JCDT Develops New E-Bird Mobile Application to Monitor Birds

An eBird Mobile Application (App) for bird monitoring has been developed by the Jamaica Conservation and Development Trust (JCDT).

The App will track and monitor birds in the Blue and John Crow Mountains National Park (BJCMNP) and buffer zone, which will help to determine the changes and threats to the ecosystem’s health. Some 29 endemic birds in the area are observed by National Park Rangers.

Speaking at a recent JCDT International Mountain Day Seminar held at Alhambra Inn, Kingston, National Park Manager, JCDT, David Walters, said that the App will modernise the approach to bird monitoring in the Park.

“We now have the specific protocol that we follow with the application. It is not just logging a bird, it is logging a bird as defined by the specific steps, methodology and criteria. So, we are able to do all of that with the eBird application,” he said.

Emphasising the importance of bird monitoring, he said that the App will allow the JCDT “to make conclusions on the health of the ecosystem and the populations of key threatened species”.

“What we find is that the birds and the bird population are linked inextricably to the health of the habitat. So, if we see a decline in the bird population, that is an early indication that something is wrong in the environment and we need to take a better look at what is going on,” he said.

Mr. Walters said that the JCDT has a team of seven Rangers to patrol the BJCMNP, which covers an area of some 41,198 hectares (101,802 acres), including communities of the parishes of Portland, St. Thomas, St. Andrew and a small section of South East St. Mary.

Apart from bird monitoring, he said that Rangers perform other tasks, such as freshwater sampling to examine the quality of the streams and speaking with people about the protection of the environment.

The Park Manager said the JCDT will be installing a Bird-Monitoring Tower at Holywell Park, Portland Gap, in the BJCMNP.

He explained that the tracking station to be installed, in partnership with Birds Caribbean, an international bird organisation, will allow the JCDT to assess the migratory habits of birds, adding that small tags will be attached to the birds’ legs before they are released.

“So, when a bird comes within range of the tower, it picks it up to show where it is going and where it is coming from,” he added.