This photo of White-cheeked Pintails and Black-necked Stilts shows some of the birds which may be seen during a free Bird Watch to be held at the Great Salt Pond this coming Sunday, December 18th. Bird watching will be hosted by Environmental Protection in the Caribbean (EPIC), which will have volunteers on hand from 8 a.m. to 9 a.m. to assist with bird identification, talk about natural history, and provide binoculars, spotting scopes, and identification guide books. Despite its urban setting, the Great Salt Pond hosts an impressive array of birds and is internationally recognized as an Important Bird Area. Observations will take place from the east side of the Great Salt Pond, across from the entrance to Guana Bay.
EPIC's last Bird Walk took place during migration in October, when approximately 200 birds of 34 species of birds were observed at the Le Galion area. The habitat, including saline mudflats and mangroves, offered the opportunity to see many shorebirds such as sandpipers but seabirds and land birds were also seen. For most migrating birds, St. Maarten is a place to rest and refuel during their long journey. Counts in September were up to approximately 1,500 birds, with spectacular flights of hundreds of barn swallows as well as shorebirds which had come all the way from breeding grounds in the North American plains, tundra and arctic.
The results of bird walks and other observations of birds (as well as other fauna and flora) can be found at http://sintmaarten.observado.org/index.php. This site also has information about bird species, their statistics (numbers, periods of occurrence), photos, and sounds (if available). You can also submit photos to confirm which species was seen. We urge the public to join this site and report observations in order to improve information on the nature of the island.
For more information and to stay up to date with EPIC events and activities visit www.epicislands.org, Like EPIC's Facebook page at www.facebook.com/epicislands, or call 545-3009.
Environmental Protection In the Caribbean