“Thousands Of Birds Must Have Perished”

September 10, 2017

Local ornithologist Andrew Dobson, President of BirdsCaribbean, says he is “heartbroken” by the devastation caused by Hurricane Irma, and has urged people to donate to the hurricane disaster relief fund organized by the Bermuda Red Cross.

He has been closely involved with BirdsCaribbean for more than 15 years and has close friends in many of the islands, and said, “As the largest ornithological organisation in the region, we meet regularly and I have spent time in many of the islands.

“Barbuda is one of the most beautiful Caribbean islands I have visited. Largely unspoilt with a relatively small population it relies almost solely on tourism. As a teacher myself, I’m particularly concerned about the school I visited in Codrington, now destroyed.

Barbuda Warble, photo courtesy of Mr Dobson

Barbuda Warbler 09 Sep

“The news coverage of the utter devastation of the island is difficult to imagine and the distress to local people unimaginable. Barbuda had the largest colony of Magnificent Frigatebirds in the western hemisphere, about 100,000 birds, generating a big source of income from ecotourism.”

He continued, “Thousands of birds must have perished. Even more concerning is the fate of the Barbuda Warbler, an endemic species that may become extinct as a result of the hurricane.

“Barbuda now faces the onslaught of Hurricane Jose and the race to evacuate the remaining residents. I’ve managed to make contact with friends in some of the islands affected but I’m very worried about colleagues on St. Maarten and the Turks and Caicos Islands.”

Mr. Dobson encourages people to donate to the hurricane disaster relief fund organized by the Bermuda Red Cross.

click here Bermuda 2017 Hurricane Season

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Category: All, Environment, News

Comments (1)

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  1. JUNK YARD DOG says:

    Our Amazon Parrot will say, do you hear our cry.

    ” All birds are Gods creatures, we never complain as we sing our little hearts out, we birds bring life and happiness to the Bermuda garden.

    If you want an air show we can that too.

    Birds, we are the worlds greatest survivors, at times we need mans help during lean times when the earth lets us down.

    Don’t send us to the cold of countries up north, put you guns away.

    During hurricanes many of us birds become confused and get blown out to sea and die.

    Some of us fly in the eye of a hurricane and perish as the eye moves out to sea.

    May be all you need do is feed us in our bird sanctuaries, we get hungry just like you do we hope that we can stay.”