sitemap send us some feedback/contact us about the fatbirder

      




 birding...

Martinique
   
(visit this page on fatfisherman.com)
(visit this page on fatphotographer.net)

 







Killdeer Charadrius vociferus ©Steve Blain http://www.steveblain.co.uk

Martinique is an island in the eastern Caribbean Sea, north of Trinidad and Tobago, having a land area of 1,128 km². It is an overseas department of France. To the northwest lies Dominica, to the south St Lucia. As with the other overseas departments, Martinique is also one of the twenty-six regions of France (being an overseas region) and an integral part of the Republic. As part of France, Martinique is part of the European Union, and its currency is the euro. Its official language is French, although almost all of its inhabitants also speak Antillean Creole (Créole Martiniquais).

The Climate is tropical; moderated by trade winds; rainy season (June to October); vulnerable to devastating cyclones (hurricanes) every eight years on average; average temperature 17.3 degrees Celsius; humid

The terrain is mountainous with indented coastline; as it is a dormant volcano.

The north of the island is mountainous and lushly forested. It features 4 ensembles of dramatic pitons and mornes: the Piton Conil on the extreme North, which dominates the Dominica Channel, the Mount Pelee, an active volcano, the Morne Jacob, and the Pitons du Carbet, an ensemble of 5 beautifully shaped, rainforest covered extinct volcanoes dominating the Bay of Fort de France at 1,196 meters. The most dominating of the island's many beautiful mountains, with 1397 meters, is the infamous volcano Mount Pelée. The volcanic ash has created beautiful grey and black sand beaches in the north (in particular between Anse Ceron and Anse des Gallets), contrasting markedly from the white sands of Les Salines in the south.

The south is more easily traversed, though it still features some impressive geographic features. Because it is easier to travel and because of the many beautiful beaches and food throughout this region, the south receives the bulk of the tourist traffic. The beaches from Pointe de Bout, through Diamant (which features right off the coast the beautiful Roche de Diamant), St. Luce, the town of St. Anne all the way down to Les Salines are very popular.

 
 

Wikipedia
(GNU Free Documentation License)http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Martinique

Number of bird species: 142

Number of endemics: 1
Martinique Oriole Icterus bonana

A Field Guide to Birds of the West Indies

(Peterson Field Guides) James Bond, Don R. Eckelberry (Illustrator); Arthur B. Singer (Illustrator) Paperback (September 1999) Houghton Mifflin Company
ISBN: 0618002103
Buy this book from NHBS.com

The Birds of the West Indies

By Herbert Raffaele, James Wiley, Orlando Garrido, Allan Keith & Janis Raffaele
Helm Field Guides Sept 2003 Paperback RRP ?16.99p
See Fatbirder Review
ISBN: 0713654198
Buy this book from NHBS.com

Proact


Coordinator: none (why not apply?) see http://www.proact-campaigns.net/coordinators
Members: None yet!
Join us at http://www.proact-campaigns.net/team

Biodiversity and Protected Areas

Website
pdf of important wildlife areas...

1999 [December] - Mark Gawn

Report

My family and I spent several days in Martinique in early December, soaking up the ambiance of France in the Caribbean and looking for two target birds. With work we were able to see both the endangered endemic Martinique Oriole and the equally endangered White-breasted Thrasher, shared only with nearby St. Lucia.

French Caribbean International

Accommodation

Your Leading Resource for Select Accommodations in the French West Indies.

Habitation Lagrange Hotel

Accommodation

Here, time stops. The desire for letting yourself go at the rythm of nature invades. You will be enchanted by the songs of birds, the river and enthousiastic staff...

Martinique Oriole Icterus bonana

Website

This species qualifies as Vulnerable as it has a very small range and is declining in response to brood-parasitism. Monitoring and assessment of the precise impact of this threat may ultimately result in a revised evaluation of the species's conservation status...

Fatbirder Logo
  Fatbirder's Top 1000 Birding Websites