Codrington Lagoon

Last updated
Codrington Lagoon
Barbuda ISS008-E-7945.jpg
Codrington Lagoon on Barbuda [1]
Antigua and Barbuda location map Topographic.png
Red pog.svg
Codrington Lagoon
Location Barbuda, Antigua and Barbuda
Coordinates 17°39′N61°50′W / 17.650°N 61.833°W / 17.650; -61.833
Type lagoon
Official nameCodrington Lagoon
Designated2 June 2005
Reference no.1488 [2]

Codrington Lagoon is a long lagoon which takes up much of the west of the Caribbean island of Barbuda. Its access to the sea was once only via Cuffy Creek, at the northern tip of the lagoon, but in 2019 the western edge of the lagoon was destroyed by storms and the lagoon is now completely open to the sea. The water is shallow, and much of the shore of the northern half of the lagoon is marshland. The town of Codrington, the main settlement on the island, is located on the eastern shore of the lagoon.

Frigatebird colony

To the north of Codrington is a frigatebird colony, centered on the lagoon's tiny Man of War Island, a forty-minute boat ride from Antigua. The colony, known as the Frigate Bird Sanctuary, is one of the main ecotourism attractions in Barbuda. During the mating season, from September to April, this rare bird displays a huge scarlet throat pouch to attract a female mate; the pair will lay one egg on a nest built precariously on the mangrove. These birds cannot walk or swim; they soar high in the clouds and live solely on fish, which they often steal from other birds, giving them their local name, Man of war. They have few predators here, making this nesting site is one of the most important in the world for these endangered birds.

Codrington Lagoon's magnificent frigatebird colony, the largest in the Caribbean region, had an estimated 2,500 nesting pairs prior to Hurricane Irma landfall in September 2017. [3] The lagoon was inundated by Hurricane Irma's storm surge and its impact on the colony is still unknown. [3]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Antigua and Barbuda</span> Country in the Lesser Antilles of the West Indies

Antigua and Barbuda is a sovereign island country in the West Indies. It lies at the conjuncture of the Caribbean Sea and the Atlantic Ocean in the Leeward Islands part of the Lesser Antilles.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Europa Island</span> French atoll in the Mozambique Channel

Europa Island, in Malagasy Nosy Ampela is a 28-square-kilometre (11 sq mi) low-lying tropical atoll in the Mozambique Channel, about a third of the way from southern Madagascar to southern Mozambique. The island had never been inhabited until 1820, when the French family Rosier moved to it. The island officially became a possession of France in 1897.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Barbuda</span> Island in Antigua and Barbuda

Barbuda is an island located in the eastern Caribbean forming part of the twin-island state of Antigua and Barbuda as an autonomous entity. Barbuda is located approximately 30 miles (48 km) north of Antigua. The sole settlements on the island are Codrington and its surrounding localities. Barbuda is a flat island with the western portion being dominated by Codrington Lagoon, and the eastern portion being dominated by the Barbuda Highlands, with salty ponds and scrubland spread throughout the island. The climate is classified as tropical marine.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Anegada</span> Northernmost of the British Virgin Islands

Anegada is the northernmost of the British Virgin Islands (BVI), a group of islands that form part of the archipelago of the Virgin Islands. It lies approximately 15 miles (24 km) north of Virgin Gorda. Anegada is the only inhabited British Virgin Island formed from coral and limestone, rather than being of volcanic origin. While the other islands are mountainous, Anegada is flat and low. Its highest point is only about 28 feet (8.5 m) above sea level, earning it its name, which is the Spanish term for the flooded land, "tierra anegada".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ashy storm petrel</span> Species of bird

The ashy storm petrel is a small, scarce seabird of the storm petrel family Hydrobatidae. It breeds colonially on islands off the coasts of California and Mexico, and is one of six species of storm petrel that live and feed in the rich California Current system.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bermuda petrel</span> Species of bird

The Bermuda petrel is a gadfly petrel. Commonly known in Bermuda as the cahow, a name derived from its eerie cries, this nocturnal ground-nesting seabird is the national bird of Bermuda and can be found pictured on Bermudian currency. The Bermuda petrel is the second rarest seabird on the planet. They have medium-sized body and long wings, a greyish-black crown and collar, dark grey upper-wings and tail, white upper-tail coverts and white under-wings edged with black, and the underparts are completely white.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Codrington, Barbuda</span> City in Barbuda, Antigua and Barbuda

Codrington is the only major settlement on the island of Barbuda, which is part of the country of Antigua and Barbuda. Codrington coincides with the Major Division of Codrington, one of the two major divisions on Barbuda. Codrington lies on the Codrington Lagoon, and is the northernmost major settlement in the country. As of 2011, Codrington had a population of 796 people.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Great frigatebird</span> Species of bird (Fregata minor)

The great frigatebird is a large seabird in the frigatebird family. There are major nesting populations in the tropical Pacific Ocean, such as Hawaii and the Galápagos Islands; in the Indian Ocean, colonies can be found in the Seychelles and Mauritius, and there is a tiny population in the South Atlantic, mostly on and around St. Helena and Boatswain Bird Island.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Least tern</span> Species of bird

The least tern is a species of tern that breeds in North America and locally in northern South America. It is closely related to, and was formerly often considered conspecific with, the little tern of the Old World. Other close relatives include the yellow-billed tern and Peruvian tern, both from South America.

<i>Wild Caribbean</i> British TV series or programme

Wild Caribbean is a four-part BBC nature documentary series exploring the natural and cultural history of the Caribbean Islands and Sea. It was first transmitted in the UK on BBC Two in January 2007. The series was produced by the BBC Natural History Unit and narrated by actor Steve Toussaint. This series also aired in Australia on ABC1 each Sunday at 7:30pm from 15 February 2009.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Barbuda warbler</span> Species of bird

The Barbuda warbler is a species of bird in the family Parulidae. It is endemic to the island of Barbuda in Antigua and Barbuda. Its natural habitat is tropical dry shrubland near wetland areas. It is threatened by habitat loss. It once was considered a subspecies of the Adelaide's warbler. In September 2017, the warbler's habitat was massively damaged by Hurricane Irma. Despite this, the species was found to have survived the storm and its aftermath, and later surveys have indicated that the species was not significantly affected by the hurricane. However, it is still threatened by unplanned housing development, garbage dumping, and poor land-use practices.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Barbuda Codrington Airport</span> Airport

Barbuda Codrington Airport is a public airport serving the village of Codrington, on the island of Barbuda. It has a very short runway.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Geography of Antigua and Barbuda</span>

Antigua and Barbuda lie in the eastern arc of the Leeward Islands of the Lesser Antilles, separating the Atlantic Ocean from the Caribbean Sea. Antigua is 650 km (400 mi) southeast of Puerto Rico; Barbuda lies 48 km (30 mi) due north of Antigua, and the uninhabited island of Redonda is 56 km (35 mi) southwest of Antigua.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Seabird breeding behavior</span>

The term seabird is used for many families of birds in several orders that spend the majority of their lives at sea. Seabirds make up some, if not all, of the families in the following orders: Procellariiformes, Sphenisciformes, Pelecaniformes, and Charadriiformes. Many seabirds remain at sea for several consecutive years at a time, without ever seeing land. Breeding is the central purpose for seabirds to visit land. The breeding period is usually extremely protracted in many seabirds and may last over a year in some of the larger albatrosses; this is in stark contrast with passerine birds. Seabirds nest in single or mixed-species colonies of varying densities, mainly on offshore islands devoid of terrestrial predators. However, seabirds exhibit many unusual breeding behaviors during all stages of the reproductive cycle that are not extensively reported outside of the primary scientific literature.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Booby Pond Nature Reserve</span>

Booby Pond Nature Reserve is a protected wetland on Little Cayman, one of the Cayman Islands, a British Overseas Territory in the Caribbean Sea.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gaston Browne</span> Prime Minister of Antigua and Barbuda

Gaston Alfonso Browne is an Antiguan politician serving as the prime minister of Antigua and Barbuda and leader of the Labour Party since 2014. Before entering politics, he was a banker and businessman.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hurricane Irma</span> Category 5 Atlantic hurricane in 2017

Hurricane Irma was an extremely powerful Cape Verde hurricane that caused widespread destruction across its path in September 2017. Irma was the first Category 5 hurricane to strike the Leeward Islands on record, followed by Maria two weeks later. At the time, it was considered the most powerful hurricane on record in the open Atlantic region, outside of the Caribbean Sea and Gulf of Mexico, until it was surpassed by Hurricane Dorian two years later. It was also the third-strongest Atlantic hurricane at landfall ever recorded, just behind the 1935 Labor Day Hurricane and Dorian.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hurricane Jose (2017)</span> Category 4 Atlantic hurricane in 2017

Hurricane Jose was a powerful and erratic tropical cyclone which was the longest-lived Atlantic hurricane since Hurricane Nadine in 2012. Jose was the tenth named storm, fifth hurricane, and third major hurricane of the 2017 Atlantic hurricane season. Jose developed into a tropical storm on September 5 from a tropical wave that left the west coast of Africa nearly a week prior. A period of rapid intensification ensued on September 6, when Jose reached hurricane intensity. On September 8, it reached its peak intensity as a high-end Category 4 with 1-minute sustained winds of 155 mph. However, due to wind shear, it weakened over the next few days as it completed an anti-cyclonic loop north of Hispaniola. Despite weakening to a tropical storm on September 14, Jose managed to regain hurricane intensity the next day as it began to curve northward. Never strengthening above Category 1 status for the remainder of its lifespan, Jose degraded to a tropical storm once again on September 20. Two days later, Jose degenerated into a post-tropical cyclone as it drifted northeastwards off the coast of New England. By September 26, Jose's remnants had dissipated off the East Coast of the United States.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Climate change in the Caribbean</span> Emissions, impacts and responses of the Caribbean region related to climate change

Climate changein the Caribbean poses major risks to the islands in the Caribbean. The main environmental changes expected to affect the Caribbean are a rise in sea level, stronger hurricanes, longer dry seasons and shorter wet seasons. As a result, climate change is expected to lead to changes in the economy, environment and population of the Caribbean. Temperature rise of 2 °C above preindustrial levels can increase the likelihood of extreme hurricane rainfall by four to five times in the Bahamas and three times in Cuba and Dominican Republic. Rise in sea level could impact coastal communities of the Caribbean if they are less than 3 metres (10 ft) above the sea. In Latin America and the Caribbean, it is expected that 29–32 million people may be affected by the sea level rise because they live below this threshold. The Bahamas is expected to be the most affected because at least 80% of the total land is below 10 meters elevation.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Squatting in Antigua and Barbuda</span>

Squatting in the island country of Antigua and Barbuda in the West Indies is the occupation of unused land or derelict buildings without the permission of the owner. Historically, native Barbudans were seen as squatters and after Hurricane Irma in 2017, Prime Minister Gaston Browne offered people he termed squatters the chance to buy their land.

References

  1. "NGA GEOnet Names Server". National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency. 2008-07-07. Archived from the original on 2003-10-08. Retrieved 2008-07-22.
  2. "Codrington Lagoon". Ramsar Sites Information Service. Retrieved 25 April 2018.
  3. 1 2 Lewis, Emma; Sutton, Ann. "After the Storm". BirdsCaribbean. 2017-09-11. Retrieved 2017-09-18.