love sent to me, A Partridge in a Pear Tree.🎶 But wait, that doesn’t seem quite right for the Caribbean 🤔, so let’s turn up the heat ☀️, amp up the vibrancy, migrate south 🌎, and what do we get…. An oriole in a pine tree 🌲 . That is, of course, the Bahama Oriole. This striking bird stands bright at the tree tops boasting shiny black ⚫️ plumage on its head, back and chest, and bright yellow 🟡 plumage on its shoulders, belly, and rump. It can only be found on Andros Island in the Bahamas 🇧🇸 , where it nests in native pine forests. ⁠
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Unfortunately, this bird faces multiple threats, including brood parasitism from the Shiny Cowbird, depredation by free-ranging domestic cats 🐈 , and habitat loss due to logging and residential development 🏘. There’s also the looming threat of increasingly frequent and severe hurricanes that could easily wipe out the Bahama Oriole’s entire small population 📉. ⁠
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However, all hope is not lost! ✨ Our partners at the Bahamas National Trust and University of Maryland, Baltimore Maryland are doing exciting research to learn more about this species 🤓 and educating local communities on Andros about the importance of its pine forests. Click here for more facts ℹ️, to listen to its song 🎵, and free Bahama Oriole themed activities 🧩 for adults and children! ⁠

Two Grenada Doves

🎄The second day of Christmas, my true love sent to me, Two Turtle Doves 🎶. Those turtle doves are adorable ☺️, but come on down to the southern Caribbean 🌎 and we can do you one better – two Grenada Doves! ⁠
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As their name implies, these shy and elusive birds live only on the island of Grenada 🇬🇩. This somewhat plump dove has brown 🟤 upperparts, buffy cinnamon-colored chest and neck, and grayish forehead, face and crown, with bright pinkish-red 🔴 statement legs and feet. How can you tell you’re looking at the ultra-rare Grenada Dove and not another dove 🧐? Be sure to take a look at its belly where you’ll find a strip of white ⚪️ feathers that extends from its side up around the bend of the wing! ⁠
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The Grenada Dove prefers the coastal dry forests of deciduous thorn-scrub thickets and some emergent trees 🌳. Watch your step 👣 as these doves are typically found on the ground, searching for food; small seeds, fruits 🫐 and insects 🪱. IBut if you aren’t lucky enough to see this dove, keep an ear 👂 out for its characteristic call 🎶 which is a single descending note hooooooo that is repeated every 7-8 seconds. ⁠
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Two Protected Areas have been established for the conservation of the Grenada Dove, but habitat loss remains a major threat. Its coastal habitats are unfortunately prime areas for development by the tourism 🏝 and industry sectors 🏭. We have been working with our partners in Grenada to try and halt 🛑 these unsustainable developments as well as remove mongoose, invasive predators of the Grenada Dove. ⁠Click here to learn more about the Grenada Dove, listen to its song, and access free activities.
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With your support 🙌🏽, we can continue to protect the Critically Endangered Grenada Dove as we work to reverse the trend of habitat loss for this beautiful species. ✨Please consider making a donation.

Three French Peckers – Guadeloupe Woodpecker

🎄On the third day of Christmas, my true love sent to me, Three French hens 🎶. To be honest, that’s not a bad gift 🎁 at all, especially if those hens are good layers 🥚. But domestic fowl 🐓 pale in comparison to some of the wild French birds you can find in the Caribbean 😎, including the Trois Toto bwa —un oiseau magnifique found only in Guadeloupe 🇬🇵! In local French Creole the Guadeloupe Woodpecker is called Toto bwa for the tapping noise it makes.

It appears to be an all black bird ⚫️ however its head and upperparts actually have a blue glossy sheen. Their underparts are a sooty black except for a reddish 🔴 hue on the chest and their tail feathers are brownish-black with blue-black legs. Females look like the male, but are smaller 📏. Interestingly, there are size differences within the island—woodpeckers found on the peaks of Basse-Terre are slightly bigger than those of Grande-Terre!

These fine French birds inhabit all different forest types, including swamp forests and mangroves, but they rely on dead coconut palm trees 🌴 for nesting. They are monogamous and pairs remain in their territory throughout the year. Young woodpeckers will take about a month 📆 to fledge and afterwards juveniles spend several months with their parents. They might even hang around until the next breeding season.

Although considered a Least Concern species, this handsome woodpecker is restricted to the island of Guadeloupe and is threatened by hurricanes 🌀, habitat conversion 🏘 and the removal of dead trees which they depend upon for nesting. Continued protection of this species and conservation of its habitats will help ensure that this beautiful species survives for future generations to enjoy! ✨

For more fun facts about this endemic woodpecker click here!

Four Blackbirds – Jamaican Blackbird

🎄The fourth day of Christmas, my true love sent to me, Four colly birds 🎶. But you had no idea what those were 💬. Did you say “colly birds” or “calling birds”? Our basic research 💻 suggests both phrases are correct, though “colly” is the Old English word for coal while “calling” refers to birds that “call out” in song, or songbirds. Either way, it’s an odd gift, so today we’re featuring a Jamaican endemic that fits both versions; the Jamaican Blackbird 🇯🇲. ⁠
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High up in Cockpit Country and the Blue and John Crow Mountains ⛰ National Park lives the Jamaican Blackbird. It is Endangered, with the greatest threat to its populations stemming from Bauxite mining, agriculture 🌾 and human developments 🏘. This taxonomically and ecologically distinct bird is all black with a slight blue gloss, short bill, legs and tails. Unlike other blackbirds it is mostly found feeding high in the trees 🌳 in montane forest. It feeds by pecking, like a woodpecker, in bromeliads, lichens and mosses, but will also probe tree bark and cavities for beetles 🪲 and caterpillars 🐛 . This bird is more likely to be heard than seen. Its song is a wheezy whee-whee-oooo; common call is a squeaky wheet. 🎶⁠
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Learn more about this fascinating bird here. This species was also an inspiration for an amazing bird song album by our partner Shika Shika, undertaken to raise funds to protect endangered birds in Mexico, Central America and the Caribbean – check out the project and songs here.

✨Together with our on-the-ground partners we work to protect incredibly unique birds like the Jamaican Blackbird that are threatened by habitat loss. Please consider making a contribution and give the gift 🎁 of birds to future generations. ⁠

Five Golden Swallows

🎄The fifth day of Christmas, my true love sent to me…Five gold rings 🎶. But you’re not a materialistic person, nor can you tolerate the environmental impact that comes with the extraction of precious metals 💍, so you looked your lover 💞 in the eye and said “Honey, I’d rather see gold in its natural form – take me birding for Golden Swallows!” ⁠
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The upperparts of male Golden Swallows often appear golden ✨ but are ever-changing as they fly around and catch the sunlight ☀️ at different angles. In a few seconds you might observe a blue-ish 🔵 sheen changing to a golden iridescence that then changes to an olive-green 🟢! Their underparts are white with dusky bronze-green wings and tail. The female on the other hand, is duller, with some gray-brown mottling on the chest. ⁠
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One can spend hours ⏳ watching and being entertained by these amazing birds as they twist 🔀, turn ⤴️ , and dive ⤵️ through the air with incredible grace and precision. They feed on airborne insects like beetles 🪲 and wasps. ⁠
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The Golden Swallow has disappeared from the island of Jamaica 🇯🇲 and is restricted to patches of montane pine forest🌲in Hispaniola. They have possibly disappeared from Jamaica due to lack of food. Insect populations have been steadily decreasing 📉 due to destruction of native habitats as well as the widespread use of chemicals to kill insects ☠️. The good news is that everyone can help by planting native plants 🌱 at home. Native plants attract native insects, and these insects provide lots of food for MANY different bird species 😃. ⁠
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Learn more about the Golden Swallow and access free activities and resources here. Read about our VP 👨🏻‍💼 Justin Procter’s quest to find the Golden Swallow in Jamaica’s Ram Goat Cave.

Six Songbirds Singing – Summer Tanager

🎄The sixth day of Christmas, my true love sent to me, Six Geese-a-laying🎶. While we often think of egg-laying as a beautiful, miraculous event (and it is), have you given any thought to the size of those eggs and the mechanics involved🤔? Needless to say, six geese-a-laying won’t be a peaceful scene, but rather a headache of hissing and honking 📣. Let’s reduce holiday stress where we can and consider down-sizing to six songbirds singing 🎶 instead.

‘Songbirds’ are beautiful passerine birds with melodious songs, a great example is the Summer Tanager. This neotropical migrant has strawberry 🍓 coloured plumage and is quite vocal. Its call is described as pi-tuck or pi-ti-tuck or ki-ti-tuck while its song is similar to that of an American Robin with a series of warbling phrases.

The Summer Tanager is one of many songbirds illegally captured 📦 in Cuba for the pet trade. Although it has a beautiful song, this bird is mainly captured for its ornamental beauty. Sadly, many migratory songbirds like the Indigo Bunting and Rose-breasted Grosbeak, and resident/ endemic birds like the Cuban Bullfinch and Cuban Grassquit, are targeted by trappers for their singing abilities.

Songbird competitions are very popular in Cuba 🇨🇺, Trinidad 🇹🇹, and Venezuela 🇻🇪 , with betting and cash prizes 💰 for the best singer. These birds are inhumanely trapped using cages with lures, perches covered with glue, and nets. Many die from the process or soon after due to improper care. The surviving birds are readily offered for sale on social media 📲 platforms reaching more potential buyers. The songbird trade is rampant in the Caribbean and is emptying our forests of both song and life 😞.

ℹ️ For more information about the alarming numbers of birds illegally captured in Cuba and our proposed strategies to combat this unsustainable and cruel trade please read our investigative report.

This crisis can end with your support 🙌🏽! Please consider making a contribution here. Your gift will help us in our appeals to local governments to enforce the laws mandated to protect birds, help our partners develop a national media campaign, and create other livelihoods like eco-tourism 🏞.

Seven Parrots Squawking – St. Vincent Parrot

🎄The seventh day of Christmas, my true love sent to me Seven Swans a-Swimming🎶. Swans 🦢 are the universal symbol of grace and beauty🪞. But here in the Caribbean, Christmas is a time for noisy merriment and flocking together 🎊 so we present you with Seven Parrots Squawking! ⁠
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The striking Saint Vincent Parrot 🦜 is the national bird of Saint Vincent and the Grenadines 🇻🇨 and is endemic to the island. If you look carefully, it has the yellow 🟡, blue 🔵 and green 🟢 colours of the national flag, making it extra special to Vincentians! ⁠
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There are two colour morphs for this uniquely coloured parrot: yellow-brown (more common) and green. Both have pale heads and bronze-colored underparts, a blue, yellow and orange tail, and green-and-blue flight feathers. ⁠
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The Saint Vincent Parrot can be found in mature rainforest 🏞 along western and eastern slopes of the island’s central mountain range and, occasionally, in nearby cultivated lands. They are loud birds with an impressive vocal repertoire, so listen for their call 🎶 in the early morning ☀️ or late afternoon when they are most active! Males and females look similar and are usually seen flying in pairs but have been observed in flocks foraging on fruits 🥭, seeds, flowers 🌺 and leaves. ⁠
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Its small population of around 850 birds has been slowly increasing however, this vulnerable parrot suffered devastating habitat loss and food scarcity after the La Soufriere volcanic eruptions 🌋 earlier this year. With assistance from BirdsCaribbean donors and other partners, the St Vincent Forestry Dept has been working hard to assess the status of the parrot and restore habitat. You can help to save this iconic bird from extinction. ✨.⁠
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Click here for more facts, to listen to its call, and free Saint Vincent Parrot themed activities 🧩 for adults and children! ⁠

Eight Thrashers Thrashing – White-breasted Thrasher

🎄The eighth day of Christmas, my true love sent to me, Eight Maids-a-Milking🎶. In 15th and 16th century England, the phrase “let’s go-a-milking” was a euphemism for “let’s get married.” 💍 We’re going to update this to the 21st century with a spunky yet elegant Caribbean bird and give you Eight Thrashers Thrashing! While you may not want these birds in your house at Christmas time, they certainly are dashing 🎩! ⁠
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The White-breasted Thrasher, with a chocolate brown 🟤 back, striking white chest, and piercing red 🔴 eye, was described by James Bond as “one of the rarest birds in the West Indies.” Not surprisingly, Bond was onto something! Found only in Saint Lucia 🇱🇨 and Martinique 🇲🇶, where it is known as Gòj Blan and Moqueur Gorge Blanche, respectively, there are fewer than 2,000 thrashers left. White-breasted Thrashers also display a unique behavior called cooperative breeding, where they delay independent breeding, and instead help their parents in raising their siblings – how lucky for Mom and Dad 😊!⁠
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The White-breasted Thrasher population is thought to be declining 📉 due to increased predation by non-native invasive species, such as rats 🐀 , domestic cats 🐈 , and mongoose. Our incredible partners in Saint Lucia safely continued their critical work throughout the pandemic and recorded a total of 19 White-breasted Thrasher nests in 2020 🏆⁠
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✨Learn more about this unique and endangered species here.
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For more information on the White-breasted Thrasher Species Recovery Plan and field work by our partners 📑, supported in part by BirdsCaribbean donors , click here.⁠

Nine Flickers Flicking – Fernandina’s Flicker

🎄On the 9th day of Christmas, my true love sent to me, nine drummers drumming🎶. But of course no drum sticks or snare drums 🥁 showed up, because your true love has style 😎, and appreciates nature’s real drummers – the woodpeckers! So pop some aspirin 💊 and get ready for the ensuing explosive sound of nine Fernandina’s Flickers tearing apart your house’s 🏠 new cedar wood siding.

The island of Cuba 🇨🇺 is home to one of the world’s most threatened flickers – the Fernandina’s Flicker. The male has a buff-cinnamon head with fine black ⚫️ streaking. It has a distinct black malar stripe, sometimes with a red tinge. This mark is absent ❌ in the female. Chin and throat are heavily but finely streaked black. Its bill is black, long, pointed and curved. Its body and tail are largely barred mustard yellow 🟡 and black.

Interestingly you’re likely to see this woodpecker foraging on the ground, in open woodlands and savanna-palm 🌴 habitats, for insects 🕷 , seeds, and worms 🪱 . Pairs nest in both live and old hollowed-out palms and share these breeding trees with other secondary cavity nesting birds such as the American Kestrel, and fellow-endemics the Bare-legged Owl 🦉 and Cuban Parakeet 🦜. During the breeding season, however, the West Indian Woodpecker and Fernandina’s Flicker fight for nesting sites 😠, even though the nesting holes were most likely excavated by the West Indian Woodpecker! The West Indian Woodpecker is very territorial, they will even destroy eggs 🥚 and remove chicks 🐣 of other secondary nesting birds, including those of the Fernandina’s Flicker!

Its population is estimated at no more than 400 pairs with the largest occurring in the Zapata Swamp. It was once common across Cuba but habitat loss due to logging and conversion for agriculture 🌱 have resulted in its patchy distribution. Another major driver is loss of prime nesting sites when dead palms are cut down to illegally collect parrots and parakeets for the pet trade 😞. Learn more about this Cuban endemic here.

Ten Plovers Piping – Piping Plover

🎄On the tenth day of Christmas, my true love sent to me, Ten Pipers Piping🎶. But we’re still in a pandemic 😷 and, where you are, gatherings might be restricted 🚫. Instead we present you with 10 Plovers Piping 😀. ⁠
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Small, chubby, and adorable ☺️, the Piping Plover is a sand-coloured shorebird with white underparts, a black ⚫️ neck band, orange 🟠 legs, and a short stubby beak. Most striking of all, its dark round eyes that give it that “I’m a good cuddler” look. They have a two-part piping whistle 🎵 that drops in pitch, pwee-doo.”
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The Piping Plover breeds in North America but heads south for the winter 🌎. They do not go as far south as other shorebirds, instead they stop off in The Bahamas 🇧🇸 , Turks and Caicos Islands 🇹🇨 and Cuba 🇨🇺 . You are most likely to find them on open sandy beaches, wetlands, and mudflats feeding on small invertebrates. It is also a pretty clever feeder. On the beach 🏝 , after a wave 🌊 rolls up and leaves a glassy film, the Piping Plover will extend one foot slightly forward and vibrate it against water-saturated sand bringing invertebrates in the sand to the surface before pecking 🍽. ⁠
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Developments on beaches 🏙 and lake shores mean Piping Plovers have lost some of their breeding habitats and are now far less common than they used to be 😔. Nesting areas on beaches are now often protected ⚠️ from disturbance to try to help the population grow.⁠
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Making sure they have safe places to feed and rest 💤 in the Caribbean during the winter is also important. Click here for some tips on how you can #ShareTheShore with these lovable little shorebirds. ⁠ And learn more about the Piping Plover and access free activities and resources here.

Eleven egrets dancing – Reddish Egret

🎄The eleventh day of Christmas, my true love sent to me, eleven ladies dancing 💃🏻. Your true love 💗 may have been trying to pull a fast one, knowing all too well that the men usually dance to get the ladies’ attention in the animal kingdom! In the spirit of gender equality, you both get in on the dancing 💃🏻🕺🏻, showing off snazzy moves inspired by Eleven Egrets Dancing. ⁠
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The Reddish Egret is a relatively large and elegant 🪞 bird known for its entertaining feeding behavior – often described as a ‘drunken dance’ 🍻 – running through shallow water with long strides, staggering sideways, leaping in the air ⬆️, raising one or both wings, and abruptly stabbing at fish 🐠 . Holding its wings over the water while hunting is thought to reduce glare and help the egret more accurately sight 👀 and spear its prey – or maybe it’s to regain its balance, we’re not sure! 🤔 ⁠
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During the 1800s this egret and others were hunted almost to extinction for their beautiful feathers 🪶, used to adorn ladies’ hats and other apparel! Thankfully, two women jump started a conservation movement which put an end to the slaughter. You can learn all about this fascinating history in our webinar: https://bit.ly/Killer-Fashion⁠
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Reddish Egrets come in two morphs: the dark morph, with shaggy reddish head 🔴 and neck and slate gray body (more common in the southern U.S. and Mexico); and the more rare white morph, with entirely white plumage ⚪️ (more common in the Bahamas 🇧🇸 and Greater Antilles). Breeding adults of both morphs have a two-toned bill, pinkish at the base and black at the tip.⁠
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The Reddish Egret is our rarest and least-studied Ardeid (Family of herons, egrets, and bitterns) – the total population is estimated at only 7,000 to 11,000 birds. It is a Species of Conservation Concern. ⁠
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✨ Learn more about the Caribbean Waterbird Census (CWC) here and show your support for our citizen science programs like the annual CWC, which gathers critical data to conserve the Reddish Egret and many other threatened birds. ⁠

Twelve Whistlers Whistling – West Indian Whistling-Duck

🎄On the twelfth day of Christmas, my true love sent to me, twelve fiddlers fiddling🎶. A kind gesture, but you’d think that after all this time your true love would have recognized your greater appreciation for acapella-style whistling. It’s an acquired taste that only a refined individual like yourself 😎 could truly appreciate. So redirect those fiddlers to the neighbor’s house 🏡 , and head over to a nearby pond to enjoy a musical production 🎭 of Twelve Whistlers Whistling! ⁠
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We thought it fitting to bring our 12 Birds of Christmas to a close with the grace of the West Indian Whistling-Duck 🦆 . You can only hear the hauntingly beautiful calls of this Caribbean bird at twilight 🌅, when the sun begins to dip toward the horizon. West Indian Whistling-Ducks often remain hidden during the day, roosting in mangrove trees 🌳 or other vegetation, and become active at sunset when they feed.⁠
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This gorgeous mostly-brown duck was once common, but populations are now very small 📉 and isolated on each island. Destruction of wetland habitats, illegal hunting, and invasive predators (like mongoose) have all contributed to the decline of this species. ⁠
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The West Indian Whistling-Duck is our flagship species for the conservation of mangroves and wetlands throughout the West Indies! We have a fun curriculum, “Wondrous West Indian Wetlands—Teachers’ Resource Book,” 📖with many hands-on activities 🧩 to learn 🧠 about wetlands and birds, and other resources available on our website. 😉⁠
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You can also visit our webpage for more facts, to listen to its song, and free West Indian Whistling-Duck themed activities for adults and children! 😃⁠

And now our 12 Caribbean Birds of Christmas Advent calendar is complete!

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December 30, 2021

Field Trips, Videos, Shorebird Education, and a Fabulous Costume Party: Activities on World Migratory Bird Day 2021

November 17, 2021

Shorebirds Under Fire

Our new video, “Caribbean Shorebirds Under Fire,” is the fourth in our series on the plight of our shorebirds, which are facing a drastic decline in numbers. This video highlights the need for well-regulated, sustainable hunting on several Caribbean islands where it is a traditional way of life. It can be disturbing, but we are looking for the way forward. We owe it to our beautiful shorebirds. We hope you will watch, share, and help us find solutions. Content Warning: Birds that have been shot.

This video is also available in French and Spanish.

Hunting has a strong tradition in the Caribbean, with shorebird hunting being especially prevalent on the islands of Guadeloupe, Martinique, and Barbados.

Map of the west Indies with Guadeloupe, Martinique and Barbados highlighted. These islands are important stopover and wintering sites for hundreds of thousands of migratory shorebirds, but many are killed by hunters during migration and winter. (map by Aly Ollivierre)

For example, the history of shorebirds harvest on Barbados dates back to the to the mid-seventeenth century, in the early colonial period when Barbados was settled. As shorebirds visit the region on their fall migration and during winter, they use Caribbean wetlands to rest and refuel, take refuge from adverse weather, and as a winter home.

Some hunters – for example in Barbados – provide such habitats, managing small wetlands (“shooting swamps”) to attract shorebirds. The habitat is vitally important for tired and hungry migrant shorebirds but its use comes at a cost to the birds, as many then become the targets of sport hunting. On the islands of Guadeloupe and Martinique, however, wetlands are more abundant and the opportunities for hunting shorebirds are much broader. Targeted species include Lesser Yellowlegs, Pectoral Sandpiper, Stilt Sandpiper, Short-billed Dowitcher, Greater Yellowlegs, Whimbrel, and American Golden-Plover. We know that these and other shorebird populations in the Atlantic Flyway and the entire planet have drastically declined in numbers (50-90%) over the past 3 decades.

The Sad Story of Machi and Goshen

Whimbrels using a wetland on Guadeloupe. (Photo by Anthony Levesque)

Machi and Goshen were two Whimbrels fitted with satellite tracking tags by scientists at the Center for Conservation Biology. We learned that these two sturdy birds took detours around the violent tropical storms of 2011 and made their way further south through the eastern Caribbean. Machi, in particular, had taken some extraordinary trips in his lifetime, clocking many thousands of miles since he was first tagged in 2009.

But in 2011 – just ten years ago now – a sad fate awaited them. News broke that Machi had been shot by hunters at a swamp in Guadeloupe. The news of Goshen’s death, in the same area, swiftly followed. They had weathered the storms, only to end their lives at the barrel of a gun.

A Flood of Letters, and a Change in Guadeloupe

A dead Hudsonian Godwit, part of a hunters bag on Guadeloupe. — A Hudsonian Godwit as part of a hunters bag on Guadeloupe. (Photo by Anthony Levesque)

At the time, hunting in Guadeloupe and nearby Martinique had few or no regulations on which species could be shot, how many could be shot, or the number of days hunting was allowed. With the spotlight on the issue of shorebird hunting, BirdsCaribbean (then the SCSCB – Society for the Conservation and Study of Caribbean Birds) and partners organized a letter writing campaign. Letters went out in the hundreds – to decision makers in the environmental departments of the French Government, as well as to other key institutions and international organizations. Please, make the harvest of shorebirds more sustainable, the letters urged.

After this campaign, some positive progress was made to Guadeloupe’s hunting regulations. In 2012 and 2013 Red Knot and Solitary Sandpipers were removed from the list of shorebirds that could be hunted. Daily bag limits (20 shorebirds per hunter per day) were introduced and regulations set specific days when hunting was not permitted, giving shorebirds some respite.

On Martinique Red Knots were also removed from the hunting list. However, no bag limits or ‘days off’ were set. It was also clear that on both islands, many declining and threatened shorebird species were still being shot by hunters in numbers that might not be sustainable.

We Must Celebrate the Successes!

So…let’s look at the positives.

Each year in Guadeloupe and Martinique hunting regulations are set by decree (separately for each island). In 2021, besides previous restrictions, shooting of Whimbrels on Guadeloupe was not permitted and the hunting of Hudsonian Godwits was set at two per day. On Martinique shorebird hunting was still allowed for 206 days of the year, with no ‘days off’ from hunting. Although some bag limits were set on Martinique, most were deemed by conservationists to be too high to be sustainable.

shooting swamp on Martinique - a large wetland with makeshift wood path leading to a hunting blind. — A Shooting Swamp on Martinique. (Photo by Yves Aubry)

In the fall of 2021, an alliance of nature protection groups* came together to oppose the 2021-22 decrees in both Guadeloupe and Martinique. They requested the suspension of hunting of the Hudsonian Godwit on Guadeloupe—a species of conservation concern and rare on Guadeloupe. On Martinique, they requested the suspension of hunting of 10 shorebirds and four songbirds, all with poor conservation status on the island. Many BirdsCaribbean members and partners sent in emails (over 1,000) opposing the hunting decree.

Ruling on these requests, a judge banned the hunting of five shorebirds on Martinique (Whimbrel, Hudsonian Godwit, Short-billed Dowitcher, American Golden Plover, and Black-bellied Plover). Martinique also set a bag limit of 20 Lesser Yellowlegs per day per hunter in 2020/21, the first time a restriction has been put in place for this species! On Guadeloupe the hunting of Hudsonian Godwits was also stopped.

It was not an easy task, but the efforts and passion of non-governmental organizations, their members and supporters deserves a huge pat on the back. This was a “win” for shorebirds!

Some Positive Changes to Hunting in Barbados

Hunting decoys, used to attract shorebirds, at a swamp in Barbados. (Photo by John Webster)

Barbados is a small, low-lying island on the far eastern edge of the Lesser Antilles. Because of its rather far-flung position, many shorebirds land on the island to avoid severe storms. Hunting in the early years when birds were abundant provided an opportunistic harvest of shorebirds for food and sport. Over time, opportunistic harvest transitioned to managing land to make it more attractive to shorebirds.

With few remaining natural wetlands, the shooting swamps developed by hunters on the island provide excellent habitats for shorebirds and many non-target waterbird species, both resident and migrants. They will likely rely on these managed wetlands even more in the future as severe storms and drought increase with climate change.

The good news is that shorebird hunting in Barbados has been in decline since the 1990s. A number of shooting swamps have closed, with only five active today. By the late 2000s harvesting had declined from roughly 20– 30,000 to approximately 10,000 annually. Why is this? Well, this is partly because younger people have lost interest in hunting and the cost of hunting is rising. Also, the Barbados Wildfowlers Association, representing a number of shooting swamp owners, decided to self-regulate. The Association recommended voluntary measures to reduce daily and total harvest using suggested daily and seasonal bag limits.

Refuge from the Storm for Shorebirds on Barbados?

On a small island, land and water are precious commodities. Abandoned swamps get used for other purposes, such as agriculture, reducing wetland habitats for birds. So, to maintain such habitats, shorebird refuges came into being. In 2008, the first shorebird refuge was created: Woodbourne Shorebird Refuge as a haven for shorebirds. The greater awareness and appreciation of the value of these wetlands by some members of the hunting community has also contributed to preserving some non-active shooting swamps for shorebirds. They may not be large, but they are some of the best places to observe a wonderful diversity of shorebirds and waterbirds on the island.

Woodbourne Shorebirds Refuge, Barbados. (Photo by John Webster)

What Can We Do?

Here are two facts that are indisputable: Firstly, shorebirds are declining at an unprecedented rate. Taking the example of the Lesser Yellowlegs, its numbers have fallen by 60-70 percent since the 1970s!

Secondly, we believe that we can make a difference if conservationists and hunters work together to build a well-managed, sustainable hunting program. Historically, hunters have played an important role in conservation; for example, the nonprofit Ducks Unlimited has worked with landowners and federal and state agencies to conserve, restore, and manage millions of hectares of wetland habitats for ducks, other wildlife, and people. The dialogue among all stakeholders must continue. We all know that regulations and monitoring are essential, going forward, or the steady decline in shorebirds, most of which are migratory, will continue with disastrous results. So, enforcement of the laws that already exist, and development of future ones, is vital.

It is all doable!

Barbados Needs More Wetlands – Hunters Could Play a Role

As we have noted, Barbados does not have large natural wetlands. What they do have needs to be protected and maintained. Just as in Canada and the United States today, hunters can, and often do, play a vital role in conserving habitat. Now, will hunting become less popular as a pastime in Barbados? If so, the shooting swamps hunters created could become shorebird refuges. If a network of such wetland refuges, including former shooting swamps, could be gradually developed, how marvelous that would be for the shorebirds, for other wildlife – and for the people of Barbados. They could even be the basis for an expansion of eco-tourism, including birding trails for locals and visitors to enjoy.

Let’s Work Together

On Guadeloupe and Martinique, much work needs to be done to bring a sense of balance to the situation. Working together, conservation groups, the island governments and the hunting community can foster a less confrontational state of affairs. The work must continue, because we are all aware that this year’s ruling does not guarantee the same restrictions will apply to the 2022/23 shorebird hunting regulations.

A mixed flock of shorebirds taking off, including Willets and Short-billed Dowitchers, enjoying a Caribbean wetland. — A mixed flock of shorebirds, including Willets and Short-billed Dowitchers, enjoying a Caribbean wetland. (Photo by Ernesto Reyes)

Our shorebirds are under pressure like never before, and we must stop their precipitous decline. Shorebird hunting can be sustainable, with shorebirds thriving for everyone to enjoy. Please take a look at our latest video on shorebird hunting. We welcome your comments, suggestions and support, as we seek solutions. Please share and “like” our shorebird posts on social media.

We promise we will stay focused on this important issue for our precious shorebirds and will update you on any new developments as we go along.

It’s for the shorebirds of the Caribbean!

We thank Environment and Climate Change Canada, the US Fish and Wildlife Service, the Atlantic Flyways Shorebird Initiative, US Forest Service International Programs, film maker Esther Figueroa, talented photographers and videographers, and our partners, members, and donors for your generous support to create this video (fourth in a series!) and carry out Caribbean shorebird and waterbird conservation initiatives.

Please support out shorebird conservation work – thank you!

* Organizations asking for changes to hunting rules: AMAZONA, Association pour la Protection des Animaux Sauvages, Association pour l’Étude et la protection des Vertébrés et végétaux des petites Antilles, L’Association Francophone des Soigneurs Animaliers, Le Carouge, and Ligue pour la Protection des Oiseaux

To learn more about Caribbean shorebirds and our work to conserve them, check out the following articles and links therein:

Discover Caribbean Shorebirds this World Shorebirds Day—New Video!

Caribbean Connections: How Shorebirds Link the Boreal Forests of Canada to the Beaches of the Caribbean

A Year in the Life of a Lesser Yellowlegs

October 15, 2021

A Year in the Life of a Lesser Yellowlegs

Laura McDuffie, a wildlife biologist for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Migratory Bird Management Program, has been tracking the movements of Lesser Yellowlegs on their migration. Find out more about Laura’s work, the amazing journeys that Lesser Yellowlegs make each year and the threats they face along the way! Scroll down to see Laura’s webinar on the Lesser Yellowlegs with much more information on her research. Also check out our NEW short video on Lesser Yellowlegs and hunting in the Caribbean (below and on our YouTube).

Typically, when people think of shorebirds, they envision gangly, long-billed birds probing for invertebrates along sandy or rocky coastlines. But this is not where you are likely to find our study species, the Lesser Yellowlegs! This medium-sized shorebird breeds in the boreal forests of Alaska and Canada. They can be found in a diversity of wetland habitats during migration and overwintering in the Caribbean and Central and South America. This includes salt, brackish, and freshwater ponds and swamps, mud flats, mangroves, and other water edges. They are particularly fond of freshwater swamps and may also be found in large numbers on flooded agricultural fields (especially rice fields) if available, as in Suriname, Cuba, and Trinidad.

Shorebirds in Trouble

Over the past five decades, shorebirds have declined at an unprecedented rate. Factors causing this decline include habitat destruction and alteration, agrochemical applications, climate change, and for some shorebirds, including the Lesser Yellowlegs, unsustainable harvest at several non-breeding locations. Harvest occurs as sports hunting in the Caribbean, as well as hunting and trapping for sale as food, as a source of income in other parts of the flyway. Lesser Yellowlegs populations have declined by an alarming 63 ̶70% since the 1970s!

Keeping Track of Lesser Yellowlegs

Tagged Lesser Yellowlegs. (Photo By Laura McDuffie)

In May 2016, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Migratory Bird Management Program began deploying tracking devices (light-level geolocators) on breeding Lesser Yellowlegs in Anchorage, Alaska. Our goal was to determine where the species occurs during the non-breeding season. In 2017, birds returned to the breeding sites. To our dismay, however, they were incredibly difficult to recapture so that we could retrieve the tags and the data. This serious predicament ultimately made us have a “rethink” about our objectives for the Program. As a result, we expanded the range of our study to include collaborations with Kanuti National Wildlife Refuge, Alaska; Yellowknife, Northwest Territories; Ft. McMurray, Alberta; Churchill, Manitoba; James Bay, Ontario, and Mingan Archipelago, Quebec.

During the summers of 2018-2021, partners at Alaska Department of Fish and Game (Katherine Christie), USFWS (Christopher Harwood), Environment and Climate Change Canada (Jennie Rausch, Christian Friis, and Yves Aubrey), and Trent University (Erica Nol) deployed Lotek wireless GPS pinpoint tags on breeding adults. These tags record data via satellite so recaptures are not required! The GPS tags are accurate to ~10m, which has allowed us to examine the occurrence of Lesser Yellowlegs in countries where shorebirds are harvested. Since 2018, we have successfully deployed 115 GPS tags on Lesser Yellowlegs!

Amazing Journeys Revealed

Each bird we tag and release has their movements tracked, which mean we can identify the different countries they visit and specific sites they use during migration and overwintering. This information can help us to identify the potential bottlenecks and threats that birds experience each year.

Here is just one amazing journey made by “JP” who was tagged in Anchorage, Alaska in 2018. The tag revealed that he travelled at least 10,576 km on his southward migration, taking in Alberta and Manitoba, Canada, and Devils Lake, North Dakota, on his way through North America. JP then spent a whole month on Barbuda! This highlights how important the Caribbean can be as a rest and refueling spot for some shorebirds. Finally, JP made it to Middenstandspolder, in Suriname, where his tag went offline in February 2019.

We don’t know why JP’s tag stopped transmitting. It was not uncommon in our study to have incomplete tracklines. For these birds, the battery of the tag may have failed, or the harness could have fallen off and left the tag lying covered in mud, unable to recharge and transmit. However, we do know that some birds don’t survive the long journey.

Thanks to strong collaborations with biologists working in the Caribbean, we were able to receive some shorebird harvest reports. In fall 2020, we learned that two of our tagged birds “O2A” and “A65” were shot by hunters in Guadeloupe and Martinique, respectively. This shows that hunting isn’t only a “predicted threat” to the birds we studied, but also a real and observed threat.

Migration map of Lesser Yellowlegs “A65” wearing a GPS tracking tag. A65 was harvested in fall 2020 in Martinique, French West Indies.

Dead Lesser Yellowlegs with GPS tag and leg bands. — Lesser Yellowlegs with GPS tag “A65” was harvested in Martinique by a hunter on its southbound migration. We are thankful to hunters for reporting tagged birds to us!

Migration map of Lesser Yellowlegs O2A — Migration map of Lesser Yellowlegs “O2A” wearing a GPS tracking tag. O2A was harvested in fall 2020 in Guadeloupe, French West Indies.

find out more about Lesser Yellowlegs and hunting in the Caribbean in this short video

Globally, Lesser Yellowlegs are in steep decline, with likely only 400,000 individuals remaining. Our research on the species has helped identify several potential threats, but we still need to learn more about the hazards these birds face. So, we must rely on assistance from local biologists, managers, hunters, and the public in the Caribbean and beyond.

The proper management of a species ensures that it will be around for future generations to enjoy and utilize. Awareness and education about the species decline and an understanding of the threats it faces can go a long way! When the general public is aware of an issue, they are more likely to take actions. These might include helping to monitor birds, conserving local wetlands, or ensuring that hunting laws protect vulnerable species. They may even participate in scientific efforts, such as submitting shorebird harvest records to managers. Awareness, information gathering and partnerships are critical components in helping us to protect these unique shorebirds.

Laura McDuffie holding shorebird chicks — Laura McDuffie, in the field, with Lesser Yellowlegs chicks. (Photo by Zak Pohlen)

Laura McDuffie has been studying the breeding and migration ecology of Alaska’s shorebirds and landbirds since 2014. In spring 2021, Laura completed her master’s degree in biological sciences at the University of Alaska Anchorage. Laura’s thesis is entitled “Migration ecology and harvest exposure risk of Lesser Yellowlegs.”

This study would not have been possible without the tremendous efforts of our collaborators. Our gratitude goes out to the following people: Brad Andres, Yves Aubry, Erin Bayne, Christophe Buidin, Katherine Christie, Ken Foster, Christian Friis, Autumn-Lynn Harrison, Christopher Harwood, James Johnson, Kevin Kardynal, Benoit Laliberte, Peter Marra, Erica Nol, Jennie Rausch, Yann Rochepault, Sarah Sonsthagen, Audrey Taylor, Lee Tibbitts, Ross Wood, Jay Wright, and all the field technicians that helped with banding. Kristy Rouse, Cassandra Schoofs, and Brent Koenen with Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson’s 673rd CES/CEIS supported the project from the beginning and were instrumental in the DoD’s recognition of lesser yellowlegs as a Species of Special Concern. Funding sources include the Alaska Department of Fish and Game, Bird Studies Canada; Environment and Climate Change Canada, the Smithsonian Institution; the 673rd CES/CEIS, U.S. Department of the Air Force; and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.

Learn more details about Laura’s fascinating research on lesser yellowlegs’ migration by watching this webinar, recorded for world migratory bird day, OCtober, 2021.

September 6, 2021

Caribbean Connections: How Shorebirds Link the Boreal Forests of Canada to the Beaches of the Caribbean

On World Shorebirds Day, Benoit Laliberté, a Shorebird Biologist with the Canadian Wildlife Service, tells us about the connections between the shorebirds that breed in Canada and the Caribbean and shares his thoughts on the main conservation issues for shorebirds in the Caribbean.

Shorebirds are fascinating. Given their size, it can be hard to even try to imagine the incredible journeys they accomplish every year on migration. For example, Red Knots can fly more than 30,000 km annually! It is amazing that these birds weigh only 180g but can fly from the Canadian tundra to the tip of Tierra del Fuego, and back, within 10 months. Because these birds travel to (and stop over in) so many different countries, their conservation requires us to take a multi-national approach.

Enjoy our short video, created in honor of World Shorebirds Day 2021!

Conservation Across Borders

How do we address this cross-border challenge? To do this, the shorebird conservation community has developed flyway conservation initiatives. Flyways are major routes, like ‘migration highways,’ that shorebirds use to travel from breeding to wintering areas and back. Here in the Americas they are: the Atlantic, the Pacific and the Mid-continental Flyways. The Caribbean islands are located in the Atlantic Flyway

Migration routes of shorebirds on the Atlantic Flyway; many other migratory birds follow these same routes. (map courtesy of the Atlantic Flyway Shorebird Initiative)

The Atlantic Flyway Shorebird Initiative (AFSI) aims to conserve and protect the 30 or so species of shorebirds that use this route. These birds range from the small Plovers and Sandpipers to the large Whimbrels and Godwits. Unfortunately, the ongoing, ceaseless deterioration of our planet has led to large declines in shorebird populations. Across all shorebird species that occur in Canada – most of which also travel to the Caribbean – this decrease in numbers is estimated at -40% since 1970. However, the drop is much steeper for some species, like the Red Knot (-70% since 2000) or the Lesser Yellowlegs (-65% since 1970). In fact, many shorebirds are at the top of the list of ‘species of conservation concern’ worldwide.

Why are Shorebirds in Trouble?

Lesser Yellowlegs are a common migratory shorebird in the Caribbean; they are also one of the most hunted shorebirds in the Atlantic Flyway. (photo by Hemant Kishan)

The main threats to shorebirds in the Atlantic Flyway are hunting, predators, human disturbance, habitat loss and change, and climate change. Most of these occur in the Caribbean, but the threats of hunting, habitat loss, and climate change are the most relevant for the region.

We know that shorebirds are hunted on Barbados, Martinique and Guadeloupe. If we are able to address the threat of hunting, we in the conservation community can make rapid gains. This does not mean that hunting should be banned. In Canada and the United States, we have more than 100 years of experience working with hunters to develop sustainable hunting policies and working with the hunting community to conserve and restore bird habitats. We need to focus on raising awareness about this threat, measuring its impacts, and developing sustainable hunting policies that will allow birds to thrive and hunters to pursue their hobby – now, and in the future.

Habitat loss is more difficult for us to tackle. Shorebirds use a variety of habitats, whether it is beaches, intertidal sandflats and mudflats, mangroves, or salt, brackish, and freshwater ponds. This means that multiple types of developments and changes, for example those that alter the wetland’s hydrology, can threaten the shorebirds’ homes. Secondly, changes to habitat can ‘creep’ in slowly, with both human developments and the impacts of climate change gradually changing the places where shorebirds live – or removing those places altogether. Damaged habitats can take a long time to recover, so it is imperative to ensure that those that are still relatively intact are conserved for future generations.

What Can We Do the Help Shorebirds?

Red Knot in August molting from breeding plumage to plain winter plumage which is all gray. Red Knots have declined markedly in the last 25 years. Some Red Knots winter in the Caribbean; many use the islands as a refueling stop on their long journeys to South America. (photo by Hemant Kishan)

We need to make sure that key places for shorebirds are identified. To do this we need to carry out surveys such as the Caribbean Waterbird Census (CWC). Information from these surveys can help identify and increase protection for vital shorebird habitats. Local communities have a key role to play. Anyone can carry out CWC surveys! BirdsCaribbean has provided training for people across the region on Shorebird ID and how to carry out surveys, both online and in person.

Shorebirds need safe habitats with clean water and abundant invertebrate food, when they stop during migration. As climate change increases the frequency and severity of hurricanes, it is possible that the Caribbean will play a bigger role for migrating shorebirds. Shorebirds are migrating through the region during the peak hurricane season. The wetland habitats on Caribbean islands should serve as refuge for these birds. This means local initiatives to restore and clean-up habitats can help shorebirds. Recent projects to restore mangroves in Puerto Rico and increase awareness of shorebirds in Montserrat, through community initiatives like beach clean-ups, will help both shorebirds and people!

Curbing the decline of shorebird populations needs global cooperation. It might seem like an overwhelming task, but every little step helps. To ensure future generations are in a good position to continue the work we start today, we need to spread the word. As a child, I was fortunate to get involved in activities that got me interested in nature and birds, and this inspired me to pursue a career in conserving biodiversity. Outreach and education programs, such as BirdsCaribbean’s BirdSleuth Caribbean, Wondrous West Indian Wetlands, World Migratory Bird Day, and the Caribbean Endemic Bird Festival help to raise awareness and build a sense of responsibility in our communities. They do have long-term positive impacts, especially among our younger citizens.

As a final remark, I hope that as you read this post you have learned a little bit more about shorebird conservation and are reminded that small actions can make a difference. Learning is knowing. Knowing is loving. And loving is caring.

Ajhermae White helps students of the Grade 5 class of Look Out Primary School with shorebird ID during their field trip at Marguerita Bay. (Photo by Stephen Mendes)

Please enjoy and share our video!

Many thanks to Environment and Climate Change Canada, the US Fish and Wildlife Service, the Atlantic Flyways Shorebird Initiative, US Forest Service International Programs, film maker Esther Figueroa, talented photographers and videographers, and our partners, members, and donors for your generous support to create this video (second in a series!) and carry out Caribbean shorebird and waterbird conservation initiatives.

Learn more about World Shorebirds Day and watch our first video “Discover Caribbean Shorebirds” here.

Join the Global Shorebird Count – September 1-7, 2021 – learn more here!

We hope that you will be able to visit many areas across your island and invite local birders and/or birding groups to get involved. Note that shorebirds are a type of waterbird; any tallies you do, whether it is at wetlands, mangroves, mud flats, coastal areas or beaches, are also considered as Caribbean Waterbird Census (CWC) counts. To increase the value of your count to science, be sure to count ALL birds at your site, including seabirds, herons and egrets, land birds, and so on.

Complete instructions on how to do a Global Shorebird Count/ Caribbean Waterbird Census count are available here and here; Shorebird ID resources are available here. Before you head out, it might well be helpful to watch our webinars on Waterbird ID and Shorebird ID to bone up on your ID skills!

August 28, 2021

Celebrate World Shorebirds Day and Join the Global Shorebird Count: September 1-7, 2021

September is right around the corner and migratory shorebirds are making their way south. Please join us this World Shorebirds Day to learn more about these fascinating birds and what you can do to help protect them. Take part in this year’s Global Shorebird Count and check out our cool resources for honing your ID skills and count techniques. We also have free, fun activities for kids and the whole family – read on!

Global Shorebird Count 2021

This year’s Global Shorebird Count will take place from September 1 to 7, 2021. All across the Caribbean and beyond, intrepid birders will be compiling checklists from island to island and recording them on eBird Caribbean. BirdsCaribbean urges you to participate! Our migratory shorebirds are more vulnerable than ever, threatened by human activities such as destruction of their habitats, pollution, disturbance, and climate change. In some countries they are hunted. Altogether this has led to severe declines in populations of shorebirds around the world.

Where are these fascinating birds to be found? While you will find them on shores and beaches, some shorebirds use habitats further inland, including freshwater and brackish marshes and ponds. Shorebirds are also fond of salt ponds, mud flats, mangrove areas, and tidal flats. Check out the new video we created in honor of this year’s World Shorebirds Day!

Make Your Shorebirds Count—Submit & Share Your Data!

A Piping Plover – the first seen in Jamaica! (Photo by Ann Sutton).

We encourage you to register to participate in the count and be sure share your eBird Caribbean checklist(s) with worldshorebirdsday – the eBird username of World Shorebirds Day. You can find guidelines for sharing checklists here.

eBird Caribbean is a critical tool for tracking and understanding bird migration and population changes – never more so than for our shorebirds. If you do not have an account, it is easy to register – here’s a quick guide to enter eBird data online. There is even a free eBird Essentials course to get you fully oriented. Download the free mobile app for recording your data in the field.

Note that shorebirds are a type of waterbird and any counts you do at wetlands, mangroves, mud flats, coastal areas or beaches at any time of year count as Caribbean Waterbird Census (CWC) counts. When you do your counts Please choose one of the CWC protocols in the eBird app or when you submit or edit your data online. When you are using the app make sure that you are using the eBird Caribbean Portal. To check or change the portal you are using go into your settings on the app and look for “Portal”. To increase the value of your count to science, be sure to count ALL birds at your site, including seabirds, herons and egrets, land birds, etc.

What if you spot a bird with a band on its leg?

While counting shorebirds you may see birds; especially Piping Plovers, Red Knots, Semipalmated Sandpipers, Semipalmated Plovers, Ruddy Turnstones, and Sanderlings, with colourful bands around their legs. Do your best to record the band colors and any numbers or letters – see guidance in the handy graphic. Binoculars or zoom photography may allow you to clearly see the band colors and the numbers engraved onto the band. Scientists use this information to track bird populations and migrations.

You may report your sightings to BandedBirds.org and the USGS Bird Banding Lab which oversee all banding in the United States.

Handout from the US Fish and Wildlife Service that provides information about Piping Plover banding locations and how to read the flags.

Global Shorebird Count 101

After years of participating in the Global Shorebird Count we have created a list of some best practice tips to help make your count go as smoothly as possible. You may download and share this infographic with your fellow birders.

If you do not already have a favorite place to look at shorebirds, before doing your Global Shorebird Counts, you might need to choose your birding spot. Shorebirds can show up in many different types of wetlands from mangroves, to mudflats, saltponds, marshes, and beaches! If you are unsure where to find shorebirds near you why not take a look for ‘hotspots’ at your local wetlands on eBird. Just click on ‘Explore’ on the eBird Caribbean website, and find ‘Explore Hotspots’. You can open hotspots in a map and then click on a hotspot to see what type of birds have been seen there recently. When you visit your shorebird spot be sure to find a good place to count birds from – you need to have a clear view of the birds, but not be so close you disturb them!

Shorebirds can be challenging to identify, and some species are especially difficult to tell apart. If you have binoculars, a spotting scope or a camera with a good zoom lens don’t forget to take them along. These will help you get a closer look to pick out the ID features, without disturbing the birds. Of course, don’t forget to take you favorite bird ID guide with you when you do your shorebird counts. You might want to print out one of our handy Shorebird ID cards! In fact, you could even do a bit of ‘shorebird studying’ before you go using our useful reference guides and our CWC and Shorebird ID webinars. You can find all these free resources here.

Fun activities to engage kids in exploring wetlands and beaches

These activities were not designed to teach a child how to name and identify shorebirds but rather to give them space to explore and feel connected to their natural environment. Parents and guardians, you will not need to worry about your own knowledge of birds or plants. All you need to do is accompany and participate with your child in these activities.

Beach Scavenger Hunt. This activity is suitable for children ages 4 to 7 years old. They are asked to find plants and animals at the beach.

Beach Bird Bingo. This activity is suitable for children ages 8 to 12 years old. They are asked to find items on the list four in a row, horizontally, vertically or diagonally. They do not need to touch or collect any of the items on the list.

Talk about this with your children before beginning any of the activities. They should not touch or collect items on the lists. When observing birds they should speak softly. They do not need to get close to the birds but if they need to, ask them to do so slowly and quietly. You can check off the items (with a pencil or pen), as they are located. When everyone has had a chance to look for the items listed, come back together to chat about what they were able to find or see. For example, why is the bird’s beak long and straight?

World Shorebirds Day 2021 postcard. This activity is suitable for any age. Print and colour the postcard – sides 1 and 2. Then share it with a friend or family member.

Don’t forget to reward your junior birders with a scoop of their favourite ice cream!

They may also enjoy this Snowy Plover colouring book. You can print the colouring book and carry to the beach, just remember to pack the colouring pencils or crayons.

Get Social for Shorebirds

Celebrating World Wetlands day on Jamaica (Photo by Paula-Anne Porter)

This activity is suitable for anyone 12 years and older. Take photos at your local wetland, beach, mud flat, salt pond, or swamp, and share them on social media; Facebook, Instagram and Twitter, and tag us @birdscaribbean and use the hashtag #worldshorebirdsday2021. The categories are:

Caribbean Shorebirds: snap a pic of a shorebird you saw at your local beach, mud flat, pond or swamp. Please also use the hashtag: #Caribshorebirds

Share the Shore: show us how you are helping shorebirds. For tips on how you can help shorebirds when you visit the beach, check out this blog. Please also use the hashtag: #sharetheshore

My Local Wetland: share a beautiful landscape or seascape photo of your local wetland or if you’re not camera shy, take a selfie in the habitat. Please also use the hashtag: #mylocalwetland and #HumansofBirdsCaribbean

Use a phone or any other camera that is available, but you must tag @birdscaribbean and use the hashtags provided. We look forward to seeing and sharing your amazing photos and reading your stories.

August 27, 2021

Discover Caribbean Shorebirds this World Shorebirds Day—New Video!

World Shorebirds Day, on Monday, September 6, is just around the bend. In honor of this annual global event, BirdsCaribbean created a new video to celebrate Caribbean shorebirds. From plump plovers to wave-catching Sanderlings to stately Stilt Sandpipers, shorebirds are delightful birds to get to know and love. Enjoy our short video and learn more about how you can help to conserve these treasures of our beaches and wetlands.

It is prime time to learn about and celebrate the diversity of shorebirds in the Caribbean. During late summer and early fall, our resident shorebirds, like the Killdeer and Wilson’s Plover, are joined by long-distance migrants, such as the Lesser Yellowlegs, Willet, Spotted Sandpiper, and many more. These migratory birds have just completed their breeding seasons, hopefully with much success, in the northern U.S. and Canada. Now, many are passing through the Caribbean, stopping to rest and feed as they travel to wintering areas further south. Other bird arrivals may stay with us for the entire winter.

Shorebirds are a diverse group of wading birds that live close to water—you can find them on our beaches, mangroves, marshes, salt ponds, and mudflats. Many can be easily identified by their long legs or unique bills, which are especially adapted to their diet and habitat. For example, the long, thin, probing bill of the Black-necked Stilt is ideal for plucking worms and crabs from sticky mud; while the Ruddy Turnstone, with his short, stubby bill, is adept at flipping over stones and shells to find tasty insects on the beach.

Hover over each image to see the caption; click on each photo to see it larger and to view images as a gallery

Ruddy Turnstone in winter plumage on a beach

A Ruddy Turnstone in winter plumage. This shorebird is easy to identify from its short bright orange legs and stout ‘triangular’ bill. (Photo By Charles Sharp).

The Killdeer is one of our Caribbean residents, and can be found here year-round. (Photo By Lorie Shaull).

The striking Black-necked Stilt has long legs for wading into deep water to find food. (Photo by Dan Pancamo).

Migratory shorebirds make amazing journeys of thousands of kilometres! Beforehand, they need to store enough energy in the form of fat reserves to migrate. These small birds will eat until they are about double their normal weight. You may think that flying at their top weight would slow shorebirds down, but they are the marathon-winners of flight. Incredibly, this group of birds does not do any soaring, they are physically flapping the entire way!

Sadly, shorebird numbers have declined by roughly forty percent over the last 50 years, due to a number of threats. An increase in developments and various types of pollution have resulted in their habitats being degraded or even lost altogether. Human disturbance, hunting, and climate change…All these factors threaten shorebirds. Please join us this World Shorebirds Day to learn more about these fascinating birds and what you can do to help protect them.

Join the Global Shorebird Count, September 1 to 7 – every shorebird counts!

One of the main activities of World Shorebirds Day is the Global Shorebird Count. We encourage bird enthusiasts in the region to go out and count shorebirds from the 1st to 7th September 2021.

Leucistic (white) Willet, with two other Willets — Spot the difference! A leucistic Willet seen in Zapata Swamp, Cuba. (Photo By Ernesto Reyes).

Your counts will help us to understand which species (and how many) are stopping to rest and feed in the Caribbean. This allows us to assess the health of populations and to determine whether they are increasing, decreasing, or stable. The data you collect will also help scientists to coordinate follow-up research and conservation actions, such as protecting important sites – or even taking immediate action to reduce threats to shorebirds and their environments, if necessary.

So, grab your binoculars, hat, waterboots, and field guide and head to your favorite muddy, sandy, or watery birding spot! Yes, it might get messy. You never know what new birds you might see, and there have been some remarkable discoveries over the years. Since the beginning of the Global Shorebird Count and the Caribbean Waterbird Census, new species have been recorded in the Caribbean. For example, in 2016 Ann Sutton spotted the first Piping Plover ever seen in Jamaica on Pedro Pond, and in 2018 a BirdsCaribbean birding tour in Cuba came across a leucistic (white) Willet in the Zapata Swamp. In addition, we have also greatly expanded our knowledge and conservation of the habitats and sites that shorebirds use across the region, thanks to our many citizen science shorebirders.

Be sure to follow your country’s COVID-19 safety guidelines, have fun and definitely tag us, @birdscaribbean, in your photos on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter. We look forward to seeing your amazing photos and reading your stories!

Please enjoy and share our video!

Many thanks to Environment and Climate Change Canada, the US Fish and Wildlife Service, the Atlantic Flyways Shorebird Initiative, US Forest Service International Programs, film maker Esther Figueroa, talented photographers and videographers, and our partners, members, and donors for your generous support to create this video (first in a series!) and carry out Caribbean shorebird and waterbird conservation initiatives.

August 24, 2021

Oldest Birding Group in Cuba Wins Prestigious Ralph W. Schreiber Award at the 2021 AOS Awards!

BirdsCaribbean extends heartfelt congratulations to our dedicated partners from the Bird Ecology Group (BEG) in Cuba, led by Dr. Martin Acosta Cruz. The group has received the American Ornithological Society’s (AOS) Ralph W. Schreiber Conservation Award. We applaud BEG members: Lourdes M. Mugica Valdés, Alieny González Alfonso, Ianela García Lau, Alejandro Rodriguez Ochoa, Daniela Ventura del Puerto, and Elio A. Fontes Otero; and former BEG members Orlando Torres Fundora, Dennis Denis Ávila, Ariam Jiménez Reyes Antonio, Rodríguez Suarez, and Jose L. Ponce de León García. Hats off to you all, we are so proud!

group photo - Bird Ecology Group, University of Havana, Cuba — Part of the current Bird Ecology Group at the University of Havana, Cuba. Left to right: Elio Fontes, Ianela Garcia, Martín Acosta, Alieny González Alfonso, Lourdes Mugica, Daniela Ventura y Alejandro Rodriguez

Who was Dr. Schreiber?

The annual AOS award, named for Dr. Ralph Schreiber, honors extraordinary conservation-related scientific contributions by an individual or small team. Dr. Schreiber was an ornithologist and curator of birds and mammals at the Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County. He is well known for his studies of Pacific seabirds, including the Brown Pelican, and the effects of El Niño on bird and mammal populations. The El Niño phenomenon occurs when the surface of the tropical Pacific Ocean becomes unusually warm, especially at the equator and along the coasts of South and Central America, disrupting the availability of fish populations that these birds feed on.

All about the Bird Ecology Group (BEG)

Drs. Martin Acosta and Lourdes Mugica in the field in Cuba.

Since 1978, the BEG has dedicated its research work to Cuban bird ecology. Motivated by their unwavering fascination for birds, its members have worked hard, overcoming many financial and logistic al obstacles. The BEG has combined university teaching with research, capacity building, and environmental education, to contribute significantly to the knowledge and conservation of Cuban birds.

The group’s research has led to the publication of 128 peer-reviewed papers and 18 books. The most recently published book, Ecología de las aves acuáticas en las arroceras de Cuba (Ecology of Waterbirds in the Rice Fields in Cuba), describes research on the birds that are connected with the second most important agricultural crop in the country, and the importance of the rice paddies for their conservation.

The BEG has proposed two new protected areas in two important coastal wetlands: those south of Los Palacios, and the Delta del Agabama. It has supported the proposal for five Cuban Important Bird Areas (IBAs): CU003 Humedal Sur de Pinar del Río; CU006 Ciénaga de Zapata; CU009 Humedal Sur de Sancti Spiritus; CU014 Río Máximo-Cayo Guajaba, and CU020 Delta del Cauto. The group also recommended the inclusion of the West Indian Whistling-Duck and the Masked Duck in the Red Book of Threatened Species of Cuba and the Birdlife Red Data Bird List. BEG members are engaged in the study of waterbird species; the structure of bird communities in coastal ecosystems; the ecology of birds using rice paddies and shrimp farms; and birds using Havana city ecosystems (mangroves, parks, and botanical gardens).

The BEG: Busy with Piping Plovers

Since 2016, the BEG has annually surveyed between 68 to 180 km of coastline to assess the conservation status of wintering Piping Plovers frequenting the Cuban archipelago. In this same year they reported the highest number of individuals for Cuba:104 plovers! Through many hours of dedicated band resighting (finding and reporting band numbers of plovers that have come to Cuba for the winter) they have also helped to identify the breeding origin of wintering Piping Plovers on Cuban coastlines. And while other islands continue to battle with hunting quotas and regulations, the BEG has successfully banned the hunting of two historical game species in Cuba: the endemic and threatened West Indian Whistling-Duck and White-Crowned Pigeon. The group has also carried out years of vital Caribbean Waterbird Census counts at Cuba’s many important wetlands to learn more about numbers and trends of resident and migratory waterbirds and shorebirds.

A group of Piping Plovers foraging in Cayo Paredon Grande, Cuba. (Photo by Martin Acosta)

A banded Piping Plover at Guanabo Beach, Cuba, east of Havana City — A banded Piping Plover sighted by the Bird Ecology Group at Guanabo Beach, Cuba, east of Havana City (photo by Karen-Aguilar)

BEG has received many awards and plaudits!

Both internationally and locally, the BEG has received significant commendations for its efforts to protect Cuban birds and expand our understanding of bird ecology. In the past 42 years the small team has accepted 48 prestigious awards. Internationally, the BEG received the Whitley Award for Birdlife Conservation in 2002 and the Continuation Award; and the Silver Award from BP Conservation Award in 2002. Dr. Martin Acosta Cruz and Lourdes M. Mugica Valdés have received Lifetime Achievement Awards in 2001 and 2017, respectively, from BirdsCaribbean. Ianela García Lau received the Founders Award from BirdsCaribbean for outstanding student research, while she and Alieny González Alfonso received the Educators Award for their leadership in organizing bird festivals and bird education projects in Cuba. Lourdes was honored with an Honorary Fellowship from AOS in 2020.

group photo: The Bird Ecology Group after receiving the National Environment Award from the Cuban government. — The Bird Ecology Group after receiving the National Environment Award from the Cuban government in 2008. From left to right: Antonio Rodriguez, Alieny Gonzalez, Martin Acosta, Lourdes Mugica, José Luis Ponce.

The local scientific community has also recognized their invaluable contributions. Two members have received the Carlos J. Finlay Order (the highest recognition given by the Cuban government for personal outstanding contributions to science). Martin and Lourdes have each received the Lifetime Achievement Award from the Havana University President. The BEG remains the only research group to have won the National Environmental Award, given by the Cuban Government. They have also won five Academy Awards from the Cuban Academy of Sciences.

Nurturing the ornithologists and educators of the future

The BEG also places emphasis on training and supporting the future ornithologists of Cuba and beyond. So far, nine PhD theses, 14 Masters theses. and 46 undergraduate theses have been supervised by BEG ornithologists. Three more PhD theses and 2 Master theses are in progress.

In addition to providing quality tertiary education to students, the BEG extends its capacity building to staff from Cuban protected areas and other conservation institutions. Over 127 participants have benefited from these workshops. The group has also provided teacher-training workshops for primary and secondary school teachers – a total of 120 participants, in both urban and rural regions of the island. These workshops have enabled teachers to encourage student enquiry, feed their curiosity, and deepen their understanding of ornithological concepts.

Dr. Lourdes Mugica and the Bird Ecology Group share educational materials on birds with the local community and children, Caribbean Endemic Bird Festival.

The thriving Caribbean Endemic Bird Festival in Cuba

For the past 15 years, the BEG has been the Cuban organizers of the Caribbean Endemic Bird Festival, a month-long festival to celebrate birds only found within the region. BEG members have worked to promote the value of and foster respect for Cuban birds and ecosystems among the public, using a mix of traditional (TV, radio, print) and new media (social media and apps). An astonishing 3,622 activities have taken place in the 15 Cuban provinces, with the participation of about 166,000 people, mainly children.

We are extremely proud to support and work alongside the Bird Ecology Group to study, conserve, and educate about Cuban birds and look forward to continuing our vibrant partnership. We wish the team many more years of success!

Alieny and child birding in Cuba for the Caribbean Endemic Bird Festival — Alieny Gonzalez shows a young child how to use binoculars to see a bird for the Caribbean Endemic Bird Festival in Cuba. (photo by Lourdes Mugica)

Ianela Garcia (left) and Alieny González (right) during a shorebirds habitat use study in Rïo Máximo Fauna Refuge. (photo by Lourdes Mugica)

June 30, 2021

Help Us Find the ‘Missing’ Red Knots! Do a CWC Count July 10-20

Red Knots are known for their extraordinary long-distance migrations. On the Atlantic Flyway they head north from their main wintering areas in South America to breed in the Arctic, traveling as far as 15,000 km each way! Here in the Caribbean, they winter in small numbers on various islands, and we see them also during Fall and Spring migration. Counts of birds on northward migration are way down from previous years, causing great concern. Did something different happen this year? Where are the missing Red Knots? We need your help to find out!

Target count dates are July 10-20, but counts at any time during July are welcome!

When Red Knots migrate north to their breeding grounds they will stop along the way to refuel, gathering in large flocks at key sites to rest and feed. These sites are vital for Red Knots and other shorebirds to re-build fat reserves before completing their long journeys north to breed. Counting birds at these sites can give us an indication of how the populations of these birds are faring.

You may have heard that this year, on spring migration, a very steep decline in Red Knot numbers was recorded at one such site. The count of Red Knots at Delaware Bay (New Jersey, and Delaware) where knots gather in huge numbers to gorge on the eggs of spawning Horseshoe Crabs, was just 6,800. This is an alarmingly low count compared to the 19,000 seen last year, and 30,000 seen in 2018 and 2019. In fact, this year’s count was the lowest recorded since the 1980s when the population was about 90,000.

Help Us Find Out What Happened: CWC count July 10-20

We are asking for your help in July to try to understand what happened. It is possible that some of the ‘missing’ Red Knots decided not to migrate north and spent the breeding season in their wintering areas or stopped their journeys before reaching this key stopover site. As part of an international coordinated effort, we would like you to carry out a Caribbean Waterbird Census (CWC) count at wetlands and beaches you know are good for shorebirds, from July 10 – 20. These are the key dates for the coordinated count, but if you cannot make it out during this period doing a CWC count at any time in July will also help.

Red Knots in Trouble

Red Knot molting in September with some patches of rusty plumage showing. — A Red Knot, in in September still showing some remnants of breeding plumage. (Photo by Hemant Kishan)

We already know that Red Knots are in trouble, like many other shorebirds. They are threatened by climate change, loss of habitat, reduction in food resources, human disturbance, and hunting. The birds using Delaware Bay as a stopover site are of the Rufa sub-species of Red Knots, listed as Threatened since 2014. This sub-species also migrates through the Caribbean on the Atlantic Flyway and winters in small numbers in the islands. The population of rufa Red Knots is estimated to have declined by 75% in recent years and the USFWS say threats to this sub-species put it “in danger of extinction in the next few decades.” So, it is vital that we try to understand what has happened to Red Knots this year!

Ornithologists report that although horseshoe crab eggs were abundant at Delaware Bay, numbers of some of the other migratory shorebirds that stop there, like Ruddy Turnstones, Semipalmated Sandpipers, and Sanderlings were also lower than expected this year. One factor that may have contributed to low numbers of knots was poor reproduction on the breeding grounds last year (there is some evidence for this). Or perhaps migration was delayed due to poor weather, or there was abundant food at another stopover site and so not as many birds used Delaware Bay.

It’s also possible that more birds than usual may have stayed in the Caribbean or other parts of their nonbreeding range instead of migrating north—some juvenile Red Knots do not reproduce in their first year and spend the breeding season in different places across the Americas. Or perhaps some unknown factor (e.g., disease, a storm, etc.), caused the demise of a large numbers of birds. We hope that this is not the case!

Red Knot ID Tips – Click on each photo below to view larger.

Red Knot in rusty coloured breeding plumage

Red Knot in breeding plumage. (Photo by Rick Evets)

Three Knots molting out of breeding plumage

Red Knots molting from breeding to non-breeding plumage. (Photo by Stephen Buckingham)

Red Knot in winter plumage. (Photo by Beth Hamel)

Your CWC Count Data is needed!

We need our CWC monitors throughout the Caribbean to help this international effort to try and understand why numbers of Red Knots and other shorebirds are down this year. Please carry out as many counts as you can during the period July 10-20. When you do your CWC count, remember to keep an eye out for other shorebird species at the same time, and that you should count all the birds you see (of any species, including “landbirds”) on each count—doing a complete count greatly increases the value of your data to science and conservation.

Don’t forget to enter your data in eBird Caribbean using one of the CWC protocols on Step 2 of data entry. If using eBird mobile, set your portal to eBird Caribbean to access the CWC options for your checklists/ counts at wetlands and beaches). Thanks to you, we now have 11+ years of CWC data and counting, and are able to look at status and trends for many species at different sites and in the region overall. Remember that CWC counts can be done at any time of year—whenever you are conducting a count at a wetland, mangrove, salt pond, or beach, make it a CWC count.

You can find out more about CWC monitoring on our CWC page and find Shorebird Resources on our website and Youtube channel – we have lots of great resources to help you with your wetland and shorebird bird ID! Are you familiar with the Red Knot? You can find out more about them in our World Migratory Bird Blog Post or learn more about them, including photos, and calls on eBird.

Share this special CWC July Count, Red Knot edition, with your networks!

As mentioned above this is an international collaborative effort, thus, we would like people to carry out counts throughout the Caribbean and the Americas! We have prepared promotional graphics (portrait, landscape, square) in English, Spanish, and French for our partners in the Caribbean – you can download them here. If you would like to use and adapt these graphics for your country, you are welcome to do so! Contact Lisa.Sorenson@BirdsCaribbean.org.

Please, do remember to follow any COVID rules and precautions in your country when doing surveys.

Thank you for contributing to our knowledge base, as we try to solve the mystery of the missing Red Knots.

Birds Connect Our World – Day 4

June 16, 2021

Tips for Sharing the Shore with Shorebirds

Wilson’s Plover parent and two chicks — Wilson’s Plover parent and two downy chicks. This species breeds on beaches and in mangrove areas in the Caribbean. (photo by R. J. Wiley)

It’s beach season! That means vacationers, boaters, photographers, and beach-lovers will be heading to the seashore to enjoy the water and beat the heat. But remember this is also the time when shorebirds are nesting and raising their adorably fluffy chicks. These shorebirds have travelled very long distances and we want to reduce the additional challenges that they face upon reaching our shores.

Eggs and chicks are at risk of being crushed or trampled over because these fluffy little beach bumblers have a knack for blending in. You will definitely want to double or even triple check where you set down your beach chairs, umbrellas, bags, and coolers. Vulnerable young birds and adults can be stressed or killed by predators when they are flushed from their areas. Some adult birds may abandon their nests altogether!

Here are some easy tips for sharing the shore with shorebirds this summer and making your trip more enjoyable:

Watch your distance. Sure these birds know how to camouflage but if you do find a nest, give them space, at least 100 feet. Getting too close can alarm the parents causing them to use precious energy in nest defense behavior that would have been used to forage for food. Some parents will do a broken wing display – where they may appear injured by dragging their wing along the ground. If you see this, the bird is likely fine and just trying to distract you from a nearby nest! Walk away and give these birds space.

Respect posted areas. Do not wander into roped-off or fenced-in areas where birds are nesting.
Never force birds to fly! These birds spent a lot of energy arriving here—shorebirds and seabirds make some of the most impressive migrations! Don’t chase these little beach runners.
Keep pets away from nesting areas. Even the most well trained dogs can be tempted to chase birds. They also do not know that these birds need space to comfortably nest. It is therefore always best to keep your pets on a leash near nesting sites.
Help keep the beach clean. Seabirds and shorebirds have some of the highest ingestion rates of plastic – help those little fluffs get the proper nutrition they need by using bins, if provided, or taking a garbage bag with you to the beach.
Do not feed the wildlife. Growing fluff balls have specific nutrition requirements that only parents can provide.
Spread the word! If you see people disturbing nesting shorebirds, gently remind them that shorebirds’ survival depends on our actions. Some areas even have hotlines to report offenders.

Together we can share the beach and give shorebirds and their adorable growing fluffs the best chance of survival!

Here is an infographic that you can use to encourage others to #ShareTheShore this beach season:

Download PDF.

Download JPG.

Download high-resolution JPG.

Don’t forget to tag @BirdsCaribbean if you share it with your social media followers.

And here’s a link to our Snowy Plover Colouring Book in English and Spanish that educates about these beach-nesting plovers.

There will be many different species nesting on the shores, but they have similar behaviors and reactions to being disturbed. Here are some notable shore-nesting birds in the Caribbean and the US.

American Oystercatcher with two chicks (photo by J. Gray)

Black-necked Stilt with four chicks. (photo by Rick Evets)

Killdeer performing a broken wing act to lure potential predators away from its nest.

This young Killdeer chick is growing its characteristic black breast band. (photo by Dave Irving)

Piping Plover downy chick, vulnerable to predators and people as it blends in perfectly with its sandy environment. (photo by Dave Irving)

Respect posted protected areas for shorebird or seabird nesting. (photo by Erika Gates)

This Snowy Plover chick and egg blend in perfectly with the sandy beach substrate. (photo by Antonio Ros)

Snowy Plover chick running on the sand. Shorebird chicks are precocial, meaning they are born with downy feathers and can walk and feed themselves soon after they hatch. (photo by Hartmut Walter)

Wilson’s Plover nest in the Bahamas. Most shorebird species nests are a simple scrape in the ground, lined with a few shells and rocks. (photo by M. Zdravkovic)

May 29, 2021

Birds of Puerto Rico East to Antigua in Your Pocket

May 28, 2021

Global Big Day 2021 Photography Awards

May 17, 2021

Getting a Bird’s Eye View: Increasing Public Awareness of Wetland Birds on Union Island

March 28, 2021

The Caribbean Motus Collaboration—Help us Develop this Exciting New Program!

BirdsCaribbean is very excited to announce that we are launching a new bird monitoring initiative — the Caribbean Motus Collaboration. And we need your help and involvement! Read on to learn more about this program and how you can help.

What is Motus?

Kirtland's Warbler with nanotag — Kirtland’s Warbler fitted with a lightweight nano-tag. These tiny transmitters, which weigh as little as 0.2 g, allow researchers to track the movements of small animals with precision across thousands of miles. (photo by Scott Weidensaul)

The Motus Wildlife Tracking System is a powerful collaborative research network developed by Birds Canada. Named after the Latin word for movement, Motus uses automated radio telemetry arrays to study the movements and behavior of flying animals (birds, bats, and insects) that are nano-tagged and tracked by Motus receivers.

Motus’ main objective is to enable conservation and ecological research by tracking the movement of animals. The system consists of hundreds of receiver stations and thousands of deployed nanotags on 236+ species, mostly birds. Data from this network have already expanded our understanding of bird movements, including pinpointing migration routes and key stopover sites, as well as movements, habitat use, and behavior during breeding and non-breeding seasons. We are only just beginning to tap into the enormous potential of this new technology and growing network of partnerships and data sharing for conservation.

Motus technology is also a valuable educational tool that can advance conservation education both in and out of the classroom. Birds Canada and the Northeast Motus Collaboration have developed a curriculum that combines interactive classroom activities with Motus tracking tools that can be used to teach local children about birds, migration, and conservation.

Expanding the Motus Network in the Caribbean

Motus is widely established in Canada and the US, and beginning to spread throughout Central and South America; however, there are currently no active receiver stations in the Caribbean. The more Motus stations we can put up, the more we can increase our understanding of where tagged birds are moving. In addition, many species of conservation concern that live in or migrate through/ to the region have not yet been tagged. We want to fill this critical geographical gap.

Motus-Receiver-station-map-Caribbean — Yellow dots represent the active Motus receiver stations. The white box outlines the insular Caribbean. A few Motus stations that were put up in several islands have been damaged by storms and hurricanes, and need repair.

The Caribbean Motus Collaboration (CMC) is developing a multi-pronged strategy to expand the Motus network by installing and maintaining receiver stations in strategic locations throughout the islands, deploying nanotags on priority bird species, and implementing a specially adapted Caribbean educational curriculum.

Why is this Important?

Our birds are declining at alarming rates.

The Painted Bunting is a declining songbird that winters in FL, Cuba, the Bahamas, Mexico, and Central America. (photo by Ray Robles)

The insular Caribbean is a global biodiversity conservation “hotspot” that is home to over 700 species of birds. Roughly half of these bird species are residents in the Caribbean, including 171 that are endemic – meaning they are found nowhere else in the world! The other half are migratory, splitting their time between temperate and tropical habitats in the Americas, and shared among multiple countries along the way.

For some migratory birds, the Caribbean islands are the perfect winter retreat — they arrive in early fall and stay until spring. Others use one or more islands as stopover sites to rest and refuel as they fly between their breeding and wintering grounds further south. Whether they stay or move on, they are much-loved visitors, reflecting the seasons and inspiring our cultural expressions.

Unfortunately, bird populations are declining. Fifty-nine Caribbean species are at risk of extinction, listed as Vulnerable (30), Endangered (24), or Critically Endangered (5) by the International Union for Conservation of Nature. A recent study found that nearly 30% of the bird populations in North America since 1970 have been lost, and Caribbean species are among the many that are in trouble.

Birds in the Caribbean face an entire suite of threats, including habitat loss and fragmentation, pollution, and invasive species. In addition, climate change has become a constant danger to the region, not only to people, but also to wildlife. The Caribbean is experiencing increasingly intense hurricanes, long droughts, and dramatic changes to the marine environment. The threats are growing for our vulnerable birds, and we can’t afford to lose any more.

Needed now: An effective bird monitoring system in the Caribbean

Research on our birds has progressed considerably in recent decades, but we still lack basic information on many species. We need to understand them better if we are to save them.

We need to identify the most critical sites and habitats for our migratory, resident, and endemic birds, and we need to assess the threats they face. Importantly, we need to raise awareness about why all of this matters.

At BirdsCaribbean we partner with international, regional, and local partners to develop long-term monitoring programs, e.g. our Caribbean Waterbird Census program. We are using several strategic tools for doing so, and we are confident that the Motus Wildlife Tracking System will become an invaluable resource for strengthening our efforts.

Caribbean-Motus-Collaboration-Ruddy-Turnstone-graphic — Motus receiving stations function similar to automated toll booths on a highway – every time a bird passes over the station it’s recorded, just as automated toll booths record license plates. The stations have a range of about 9 miles or 15 km. (Ruddy Turnstone photo by Maikel Cañizares)

The Caribbean Motus Collaboration (CMC) can inform and promote bird conservation

Colleagues from the Northeast Motus Collaboration stand by a newly installed Motus station in Pennsylvania. (photo credit: Northeast Motus Collaboration)

Our partners are eager to build the Motus network in the Caribbean. The initiative is gaining momentum quickly and the time to act is now! As a regional organization, BirdsCaribbean is keen to facilitate this effort and assist our partners.

Our collaboration will enhance the efforts of those working to grow the network in other regions of the Americas. And it will shed light on the movements and habitat use of bird species of conservation concern. This knowledge is essential to safeguarding birds throughout their full life cycles and reversing population declines.

Caribbean natural resource managers, including many of our partner organizations throughout the region, will be able to use information from the Motus network to identify the most important sites and habitats for our resident and migratory birds. Once identified, those in the Caribbean network and beyond will be able to focus our work on these most critical areas, alleviating threats and protecting these sites. By building the capacity to use this powerful tool, we will also be contributing to the development of local research and environmental education programs. The knowledge, skills, and appreciation for birds will multiply. It’s a “win-win” for the birds, and for those who work to conserve them in the region.

We Need Your Help!

To grow the CMC, we are seeking funding from granting agencies and private donors, and looking to establish partnerships with international and regional organizations, landowners, and businesses in the Caribbean.

Can you suggest a good site for a Motus receiver station? Stations should be located in secure areas that are optimal for detecting movements of birds (e.g., migration flyways, prime habitat for resident and migratory birds). Receivers can be installed as independent structures that are powered by solar panels. However, installing a station on existing structures (e.g., building roofs, fire towers, abandoned telephone towers, radio towers, etc.), especially those with access to electricity, can significantly reduce costs.

Would you or your organization be willing to maintain Motus receiver stations on your island? Motus stations should require minimal maintenance. However, depending on the station setup, data might need to be downloaded a few times each year. It is also important to regularly check that the stations are in working order, particularly following a storm or other disturbance.

Are you interested in sponsoring a Motus receiver station or nanotags, or know of an individual, organization, or business who would be? The components of receiver stations cost approximately ~$4,800, and the total cost of a station (including installation, maintenance, personnel, etc.) is ~$10k. Nanotags, which will be deployed on priority species to track their movements, cost ~$225 each. But any amount is helpful! This is a highly tangible way to get involved in the conservation of Caribbean species.

Click here to make an online contribution.

*NOTE: This year, our fundraiser for Global Big Day (May 8th, 2021) will raise funds for the Caribbean Motus Collaboration. We hope that you will participate – stay tuned!

If you are interested in contributing to the CMC in any capacity, we want to hear from you! Please fill out this short survey so that we can gather information and follow up with you.

Special thanks to the Northeast Motus Collaboration for their generous help, advice, and encouragement in developing this project!

Learn more about Motus at the following links:

https://motus.org

https://motus.org/education/

https://nationalzoo.si.edu/news/tracking-technology-exposes-secretive-long-distance-movement-kirtlands-warblers

February 27, 2021

Caribbean Waterbird Census 2021 – Keeping an Eye on Our Wetland Birds!

February 24, 2021

Hope for the Future: Bringing Shorebirds to the People in Montserrat

Schoolchildren looking at shorebirds in Montserrat — Ajhermae White helps students of the Grade 5 class of Look Out Primary School with shorebird ID during their field trip at Marguerita Bay. (Photo by Stephen Mendes)

Enthusiasm is a key ingredient when observing, teaching, and talking about birds. For Ajhermae White, organizing a shorebird education initiative funded by BirdsCaribbean on her native Montserrat was a learning experience for her as well as her audiences, and a deeply satisfying one all around. Here is Ahjermae’s account of her journey as a shorebird educator – with young children, frigatebirds, and Government officials thrown into the mix.

The ‘Education on Shorebirds in Montserrat’ project is an initiative carried out by the island’s Department of Environment and sponsored by BirdsCaribbean. The aim is to spread awareness of shorebirds and their habitats. Once island residents learn more about these birds and understand their significance, the likelihood of threats to shorebirds, such as habitat destruction and human disturbance, will be reduced. As the project leader, I was really excited about the possible outcomes of this initiative.

The journey of being a shorebird educator has been a fulfilling experience. It has been a real privilege for me as the project leader to be given the opportunity to educate the local populace, in schools and among the general population about this fascinating topic. This has afforded me personal growth in addition to the enormous pleasure of sharing my passion for birds and their habitats.

Cleaning Up the Beaches Where Shorebirds Hang Out

Young girls participating in the clean-up. Credit: Stephen Mendes — Young girls participating in the clean-up. (Photo by Stephen Mendes)

The first major activity of this project was hosting a beach clean-up, in August 2020. Together with my colleagues from the Department of Environment, we brought the local community together to clean a shorebird habitat ahead of the migratory season.

We chose Marguerita Bay, which is located on the eastern side of the island, for this clean-up. Debris is constantly deposited on this beach as a consequence with the tides of the Atlantic Ocean. Nonetheless, this beach has been a popular site for shorebirds on Montserrat during the migratory season.

It was a good turnout of volunteers of all ages, from various community groups. I found it quite surprising to see the various types of items that were collected from the beach. These included items such as fishnets, clothing items, shoes, and even a 20 pound propane bottle! This clean-up was a success. An amazing 1,300 pounds of trash was removed from the beach. As such, the beach was much cleaner for the 2020 fall migrants.

Click on photos to enlarge

Some of the participants of the beach clean-up with the trash they collected

Some of the participants of the beach clean-up. (Photo by Stephen Mendes)

Participants collecting trash at the beach clean-up. (Photo by Stephen Mendes)

Working in Schools and Communities

Ajhermae White talking to primary school students about shorebirds — Ajhermae White giving a shorebird presentation to the Grade 6 students of the Brades Primary School. (Photo by Rianna Thomas)

During the month of October 2020, we were out in the schools and communities, conducting outreach sessions. We gave presentations and organized field trips. We conducted outreach sessions with The Rotaract Club; grade classes in three primary schools; two groups with members of the public; and last but not least, an After School Club of four to six-year-olds.

For most of the school engagements, we made presentations in the afternoons. The following morning, we took the students out on the field trip, as soon as the school day started.

The students listened intently and participated actively in all the presentations, which was impressive. We talked to them about “What is a shorebird?” and went on to discuss their habitats, feeding habits, and threats to their survival. We then described some common shorebirds on Montserrat.

Semipalmated Sandpiper at Marguerita Bay, Montserrat — Semipalmated Sandpiper at Marguerita Bay during the field trip with the Grade 6 students of the Brades Primary School.

We made sure that these presentations included many pictures and videos of shorebirds and their habitats. Some classes had interesting questions. I specifically recall that during one presentation a student asked whether the Killdeer was the adult version of the Semipalmated Plover. When the student asked this, I felt a sense of gratification. This not only demonstrated that they were paying attention but that they were engrossed sufficiently to spot the similarities and differences and between the different species.

After every presentation, we gave the students a short quiz with spot prizes. After the quiz, every student was given a token (badge, sticker, pamphlet, or bird band). Needless to say, they were very excited to be “little ambassadors” for migratory shorebirds with their stickers and other tokens.

Meanwhile, Out in the Field…Frigatebirds Were a “Hit”

Our first stop for every field trip was the recently-cleaned Marguerita Bay, where students were thrilled to see shorebirds like the Sanderling, Pectoral Sandpiper, and the Semipalmated Sandpiper. However, as the month of October progressed, there were fewer sightings, as the shorebirds were moving on.

During every field trip at Marguerita Bay, we could count on the Magnificent Frigatebirds to put on a show by flying very low and putting on acrobatic performances when swooping down to drink water from the pond. It was as if they enjoyed the attention from the young bird-watchers, who could observe the sexual dimorphism in this species.

Even if there weren’t many shorebirds to see at the beach at the time of the visit, the Frigatebirds captivated the students. The After School Club birders (4-6 year olds) were mesmerized by the Magnificent Frigatebirds. I recall that I wasn’t certain whether these little ones would understand terms like “female”, “male” and “juvenile,” so to simplify for these kindergartners, I told them which frigatebirds were “girls”, “boys” and “babies”. They kept shouting out “That one’s a baby bird!” They were so funny.

Some of the information about the shorebirds was in Spanish, so I made sure that any student who spoke Spanish as a first language was able to see the Spanish names as well for the various species. Those students also received a Spanish Shorebird poster.

All Went Well With the Student Birders!

school kids birding in Montserrat at Marguerita Bay — Students from the After-School Club are excited to identify shorebirds with Scriber at Marguerita Bay, Montserrat (photo by Ajhermae White)

The second stop during the field trips was to Carr’s Bay. This area is near a busy road so we always took extra precautions when visiting this area. Students spotted species like the Sanderling, Lesser Yellowlegs, Greater Yellowlegs, Solitary Sandpiper, and others wading in the water. There were also a few other wetland bird species that the students were able to identify, such as the Common Gallinule and the Snowy Egret.

When we returned to the classroom we distributed refreshments and provided additional tokens. I gave students a shorebird word search that I created online, to help them remember the names of the shorebirds of Montserrat.

Students of the Brades Primary School identifying shorebirds at Carr’s Bay Montserrat — Students of the Brades Primary School identifying shorebirds at Carr’s Bay. (Photo by Ajhermae White)

Although I always felt a little anxious before leading a field trip, I felt relieved afterwards, because they were successful and went ahead without mishaps. This was quite a responsibility for me, especially with the smallest bird enthusiasts. The students were able to see shorebirds and many other birds. Fortunately, there were no accidents during the field trips and even if it was a rainy day, the rain stopped long enough for the field trips to take place.

Engaging with the students was really gratifying. After the first few educational events, I started feeling more confident about putting myself out there to educate more students and the public. The enthusiasm that the students displayed showed me how much potential there is to impart knowledge to the younger generation, so that they can become more intensely aware of the avian biodiversity on Montserrat.

Students of Grade 6 class showing their shorebird identification cards after their field trip Credit: Thiffanie Williams — Students of the Grade 6 class of the St Augustine Primary School showing their shorebird identification cards after their field trip. (Photo by Thiffanie Williams)

Radio, a Powerful Medium for Reaching People

We used radio a great deal during this project. We recorded a few radio spots to inform the public about shorebirds, their habitats and migration, playing shorebird calls to grab the listeners’ attention. The spots also informed listeners about some of the threats that these birds face, such as habitat loss and pollution. A few of our outreach activities were scheduled around World Migratory Bird Day (WMBD) so this celebration got coverage on the local news and the public was informed about the activities planned.

The Department of Environment was featured on the Ministry of Agriculture’s radio program called “MALHE VIBES” in October. On this live program, James ‘Scriber’ Daley (Forest Ranger) and I spoke about shorebirds and their habitats, informed listeners about our activities throughout the month, and used the opportunity to invite people to a public shorebird educational event. (See the end of this post for links to all Ajhermae’s radio appearances during this project!).

Great Support for Public Events – and a Government Minister, Too

We hosted public events to educate people in the community about shorebirds and give them opportunities to see shorebirds in their habitat. We advertised these events on the radio and on Facebook. I was really grateful to my co-worker, Thiffanie Williams, who created digital flyers to advertise the public events of this project.

Flyer advertising school shorebird education event — Digital flyer for the first public shorebird educational event. Created by Thiffanie Williams, Montserrat Dept of Environment.

For the public events Scriber and I conducted presentations, starting at 6:30 am. This presentation covered the same topics as the school presentations – but this time, people of all ages attended these sessions. We also gave a mini-quiz to participants, with the opportunity to win a BirdsCaribbean tote bag. After stocking up on refreshments and equipping them with binoculars, the participants boarded a bus at 7:00 am. Just like the school field trips, we took the participants to Marguerita Bay and then to Carr’s Bay. At Marguerita Bay we didn’t see as many shorebirds as we had hoped to see but some seabirds were present.

Minister of Agriculture looking at shorebirds in the spotting scope. — The Minister of Agriculture, Hon. Crenston Buffonge, looking at shorebirds in the spotting scope. (Photo by Ajhermae White)

The radio sessions had clearly paid off, as residents of all ages attended the public birding events. I was particularly grateful that the Minister of Agriculture, Lands Housing and the Environment (MALHE), Hon. Crenston Buffonge and the Parliamentary Secretary, the Hon. Veronica Dorsette-Hector, each attended one of our public outreach sessions. It made me really pleased that these members of Parliament took part in these educational events and publicly showed their support for the project. This gave me hope for the future of wetlands on Montserrat.

Shorebirds at Carr’s Bay during the first public field trip on October 17th 2020. (Photo by Ajhermae White)

Carr’s Bay never disappointed us! On the first public birding trip, we saw fifteen different bird species at this site, including various species of shorebirds, like the Spotted Sandpiper and the Least Sandpiper! The first public birding trip was quite fulfilling for me because I saw two bird species that I had never seen before: the Merlin, and one that had eluded me many times – the Belted Kingfisher. The Minister jokingly commented that perhaps he and the other participants brought the good luck that allowed me to see these species.

It was quite satisfying to see when someone got an ‘aha moment’ after learning something new or finding out the name of a bird that they’ve often seen. A young girl, Kearah Ryan, who joined the second public birding trip, wrote a lovely blog about her experience. During that trip, Scriber and I were interviewed live on the radio by phone, informing the listeners about shorebirds, their habitats, migration, and the importance of protecting these birds. To my further delight, this clip was featured on ZJB Radio on the local news the following Monday. This served to boost my confidence as a shorebird educator.

Small girl-Kearah Ryan looking through the spotting scope at Carr’s Bay. — Kearah Ryan looking through the spotting scope at Carr’s Bay. Be sure to check out Kearah’s lovely blog and photos on her first shorebirding experience! (link above) (Photo by Ajhermae White)

An Impactful Project, a Great Personal Experience

Participants of the second bird watching trip. (Photo by Ajhermae White)

Overall, this project has been a resounding success! The Covid-19 pandemic had minimal impact on this educational project, as we have been fortunate in that Montserrat recorded no active cases between July 2020 and February 2021. With the use of the radio spots, the radio program, and the news, we effectively reached and educated many people locally about shorebirds and raised awareness about the threats that this group of birds face. So far we have directly engaged 145 persons, including two elected politicians. The feedback has been positive!

It is fair to say that I experienced personal growth while undertaking this project. It allowed me to sharpen my organizational skills, as quite a lot of planning and coordination was required to organize the clean-up and field trips. Additionally, with the wide coverage through the media and in-person presentations, my communication skills were also enhanced. As a direct consequence of this and the feedback I received, I am more confident to take on other projects in the future. I am therefore thankful to BirdsCaribbean for firstly, igniting my interest in birds, which allowed me to gain knowledge about avian species. Secondly, through their generous funding of this project I had the opportunity to educate Montserrat about this fascinating group of birds.

Ajhermae White and James ‘Scriber’ Daley with the participants of the first public shorebird outreach session. (Photo by Stephon Hixon)

Ajhermae White is an Environment Officer from the Department of Environment in Montserrat. She received a small grant from BirdsCaribbean to support her in this project to help educate people on Montserrat about shorebirds, their habitats and conservation. Thank you to the US Fish and Wildlife Service, US Forest Service, Canadian Wildlife Service, and Manomet for supporting our Caribbean Waterbird Census and Shorebird Monitoring and Conservation Projects!

Check out the awesome live interviews of Ajhermae White and James “Scriber” Daley (Montserrat Dept of Environment) for their shorebird education events:

On Thursday 22^nd October 2020, the Department of Environment were the guests on the Ministry of Agriculture’s radio program “MALHE Vibes” where they spoke about out shorebirds and the activities that they had been conducting for the Shorebird Education project (start at 2:34):

https://montserratradioecho.wordpress.com/2020/10/22/thursday-october-22-2020-mahle-vibes/

While on the Public bird watching trip at Carr’s Bay, Ajhermae got a chance to go live on ZJB Radio to let everyone know about our birding trip. Here is a link to that snippet of the radio program:

https://montserratradioecho.wordpress.com/2020/10/24/saturday-october-24-2020-james-scriber-daley-leads-annual-migratory-bird-count/

The birding trip was also featured on the morning news today! Here’s a link (Shorebird news starts at 8:03):

https://montserratradioecho.wordpress.com/2020/10/26/monday-october-26-2020-complete-morning-news-sports-and-weather-package-with-james-white-jr/

Check out this excellent video of the beach clean-up!

https://www.facebook.com/watch/live/?v=2413869538918800&ref=watch_permalink

One of the mini-birders on the public birding trip, Kearah Ryan, wrote a lovely blog post and shared photos about her shorebirding experience on Saturday. Here is a link to her blog:

http://kearahryan.com/shorebird-watching/

BirdsCaribbean note: We are so proud of Ajhermae White, a young conservation leader in Montserrat! Ajhermae attended our Conservation Caribbean Shorebirds International Training Workshop in Cabo Rojo, Puerto Rico in February 2019. Thank you to the Dept of Environment and James Scriber Daley for their incredible support! Many thanks also to the US Fish and Wildlife Service, Neotropical Migratory Bird Conservation Act Fund, Vortex Optics, Optics for the Tropics, and to our generous members and donors for supporting this project.

February 23, 2021

A Feathery Finale to the Caribbean Waterbird Census!

February 22, 2021

Taking a Look at Shorebirds in Trinidad: A Population Update and Testing a New Survey Method

Trinidad and Tobago has a rich abundance and diversity of shorebirds and provides vital habitats for them during migration and over winter. Martin Gebauer, the recipient of a small grant for work on shorebirds from BirdsCaribbean, gives us a historical perspective and an update on shorebird populations and their habitats on the island of Trinidad. Find out from Martin if using drones can help us to count and monitor shorebirds.

Mixed waterbird flock on Trinidad's west coast mudflats — Trinidad has a rich diversity of Shorebirds. This mixed group, using Trinidad’s west coast during spring migration has six different shorebird species. Can you find and name them all? Scroll down to see the answers. (Photo by Jerome Foster)

TAKING A DEEPER LOOK AT MIGRATING SHOREBIRDS IN TRINIDAD AND TOBAGO

Arctic-nesting shorebird populations have shown serious declines on breeding grounds, and at staging and wintering areas across their range. The US Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS), Canadian Wildlife Service (CWS), BirdsCaribbean (BC), and others have been looking into threats – including hunting – to shorebirds in the Caribbean through the Atlantic Flyway Shorebird Initiative (AFSI). It is clear, however, that more research is needed on the abundance, diversity, distribution, and habitat use of shorebirds migrating through or wintering in Trinidad and Tobago (TT), as well as the location of staging and wintering areas in the country. To support the AFSI, shorebird surveys (including the use of a drone) were conducted from 2018 to 2020. To determine the scale of shorebird declines, survey data were compared to data from aerial surveys on fixed wing aircraft conducted by Morrison and Ross (CWS) in 1982. The current work was supported by the USFWS and BirdsCaribbean.

Part of a group of Western and Semipalmated Sandpipers resting on Trinidad’s west coast during spring migration. (Photo by Jerome Foster)

THE RICH DIVERSITY OF TRINIDAD AND TOBAGO’S SHOREBIRDS

Shorebird diversity in Trinidad and Tobago is particularly rich. Of the 48 shorebird species recorded to date, some of which are European vagrants, 23 species were observed during the 2018 to 2020 surveys. Our surveys, and those by Morrison and Ross and others, found that the Semipalmated Sandpiper is by far the most common species, representing around 90% of shorebirds tallied in the country. Other common species are Western Sandpiper (see photo), Semipalmated Plover, Lesser Yellowlegs, Stilt Sandpiper, Whimbrel, and Willet. Historical accounts suggest a similar mixture of species

SADLY, SHOREBIRDS IN DECLINING NUMBERS

The February 1982 aerial survey of Trinidad by Morrison and Ross documented more than 13,600 Nearctic shorebirds. But there is worrying news. The maximum number of birds seen on the 2018 to 2020 surveys was 4,174 (September 2018). This disturbing decline, which is described in more detail below, matches up with the USFWS and CWS findings. Although an accurate estimate of the percent decline is difficult, current shorebird populations are likely only between 20 to 30% of 1982 levels.

WHERE WERE WE LOOKING FOR SHOREBIRDS?

Some of the most important habitats for shorebirds are on the west coast of Trinidad. In fact, the west coast mudflats are designated as an Important Bird Area (IBA) by Birdlife International. The area between the southern end of Caroni Swamp and south past the Couva River mouth to around Pointe-à-Pierre seems to be particularly good for shorebirds. Where the mudflats look greenish in color, there is a thick slurry of biofilm (i.e., diatoms, bacteria, organic detritus, and benthic invertebrates), a very important food source for Semipalmated and Western sandpipers. Morrison and Ross found that about 99% of all shorebirds observed on their aerial surveys were on the west coast mudflats, which aligns with the approximately 95% of shorebirds documented from 2018 to 2020. Very few shorebirds have been observed on the northern, eastern, or southern coasts.

Aerial image of Orange Valley mudflats looking south — Aerial image, taken from a drone, of the mudflats at Orange Valley, looking south towards Point Lisas. (Photo by Nicolaas Kersting)

Another important area for shorebirds is the Caroni Rice Fields. Regrettably, since 2003, rice farming has been abandoned in large portions of these fields and the overall habitat for shorebirds has declined. However, in some years – for example, in 2020 – large numbers of shorebirds can still be found here.

Flooded Rice fields — Active rice farming in Caroni Rice Fields provides habitat for shorebirds. (Photo by Martin Gebauer)

WHAT DID THE DRONE SURVEYS SHOW?

The drone surveys provided an excellent overview of habitats at each of the sites surveyed. Unfortunately, because the images were not sufficiently high resolution, a detailed analysis of shorebird use, whether manual or software-driven, was not possible. Another challenge was that birds were disturbed and often flew away, even when the drone was at a height of 100 m. We did find that drones may be suitable for surveying larger species such as gulls, skimmers and terns, as shown in the adjacent picture (Brickfield, 40m, 05 April 2020).

Drone image with Black Skimmers and Laughing Gull marked for counting — Still image from drone footage. The birds have been marked for counting. This image contains 878 Black Skimmers, 1001 Laughing Gulls and 19 Large-billed Terns. (Image by Nicolaas Kersting)

ARE SHOREBIRDS LOSING THEIR OLD HANGOUTS?

The area with the highest shorebird numbers during the 1982 Morrison and Ross surveys was the Point Lisas industrial development (see photo). However, currently this area is not accessible by foot or drone. Nevertheless, a review of recent aerial imagery suggests that habitats in this area have been dramatically altered through dredging and land reclamation activities.

Drone footage of Point Lisas on the west coast of Trinidad (Photo by Nicolaas Kersting)

Apparently, this loss of the mudflats that provide so much food and foraging for small shorebirds (Semipalmated and Western Sandpipers) appears to be a cause of the considerable declines of these charming, once abundant little birds between the 1982 and the 2018-2020 surveys.

Following the construction of the Orange Valley fishing pier, there has been a dramatic decline in the surrounding mudflats, with a rapid expansion of mangroves in the area.

There are local factors that are contributing to the declining numbers of shorebirds in Trinidad. Previously rich areas where they foraged for food are disappearing. In some areas, an increase in mangrove growth has affected the mudflats that shorebirds love. We must also take into account the global picture; across the flyway shorebirds are declining. What lessons can we learn from other countries? One thing is clear: To ensure that these losses of habitats for the wintering shorebirds do not continue in Trinidad, protecting and restoring remaining mudflat areas on the west coast of Trinidad has to be a critical goal in shorebird management.

This downward spiral has to be slowed or better still, turned around.

Martin Gebauer is an ornithologist and president of Gebauer & Associates Ltd., an environmental consulting firm. He is currently working on his PhD at the University of Oxford. He carried out research on shorebird hunting in the Caribbean for his MSc from Oxford.

Mix shorebird flock on Trinidad's west coast - species named in the photo. — Here are the six species of shorebirds with labels to identify them. Good for you if you were able to name some or all of them correctly! (Photo by Jerome Foster)

To learn more about shorebird ID, check out this training webinar:

January 26, 2021

The Finer Points of Waterbird and Shorebird ID: A Bit of a Brain Twister

With this year’s Caribbean Waterbird Census (CWC) in full swing BirdsCaribbean recently held some webinars to help out those who want to get involved. One attendee, Emma Lewis, shares her thoughts with us on why counting birds matters so much, and the trials and tribulations (sometimes humorous) of learning to identify shorebirds and waterbirds.

The devil is in the details, they say, and as birders across the region gird themselves up and go out to muddy, sandy, wet places to spot birds, figuring out what is what is no joke. The birds are – what’s the word, indefinable? – at times.

As I may have mentioned before, it’s always important to find birds, but it’s also very important to count them. This helps scientists figure out populations – what, when, where, and how many – and to map them to see how these populations are moving around the planet. What has become apparent in recent years is that waterbirds, especially shorebirds, have been declining in numbers around the world for decades now. In the UK, for example, waterbird numbers have declined by 25 per cent in just the past ten years, according to one survey. There are many reasons for the global decline (some 40 per cent since the 1970s in our hemisphere), with climate change and coastal development high on the list in the Caribbean.

Shorebird decline graph — Population trends of different species groups since 1970. Shorebirds have declined by 40%. (Screen shot from BirdsCaribbean Shorebird ID webinar).

Bearing in mind that we need to understand more about our waterbirds, by observing and recording them, in order to conserve them, BirdsCaribbean has organized the Caribbean Waterbirds Census (CWC), now in its twelfth year (January 14 to February 3; including World Wetlands Day on February 2). This year, three webinars were organized to help confused birders identify those delightful birds, of all shapes and sizes, that potter around on our beaches, salt flats, marshes, mangroves, mudflats,and riversides at this time of year.

Shorebird ID guide from BirdsCaribbean — In descending order… Big, little and…smaller still, like the Least Sandpiper. Last, but not least. Full guide and other resources available here (Screenshot from BirdsCaribbean shorebird ID webinar)

Blue-winged Teal pair — Ducks a-dabbling. These are Blue-winged Teals, which are the most common migratory duck to visit us in the Caribbean. The male has a distinctive white crescent on his face & both sexes have a large blue-wing patch. (Photo by Sharon Cardin)

The thing is, you see, there are ~185 species of waterbirds around the Caribbean. These include dabbling ducks and diving ducks, tall stately herons and small crouching herons, egrets with various colored legs and bills, and a baffling (and disconcertingly large) group of sandpipers and plovers – breeding, non-breeding, and in between (sometimes they are molting in or out of their breeding plumage). Males, females, and immature ones. Most of them actually are super-migrants, breeding way up in the Arctic and making their way all the way down to the Caribbean in winter to just hang out, rest, feed, and prepare to migrate back again.

Picture of a Spotted sandpiper — I took this photo in Portland Bight, Clarendon, in 2019. Could it be…? Is it…a Lesser Yellowlegs? **see end of post

I had some little chuckles to myself during the webinars. It was harder than the most difficult New York Times crossword at times – the Sunday one. We had regular quizzes throughout to “test our knowledge,” during which I felt increasingly desperate and took wild guesses. Is A or B a Semipalmated Sandpiper? Or could it be a Spotted Sandpiper? Is it “front heavy” (it could be a Western Sandpiper)? Is its back the color of wet sand, or dry sand? What is the difference between a Greater Yellowlegs and a Lesser Yellowlegs (if you saw just one of them)?

Look for clues, our presenters urged. Sometimes the differences can be “very subtle.” Indeed.

So, next weekend, all being well, I will be taking the “Waterbird Challenge.” Why don’t you try it too? If you need some inspiration, go to BirdsCaribbean’s YouTube page (see links below). The webinars were all streamed live on Facebook, so you can find them there, too. I would also recommend downloading the free Merlin bird ID app from the Cornell Lab on your phone! And of course, don’t forget to enter your birding checklists on eBird Caribbean (be sure to choose one of the Caribbean Waterbird Census protocols – see instructions here) – your data are invaluable to science and conservation.

Ultimately, as for so many things in life, the best advice is “practice makes perfect.” In other words, the more you get out there and tackle those waterbirds, the better. Spend hours with them!

And, as Jeff Gerbracht from the Cornell Lab of Ornithology, who gave us those finer points, reminded us: “Waterbirds need the Caribbean.”

Stilt Sandpiper — We learned the finer points of waterbird and shorebird ID – many valuable tips were provided. Now I just need to study! (image from Waterbirds ID Webinar Part II: Shorebirds; photo by Ray Robles)

If you would like to become a member of BirdsCaribbean, you do not have to be an expert at all! What unites us is our love of birds. For students and Caribbean nationals, the membership is only US$25 annually. If you are a Caribbean institution, the membership is US$60. Your membership helps BirdsCaribbean’s efforts to raise awareness, train and mentor conservation professionals, support research and monitoring, advocate for birds and their habitats, and engage people in citizen science and conservation actions. One big plus is that as a member you get free access to Birds of the World, a fabulous online resource which costs more than your membership fee to subscribe to!

**This shorebird does have yellow legs but it is in fact a Spotted Sandpiper. It has shorter legs than a Lesser Yellowlegs and a heavier bill. Note the white “smudge” or wedge at the shoulder, another good field mark. It also shows the typical ’tilted forward’ posture of a Spotted Sandpiper and lacks the speckled plumage on the back, you would expect on a Lesser Yellowlegs.

Many thanks to Emma Lewis for this inspiring and fun article. Emma is a blogger, social and environmental activist, and avid birder based in Jamaica. She also recently joined the board of BirdsCaribbean. Thank you to the US Fish and Wildlife Service, US Forest Service, Canadian Wildlife Service, and our members and donors for supporting our Caribbean Waterbird Census and Waterbird-Shorebird Education, Monitoring and Conservation Projects!

Waterbird ID Webinars on our YouTube channel

January 25, 2021

Funding Opportunity—The David S. Lee Fund for the Conservation of Caribbean Birds

2021 Awards Now Open!

Size of Award: Several grants up to $1,000 each Application Deadline: February 19th, 2021 at 5 p.m. EST. Address Questions and Send Application to: Will Mackin, BirdsCaribbean, willmackin@gmail.com with copy to info@birdscaribbean.org Announcement of Awards: March 15th, 2021 Donations to the Fund: Tax-deductible (U.S.) at this link. ___________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Dave Lee holding a White-tailed Tropicbird in the Bahamas. (photo by Mary Kay Clark)

David S. Lee (1943-2014) was a pioneering naturalist and conservation biologist who helped get BirdsCaribbean started nearly 30 years ago. He 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 annual grants for innovative projects that protect Caribbean birds and their habitats.

Goal of the Fund: The David S. Lee Fund for Conservation seeks to continue David’s passion for protecting wildlife. The fund will support direct, innovative conservation work in the Caribbean Region for birds and their habitats. The fund will be managed by BirdsCaribbean and used for annual small grants. Applicants should demonstrate how their project will work with conservation groups and local communities in the Caribbean.

Eligibility: Scientists/naturalists working in the Caribbean, in conservation organizations or academic programs, may apply. Applicants should be students or early career ornithologists, conservationists, or wildlife professionals (i.e., not established faculty or senior staff of a conservation organization, less than 10 years post-graduation). A student must be enrolled in accredited Masters or PhD program in ecology, biology, conservation, or related field to be eligible. Applicants must be paid or sponsored members of BirdsCaribbean at the time of application.

Use of Funds: The funds can cover travel to field sites, living expenses in the field, or costs for equipment and supplies to conduct conservation projects. Examples of equipment and supplies include traps, cameras, automated recording units, nest boxes, etc. Ineligible costs include salary or other wages, overhead fees, etc. Projects that foster collaboration between scientists/naturalists in different island groups of the Caribbean, such as joint projects to test conservation techniques for similar species, will be favored. Application Guidelines:

Proposals may be submitted in English, French, or Spanish. All should have an English version of the abstract.
Applications should be emailed as a Microsoft Word document.
The application should include a cover page, proposal (download guidelines below), and a curriculum vitae for the applicant.
Separately, by email, three individuals who can attest to your effectiveness in previous work should submit letters of recommendation. For students, this would include your academic advisor.

Evaluation:

A committee appointed by BirdsCaribbean will review the proposals and award the grants.
The awardee will be required to submit a report one year from the day of the award explaining how the award money was spent and the results of the project to that point. The awardee is also asked to write an article for BirdsCaribbean’s blog about their work (informal article for a lay audience).
Awardees are encouraged to present the results of their work at the biennial International Conference of BirdsCaribbean and publish in The Journal of Caribbean Ornithology.

Eligible applicants can download the application here. ___________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Help support the Dave Lee Fund by being a sponsor!

Reddish Egrets (dark morph). (photo by Tania Thomson, Shutterstock)

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 Group 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.

Cuban Parrot surveying his domain. (photo by Elliotte Rusty-Harold, Shutterstock)

At the 2015 BirdsCaribbean meeting in Kingston, Jamaica, 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. Thanks to all those that have contributed to the fund!

Click here to make an online contribution.

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 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

Thank you for your participation and support!

Reports from Projects Supported with Dave Lee Fund Scholarships:

https://www.birdscaribbean.org/2020/03/protecting-the-snowy-plovers-of-coche-island-through-science-and-community/ https://www.birdscaribbean.org/2020/01/birdy-hear-birdy-do-does-playback-attract-seed-dispersers-to-restoration-sites/ https://www.birdscaribbean.org/2018/01/the-mystery-of-the-missing-todies-understanding-the-impacts-of-invasive-mammals/ https://www.birdscaribbean.org/2017/06/the-vampire-diaries-searching-for-seabird-blood-in-the-sunny-caribbean/ https://www.birdscaribbean.org/2017/05/bahama-swallows-in-the-pine-islands-report-from-the-field/ https://www.birdscaribbean.org/2017/12/forest-restoration-in-the-dominican-republic-how-i-got-the-birds-to-work-for-me/

January 5, 2021

The 2021 Caribbean Waterbird Census: Join us from Jan 14th – Feb 3rd

The 12^th annual Caribbean Waterbird Census (CWC) starts on Thursday January 14th and we need your help surveying all types of waterbirds on your island! Anyone can participate in the CWC. Grab your binoculars and your mask, head out to your nearest wetland or beach, and record the birds you see. Detailed information about how to conduct surveys can be found here.

Starting in 2010, dedicated bird enthusiasts have ventured into wetlands across the Caribbean to systematically survey all types of waterbirds (shorebirds, seabirds, wading birds, marshbirds, and waterfowl) each January 14^th to February 3^rd. The Caribbean is home to over 185 species of waterbirds, including a number of endemic and globally threatened species and many migrants. A structured, ongoing survey is essential for understanding how to best conserve this exceptional group of birds and manage their habitats.

Good luck, stay safe, and we look forward to hearing about your findings. If you have any exciting observations to report or photos to share, or need help with bird ID, please post to our Waterbird Group Listserve (everyone is welcome to join) and/or on our BirdsCaribbean Facebook page. For sharing on social media, use hashtags: #CaribbeanWaterbirdCensus and #WaterbirdsCount AND please tag us: @BirdsCaribbean

Count Birds & Stay Healthy

In these extraordinary times, many of our friends and partners are still trying to navigate their new normal and safely participate in outdoor activities. However, in many countries, we understand it is still not possible to do so. Participants of the Caribbean Waterbird Census should check their national guidelines to make sure their activities are in compliance with local health recommendations. Please take all the necessary precautions and stay safe, wherever you are!

The CWC Provides Critical Information about Wetlands & the Birds that Rely on Them

Wetlands are unique ecosystems that provide critical habitat to many specialist species. They are also one of the most threatened habitats in the world. Since 1900, 64% of the world’s wetlands have disappeared, and the Caribbean region is no exception to this crisis. In order to properly manage habitat for waterbirds in the Caribbean, we need to understand waterbird population trends. In addition, monitoring the health of waterbird populations and their habitats is beneficial to both birds and people, since we rely on the same habitats for our health and well-being.

Survey Team for North and Middle Caicos, Sarah Neima, Caleb Spiegel, Junel Blaise, B Naqqi Manco, Elise Elliott-Smith, Dodley Prosper, Craig Watson (Photo by Jen Rock)

Recent survey work in Turks and Caicos has revealed important sites for many shorebird species, including birds of conservation concern such as the Piping Plover and rufa Red Knot. In fact, teams surveying there recently documented record-breaking numbers of wintering Piping Plover in some areas and recording new Piping Plover sites altogether. This information is so important for conservation as just a few decades ago it was not well-understood where these endangered birds spent the winter. Now, we know the Caribbean plays a major role for the species and we are learning more with every survey effort.

Survey data can also be used as a tool to designate habitats that are essential for birds. For example, The Cargill Salt Ponds in Bonaire were designated a Western Hemisphere Shorebird Reserve Network (WHSRN) site of Regional Importance as a direct result of survey efforts. With the survey data we collected, our team was able to provide evidence that the site met the criteria for listing. Now, Cargill is dedicated to managing habitat for shorebirds on their property. It’s amazing what birding can achieve!

The CWC is also important for monitoring how hurricanes effect bird abundance and distribution. In 2017, Hurricanes Irma and Maria wreaked havoc in the Caribbean, damaging fragile wetland ecosystems. Results from the CWC in 2018 several months later were concerning, with our counters reporting dramatic declines in common bird species. The CWC in 2019 revealed encouraging numbers, especially for shorebird populations. It is important to continue monitoring the response of birds to hurricanes in the years that follow and we look forward to what the 2021 CWC will reveal.

Banded Birds

Be sure to be on the lookout for banded birds! Especially Piping Plovers, Red Knots, Semipalmated Sandpipers, Ruddy Turnstones, and Sanderlings. You may report your sightings to BandedBirds.org and the USGS Bird Banding Lab which oversee all banding in the United States.

Need Help?

Find a tricky shorebird in winter plumage that you can’t identify? Need help setting up an eBird account? Want to participate in the CWC but you’re not sure how to get started? Please contact BirdsCaribbean’s Executive Director Lisa Sorenson at lisa.sorenson@birdscaribbean.org.

Shorebird ID Resources

You can find all our free, downloadable shorebird resources by clicking “Resources” –> “Shorebird Resources” at the top of the page. You can download the pdf of our Quick ID Guide to Common Shorebirds of the Caribbean here. For use in the field, print on cardstock and laminate.

Also, check out our Common Shorebirds of the Caribbean poster, which is available in English, Spanish, and French. Download them from this page.

We also have available a two-page Common Shorebirds of the Caribbean ID Guide – you can download it here. All these ID resources work well in the entire Atlantic Flyway, not just the Caribbean islands.

Entering CWC Data in eBird

CWC data is stored on eBird Caribbean. If you participate in the CWC, it’s very important that you enter your data through this website using the correct CWC protocol, because this is where we collate all the data used for analyses. We don’t want to miss a single bird or site! Simply making an eBird list during these dates is not enough- the protocol is required for it to be CWC data.

If you are using the mobile eBird app to enter your data:

First, make sure the portal is set to eBird Caribbean (“Settings” –> “Portal”)
After you are done birding and press stop “Stop Track”
On the next page under the Date/Location and above Observers, click on “Incidental”
Select the appropriate CWC protocol under Observation Type

If you are using a desktop computer to enter your data:

Sign into your account on ebird.org/Caribbean
Enter location information
Select the appropriate CWC protocol under Observation Type

If you recorded your CWC data using the mobile eBird app and didn’t use the eBird Caribbean portal/input the correct CWC protocol :

After you have submitted your checklist on your smartphone:

Log into eBird on a desktop computer
Click on “My eBird” at the top of the screen
Click on “Manage My Checklists” on the right menu
For your CWC checklist, click on “View or Edit”
Click on “Edit Date and Effort”
For Observation Type, select “Other” and then choose the appropriate CWC protocol

December 7, 2020

BirdsCaribbean Expresses Grave Concern Over Proposed Changes to Migratory Bird Treaty Act

BirdsCaribbean is deeply concerned about the proposed changes to the United States Migratory Bird Treaty Act (MBTA). The rule changes will significantly increase the hazard levels for our migratory birds. We are asking you to please take action by signing and sharing the petitions below as soon as possible & by December the 27th at the latest!

Prairie Warbler perched in a tree in the Bahamas — Prairie Warbler numbers have declined in recent years due to loss of their preferred habitats. Along with many other migratory birds, they also face threats such as collisions with glass and predation from free-roaming cats. (Photo by Beth Hamel)

BirdsCaribbean, the largest non-governmental conservation organization in the Caribbean, is registering its strong opposition to proposed changes to rules governing the 1918 Migratory Bird Treaty Act (MBTA). In its Final Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) on Regulations Governing the Take of Migratory Birds dated November 2020, the U.S. Department of the Interior claims that the new regulation “would provide legal certainty for the public regarding what actions are prohibited under the MBTA.” In effect, however, it would reduce liability for the accidental “take” of migratory birds by corporate entities such as oil and gas companies, construction firms and the like.

“We are deeply concerned by the persistent efforts to undermine the MBTA, which has protected our birds for well for over a century,” said Executive Director of BirdsCaribbean, Lisa Sorenson. “Many of the 350 migratory bird species that breed in North America and winter further south are already endangered. This proposed action is another setback for the many international conservation organizations such as ours that are working diligently together to protect these species. Scientists, researchers, and governments across the region have been collaborating to create networks such as the Western Hemisphere Shorebird Reserve Network that are critical to the birds’ survival.”

Group of Red Knot moulting from breeding to winter plumage — Red Knots breed in the far north, in the Arctic & can spend the winter as far south as the southern most tip of South America. This means they make some amazing migratory journeys of tens of thousands of miles overall. Red Knots gather in large groups in some places during autumn and winter; this makes them vulnerable to threats like sea-level rise and hunting, their population is currently declining. (Photo by Matt Grube)

BirdsCaribbean believes that these rule changes will significantly increase the hazard levels for the birds themselves. Migratory birds already have to contend with numerous obstacles, including the growing impacts of climate change and a spectrum of human activities that damage their habitats and cause their deaths, such as oil spills and collisions with infrastructure. They must be protected throughout their annual cycles, including where they breed, overwinter, and stop to refuel during their remarkable journeys.

“Migratory birds are the life and soul of the Americas,” noted Sorenson. “Not only do migratory birds bring diversity and an irreplaceable balance to our ecosystems, they bring happiness to individuals and communities across the region, who look forward to their arrival each year. Whether tiny warblers, birds of prey, or shorebirds, migratory birds are embedded in the cultures—and oftentimes livelihoods—of all the countries they visit. Every year on World Migratory Bird Day we celebrate their unique qualities and recognize the amazing natural phenomenon which is migration, about which there is still so much to learn.”

This is not the first attempt that the U.S. Department of the Interior has attempted to weaken the MBTA rule. The proposed efforts have already been rejected by a federal district court back in December of 2017. However, if successful this time, this change will add to more than 125 environmental policies that have been undermined by the Trump administration, causing untold harm to the environment and bird habitats.

How You Can Help

Bicknell's Thrush on branch singing — The Bicknell’s Thrush population is small and numbers are declining. Classified as Vulnerable by the IUCN, it is considered one of North America’s most at-risk breeding songbirds. They migrate through North America and spend the winter on only four Greater Antillean islands – Hispaniola, Cuba, Jamaica, and Puerto Rico. (Photo by Dax Roman)

Please sign and share the action alerts/ petitions below, which will let your state representatives know that you do not agree with weakening the MBTA. (note – you need to be a US resident to participate in the action alerts).

https://abcbirds.org/action/petition-mbta

https://act.audubon.org/a/dont-let-interior-department-gut-migratory-bird-treaty-act

https://www.thepetitionsite.com/176/084/033/with-a-simple-change-to-policy-trump-doomed-millions-of-birds-to-die/

https://www.change.org/p/u-s-fish-and-wildlife-service-help-save-migratory-birds?redirect=false

https://www.defenders.org/protecting-migratory-birds

Ospry holding fish in its talons — Osprey catching a fish. This species was endangered by the effects of pesticides in the mid-20th century. It relies on wetlands for it food during migration, as well as its breeding habitat. (Photo by Bernie Duhamel)

September 25, 2020

The Shorebirds Showed Up: A Successful Caribbean Shorebird Count for World Shorebirds Day

September 15, 2020

Birds Connect Our World – Day 10

Celebrate World Migratory Bird Day (WMBD) with us in our virtual “Birds Connect Our World” edition! Have fun learning about a new migratory bird every day. We have colouring pages, puzzles, activities, and more. Download for free and enjoy nature with your family at home. This week we are also celebrating World Shorebirds Day and Global Shorebird Count (3 to 9 September).

Migratory Bird of the Day: Black-necked Stilt

Unlike many shorebirds, the elegant Black-necked Stilt is instantly recognizable. It has very long stilt-like red-pink legs and is bright white with striking black on the head, neck and back. When it flies you can see its long pink legs trailing out behind. It uses its long thin beak to probe for food in mud and water. This group of shorebirds has the second-longest legs, in relation to its body size, of any bird in the word! Only the flamingos beat them.

This shorebird is resident in the Caribbean and breeds here, especially in parts of the Bahamas, the Virgin and Cayman Islands and Greater Antilles. This means you might see juvenile birds as well as adults. These are often smaller, with paler pink legs, and dark brown, rather than black on their necks and backs. Unlike some of our other migratory shorebirds, Black-necked Stilts may actually become less common in some areas of the Caribbean in the autumn and winter.

When disturbed, Black-necked Stilts are very noisy birds – they sound the alarm with a loud raucous series of notes wit-wit-wit-wit-wit-wit that they give incessantly until the disturbance goes away. Vigilant parents will also dive at predators and feign a broken wing to lead predators away from the nest.

Black-necked Stilts can be found in all sorts of wetlands, inland or by the coast. They use wetland areas to nest as well as to spend the winter. They are very adaptable and will use man-made wetlands such as sewage ponds and rice-fields. They feed by wading through the water, catching aquatic insects, crustaceans and even small frogs and fish! Learn more about this species, including its range, photos, and calls here.

Colour in the Black-necked Stilt!

Download the page from Migratory Birds of the West Indies Colouring Book. Use the photos below as your guide, or you can look up pictures of the bird online or in a bird field guide if you have one. Share your coloured-in page with us by posting it online and tagging us @BirdsCaribbean @WorldShorebirdsDay #WMBD2020Carib #WorldShoreBirdsDay

Listen to the call of the Black-necked Stilt

When disturbed, Black-necked Stilt sound the alarm with a loud raucous series of notes wit-wit-wit-wit-wit-wit that they give incessantly until the disturbance goes away.

Puzzle of the Day

Click on the images below to do the puzzles. You can make the puzzle as easy or as hard as you like – for example, 6, 8, or 12 pieces for young children, all the way up to 1,024 pieces for those that are up for a challenge!

Black-necked Stilt and chicks — Black-necked Stilt parent and 4 fluffy chicks – the chicks leave the nest within a day and can feed themselves, but the parents brood them and guard them until they older. (Photo by Rick Evets)

Black-necked Stilts in flight — Black-necked Stilts are impressive in flight with their long pink legs trailing behind and calling loudly as they fly. (Photo by Ray Robles)

Activity of the Day

FOR KIDS: Today we have reached the end of our celebration of shorebirds in the Caribbean! We have told you about 10 different species of shorebirds. How many do you know? Remind yourself of each on of these amazing birds by playing our Shorebirds Memory Matching Game. Each time you make a match there will be a short paragraph on the species main ID tips. Don’t forget that some of these birds look different in their breeding plumage compared to their winter plumage! Having trouble seeing all 10 pairs on your screen? Just use the drop-down box in the top right of the screen to reduce the number of pairs. FOR KIDS AND ADULTS:

Visit a pond, wetland or nearby beach and see how many different shorebirds and waterbirds you can find and identify. Use a bird field guide or the FREE Merlin bird ID app to help you identify the birds you are seeing.
If you’re able, do a count of the species that you see – learn more about counting waterbirds and the Caribbean waterbird Census at this link. Learn more about World Shorebirds Day and the Global Shorebird Count (September 3 to 9, 2020) at this link.
Enjoy the videos below of Black-necked Stilts. In the first one you can see a Black-necked Stilt using it’s long legs to wade into deep water, and plunging in its head to look for food. In the second video a flock of Black-necked Stilts take flight; notice their striking black and white plumage and their long legs trailing behind them!
Visit MigratoryBirdDay.org for many more free activities and resources to learn about migratory birds, their threats and conservation actions you can take.

September 14, 2020

Birds Connect Our World – Day 9

Migratory Bird of the Day: Greater Yellowlegs

There is no mystery as to where this elegant, fairly large shorebird got its name. The long, bright yellow legs are a real give-away when identifying this bird. But take care not to mix it up with its smaller cousin the Lesser Yellowlegs! To pick out the Greater Yellowlegs, as well as the larger size, look for the relatively longer beak, sometimes slightly upturned. Also overall look Greater Yellowlegs look a bit chunkier. Greater Yellowlegs are mottled grey above and white on the belly. You will often hear their three to four ringing note “Kiu-Kiu-Kiu” calls, which are another great way to be sure you got the right species ID. (Lesser Yellowlegs usually give only 2 notes and the call is sharper and more clipped.) Greater Yellowlegs breed in the boreal forests of Canada and Alaska, in bogs and marshes. They start arriving in the Caribbean from August. Greater Yellowlegs are most commonly seen on their southward migration through until October. Some will continue on to South America, but others will spend the winter here. Greater Yellowlegs can be found in wetlands, both freshwater and on the coast. They show up in rice-fields, mud flats and on mangrove edges. They love to wade into the water, searching for small fish, crustaceans and snails. Sometimes this means you cannot see their yellow legs! In some parts of the Caribbean, hunters shoot Greater Yellowlegs and other shorebirds. But, one of the main threats to Greater Yellowlegs is the ongoing loss of wetland habitats, in the places it spends the winter. Making sure that wetlands in the Caribbean are preserved will help this species and many others find safe, food-rich places either to refuel on migration or to spend the winter. Learn more about this species, including its range, photos, and calls here.

Colour in the Greater Yellowlegs!

Listen to the call of the Greater Yellowlegs

The Greater Yellowlegs call is a strident three or four-note “Kiu-Kiu-Kiu.“

Puzzle of the Day

Greater Yellowlegs with tiny fish — Greater Yellowlegs. One of the main threats to Greater Yellowlegs is the ongoing loss of wetland habitats, in the places it spends the winter (Photo by Jeff Gerbracht)

Greater and Lesser Yellowlegs. The difference in size is apparent if you see them side by side, but when they are alone, it is difficult to judge the bird’s size! In this case, the best ID tip is to use the length of the bill relative to the head size. If it is about equal (1:1), then it is a Lesser Yellowlegs. If it is clearly longer than the head width (about 1.5 to 1), then it is likely a Greater Yellowlegs. (Photo by Anthony VanSchoor)

Activity of the Day

FOR KIDS: Migrating shorebirds spend lots of their time flying. Remember that Whimbrels can fly for up to 6 days without stopping! You can make your own flying shorebird, with this flight animator. Just follow the instructions to get your shorebird flying! FOR KIDS AND ADULTS:

Visit a pond, wetland or nearby beach and see how many different shorebirds and waterbirds you can find and identify. Use a bird field guide or the FREE Merlin bird ID app to help you identify the birds you are seeing.
If you’re able, do a count of the species that you see – learn more about counting waterbirds and the Caribbean waterbird Census at this link. Learn more about World Shorebirds Day and the Global Shorebird Count (September 3 to 9, 2020) at this link.
Enjoy the videos below of feeding Greater Yellowlegs. The first video show a bird feeding, as this species often does, in shallow and sometimes deep water, probing and swishing its long beak from side to side to stir up the water and feel for its prey. The second video is longer and shows a useful comparison of Greater Yellowlegs with Lesser Yellowlegs. You can also hear the 3-4 note call tew tew tew that the Greater Yellowlegs often gives when alarmed or taking flight.
Visit MigratoryBirdDay.org for many more free activities and resources to learn about migratory birds, their threats and conservation actions you can take.

September 12, 2020

Birds Connect Our World – Day 8

Migratory Bird of the Day: Piping Plover

This small, plump, sand-colored shorebird has orange legs and a short stubby beak. In the spring and summer this beak has an orange base and birds have a black band all or part of the way around their neck and breast. In the autumn and winter the beak is usually all black and some birds completely lose the band on their breast. They make a high-pitched whistling call. Piping Plovers do not go as far south as some shorebirds and mainly spend the winter in the Northern Caribbean. The Bahamas, Turks and Caicos Islands, and Cuba are important wintering grounds. During the autumn and winter Piping Plovers can be found in sandy places at the water’s edge. Here they look for worms, insects and mollusks to eat. They can be seen quickly running in search of food and suddenly stopping when they find something. Piping Plovers breed in North America. Developments on beaches and lake shores mean Piping Plovers have lost some of their breeding habitat. This means Piping Plovers are now far less common than they used to be. Nesting areas on beaches are now often protected from disturbance to try to help the population increase. Making sure they also have safe places to feed and rest in the Caribbean during the winter is also important. You can find out more about a year in the life of Piping Plover including an important discovery in the Bahamas. Learn more about this species, including its range, photos, and calls here.

Colour in the Piping Plover!

Listen to the call of the Piping Plover

The Piping Plover’s call is rather soft whistling “peep”

Puzzle of the Day

Breeding Piping Plover. Piping Plovers breed in North America. Developments on beaches and lake shores mean Piping Plovers have lost some of their breeding habitat (Photo by BN Singh)

Non-breeding Piping Plover. . During the autumn and winter Piping Plovers can be found in sandy places at the water’s edge. Here they look for worms, insects and mollusks to eat. (Photo by Hemant Kishan)

Activity of the Day

FOR KIDS: Over the last week we have met a few different types of Plovers. Can you remember what each one looked like? Test you knowledge by trying the match pictures of each Plover species to their names. Try looking back at previous days for tips on what each Plover looked like! And find the Answer Key here. FOR KIDS AND ADULTS:

Visit a pond, wetland or nearby beach and see how many different shorebirds and waterbirds you can find and identify. Use a bird field guide or the FREE Merlin bird ID app to help you identify the birds you are seeing.
If you’re able, do a count of the species that you see – learn more about counting waterbirds and the Caribbean waterbird Census at this link. Learn more about World Shorebirds Day and the Global Shorebird Count (September 3 to 9, 2020) at this link.
Enjoy the videos below of Piping Plovers in different types of plumage. The first show a Piping Plover spending the winter in the Caribbean (Cuba). The second video was filmed in April and you can see what Piping Plovers look like in breeding plumage. In both you can see how ’round’ and plump looking these birds are!
Visit MigratoryBirdDay.org for many more free activities and resources to learn about migratory birds, their threats and conservation actions you can take.

September 11, 2020

Birds Connect Our World – Day 7

Migratory Bird of the Day: Wilson’s Plover

The Wilson’s Plover is a high spirited, medium-sized shorebird, with a distinctive thick black beak. In fact, this species is sometimes called the “Thick-billed Plover.”

This plover has pale legs and large eyes. Breeding adults are medium brown coloured on the back, and white on the belly, with a single breast band that is blackish in males and brownish in females. During the winter the male’s black breast band turns brown and they start to look more like females.

Wilson’s Plovers will give loud, sharp, “wheep” and “whip” alarm calls, especially during the breeding season. And they perform convincing “broken-wing” displays in an attempt to lure potential predators away from their nests.

Wilson’s Plovers live on the coast and can be found on beaches and at the edges of lagoons and ponds. They breed across a wide area, from the U.S. south Atlantic coast into South America. Wilson’s Plovers can be found in the northern part of the Caribbean during most months of the year and across the Caribbean during the winter months.

Many Wilson’s Plovers live in places with year-round warm weather. This means they are only medium-distance migrants, with only those birds breeding furthest North in the range moving South in winter. Many of the Wilson’s Plovers in the Caribbean are resident and breed here.

One of the Wilson’s Plover’s favourite foods is the fiddler crab. They watch for them, and then run and lunge, capturing them with their large, strong beaks. With their large eyes and amazing eyesight, they can hunt during both day and night. They teach their chicks to hunt for fiddler crabs at about three weeks old.

The Wilson’s Plover is listed in the U.S. as a Species of High Concern, as it is in apparent decline. Loss of habitat and human disturbance to nesting areas are the primary threats to this species. Learn more about this species, including its range, photos, and calls here.

Colour in the Wilson’s Plover!

Listen to the call of the Wilson’s Plover

The Wilson’s Plover’s call is sharp “Whit” whistle, which it often repeats.

Puzzle of the Day

Female Wilson's Plover — Female Wilson’s Plover. The Wilson’s Plover is listed in the U.S. as a Species of High Concern, as it is in apparent decline. Loss of habitat and human disturbance to nesting areas are the primary threats to this species. (Photo by Margo Zdravkovic)

Male Wilson's Plover — Male Wilson’s Plover. During the winter the male’s black breast band turns brown and they start to look more like females. (Photo by Hemant Kishan)

Activity of the Day

FOR KIDS: Fiddler Crabs are one of the Wilson’s Plovers favourite foods. They learn how to hunt for them from their parents when they are just three weeks old! Join up the dots and help the Wilson’s Plover find a tasty crab to eat. FOR KIDS AND ADULTS:

Visit a pond, wetland or nearby beach and see how many different shorebirds and waterbirds you can find and identify. Use a bird field guide or the FREE Merlin bird ID app to help you identify the birds you are seeing.
If you’re able, do a count of the species that you see – learn more about counting waterbirds and the Caribbean waterbird Census at this link. Learn more about World Shorebirds Day and the Global Shorebird Count (September 3 to 9, 2020) at this link.
Enjoy the videos below of Wilson’s Plovers at the beach! In the first you can see the difference between the male (with it’s black breast band) and female (the breast band it brown). The second shows a Wilson’s Plover eating a crab- it’s favourite food.
Visit MigratoryBirdDay.org for many more free activities and resources to learn about migratory birds, their threats and conservation actions you can take.

September 10, 2020

Birds Connect Our World – Day 6

Migratory Bird of the Day: Whimbrel

Whimbrels are shorebirds that are easy to identify from their large size and long down-curved bills. They are mottled brown in colour, with long legs and a longish neck. The name ‘Whimbrel’ in English is probably an interpretation of the distinctive rippling whistling calls they give.

Whimbrels like most types of wetlands, from ponds, to swamps, marshes, mudflats and sometimes beaches. They love to eat crabs, digging them out of their burrows with that long curved bill. They also eat fish, aquatic worms, insects, and berries.

The Whimbrels that we see on migration in the Caribbean will have travelled all the way from breeding areas in Alaska and Canada. They can fly non-stop for up to 6 days! The best time to see Whimbrels in the Caribbean is during September. They can show up anywhere in the region but you might only see one or two at a time. They can be more numerous in some places in Jamaica and Puerto Rico.

Like so many shorebirds, sadly Whimbrels numbers are in decline. They are threatened by hunting and habitat loss, meaning conserving Caribbean wetlands is so important for helping birds like Whimbrels. Especially because some Whimbrels will spend the whole winter in the Caribbean. A satellite tagged Whimbrel, named ‘Hope’ did just that, spending several winters on Great Pond on St. Croix. Hope’s migration story helped to ensure the future of her winter home on St. Croix. You can find out about Hope in the children’s story she inspired called “Hope is Here!” by Cristina Kessler and Marcos Castillo. Learn more about this species, including its range, photos, and calls here.

Colour in the Whimbrel!

Listen to the call of the Whimbrel

The Whimbrel’s call is a rapid series of piping notes “whee-whee-whee-whee” that sound slurred and merge together.

Puzzle of the Day

Activity of the Day

For KIDS: Find the hidden words in our shorebird themed word search! All the words are names for types of shorebirds, words linked to their migration, where they live and the foods that they eat. How many can you find? Here is the Answer Key.

FOR KIDS AND ADULTS:

Visit a pond, wetland or nearby beach and see how many different shorebirds and waterbirds you can find and identify. Use a bird field guide or the FREE Merlin bird ID app to help you identify the birds you are seeing.
If you’re able, do a count of the species that you see – learn more about counting waterbirds and the Caribbean waterbird Census at this link. Learn more about World Shorebirds Day and the Global Shorebird Count (September 3 to 9, 2020) at this link.
Enjoy the video below of a Whimbrel looking for food on a sandy beach in December. You can see it using it’s long beak to find and pull a crab out of the sand! You will also notice how large the Whimbrel is compared to the smaller shorebirds running past it. These pale-coloured birds are Sanderlings who also turn up in the Caribbean in the winter.
Visit MigratoryBirdDay.org for many more free activities and resources to learn about migratory birds, their threats and conservation actions you can take.

September 9, 2020

Birds Connect Our World – Day 5

Migratory Bird of the Day: Semipalmated Plover

Semipalmated Plovers are small, stocky shorebirds with medium brown upperparts, white underparts, short stubby bills, and a dark band around their neck and breast. Their legs are orange, and so is the base of their beak; although this fades to black by winter. They look very similar to Piping Plovers, but are a warmer brown colour. The name ‘Semipalmated’ comes from the fact they have slightly webbed toes that they can use to swim short distances.

Semipalmated Plovers breed in the arctic and the far north of the US and Canada. They arrive in the Caribbean in the autumn. Some will venture further south, but many of them will spend the winter here, in tidal areas, salt ponds, beaches, and mudflats. They feed on marine worms, crustaceans, and small mollusks.

Scientists in Brazil noticed that Semipalmated Plovers use something called ‘foot-trembling’ to get food. They stand still on one leg, and shake the other leg very fast, with their foot in the mud. This makes any worms of crustaceans move, which means the Plover can spot them more easily and gobble them up.

Semipalmated Plovers like to flock together for safety and you might spot large groups of them feeding together. As well as their own kind, Semipalmated Plovers are also happy to mix with other shorebird species out on the mud or sand. Learn more about this species, including its range, photos, and calls here.

Colour in the Semipalmated Plover!

Listen to the call of the Semipalmated Plover

The Semipalmated Plover’s call is a piping two-note “tu-ee.”

Puzzle of the Day

Activity of the Day

For KIDS: Make your own shorebirds! Download the pieces and then cut out and assemble these two cute shorebirds. You can use them to imagine the long journeys shorebirds like these make and the adventures they might have on the way!

FOR KIDS AND ADULTS:

Visit a pond, wetland or nearby beach and see how many different shorebirds and waterbirds you can find and identify. Use a bird field guide or the FREE Merlin bird ID app to help you identify the birds you are seeing.
If you’re able, do a count of the species that you see – learn more about counting waterbirds and the Caribbean waterbird Census at this link. Learn more about World Shorebirds Day and the Global Shorebird Count (September 3 to 9, 2020) at this link.
Enjoy the videos below of Semipalmated Plovers feeding. In the first, filmed in April, the bird is starting to get it’s breeding plumage. This video shows well the ‘run and stop” feeding method of plovers – will see it looking for food items running and then stopping to feed. In the second video (with Spanish commentary) the bird is in it’s winter plumage and can be seen using ‘foot-trembling’ to find food.
Visit MigratoryBirdDay.org for many more free activities and resources to learn about migratory birds, their threats and conservation actions you can take.

Category: Shorebirds

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Discover Caribbean Shorebirds this World Shorebirds Day—New Video!

Oldest Birding Group in Cuba Wins Prestigious Ralph W. Schreiber Award at the 2021 AOS Awards!

Help Us Find the ‘Missing’ Red Knots! Do a CWC Count July 10-20

Tips for Sharing the Shore with Shorebirds

Birds of Puerto Rico East to Antigua in Your Pocket

Global Big Day 2021 Photography Awards

Getting a Bird’s Eye View: Increasing Public Awareness of Wetland Birds on Union Island

The Caribbean Motus Collaboration—Help us Develop this Exciting New Program!

Caribbean Waterbird Census 2021 – Keeping an Eye on Our Wetland Birds!

Hope for the Future: Bringing Shorebirds to the People in Montserrat

A Feathery Finale to the Caribbean Waterbird Census!

Taking a Look at Shorebirds in Trinidad: A Population Update and Testing a New Survey Method

The Finer Points of Waterbird and Shorebird ID: A Bit of a Brain Twister

Funding Opportunity—The David S. Lee Fund for the Conservation of Caribbean Birds

The 2021 Caribbean Waterbird Census: Join us from Jan 14th – Feb 3rd

BirdsCaribbean Expresses Grave Concern Over Proposed Changes to Migratory Bird Treaty Act

The Shorebirds Showed Up: A Successful Caribbean Shorebird Count for World Shorebirds Day

Birds Connect Our World – Day 10

Birds Connect Our World – Day 9

Birds Connect Our World – Day 8

Birds Connect Our World – Day 7

Birds Connect Our World – Day 6

Birds Connect Our World – Day 5

Those confusing waterbirds!

Getting it all down on eBird

Twelve Birds of Christmas – BirdsCaribbean Remix

An Oriole in a Pine Tree – Bahama Oriole

Two Grenada Doves

Three French Peckers – Guadeloupe Woodpecker

Four Blackbirds – Jamaican Blackbird

Five Golden Swallows

Six Songbirds Singing – Summer Tanager

Seven Parrots Squawking – St. Vincent Parrot

Eight Thrashers Thrashing – White-breasted Thrasher

Nine Flickers Flicking – Fernandina’s Flicker

Ten Plovers Piping – Piping Plover

Eleven egrets dancing – Reddish Egret

Twelve Whistlers Whistling – West Indian Whistling-Duck

And now our 12 Caribbean Birds of Christmas Advent calendar is complete!

Highlights from this year’s WMBD activities!

Puerto Rico

Dominican Republic

Montserrat

Bonaire

Bird Costume Party Winners!

Enjoy these photos from WMBD celebrations across the Caribbean!

The Sad Story of Machi and Goshen

A Flood of Letters, and a Change in Guadeloupe

We Must Celebrate the Successes!

Some Positive Changes to Hunting in Barbados

Refuge from the Storm for Shorebirds on Barbados?

What Can We Do?

Barbados Needs More Wetlands – Hunters Could Play a Role

Let’s Work Together

Shorebirds in Trouble

Keeping Track of Lesser Yellowlegs

Amazing Journeys Revealed

find out more about Lesser Yellowlegs and hunting in the Caribbean in this short video

Learn more details about Laura’s fascinating research on lesser yellowlegs’ migration by watching this webinar, recorded for world migratory bird day, OCtober, 2021.

Enjoy our short video, created in honor of World Shorebirds Day 2021!

Conservation Across Borders

Why are Shorebirds in Trouble?

What Can We Do the Help Shorebirds?

Please enjoy and share our video!

Global Shorebird Count 2021

Make Your Shorebirds Count—Submit & Share Your Data!

What if you spot a bird with a band on its leg?

Global Shorebird Count 101

Fun activities to engage kids in exploring wetlands and beaches

Get Social for Shorebirds

Join the Global Shorebird Count, September 1 to 7 – every shorebird counts!

Please enjoy and share our video!

Who was Dr. Schreiber?

All about the Bird Ecology Group (BEG)

The BEG: Busy with Piping Plovers

BEG has received many awards and plaudits!

Nurturing the ornithologists and educators of the future

The thriving Caribbean Endemic Bird Festival in Cuba

Help Us Find Out What Happened: CWC count July 10-20

Red Knots in Trouble

Red Knot ID Tips – Click on each photo below to view larger.

Your CWC Count Data is needed!

Share this special CWC July Count, Red Knot edition, with your networks!

Here are some easy tips for sharing the shore with shorebirds this summer and making your trip more enjoyable:

PHOTOGRAPHY AWARDS

Enjoy this gallery of bird, people and scenery photos taken on Global Big Day by various team members in the Caribbean, US, UK, Costa Rica, Panama, Netherlands, and more!

Finding the best ways to protect birds and their habitats

So…what’s so special about Belmont Salt Pond?

Taking a community-based approach

Follow the signs!

Keeping the trash at bay

Reaching out in different ways

World Shorebirds Day

Birds of Belmont Salt Pond – A New Resource!

Bird Identification Training Workshop—“Conserving Caribbean Shorebirds and their Habitats”

Continued CWC Monitoring

How did the community respond to our work?

What is Motus?

Expanding the Motus Network in the Caribbean

Why is this Important?

Our birds are declining at alarming rates.

Needed now: An effective bird monitoring system in the Caribbean

The Caribbean Motus Collaboration (CMC) can inform and promote bird conservation