AMAZONA’s Activities
· The study of settled and migratory birds by means of banding
· Counting the white-bellied martin in the roosts of Pointe-à-Pitre and Capesterre, Marie Galante
· Counting of waders and the anatidae
· The annual organisation of The Festival of Birds Endemic to the Caribbean and The Festival of Migratory Birds
· The organisation of symposiums and other events
· Teaching the public about the environment (in schools, associations, etc.)
· Creating posters in order to educate and inform with the view to protect the avifauna
· Publishing study reports and notes
· Other diverse activities
Suivi Temporel des Oiseaux Communs par Echantillonnage Ponctuel Simple (STOC-EPS) in Guadeloupe
STOC-EPS is a national programme run by the CRBPO which is part of The National Museum of Natural History. It allows us to follow the fluctuations of common birds over a long period (more than 10 years).
Run locally by AMAZONA and financed by DEAL, this programme was set up in Guadeloupe in 2014.
The objective is as follows: each participant chooses to follow several circuits. Each circuit consists of 10 listening and observation points and must be followed 2 times a year; once between the 1st April and the 15th May, and again between the 16th May and the 30th June. The monitoring should take place in the morning, between 6am and 9am, which is a very active period for birds. Any later than this and it starts to get hotter and the birds become less active.
Each observer will follow his circuit for several years, on the same date each year if possible (plus or minus 3 days) and at the same time.
Protection
Every year many birds die by colliding into bay windows. Even if they are agile enough to avoid obstacles there is nothing they can do as these windows are invisible or reflect the vegetation around them. After a collision, if the bird doesn’t die instantly, its chances of survival are weak as it could have after-effects or be caught by a predator (a cat, a mongoose, etc.) whilst it is on the ground.
What can we do?
If you have bay windows in your home which are potentially dangerous for birds, you can install electrostatic silhouettes (rather than self-adhesive which can leave marks on windows), which serve to make birds aware that there is an obstacle present.
AMAZONA OFFERS FREE SILHOUETTES. To get yours, first count the number of bay windows you have in your house or shop and then contact us by email (oiseauxguadeloupe at yahoo.fr) with your contact details and the number of windows. This simple gesture will help save many birds.
Bird Banding: useful for study and tracking
Our tagged birds seen in America…
In May 2013, two waders banded in Guadeloupe were spotted in Delaware Bay, situated in the North-East of the United States:
- One Ruddy Turnstone Arenaria Interpres banded in March 2008 in Petite Terre
- One Semipalmated Sandpiper Calidris Pusilla banded in August 2010 at the Pointe des Châteaux