It is not very often that an NGO (Non-Governmental Organisation) in Bermuda can say that it has acquired property totalling ten islands, but such is the case for the Bermuda Audubon Society which recently secured a lease for the ten islands situated in Harrington Sound known as “Cockroach Island”. Through the significant generosity and environmental consideration of Mrs. Josephine Wilkinson-Gould, the Wilkinson Trust has entered into a ten-year lease with the Bermuda Audubon Society whereby we rent and manage these islands for one dollar per year. In the agreement the Audubon Society has pledged to remove all invasive plant species, replant with indigenous plants and install nesting boxes for White-tailed Tropicbirds (Longtails).

For those of you who know Cockroach Island, historically referred to as Cockroach Rock, you will know that the island is a small quaint “piece of the rock” surrounded by a number of tiny islets. While we tend to think of islands as masses of land that rise up from the ocean floor through volcanic eruption or shifting sea floor we know that this was not the case with Cockroach Island and its associated islets. Rather these islands fell from the cliff coastline and landed picturesquely in the sandy shallows at the base of Abbots Cliff. Once a part of the cliff itself, these huge chunks most likely gave way hundreds of years ago under the pressures of bio-erosion. Below the water of this very distinctive steep shoreline lies an incredibly deep undercut, the result of thousands of marine organisms burrowing deeply into the limestone cliffs just below low tide level. This process weakens the cliff and large blocks of limestone fall into the Sound. Through this process the Cockroach Island chain evolved.

The main island comprises an area of 0 .068 Ha while the total land of all the islets inclusive is only 0.088Ha. While the acreage of the property is small, the romantic charm of these islands is truly awe-inspiring. Remote from roads or bridges and tucked into the far northern cliff of Harrington Sound, the island sits in a peaceful paradise of calm water, rich marine life and a host of bird species. It was while on Cockroach Island as a teenager that I first scrutinized the magnificent antics of Ospreys as they performed dynamic aerial diversions overhead, alongside countless graceful longtails dancing in the sky. It was here that the ‘Mussel-man’ Charles Trott would pull his day’s dredge ashore to shuck the meat from the turkey wing mussel shells before a row across the sound and delivery to the stores. On occasion he could be found steaming the mussels in an old kettle under the shade of shoreline shrubbery just before dusk. Today, only a beach of mussel shells remains as a reminder of days gone by.

Cockroach Island is by no means infested with roaches, in fact rarely can one be found amongst the craggy rocks and undergrowth and it remains a mystery to this writer how the island came by that name as it is deserving of a much more endearing name. Our thanks and utmost appreciation go to Mrs. Wilkinson-Gould for her generosity and to David Summers and Dr. David Wingate for devising and implementing the plan to preserve these islands for the future.

PAGET MARSH

Jeremy Madeiros

image005a Anyone who has ever travelled along the busy Middle Road in Paget near the traffic lights has probably noticed the large area of lush vegetation between St. Paul's Church and Lover's Lane. This is Paget Marsh, one of the last surviving fragments of the endemic forest that covered the island prior to colonization in 1609.

Paget Marsh was the second nature reserve acquired by the Bermuda Audubon Society, and is jointly owned with the Bermuda National Trust. Two separate areas of the marsh had already been acquired by the Trust (then the Historical Monuments Trust) in the 1950's. The key 8.2-acre central portion of the marsh was obtained by the society from the Mary Gray estate following a fund raising drive launched in 1965. The purchase price was PDS 800 per acre, with the Society managing to raise the full amount in two years. The combined marsh area totals over 20 acres, and is managed co-operatively by the Bermuda National Trust/Audubon Society with assistance from the Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Parks Conservation Division.

Paget Marsh boardwalk – opened 1999

image007a Paget Marsh is the least disturbed of Bermuda's peat marshes, most of which have either been completely destroyed by rubble/garbage dumping, clearance of tree cover or burned. Its most unique feature is approximately 14 acres of endemic Bermuda Cedar/Palmetto 'hammock' forest, which once covered pre-colonial Bermuda. This is the last place where a large sample of the original primeval forest cover of the island remains intact. In the shade of this forest survive a variety of native and endemic sedges, shrubs, and ferns, which are dependent on the particular conditions found in this habitat. The rare endemic Bermuda Sedge Carex bermudiana and St. Andrew's Cross Ascyrum hypericoides are examples of plants, which are now almost confined to Paget Marsh.

The marsh is particularly important and interesting in that it contains a wide variety of wetland habitats, ranging from open water ditches and saw-grass savanna, to hammock forest, wax-myrtle thickets and pure stands of Red Mangrove Rhizophora mangle. This diversity of habitats makes Paget Marsh especially interesting and important as a biological and educational resource.

Man's impact on Paget Marsh has mainly come through the digging of drainage ditches around the periphery of the marsh in the 1940's and the introduction of aggressive acid soil-loving plant species. The most aggressive of these non-native plants to gain a foothold in the marsh are the Guava Psidium guajava and Ardisea Ardisia polycephala. By the mid 1970's they had become so dominant in places that they formed dense thickets, over-shading and destroying all but the cedar/palmetto canopy. As of this writing, Ardisea has been almost completely controlled in the marsh, and Guava is being reduced by block clearing of one acre at a time, followed by reforestation with Bermuda Cedars and other native plants in the resulting clearings. These cedars have grown extremely well, in some cases reaching 10'-15' in 5 years.

More worrying has been illegal timber stealing of large cedars in the marsh. One large theft in 1987 heavily damaged a one-acre area of the marsh, although the timber thieves were intercepted and successfully prosecuted. More recently, four large cedars were discovered cut down not far from the main entrance during an Audubon field trip on April 18th of this year.

Future management plans for the marsh include eventually culling out all non-native plants. The marsh can then be maintained by regular culling out of non-native seedlings, relying heavily on volunteer help. Volunteers have already removed many thousands of seedlings, most recently on May 1st when a small group of intrepid volunteers from the Audubon Society culled through the central part of the marsh. The culling to date has resulted in a dramatic recovery of the understory ferns and other plants, making the marsh an interesting area for tours by school study groups and conservation organisations.

Today, Paget Marsh forms an important 'green lunch' in the middle of densely populated Paget Parish. Accordingly, it is home to many local woodland birds, such as Cardinals, Catbirds and White-eyed Vireos. Orange-cheeked Waxbills are often seen in the grassy margins of the marsh, and Barn owls frequently roost in the Palmettos and hunt along the ditches. During autumn and winter, these ditches often support Snipe and Wood Duck, and even a Woodcock this winter. Last but not least, the marsh can often host various warbler species, in particular the Yellow rumped or Myrtle Warbler. As many as 100 of these striking birds have been known to spend the winter among their namesake Wax Myrtle bushes in the marsh!

SEARS CAVE NATURE RESERVE

Jeremy Madeiros

Sears Cave Nature Reserve is a small but interesting reserve in Smith's Parish. It forms the remains of a large cave chamber in which the roof has collapsed, exposing it to the elements. The resultant deep, steep-sided depression is an ideal habitat for ferns, being sheltered, shady and humid. It is the location of the largest remaining colony of Cave Fern Dryopteris speluncae, a species found in only three other tiny locations on Bermuda. The long Spleenwort Asplenium heterochroum is also present in small numbers. Large amounts of garbage dumped in the cave in the past have now mostly been removed, making the site and ideal location for establishing a botanical reserve containing many of Bermuda's upland fern species. Ferns that could be re-introduced into the cave include the endemic Bermuda Shield Fern Dryopteris bermudiana and Governor Laffan's Fern Diplazium laffanianum, and the native Toothed Spleenwort Asplenium dentatum and Plume Polypody Polypodium plumula. Sears Cave is also interesting in that it may have been a roosting or nesting site for Bermuda's only resident breeding bird of prey, the Barn Owl Tyto alba. At present, a wild hive of honeybees Apis mellifera make their home in the upper reaches of the cave. Sears Cave was a gift from the Trott family in memory of Sir Howard and Lady Trott. It was opened officially in 1992.

Somerset Long Bay Reserve (West)

David B. Wingate

The Somerset Long Bay Nature Reserve is one of the Society's more challenging, but successful accomplishments in wetland restoration. The project was initiated in 1971, when Mr. Harvey Gilbert offered an abandoned garbage dumpsite behind Somerset Long Bay beach to the Society on very generous terms. At the same time, Government was acquiring adjacent land to the east for use as public beach park. However, Harvey Gilbert's land included only half of the abandoned dumpsite and beach.

In order to obtain the ecological unit within which a comprehensive restoration could be initiated, it was first necessary to acquire the remaining filled marshland. Thanks to the cooperation of Mr. Fred Yearwood, this was finally achieved by purchase in 1972. Work on the restoration of the marshland, which had once existed behind the beach, began in 1973 under contract with Mr. Joe DeCosta. Over the course of several months a backhoe was used to excavate the pond, leaving islands where healthy stands of mangroves had survived. The excavated material, consisting of a mixture of bottles, rusted metal, rubble, soil and peat was reworked to form a level dyke and field area north and east of the new one-acre pond site. The end result brought several happy surprises:

First, the open water and mangroves created an aesthetically pleasing landscape.
Secondly, the pond turned out to be fresh rather than brackish water, despite its proximity to the beach, and soon developed the richest freshwater marsh community in Bermuda with abundant wigeon grass Ruppia maritime, fish and invertebrate life to support waterfowl. Moorhens colonized the pond within two ye3ars and began nesting in safety from predators on the mangrove islands. These were soon joined by nesting American Coots in 1983, and by 1985 there were three pairs of each species. Also in 1985 a pair of Pied-billed Grebes began nesting – only the second recorded nesting of this species on Bermuda!
Thirdly, even the field area created out of the re-worked fill turned out to be exceptionally good habitat for Grosbeaks, Buntings and Flycatchers. Some of Bermuda’s most extraordinary records in the latter category have been made here: Siberian Flycatcher from East Asia (September 1980), Fork-tailed Flycatcher from South America (May 1985) and a Western Kingbird from western North America (wintering in 1990).

This is not to say that there were no teething problems. Soon after its initial excavation by backhoe, it became apparent that the pond was too shallow and would soon be choked by the aggressive Sheathed Paspalum grass. We also received complaints from neighbours about mosquitoes, although it turned out the main source of these was a corner of the original dumpsite under the mangroves, which had not been included in the pond. Within the pond itself the introduced top-minnow Gambusia affinus achieved total control except where the Sheathed Paspalum was too thick. In order to rectify this problem a decision was made to deepen the pond, using a crane and dragline instead of a backhoe. The work was carried out in August 1979. It was following this second stage of the project that the pond attained its maximum richness and diversity with three nesting species of waterfowl.

Unfortunately, despite these successes, some problems have defied us or have been beyond our control. Because of the location of the reserve between a public beach and a densely populated residential area, there is a lot of human activity, especially in the summer. Bottle collectors have been a thorny problem, continually digging up and exposing glass in areas, which have been landscaped and planted. Illegal dumping especially of horticultural waste continues to be a problem, as is roadside littering. Just as bad is the trash, which washes ashore as flotsam on the beach. It was in order to control illegal dumping in particular, that a perimeter chain-link fence was erected around the reserve in 1985.

On 25^th September 1987, Hurricane Emily over-washed the beach and flooded the pond with saltwater, knocking down the beachside fence in the process. The salination of the pond was a major setback for the waterfowl, eliminating the nesting grebes and reducing the coots to one pair. It took several years for the pond community to recover again. The grebes nested sporadically in the 1990’s and most recently in the summer of 2000.

Over the years, heavy pruning by Belco and Telco crews to accommodate overhead wires along Daniels Head Road has caused serious damage to the Black Mangroves. In an effort to rectify this problem the Society persuaded Belco to relocate the wires, which had been routed over the Audubon reserve to the “Penguins” property in September 1989. In the same year a persistent problem from children building bridges across the water to one of the nesting islets induced the Society to widen the pond on the southern side.

In 1993, the pond hosted two Tufted Ducks, a species from Europe which had never been previously recorded in Bermuda. The grebes bred sporadically in the 1990’s and most recently in the summer of 2000. During the 1990’s, this pond like many others has become a haven for Red-eared Terrapins.

The public does not generally appreciate that more than two-thirds of the length of Somerset Long Bay beach is owned by the Society, though maintained by Government as a part of the public beach park. As a result of this relationship with Government, the Society has benefited from a Government employment-incentive work crew under the direction of the Conservation Division. Following the removal of invading species, extensive re-planting of native and salt tolerant trees and shrubs has taken place, including Southern Hackberry, Cedar, Palmetto, Pittosporum and Natal Plum.

Somerset Long Bay Reserve (East)

Jennifer Gray

Under the direction of our dynamic Buy Back Bermuda team (BAS and the Bermuda National Trust) an incredible amount of effort went into implementing the management plan to restore the old Pitman’s Pond site into the new Somerset Long Bay East Nature Reserve. Truck loads of bottles and trash and invasive species have been removed, the pond has been dredged and expanded to create a healthier environment for biodiversity and plantings of native and endemic flora abound across the landscape. Special attention was given to creating a mudflat to encourage shorebirds and islands for breeding resident birds. Finishing touches included the addition of a small dock where school groups can better view pond life, a bird observatory and educational interpretive signage. Earth Day 2007 was a memorable day indeed as the reserve was officially opened to the public.

Winifred Gibbons Nature Reserve

David B.Wingate

image011a

The Gibbons family donated the reserve to the Society in 1993. It was named in memory of Winifred Gibbons MBE., the wife of the late Hon. Edmund Gibbons. The two acres of marshland adjoining the Society's Freer Cox Memorial Nature Reserve was the third major donation of land by the Gibbons family. The two previous donations to the Bermuda National Trust were the four-acre Edmund Gibbons Nature Reserve near Devonshire Bay and the huge Locust Hall property in Devonshire.

The gifts, bequests and purchases of land in Devonshire Marsh over the years are leading towards the eventual goal of managing the last large unspoilt peat marsh basin as one large nature reserve unit in accordance with current land use zoning. It began with the lease to the Society by the Devonshire Parish Vestry of the ten-acre Freer Cox Memorial Nature Reserve in 1964. This was followed by the gift of the one-acre Firefly Reserve by Mrs. Kitty Zuill in 1970. In 1982 Mrs. Edmund Zuill generously donated approximately eight acres at the eastern end of Devonshire Marsh and a further four acres has been purchased from the residue of the Zuill estate to create a twelve-acre reserve between the industrial area and National Sports Club.

In 1989 and 1991, two more properties were received by the Bermuda National Trust as a gift and bequest respectively. The larger of these totalling six acres in the western basin of Devonshire Marsh south of Watlington Waterworks was a bequest of the Hereward Watlington estate.

The new Winifred Gibbons Nature Reserve is remarkable in that it retains endemic and native marsh flora in a pristine state virtually unaffected by the invasive exotic pant introductions, which have overwhelmed and displaced native flora in so many other parts of Bermuda. Particularly notable on this reserve are the ancient wax-myrtle bushes along the ditch edge and the exceptionally wide representation of native marsh ferns, including the now extremely rare Ten Day Fern Polystichum adianteforme.

Blue Hole Park

David B. Wingate

When Government acquired 14.58 acres at Blue Hole Park in 1992, they faced three major clean-up tasks: the demolition of a derelict house at the entrance to the park; the removal of old bleachers from the former dolphin show; and the restoration of a former mangrove pond which was filled in as garbage dump between the 1930's and 1970's.

The Audubon Society has considerable experience in restoring former garbage sites to wetland habitat (Somerset Long Bay and Stokes Point reserves being good examples). So we offered to assist the Parks Department with the planning and financing of the project. In late September a contract was signed with Island Construction Services for the use of their large track-hoe which is normally used for rock-breaking in Wilkinson Quarry. This machine was rarely available. Heavy rain and high water levels caused further delays. However, with the machine's huge bucket capacity and reach, it was able to dig out the old dump site and reopen a half acre pond in only eight working days between 19th August and 7th January 1995. The excavation produced a large quantity of useful rubble and peat soul mix. It also exposed and released thousands of glass bottles into the water, which had to be collected by boat afterwards. The plan is to create a low bank between the park entrance trail and the pond which will be densely covered with vegetation except for a small bird blind. This will enable park users to view the pond without disturbing and bird life on it.

The new pond adjoins a small grove of very tall red mangroves in a drowned sinkhole which was not encroached upon by the dump. In time the mangrove will self-seed around the edge of the pond to create a fringing mangrove swamp. The pond is saltwater and tidal via submerged caves and averages about three feet deep at medium tide. A large species of mullet has already been seen in it and the Parks Conservation Division plans to introduce and endemic Killifish Fundulus sp. from a population recently discovered in the West Walsingham ponds. Other plant and invertebrate introductions such as wigeon grass and pond snails should attract herons, egrets, waterfowl and kingfisher.

Hog Bay Park

Jeremy Madeiros

It is hard to believe that on densely populated and heavily developed Bermuda, you can still find places away from the noise and bustle of the modern age - and imagine that you are in age where modern traffic and roads do not exist.

Hog Bay Park is just such a place - one of Bermuda's newest additions to its national park system. It consists of 32.23 acres of unspoilt and almost completely undeveloped rural countryside in the southern area of Sandy's Parish. The Park is bounded to the west by sea and to the east by Middle Road. Wreck Road properties form its northern boundary while Woodlawn Road is on its southern edge.

The land is typical of what much of Bermuda looked like prior to the housing boom of the 1960's to 1980's.It is comprised of large tracts of land previously owned by three different estates. The Bermuda Government purchased the Fordham Estate in 1986, and James and Mayor Estates in 1990, for a total of $7.925 million. Historically a rural area of varied land-use (open space, agricultural land, farm dwellings and mature woodlands), these estates, unlike most of the remainder of Bermuda, have managed to retain their inherited single-family ownership and the lack of sub-dividing the land into developable tracts.

The present parkland was originally part of the "overplus" of Richard Norwood's original 1616 survey, but by 1623 it had been given to Sandy's Parish and settled accordingly. At this time Sandy's and Southampton (then known as Port Royal) had the largest population of the eight tribes, which later became the Parishes of Bermuda. This was despite the fact that the main settlement was at the opposite end of Bermuda at St. George's. This was probably because the best Farmland was found at the West End of the island. The lighter, sandy soils were presumably easier to till with the primitive farm tools than the heavier, clay rich soils typical of the middle and eastern tribes. Since the colony's emphasis was so heavily focused on the cultivation of tobacco and maize in the early years, it is likely that these were the main occupations of the tenants on this property in the early days of Bermuda's settlement.

Farming continued to play an important role on this property throughout the eighteenth, nineteenth and twentieth centuries. Prior to the nineteenth century, most of the farming operations were evidently carried out under the direction of the primary landowner in the estate house, "The Hermitage." Later operations were carried out from the "Doubloon House". Through the years, different property owners of the land which now comprises Hog Bay Park have been: Sir John Heydon, Captain Henry Tucker, The Outerbridges, Browns, Trotts, Fordhams, James and Mayors. The agricultural heritage of this area continues to the present day, with about fourteen arable plots, located throughout the park, being farmed by Mr. Junior Hill under lease from the Bermuda Government.

At least nine known locations of archaeological value are found throughout the park. Graduate Anthropology students from the College of William and Mary in Williamsburg, Virginia have undertaken fieldwork around several of these sites during the summers of 1992/1993. Many interesting artifacts and construction details were discovered and catalogued during these field sessions.

Some of the most interesting and unique aspects of Hog Bay Park are its extensive woodland and thicket areas and the steep windswept coastal hillside, which sweeps down to Brown's Bay on the westernmost coastline of Bermuda. This hillside is dotted with the bleached skeletons of Bermuda Cedars Juniper bermudiana, killed by the scale insect epidemic of the 1940's and 50's. Healthy young Cedars are regenerating naturally throughout the park, however, supplemented by new plantings.

Hog Bay Park ranks high among the best birding locations in Bermuda, with well over 120 species being recorded in recent years. Its large size, underdeveloped nature and mix of habitats, including fields, copses, thickets, mature woodland and coastline, attract a wide range of bird species. These have included, Olive-sided Flycatcher, Orchard Oriole, Clay-coloured Sparrow, Painted Bunting, Purple Finch and Rough-legged Hawk. During the winter period and spring and fall migrations, Spotted Sandpipers, Great Blue and Yellow-Crowned Night Herons are often seen along the coast. The woodlands and thickets are host to a large rang of warblers, orioles, tanagers and other land birds. Fallow fields can contain large flocks and Bobolinks and Blue Grosbeaks and the skies can be patrolled by the likes of Peregrine Falcons, Merlins and Chimney Swifts.

Future plans for the park call for the preservation of the underdeveloped nature of the area, while carrying out further plantings of endemic and native plants. There are also plans to provide a freshwater pond using plastic liner and possibly a bird observation blind. Parking facilities on the edge of Middle Road will also be improved. Hog Bay Park can be explored by parking just inside the main gate off Middle Road and then walking along the extensive network of footpaths and farm tracks. It is best to stay on or near these paths, as poison ivy is common in the central part of the park.

Spittal Pond

Andrew Dobson

image013a Spittal Pond is widely regarded as the best birdwatching location in Bermuda. Two species of birds are resident on Spittal Pond. There are several pairs of Mallard and Common Gallinule (Moorhen). Moorhens are often seen on the small woodland pond, or feeding on the edge of the main pond. The Greater Flamingo (former BAMZ inmate) has resided for over 12 years.

Resident birds in the woodland include great Kiskadee, Grey Catbird, White-eyed Vireo, Northern Cardinal and European Goldfinch. During the winter months the trees and thickets provide shelter for a number of winter species such as Black-and-white Warbler, American Redstart, Ovenbird and Northern Waterthrush. Indigo Buntings are common and the males are already gaining their blue spring plumage. The pond provides a feeding ground for waterfowl, notably Blue-winged Teal. Regular duck species include Green-winged image015a Teal, American Black Duck, Northern Shoveler, American Wigeon, Ring-necked Duck, Lesser Scaup and Hooded Merganser. Uncommon duck species visiting in recent years have included Northern pintail, Gadwall, Eurasian Wigeon, Greater Scaup, Oldsquaw, Surf Scoter, Common Goldeneye and Ruddy Duck. American Coots usually winter on the pond and there are often at least a dozen Pied-billed Grebes.

The margins of the pond are important for herons and egrets. The Yellow-crowned Night-Heron is resident. It feeds at night on land crabs. Please respect its privacy and remain as quiet as possible when observing its daytime roosting site. Other herons (Great Blue, Little Blue and Green) and egrets (Great and Snowy) are often seen feeding during the day and some roost here at night. Cattle Egrets are often with cattle on the farm.

If you were to visit in late summer or the early fall, the exposed mudflats would host numerous species of migrant shorebirds including plovers, yellowlegs and sandpipers. Overhead you might see swallows and martins. Migrant warbler species are common in the casuarina woodlands at both ends of the pond.

Finally, do not forget to look out to sea. The White-tailed Tropicbirds (Longtails) can be seen from February to October. Shearwaters pass off-shore (south-west to north-east) during spring migration and can be seen during periods of on-shore winds (especially south-easterlies). Manx Shearwaters appear from February, but Cory’s, Greater and Sooty are not regularly seen before mid to late April. Humpbacked Whale migration peaks in mid-April and Spanish Rock at Spittal Pond provides a good vantage point.