Caribbean-wide tracking study launched for White-crowned Pigeons

Cayman #2 captured on 17 November on the west end of
Cayman Brac. Fitted with a 5g solar-powered satellite transmitter.

A NMBCA-funded project directed by Dr. Lisa Sorenson (BirdsCaribbean) and Dr. Frank Rivera-Milan (USFWS) supplied a sub-grant to ARCI to build and oversee a satellite-tracking study of White-crowned Pigeons that will identify trans-national threats, management needs, and conservation opportunities.

Two White-crowned Pigeons were tagged on Cayman Brac in mid-November 2013. Matching funds from the USFWS were used to tag two additional birds in the Florida Keys National Wildlife Refuge Complex. In the next six months, with the help of our many dedicated collaborators, we will deploy eight more satellite transmitters on White-crowned Pigeons in Jamaica, The Bahamas, Puerto Rico, and Florida. We plan to expand the sample with at least eight more tagged birds in additional locations by the end of 2014.

Tracking map for Cayman #2 from the west end of Cayman
Brac on 17 November to Tibbett's Turn on 5 December.

For this initial effort, we are grateful for the assistance and in-kind support of the National Trust for the Cayman Islands and the many people on Cayman Brac and the Florida Keys who provided transportation, lodging, and information on local populations of White-crowned Pigeons.

You can follow the movements of these birds and watch the study population of this range-wide partnership grow through a link on the Tracking Page of ARCI’s website.