[wisb] Cayes, Haiti CBC
- From: "Daryl & Sherry Christensen" <gr8fish@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- To: "Wisbird" <wisbirdn@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- Date: Sat, 19 Dec 2009 19:13:03 -0600
Hi All:
I just returned from an adventure in Les Cayes, Haiti; the birthplace of John
James Audubon. Haiti has never had a Christmas Bird Count and I thought it
would be a good idea to start one at the place of Audubon's birth. I have been
corresponding with my son, Sean, who lives in Cayes with his family and he has
contacted other Haitian birders to hold the first-ever count on December 30th.
Unfortunately, I couldn't stay for the count, but Sean and I spent a couple of
days in the field scouting the count area and tweaking the circle before the
official count. Since this is the first year for this count, it won't be
official, but will be a trial run for circle approval by the Audubon Society in
2010. Two top Haitian birders who studied under Dr. Bill Brooks from Madison,
will be organizing count participants, along with Sean Christensen and Dr.
Paul Rudenburg from Cayes.
Many North American species winter in Hispaniola and the island has 31 endemic
species and 50 endemic subspecies. Haiti and neighboring Dominican Repulic and
surrounding islands are important stop-over spots for hundreds of other species
as well.
In Haiti, over 90% of habitat has been lost due to tree cutting for charcoal
and subsequent erosian. Even the few reserves are being threatened as residents
are cutting trees and there are no game wardens or police to enforce
enviromental rules.
It is my hope and dream that the people of Haiti, especially in the Les Cayes
and Mount Macaya Biosphere will discover how valuable these areas are and that
birders would come to these beautiful places to be guided by local Haitian
ornitholigsts to appreciate the diversity of birds in the poverty-stricken
country.
It will be the only way these places and birds will be able to survive the
future of the charcoal industry.
We spent three days surveying Etang Laborde, Gelee Beach and Rainbow Beach
Peninsula as well as several spots in-between. We did not have an opportunity
to join Anderson Jean, Enold Louis Jean, Julie Hart and Jim Goetz from Cornell
at Macaya as they were searching for Bicknell's Thrushes and the critically
endangered Black-capped Storm Petrel in the cliffs and massive pine forests of
Massif de la Hotte. I am looking forward to see the results of their week-long
excursion in Haiti's largest reserve.
Below are the birds we saw while surveying. A few were outside of the count
circle, but are most likely in the count circle as habitats where the birds
were seen are similar to those in the count circle. We did not survey any
mountains in the count circle due to time, but stuck to the farmland, wetlands,
mangrove swamps and ocean beaches. We know we missed many species as a result,
but time simply did not permit trying to cover the whole count circle. Survey
dates were December 14, 15 and 17, 2009.
1. American Wigeon
2. Eurasian Wigeon
3. Blue-winged Teal
4. Green-winged Teal
5. Ring-necked Duck
6. Lesser Scaup
7. Ruddy Duck
8. Pied-billed Grebe
9. Yellow-crowned Night Heron
10. Little Blue Heron
11. Tri-colored Heron
12. Cattle Egret
13. Snowy Egret
14. Great blue Heron
15. Great Egret
16. Green Heron
17. Merlin
18. American Kestrel
19. Turkey Vulture
20. Osprey
21. Northern Jacana
22. American Coot
23. Caribbean Coot
24. Common Moorhen
25. Semi-palmated Plover
26. Black-bellied Plover
27. Short-billed Dowitcher
28. Red Knot
29. Spotted Sandpiper
30. Sanderling
31. Ruddy Turnstone
32. Semi-palmated Sandpiper
33. Least Sandpiper
34. Western Sandpiper
35. Baird's Sandpiper
36. Pectoral Sandpiper
37. Willet
38. Greater Yellowlegs
39. Lesser Yellowlegs
40. Black-necked Stilt
41. Bridled Tern
42. Sandwich Tern
43. Roseate Tern
44. Royal Tern
45. Great Black-backed Gull
46. Lesser Black-backed Gull
47. Herring Gull
48. Ring-billed Gull
49. Laughing Gull
50. White-winged Dove
51. Common Ground Dove
52. Mourning Dove
53. Hispaniolan Lizard Cuckoo
54. Smooth-billed Ani
55. Barn Owl
56. Antillian Palm-Swift
57. Hispaniolan Emerald
58. Broad-billed Tody
59. Antillian Mango
60. Belted Kingfisher
61. Yellow-bellied Sapsucker
62. Hispaniolan Woodpecker
63. Gray Kingbird
64. Hispaniolan Palm Crow
65. White-necked Crow
66. Palmchat
67. Black and White Warbler
68. Black Throated Blue Warbler
69. American Redstart
70. Blackpoll Warlber
71. Louisiana Waterthrush
72. Ovenbird
73. Yellow-rumped Warbler
74. Prairie Warbler
75. Cape May Warbler
76. Hooded Warbler
77. Northern Parula
78. Yellow Warbler
79. Bananaquit
80. Black-faced Grassquit
81. Yellow-faced Grassquit
82. Village Weaver
83. Helmeted Guineafowl
84. Rock Pigeon
At Gelee Beach, large flocks of gulls, terns and shorebirds were flushed by
fishermen before we could get a good count or look at individual birds. These
birds flew out to sea or to the nearby islands. Complete lists at specific
locations are posted on E-bird - Haiti by Sean.
Average daytime high temperatures were 88-92 degrees. After coming home to
Wisconsin cold, I would like to go right back!
Good Birding,
Daryl Christensen
Marquette County
Daryl and/or Sherry Christensen
www.darylchristensen.com
www.muirlandbirding.com
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