GSNRMP GUIANAS SUSTAINABLE NATURAL RESOURCES MANAGEMENT PROGRAMME A bird assessment of the Peperpot corridor Prepared by Serano Ramcharan 16-1-2012 This Study was commissioned by the World Wildlife Fund – GSNRMP. The views expressed herein are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of the World Wildlife Fund. Foreword This report contains baseline data of bird species that were observed within the Peperpot corridor. This corridor is located in the Commewijne district and consists of five old plantations. These five former coffee and cocoa plantations, which will be named further in the report as the five sub-areas, are: Mopentibo, Peperpot, Puttenzorg, La Liberte and T Y land (see Figure 1). With a size of 700 ha, the corridor was believed to be a potential area for bird species. Parts of the corridor have been explored occasionally by birdwatchers, but no formal bird assessment has been undertaken yet. In order to collect baseline data, Stichting Peperpot Nature Park receives support from WWF Guianas to let a baseline bird assessment take place. The bird assessment lasted for seven field days. The main goal was to orient and to collect as much bird data as possible throughout the corridor. 1 Contents Foreword ................................................................................................................................................. 1 Introduction ............................................................................................................................................ 3 Study site and method ............................................................................................................................ 4 Noteworthy observations ....................................................................................................................... 5 Results and Conclusion ........................................................................................................................... 5 Recommendations .................................................................................................................................. 7 Acknowledgements ................................................................................................................................. 8 References .............................................................................................................................................. 8 Annex 1. Lists of 200m bird transects per sub-area of the Peperpot corridor .................................. 9 Annex 2. Lists of 50m point count transects per sub-area of the Peperpot corridor ...................... 14 Annex 3. Total observation lists per sub-area.................................................................................. 32 Annex 4. Species occurrence among the different sub- areas of the Corridor................................ 67 Annex 5. Total observed bird species within Peperpot corridor ..................................................... 74 Annex 6. Photos of transect habitats ............................................................................................... 78 2 Introduction According to Milensky, Hinds, Aleixo & De Fátima (2005), the highest bird species richness of any continent is found in South America with a total of more than 3000 species. The Guianan Shield alone represents a total number of 1004 species (Milensky et al., 2005). The bird species of Suriname have been well assessed. According to Spaans (2003), Suriname has a relatively pristine coast, which is of international importance for species of shorebirds. Suriname proofed to be the most important area in South America, in terms of shorebird species and numbers (Morrison, Ross & de Jong, 1989). Thirteen Important Bird Areas (IBA‟s) have been identified for Suriname (Ottema, 2009). Eight of these IBA‟s are legally protected and three have have been recognized as very important shorebird areas. One of these; the Coppename monding nature reserve has been placed on the RAMSAR list, while two others; Wia Wia reservaat and Bigi Pan Multiple Use Management Area received the status of Western Hemisphere Shorebird Reserve Network (Mohadin, Teunissen & Spaans, 2002). This expressed the importance of Suriname being a good bird destination. Until now, 735 bird species are known for Suriname (Ottema, Ribot & Spaans, 2009). Still some new records of rarely encountered or new species to Suriname occur from time to time, especially during small inventories and via Rapid Assessment Plans. This has for a great deal to do with the still inaccessible hinterland of Suriname and partly to the very few available ornithologists within Suriname. A bird list of bird species that occur in Peperpot exist. This list does not make any destinction between the five sub-areas of the Peperpot corridor. It is based on data received by birdwatchers who visited the park and who share their observations with Jan Hein Ribot. Jan Hein Ribot who manages the website “Vogels in Suriname (Zuid-Amerika)” has a web link to the birds of Peperpot. This link presents a total Peperpot bird list and was built on observations beginning on 1946. Until recently this bird list represented a total species number of 294. A booklet has been written also, about the birds of Peperpot and can be bought at the office of Stichting Peperpot Nature Park or at the entrance of the Park. This booklet “Vogels van Peperpot”, give the beginning birder a good overview of bird species that are frequently encountered when walking on the bird trail. This publication has also been commissioned by WWF Guianas and is something that birders should have when visiting the bird trail of Peperpot. The corridor surrounds Peperpot Nature Park. At the moment Peperpot Nature Park is being destined for tourism purposes and is a well-known destination for birdwatchers. This nature park gains its popularity due to its locality, because it is just ten minutes of driving from Paramaribo, and it has a good representation of bird species. It is being managed by the Stichting Peperpot Nature Park, since a few years already. Stichting Peperpot Nature Park was founded to help conserve and manage the nature and cultural heritage of the old Plantation Peperpot. This foundation recently went into collaboration with WWF Guianas. Due to this partnership many activities have been undertaken recently. This bird assessment was therefore supported by WWF Guianas. 3 Study site and method The field data collection took place from 18-23 December 2011. The primary goal was to achieve baseline data of bird species that occur within the corridor. The assessment was done by collecting bird data randomly and by means of point and line counts. Random observations were done by walking on existing transects and by taking notes of all bird species that could be heard and seen. I make use of an 8x10 binocular (Eagle Optic) to spot birds and an Mp3 player (JWIN) with bird sounds to verify sounds or to attract bird species, when necessary. According to Bibby, Jones & Marsden (2000), collecting data via point count gives the observer more time to concentrate fully on the birds and their habitats, because you do not have to spend time to watch where you walk. Bibby et al. (2000) also claimed that this method of data collection is suitable to detect the cryptic and skulking species. Line counts are good for quickly recording more bird species and to decrease the chance of double recording the same specimen (Bibby et al., 2000). Figure 1 Map of the corridor (with green square signs indicating 50m point count transect and red triangle signs 200m line count transects) 4 **The green signs along the Paulus kreek do not represents 50m point count transects. Since both point and line counts have benefits, I also decided to establish both Point and Line count transects in each of the five sub-areas of the Corridor. I decided to do so, to increase data collecting chances, by using methods that are relatively easy to conduct and can be repeated. For the collection of point count data, 50 m transects were established. Within these 50 m transects three fixed points were set, which were all marked with flagging tape flags and separated at a distance of 25 m. To collect line count data, 200 m line transects were made. On each 200 m line count transect, five fixed points were set, which were all marked with flagging tape flags and separated at a distance of 50 m. The line count transects were walked each morning between 6.20 am – 6.50 am. Observations on the point count transect were conducted after 6.50 am but not after 9.00 am. I choose not to collect point and line count data after 9.00 am, since bird activity drop dramatically. Data collection on both type of transects lasted for exactly 30 minutes. After 9.00 am bird data collection was done randomly. The Simpson‟s D Estimate index was calculated for each transect, to compare for bird diversity. Noteworthy observations Although not many game birds were observed; a good representation of birds among different families were found. The corridor consists of a diversity of ecosystems. Besides the good numbers of commercially interesting bird species of which tanagers and manakins are part of, a quite good representation of raptors can be found. It should be noted with some caution, that it is very likely that a Harpy eagle was observed. Since no picture has been taken to proof its occurrence and because the specimen was also too far, it might be still a good candidate to look for, because