West Indies

We are pleased to announce the FOURTH Annual Regional Caribbean Waterbird Census (CWC) Count in 2014.
The 2014 CWC count will take place from Tuesday, January 14 to Monday, February 3 inclusive. This includes 3 weekends and World Wetlands Day on February 2. All are welcome to participate in the CWC! We hope you will join us in this Citizen Science program and contribute to our knowledge of waterbirds and wetlands in the Caribbean, helping us to identify the most important wetlands for waterbirds and conserve them (e.g., as Ramsar sites, protected areas and refuges, etc.). Please mark your calendars and plan to conduct at least one CWC count of your wetland(s) during this period. If you can carry out 2 or 3 or more counts, that’s even better. So if you haven’t already planned your counts, marshal your troops and join our efforts!

A Chance to Win a Pair of Conquest HD Zeiss Binoculars!

Thanks to our partnership with Cornell Lab of Ornithology and a donation from Carl Zeiss Sports Optics, everyone who participates in the CWC and enters their checklists into eBird Caribbean will have a chance to win these award-winning binoculars through a random drawing. The more counts you do and checklists you enter, the greater your chances of winning. Be sure to conduct your counts during the period January 14 – February 3 and enter your data into eBird Caribbean by February 28 at the latest to be eligible for the drawing.

What is the CWC?

The CWC is a region-wide waterbird and wetland monitoring program sponsored by BirdsCaribbean (formerly the Society for the Conservation and Study of Caribbean Birds – SCSCB) and part of Wetlands International’s International Waterbird Census (IWC) program of regional counts around the globe (e.g., Neotropical Waterbird Census, Central American Waterbird Census, Asian Waterbird Census, etc.). The goal of the CWC is to learn more about the distribution, status, and abundance of waterbirds in the Caribbean to improve our conservation planning and management of these beautiful birds and their habitats. We organize one region-wide count in the winter where everyone counts at the same time during the middle of winter (when birds are most stationary) to get a “snapshot” of waterbird population numbers and habitat use throughout the Caribbean.

How to Participate
A description of how to do a Basic (Level 1) Count (and downloadable data forms) is available in this previous eBird Caribbean article.

If it is possible to do Level 2 Counts (which include measures of detection probability), that’s great. Individuals that have attended one of BirdsCaribbean’s CWC Training Workshops should aim for Level 2 counts, although workshop attendance is not a requirement and Level 1 counts are just fine for beginners.

There are many resources available to help you plan your CWC or train counters. The CWC Manual (with protocols and data sheets) is available for download here and we have a Yahoo! group (Carib-Waterbird-Census-Network) especially set up for those participating in the CWC. Click here to subscribe.

A PowerPoint presentation on Wetland Birds of the Caribbean is available on request for training and practice in bird ID. Additional PowerPoints that can be used for training purposes are also available (e.g., Bird Identification 101, Wetland Birds of the Caribbean, Levels of Monitoring (including descriptions of protocols), Name That Bird, and many more). To request these resources, contact one of this post’s authors (email addresses at the bottom of the page).

For further help with waterbird ID, especially those challenging shorebirds, visit the Caribbean Birding Trail’s Shorebird Gallery and the Caribbean Bird ID Flickr Group, as well as this eBird Caribbean article.

Count data must be entered in eBird Caribbean for you to be entered in the binocular drawing. Note that eBird Caribbean has been revamped recently and it is even easier to use than before. When submitting CWC data, under “Submit Observations” on the Step 2 “Date and Effort” page, be sure to choose either the “CWC Point Count” or “CWC Area Search” observation type. Be sure to do your best to count and record ALL species in your count area (including land birds) and record your effort: the amount of time spent counting (and area searched when using the CWC Area Search option), so that you can submit a “complete checklist” to eBird—this data is much more valuable.

Prior CWC Counts Results
Participation in the CWC has grown steadily since its pilot year launch in 2010. Checklists are still coming into eBird Caribbean for 2013, so we don’t have a total count yet. However, 657 CWC counts were conducted in 2012. A total of 18 Caribbean countries have participated in the CWC and a total of 1,867 checklists have been submitted over all 4 years. The CWC has gathered observations of 255 species from 451 unique count locations in 18 countries.

Counts at other Times of the Year
There are very large gaps in our knowledge of migratory waterbirds (including waterfowl, shorebirds, marsh birds, herons, egrets, seabirds, etc.) and the sites they use for migration and wintering. Observations during the main CWC count period are very valuable, but only help monitor winter populations. Thus, we strongly encourage you to carry out additional CWC counts at other times of the year (spring and fall migration periods) and in as many wetland sites as possible. If you can carry out 2 or more, or monthly counts, that’s even better. It is the best way to gather information at the local and regional level about what species are migrating to and through the islands and when, their numbers, and the sites they are using—all vitally important information for conservation and management. As more and more people participate and enter their data into eBird, eBird Caribbean will eventually be able to provide detailed information on waterbird migration and distributions in the region.

If you have any questions whatsoever or want us to review your plans, don’t hesitate to contact us via email below. Also, if you need help getting started in eBird Caribbean, let us know. Finally, bring a digital camera in the field with you—if you are unsure of the ID of any of the birds you are seeing, don’t guess! Send us your photos and we will do our best to help. (or send your photo to the CWC Yahoo group and it will be good ID practice for everyone—shorebirds can be challenging to even very skilled birders!!!). Please post your photos also to the Flickr group to help us build this reference library!

Looking forward to hearing from you and seeing lots of data entered this winter!

All the best,

Lisa Sorenson (Lsoren@bu.edu)
Ann Sutton (asutton@cwjamaica.com)
Jeff Gerbracht (jag73@cornell.edu)
Frank Rivera (Frank_Rivera@fws.gov)

p.s. Important! Note that the name of the Common Moorhen was changed (July 2011) to Common Gallinule in the eBird Caribbean species list. Remember to use the new name when entering data.

Note that all eBirders are also eligible to enter eBird’s new eBirder of the Month contest which also comes with some great prizes. Learn more about it in this article.

Thanks to Ted Lee Eubanks for use of the photograph.

More about the Carl Zeiss and Cornell Lab Partnership:

Carl Zeiss Sports Optics is a proven leader in sports optics and is the official optics sponsor for eBird. “Carl Zeiss feels strongly that by partnering with the Cornell Lab we can provide meaningful support for their ability to carry out their research, conservation, and education work around the world,” says Mike Jensen, President of Carl Zeiss Sports Optics, North America. “The Cornell Lab is making a difference for birds, and from the highest levels of our company we’re committed to promoting birding and the Lab’s work, so there’s a great collaboration. eBird is a truly unique and synergistic portal between the Lab and birders, and we welcome the opportunity to support them both.”