I’ve managed to escape from the UK and get over to Bonaire! It’s odd to see the project chugging along but not be part of the fieldwork. Rhian has been extremely busy training and managing the team and then scattering them across the island every morning and every afternoon. The logistics of this is incredibly tricky because by the time you have got the hang of it (ie. during the incubation period) the situation changes.
Things have been going well and one pair has even laid five eggs, which Rowan and I had never seen in our 3 years. Even on Bonaire I was doing quite a bit on my thesis but I did manage to get out into the field and see some parrot chicks, which was great for me.
A big reason for the trip to Bonaire was to take the opportunity to meet with other NGOs on Bonaire. The week ended up being even more manically busy then usual but we did get to talk with lots of people about our future ideas for the development of the project. We even talked with policy advisors and the Commissioner for the Environment. Everyone was very receptive to our ideas for further, broader conservation and research initiatives and it is a very exciting time!
In addition to doing the field work Rhian has been courting the media! She has taken over the bi-weekly local newspaper project updates that I had done in previous years and she’s been posing for a photographer friend who has written an article on the project for a Caribbean magazine. The main picture from this photo shoot even made it on to the front page of the main Papiamentu newspaper which was a big success.
And finally we’ve had another excellent bit of media coverage. Following a visit last year an article by the Audubon Magazine has just come out, you can see it on this link:
http://www.audubonmagazine.org/features0907/greentravel.html
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