Part 1. Chasing parrots in St. Lucia

So the survey has been going now for a couple of weeks. 17 volunteers from the US, UK, Jersey and the Caribbean have collected in St. Lucia to join forces with forestry officers and range workers from the St. Lucia Forestry Department to carry out the first full survey of the St. Lucia amazon’s entire range.

The total team numbers 35 and is proving to be a logistical challenge to our project managers in St. Lucia. The volunteers are split into teams of 3 or 4 and taken to pre-defined points in the forest where they camp for 5 days walking transect routes. The surveys are done use a method called distance sampling which allows us to note the distance to the parrots that we see, and then with some statistical analysis based on assumptions to do with the birds likelihood of being seen or missed, estimate the entire population size.

Its tough going in the forests with high humidity, steeps climbs and the always interesting prospect of finding a fer-de-lance snake lurking in the undergrowth. Last week the guys saw a 6ft fer-de-lance, which was a bit of a shocker! So far the survey seems to be going really well and the first set of data coming out is very promising. The volunteers are playing hard and working hard and seem to be supporting the local economy of Dennery, where they are staying!! We will catch up with them and give you some more feedback from the survey as the weeks pass – they are only just started and will complete the survey in early March.