FREEPORT, Grand Bahama -- Two copies of the book "An Inventory of Breeding Seabirds of the Caribbean" was presented to Rennamae Symonette of the Ecotourism Association of Grand Bahama and Cecilia Bodie of the regional branch of the Bahamas National Trust. Erika Gates of Garden of the Groves and Grand Bahama Nature Tours had received the books during the SCSCB (Society for the Conservation and Study of Caribbean Birds) conference in Antigua in July and suggested the above organizations as recipients.

The books were provided by Jennifer Wheeler, the Coordinator of the Waterbird Conservation for the Americas department of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service who funds the distribution to relevant organizations, agencies and institutions as a way of increasing awareness of seabird populations throughout the Caribbean and the Bahamas.

This book has become a reality through the vision and drive of the SCSCB who would like to see sustainable and healthy seabird population throughout their natural range. Unfortunately, many seabird populations in the Caribbean and the Bahamas are in decline, some at risk of extinction. The information in this book will increase understanding and concern of the current state of seabirds and their habitats and promote and advance conservation efforts on their behalf.

It has taken Patricia E. Bradley and Robert L. Norton four years to compile this book. Both are highly respected writers in this field. Bradley is the author of "Birds of the Cayman Islands" and contributor to Birdlife's International Caribben Important Bird Areas. She also composed the British Ornithologists' Union Checklist and is involved in bird conservation in the Cayman Islands. Norton is a contributor to "Ecology and Conservation of Neotropical Migrant Landbirds" and "The Birds of North America". He has studied seabirds in the U.S. and British Virgin Islands for the past twenty years.

In the past two decades, global populations of seabirds have declined faster than any other group of birds, yet almost no conservation resources are applied to counteract this trend. The Caribbean and the Bahamas hold only a remnant of once vast seabird populations and without additional conservation action, some populations might be lost altogether.

This island-by island inventory of Caribbean seabirds includes colony locations and estimates of numbers of breeding pairs, the severe threats that seabirds face and proposals for research and conservation. The book includes contributions by dozens of professional and amateur ornithologists. It brings togeher the best and most complete set of data on seabirds that nest in the Caribbean and the Bahamas. There are also maps prepared by The Nature Conservancy and William Mackin.

Mrs. Gates expressed that the books presented would be used as tools for education, research and outreach to promote and advance seabird conservation on Grand Bahama Island and especially Peterson Cay, the only Bridled Tern nesting colony off the south shore of the island.

Photo: Erika Gates of Garden of the Groves and Grand Bahama Nature Tours presented two copies of the book "An Inventory of Breeding Seabirds of the Caribbean" to Rennamae Symonette of the Bahamas Ministry of Tourism (Ecotourism Division) and Cecilia Bodie of the Bahamas National Trust. Gates recently returned from the SCSCB (Society for Conservation and Study of Caribbean Birds) conference in Antigua, where she was a guest speaker on the conference's theme "Sustainable Bird and Nature Tourism." (Photo courtesy Erika Gates)