—Continued from previous page

After much straining through binoculars we resigned to a count of birds with
“potentially nesting” recorded. As we started to maneuver away from the rocks I said
to Dave, “We have records for every other island in our study area, but we are just
going to have to leave these listed as potential breeding records.” At that, Dave
swung Lista around. We had just about a 100-percent rate of gathering records and
he didn’t want to deprive us of these!

As he turned Lista through the surf for a closer inspection, we heard an almighty
crack and Dave screamed, “Nooooood00000000000000!” Foam leapt at Lista’s bows;
we had smashed into rocks. Dave barked instructions and I crashed below deck and
madly pulled up floorboards to see if water was coming in, then grabbed the pumps.
was frantically praying that water was not going to start lapping around my ankles.
But nothing happened. We finally found a leak, a steady trickle of water seeping in
low on her starboard side. We turned Lista back to Carriacou to investigate the dam-
age. The charts had been wrong, two depths had been switched, and we had crashed
in what should have been ten metres of clearance. It was a hideous experience, shak-
ing all our nerves and highlighting how lucky we had been so far surveying in waters
close to cliffs. On inspection we found that the rocks had gouged Lista’s sacrificial
keel and that we had had a narrow escape.

When man first arrived on these islands, ground-nesting seabirds proved an easy
and abundant source of protein. Vast
iles of seabird remains have been
unearthed by archaeologists on many of
the islands, testimony to both the rapa-
cious appetites of the settlers and the
ormer abundance of seabirds.

Today, seabird colonies are generally only
found where man is not, on the most
remote and inhospitable islands. Habitat
destruction and degradation have removed
former breeding sites. Introduced preda-
tors such as rats, cats, dogs, mongooses
and monkeys eat the eggs and chicks of
seabirds, while goats, cattle and donkeys
graze away the scrub and trees required for
nesting by species such as Brown Pelicans,
Magnificent Frigatebirds and Red-footed
Boobies. Harvesting of eggs and chicks is
still practiced in some areas of the archi-
pelago. While seabird numbers might have
been high enough to sustain such tradi-
tions in the past (before the ubiquitous
Yamaha ruled the waves) the pressure on
seabirds today is too great for this not to
have an impact on their populations.

As well as having to dodge all the above
threats, your average Brown Booby par-
ents also have to locate fish for their single
white hungry chick, in seas in which fish-
ermen are finding it harder to make a liv-
ing and where pollution such as floating plastics are ingested by seabirds, with
research revealing that over 80 percent of petrels investigated had consumed plastics.
It’s no wonder that when we talk to fishermen, local islanders and sailors that they
can recall much larger flocks of seabirds and breeding colonies in the past.

Caribbean governments, like governments around the world, need numbers, not
anecdotal records, to form seabird conservation plans. Without hard figures, they
cannot interpret the state of their seabird population nor attract grants to fund recov-
ery projects. Studies of the Black-Capped Petrel, for example, found that the bird is
critically endangered (i.e. declined to such low population levels that its continued
survival is in jeopardy). The Jamaican Petrel is believed extinct and is the target of a
campaign by Bird Life International to attempt to find any remaining pairs.

Why does all this matter? Why should you care whether seabirds flap over the seas
and shores of these magical islands? Seabirds are indicators of the health of our
oceans, the warning lights that show when things are going wrong. It stands to rea-
son: seabirds feed at all levels of the marine food chain, and if the plankton, squid
or flying fish that they survive on are not doing well, neither will they.

Seabirds remove the diseased and old fish from the food chain, helping to secure
healthy fishing stocks for people. They guide fishermen to shoals of fish and sailors
to shores. Seabirds are embedded in the history of the Lesser Antilles, being the chief
inhabitants, with mammals absent save bats and possibly a mouse species, prior to
introductions. The agile Magnificent Frigatebirds and characterful Brown Pelicans
add to the exotic appeal for tourists.

For us, seabirds are incredible in their own right. They glide over two-thirds of the
earth’s surface, and have adapted to live on land, in the air and on the water. They
nest in the most extreme environments on earth, from the scorching tropics where
their eggs, if neglected, could boil in 15 minutes, to the poles where Emperor Penguins
hold their precious single egg upon their feet through months of snowstorms. They
have developed extraordinary tactics for finding their prey: female Magnificent
Frigatebirds are ‘kleptoparasitic’, meaning they mob other birds such as Red-footed
Boobies until they regurgitate their prey. They are true Pirates of the Caribbean!

In January 2010, Lista Light, with EPIC, again set sail to ensure both winter and
summer breeding records are compiled for every island within the study area. We
began in Grenada this time and are now working our way north. We acquire permits
rom each country to do the research and meet with the governments, sharing our
indings and discussing methods for conserving seabirds. As well as the science, we
talk about seabirds to interest groups, the media and schools, last year presenting
to over 800 officials, fishermen, sailors, church groups, etcetera. We visited 12
schools and delivered 21 media releases. By the end of 2010 we will have produced
the Atlas, a hard copy of which will be given to each participating island. It will also
be available to all through interactive mapping online.

For now, we can all enjoy watching Brown Pelicans crashing through the waves as
they plunge for fish; seeing throngs of Brown Boobies peering down at us as we swim
ashore; knowing that we are not alone on the vast oceans of our planet and that one
of the greatest spectacles on earth — hundreds of Magnificent Frigatebirds squawk-
ing and inflating their huge, red, throat sacks — continues in Barbuda at one of the
largest breeding colonies in the Caribbean.

And the future...? It is dependent on the governments and people of the Lesser
Antilles and how much they value their unique island life and the seabirds that are
a part of it.

Katharine and David Lowrie live aboard their converted fishing boat, Lista Light,
and will be making their way north through the Lesser Antilles through July 2010.
Please contact them if you are interested in attending a presentation, would like
them to present at your school or community group or would like to donate to the
project. For more information visit klowrie@epicislands.org; wiww.epicislands.org;
or wiww.listalight.co. ue

 

 

Young brown pelicans and their
parents ina seaside nest

 

 

 

 

    

 

Br!
a)

* Caribbean Jewellers + Harbour Market * Serenity Spa
Be eS ns " Hucksters «Smith Armeoborg Architects
*ice Cream Store * Suney Caribbee Spice Co.
*D° Best Cup oa st | See le ea Ta Tay

ee UO ee ee a |

Be See By
On sid
et |

A set a Marina,
PP erectus a

   
      

More power - less noise
Stand alone and failsafe due
to the automatic pitch contro]
Heavy duty - made to last
real professional

THE CRUISING SAILOR'S CHANDLERY SINCE 1990

AMERON ABC 3 TIN FREE SELF POLISHING ANTIFOULING PAINT

CORNER: MIRANDA & GUARAGUAO, PUERTO LA CRUZ, VENEZUELA
TEL: 58 (281) 265-3844 - E-MAIL : xanadumarine@cantv.net