St Philip Shooting Swamps (20351)
Barbados, Caribbean

Site overview

KBA status: confirmed

Global KBA criteria: B1, D1a

Year of last assessment: 2009

National site name: St Philip Shooting Swamps

Central coordinates: Latitude: 13.1573, Longitude: -59.4500

System: marine, terrestrial

Elevation (m): 38 to 42

Area of KBA (km²): 0.1384

KBA classification: Global

Legacy site: Yes

Site details

Site description: Collectively, the shooting swamps in the eastern parish of St. Philip at: N 13° 07' 30.12', W 59° 27' 40.21'; N 13° 09' 24.83', W 59° 27' 19.31' east to N 13° 09' 26.97, W 59° 26' 56.40' form an IBA. These artificially created and maintained wetlands average 4 to 5 acres in extent and are all situated on private land. The express purpose is to provide habitat for migrating sandpipers so they can be shot. Generally, the immediate environs of these wetlands is pasture.

Rationale for qualifying as KBA: This site qualifies as a Key Biodiversity Area of international significance that meets the thresholds for at least one criterion described in the Global Standard for the Identification of KBAs.

Additional biodiversity: It is reported that a collective total from all these swamps of between 7 and 15 thousand Nearctic-nesting sandpipers are shot annually (see text for target species). Empirical evidence indicates that larger flights (and therefore the number of birds shot) are weather-dependent. More birds stop when affected by adverse weather conditions associated with tropical Atlantic waves, depressions and storms. Thus, numbers stopping vary from year to year in the season from July to October. Estimates vary and numbers shot are an unknown percentage of the total numbers passing. These wetlands also provide necessary habitat for non-target species. Non-bird biodiversity: Not applicable.

Delineation rationale: Mark has the complete shapefiles.

Habitats

Summary of habitats in KBA: These wetlands are situated around a centrally located shooting hut. Ponds (called 'trays' locally) vary in depth from shallow mudflats to deeper areas with aquatic vegetation.

Land use: hunting

IUCN Habitat	Coverage %	Habitat detail
Artificial - Aquatic	100

Threats

Summary of threats to biodiversity at KBA: Beyond the obvious, if hunting were restricted or banned the shooting clubs would simply stop pumping water and the wetland would no longer be available for other non-target waterbirds.

Additional information