I am giving a poster at the AOU meeting in Chicago. Here is a .jpg of the poster.

This poster describes results of five surveys for Audubon's Shearwaters in the Bahamas. From the low 95% confidence interval of the densities in those surveys, I project the total population on the many islands that we have not surveyed. The point is that we can be certain of about 7000 breeding pairs of shearwaters in the Caribbean, mostly in the Bahamas. Projections using the low 95% density indicate there are likely more than 33,000 breeding pairs. Finally, projections indicate that there were at least 1,000,000 breeding pairs of Audubon's Shearwaters in the Caribbean before the main island populations were extirpated and it is not unreasonable to think that there would have been 12,000,000 breeding pairs.This rare, secretive bird was a very common species and is not playing the ecological role as a top oceanic predator and disperser of nutrients to the soils of the Caribbean. Perhaps this lack of nutrients is a factor in the lack of recovery of soils that were cleared by Europeans?

Offshore Oil Exploration from North Carolina?

Once again there is a push to sell leases for offshore oil drilling in North Carolina. How many times has this idea been studied and rejected? The basic problems are: 1) Small amounts of oil that is difficult and expensive to extract, and the natural gas has a low value because gas is oversupplied right now, 2) Offshore North Carolina is a very important fishing ground and hotspot for seabird and other wildlife biodiversity, making it the least desirable place in the Atlantic for the continuous oil pollution that happens when you drill offshore, much less a spill, 3) North Carolina has a very valuable tourism industry that would be harmed greatly by the infrastructure and oil spills that happen when you drill offshore, 4) Finally, we have very frequent storms and hurricanes in North Carolina. This is not the peaceful Gulf of Mexico. Every time a storm hits, we'll be spilling oil and having equipment destroyed. And it will all wash up on the most pristine beaches on the Eastern Seaboard.

Artificial Nests for Tropicbirds, Shearwaters, and Petrels

The aforementioned nest boxes for cavity-nesting seabirds are nearly ready for ordering. Check back soon. We have received two separate grants to help fund the mold and initial run to create the boxes. As soon as they are ready for pre-ordering, I will post a link. Until then, you can contact me.

These plastic boxes are designed by Petrel and Tropicbird expert David Wingate and should retail for around $75 plus shipping. They are stackable, so you can order a bunch for your property. Instead of bluebirds houses, you can have tropicbirds, shearwaters, and maybe someday some petrels nesting, if you own beachfront property in the Bahamas or Caribbean.