Research for Haiti

Gabions in Haiti, part two

In response to this earlier post about Gabions, Lori Moise sent in some photos she took just the other day of gabions being used in Haiti (the earlier post describes what gabions are). I believe these are along the Riviere Torcelle.  Lori’s blog is here. Here are Lori's photos (cropped by me to save space) of the gabions:

NOTE:  Lori also has some incredible photos of the fort and old coffee plantation houses that were rediscovered on the ridges of the mountains while the road was being built between Cazale and Lachapelle. Well worth the look! If the Cabaret area becomes a major new population center, these ancient ruins (one building has the date 1792 on it!) could be great tourist attractions (although it isn’t easy getting up there).

Do Flamingos Still Come to Haiti?

I could not find any footage of flamingos in Haiti. Do they still come to Haiti? Perhaps their return would be a measure of the restoration of healthy mangroves in various bays and at Etang Saumatre.

This article from 1990 estimated that only about 900 flamingos (give or take several hundred) were still feeding or roosting in Haiti during non-breeding seasons. It also states that nesting in Haiti had not occurred since the 1920s due to lost habitat. That was 20 years ago. In any event, for the weekend enjoy these two youtube clips (follow links to more clips) about these odd birds.

The first is a wonderful video from the show Nature (a larger version of this video is here). This video features Chilean flamingos which are similar to the ultra-bright Caribbean, or American, flamingos that come from Cuba to Haiti (sometimes also called the Caiman flamingo).

The second video is about the lesser flamingos of Africa. This is from the French film “The Crimson Wing” (“Les Ailes Pourpres”) which should be out in the USA in 2010.