Dear Members,
This is the first of what is hoped to be a bi-annual SCSCB newsletter. Please use this forum to send me news - Carolyn Wardle (Editor, cwardle@batelnet.bs) - of activities directly associated with the operations of the society or its working groups. Assisting with the production of this newsletter is Jim Corven (jcorven@uvi.edu)
First of all, recapping the election of the Board of the Society who took office at the beginning of 2005, are:
President: Andrew Dobson (adobson@warwickacad.bm) Bermuda
Vice President: Lisa Sorenson (Lsoren@bu.edu) U.S.A.
Secretary: Ann Sutton (annsutton@cwjamaica.com) Jamaica
Treasurer: Rosemarie Gnam (ilothian@msn.com) U.S.A.
Past President: Eric Carey (ecarey@batelnet.bs) Bahamas
Journal Editor: Floyd Hayes (floyd_hayes@yahoo.com) U.S.A.
Directors at Large: Brandon Hay (brandonhay@cwjamaica.com) Jamaica
Jeremy Madeiros (jlmadeiros@gov.bm) Bermuda
Lourdes Mugica (lmugica@fbio.uh.cu) Cuba
Adrianne Tossas (agtossas@caribe.net) Puerto Rico
Carolyn Wardle (cwardle@batelnet.bs) Bahamas.
We would like to acknowledge Andrew Dobson's and Lisa Sorenson's magnificent contribution at the Guadeloupe meeting. Having been thrown in at the deep end as President and Vice President, respectively (neither was formerly even on the board), they did an outstanding job of coordinating the meeting.
We continue to apologise for the delay in publishing the next edition of the Journal of Caribbean Ornithology and thank Jerry Jackson for his attempt to get an edition ready. We are pleased to report that Floyd Hayes has taken over as our new Editor-in-Chief and has formed an excellent team of Associate Editors that will assist with the manuscript review and editing process. Antonio Rodriguez (Cuba) has kindly been assisting with formatting all of the manuscripts. Floyd reports that he is very close to having the next issue ready. We thank you for your patience and assure you that we are getting back on track with producing the journal.
The good news is that, thanks to Nils Navarro and Eliecer Rodrigues in Cuba, we now have our own website. These gentleman have just spent three months designing and setting up the website and we thank them for their tremendous efforts and their time. We are working now on adding content to the main pages and expect to go live with the new site in early February. The website is www.scscb.org. Contributions should be sent via email to the webmasters: Lisa Sorenson (LSoren@bu.edu) and Eliecer Rodriguez ( godoteliecer@yahoo.com ). Stay tuned for a newsflash notifying you to check out the new site as soon as it is launched.
You will notice from the Capacity Building Report at the Guadeloupe meeting that the communications goal has already been achieved. Our website is now under way and this is our first newsletter.
The next good news is the publication of " A la découverte des oiseaux d'Haïti " (Discover the Birds of Haiti) by the Societe Audubon Haiti. Written by Florence E. Sergile, this magnificent four colored, fully illustrated book covers 92 species of birds and is intended to introduce young people to the joys of Haitian birds. The book also describes the different habitats used by birds and discusses the need for habitat protection and ecosystem rehabilitation in Haiti. On December 10 th , 2005, Florence Sergile held a book signing in Haiti, attended by 130 people. There was much excitement and praise for Florence at the signing and many people bought 2 copies, one for themselves and one to give away.
The production of the book was made possible by the contribution of Philippe Bayard (founder and President of SAH), Bayard and Bayard Exchange, Banque de la République d'Haïti; Marlene Etienne, Francoise Dupuy, Charles and Missy Woods. Evelyne Bouchereau provided logistics and editing support. The Society for the Conservation and Study of Caribbean Birds, the authors of “A Guide to the Birds of the West Indies” and US Fish and Wildlife Service continue to be major supporters of conservation programs in Haiti.
You can obtain a signed copy of the author by sending a check of $45.00 (including shipping and handling to:
Florence Sergile
3407 NW 54th Lane
Gainesville, FL 32653
For more information contact Société Audubon Haiti at info@societeaudubonhaiti.org or call at 352/372-2853.
This first SCSCB newsletter will focus mainly on the Guadeloupe meeting, with reports of workshops and from the various working groups that function within the Society. Brief reports appear below, with more detailed reports available soon on our new website. Please make direct contact with group coordinators if you would like to join any of the groups or get more involved.
GUADELOUPE MEETING, AUGUST 2005
Our President, Andrew Dobson, reports that the 15th regional meeting of the Society for the Conservation and Study of Caribbean Birds (SCSCB) was held in Guadeloupe from 1-6 August. Some 100 delegates from more than 20 countries attended. The conference was jointly organised by a Local Organising Committee in Guadeloupe and the SCSCB Executive. The plenary lecture, on 'Biodiversity and Eco-tourism in the Caribbean,' was presented by Edouard Benito-Espinal. The second featured speaker was Nils Navarro Pacheco, who spoke on 'Art's Capacity to Inspire and Raise Funds for Nature Conservation.' Nils is an internationally acclaimed bird artist and very generously donated one of his bird paintings to raise funds for the Society. The raffle was drawn in Bermuda in early October and the painting went to Sheila Frampton of the UK, with ticket #414. The raffle raised close to $3,000 for the Society! Many thanks to members who sold raffle tickets and of course to everyone who purchased tickets.
More than fifty speakers presented papers during the conference, on topics ranging from threatened and migratory birds to the effects of hurricanes on bird populations and bird education programmes. Delegates also had the opportunity to attend specialist working groups, focusing on individual species such as the West Indian Whistling-Duck, or more general issues such as invasive species or bird monitoring techniques. In addition, there were thirty poster presentations or a wide variety of bird studies in the region.
Mid-week fieldtrips were arranged for the delegates to the Reserve Naturelle de Petite Terre (for seabirds and coastal scenery) and to the Grand Etang area of the National Park (for rainforest birds, especially the Guadeloupe Woodpecker). The conference received considerable publicity in the local media, both press and TV coverage during the conference. The SCSCB was particularly grateful for the support it received from many organisations, including US Fish & Wildlife Service, BirdLife International, Royal Society for the Protection of Birds, the French Government and regional authorities in Guadeloupe. Special thanks go to the Local Organizing Committee in Guadeloupe, led by Maurice Anselme, who did a superb job and will be a hard act to follow.
The next meeting will be in Puerto Rico July 18-25, 2007. A Local Organizing Committee has already formed and plans for the meeting are underway. Mark your calendars and plan to attend what promises to be an excellent conference in bird-rich Puerto Rico.
CAPACITY BUILDING WORKSHOP
Herbert Raffaele ( Herb_raffaele@fws.gov) US Fish & Wildlife International, Washington, conducted an important Capacity Building Workshop focused on ways to enhance the involvement of local islanders in the core activities of the Society, particularly the bi-annual meetings and ultimately leadership positions in the Society. After discussion within five groups based on the primary categories of communication, information, networking/partnership, management, membership and funding, the salient recommendations to the executive to achieve this goal include:
Communications – Implement the Society's own website; publish a biannual newsletter.
Information – Provide greater information on the activities of the various working groups; offer workshops between conferences; produce better publications in 3 languages; attempt to publish the Journal of Caribbean Ornithology more frequently and assist in improving writing standards for papers for publication; implement the Society's strategic plan by improving membership participation.
Management – Find funds to support an employee; provide better leadership training.
The Executive Committee will address these suggestions at their next strategic planning meeting and make plans for following up so that the Society can establish a more proactive strategy to involve local islanders in its future development.
WEST INDIAN WHISTLING DUCK AND WETLANDS CONSERVATION PROJECT By Lisa Sorenson, Project Coordinator ( LSoren@bu.edu )
Funding from several sources enabled the group to continue its programme of wetlands outreach and education. Since 2002, a total of 2,084 teachers and natural resource staff have been trained in 78 workshops in 11 countries (Anguilla, Antigua and Barbuda, British Virgin Islands, Bahamas, Cayman Islands Cuba, Dominican Republic, Jamaica, Puerto Rico, St. Vincent and the Grenadines and Trinidad and Tobago). Many teachers, ecotour companies, and partner agencies throughout the Caribbean are using the book and other project materials in their outreach programs (e.g., summer camps). The project has had the greatest success in countries with strong partner NGOs and individual leaders and where funding for activities beyond initial training workshops has been available (Bahamas, Jamaica, Dominican Republic, Puerto Rico and Cuba).
A major achievement in 2004 was the completion of the revised and updated Second Edition of the English version of the workbook Wondrous West Indian Wetlands: Teachers' Resource Book . The Spanish version of the book, published in 2003, is available and in use by a number of NGOs in Puerto Rico, Cuba and the Dominican Republic. The book has been translated into French and the French version will be published this year. Other new outreach materials available include: Mangroves of the Caribbean Identification Guide, Seabirds of the Caribbean identification card and slide show, and a "Save Our Seabirds" poster. A new Watchable Wildlife Pond site has recently been developed in the Dominican Republic. Kate Wallace organized the building of an observation platform at a wetland in Parque Nacional Mirador del Norte in Santo Domingo. Check out the photos at: http://share.shutterfly.com/action/welcome?sid=8AbsWzVw4ZtGOF . For funding we extend our sincere thanks to the US Fish and Wildlife Service, BirdLife International, Royal Society for the Protection of Birds and National Fish and Wildlife Foundation.
The WIWD project recently received $40,000 from EPA's Environmental Education Grant Program, for Community Education for the Wise-Use of the Globally Important Cano Tiburones Wetland in Puerto Rico. Sheylda Diaz of the Puerto Rican Ornithological Society is the local project coordinator and she has already delivered her first wetland workshop. The Conservation Trust of Puerto Rico is another new project partner that has been doing a terrific job delivering workshops to different communities near the Trust's wetland properties.
CARIBBEAN ENDEMIC BIRD FESTIVAL REPORT
By Adrianne G. Tossas, CEBF coordinat or ( agtossas@caribe.net )
The 4th annual Caribbean Endemic Bird Festival (CEBF) was held between Earth Day, April 22 and International Biodiversity Day, May 22, 2005 with the participation of 17,072 persons from 12 countries. During the 15 th meeting of the Society for the Conservation and Study of Caribbean Birds held in Guadeloupe from 1-5 August, 2005 the results of this year's event were presented by the regional coordinator Adrianne Tossas. Certificates of appreciation were awarded to coordinators or their representatives from 9 countries by the regional coordinator and SCSCB president Andrew Dobson during the general meeting of the society. A meeting with the coordinators was held on 4 August in which the outcomes of the first four editions of the festival and ideas for further improve the event were discussed. Changes for the 2006 CEBF include a new regional coordinator, Sheylda Díaz ( otoarina77@yahoo.com ) , and the participation of several new islands/countries (Haiti, Trinidad & Tobago, Antigua, Montserrat, British Virgin Islands, and Venezuela).
INVASIVE SPECIES WORKING GROUP
Although several attempts have been made in the past to activate an invasives working group for the Society, it has proved difficult to decide just how to approach this very important subject and how any meaningful results may emerge. There are many success stories of eradication of invasive species on which to base our efforts but these successes have involved dedicated people and funding.
Ten people, headed by President Andrew Dobson, attended the invasives meeting held in Guadeloupe, representing a wide spread of island nations around the region. The discussion was confined to generalizations in order to define the more important invasive species impacting Caribbean birds and it was hoped that specific projects would emerge in due course that the Society might be able to support in whatever way appropriate.
The main categories of species were defined as plants, non-bird invasives and birds. Not all exotic species are invasive. Foreign species are introduced deliberately, e.g. the pet or nursery trade, or they arrive in cargo or by some other unknown way.
Some general points were made:
- List which species are invasive in the Caribbean so that information can be shared.
- Identify invasives in other islands so that they can be blacklisted from legal introduction.
- Identify what actions have already been successful and what has been a failure?
- Avoid deliberate and inadvertent introductions, work with local governments.
- Share ideas as to what can be done about common problems.
- Work with local lawmakers to try to improve local laws.
SYMPOSIUM: HURRICANES AND THE FATE OF CARIBBEAN BIRDS
Joseph Wunderle ( Wunderle@coqui.net ) of the International Institute of Tropical Forestry, Puerto Rico, conducted this symposium at the Guadeloupe meeting. Contributing to the presentation were Wayne J. Arendt, Patricia Bradley, Ricardo López-Ortiz, and Bonnie Rusk (Wunderle presented for Rusk).
Recent hurricanes have raised concerns regarding the fate of many Caribbean birds, especially for rare, single island endemic species. Although Caribbean birds and their habitats have evolved in an area with a high hurricane frequency and are assumed to be relatively resilient to storm effects, habitat loss and degradation and various other human impacts may place certain species at risk to hurricanes. This symposium was designed to review knowledge regarding hurricane effects on birds and their habitats; dispel myths; identify information needs; review pre- and post- hurricane monitoring and census methods; and identify population and habitat management options to ameliorate storm effects. The symposium identified the species at greatest risk to hurricane impacts, the pre-hurricane information needs, and the potential post-hurricane management responses.
MOVING FROM PAPER PARKS TO EFFECTIVE MANAGEMENT: Are protected areas really conserving birds?
Participants: Nadra Nathai-Gyan ( wildlife@trinidad.net) Trinidad & Tobago, Eric Carey, Bahamas, Herbert Raffaele, USA. A round-table discussion was held to stimulate thoughts on the effectiveness of existing and proposed protected areas (PAs) in the region and whether they were effective in the conservation of birds. The discussion attempted to formulate new and innovative solutions to meet identified constraints. The participants were asked to name the main issues facing PA managers and also to provide recommendations to make these areas more effective in conservation. The results of this discussion can be found on the website.
By the end of the discussion session, the general feeling was that PAs, if managed effectively, can fulfill the objective of conserving birds. In order to explore this issue further, it is recommended that a one-day workshop be convened, possibly at the 2007 meeting, for this purpose.
CARIBBEAN WILDLIFE ART AND CONSERVATION:
Art's capacity to inspire and raise funds for Nature Conservation
Report from Nils Navarro ( nilsarts@yahoo.com ), Cuba
Mission of the Caribbean Wildlife Art Working Group: To promote an artistic movement in the Caribbean based on Wildlife Art, to raise awareness and appreciation of the rich biodiversity of the region, and to join efforts among the artistic community to contribute to the financing of the SCSCB.
Art possesses the capacity to inspire and to touch the hearts of many people. For this reason a group of artists and scientists was founded in the year 2003, the “ Caribbean Wildlife Art Working Group ", during the XXIV Meeting of the “ Society for the Conservation and Study of the Caribbean Birds ” taken place in the island of Tobago. Within two years of having been created, the Group has carried out several actions with the objective of promoting the conservation of the biological diversity of the Caribbean, through the fine arts, as well as a movement of wildlife artists in the area. Among the more important actions: Exhibitions of Painting; Design of programs for teaching Wildlife Art in Academies of fine arts; courses of Wildlife Art; Art Competitions for children; Festivals of Art and Nature; design of posters with conservationist messages; auction of art to raise funds for conservation NGOs, donation of copyright; and painting murals for cities (with the topic of the flora and fauna of the Caribbean),. The results obtained during the two years of work were presented, as well as several proposals for obtaining funds for the SCSCB and the donation of a painting by the wildlife artist Nils Navarro, for the Silent Auction.
WATERBIRDS TASK FORCE
Present at the Guadeloupe meeting were Ann Sutton, David Wege, Veronica Anadon, Rob Clay, Jennifer Wheeler, Patricia Bradley, Brandon Hay, Eric Carey and Lisa Sorenson.
The Waterbirds Task Force moves ahead in several directions, with input from many sources, in an attempt to identify realistic strategies for promoting waterbird conservation in the insular Caribbean that can be implemented with the assistance of SCSCB and its partners. Following an updated draft, a final plan is scheduled to be completed in early 2006.
The Seabirds Working Group announces that the book "Breeding Seabirds of the Caribbean," edited by Patricia E. Bradley and Robert L. Norton, will soon be going out to review with intended publication in University Press of Florida. The book contains information on breeding seabirds from 25 island nations, plus 3 additional chapters and a bibliography. Publication date to be announced.
TOWARDS A GLOBALLY THREATENED BIRD PROGRAM FOR THE CARIBBEAN
Presented by David Wege ( david.wege@birdlife.org.uk) Caribbean Program Manager, BirdLife International.
Over 10% of the Caribbean's avifauna (57 of 560+ species) is considered globally threatened following the IUCN Red List criteria. Twelve of these are critically endangered, 21 endangered and 24 vulnerable, with an additional 18 species near threatened. These birds will be the next to go extinct (due to a number of different threat factors) and thus it is our collective responsibility to focus our attentions on their conservation. While conservation actions and monitoring activities are focused on some of these birds, for many we have no idea on a year to year basis whether their status is improving or declining, or whether anyone is addressing any of their conservation needs. While site protection may be the answer for the majority of the birds (e.g. through the Important Bird Area program which identifies sites for globally threatened birds), a number will need species-specific actions to address threats such as illegal trade, invasive alien species, etc. The focus of species conservation provides an excellent opportunity for the SCSCB to engage all of its members in monitoring, evaluation and conserving these most threatened of our Caribbean species.
BIRD CONSERVATION IN HAITI:
It's Now or Never to Save Haiti's Birds
Chris Rimmer reports that this roundtable discussion focused on how the international community might help advance ongoing efforts to conserve Haiti's bird populations. The problem is obvious: Haiti is teetering on the brink of ecological collapse and consequent loss of biodiversity. Resources to achieve conservation are scarce or nonexistent, the resolve and capacity of government agencies are weak at best, and the number of committed in-country players is extremely few. The Société Audubon Haiti stands virtually alone, with Florence Sergile and Philippe Bayard engineering current efforts. They have the commitment and vision, but they need the backing, at all levels (conceptual, technical, human resource, and financial), of the international conservation community. The goal of the roundtable was to draw on the extensive experience of the participants to collectively think through some of the issues and possible solutions.
Lisa Sorenson, Kate Wallace and Lourdes Mugica chaired this symposium and workshop. Presentations on awareness raising initiatives were given by Lynn Gape, Florence Sergile, Eliezer Nieves, Adriannes Tossas, Susan Bonfield, Yvonne Arias, and Lisa Sorenson.
There has been much progress in recent years in environmental outreach and education in the Caribbean. SCSCB has developed several innovative and successful programs including the WIWD and Wetlands Conservation Project and Caribbean Endemic Bird Festival. Local NGOs and government agencies partner with us to develop and deliver these programs as well as engage in their own outreach and advocacy projects. The Important Bird Areas Program and recent advent of Site Support Groups has presented new opportunities to engage the public in the conservation of local sites. In this workshop, we heard presentations about the programs and activities taking place in different countries. Following the presentations, breakout discussion groups addressed 5 questions: 1) What are the key ingredients for success? 2) How do we convince people of the importance of the resource? 3) What were the major problems and challenges faced and how were they solved? 4) How do we follow up with people that have participated in the program? 5) How can we best measure conservation outcomes or success from these initiatives? Results from these discussions (described in detail in the full report) provided many insights and ideas for increasing the effectiveness of education and awareness initiatives in the Caribbean.
SPANISH STANDARIZED BIRD NAMES PROPOSALIn recent years, birdwatching in the Caribbean (and Latin America) has gained importance and many people with varying levels of academic interest have joined professional ornithologists. Participation and increased interest has encouraged non-ornithologists to integrate and communicate with other participants outside island frontiers. Spanish standardized bird names will facilitate communication between Spanish speakers without using the scientific names. This proposal was submitted by Sergio Colón Lopez sergiocolon@yahoo.com who pursues the support and implementation of the SCSCB, the islands of Cuba, the Dominican Republic and Puerto Rico.
BIRD MONITORING WORKSHOP
Stephen Latta ( slatta@prbo.org) chaired the first workshop on strategies for monitoring birds in the Caribbean, how to design and carry out a monitoring program.
Many international, regional, and local organizations have agreed to the need to establish long-term bird monitoring programs. Habitat-specific data on birds is required because conservation and management activities are related to the population size of a species. The challenge of developing monitoring programs is difficult, however, often because of the lack of qualified biologists or other resources in key regions, and more fundamentally because of confusion over how to compare monitoring data across large areas, especially when local organizations often have their own goals and locally defined monitoring objectives. In this workshop we explored different types of monitoring programs, including inventories; defining population size and habitat relationships based on a broad-scale set of point counts; censuses based on repeated counts; constant effort mist-netting; the determination of reproductive success and reproductive rate through nest monitoring; and the estimation of population composition, survivorship, and site fidelity through a comprehensive program of mist netting and/or color-band re-sighting.
Building on Caribbean bird conservation efforts through the integration of Migratory bird initiatives : a step closer to “All-Bird” conservation.
David Wege ( david.wege@birdlife.org.uk) Caribbean Program Manager, BirdLife International
The Caribbean is critically important for a number of North American breeding migrants (or Neotropical Migratory Birds) during the boreal winter months. Migrant passerines in particular are disproportionately concentrated in this region (and Central America), yet little is known about how well existing initiatives, site priorities or the current protected area networks cater for their long-term conservation. Whilst not the highest conservation priority for the region, interest in migratory birds provides a potential opportunity to strengthen existing Caribbean bird initiatives and to help deliver SCSCB bird conservation goals, and move us a step closer to “All Bird” conservation in the region. This workshop explored what the opportunities might be.
GROUPS NOT REPORTING - Caribbean Parrots (contact Rosemarie Gnam), White Crowned Pigeons (contact Brandon Hay), Media group (contact Leo Douglas lrd2107@columbia.edu).
Detailed reports from workshops, working group meetings and round table discussions from the Guadeloupe meeting will be posted on the SCSCB website and published in the next issue of the Caribbean Journal of Ornithology.
*****
The officers and directors of the SCSCB wish everyone a very happy and prosperous New Year. Since 1999, it was agreed that our meetings will be held every other year so our next meeting will be in Puerto Rico in 2007 (July 18-25). There is an excellent team already making plans so it promises to be an excellent meeting. Meantime the Directors will meet during 2006 to continue to move the Society ahead and it is hoped that we can offer some training workshops during the interim year. If you know of any workshops that could offer training for some of our members, please send details to the President.
It's also that time of year when we request you renew your subscription to the Society. A renewal form will be sent out shortly but to save voluntary time and society expense, you're invited to send your subscription of US$20 to the Treasurer, Rosemarie Gnam, P.O. Box 863208, Ridgewood NY 11386-3208. PLEASE INCLUDE YOUR EMAIL ADDRESS. If you're willing to sponsor a Caribbean national who may be unable to pay a subscription, we thank you in advance for your multiples of $20. You're welcome to name the person(s) you would like to sponsor, or we will assign one and let you know who that person is. Institutional membership is $120 for US institutions and $50 for Caribbean based institutions. Life membership is $300 which may be paid in three annual installments of $100.
Contributions for the next newsletter should reach the editor ( cwardle@batelnet.bs ) by 31 May 2006. Please, Working Group coordinators, send in your reports so our members know what's happening.
FOR THE GOOD OF CARIBBEAN ORNITHOLOGY,
YOUR CONTINUED SUPPORT OF THE SCSCB IS VERY MUCH APPRECIATED
THE BIRDS NEED OUR HELP