Birdscaribbean

BirdsCaribbean is a vibrant international network of members and partners committed to conserving Caribbean birds and their habitats in the insular Caribbean (including Bermuda, the Bahamas and all islands within the Caribbean basin). Our mission is to raise awareness, promote sound science, and empower local partners to build a region where people appreciate, conserve and benefit from thriving bird populations and ecosystems. We are a non-profit (501 (c) 3) membership organization. With 35 years of experience, BirdsCaribbean has built an extensive and active network of more than 60 partners across the region that includes government agencies, institutions, businesses, and non-profits. Together with our partners, we develop regional projects to achieve our shared bird conservation goals. We also work to engage people of all ages in learning about birds—their beauty, value and why it is important to protect them. The overaching goal of all our programs is to facilitate local research, management, on-the-ground conservation actions, education, and community outreach. We do this through our flagship programs such as the Caribbean Endemic Bird Festival, West Indian Whistling-Duck and Wetlands Conservation Project, Seabird Conservation & Monitoring, and Caribbean Waterbird Census, as well as programs like the Caribbean Birding Trail that seek to demonstrate the economic value of birds and their habitats. We also have a new Landbird Monitoring Program that provides training in standardized bird monitoring techniques, installation of Motus stations throughout the region, and training and certification in bird banding. We provide funding through our Grants Program and a venue for publishing research and conservation in our peer-reviewed journal, The Caribbean Journal of Ornithology. Integral to our organization’s core programs is formal opportunities for training and career development at the island level for local people, including a Mentorship program. Our capacity-building model is to impart knowledge, skills, equipment, and materials needed to carry out a project to in-country wildlife professionals, conservation scientists, educators, and volunteers through intensive train-the-trainer workshops. The workshops are often followed up with the opportunity to apply for a grant to immediately implement what was learned. The nature of our programs also provides an informal environment for mentoring students and young wildlife professionals. Because we have focused on building a regional conservation community around birds, we now have partners and members on every island, and more than 100,000 local people participate in our programmes each year, making us the most broad-based conservation organization in the region. Help us grow this number by getting involved in the organization! You can download a copy of our brochure and learn more about our leadership team here.

We raise awareness, promote sound science, and empower local partners to build a region where people

Goal One: Support implementation of on-the-ground conservation by growing our flagship programs to provide a measurable increase in local capacity & leadership and conservation outcomes.

Goal Two: Catalyze conservation action by promoting the development of a conservation ethic, and increasing involvement in conservation of Caribbean birds & their habitats by increasing outreach and education.

Goal Three: Increase support, involvement and commitment to BirdsCaribbean and our mission by diversifying and increasing our membership and board.