During this Small Sit Webinar, Arne Lesterhuis (Manomet Conservation Sciences) and Simon Spriensma (Aviadrone) will share insights from ongoing shorebird monitoring work on the Caribbean islands of Bonaire and Curaçao. For the past three years, Manomet has been working with local partners to better understand how migratory shorebirds use these tropical habitats during southbound migration. Many species traveling along the Atlantic Flyway depend on the Caribbean as a place to rest and refuel, and, in some cases, as a critical refuge when severe storms make continued migration unsafe. With many shorebird populations declining by more than 50% in recent decades, identifying and protecting these key stopover sites has become increasingly urgent, particularly on islands where development pressure continues to grow.

The monitoring program was initiated in 2023 in collaboration with WILDCONSCIENCE from Bonaire. Volunteers have been trained in shorebird identification and the International Shorebird Survey (ISS) protocol. The migration surveys in both Bonaire and Curaçao were supported by Dinamo Fonds

About the Presenters:

Arne J. Lesterhuis: Senior Shorebird Conservation Specialist at Manomet Conservation Sciences, he studied Wildlife Management at the Van Hall-Larenstein University of Applied Sciences in the Netherlands and has been working as a professional in the field of bird conservation since 2000.

Simon Spriensma: Professional drone pilot specialising in nature and wildlife conservation. Simon has over three decades of experience in meadow bird conservation and nearly ten years of international drone operations across a wide range of conservation projects.

Attendance is free but registration is required.