Volunteers participate in bird count

A total of 16 volunteers participated in the annual Christmas bird count which was held in the Virgin Islands on December 27. The event was organized by the National Parks Trust of the Virgin Islands and saw the volunteers spread across Tortola and the eastern end of Jost Van Dyke to count as many birds as possible and record the species and quantity of birds at each location.

Planning Coordinator of the National Parks Trust, Nancy Woodfield Pascoe, told The Standpoint that the most common areas to find birds when participating in bird watching are their native habitats. She said that volunteers hiked through Sage Mountain National Park, climbed through bushes to reach mangrove enclosed salt ponds, surveyed beaches and bays, sailed along the north shore of Tortola, drove through urban areas and counted at bird feeders on their patios.

“The experience level of volunteers varies from new novice to experienced birders. Most of the birds recorded are the commonly seen land birds and seabirds, such as the brown pelican, magnificent frigatebird, bananaquit, pearly eyed thrasher, American kestrel and hummingbird. However as this is the winter season many migrant birds from North America can be spotted, as they escape the cold weather of the north and travel south through the Caribbean to their wintering grounds,” the coordinator said.

An example of a migratory bird she said was the Great black-backed gull (Larus marinus), which was recorded in 2009 during the Christmas bird count.

“This was the first time it has ever been recorded in the Virgin Islands. This is the largest gull in the world and is usually found in the North Atlantic. The question of how it ended up in the Virgin Islands could possibly be answered by the assumption that it followed a cruise ship, foraging food along the way.”

According to Pascoe, once it got to the VI, the gull became a popular sight at the Carrot Bay fisherman’s dock where the fishermen fed it fish.  “It has since moved on, probably in search of a mate, but is a reminder to us of the migrant birds who use the Virgin Islands as a stopover site on their annual spring and autumn migrations between North and South America,” she explained.

She added that the island of Anegada will also be surveyed as part of the annual Christmas bird count.

“With its large area of salt ponds and mangrove wetlands, Anegada is the perfect habitat for migratory birds and a bird watcher’s paradise.”

Persons interested in participating in future bird counts can contact the National Parks Trust of the Virgin Islands on telephone number: 852-3650 or email: planning@bvinpt.org.

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