Dear shorebirders,

after "Dean" hurricane, I observed at Pointe des Châteaux (a salt pond of 15
hectares) in Guadeloupe (FWI), around 750 shorebirds, among them 13 RED KNOT
(a rare species there, not observed past year), 2 were banded with lime flag
+ 1 RUDDY TURNSTONE banded and 1 SANDERLING banded

the most common species was the SEMIPALMETED SANDPIPER (50-60%)

here we have the same problem of shorebird hunting... and at Port-Louis
Swamp, yesterday morning I checked 8 hunters who killed a hundred shorebirds
(of wich 3 RED KNOTS), they were at least 30 hunters on this place...

shorebirds killed were LEYE, GRYE, SBDO, STSA, AMGP, WHIM, RUTU, REKN, SOSA

sorry for the bad news...

Anthony Levesque

----- Original Message -----
From: "Jim Corven" <[log in to unmask]>
To: <[log in to unmask]>
Sent: Sunday, August 19, 2007 9:21 AM
Subject: [SHOREBIRDS] Shorebird Killing in Barbados


> Subject: Annual Slaughter of Migrating Waders on Barbados
> From: "Cathy Gagliardi" <patcatgags AT comcast.net>
> Date: Wed, 15 Aug 2007 21:31:46 -0500
>
>
>
> Annual Slaughter of Migrating Waders on Barbados
>
> A small minority of Barbadians are responsible for
> shooting up to 45,000 migrating waders (shorebirds)
> every year between August and November in Barbados,
> West Indies. These birds breed in North America,
> sometimes as far North as the Arctic, and then migrate
> South to spend the winter in Latin America. En route
> they fly over Barbados.
>
> The slaughter on Barbados is highly organized and
> takes place in a number of shallow, man-made lakes,
> which are made attractive to exhausted migrating
> waders. The lakes have up to 4 acres of open water
> with specially built mud banks within range of the
> shooting hut. Caged birds (maimed from last years'
> shoot) are placed close to the mud banks and the
> hunters use whistles to imitate the bird calls, which
> are supplemented by amplified recording calls to
> attract entire flocks. Decoys are also used.
>
> At this time of year large flocks of exhausted birds
> fly in after a storm. They are met by a barrage of
> fire from semi-automatic weapons. The shooters often
> wait for the birds to settle before firing and it is a
> matter of pride not to let one single bird escape.
> The lakes (known locally as "shooting swamps") are
> often manned all day during the shooting season, seven
> days a week and it has actually become a "contest"
> amongst the four known swamps to see who gets the most
> birds. The social and racial status of the shooters
> are mostly white and well-to-do in a nation where 90%
> of the people have African roots.
>
> This practice has been going on for generations but
> has become more refined in the last fifty years, with
> the introduction of sophisticated weaponry. Such
> shooting does not take place on the other Caribbean
> Islands, nor further north. The birds being shot are
> fully protected all the year round in both Canada and
> America, and have been for about a century now.
> Barbados has never signed the Migratory Bird Treaty
> Act but they did sign the CITES Act back in 1992.
>
> They include species such as the Lesser Yellowlegs and
> Pectoral Sandpiper, but of particular concern is the
> American Golden Plover, whose population is declining
> rapidly. All species are shot regardless and there is
> even an instance of the Eskimo Curlew being shot in
> 1963, now thought to be extinct.
>
> A Barbadian named Maurice Hutt produced a paper in
> 1991 on "swamp shooting" and it makes for horrific
> reading. Mr. Hutt's efforts to prevent swamp shooting
> were suppressed by the powerful shooting lobby in
> Barbados and it continues unabated today. In fact
> recent estimates indicate that the position may have
> worsened and that up to 45,000 birds may be killed
> each year. It would seem that the only way to have
> this annual slaughter stopped would be if pressure
> from the American & Canadian governments and other
> outside authorities were to be exerted on the Barbados
> government.
>
> WHSRN is the driving force right now to bring an end
> to these barbaric shoots and/or impose a Hunting
> Season with limits & restrictions..... our donations
> are much welcomed and greatly needed. www.whsrn.org
> <http://www.whsrn.org/>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
> Jim Corven
>
> Associate Professor
>
> Bristol Community College
>
> 777 Elsbree St.
>
> Fall River, MA  02720
>
> Tel: 508 678-2811, ext. 3047
>
> www.Bristol.mass.edu
>
> www.ebird.org/usvi
>
> "Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can
> change
> the world. Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has. "   - Margaret Mead
>