Flamingos, scarlet ibises, black-necked stilts and American coots are among at least two dozen species that can be spotted from the birdwatching tower behind the new animal shelter in Josiahs Bay.
The facility, which opened to the public on Saturday, will be open during the same hours as the shelter: from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. on weekdays and from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. on Saturdays.
Visiting is free for residents, and tourists will be charged an entry fee of $5, according to Nancy Woodfield-Pascoe, a Humane Society of the BVI board member who works at the National Parks Trust.
The society board members have been in talks with local tour operators about organising educational birdwatching tours in the coming months.
Throughout the opening day, the tower proved popular, with attendees reading the educational signage and using the facility’s binoculars to spot birds.
“We’re trying to encourage more people to get into birding,” Ms. Woodfield-Pascoe said.
Josiahs Bay, she added, is one of the best birdwatching spots on Tortola.
Financed separately from the animal shelter, the tower was funded by a grant of £26,887 (about $36,000) from Darwin Plus, a United Kingdom programme that supports environmental initiatives in the British overseas territories.
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