Archive for the ‘Nature Notes’ Category

BIRD SPECIES observed during twice-weekly airport bird patrols Nov 2010 to Nov 2011										Gerrard Smith Int’l Airport
Cayman Brac. SAMPLE ONLY: Showing 1 ONLY out of 8 approx patrols per month										(Approx 30 minute patrols)
ALL SPECIES	2010		2011
	NOV	DEC	JAN	FEB	MAR	APR	MAY	JUNE	JULY	AUG	SEPT	OCT
	19th	21st	24th	27th	6th*	3rd	22nd	12th	17th	22nd	18th**	9th
Pied-billed Grebe		1	2
White-tailed Tropicbird***
Brown Booby								1			2
Brown Pelican	[do not count: this species was observed in the ponds AFTER the official counting ceased]
Double-crested Cormorant
Anhinga					1
Magnificent Frigatebird			2	1		1	2				1
Least Bittern		1
Great Blue Heron		1	2	5							1	1
Great Egret	8	8	3	11		2
Snowy Egret	1	1	4	10	1	25
Little Blue Heron	1	30						2	2			2
Tricolored Heron			2	6	11
Reddish Egret			1
Cattle Egret						2	5	6	11		3	18
Green Heron				1	1			1	1	1	1
Yellow-crowned Night Heron	1		1	1	1	1		1			1	1
White Ibis					2
Glossy Ibis	1
West Indian Whistling Duck		2			2			4	1	16	6
Gadwall
Blue-winged Teal	20	6	20	40	40						27	60
Northern Shoveler
Green-winged Teal
Ring-necked Duck
Lesser Scaup	1	1
Osprey						1
Northern Harrier	1
American Kestrel	1		1	1
Merlin
Peregrine Falcon					1
Sora					1
Common Moorhen		3	5	6	2	1	8	3	2	4	1	4
American Coot	50	16	3	65	40
Black-bellied Plover			2			1	1		2	6	8	4
Semi-palmated Plover					1						3
Kildeer					1
Black-necked Stilt				45	25		2	16	12	19	48	70
Greater Yellowlegs	1			20	10	4
Lesser Yellowlegs												1
Willet								4		4
Spotted Sandpiper
Upland sandpiper								1
Semi-palmated sandpiper											1
Ruddy Turnst1
Sanderling
Western Sandpiper
Least Sandpiper												20
Short-billed Dowitcher											1
Laughing Gull								1
Royal Tern			1						3
White-crowned Pigeon			1				1	3	2		8
White-winged Dove			Jan (20)
Zenaida Dove				1	1				1		2
Common Ground-Dove		2					1	2	3	7	9
Cayman Parrot
Mangrove Cuckoo
Smooth-billed ani	5	22	5	4	8	7	4	10	11	26	23	5
Antillean Nighthawk
Belted Kingfisher					1
Caribbean Elaenia										1
Gray Kingbird							5	1	5	21	1
Loggerhead Kingbird
Cliff Swallow	12	2	1
Cave Swallow
Barn Swallow				20	50	75	21			4	28	32
Gray Catbirds							5
Northern Mockingbird	1		2	7	1	4	5	6	7	8	3
Prairie Warbler
Vitelline Warbler	1	1
Palm Warbler	2	2		12								2
Northern Waterthrush					2						2
Common Yellowthroat
Bananaquit
Yellow-faced Grassquit
UNIDENTIFIED:		Passerines on the wing and some species of shorebirds are not listed, being hard to confirm
BIRDERS:		Isabelle Brown, Thuyi Tin Aung, Wallace Platts, Edna Platts, Gene Edwards, Bonnie Edwards, Karen Fraser, Kathleen Bodden-Harris, Sue Ingham
[Some served for all 12 months, others for shorter periods]
OBJECTIVES of the birders:
		Improve identification skills Learn more about birds in their environment on Cayman Brac Provide useful and required information to CIAA (airport authority)
OTHER NOTES
Nomenclature follows checklist of Birds of the Cayman Islands (c. P.E. Bradley 2000) Chickens were found within the fenced airport area more often than not; some other wildlife (1 cat, 1 iguana). The reference book Birds of Cayman Brac by Keith Prescott proved very reliable and helpful, along with the standard references: Bradley (Birds of CI); Raffaele, ed. (Birds of the WI); National Geographic (Birds of N. America) and others This sheet shows selected patrols only. Statistical analysis was left to outside consultants on Grand Cayman. The ponds are vital for the health of our environment, already severely compromised. Why fly to a barren island? The best note-taking evolved when we divided the runway into only 3 sections — east, central and west.
* Note re March 6th
On this date we surveyed from outside the airport fence. This produced somewhat different results but was still within the mandate
** Note re September 18th
Having 5 birders we deployed 2 of them outside the fence. They produced the same birds as the others, plus semi-palmated sandpiper, brown boobies, g-b herons and a s-b dowitcher.
*** The explanation for birds listed but not numbered in the columns is: we show only one patrol for each month, not eight.

j.w. platts
Cayman Brac, Cayman Islands
20120116

This land could AGAIN be a paradise, for its native plants and animals but also for its people. There is one small “knowledge industry” company based on Cayman Brac and it could grow and lead to the further development of this industry. Cayman Brac could become a contributor instead of a drag on the country’s economy as it is today, draining millions from the central government’s coffers.

Which of the three islands could ATTRACT FOREIGN INVESTMENT in hi-tech companies, and attract the demanding people who work for such companies, and their families? Little Cayman has too few people and should indeed be kept that way as an occasional, wild and rare place to visit, relatively untouched by large-scale development. Grand Cayman has lost much of its lovely wilderness except for wetlands and underwater attractions. It has a rough-and-ready city and has become just another Caribbean island with a worrying rate of burglary and violent crime. Divided highways have become speedways. There is too much drunkenness. But Grand Cayman boasts fairly good shopping, a few costly artificial attractions and its still-lovely diving beauty. Cayman Brac could be the only island WHERE MOST RESIDENTS COULD WALK OR RIDE A BIKE TO WORK IN PEACE, or to seashore, library, grocery, church, picnic site, pond or nature path. Each of these could be accessed without having to drive a car! If only we had a few dedicated paths for cycling and walking. (We don’t even have sidewalks.)

If the observations in the full report Land Acquisition for Environmental Protection were pursued; if the Brac got rid of some unsightly scenes; if its education system could be upgraded; if the island became better regulated and governed in many ways (handling of waste is only one) … then this could be the island of pleasant outdoor activities, fresh breezes and the beauty of nature … a safer place to raise children, un-gated yet safe communities, and the place where peaceful, studious, happy people would love to live and work.

Knowledge industry people can work from anywhere. Cayman Brac could become the location of choice. Thoughtful people, here and abroad, value the natural surroundings that our pioneers enjoyed, only a couple of generations ago.

This remains a dream, but it is possible. Do the people really want it?

jwp
20110406