Caribbean Birding Trail

Every quarter Caribbean airline Liat puts out a complimentary magazine highlighting things to do and see in the Caribbean. Each issue contains a feature called “Caribbean Birdwatch,” a section where SCSCB partners can contribute recent bird news from the region. Click here to access the most recent electronic issue of Zing.

What is most exciting for us is that the Caribbean Birdwatch page now regularly features a segment on the Caribbean Birding Trail, with each edition focusing on the top three birding spots in a country. Last edition the focus was on the Dominican Republic, and currently it is on Trinidad & Tobago.

Below are the top three sites chosen by the contributors to the magazine. If you disagree or would like to see more information provided on our website about these sites, please contact us or nominate a site!

Number 1 is the Caroni Swamp – 6,000 ha of mangrove and herbaceous marsh, home to over 186 species of birds.

Number 2 is Nariva Swamp, the largest freshwater swamp in Trinidad covering almost 7000 ha on the east coast of the island. Over 175 species of birds have been recorded in this mysterious swamp including orange-winged parrots, red-bellied macaws, tyrants, kingfishers and local and migratory species of herons and ducks.

Number 3 is the Asa Wright Nature Centre, located in the mountains of the northern range of Trinidad. Here you will see many Trinidadian specialties, like the only nocturnal fruit-eating bird in the world, the oilbird.

All three of these sites will eventually be listed on this website in more detail, so keep checking back and please also make your contributions about places to go for birding in the Caribbean, to help us develop the Caribbean Birding Trail website!

Written by Erika Gates, as reported in the Bahamas Weekly, Freeport, Grand Bahama Island

The student art competition during International Migratory Bird Month at Garden of the Groves climaxed with the judging of the best paintings depicting birds migrating to Grand Bahama Island. Over 30 students presented outstanding works under the theme “Go Wild, Go Birding” and the judges had a difficult time to determine the winners. First prize was $100.00, second $50.00 and two third prizes were awarded in the amount of $25.00 each. All monies to be redeemed for school and educational supplies at Bellevue Gifts and Bellevue Business Depot.

“I am very impressed with the outstanding quality of these pictures,” commented Erika Gates of Garden of the Groves, “the details in the drawings of the birds are so accurate that I am able to identify each of their birds which is amazing!”

On October 11-14, 2011 the second annual Student Conference on Conservation Science (SCCS) was held at the American Museum of Natural History in New York City. The conference is designed for graduate students, post-doctoral fellows, and early-career professionals pursuing the field of conservation science. The SCCS provides a unique opportunity for attendees to present their work before established leaders in science, policy, and management. In addition to formal presentations, the conference offers numerous opportunities to interact with senior-level conservation professionals at workshops, informal gatherings, and networking events.

At two separate sessions SCSCB intern Holly Robertson presented a poster on the Caribbean Birding Trail, which lays out the background and structure of the project she is helping to develop for her master’s degree program at the Nelson Institute for Environmental Studies at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. The title of the poster is Going Beyond the Beach: Sustainable Tourism in the Caribbean, referencing the work being done to develop the eco-tourism initiative called the Caribbean Birding Trail (CBT).

The Caribbean is identified as the most tourism-dependent region in the world and the poster provides an overview of the related conservation issues. The industry has become dominated by all-inclusive resorts and cruise ships; tourism that trends around “sun and sand.” Given the international ownership of these businesses, however, a very small percentage of these tourism dollars remain in the local communities. In addition, mass tourism of this kind strain island resources and degrade coastlines and fragile marine ecosystems. The CBT is being developed to combat these adverse effects by building capacity within local communities to offer a more sustainable tourism product, one centered around the islands’ natural and cultural resources. Click on the image below for better detail of the poster.

Every quarter Caribbean airline Liat puts out a complimentary magazine highlighting things to do and see in the Caribbean. Each issue contains a feature called “Caribbean Birdwatch,” a section where SCSCB partners can contribute recent bird news from the region. Click here to access the most recent electronic issue of Zing.

The most recent issue focuses on the Dominican Republic and includes a special section on the Caribbean Birding Trail and the top three birdwatching hotspots in the D.R.

Number 1 is the National Botanical Garden in northern Santo Domingo. The garden is a great place to first encounter the country’s common birds. The Vervain Hummingbird, Broad-billed Tody, Bananaquit, and Black-crowned Palm-Tanager are also possible sightings here. This is also an excellent site for seeing the reclusive Limpkin, and the threatened West-Indian Whistling Duck and Hispaniolan Parakeet.

Number 2 is Salinas de Bani, located on a peninsula 60 km west of Santo Domingo. Large ponds producing salt attract birds such as egrets and herons as well as flamingos and clapper rails. Shorebirds are plentiful in the mudflats and salt pans. Many warblers frequent the mangroves and thickets along the lagoons, while the bay hosts boobies, pelicans, and other seabirds.

Number 3 is the north slope of the Sierra de Bahoruco, where all but two of the endemics can be found. In the dry and transitional forests look for the rare Bay-breasted Cuckoo, Flat-billed Vireo, Hispaniolan Parrot, and Least Pauraque. The cloud forest is home to high-elevation endemics such as the Scaly-naped Pigeon, White-fronted Quail-Dove, Hispaniolan Emerald, Hispaniolan Trogon and Narrow-billed Tody.

All three of these sites will eventually be listed on this website in more detail, so keep checking back as we develop the Caribbean Birding Trail website!

At least 40 SCSCB attendees participated in the Caribbean Birding Trail (CBT) workshop in Freeport, Bahamas on July 24. The group spent the entire afternoon working through the details of how the CBT will move forward to implementation. Part of this process included developing a list of priorities for six general areas of interest.

From those lists, the participants were then asked to rate their top three priorities in each general area, noted below in bold font. The votes have been tallied, and the top three priorities identified in each category are as follows:

Infrastructure

1. Baseline assessment of existing infrastructure
2. Financing
3. Planning and design

Communications & Marketing

1. Building capacity through workshops
2. Tied for second: Marketability on both international and national levels; and Involvement of government
3. Involvement of fully committed people

Economics & Sustainability

1. Trail and site management
2. Policy or legal structure in place to ensure that entrance fees and other monies are going back into conservation and management of sites
3. Tied for third: Consistent visitation; and micro-lending programs

Recreational Programming

1. Materials that are easy to update and replace
2. Baseline assessment of available opportunities
3. Best practices training

Engagement & Education

1. Tied for first: Train local guides; and Create educational programs that include local communities
2. Educate policy makers (bring them into the field if possible)
3. Determine how locals will benefit

Environment & Restoration

1. Monitoring and environmental impact assessments
2. Security and patrolling of sites
3. Tied for third: Planting native species; and Recycling

Having these top priorities identified by the partners provides a clear direction in which to head for successful implementation of this ambitious project.

The workshop concluded with a presentation on the types of tools available for making the CBT a reality. One of which is this highly interactive website where organizations and agencies can become official partners as well as nominate sites, which we encourage you to do today!

Become a partner of the Caribbean Birding Trail

Nominate a site to the Caribbean Birding Trail

The SCSCB conference in the Bahamas begins next week. Yikes! Are you joining us? We only convene every two years, and by our next meeting you may be old! Information about the conference is available here online, and it is still not too late to register. See you there.