Status of Red-footed Boobies Sula sula on Little Cayman, British West Indies

The island of Little Cayman, in the north-west Caribbean, supports a large breeding colony of Red-footed Boobies Sula sula, within a Ramsar site, the Booby Pond Nature Reserve, protected and managed by the National Trust for the Cayman Islands. Comparison of aerial photographs from 1994 and 1997 sho ws the colony area unchanged over this time period, occupying 16.5 ha. Area sampling yielded an estimate of 4,839 nesting pairs on Little Cayman in 19 97, representing c. 30% of the entire Caribbean population for this species . Low mortality and excellent condition of chicks indicated a very successf ul breeding year with good food availability. Aerial photography proved to be an effective tool for determining the colony area but nests visible on t hese images did not correlate sufficiently well with ground data to be cons idered a viable basis for population monitoring. The 1997 census will serve as an important baseline, as Little Cayman is on the brink of explosive re al estate development which is likely to have a severe impact on the island 's natural resources over the next decade.