When we starting thinking about Puerto Rico as a possible ‘theme’ on 10,000 Birds we asked ourselves a number of questions: is it an area that might benefit from coverage on a bird blog (there’s not much point in spending a month talking about somewhere well-known that is already all over the internet), are the birds in the area going to be interesting to our visitors (I think that’s a given when you’re talking about a smallish island dripping with endemics), can we give information to our visitors which might be useful if they decide to visit the area (obviously we hope so), and, lastly, does the ‘theme’ tie in with our interests/passions as far as conservation is concerned…?

Puerto Rico ticked all the boxes, and the conservation taking place on the island is especially noteworthy (there are two Critically Endangered bird species, the Puerto Rican Parrot Amazona vittata and Puerto Rican Nightjar Caprimulgus noctitherus, and one Endangered species, the Yellow-shouldered Blackbird Agelaius anthomus for starters). We’re not experts on Puerto Rican conservation of course, and there are many small NGOs fighting battles that I don’t suppose we’ll ever hear about (unless they get in touch with us at eg charlie10000birds AT gmail.com), but one group we have come into contact with is the Birdlife International Affiliate on Puerto Rico - the Sociedad Ornitológica Puertorriqueña, Inc. (or SOPI as it’s often known).

Established relatively recently, in 1995, SOPI is “widely respected as a specialist resource for the conservation of Puerto Rico’s birds and biodiversity, and has a Board of Directors and a membership that comprises ornithologists, university professors, and volunteers dedicated to the success of the organization and its activities.” (BirdLife International)

SOPI is involved in many important projects. Since 2001, for example, SOPI has been running the Important Bird Areas (IBA) programme on the island, gathering data and detailing the importance of each site in terms of biodiversity, key bird species, and conservation measures and needs in each area. So far twenty IBAs have been listed, which has had the effect of highlighting the importance of these sites to both birders and planners/developers.

In 2000 SOPI launched a Shorebird Monitoring Network. More than ten sites are monitored throughout the island with key sites for migratory shorebirds being surveyed every month by network volunteers. Collected data is shared with other institutions and government agencies, and this will - again - be crucial in decision-making processes: ‘data is king’, as it were, particularly on a small island with a large human population where, inevitably, there is pressure on wetlands of all types.

Since 2005, SOPI has also collaborated with the International Institute Tropical Forestry (IITF) of the USDA, Project GAP of the IITF and the Puerto Rican Department of Natural and Environmental Resources (DNER) in the collection of information of nesting sites for breeding bird species for the Puerto Rico Breeding Bird Atlas. This information will be presented in a Breeding Bird Atlas publication in the near future. Again, this is critically important because if you don’t actually know where your most threatened birds are breeding you can’t put forward the case for protecting the site. As importantly, if you don’t monitor the populations of all your breeding birds there is no way of accurately demonstrating trends and putting forward strategies to protect them if they start to decline.

SOPI is also involved with action to reverse the decline of the globally threatened West Indian Whistling-duck Dendrocygna arborea, participates in various education activities in different festivals (eg World Bird Day (WBD), International Migratory Bird Day (IMBD), World Migratory Bird Day (WMBD) and the Caribbean Endemic Bird Festival (CEBF)), and is collaborating with The Society for the Conservation and Study of Caribbean Birds (SCSCB) in the management of the funds for the creation of a children’s book about Caribbean birds…

Puerto Rican Nightjar/Guabairo de Puerto Rico Caprimulgus noctitherus
Photo copyright Armando Feliciano, used with permission.

Busy, eh? On top of all that SOPI are the Species Guardians for the Critically Endangered Puerto Rican Nightjar under the ‘Preventing Extinctions Programme‘ run by BirdLife International (and most of the information we posted on the Puerto Rican Nightjar came from SOPI). As Species Guardians they are implementing the following actions: revising a Species Action Plan in collaboration with the US Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS); planning a research project to be carried out by the Mississippi State University (scheduled to take place from March to May 2009), which will include surveys to determine the current range, suitable habitat and conservation recommendations; and raising community awareness through school presentations and the dissemination of educational materials. The priority conservation actions identified by the Species Action Plan will be implemented through a newly-established Puerto Rican Nightjar Conservation Network and facilitated by the Species Guardian.

And they’re doing this on a lavish budget, turning up to work in Ferraris, riding high on bankers-style bonuses…? No, like most dedicated, committed, and highly skilled conservationists the world over they most certainly are not earning anything like they deserve and much of the work they’d like to do is not properly funded.

If you’d like to help out please consider joining SOPI, or sending them a donation. Their contact details are below…

      Sociedad Ornitológica Puertorriqueña, Inc. (SOPI)
      Address: SOPI
      PO Box 195166,
      San Juan,
      Puerto Rico,
      00919-5166
      Email: sopi_aia@yahoo.com
      Web: http://www.avesdepuertorico.org

• Like to see what else we’ve posted for ‘Puerto Rico Month’? Just click http://10000birds.com/tag/puerto-rico-month

 

• If you live in Puerto Rico or have visited PR and would like to contribute photos or a guest post (return traffic to your blog/website should be good, folks) then please mail charlie10000birds AT gmail DOT com

How would you and a partner/friend like to win a 5 day ‘Endemic Dash’ around Puerto Rico with Kevin Loughlin’s WildSide Nature Tours?

You would? Read on…

Kevin (whose photographs of Puerto Rican Woodpecker and Green-throated Carib grace this post) has been organising trips to the Caribbean for many years and is generously offering two places on an Endemic Dash, one of his popular short trips around Puerto Rico on which participants will be taken to see as many of the island’s endemics as possible.

The Tour starts in San Juan - so you’ll need to get there (flights are frequent and cheap from many major US cities) - but all guiding fees, accommodations, ground transportation, and meals from dinner on day of arrival through breakfast on day of departure are included!

That would normally cost two people around 2500USD - enter and win and it’ll cost you just your passport fees, airport taxes, alcoholic beverages, laundry, phone calls or anything else of a purely personal nature! Which - if you go easy on the celebratory beers, wear the same socks for a few days, and keep short the gloating phone calls to your jealous mates back home - really won’t amount to very much at all…

We’ll be posting more info about this fantastic competition during Puerto Rico Month - yes, okay, not posting the questions now is our way of making sure you come back to visit us, but why would you want to miss some truly exceptional photographs of Puerto Rico’s endemics and some of the most up-to-date info on Puerto Rico’s biodiversity on the net anyway?