HURRICANE DORIAN: RELIEF CONTACTS & LINKS FOR ABACO BAHAMAS

September 3, 2019 by Rolling Harbour

HURRICANE DORIAN: RELIEF CONTACTS & LINKS FOR ABACO BAHAMAS

The massive extent of the devastation caused by the unprecedented violence of Hurricane Dorian to the northern Bahamas is, after 2 days, still being revealed only gradually. Overall, the cruel effects of the storm could hardly be any worse. There’s no need to chronicle the horrendous details of the crisis in terms of the people, communities, property, infrastructure, fauna, flora and even geology. Right now, bad news accumulates by the hour. Many people are still unaccounted for. Information about some of the communities is scant.

This is a time when information is valuable, in particular as to the resources available, the urgent needs of the island and its cays, and the ways in which outsiders can help with this dire situation and with funding the recovery. Here are a few suggestions that I hope will be useful.

LOCAL INFORMATION RESOURCES

The main resources are local / community Facebook groups, or more general Abaco-wide groups. All of them contain local reports and updates, photos, videos and requests for news of family, friends & communities. Events and news are fast-moving, so if you find a group you like, keep checking for up-to-date news, requests for advice or help etc

ABACO COMMUNITY UPDATE

ABACO BULLETIN GROUP

ABACO BAHAMAS – LIVING ON ISLAND TIME

(to be expanded)

I will be reviewing and editing this page daily. I’ll look out for additional fundraisers, but please contact me with any others that you would like to see included, giving the link to it. You can do this by commenting here; via DM on my Rolling Harbour FB page; or email for those that have it.

ROLLING HARBOUR ABACO

NB I am not making personal recommendations here, except in the case of the Delphi Relief Fund and Caroline’s parrot fundraiser, where I have personal connections and concerns. Please check these pages for yourself before you decide to donate

RELIEF DONATION SITES

HEADKNOWLES An organization formed in 2015 by Bahamians Lia Head-Rigby and Gina Knowles to provide hurricane relief to the residents of the south and central Bahamas after the devastation of Hurricane Joaquin. Since then, Headknowles provided relief after Hurricanes Matthew and Irma.

You can find out more about the invaluable work of this organization via this link to Amanda Diedrick’s website LITTLE HOUSE BY THE FERRY You will also find there regularly updated information about the present crisis.

DONATIONS HeadKnowles GO FUND ME page

UPDATES & INFO Facebook group page

Bahamas Red CrossThe Bahamas branch of the International Red Cross is requesting help with its Dorian-relief program. Specifically, it’s looking for donations of nonperishable goods, water, toiletries, baby products, radios, batteries, candles, bedding, generators, and building supplies (NT)

DONATIONS BAHAMAS RED CROSS

DONATIONS PERC, Inc.

PERC, Inc. is a not-for-profit U.S. corporation created in 1998 to support the philanthropic work of charitable and community organizations in Abaco, Bahamas (specifically, Hope Town, Man O’ War and Marsh Harbour), and to enable U.S. tax payers make tax deductible contributions to their preferred Abaco charities.

RELIEF NEEDS

LAZY LOCATIONS Excellent list of Hurricane Dorian Relief Efforts including supplies-provision and similar aid in the Abacos, some of which are not yet listed below

COMMUNITY& INDIVIDUAL FUNDRAISERS

(GoFundMe unless otherwise stated – PLEASE CHECK VALIDATION)

THE DELPHI CLUB ABACO RELIEF FUND Fundraiser by Robert Ford & Club Members (& my own connection)

HURRICANE RELIEF FOR ELBOW CAY Fundraiser by Matt Winslow

HOPE TOWN VOLUNTEER FIRE & RESCUE HURRICANE RELIEF Local Paypal funding

Errol Thurston Bahamas Abaco Hurricane Relief Fund Fundraiser by Errol Thurston

HOPE 4 HOPE TOWN – ABACO ISLANDS RELIEF FUND Fundraiser by Patrick Davis

Abaco Strong Hurricane Relief Fund Fundraiser by Dave Meldeau

Abaco Parrot post Dorian Food Supplementation Fundraiser by Caroline Stahala

For the Love of Abaco – Hurricane Relief Fundraiser by Lou Lentine

Hurricane Dorian Relief Fund for Abaco Fundraiser by Al Lee

Dorian Relief Effort – Bahamas Abaco Islands TCCF Fundraiser by Omar Maissen

Hurricane Dorian Relief Fund Abacos Fundraiser by Heidi Marie Hill

OTHER WAYS TO GIVE

NB I know nothing specific about these more widely-based organisations – it’s up to you to check them out

GlobalGiving’s Disaster Recovery Network Hurricane Dorian Relief Fund

DIRECT RELIEF Hurricane Dorian Relief

CREDITS

Amanda Diedrick / Little House by the Ferry for taking a big lead in collecting and spreading information and advice including the HeadKnowles information shown here

Matthew McCoy for additional suggestions

PHOTO CREDIT Melissa Groo, International Photographer with Bahamas ties. Thanks as always for use permission

THE SYMBOL OF A RESILIENT BAHAMAS: BAHAMA PARROTS

September 1, 2019 by Rolling Harbour

THE SYMBOL OF A RESILIENT BAHAMAS

THE BAHAMA PARROT

Hurricane Dorian makes landfall on Abaco later today. The island has been in an unwavering direct line for several days, gaining force to Cat. 4** while slowing down as it approaches. The skies have darkened, the seas are turbulent, danger to humans, wildlife, property, landscape is imminent.

** UPDATE just before landfall today, Dorian strengthened to a rare and very dangerous Cat. 5 hurricane. This is when not just property and land is threatened, but life itself. Early reports are of flooding and structural damage. Now is not the moment to pick through the information filtering through. Better to assess the impact after the storm has passed on to the north-west, where it is currently headed via Grand Bahama.

When we first became involved with Abaco, the parrot numbers were believed to be fewer than 1000, a barely sustainable population. An intensive, continuing conservation program over several years has seen the numbers treble or more. This recovery is as much due to the resilience of the species as to human intervention.

The parrots will be lying low in the National Park, some in the limestone caves they nest in during the breeding season. As humans take equivalent protective measures we are watching from a thankfully safe distance. We wish the very best of luck to our friends, and to all on the island and its cays during the next 48 hours.

HURRICANE DORIAN, ABACO BAHAMAS: STAY STRONG, STAY SAFE

August 30, 2019 by Rolling Harbour

HURRICANE DORIAN, ABACO BAHAMAS: STAY STRONG, STAY SAFE

As Hurricane Dorian sweeps directly and inexorably towards Abaco this weekend, from my safe distance of 4000 miles I wish all the very best to my friends, and to all the people and the precious island they inhabit.

Credits: Melissa Maura for her wonderful parrot photos; NASA / GOES

TROPICAL STORM: THE PICTURE OF DORIAN? GRAY…

August 27, 2019 by Rolling Harbour

TROPICAL STORM: THE PICTURE OF DORIAN? GRAY…

+ TROPICAL DEPRESSION SIX – SPACE VIEW AND LIGHT POLLUTION

TS Dorian is the 4th tropical storm of the Atlantic season, and the first one to have the northern Bahamas & Abaco in its sights. Right now it is way down south in the area round Barbados, heading for Puerto Rico. I just checked out the NOAA, NHC, NWC & NASA sites to find out the present predictions. Although the direction and force of the storm may be changeable as it moves north, it’s as well to know the currently predicted path. As of this morning, Abaco is directly in it. And TD Six is lurking to the north-west as well.

WIND SPEED

PROGRESS / ETA

Subject to the usual variables, this coming weekend looks potentially the time for some kind of murky weather over Abaco. Maybe it won’t happen like that, but this looks like one to keep a weather eye on.

STORM CONE

Tropical depression Six, described as ‘poorly organised’, is already making its present felt. This dramatic image of ‘6’ from NOAA has a strange beauty, and interesting not least because of its startling highlighting of light pollution (and check out Freeport and Nassau).

TD SIX LAST NIGHT

TD SIX – VIEW FROM SPACE

CREDITS: the combined resources of NOAA, NHC, NWS & NASA & associates

TS Dorian Path Prediction

ABACO’S 38 WARBLERS: AN ILLUSTRATED ID GUIDE (Pt 1)

August 27, 2019 by Rolling Harbour

Olive-capped Warbler, Abaco Bahamas (©Tom Sheley)

Olive-capped Warbler (resident species), Abaco Bahamas (©Tom Sheley)

ABACO’S 38 WARBLERS: AN ILLUSTRATED ID GUIDE (Pt 1)

IT’S STARTED The great winter migration of warblers and their imminent arrival in The Bahamas is underway. Any day now – if not already – the ‘winter’ / ‘Fall’ (late summer & early spring as well) warblers will be arriving on Abaco. There are 38 warbler species recorded for the main island and the cays. For years, it was just 37. Exactly a year ago, a CANADA WARBLER was seen and photographed by well-known birder Chris Johnson. It was a first for Abaco – and the first-ever report for the Bahamas as well. You’ll find the story HERE.

First-ever Canada Warbler for Abaco & the entire Bahamas: Aug 2018 (Chris Johnson)

Canada Warbler, Abaco Bahamas (1st record) (Chris Johnson)

This post is the first of 3 warbler posts for the Fall. A while back I compiled a basic (in retrospect) guide to Abaco’s warbler species. I’ll give a link and pdf in due course once I have rechecked (improved? rewritten?) it. [Note: of no value on eBay, @m@z@n or anywhere else]. Many of the warblers are far from easy to distinguish from each other. For example, many males have yellow or yellow-and-black plumage. The females are invariably less colourful – often brownish or olive – than the males (as are juveniles), and that can lead to confusion – and not only by me, I think.

Hooded Warbler, Abaco Bahamas (Chris Johnson)

The guide divides the original 37 species into categories, with a code for each bird to show. You’ll see below the codes relating to each of the 5 resident species:

Resident status – permanent / breeding, migratory or transient
Frequency – likelihood of seeing each species in its season, rated from 1 (very likely) to 5 (extreme rarities, maybe recorded once or twice since c1950

Bahama Warbler (endemic), Abaco Bahamas (Alex Hughes)

Numerically, the division of the 38 breaks down into 3 categories:

5 permanent residents (PR) that breed on Abaco (B), of which two are ENDEMIC
21 winter residents (WR) ranging from ‘everyday’ species to rarities like the rare, vulnerable Kirtland’s Warbler (now under threat from proposed development)
12 transients, most of which you will be very lucky to encounter

Palm Warbler, Abaco Bahamas (Nina Henry)

The photos used in this series were almost all taken on Abaco / the Cays. There’ll be examples of the male of each warbler species, with some females for contrast. Where I have no Abaco / Baha images – especially with the transients – I have used other mainstream birding resources and Wiki. All due credits will be given at the foot of each post.

Bahama Yellowthroat, Abaco Bahamas (Gerlinde Taurer)

The warblers shown above are a mix of warbler species on Abaco: resident / endemic, winter migrants, and transient / vagrant. Time to take a look at the first category, the Bahamas-loving resident species that live and breed on Abaco

5 PERMANENT RESIDENTS

BAHAMA YELLOWTHROAT Geothlypis rostrata PR B 1 ENDEMIC

Bahama Yellowthroat (endemic), Abaco Bahamas (Gerlinde Taurer)

BAHAMA WARBLER Setophaga flavescens PR B 1 ENDEMIC

Bahama Warbler (endemic), Abaco Bahamas (Bruce Hallett)

YELLOW WARBLER Setophaga petechia PR B 1

Yellow Warbler, sunrise, Abaco Bahamas (Tom Sheley)

OLIVE-CAPPED WARBLER Setophaga pityophila PR B 1

Olive-capped Warbler, Abaco Bahamas (Bruce Hallett)

PINE WARBLER Setophaga pinus PR B 1

Pine Warbler, Abaco Bahamas (Tom Sheley)

In Part 2: Winter migrants from common to rare

PHOTO CREDITS Tom Sheley (1, 9, 11); Chris Johnson (2, 3); Alex Hughes (4); Nina Henry (5); Gerlinde Taurer (6, 7); Bruce Hallett (8, 10); Photos mainly from the archive collected for“THE DELPHI CLUB GUIDE TO THE BIRDS OF ABACO” by Keith Salvesen

URCHIN RESEARCHIN’: SEA HEDGEHOGS OF THE REEF

August 22, 2019 by Rolling Harbour

URCHIN RESEARCHIN’: SEA HEDGEHOGS OF THE REEF

The long-spined sea urchin Diadema antillarum featured in this post is one of those creatures that handily offers its USP in its name, so you know what you are dealing with. Something prickly, for a start. These are creatures of the reef, and many places in the Caribbean and in the western Atlantic generally sustain healthy populations.

These animals are essentially herbivores, and their value to vulnerable coral reefs cannot be overstated. Where there is a healthy population of these urchins, the reef will be kept clean from smothering algae by their methodical grazing. They also eat sea grass.

Long-spined sea urchin Diadema antillarum (Melinda Rodgers / Dive Abaco)

HOW DO THE SPINES OF DIFFERENT KINDS OF URCHIN COMPARE?

Small sea urchins species have spines a few cms long at most. The long-spine variety exceed 10 cms, and the largest may have spines up to 30 cms (= 1 foot) long. The length, as shown here, means that when the creatures are safely lodged in crevices near their algae supply, their spines remain very visible.

Long-spined sea urchin Diadema antillarum (Melinda Riger / G B Scuba)

Anatomy of a long-spined sea urchin. You may possess a few of these organs yourself…

CAN YOU GIVE US A TEST, PLEASE?

As with SAND DOLLARS and similar creatures, the skeleton of a sea urchin is known as a ‘test’. Urchin tests are remarkably beautiful, especially seen in sunlight. Here are 2 examples I photographed a while ago. You’ll immediately notice the delicate colours and the amazing complexity of the pattern and symmetry. The top one is (or is most like) a long-spined urchin test.

Long-spined sea urchin Test / Skeleton Diadema antillarum (Keith Salvesen / Rolling Harbour)

A BIT ABOUT SYMMETRY

Sea urchins are born with bilateral symmetry – in effect, you could fold one in half. As they grow to adulthood, they retain symmetry but develop so-called ‘fivefold symmetry’, rather as if an orange contained 5 equal-sized segments. The graphic above gives a good idea of how the interior is arranged inside the segments.

A FEW FACTS TO HAND DOWN TO YOUR CHILDREN

Urchin fossil records date the species back to the Ordivician period, c 40m years ago
In the ’90s the population was decimated and still has not recovered fully
Urchins feel stress: a bad sign that the spines here are white rather than black
Urchins are not only warm water creatures: some kinds live in polar regions
Urchins are of particular use in scientific research, including genome studies
Some urchins end up in aquariums / aquaria, where I doubt the algae is so tasty
Kindest not to prod or tread on them
Their nearest relative (surprisingly) is said to be the Sea Cucumber

ARE THEY EDIBLE?

Apparently they are eaten in some parts of the world; their gonads and roe are considered a delicacy. As far as I know, they are not generally on the menu in the Bahamas. Correction invited. Personally, I could leave them or leave them.

CREDITS: Melinda Rodgers / Dive Abaco (1, 2, 3, 6, 9) taken Abaco; Melinda Riger / G B Scuba (4, 10, 11) taken Grand Bahama; Keith Salvesen / Rolling Harbour (7, 8) taken Abaco; Wiki graphic (5) taken from internet. RESEARCH Fred Riger for detailed information; otherwise the usual magpie pickings…

HERRING GULL STUDIES: EYE CONTACT

August 19, 2019 by Rolling Harbour

HERRING GULL STUDIES: EYE CONTACT

Getting close to a herring gull is not a particularly heroic act, and yet… they look quite intimidating. The glint in the eye is somewhat evil. And they can be fairly aggressive when the mood takes them. I once had my scalp raked by a herring gull when I got too near a breeding area on a small island in Scotland. It got me from behind. There was blood. Plenty of it. It was my own stupid fault, and a lesson learned.

Behold a fine herring gull stepping ashore with its beady eye fixed on me. Behold it starting to advance towards me in a purposeful way… Then it noticed the camera and decided to pose instead of attack.

One complication for amateur birders is that these (and other) gulls take 4 years to reach maturity and the full adult plumage shown here . We’ve all seen those huge browny-gray-speckled babies crying pitifully to be fed, when they are nearly the same size as the food-providing parent. Over those few first years the plumage goes through several stages, and other colour changes – eyes and feet, for example – take place. Eventually they get to look as handsome as this one.

I photographed the bird featured here only last week, on the south coast of Ireland, which is a bit of a cheat. Strictly, you are looking at a European herring gull, although the differences from the American ‘Smithsonian’ herring gull is relatively small. I’ll say ‘negligible’ for present purposes.

WHAT’S THE PURPOSE OF THE RED BLOB ON THE UNDER-BEAK?

Good question, and one that historically was the subject of hot debate in ornithological circles. The short answer is that scientific investigation and experimentation led to the conclusion that the red blob is a kind of feeding cue for chicks, a target area for them to aim for food or to peck to say they are hungry. Some other gull species also have this clever beak feature.

“HAPPY FEET”

As we all know, there are gull species with yellow legs (not least the apty-named yellow-legged gull in Europe). Herring gulls have decidedly pink legs and feet, and interestingly constructed ones at that. This isn’t the moment for a lot of technical blurb about it – just take a look at these 2 images. Extraordinary, huh?

RELATED POSTS

LAUGHING GULL

BONAPARTE’S GULL

RING-BILLED GULL

All photos: Keith Salvesen / Rolling Harbour

BLUE CHROMIS: A FLASH OF COLOUR ON THE REEF

August 14, 2019 by Rolling Harbour

BLUE CHROMIS: A FLASH OF COLOUR ON THE REEF

I’ve gone pictorial for today because I have only got my phone with me while we are away. Composition is slow, close to decomposition – and the comms connection is close to disconnection

Blue chromis (Chromis cyaneus) belong to the same group of fishes as damselfishes. These unmistakeable, bright reef denizens are very visible despite their tiny size. These fish are shoalers, so out on the reef you can enjoy them flickering around you as you swim along or hang in the water to admire the corals.

Like many a pretty and easily captured small fish that can be monetised once removed from its natural home environment, the blue chromis is popular for aquariums, and for humans to keep in their own home environments, unselfishly feeding them concocted food.

Blue chromis are adaptable and sociable, and will happily swim with other small reef fishes (as above). My own favourite combo is chromis mixed in with sergeant majors. But a shoal of them (mostly) alone is pretty special too….

I cynically mentioned ‘concocted’ food earlier. Here is one online care instruction for looking after them: “They are omnivores, meaning that they eat both meaty and plant based foods. They are not difficult to feed and will eat a variety of regular aquarium fare, frozen, live, and sometimes even dry food. Feeding them a variety of foods will help them retain their color in captivity. They sometimes feed on the algae in the tank”.

If you are tempted to rescue some from their reef habitat, rest assured that: They have been known to spawn in captivity. Blue chromis can usually be obtained for about $10-15. And don’t hold back on the frozen food (though maybe warm it up a bit before feeding time).

Credits: Melinda Rodgers / Dive Abaco; Melinda Riger / G B Scuba

INTERNATIONAL SHARK WEEK? IT’S SO OVER… EXCEPT HERE

August 6, 2019 by Rolling Harbour

INTERNATIONAL SHARK WEEK? IT’S SO OVER… EXCEPT HERE

There’s never a day without a ‘Day’, nor a week without a ‘Week’. Almost all creatures under the sun are celebrated in some regular calendar-based time-frame. With the exception of No-see-ums: I’ve checked – there is no national or international Ceratopogonidae Day in any online calendar.

By a mere 2 days, I have missed Shark Week, a happening tied in with the Discovery Channel, and heralded by an amusing trailer that features no actual sharks… So, belatedly, here are some cool shark photos to enjoy, in case you didn’t get enough of them last week, or (like me) had other fish to fry.

“I’m so glad we agreed to watch each other’s backs…”

Meet Nurse Betty, as she is known to divers

MANGROVES: THE SHARK NURSERY

As all children are taught and some adults know, the mangroves that grow in the shallow waters around the islands of the Bahamas are of enormous ecological significance. This isn’t the place to expand on that now, but it is worth mentioning that the mangrove swamps are the nurseries of young sharks (‘pups’) until, as juveniles, they are old enough to leave the safely of their home for deeper waters. Check out the short video below.

Spot the REMORA hitching a ride on this shark’s back

Nurse shark – note the twin barbels (cf recent Goatfish article)

HAMMERHEADS FROM BIMINI

These wonderful photos were all taken in Bahamian waters. Melinda Riger of Grand Bahama Scuba is, as ever, the star snap-getter of sharks (and indeed all other marine creatures). Special thanks are also due to Grant Johnson / 60poundbullet and Neal Watson / Bimini Scuba Center for occasional use permission of photos – especially of hammerheads – that are, well, eye-popping. Video from ‘ZeroEye’

GULAR SACS: SCRATCHING THE SURFACE OF AN IN-DEPTH VIEW…

August 2, 2019 by Rolling Harbour

Brown Pelican, Gular Pouch / Sac (Phil Lanoue)

Large mouth, tiny snack…

GULAR SACS: SCRATCHING THE SURFACE OF AN IN-DEPTH VIEW…

A half-way intelligent microbe would make a better job of getting the internet into our home than the current ISP that nominally serves, at some expense, Maison Harbour. So I am restricted to posting 2 fantastic photos of gular pouches as a tempter for things to come when the dimwits in charge of the ‘provision’ of ‘service’ of ‘internix’ locate the act that they need to get together.

Spoiler Alert: ‘Gular Sacs’ has nothing to do with modern jazz. You need to go somewhere else for that…

Photo credits (if they load in the next fortnight or so): Phil Lanoue; Franz Delcroix – with thanks for use permission

BAHAMAS REEF FISH (53): YELLOW GOATFISH

July 30, 2019 by Rolling Harbour

BAHAMAS REEF FISH (53): YELLOW GOATFISH

GOATFISHES belong to the mullet family, a large group of species with a flexible membership. In other words, there is disagreement as to whether certain fish are mullet or not. For present purposes, it’s not our problem – no one doubts that the goatfish is a mullet.

SO WHY ARE THESE CALLED GOATFISH? WAS SOMEONE KIDDING?

These fish get their name for the pair of so-called ‘barbels’ below their mouths (see image below), thought to be reminiscent of a goatee beard. The name has Latin origin, ‘barbula‘, meaning a small beard. Linnaeus may have had a hand in this choice of description.

WHAT IS THE FUNCTION OF THE BARBELS?

The barbels are sensory organs which, depending on the creature, may be located on either side of the mouth, on the chin, or even extending from the nostrils. In broad terms, the barbels are where the taste buds are located. They help a fish to find food even when the water is stirred up or murky or at night, and are used to probe into sand or into holes in the reef for prey.

WHY ARE THEY OFTEN SEEN WITH YELLOWTAIL SNAPPERS, GRUNTS & PORKFISH?

Goatfish have limited means of self-protection. They are not poisonous or venomous, they have no spines or razor-sharp teeth, nor ink to squirt. They do have an ability to change colour rapidly to blend into their surroundings – e.g. over pale sand – to make them less conspicuous to predators. Overall, however, they are docile and probably delicious to many other species. Their bright hues may have some function as aposematic colouring to warn, scare or repel potential predators, but this is possibly of limited use among the familiar reef denizens. So instead the goatfish goes in for so-called protective mimicry, as shown in the image above.

PROTECTIVE MIMICRY?

Goatfish and yellowtail snappers (in particular) are similar in size, appearance, coloration and behaviours, though the feeding patterns differ. The reason they are often found in mixed groups on the reef is for the individual protection they gain in a larger mixed school. This really amounts to taking advantage of safety in numbers (especially for the fishes in the middle). Here’s a very recent photo that shows exactly this scenario – a large mixed shoal of two almost indistinguishable fish species.

IS THIS A ‘SPOT THE DIFFERENCE’ TEST?

If you’d like to make it so! (click on the image to enlarge it). Look out for the fish with the barbels (Goatfish); and the fish with the larger, more deeply forked tails (Snappers). A predator won’t take a great deal of notice of the finer points of difference of course, but overall this large mixed shoal gives a degree of protection to individual fish in the unit as a whole

ARE GOATFISH EDIBLE?

Goatfish are eaten in many ares of the world, though I can’t recall seeing it on a Bahamian menu. The Romans ate the local mullet / goatfish species, but then they ate many things that we do not now consider as permissible food – dormice in honey for example. Rather revoltingly, the goatfish were served live so that guests could watch them die and see the amazing change of colours in the process. Barbaric? But don’t we cook live… well, never mind that.

Photos: all great photos from Melinda Riger / Grand Bahama Scuba; magpie research pickings inc. the abstract of a scientific paper with about 23 authors; tip ‘o the hat to Wiki, no seriously

WAVE CHASERS: SANDERLING POOL TIME ON ABACO

July 25, 2019 by Rolling Harbour

WAVE CHASERS: SANDERLING POOL TIME ON ABACO

It’s often a hard decision whether to include a short piece of video footage in a post. By short, I mean less than a minute. On the one hand, there is usually a good reason for inclusion, even if only aesthetic. On the other, it simply takes up more time for busy people who may prefer to flick through an article and enjoy some nice images along the way. Today, you can have the best of both worlds.

Sanderlings are definitively ‘peeps’, a group name that embraces the smallest and squeakiest sandpiper species. They are the wave chasers, the tiny birds that scuttle along the beach, into the retreating tide for a snack from the sand, and back to the beach again as the waves creep in. Their little legs and feet move in a blur, and many people immediately think of wind-up clockwork toys as they watch the birds in action.

One of the joys of being a sanderling is that rock pools fill and empty diurnally. At some time during daylight, there’s the certainty of a quick dip. I was lying on the beach when I took this short video, so that I didn’t spook the birds. I was equipped with a smallish camera (I drowned it the following day. By mistake I mean) but I kept my distance rather than try to get closer and spoil their joyful bathing.

I caught these little birds at a critical moment. You can tell that the tide is coming in fast. The peeps are becoming edgy, and weighing up the joys of immersion in a pool with the less enjoyable prospect of being washed out of the pool by the next wave. Within a minute or so, they had all flocked down the shoreline for a foraging session.

Waves and incoming tide getting a little too close for comfort on the edge of the pool…

Next to the migratory PIPING PLOVERS that favour Abaco as their winter home, the wave chasers are my favourite shorebirds. My keenness on them killed my camera. I went out into the incoming waves to get shots back at the beach with the sun behind me. Great idea until I lost my balance with, as they say, hilarious consequences. Lesson learnt – never turn your back on waves.

All photos © Keith Salvesen / Rolling Harbour taken on the beach at Delphi, Abaco, Bahamas

SPIDER WASPS & TARANTULA HAWKS: STEP AWAY FROM THIS INSECT

July 22, 2019 by Rolling Harbour

SPIDER WASPS & TARANTULA HAWKS (PEPSIS WASPS)

I’ve recently had a flood of online hits for a creature I wrote about several years ago. It’s an aggressive-looking insect that I found in the coppice on South Abaco. I have revisited and revised the original article, with some better images than my own original ones. I could only get a partial shot of the insect, and I wondered whether to try to reach it and get a more complete shot. Perhaps I could have, but very fortunately for for me (as it later turned out) I didn’t touch it.

This creature turned out to be a Spider Wasp (aka Pepsis Wasp), of the Pompilidae family. The insect is familiarly known as a Tarantula Hawk, for reasons give in unsparing detail below. For it turns out that this creature would be the hardest bastard insect on Planet Bastard in the Galaxy Bastardium.

It’s lucky that I didn’t try to try to collect it to keep it in a matchbox (if those even exist now). Note, for start, the scary eating apparatus… and it’s not for nibbling leaves as I had thought, but chopping up small insects. The leg claws and barbs are for pinning down its prey. You would not believe how unpleasant these little buddies are – and that’s before we even mention the sting…

SPIDER WASPS IN ACTION

These wasps are known in some countries as “horse-killers”. There are many species around the world, with 6 subspecies, one of which being the Tarantula Hawk or Pepsis Wasp – so-called because it hunts tarantulas and uses them in a most ingenious and cruel way… NB the BNT have rightly pointed out that these insects are unaggressive to humans. If you leave them alone, they will spare you. I’ve also read that “The tarantula hawk is relatively docile and rarely stings without provocation” Now read on to see if it might be sensible to provoke one or not.

SCARY CRITTERS & LIVING LARDERS

(Trigger Warning: this is really rather gross)

SPIDER WASPS are ‘solitary’ insects that feed on ground spiders/ tarantulas by stinging them to paralyse them, then eating them. In the most sinister way, the females also make use of spiders for breeding purposes. Hear this! They build a nest in a burrow, find a spider (a tarantula for choice), paralyse it with their sting, drag it to the nest and lay a single egg on its abdomen. Then they seal up the burrow.

When the egg hatches, the larva chews a hole on the spider’s abdomen and enters a living larder. It gradually eat its host as it grows. The spider’s vital organs are left till last, so that the spider stays alive as long as possible until the larva has reached full-size. After several weeks, the larva spins a cocoon and pupates (often over winter). Finally, the wasp becomes an adult, bursts Alien-like from the spider’s abdomen (deftly evading Ripley), and tunnels out of the burrow…

Do NOT try this at home or more than 10 yards from a medical centre Spider Wasp / Pepsis Wasp / Tarantula Hawk _ Paul Nylander

SPIDER WASPS: MORE FEARFUL FACTS

Their hunting improves with experience – the more spiders they eat, the quicker they find, attack & kill them
Males use ‘perch territories’ to scan for receptive females from a tall plant or other vantage point, a behaviour known as HILL-TOPPING
Adult wasps also feed on a variety of plants for nectar & pollen. They may become intoxicated on fermented fruit, which affects their ability to get around (I think we’ve all been there at some time…)
The female Pepsis gets her spider in two main ways: approaching a tarantula causing it to rear up defensively on its legs, thus exposing its abdomen to the sting or
She locates a tarantula’s burrow, using her sense of smell. She tricks the spider into emerging by tweaking the web at the burrow’s entrance or ‘intruding’ (see video below)
The wasp uses her long stinger to stab her prey. The poison rapidly paralyses the spider. She then drags it to her burrow, lays her egg onto the tarantula’s abdomen, seals the burrow and leaves. Job done
The hooked claws and barbs on the wasps’ long legs are weapons for grappling with victims
The stinger of a female tarantula hawk can be up to 7 mm (1/3 inch) long – and the sting is among the most painful insect stings in the world (see below)
Only the females sting (males may pretend to) because the stinger is linked to the ovipositor (egg-laying organ)
You can distinguish females from males by the curled antennae of the female. Mine was therefore female
The Pepsis wasp has (unsurprisingly) very few predators, though apparently roadrunners and bullfrogs may tackle them

Here is a hypnotically fascinating 3-minute video of the life-or-death struggle

SPIDER WASP –v- TARANTULA

THE STING

The sting of these wasps is among the most painful of any insect, though the most intense pain lasts on a few minutes. Entomologist Justin Schmidt bravely submitted himself to the stings of various insects and described this pain as “…immediate, excruciating pain that simply shuts down one’s ability to do anything, except, perhaps, scream. Mental discipline simply does not work in these situations.”

Schmidt produced his SCHMIDT STING PAIN INDEX The pain scale, based on 78 species, runs from 0 to 4, with 4 awarded for the most intense pain. Spider Wasps of the species Pepsis – i.e. Tarantula Hawks – have a sting rating of 4.0, described as “blinding, fierce, shockingly electric. A running hair drier has been dropped into your bubble bath” Only the bite of the Bullet Ant – and the sting of the Warrior Wasp – is ranked higher, with a 4.0+ rating, vividly described as “pure, intense, brilliant pain. Like fire-walking over flaming charcoal with a 3-inch rusty nail in your heel”

LIGHT RELIEF AFTER THE PAIN

1. In 1989, New Mexico chose the Tarantula hawk wasp as the official state insect. The choice seems to have been left to schoolchildren and I’m guessing here (or gender-stereotyping) but I suspect it was the boys’ choice that won…

2. Tarantula Hawk is a “psychedelic progressive metal band” from San Diego, Ca. Their short discography includes their debut Tarantula Hawk (CD/LP, 1998); Burrow (Live CD, 2000, self-released); and Untitled. The cover of their debut provides the perfect ending for this post, vividly depicting the colour and texture of the swirling fiery pain you could experience (and I don’t really mean from listening to the music…)

UNDOUBTEDLY PAINFUL EXPERIENCE

ARGUABLY PAINFUL STING

Mr Gordon Sumner

AN ENJOYABLE STING

Credits: Keith Salvesen / Rolling Harbour (1, 2, 7); TheCrotalusfreak (video clip) (3); astrobradley (4); mshandro (5); Paul Nylander (6)

PEACOCK FLOUNDERS REVISITED: NOW YOU SEE THEM…

July 17, 2019 by Rolling Harbour

PEACOCK FLOUNDERS (Part Deux)

MASTERS OF SUBAQUATIC CAMOUFLAGE

I featured the extraordinary, colour-transforming PEACOCK FLOUNDER Bothus lunatus about 3 years ago in the Bahamas Reef Fish series (No. 21 I think). These really are remarkable creatures, and I am pleased to be able to show some more wonderful illustrative photos.

ROVING EYES

In the fish shown here, you’ll see that – surprisingly – both eyes are on the upperside of the fish, above the rather grumpy mouth, whereas the head is horizontal to the ocean floor. Oddest of all, juveniles are constructed conventionally with bilateral eyes, and look like ‘normal’ fish rather than flatfish.

As the fish matures, in some magic way the mechanics of which I can only guess at**, the right eye grows round to the topside and the flounder transforms from a ‘vertical’ fish to a flatfish. For this reason, the PF is known as a ‘lefteye’ flounder. Maybe in other flounder species in the world – the southern hemisphere maybe? – the eye that moves round to the upperside is the left eye.

The eyes of this fish have another special trick up their sleeves (so to speak). They operate completely independently. Thus the creature can look left and right, or forwards and backwards, simultaneously. It’s an excellent system for detecting predators coming from any angle. It’s a superpower we might all benefit from.

DO THEY HAVE ANY OTHER TRICKS WE SHOULD KNOW ABOUT?

Yes they do indeed. If you have been admiring the fish shown so far, you’ll have noticed that the colour of each one differs from the others. In addition to the predator-protection that the eyes provide, the peacock flounder can make itself (near) invisible. They can rapidly change colour to match their surroundings. There are 3 reasons for this: to avoid / confuse predators; to conceal themselves on the sea-floor to catch passing prey; and, as dive expert Fred Riger has pointed out, “the male peacock flounder can, and does greatly intensify his colours to declare territory and attract females. When doing this the males will also signal with the left pectoral fin, sticking it straight up and waving it around.”

The same fish, photographed over several minutes as it moves over the ocean floor

Matching the background happens as the fish swims, and in a few seconds. When they rest on the sea-floor, the camouflage may even become total. In #4 above you can just about make out the eyes. The whole effect is known as ‘cryptic coloration’ or CRYPSIS. In contrast, the image below shows just how adaptable the transformation can be. Note how the fish can even mimic the pinkish tinge of the sand perfectly. If threatened, the fish will bury itself in the sand, with just its eyes showing.

HOW DO THEY MANAGE TO CHANGE COLOUR IN SECONDS?

It’s complicated! A simple answer is: a mix of hormones, pigment-cells and vision, all coordinating rapidly. The colour change works in two ways: pigments are selectively released to the skin cells; and other pignments can be selectively suppressed. An analogy might be image manipulation using variations in brightness, saturation etc. Not convinced? Then watch this short video and prepare to be impressed. Astonished, even.

WHAT IF A FLOUNDER CAN’T SEE CLEARLY FOR SOME REASON?

As with many (all?) superpowers, there is usually some kryptonite-style flaw. A flounder with a damaged eye, or one temporarily covered (by sand, for example) will have difficulty in changing colour – possibly at all, or at any rate with the swiftness it needs to have.

THESE SIDEWAYS FISH – HOW DO THEY… YOU KNOW…?

Take a look at the fish above with its top fin raised. It’s a ‘ready’ signal in a harem. Male flounders have a defined and defended territory within which live up to 6 females – a so-called ‘harem.’ I can do no better than borrow the description of the rituals from an article derived from scientific papers by Konstantinou, 1994; Miller, et al., 1991 in the website animaldiversity.org/…ounts/Bothus_lunatus To which I can only add, ’15 seconds, eh?’

“Mating activities usually begin just before dusk. At this time, a male and a female approach each other with the ocular pectoral fin erect. The two fish arch their backs and touch snouts. After this interaction the female swims away, and the male sometimes follows, approaching the female again from the left side. At this point the male pectoral fin is erect and the female pectoral fin moves up and down, possibly signalling willingness to mate. The male then positions himself underneath the female and mating begins. This process consists of a mating rise, during which the female and male rise in the water column together. On average, these rises last about 15 seconds. At the highest point of this rise, usually around 2 m above the substrate, gametes from both fish are simultaneously released, producing a cloud of sperm and eggs. Once the couple returns from the rise, the male “checks” to make sure mating was successful, and the pair separates quickly, swimming away from each other in opposite directions. Not all mating rises are successful, and the process of “checking” is thus important. The exact purpose of the mating rise in these flounders unknown; possible reasons for rising include better dispersal of gametes and predator avoidance.”

Peacock Flounder – Kim Rody Art

**This may in fact be through sheer laziness

Credits: Melinda Riger & Virginia Cooper / Grand Bahama Scuba; Melinda Rogers / Dive Abaco; Adam Rees / Scuba Works; Kim Rody; animaldiversity.org; magpie pickings and other credits in the text

ABACO’S RARE PIPING PLOVERS: CITIZEN SCIENTISTS WANTED FOR YEAR 5

July 11, 2019 by Rolling Harbour

ABACO’S RARE PIPING PLOVERS: CITIZEN SCIENTISTS WANTED FOR YEAR 5

BE A BEACH MONITOR IN THE CAUSE OF RESEARCH AND CONSERVATION OF A TINY RARE BIRD THAT CHOOSES ABACO FOR ITS WINTER HOME
NO EXPERIENCE NECESSARY; MINIMAL EQUIPMENT (pen, paper, binox & a ‘normal’ camera)
ABILITY TO COUNT TINY BIRDS IN (USUALLY) SMALL NUMBERS AN ADVANTAGE
SIMPLE AS TAKING A NATURE WALK ON YOUR FAVOURITE BEACH (but sorry, not with a dog)
COMMITMENT UP TO YOU – ONCE A WEEK, ONCE A MONTH, JUST THE ONCE
EVERY SIGHTING IS LOGGED – BANDED BIRDS ARE TRACKED BACK TO THEIR ORIGINS
EVERY BIRD IS A STAT THAT ADDS TO THE OVERALL PICTURE FOR RESEARCHERS
THE BIRDS MAY BE FOUND ON THE MAINLAND AND THE CAYS – EVEN THE MARLS
WE WORK IN PARTNERSHIP WITH THE SCIENTISTS IN THE BREEDING GROUNDS
ABACO IS THE ONLY BAHAMAS ISLAND WITH AN ANNUAL WINTER-LONG WATCH

At the end of July – my guess is the 28th, on past form – the first piping plover of the winter season will be resighted on Abaco. It will weigh less than 2oz, and will have travelled at least 1000 miles (direct route). In practice it will be much further, because the journey will be broken by coastal stopovers en route.

‘SQUID’ from the Holgate Unit of the Edwin B Forsythe NWR, NJ, overwintering on Abaco (year 2)

My bet is that the first bird will touch down in the Cherokee Sound area. There’s a fair chance it will be called ‘Squid’ from New Jersey (for the 3rd year) or ‘Black Flag 2J’ from Prince Edward Island, Canada (for the 2nd year). At once, ABACO PIPING PLOVER WATCH will switch from summer indolence to red alert and piping hot… for the next 7 months. The last winter visitor will leave on ± March 15 2020 to return to its breeding grounds in the North (specific parts of northern US / Canada).

Piping Plover on Man-o-War Cay, Abaco Bahamas (Charmaine Albury) Piping Plover on Abaco Bahamas (Charmaine Albury)

HOW ON EARTH CAN YOU PREDICT THIS?

Since the 2015-16 season, we have been monitoring Abaco’s beaches, shorelines, and flats (there are specific locations that are preferred by the birds) throughout the winter season. Each year adds to the data from previous years and as the annual information is analysed, the knowledge of the behaviours of this little plover significantly increases.

‘TUNA’ – a legendary regular from past years (Rhonda Pearce) Piping Plover on Abaco Bahamas (Rhonda Pearce)

Over 4 years, distinctive patterns have emerged.

Firstly, the plover numbers each season are fairly constant.
Next, we have found that a number of birds return the following winter. Some are repeat returners – the current record is held by Bahama Mama from Lake Michigan, with 5 annual visits to the very same beach.
Then, we have established that many of the banded birds are (a) resighted along the US coastline where they take a stopover during migration and (b) return to exactly the same beach where they were born.
Often, we can find out when they hatched, fledged and left the beach – and even the person who did the banding.
Finally, the number of banded birds – especially Canadian ones – is on the rise. This in part reflects an increase in summer chicks banding – but the fact is, we can show that they are turning up on Abaco, and returners usually turn up either on the same shoreline (or very close to it) as the previous year.

WOULD IT MATTER IF APPW DIDN’T EXIST?

In one sense no, because the birds would still undertake their Fall and Spring migrations, even if no one took any notice. But then, of course, no one would have any idea where the plovers might be for 6 – 8 months of the year. What the Watch can do, in conjunction with our partners in the breeding grounds, is to complete the annual migration circle and provide the specific details that help research and conservation of this rare little bird (world population around 8000). Furthermore, the Watch results provide continuing evidence that Abaco and its Cays provide a safe and suitable overwintering habitat for the birds.

SQUIDS KIDS – THE MIGRATION CIRCLE COMPLETED

KEITH, CHEROKEE & ABACO

These 3 little chicks are this summer’s hatchlings (in June) of parents Squid (see above) and ‘Sophia’. This is on the very same beach where Squid was born and banded in July 2017. Sometime this Fall, we hope that Squid will return for a 3rd year in Cherokee Sound. And we hope just as much that one or maybe all his chicks will arrive on Abaco too. We’ll certainly know if they do – we already know their band combinations! They each have an Abaco-related name – maybe that will encourage them too.

Piping plover on the beach at Delphi (Peter Mantle) Piping Plover on Abaco Bahamas (Peter Mantle)

WHAT SORT OF PEOPLE CAN BE BEACH MONITORS?

Anyone at all. No experience is needed. You’ll be given all the info you need about the birds you’ll be looking for, and it may be possible to go out with a monitor to see what it’s like. Even a blank report is useful to have, to indicate where the plovers are not… And there’s no such thing as a mistake – the system allows for occasional miscounts, for example. Below is a summary of the last season, from which you can see the kind of data that is accumulated.

You’ll see that there were 17 beach monitors of whom most were local Abaconians or regular second-homers. You probably know some or all of them! A few were visitors from US and UK. The 2 pro monitors were from our partners Conserve Wildlife Foundation NJ, and Audubon Caribbean. Keith Kemp is the wonderful and hard-working lead monitor and very regularly visits the hotspot shorelines. Other people made quite frequent reports, some about once a month, and several made fewer than 5. Each one added to the overall picture.

Piping Plover chick on LBI (Northside Jim Verhagen)

If you would like to become involved, even on the most casual basis, please do get in touch. Ditto if you’d like to know a bit more about it. If you decide not to go ahead – or once started, to stop – that’s all fine. It’s basically up to you whether you want to turn a beach walk into a bit of research (though as I mentioned above, it’s not a thing that can be done with a dog, for obvious reasons). Take a friend – or even a spouse. A single sighting might reveal a hitherto unknown location or a new banded bird – it happens every year. It’s Citizen Science in action!

Please email me at rolllingharbour.delphi [@] gmail.com or contact me via FB. Or just comment on this post!

A flock of piping plovers (with a few birds that aren’t), Cherokee Flats (Lucy & mark Davies) Piping Plover Flock, Cherokee Sound, Abaco Bahamas (Lucy & Mark Davies)

Credits: CWFNJ / Kim; Keith Kemp; Charmaine Albury; Rhonda Pearce; Keith Salvesen; CWFNJ / Michelle Stantial x 3; Peter Mantle; ‘Northside’ Jim Verhagen x 2, LBI; Lucy & Mark Davies

I’m on Long Beach Island right now – hope to meet you on Abaco in the Fall (Northside Jim)

BABY SPERM WHALE IN BAHAMAS WATERS: AMAZING FOOTAGE

July 8, 2019 by Rolling Harbour

BABY SPERM WHALE IN BAHAMAS WATERS: AMAZING FOOTAGE

Over several years I have had the privilege of being able to feature wonderful photographs and video footage in this blog. Birds, course, and also reef fish, sharks, seahorses, coral and anemones and a whole lot more. I have also been involved throughout with the wonderful work of the Bahamas Marine Mammal Research Organisation (BMMRO), and have been a part of team since 2017. Abaco is lucky enough to have the HQ at Sandy Point, but we must keep in mind that the organisation’s remit extends throughout the entire Bahamas archipelago, and has firm links with research and conservation organisations on the other islands.

Sperm Whale baby (neonate) Abaco Bahamas (Charlotte Dunn / BMMRO)

The clear turquoise waters around the islands and their cays are well-known to, and appreciated by, all. This is the playground of the smaller marine mammals – the dolphins, smaller whales and the (now a significant presence) manatees.

Less well known are the denizens of the deeper waters and the immense depths of the GREAT BAHAMA CANYON of the northern Bahamas. This is the realm of the large marine animals, from the mysterious speciality beaked whales right up to massive sperm whales.

About 3 weeks ago, the BMMRO research team encountered something truly wondrous off the south Abaco coastline – something to quicken the pulse and gladden the heart – a newborn sperm whale investigating the underwater world it has just been born into. Hopefully it will flourish and live for decades. The hope is sadly tempered by the overwhelming – and increasing – evidence of the terrible effect that humans have caused in just one generation by the pollution of air, land and sea.

Charlotte Dunn posted the footage of 2 separate sightings. Her first caption reads:

“Close encounter with a curious newborn (‘neonate’) sperm whale yesterday – reminding us of the importance of our Shared Waters project about the effects of ship traffic on resident sperm whales, http://www.bahamaswhales.org/research.aspx. The young individuals like this one will be the most impacted if we don’t make serious conservation changes. As this young whale matures, the policy changes we make in the Bahamas now will affect its survival”.

“While their mothers are feeding at depth (knocking sound in the background) this newborn is being cared for by a slightly older calf until the adults return.”

After the second encounter, Charlotte wrote: “Here’s another amazing short clip of the neonate sperm whale we videoed off south Abaco two weeks ago – thank you to the BEP Foundation and the Devereux Ocean Foundation for funding some of our important work with sperm whales in the Bahamas”.

On Charlotte’s conservation points above, over the last 3 months or so I have been checking daily for posts and articles specifically related to stranded, dead, and killed whales, and their stomach contents as revealed by necropsies. I have collected images from around the world. I won’t wreck this marvellous find in Abaco waters by including any of these. This casual research reveals a horrifying attrition rate for marine mammals. Most animals were full of plastics, from micro through flip-flops all the way up to very large chunks. Some of this junk clearly was the actual cause of death rather than a contributing factor. A whale may take several weeks to die in this way. All of it is entirely the responsibility of mankind – and pretty much caused in the last 50 years.

So let’s enjoy this little sperm whale, and hope it grows to an adulthood that will have seen a radical change for the better in its birth environment – the one that should never have been considered ours to destroy.

CREDITS: Brilliant close-up footage plus the clips I have taken from it – Charlotte Dunn / Diane Claridge / BMMRO.

DONATE: If you are touched by the magic of this little Bahamas sperm whale, may I invite you to consider making a donation to BMMRO for its research and conservation work – a scientific commitment that reaches far beyond the waters of the Bahamas. The system is set up to process donations from just $10 upwards, and every cent is used to further the work of BMMRO. Please click the logo below to reach the right page directly.

Sperm Whale baby (neonate) Abaco Bahamas (Charlotte Dunn / BMMRO)

TINY PIPING PLOVER CHICKS CAN SWIM! WHO KNEW?

July 1, 2019 by Rolling Harbour

TINY PIPING PLOVER CHICKS CAN SWIM! WHO KNEW?

Birds never cease to astonish and delight. Baby birds contain additional magic ingredients such as adorbium and cuteite. Ten days ago, a whole new level of spectator infatuation was effortlessly induced in the piping plover conservation team at Good Harbor Beach in Gloucester, Massachusetts.

The episode took a grand total of 35 seconds… For that is the time it took for three tiny piping plover chicks to get from one side of a small stretch of water to the other. By swimming! They had been spotted doing this the previous day, so the team were prepared. This was no one-off water-based miracle.

WATCH THIS CLIP AND BE UTTERLY ASTOUNDED AND ENCHANTED…

WHY DID THE PLOVER CHICKS CROSS THE WATER?

Alicia Pensarosa, amazed conservationist and photographer, later posted her video captioned “Mom and Dad plover fly to the other side first and then pipe at them to swim over. I think they do this to get to a better foraging area and to be less disturbed from beach crowds. They have been making their trek over in the morning and then come back in the afternoon (both on busy and quiet beach days)“.

WHY THE BIG SURPRISE ABOUT SWIMMING SHORE BIRDS?

Because as it turns out, very very few people have seen this behaviour before with the tiniest shorebirds. Alicia’s post on FB unsurprisingly has racked up loads of Likes, Loves, WOWs, OMGs and other enthusiastic emoticons. Plus plenty of shares. Plus a whole lot of comments and replies. In the interests of research I have examined these. One person once saw snowy plover chicks take a dip. Only two people had seen PIPL chicks do so. I’m pretty sure Michelle Stantial, pre-eminent PIPL scientist, has seen this phenomenon too. But overwhelmingly the responses can be summarised by the words ‘Who Knew?’

And now, assuming you watched the video (and if not, why not? and please scroll back and do so forthwith), you know it too. Here’s my current favourite chick to end with.

Keith, son of Squid and Sophie, sibling of Abaco and Cherokee (for which, see HERE)

CREDITS: Alicia Pensarosa for the report, the great video and her work with PIPL; Illustrative chicks courtesy of ace PIPL photographer Northside Jim Verhagen of LBI; and Todd Pover / Conserve Wildlife Foundation New Jersey

‘A SADNESS OF SHEARWATERS’ ON ABACO: UNWELCOME NEWS

June 27, 2019 by Rolling Harbour

‘A SADNESS OF SHEARWATERS’ ON ABACO

If you are walking your favourite beach on Abaco right now, it’s quite possible you may see – or may already have seen – a very poorly seabird. Or one that is dead, I’m afraid. These are Audubon’s Shearwaters, also known as Dusky Petrels. They are the only permanent resident shearwater species on Abaco. Three others (Cory’s, Great and Sooty) are rare transients; and the last – the Manx – is a very rare off-course vagrant.

Each sad bird is part of a tragic and recurrent phenomenon, a so-called die-off event. As in previous years, a few of the birds that succumb may be Great Shearwaters mixed in with the Audubon’s. I first became aware of this problem in June 2015 and wrote two detailed posts about the situation. This bleak time lasted for about a week, and many reports came in from the mainland and the cays from Green Turtle Cay right down to Crossing Rocks, all duly mapped to get the overall picture.

There was thankfully no such problem in 2016, but in 2017 – also in June – there was another die-back event involving a large number of Audubon’s shearwaters (Puffinus lherminieri) appearing in the tideline and on beaches. Many were already dead. Some are still alive, but in a very poor state. The prospects for recovery for birds that were captured and cared for were not good.

Two years on, and the melancholy cycle is repeating itself. A few days ago, Melissa Maura, an expert in the care and recovery of creatures of all kinds, posted an alert and some sound advice:

A heads-up to all Island folk that it appears to be a summer when exhausted Shearwaters (pelagic seabirds) are washing up on our beaches in Eleuthera and Abaco. I have had two calls in 24 hours. Should you find one, understand that it will be in a severe state of exhaustion and stress and that excessive handling will kill it. Please put in a safe pen on a sandy surface, with shallow pan of fresh water and try locate either fresh fish (important) or squid from a bait shop. This may have to be administered by gently opening the beak and inserting one inch long piece of fish every couple of hours until stable. Ideally they need tube feeding, but very few folk can do this. Please contact me on private message if you find any…

An exhausted Audubon’s Shearwater, now being cared for by Melissa Maura

WHY DOES THIS SHEARWATER DIE-OFF HAPPEN?

This is a periodic phenomenon that looks to be settling into a 2-year cycle in the Northern Bahamas (Eleuthera is also affected). The cause is probably a combination of factors, very likely stemming from prevailing mid-summer climate conditions and/or the effect of climate change. This can lead to a shortage of food far out in the ocean where the birds spend their days. This in turn leads to weakness and exhaustion as the birds try to find food. The birds may then land (or fall) in the sea, to be washed ashore in a very bad state, or dead. In 2017, well-known bird expert Woody Bracey noted a correlation between poor fishing conditions out at sea, and an unusual absence of the frigatebirds that are a sure sign of a healthy fish population.

Shearwater washed up on the beach at Winding Bay a couple of days ago

ARE PLASTICS A CONTRIBUTORY FACTOR?

As we must all accept by now, most if not all these birds will unavoidably have ingested some of our discarded plastic. However, that in itself would not explain the simultaneous deaths of many birds of one type in a specific area, at exactly the same time of year, and for a few days only.

Audubon's Shearwater (Neotropical Birds / Cornell / Brian Sullivan)

WHAT ELSE CAN BE DONE?

The dead birds will be quickly removed by the turkey vultures. If you do find one, you might want to bury it. The prognosis for sick birds is not that good. They may have been carried a long way from open sea and they will be exhausted and starved. Those that are strong enough may recover naturally; but most will sadly die, being too weak and emaciated to survive. There is no available facility able to deal with a large number of very poorly or dying birds.

The most practical advice I can give is:

(1) move the bird gently into the shade if in the sun

(2) provide clean water in a shallow dish

(3) offer finely chopped fish BUT no bread (it’s very bad for birds)

(4) if this seems to be working, then carry on until the bird is strong enough to fly (this may be quite a commitment)

(5) do not reproach yourself if a bird you try to help dies. Many will be in such bad shape by the time they are washed up that they are unlikely to survive whatever steps you take

(6) remember that this a part – a sad part – of the life-cycle of these birds, and (as with other species), a degree attrition is an inevitable aspect of natural life

I’d be interested to hear any other accounts of this year’s dieback, especially of any recovery stories. By all means do this as a comment, or email me, DM, or FB.

Credits: thanks to those on Abaco who have been reporting this event over the last few days; Dominic Sherony (1); Melissa Maura (2, 5); Keith Kemp (3); Kinlarak / wiki (4); Rhonda Pearce (6); Brian Sullivan / Neotropical Birds / Cornell (7); )Richard Crossley / Crossley Guides for the composite picture

DOLPHINS IN THE SEA OF ABACO: PLAYTIME

June 24, 2019 by Rolling Harbour

DOLPHINS IN THE SEA OF ABACO: PLAYTIME

Earlier this year, the team at Friends of the Environment in Marsh Harbour Abaco, in conjunction with BMMRO (Bahamas Marine Mammal Research Organisation), arranged a fundraising trip to look for whales and dolphins. On both counts, the guests’ hopes and expectations were amply fulfilled – in fact, almost certainly exceeded.

Where there is a single dolphin, there will almost invariably be others – and so it proved. The group of bottlenose dolphins turned out to be in a very playful mode, living up to their reputation as delightful, inquisitive, entertainers.

One of the dolphins turned out to be a young 3rd generation animal from the same family, recently weaned. The BMMRO has a large photographic library of dolphins and whales, collected over many years. In the photo above, you’ll see that the dorsal fin of the nearest one is ragged, especially near the top. This is the primary method by which individual animals are recorded to assist with subsequent identification in the field (= water) or back at base in Sandy Point by means of the photo archive.

The trip was perfected when a young female sperm whale came close to the boat… and then rolled onto her side, flipper up, to get a good look at the boat and its human contents. A wonderful experience for all those on board.

Credits: BMMRO / Charlotte Dunn; Friends of the Environment

‘TERN, TERN, TERN’: THE UN-NOTORIOUS BYRD COUSINS

June 20, 2019 by Rolling Harbour

‘TERN, TERN, TERN’: THE UN-NOTORIOUS BYRD COUSINS

There are twelve (12!) species of tern – ‘swallows of the sea’ – that to a greater or lesser extent may be found on Abaco. Whether they will actually be visible at any given time is less certain, though. For a start, the only resident species is the lovely Royal Tern, available at many locations on Abaco and the cays throughout the year.

ROYAL TERNS Thalasseus maximus PR1

In the slightly less commonly-found category are the summer migrant terns that, by definition, are only in residence for around half the year. Four of these are fairly common in certain areas, and actually breed on Abaco; these include arguably the prettiest of all, the bridled tern. The other two tern species (gull-billed and sandwich) are more rare and as far as I can make out do not breed locally; or perhaps only rarely.

LEAST TERN Sternula antillarum SR B 1

BRIDLED TERN Onychoprion anaethetus SR B 2

ROSEATE TERN Sterna Dougallii SR B 2

SOOTY TERN Onychoprion anaethetus SR B 2

GULL-BILLED TERN Gelochelidon nilotica SR 3

SANDWICH TERN Thalasseus sandvicensis SR 4

There is one rare winter resident migratory tern species. I had to check when the last one was recorded for Abaco. It was of course only in January this year, when ace birder-photographer Sally Chisholm saw one at Treasure Cay and managed to photograph it for posterity.

FORSTER’S TERN Sterna forsteri WR 4

The final four ‘Abaco’ terns are very much the occasional visitors. Three of them pass over the Bahamas on their longer migration, but may make a pit-stop around Abaco to take on fuel. Likelihood of sighting one? Slender but not impossible… The fourth, the Arctic Tern, is a very rare vagrant, a bird well away from its usual home or migration route as the result of storms or faulty satnav or sheer happenstance. Don’t travel to the Bahamas intent on seeing one.

CASPIAN TERN Hydroprogne caspia TR 4

As for the remaining three species, they are the transient black tern and common tern; and the vanishingly rare vagrant Arctic tern (the clue is in the name). No photos of any of these I’m afraid, so here’s a handy checklist instead.

ELECTIVE MUSICAL DIGRESSION

Written by Peter Seeger a few years earlier, Turn x 3 was released in 1965, the title track on the second album from the Byrds. At a rather febrile time in US history (Vietnam, draft riots, black civil rightists v cops and so on), this unusually palliative and thoughtful song with its religious connotations to some extent stood for peace and hope in a time of turmoil.

PS the somewhat laboured title of this post shoehorns in the name of another Byrds album, ‘The Notorious Byrd Brothers’

Photo credits: Keith Salvesen (1, 2, 3, 5, 18); Tony Hepburn (4); Alex Hughes (10, 11); Bruce Hallett (6, 7, 12); Woody Bracey (8, 13, 16); Duncan Wright (9); Dick Daniels (14); Sally Chisholm (15); Keith Kemp (17)