This year's volunteer bird count was the best since before Hurricane Hugo, according to Dr. Will Henderson of St. John, the V.I. Audubon Society annual bird count coordinator.
The 23rd annual count was highlighted by the spotting of six Caribbean Elaenia that were thought to be extinct following Hurricane Marilyn's devastation in 1995. Only one had been sighted in five years.
"In my view," Henderson said, "this has been the best count since pre-Hurricane Hugo numbers of 1989."
In total, he said, "1,915 birds were counted, comprising 60 species. Among the most frequently counted land-based birds were the Bananaquit, locally known as the sugar bird, the Grey Kingbird, called a chinchary, and the Pearly Eyed Thrasher, referred to as the thrushee. The pelican was the most common sea bird counted.
The count of birds began and ended on Dec. 30, and marked the centennial of bird counting internationally that started with the Audubon Society in 1900.
In the Virgin Islands counting started in 1977 with the St. John-based Audubon Society taking the lead. There is no similar counting on St. Thomas but on St. Croix the count is organized by the St. Croix Environmental Association.
On St. John, five teams were fielded that surveyed five areas, Henderson said. Four areas were land-based and one was at sea.
They included West End, North Shore, Bordeaux Mountain, South Shore and in and around the waters of Coral Bay.
"The birders," as the counters are called, "performed a successful count," Henderson said.
Since 1900 the Audubon Society has been conducting bird counts throughout the Western Hemisphere and in Europe, Henderson said. The count is considered the largest volunteer scientific survey done in the world, according to Henderson.
