Magnificent Frigatebird at Codrington’s Frigatebird Sanctuary © Visual Echo

Conservation Takes Flight in Barbuda

A Caribbean Community Unites to Protect Their Feathered Friends

The Caribbean’s Leeward Islands chain holds not one but two islands ripe with white (and pink!) sands, resplendent nature, and laid-back luxury. The sibling islands of Antigua and Barbuda have long lured travellers with their dynamic tourism offerings. Antigua—the larger of the two— boasts picturesque coastal resorts, storied colonial towns, and some of the best sailing in the world. Barbuda is the poster child of unspoiled tropical nature, with teeming reefs and verdant mangroves aplenty. Antigua and Barbuda is known for its famously hospitable and welcoming populace, though in recent years, a decidedly different group of island denizens have found themselves in the spotlight.

Enter the Magnificent Frigatebird, a fitting name for the strikingly-coloured national bird of Antigua and Barbuda. These aren’t the kind of birds you might spy flitting about in your backyard: these awesome avians have a wingspan of up to 1.8 metres and live for up to 45 years. Though they are almost always sighted close to the water, frigatebirds aren’t aquatic, as they lack the oil glands necessary to dive. Instead, these “Robber Birds” or “Man’o’wars,” as local folklore sometimes names them, chase and steal the prey of other endemic seabirds in thrilling aerial showdowns.

The red-throated male Frigatebirds are natural performers, partial to one particularly dazzling trick. Inflating the sac on their throat to massive, balloon-like proportions, the males ready themselves for the fierce competition to attract a female. Their spirited, dramatic mating displays have quickly become a can’t-miss theatre for locals and visitors. Clicking, trilling, drumming, and dancing, the male Frigatebirds conduct the Broadway spectacle of a lifetime. From the middle of summer through to the next spring, the mangroves of Codrington Lagoon National Park (where thousands of Frigatebirds live) come alive with the sounds of this natural symphony.

The privilege of hosting one of the world’s largest and most thriving colonies of Frigatebirds comes with the responsibility to protect it. The government of Antigua and Barbuda takes this commitment very seriously. As global demand for eco-tourism experiences continues to increase, the importance of sustainable tourism practices and robust conservation programs also grows. Strict legal protections alone have failed in other regions of the Caribbean, where vulnerable land-based nests have been endangered by overtourism. The secret to Antigua and Barbuda’s conservation success? The local community.

Codrington Lagoon National Park is managed by a community council that has drawn upon generations of appreciation and reverence for the birds to unite the people of Barbuda and protect them. Boundaries in the park are meticulously maintained and patrolled by community members and wardens. Access to the nesting ground is gated through registered local guides, most of whom have decades of experience. While visitors can still get up close and personal with the birds, the knowledgeable and passionate guides ensure the ecosystem is undisturbed and the nests remain untrampled by careless footfalls. Having grown up with these birds and living amongst them daily, these guides have become de facto conservation ambassadors and eco-tourism leaders in the country, ensuring the Frigatebirds have a bright (and noisy) future in Barbuda.

You can learn more about Antigua and Barbuda and start planning your expedition to Codrington’s Frigatebird Sanctuary at visitantiguabarbuda.com