Hans Lollik Island - Avifauna

Avifauna

Many bird species are seasonal visitors to the offshore cays and are only in evidence at Hans Lollik during the summer breeding season. The most conspicuous birds at the study sites are the resident seabird species, including the brown booby (Sula melanogaster) and the brown pelican (Pelecanus occidentalis). Both species utilize the bait-rich waters of Hans Lollik for feeding; both species target white fry, blue fry, or false pilchard as preferred prey. The prime roosting spots for these species have been located and mapped by JDA to enable the site planning process to avoid these areas. Hans Lollik has no critical nesting sites for any bird species. The cliff-site nesting areas for the tropic bird are de facto protected from humans by their precarious cliff location.

Hans Lollik has not been a historically important brown pelican-nesting site, and the sparse nesting which now occurs is opportunistic. This nesting may well be the result of a booming local population of pelicans, which is spreading out to new roosting and nesting sites, or it may be the result of displacement from other islands and cays. The brown pelican is listed as endangered, both federally and by the Virgin Islands. The brown pelican was once thought to be doomed due to the eggshell-thinning events brought about by DDT contamination. Since the DDT ban went into effect, brown pelican populations throughout the US have recovered, causing the species to be delisted throughout much of its range. The southeast U.S. (including Virgin Islands) populations have not yet been delisted, but indications are that these populations are also recovering.

Noddy terns (Anous stolidus), least terns (Sterna albifrons), sooty terns (Sterna fuscata), and royal terns (Thalasseus maximus) have all been recorded as nesting on nearby Pelican Cay, but not on Hans Lollik Island. Other bird species seen on Hans Lollik include the ubiquitous pearly-eyed thrasher (Margarops fuscatus), the bananaquit (Coeroba flaveloa), the oystercatcher (Haematopus pallitus), and the sparrowhawk (Falco sparverius).