 |
| Brown pelican |
Phyllis
Benton’s January 15 report to the VI Audubon Society on the results of St.
John’s annual Christmas bird count showed higher numbers for many birds
compared to last year. There are plenty of pelicans, egrets, pearly-eyed
thrashers and ruddy ducks.
However
there are fewer hummingbirds, scaly-naped pigeons, anis, mangrove cuckoos and
other birds that eat fruits, nectar and seeds.
Phyllis
made a remarkable effort to organize a bird count in December 2017, despite
many storm-related obstacles, and managed to pull together a team of 26
counters, who observed about 700 birds. For 2018, there were 35 counters on St.
John, and 1100 birds reported.
Fish-eating
birds like pelicans had better opportunities to find food after the storms, and
could also move to places with better conditions. Some have come back. Only 23
brown pelicans were observed in December 2017, but 128 were reported in the
latest count, more than have been seen for several years.
Sightings
of snowy egrets (black bills and yellow feet) and great egrets (yellow bills
and black feet) have also increased over recent historical levels.
 |
| Snowy egret |
 |
| Great egret |
 |
| Brown booby |
Pearly-eyed
thrashers are aggressive omnivores, feeding on insects, frogs, small crabs, and
other birds’ babies, as well as fruits and berries. They are among the most
commonly seen birds on St John, and have managed to find enough food sources to
remain dominant, though their numbers still are well below historical highs.
 |
| Pearly-eyed thrasher |
The
large black smooth-billed anis have diets that are similar to the thrashers,
but have not fared as well. Only 14 were reported in 2018, compared to 24 right
after the storms, and 35 the year before.
 |
| Smooth-billed ani |
The
small Antillean crested hummingbirds seem to be at risk of disappearing. There
were 2 reported after the storms, and only 5 a year later, compared to an
average of about 25 in prior years. Many probably got blown away or starved due
to the loss of vegetation. They mostly feed on nectar from flowering trees and vines, which was no
longer available, though they sometimes will eat small bugs.
 |
| Antillean crested hummingbird |
Green-throated
carib hummingbirds seem threatened as well. Only 12 were reported – the same
number as after the storms.
Even
fewer of the native yellow warblers were seen – only 3, down from 5 the year
before.
 |
| Yellow warbler |
The
larger bridled quail doves are very scarce, so I was excited to spot one in
January along the L’Esperance trail. They mainly eat fruits, flowers and seeds,
and did not have a big population to begin with.
 |
| Bridled quail |
 |
| Mangrove cuckoo |
Bananaquit
numbers are down by more than half from prior years, but increased from 98 to
127 between December 2017 and 2018. They probably have been helped by the
efforts of St. John people to put out sugar for them.
 |
| Bananaquit |
 |
| Tricolored heron |
At
the January meeting, the VI Audubon Society also heard a report from Robert
Askins, a researcher from Connecticut College, who came to St. John with his
colleague David Ewert from Michigan to do an updated field survey of warblers.
They had previously studied warblers here starting in 1987, and found a variety
of species wintering on St. John, including northern perulas, black and white
warblers, redstarts, hooded warblers, and prairie warblers.
 |
| Black and white warbler |
 |
| Northern perula |
In 1991 they published a report on the ‘Impact
of Hurricane Hugo on Bird Populations on St. John, U.S. Virgin Island’. Although
Hugo did not hit St. John nearly as hard as Irma and Maria, the scaly-naped pigeons, bananaquits,
hummingbirds and other fruit and nectar dependent birds were significantly
affected. By 1997, though, their numbers were mostly back up.
Many local birds (and trees and plants) have evolved with
hurricanes and are relatively resilient. However, a significant loss of native
trees and habitat can affect their ability to recover. Those with small
populations to begin with are most at risk.
 |
| Baby white-cheeked pintail duck |
 |
| Common gallinule (moorhen) with baby |
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