50% Donation Match on Sept. 18-22 Supports Grenadines Seabird Protection
September 18-22 Donations up to $50 will be matched 50% through EPIC partner Global Giving to support the Grenadines Seabird Protection Program during the Little By Little campaign. Donate Here.
Anderson Jean Awarded Prestigious Bright Award
EPIC colleague and valuable team member Anderson Jean was awarded the prestigious Stanford University Bright Award in a ceremony on the Stanford campus, California in June 2023.
Top 10 Coolest Caribbean Creatures and Where You Can See Them
Enjoy the first in our new e-guide series about the Caribbean region, EPIC’s “Top 10 Coolest Caribbean Creatures!” E-guides are a fun way to learn, appreciate, and share information about the region’s most interesting natural and cultural heritage. We hope it will inspire YOU to support and respect the unique Caribbean.
Dogs – Helping and Harming Petrels on Dominica
A recent expedition to Dominica, as part of EPIC’s ongoing efforts to find new Black-capped Petrel nesting locations, was aided by a sniffer dog named Africa and her handler. Sniffer dogs can be trained to find all sorts of things, including burrow-nesting birds like petrels. Yet, two hundred years ago in Dominica, pet dogs used by colonists led to the disappearance of petrels who were hunted for food. Will dogs that once hurt the petrel population on Dominica be the helpers that discover their elusive nesting grounds so that they can be protected in the future?
Sint Maarten Pelican Team Makes a Difference
The Caribbean Brown Pelican is the national bird of St. Maarten. There have been alarming reports of sick and dying birds, along with declining numbers in recent years. Concerned about the health of this important seabird, EPIC is researching the status of the island’s Pelicans and promoting their protection.
Expedition Begins! Seeking Black-capped Petrel Nests on Dominica
An exciting expedition to Dominica, using a sniffer dog for the first time, to try to discover nesting Black-capped Petrels, which so far have only been found to nest on Hispaniola.
First U.S. Virgin Islands Project Announced
Safe, clean, and affordable drinking water is not readily accessible to school children, or the wider community, in the U.S. Virgin Islands (USVI) due to a complex set of factors. Children must bring single-use plastic water bottles to school daily to stay hydrated in the warm climate, which is costly and further exposes them to […]
Congratulations Anderson Jean, Stanford Law School’s 2022 Bright Award Winner!
Co-Founder of the leading Haitian conservation organization Action pour la Sauvegarde de l’Ecologie en Haiti (ACSEH) and Environmental Protection in the Caribbean’s (EPIC) Haiti Project Manager for the Black-capped Petrel Conservation Program, Anderson Jean, has been chosen as the 2022 Bright Award Winner. The Bright Award is given annually to an “individual who has made significant contributions in the environmental preservation and sustainability area.”
Challenges of Field Work
Caribbean seabird field work is rarely without its challenges: rough seas, foul weather, impenetrable thickets of thorny bushes, and brutal heat. Now we can add festivals to our list! We do this vital work because we care about seabirds and want to ensure they are here for generations to come.
Allowing Petrels to Fly Free
At sunset, off the island of Hispaniola, an adult Black-capped Petrel circles over the Caribbean Sea, waiting for darkness. It’s under the cover of darkness that this species flies inland and heads to its nesting grounds on the high forested peaks of the island. Some nights the petrels will accidently strike hazards, falling to the ground stunned, often never being able to continue their journey to the nesting grounds.
The Caribbean Seabird Webinar Continues with Natalia Collier
A step-by-step will be helpful for figuring out how best to monitor seabirds from land or sea in a variety of habitats. A team of experts will be on hand to answer your questions. Register at bit.ly/CaribSeabird-Webinar3.
Major Climate Change Impacts for Sint Maarten Predicted by Recent Study
A recent analysis of climate change impacts for Sint Maarten shows how major storms, which are increasingly common, will have a profound effect on the Small Island Developing State (SIDS) of Sint Maarten in the Dutch Antilles. Annual damage estimates to Sint Maarten from major storms are USD $3 million. And by the year 2100, a worst-case scenario could result in 47% of Philipsburg and 29% of Cole Bay being flooded.
Teaching Environmental Education in Haiti
It’s a bit dark in the classroom as there is no electricity for lights in the village of Boukan Chat, Haiti. The children have settled into the small school building at the center of town. Dressed in their school uniforms, sitting on wood benches, they wait for the teacher to start class. They hear a commotion from the back of the dark room and turn to see a six-foot tall Black-capped Petrel walk into the room flapping its wings.
First Petrel Nest Found on Haiti’s Highest Peak
In May, a small team of Haitian petrel biologists pulled out of the small dusty town of Jacmel, and headed their pick-up truck northeast. They eased it up the heavily rutted road to begin their expedition to see if endangered Black-capped Petrels nested on the mountain called Pic La Selle. Due to the remote nature of that area, few biologists had visited it for more than 60 years, when some of the first known Black-capped Petrels in Haiti were found there by David Wingate during expeditions in 1961 and 1963.
Researchers Confirm Presence of Endangered Diablotin Black-capped Petrel on Dominica, Raising Hopes of Finding Nesting Area
Researchers have confirmed a sighting of an Endangered Black-capped Petrel (Pterodroma hasitata), known locally as “the Diablotin bird,” in flight over Dominica earlier this year. If nesting is confirmed, Dominica would be the second known nesting island for Black-capped Petrel in the world.
Conservationists Pen Action Plan to Protect Extremely Elusive and Endangered Seabird
“Conserving the Diablotin” informed by a decade of exploration and research January 28, 2022—The Endangered Black-capped Petrel is a seabird so secretive that ten years ago, only one active nest had ever been located and monitored. Despite this tremendous gap in knowledge, the International Black-capped Petrel Conservation Group created an action plan in 2012 to […]
Community Helps Identify Restoration Sites
Deciding which sites are most important for restoration takes a community effort. The knowledge and experience of Working Group members are crucial for making informed decisions. In this case, the subject was non-native mammals that damage island biodiversity and…
Island Conservation Takes Off with Drone Training
Monitoring wildlife can be challenging in remote or difficult to reach places. The use of an Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV), also known as a drone, is one method for ensuring that local enforcement agencies can monitor and protect wildlife, such as seabirds which nest on uninhabited islands in the Grenadines. Learn more…
Seabird Threats Caught on Film in the Grenadines
Invasive mammals, such as cats, rats and mongooses are known threats to seabirds throughout the Caribbean and beyond. Detecting them on remote, offshore, and difficult to access islands is challenging, yet it’s crucial information for conserving these imperiled birds. EPIC and Ocean Spirits Inc. joined efforts to survey seven islands in the Grenadines using trail […]
Spying to Protect Black-capped Petrels in Haiti
It is a cold and windy night along the La Visite Escarpment in south-central Haiti. The clouds form and then dissipate as they stream along the rocky faces of the nearby mountains. The wind gusts come and go and when it calms down a bit, you can hear the frogs calling and the mournful wail […]
Black-capped Petrel Resiliency, Leadership, and New Islands
EPIC continues to be a leading advocate for the conservation of the endangered Black-capped petrel in the Caribbean region. Our program for the species touches on all aspects of conservation for this seabird including searches for new nesting areas, monitoring of known nesting areas, working with communities to preserve petrel nesting habitat, incorporating petrel natural […]
