Friends of the Environment

Abaco, Bahamas

Abaco Christmas Bird Count 2007

This was the fourth year that the Christmas Bird count has occurred in south Abaco and the first year of the Christmas Bird Count in North Abaco. The south Abaco count took place on December 16, 2006 in the southern area of Great Abaco, near the Abaco National Park. The north Abaco count occured on December 29, 2007 up in the Treasure Cay area of Great Abaco.

The count was open to anyone who wanted to participate.

South Abaco Count Profile

The circle was broken up into segments, and then teams were assigned to each segment. The number of segments were determined by the number of participants we put in the field on count day. The difficulty of terrain will vary with the area that you are sent, so let us know the level of difficulty you are interested in so we can make plans accordingly.

• Easy terrain – cleared roads/trails/beach, excellent footing, minimal walking < 400 meters
• Moderate terrain – mixture of cleared trails/roads, and slightly overgrown trail/road/beach, OK with up to ½ mile (800 meter) walk
• Bushwhacker - willing to go anywhere for the birds with a cutlass, avid hiker, not afraid of poisonwood

Amateur bird-watchers as well as experts participated in the count. The experts were on hand to help ID birds, and all helped recording and spotting the birds.

South Abaco Count Area Profile

The 7.5 mile count area radius has its center located just about 1 mile south of the “the Y” on the Hole-in-the-Wall Road. The placement of the circle allows for the most coverage of the Abaco National Park and the parrot feeding areas outside of the park. It also is set to include wetland areas in the settlement of Crossing Rocks, where West Indian Whistling Ducks have been reported.

The center of the circle is located in pine forest; the count area is comprised of about 60% pine forest. The remaining 40% of the circle is a combination of beach strand, fresh water lowlands, deep ocean, mangrove, tidal flats, and disturbed areas – dumps, road side etc. We accessed as many habitats as possible, in some instances more than once during count day to take advantage of crepuscular (active at dusk) and nocturnal species. Many areas are tidal, therefore will be best visited at low tide for shorebirds and waders (low tide was at 11 am on count day- December 16, 2006).

Accessing these areas may be difficult by vehicle, so we utilized as many means as possible – The diversity of habitats made for a very interesting and exciting count day.

The South Abaco Christmas Bird Count 75 species sighted

North Abaco Count Area Profile

The 1st annual North Abaco Christmas Bird Count was on December 29, 2007. It was a huge success netting 101 species which shows what a rich and diverse environment we have here on Abaco. It was a great effort by 7 teams to observe and record such a number of species from 7am to 5pm which left many of the participants too exhausted to attend the final tally at the Touch of Class restaurant that evening.

The North Abaco Christmas Bird Count 2007 Tally Results

Copyright 2004 Friends of the Environment. All Rights Reserved. Website designed by CocoMotion

Website Maintained & Hosted by Computer Creations