by Rob Williams

After a couple of arduous weeks blazing trails along the steep, dense, cactus covered, slopes of the 12 ha offshore island, Maria Major, off the South East tip of St Lucia, the search begins for the endemic and implausibly elusive, Kouwès, or St Lucia Racer snake (Liophis ornatus).

The islet, managed as a Nature Reserve, is now the sole refuge for this snake once considered to be the second most common of the four extant snake species in St Lucia. Free from the rats, mongoose and other introduced predators that have extirpated the racer from the mainland, a little known population has (based on very few historic sightings) managed to persist in what could well be sub optimal habitat for this species.

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By Jose Nuñez-Miño

As we approach the end of 2011 its time to once again reflect on the year and look forward to the year ahead. This year really has really been quite amazingly productive despite some of challenges that we have faced. Our success has primarily come about through the increasing number of individuals that have been involved in the project at different stages throughout the year.

We have had a large team involved in the field work: Pedro Martinez, Ros Kennerley, Nicolas Corona, Jose Ramon “Moncho” Espinal, Sarah Hoy, Rocio Pozo, “Yeyo” Dionis Espinal, Yimel Corona, Anderson Jean, Enold Louis Jean, Timoteo Bueno and Jose Rafael de la Cruz. Huge thanks has got to go out to all of them, they have all contributed to our increasing knowledge of solenodon and hutia on the island of Hispaniola.

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By Jose Nuñez-Miño

Where have the last two months gone? They seem to have flown past and the lead up to Christmas is upon us. We have, as always, been very busy on all fronts over the last couple of months.
On the educational front we have had the first showings of the project infomercials (kids version in Spanish and full version in Spanish) at two very different schools – over 700 students in all have now seen them. The first showing was as at a remote rural school in Los Limones village near Los Haitises National Park. This did not simply serve to educate and inform local students about solenodon and hutia but was also an opportunity to train and empower Timoteo and Rafael (our two research assistants sponsored by the BBC Wildlife Fund) on their presentation skills. The aim is that they will take on educational campaigns of their own in the very near future. The village kids loved the infomercials and enjoyed finding out about solenodon and hutia – unfortunately many saw these species as damaging to crops but hopefully we have managed to change that perception.

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by Amelaïd Houmadi and Kitty Brayne

They're among the biggest flying mammals in the world, found on two small islands in the Comoros archipelago in the Indian Ocean, and nowhere else in the world. In the Comorian language they are sometimes called m’lamanga which means mango-eater (but also have two other names: n’tréméla or ndéma), but it was from the explorer Dr Livingstone that they got their name with which they are known to the rest of the world. I'm talking about Livingstone's fruit bats, and at the moment it's my job to study them with the ECDD project in Anjouan.

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By Herizo Andrianandrasana and Ony Rabearivololona

Over the last 10 years, Durrell Madagascar has led a successful programme of locally-based ecological monitoring through the MOMA (Monitoring Matters) network in collaboration with the Nordic Agency for Development and Conservation and an annual inter-village competition funded by the Jersey Overseas Aid Committee (JOAC). The idea was to integrate communities into the monitoring system aimed at reducing their pressure on forests and species. We carried out this study in the dry forests of the New Protected Area (NAP) of Menabe-Antimena.

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by Bronwen Daniel

In February this year, I waved goodbye to the snow-covered British Isles to take up the position of Field Biologist for the ECDD project (run by Bristol Conservation and Science Foundation in partnership with Durrell) in the tropical Comoro Islands.

Having previously worked on research projects in the Democratic Republic of Congo, Tanzania and Madagascar, I’d experienced a range of African landscapes but imagined volcanic islands in the middle of the Indian Ocean between Mozambique and Madagascar to be something a bit different. My first view of Anjouan, the second largest of the islands and my home for the next year and a half, was from the window of a tiny 12-seater plane. It did not disappoint. I took in steep-sided green mountains cut through with deep ravines, plunging down to a sparkling blue sea, and couldn’t wait to get out exploring.

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By Jose Nuñez-Miño

We are just recently back from our first expedition into Haiti where we were invited to join forces with the Darwin initiative project that is based out there. Our hosts, the Audubon Society of Haiti were amazingly welcoming and managed to get us to one of the most remote and beautiful corners of Haiti which is Massif de la Hotte in the south west. There are still some good (i.e. relatively untouched) areas of forest in this area although even in the brief time we were there we were witness to its destruction and removal. On one day we counted over 300 bags of charcoal and watched some of it being carried along the same treacherous routes we were using to get to the forest. The good news is that we did manage to see evidence of both solenodon and hutia in one valley we explored. There is undoubtedly a lot of work that can and should be done in Haiti. If we work together I’m sure we will be able to make a difference.

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By Francesca Cunninghame

The aerial broadcast of brodifacoum to eradicate rats from Rábida and several small Galápagos Islands took place in January. This was a Galápagos National Park project with Island Conservation, Bell Laboratories, Charles Darwin Foundation, University of Minnesota Raptor Center and Durrell. Durrell provided staff (that is me, field manager of the Mangrove Finch Project) for Galápagos hawk mitigation. A risk assessment showed these endemic hawks risked suffering from secondary poisoning and to prevent this all the hawks holding territories where bait was to be spread needed to be brought into captivity for at least six weeks. Holding aviaries were built by Park personnel at a secluded spot on Santiago Island.

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By Luis Ortiz-Catedral (CDF)

I have some great news to share. The breeding season of the Floreana mockingbirds has started! This has created a lot of excitement among staff from the Charles Darwin Foundation (CDF) and the Galápagos National Park (GNP). We have been very busy finding nests on Champion and Gardner and also keeping notes about the variety of items fed to the young. The Floreana mockingbirds have a fascinating breeding behaviour: they breed in what we call “family groups” which usually consist of the actual breeding pair plus some helpers. The size of the group varies from three to six. In previous months we did an extensive ringing of individuals, which has proven invaluable to assign group membership now that breeding has started.

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By Misbahou Mohamed & Kitty Brayne (BCSF)

The best way to learn about different approaches to conservation and sustainable development is to visit field projects and talk to the people on the ground about their experiences. In our work in the Comoros we’ve found exchange visits between villages to be an excellent way to inspire people to take up new techniques or behaviours. Working in the Comoros we sometimes feel a bit isolated as there are not many other projects or organisations working in this domain. So last month half of our team went over to our larger neighbour Madagascar to visit a few projects and exchange ideas with others working in similar fields.

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