Current view: Text account
Site description (2007 baseline):
Site location and context
Valley Church Bay IBA is on the west coast of Antigua, close to Jolly Harbour and its associated tourist developments. This area was once a large swamp. However, a road has cut it off from the sea, preventing any exchange of water, turning the area into a shallow coastal salt pond encircled by a narrow fringe of mangroves. The area is bordered on the east by a major road and on the west by a narrow beach and seagrass beds. On the seaward side of this IBA are a number of restaurants and a large hotel (which occupies part of the original mangrove). A road divides the pond to give access to the restaurants from the main road.
This IBA supports populations of four (of the 11) Lesser Antilles EBA restricted-range birds that occur in Antigua. However, it is primarily notable for its waterbirds including important populations of the Vulnerable West Indian Whistling-duck
Dendrocygna arborea (96 adults and 38 duckling in 2006 is a maximum count) and Near Threatened Caribbean Coot
Fulica caribaea. Regionally significant populations of Brown Pelican
Pelecanus occidentalis, Laughing Gull
Larus atricilla and Least Tern
Sterna antillarum occur. Good numbers of Neotropical migratory shorebirds use this IBA. Masked Duck
Nomonyx dominica has been recorded.
Non-bird biodiversity: The Critically Endangered hawksbill Eretmochelys imbricata and leatherback Dermochelys coriacea are known to occur in the bay.
Pressure/threats to key biodiversity
Valley Church Bay is a mix of private and state ownership. However, the wetland is not protected and the surrounding habitat is presently being destroyed by hotel and residential development. Construction rubble and other solid waste have been dumped at the southern end of the pond, and the nesting and feeding areas of Dendrocygna arborea are being encroached upon. There are land reclamation plans by the private owners which would result in the complete destruction of the ponds. The Environmental Awareness Group has tried working with landowners (including one of the restaurateurs) to encourage greater awareness, conservation and potentially even the development of bird watching infrastructure.
Authors: Joseph Prosper, Victor Joseph, Andrea Otto, Shanee Prosper (Environmental Awareness Group)
Recommended citation
BirdLife International (2024) Important Bird Area factsheet: Valley Church Bay (Antigua and Barbuda). Downloaded from
https://datazone.birdlife.org/site/factsheet/valley-church-bay-iba-antigua-and-barbuda on 23/12/2024.
