Seeking Puerto Rican Birds in the Wake of Hurricane Maria
After scouring the island of Puerto Rico for Bicknell’s Thrush (BITH) with our partners from Sociedad Ornitológica Puertorriqueña (SOPI) during the winters of 2015-16 and turning up only 11 birds, VCE figured our work there was largely done. Then Hurricanes Irma and Maria struck this past September.
VCE Partners with BirdsCaribbean for Post-hurricane Relief
VCE is partnering with BirdsCaribbean to raise funds for humans and wildlife affected by the succession of devastating hurricanes throughout the Caribbean this season. Please join us in helping get the region back on its feet!
VCE Paper Sheds Light on Little-known Hispaniolan Endemic
VCE’s recent peer-reviewed paper on Western Chat-Tanagers from cloud forests of Hispaniola highlights non-breeding home range ecology and nocturnal roosting patterns of this rare, globally vulnerable endemic.
VCE’s Cuba Expedition a Resounding Success
VCE’s inaugural field trip to Cuba may not have yielded many Bicknell’s Thrush (2, to be exact), but it laid a strong foundation for our future work on this captivating island. We forged a promising partnership with our sister institute BIOECO, made many great friends, learned the ropes of conducting field there, and, yes, managed to see half of Cuba’s 26 endemics.
Cuba Next on VCE’s Horizon
Cuba is on VCE’s horizon, as Chris Rimmer and John Lloyd venture this week to the island’s eastern tip, in search of overwintering Bicknell’s Thrush. Backpacking to cloud forests of Sierra Maestra, where Fidel Castro famously hid out in the 1950s, and then venturing east to the serpentine forests of Humboldt National Park, they expect to find some thrushes, and a good number of Cuba’s 26 endemic birds.
Farewell and Thanks to a Tireless Caribbean Conservationist
After 5+ years as VCE’s Caribbean Bird Conservation Coordinator, Juan Carlos Martinez-Sanchez is moving on to new adventures. All of us at VCE wish him well and offer him our profound thanks for a job extraordinarily well done. The personal energy and commitment that Juan Carlos poured into every aspect of his work were nothing short of remarkable.
Puerto Rico Scorecard: Endemics 17, Bicknell’s Thrush 7
VCE’s second winter of Bicknell’s Thrush surveys across Puerto Rico has so far confirmed 7 birds, all in high-elevation forests of Cordillera Central. While the island may not qualify as an epicenter of the species’ overwintering distribution, it is important and reassuring to know they are regular, if rare.
Dominican Conservationists Gain a New Perspective
Few can lay claim to a close-and-personal encounter with a Bicknell’s Thrush on either its mountainous northern breeding grounds…
