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Barbuda Warbler - any left? (1 Viewer)

I asked my brother who lives in the Turks and Caicos Islands whether he had seen any birds since Irma trashed his island (Providenciales) and he said no, but pointed out that he has been busy with other priorities. Of course, right about now it looks like Maria is about to deliver another dose of very strong wind and rain to the Islands.
 
The birds will return. Their numbers may be diminished and their habitat decimated; give things time to stabilize.

These violent storms have been occurring for millennia.
 
The birds will return. Their numbers may be diminished and their habitat decimated; give things time to stabilize.

These violent storms have been occurring for millennia.

If the islands were in a pristine natural state, this would be exactly correct. Or if this was a widespread species which could recolonize from elsewhere. But if the actual viable habitat on the island has been reduced to only a very small area of the island, and the species in question is ONLY found in those remaining little pieces of habitat, than any sort of natural or man-made calamity can wipe the species.

I mean this is EXACTLY HOW extinction works in most cases. If a population is reduced to either a small enough population/abundance, than freak natural events (bad storms, cold snaps, fires, flooding, etc) can wipe out the species. A healthy population would be widely enough distributed that it could rebound from these effects.

This isn't exactly an unprecedented event either. The last Cozumel Thrashers were wiped out by a hurricane, and that was only a..decade or so ago? So we know this happens.

That said....yeah...I hope once things stabilize some survivors are found.
 
My favourite freak event for finishing off a subspecies, was the last Pyrenean Ibex being crushed by a falling tree..... (of course, as the last, it was already functionally extinct!)
 
I wouldn't limit the search to Barbuda--I think it's possible that the storm may have transported individuals to neighbouring islands. After all, the ancestral population may have arrived on Barbuda by a similar storm.
 
I wouldn't limit the search to Barbuda--I think it's possible that the storm may have transported individuals to neighbouring islands. After all, the ancestral population may have arrived on Barbuda by a similar storm.

Although another hypothesis is that the ancestor of Adelaide's/St. Lucia/Barbuda Warblers was more widespread across the Caribbean, but has been extirpated island by island due to either humans or hurricanes.
 
That is great, if astonishing news. They must have found some small place where the wind was considerably less.

Yes, great news; let's hope there is enough habitat for them to breed - they don't need very much. I would think just some 2m high coastal scrub would be enough?

cheers, alan
 
There is considerably more reason to be concerned about the parrots in Dominica. The island is essentially bare of leaves at least on the west side (I just got evacuated from there). These are large, fruit eating birds, and even though some parrots have been observed after the storm, that does not mean that they will survive until the next crop of fruit arrives in some month.

The human population on that island also need help, most roofs damaged etc.

Due to fluidity of my own situation, I may not be returning to this thread for a while.

Niels
 
There is considerably more reason to be concerned about the parrots in Dominica. The island is essentially bare of leaves at least on the west side (I just got evacuated from there). These are large, fruit eating birds, and even though some parrots have been observed after the storm, that does not mean that they will survive until the next crop of fruit arrives in some month.

The human population on that island also need help, most roofs damaged etc.

Due to fluidity of my own situation, I may not be returning to this thread for a while.

Niels
Good luck! Thoughts are with those there.
 
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