Barbuda – David J. Kent

Hurricane Irma caused irretrievable damage to the very islands in the Caribbean we had spent many wonderful days on last year. We had met some amazing people on the trip and the devastation is hard to imagine.

Our first and last stops on an 8 day sailing cruise were St. Maarten, the Dutch side of the island. Watching the news and seeing how badly the French side was damaged was heartbreaking. I nearly lost it when I saw the photos of the St. Maarten airport. My preview of the trip included this article about how low the planes fly over the beach to land.

Now that famous beach looks like this.

St. Maarten airport after Irma 2017

The area to the right is the ocean, the left is the approach to the runway. We had drinks at the bar where the shoreline meets those red-roofed buildings. The bar itself is no longer there. All that sand on the left side of the road, sprayed up on the end of the runway; that sand used to be a beach on the right side of the road. Now only rocks remain. Over in the central town, much of the area where we stayed in a small hotel along a restaurant-lined boardwalk and beach has been destroyed, or at least ravaged.

Another island we visited was Barbuda. It has an amazing frigate bird rookery, which I wrote about here. Before the storm the frigates outnumbered the human population of Barbuda. Today, Barbuda is uninhabited by people. Every single one of the 1800 people have been evacuated, mostly to Antigua.

Barbuda after Irma 2017

Virtually every building was damaged; most were destroyed. At this point I haven’t been able to find out how the frigate bird sanctuary fared.

Other islands we visited were also severely damaged by Irma. Hurricane Jose, following along right behind Irma, seemed at first headed for St. Maarten and Barbuda, but luckily veered north and spared them a second direct hit. It will be years before the islands are restored. For Barbuda, it might be never.

As heartbreaking as this is, I have fond memories of these islands. Once they recover I would like to visit again. I hope I have that chance.

David J. Kent is an avid science traveler and the author of Lincoln: The Man Who Saved America, now available. His previous books include Tesla: The Wizard of Electricity and Edison: The Inventor of the Modern World (both Fall River Press). He has also written two e-books: Nikola Tesla: Renewable Energy Ahead of Its Time and Abraham Lincoln and Nikola Tesla: Connected by Fate.

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On my recent sailing cruise to the Caribbean I spent time on seven islands, six of which have volcanic origins and have mountainous geographies. Barbuda is the exception. The first feature that makes it stand out from the rest is that it is flat. So flat that the one tiny point on it that stands 125 feet above sea level is called the “highlands.”

Barbuda

Part of the twin-island country of Antigua and Barbuda, there isn’t much to see beyond its flatness. Only about 1600 people live here, with at least two-thirds of those living in the main town of Codrington, named after the former slave owners who maintained a “slave nursery” in the 1700 (slavery was finally outlawed in 1834). Tourists who wander here in small ships can view the Martello Tower, all that remains of an old fort, and stroll on the miles of pink sand beach.

But we were here for the frigate birds.

Frigate birds Barbuda

Barbuda hosts one of the most accessible frigate bird sanctuaries in the world. Speed boating across the flat lagoon from Codrington gets you to a low-lying area inhabited by over 5000 frigate birds. As you approach, hundreds of these huge birds – wingspans can reach up to 7 feet or more – fill the skies.

So many birds that they crowd the available branches.

Unlike most seabirds, frigates don’t ever land in the sea. With the largest wing-area-to-body-weight ratio of any bird, along with the characteristic “W” shape of their wingspread and long forked tails, they can remain aloft for hours. With only minimal oil produced to protect their feathers from getting waterlogged, they aren’t built for swimming. Even walking is problematic, which is why they flop down into the nearest low branches when they need to rest. The reduced webbing on their feet frees up the end of their toes, just enough to hang on to the branches.

As the photos show, the females are larger than the males and have whiter underbellies. Juveniles remain all white for some time, taking up to eight to eleven years to reach sexual maturity. Males are all black but have the most distinct feature – a red gular pouch.

Frigate birds Barbuda

The brilliantly scarlet throat pouch can be inflated by the male to attract females during the mating season, which is pretty much all year long. Once inflated it takes a while to deflate, so you’ll see a lot of red pouches even when the male is finished his display. Most often the males sit in the branches, turn their beaks skyward, and vibrate their bills to make a drumming sound in an effort to lure the females flying overhead. If startled, the males may fly off with their pouches still inflated. Females do the choosing of mate, signifying her choice by engaging in mutual “head-snaking” and allowing the male to take her bill in his. Females lay only one egg at a time and both parents take turns incubating it for up to 55 days, after which they feed the young for many months (though the male usually becomes bored after about 3 months and wanders off). Because young frigates take so long to mature, females may breed only once every two years.

As I made my way back to the ship I couldn’t help wondering what impacts climate change would have on Barbuda in all its flatness. The Union of Concerned Scientists suggests that Barbuda is in grave danger from rising sea levels and ocean acidification. Estimate sea level increase of between 2.6 to 6.6 feet would swamp this tiny island, while changes in weather patterns could decrease the availability of fresh water and enhance the extremity of the periodic hurricanes that plague these islands. Clearly there is a dire need to take action.

Future impacts on the frigate bird sanctuary are unclear. The particular species seen on Barbuda is Fregata magnificens, the Magificent Frigatebird. It would be a shame to see such magnificence perish from the earth.

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