The population of brown pelicans is the subject of a study by the Nature Foundation Sint Maarten. In the coming months, this association will carry out counts of brown pelicans on the whole of the island from several bird watching sites. The collection of data on these pelicans is important to provide information about the population and the threats that may result throughout the territory.
The Nature Foundation has been monitoring brown pelicans since 2010, and the results collected will be compared to those of previous years. Annual data is needed to create a long-term study of their numbers and their health.
The study will determine the number of adult and juvenile brown pelicans on the island, as well as the number of chicks and nests. According to the Foundation, it is normal for the number of bird species to fluctuate, depending on the predator-prey relationship, and to oscillate between a high population and a low population. But if the downward trend continues for a longer period of time, the bird population could be threatened and specific reasons, such as human influences, could be the reason for their decline.
Monitoring and counting birds can be done while always staying on the same site, or by moving around the site to determine the number of individuals, chicks, colony members, as well as other additional information. . On November 11, on the occasion of Saint-Martin Day, several sites will be the subject of a census of pelicans on the Dutch part of the island. _RM
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