Category: Bird Watch SXM

Bird Watch SXM: More Than Birds

This week we take a broader look at how birds unite us and inspire us to protect entire ecosystems. I think this is important to understanding why it is worthwhile to spend so much energy on birds, and although this is a more encompassing look at birds and their conservation, hopefully it won’t seem too…extreme:

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Bird Watch SXM: Living History

Birds certainly know about the ruins of the Foga pumping station, even if most people on St. Martin do not. History literally comes alive when it is surrounded by nature. Check out the article from The Daily Herald‘s Weekender section and a slideshow of bonus images taken at Foga.

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Bird Watch SXM: Between Land and Sea

This week, we take a look at the crucial habitats that host many of our migratory visitors. They both divide and protect the land and sea. Due to a layout error the photo caption in the printed paper is incorrect, the actual caption is: A Whimbrel forages on the Great Salt Pond.

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Bird Watch SXM: Strange Sights on the Pond

This diminutive duck has been an infrequent visitor.
This diminutive duck has been an infrequent visitor.

On St. Martin, there’s no better place to do a little birdwatching than your local pond, whichever one that may be. Late summer and early fall is also the best time to see a surprise visitor or two.

On St. Martin, we’re blessed with an abundance of ponds. Over the years, we’ve chipped away at the edges, filling them in to make land for buildings and roads. They may be smaller today, and quite a few are gone entirely, but they still perform many valuable functions. They reduce the potential for floods during storms, they capture sediment before it runs out into the sea and they’re home to loads of animals, from snails and crabs to fish and birds.

In August, the migratory season is just beginning. Some birds from far in the north are already making their way down to the island. Spending time on your local pond between now and October will be richly rewarded as you watch the progression of species arriving in greater and greater numbers.

On a recent day at the airport pond in Grand Case, an infrequent migratory visitor was dabbling in the shallow water near the bridge. The Green-winged Teal is a small duck that spends its winters everywhere from the southern United States and Mexico to the Caribbean. It was first recorded here in 2012, when a handful of ducks spent the winter. The presence of this species is doubly surprising, because arrival in August is very early for ducks, which usually stay further north until the fall or even early winter.

Some surprising visitors to the pond.
Some surprising visitors to the pond.

In addition to the tiny Green-winged Teal, a bulky pair of birds stood out from the dozen species that are usually on the pond. This time, they weren’t migrants or Caribbean natives. The Helmeted Guinea Fowl is an African species that has been introduced to many places. Somewhat related to chickens and turkeys, they are often raised for their meat.

Although guineafowl can be seen in quite a few locations on St. Martin, it was odd to see this savannah dwelling bird foraging on the mudflats near the water’s edge. Although it probably wouldn’t be considered an exciting sighting for a bird enthusiast, there’s always something exciting about encountering the unexpected.

Bird Watch: Almost Human?

The desire to see ourselves in birds is powerful. They do lots of “human” stuff. Seeing them as versions of us doesn’t necessarily help us understand them better, but feeling the commonality does bring us closer to nature.

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Bird Watch – Balancing Act

The force is not the only thing that needs balancing. The recent drought and subsequent rains have brought the return of the caterpillars and a great disturbance in the trees, as if millions of leaves were suddenly eaten. Will they rule the island and turn it into a barren wasteland? There are some birds that might find your lack of faith disturbing.

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Bird Watch SXM: Bouncing Back

Eventually, all things must pass—even this current drought. How do natural systems recover from an extreme situation? Many processes need to happen and they each happen at their own pace. We take a closer look in this week’s Bird Watch SXM in The Daily Herald‘s Weekender section.

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Bird Watch SXM: The Dry Time

In the Caribbean, seasons don’t really run hot and cold, but they do go between wet and dry. What’s a bird to do during the dry season? Find out in this week’s Bird Watch SXM column, out today in The Daily Herald’s Weekender section.

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Bird Watch SXM: Bird TEK

Traditional Ecological Knowledge is a term used to describe information about nature that comes from local populations. It is typically different from scientific research in many ways, but also complementary to it. Should TEK be an important part of how we understand and document birds on St. Martin?

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