Had a great time talking about Jim Bond and Caribbean conservation last week -- with a lot about coral reefs, sandy beaches and the fish that Bond collected for science.

The webinar, sponsored by The Nature Conservancy on New Jersey and Montclair Film, also featured Marci Eggers, TNC's deputy director for the Caribbean.

The real James Bond loved birds and the West Indies, and he was an advocate for protecting them both -- especially preaching the need to end the slaughter of rare species in the Caribbean.

The headline above was from an article in The New York Times in the mid-1930s. Bond was a noted ornithologist with a brand-new book, "Birds of the West Indies," by then. (But contrary to the sub-headline) he had no doctoral degree ... )

The introduction to the book went into great detail about the dangers facing the birds of the West Indies -- from humankind to hurricanes.

 One of the goals of this book is to raise awareness -- and money -- to help the environment in the Caribbean. To that end, all proceeds from talks and appearances generated by this book will go to The Nature Conservancy's Caribbean initiative.

In advance of my talk this Saturday at the virtual Cape May Spring Festival, I am re-posting one of my favorite posts each day this week.

By now, many people have heard about the likely extinction of the Bahama Nuthatch.

When one wrestles with the destruction that Hurricane Dorian wrought on the Bahamas and its people, the extinction of a bird pales in comparison -- especially a bird few folks have heard of.

One reason the bird is relatively obscure is that it has long been considered a subspecies -- even by ornithologist James Bond, who found one at High Rock Settlement, most likely in 1931.  It will likely become a separate species after its extinction.

                                                                         Photo credit: Bahamas.com

In advance of my talk this Saturday at the virtual Cape May Spring Festival, I am re-posting one of my favorite posts each day this week.

I've found that when it comes to researching birds in the West Indies, James Bond's name usually lurks somewhere.

The Bahama Parrot, a.k.a. the Abaco Parrot, recently in the news because of Hurricane Dorian, is a case in point.

The real James Bond was an advocate for the environment in the West Indies and the Bahamas and did some amazing research on Grand Bahama and the Abacos; that's why I plan to donate all proceeds from my talks about "The Real James Bond" to The Nature Conservancy's Caribbean Initiative.

At present, the far greater need is hurricane relief efforts in the Bahamas. A list of places to donate to relief efforts is at the end of this post.

TNC's Bahamas Program Director Shenique Albury-Smith writes:

Dear Colleagues,

As you know Hurricane Dorian affected the Northern Bahamas, in particular, the islands of Abaco, Grand Bahama and adjacent cays, over the last week. 

Dorian was a strong category 5 hurricane when it made landfall on Abaco with sustained winds at 185 mph and gusts well in excess of 200 mph.  One of the strongest hurricanes to ever hit The Bahamas. 

From Abaco, Dorian moved to Grand Bahama and, much to our disbelief, decreased in speed until it was stationary over the island, staying for approximately 40 hours.  While over Grand Bahama, Dorian’s impact was catastrophic with storm surge up to 25 ft and extensive and widespread flooding.