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| FROM THE FIELD - DOMINICA In Dominica, RSCF staff members, working with The Division of Forestry, spend countless hours in the rainforest photographing and observing the social behaviors of the island's two endemic parrot species, the
Imperial Amazon or Sisserou and the Red-Necked Amazon or Jaco (Amazona imperialis and A. arausiaca, respectively). The Sisserou, Dominica's national symbol, is by far one of the world's rarest Amazon parrots and the central focus of the island's parrot conservation program.
Monitoring nest cavities has been a focal point for this project for many years. Using telescopic, intra-cavity nest probing cameras provided by RSCF, the Parrot Team now has never before seen video footage of Jaco chicks and eggs, as well as audio recordings of the birds.
 Recording and monitoring the locations of active parrot nest cavities is another crucial componant to the Parrot Conservation Programme. Using GPS technology provided by RSCF, Foresters now pin-point exact nest-tree locations, record and map them via satellite transmission, then download
this information to online topographic maps supplied by the United States Geological Survey. This information can then be used when designating protected areas, developing conservation strategies, and future land-use policies.
 © RSCF Imperial Amazon Parrot  © RSCF Red-necked Amazon Parrot | PARROT CONSERVATION IN THE REGION
Abaco Island, Bahamas - During 2005, RSCF began collaborating with parrot specialists from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Puerto Rican Parrot Recovery Program, and RSCF Research Associate Caroline Stahala to study the Bahamian parrot, (Amazona leucocephala), and to develop conservation strategies for the Abaco parrot population. Due to widespread deforestation, the parrots now nest in cavities below ground, making them extremely vulnerable to attacks by ferel cats and other ground-dwelling predators.
During 2006, RSCF staff and colleagues constructed and installed ten artificial, tree-mounted nest cavities within Abaco National Park on Great Abaco Island, and supplied a field vehicle to the Bahamas National Trust for use in parrot conservation surveys and other conservation initiatives in the area.
During 2007-08, the initial set of artificial nest cavities--each equipped with infrared cameras--was monitored, and birds' interest identified in several areas. A primary objective is to evaluate nest-site use and recruitment over several years, from which a long-term nest-supplementation strategy and habitat restoration program can evolve.  © Caroline Stahala Bahama Parrot Inagua, Bahamas - During 2008, RSCF, in collaboration with Research Associate Caroline Stahala and Mike Coan (EROS Data Center, U.S. Geologic Survey) and with support from the World Parrot Trust, developed a satellite GIS map interface for conducting a post-hurricane-Ike assessment of Inagua's wild parrot population. The base image, a co-registered, cloud-free composite image of Inagua island, facilitates accurate ground surveys for parrots and habitat and enables accurate distance and area calculations for estimating parrot abundance and distributions. Click the links below for more images and in-depth information about RSCF's Caribbean Conservation Programs
COMMUNITY BASED CONSERVATION |
Agro-Processing on Dominica - In 2006, RSCF engaged the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) to solicit FAVACA (Florida volunteer corps.) to provide two citrus production and marketing specialists to assess citrus management in the Morne Diablotin area.
The initiative aims to provide livelihood development for farmers and agricultural stakeholders adjacent to Morne Diablotin National Park who suffer significant crop losses to parrots and other protected wildlife. Current citrus-crop utilization is less than 40% in Dominica, largely due to on-the-tree fruit storage, and local, fresh-fruit market sales only. Micro-processing enables farmers to explore local fresh juice and extract-product markets and utilize a greater percentage of fruit set each year, thereby reducing wildlife-human conflicts.
Dominica's Western Farmers Citrus Association is now incorporated and fully registered as a Community Based Organization, and serves as the local consortium for agricultural stakeholders in the Morne Diablotin area. The Association has been recognized by both Dominica's Ministry of Agriculture and the Environment and UNDP as the appropriate entity to receive duty-free agricultural concessions consigned by NGO's to Government. During 2008, RSCF delivered two state-of-the-art fruit processors manufactured in Florida by FMC, the world's largest manufacturer of processing equipment. The Ministry is extending a long-term, no-cost equipment loan to the Western Farmers Citrus Association, and has completed the micro-processing facility in Dublanc, a small, coastal village situated at the base of Morne Diablotin on Dominica's west coast. Processing operations are scheduled to commence during summer 2009. |
