This agreement will support bird tagging and shorebird census by equipping participants with necessary skills to track migratory birds using radio telemetry and conduct wintering shorebird surveys

The Department of Agriculture Forest Service Washington Office Acquisitions awarded Birdscaribbean $165,000 on September 10, 2025, under the International Forestry Programs (CFDA 10.684) to support bird tagging, radio telemetry training, and shorebird census activities in Puerto Rico.

The award funds expansion of migratory bird tracking work initiated in March 2025, when prairie warbler tracking began in Puerto Rico. In 2026, the project will pilot tracking of one to two migratory landbird species, including Connecticut warbler and blackpoll warbler, during fall migration. Tracking tags deployed under this award will allow observation of birds throughout the overwintering period and spring migration, generating data on habitat use and migratory connectivity that links Caribbean stopover and wintering sites to breeding grounds in the continental United States. The work also includes equipping participants with skills to conduct wintering shorebird surveys.

Birdscaribbean, a nonprofit organization headquartered in Natick, Massachusetts and registered in SAM.gov since 2008, is the recipient. The award period runs through August 31, 2028, with performance taking place in Puerto Rico. The International Forestry Programs funds activities that conserve U.S. migratory species habitat across the species' range, partnering internationally to improve species survival and facilitate returns to U.S. forests and grasslands in healthy numbers.