About Those Birds

I would give credit, but I have no idea where I got this picture. It’s just a great picture.

In 2004, shooting stopped in a swamp in Barbados called Woodbourne. This swamp, deemed St. Phillip Shooting Swamps Important Bird Area, is the first shorebird refuge in Barbados and was created by BirdLife International. The swamp has a total of four hectares, which is quite large. Two hunters of the region were actually very important in getting this region an IBA. Back in May, restoration began and now the swamp is good to go for fall migration.

The swamp is very important to have as an Important Bird Area because so many birds use the island as a stopover while on their way to South America. Thousands upon thousands of shorebirds use the island to rest, even species of concern. However, many of the birds are still shot.

The US Fish and Wildlife Service’s Neotropical Migratory Bird Conservation Act, BirdLife, and Barbados Wildfowlers Association all work together and funding comes from the USFWS NMBCA. The Woodbourne Refuge was made to really stop the hunting on the island and promote conservation efforts. If people want to continue hunting, they must do so in a sustainable way and there is some resistance to the sustainable hunting efforts.

So far 20 species of shorebird have been sighted and five of them are species of conservation concern. These birds are now doing better due to the heightened cooperation of locals and conservation officials.

Source.

Picture: credit to Richard Roach