Current view: Text account
Site description (2006 baseline):
Site location and context
The site includes the sandy beach of Perseverance Bay, two inland salt ponds (lagoons), and the moist forest watershed upland from the ponds to highway #xx, an area of approximately 40 hectares. The ponds are joined by a very shallow channel and are located about 50 meters inland from the beach behind well vegetated sand dunes. Upland of the ponds is a flat moist forest zone extending about 100 meters northward and transitions into a steep slope of rocky terrain forming the watershed of these lagoons. A single ghaut about 2-3 meters wide runs down the slope and coincides with the footpath at several locations. Midway between the highway and the lagoon area are the un-restored ruins of a sugar cane estate refinery. There is a narrow footpath from the highway down to the lagoons maintained by occasional local fisherman, birders, and beach visitors. The property is privately owned and completely undeveloped at present.
The upland forest provides very good habitat for the only resident warbler (
Dendroica petechia, Yellow Warbler) plus numerous migratory species of warblers including Northern Parulas, Caribbean Elaenia, Black-and-Whites, Yellow-rumped, Blackpolls, American Redstarts, Ovenbirds, and Northern Waterthrushes. The upper forest zone has Mangrove Cuckoos, Smooth-billed Anis, Pearly-eyed Thrashers, Scaley-naped Pigeons and Zenaida Doves. Antillean Crested Hummingbirds nest near the ponds and in the adjacent forest. Grey Kingbirds nest in the mangroves adjacent to the ponds. Waterbirds of the ponds include White-cheeked Pintails, Black-necked Stilts (nesting), Lesser Yellowlegs, Spotted Sandpipers, Great Egrets, Common Moorhens, and American Coots.
Non-bird biodiversity: Numerous iguanas live in the littoral woodlands and are occasionally seen on the beach. The most commonly observed invertebrates in the upper forests are Hermit crabs, Golden Orb spiders, and giant millipedes. The inland vegetation is primarily moist forest secondary growth with a mixed shade tolerant understorey of wild pineapple and woody saplings. Numerous large fruiting trees have become established in this former plantation providing habitat and food for white-tailed deer, iguanas, and birds. Adjacent moist soil areas are very densely populated with small land crabs.
The two main ponds are less than 2 hectares each with a narrow (2-3 meters) corridor of red mangroves in shallow water (< 10 cm) between them. Both ponds are filled with similar brackish water containing no emergent vegetation. Pond depths average less than 0.5 meters and the bottoms are covered with a dense algal mat. Water levels of the ponds varies with seasons and rainfall but have not been observed dry or lacking water communication with each other. Sand dunes on their southern edges seem to prevent entrance of surface sea water except, perhaps, during extreme storms. The dunes are well vegetated with black mangroves, sea grapes, sparse herbaceous understorey, sea purslane, and beach grass. Between the beach dunes and the ponds is a band of littoral woodland. Borders of the lagoons are vegetated with red mangroves at the waters' edges and black mangroves in the adjacent moist soil areas that are very densely populated with small land crabs.
Pressure/threats to key biodiversity
The site is privately owned, except the beachfront area, and subject to development by the owner(s). Although current use is very limited because of difficult access, the isolated attractive beach with its near shore coral reefs provides an appealing site for beachgoers and snorkeling. There is no housing or agricultural development in the upper watershed but any future clearing would subject the slopes and lagoons to severe erosion and sedimentation due to the extremely steep slope. There is a natural threat from tropical storms that could breach the sand dunes exposing the lagoons to sea water and changing the aquatic habitat. Maintenance and improvement of the mangrove forest and littoral woodland is vital to conserving these salt ponds. The browsing by the introduced white-tailed deer may be a problem with under-storey vegetation, especially the mangroves nearest the ponds. The introduction of wild pineapple has clearly had a broad impact on plant ecology of the area due to its invasive and dominant nature and may have long-term consequences on the survival of native vegetation.
Conservation responses/actions for key biodiversity
Although there are signs (wooden nesting boxes and PVC tubes) of previous conservation related activities in the black mangrove areas, there have been only two known active research projects within the site recently. A study of the hydrology and sedimentation rates was conducted in 2004-05 by Debbie Finney. Regular monitoring of the waterbirds of the lagoons has been ongoing for 2 years by Jim Corven of the University of the Virgin Islands
Jim Corven
Recommended citation
BirdLife International (2024) Important Bird Area factsheet: Perseverance Bay Lagoons (Virgin Islands (to USA)). Downloaded from
https://datazone.birdlife.org/site/factsheet/perseverance-bay-lagoons-iba-virgin-islands-(to-usa) on 23/12/2024.
