|Location||Antigua and Barbuda, Antigua|
|Central coordinates||61o 47.47' West 17o 1.43' North|
|IBA criteria||A1, A2|
|Altitude||50 - 300m|
|Year of IBA assessment||2007|
Site description Christian Valley IBA is in south-west Antigua, in the volcanic Shekerly Mountains. The valley lies to the north of Boggy Peak (Antigua’s highest mountain). It is surrounded to the south and east by this peak and Sage Hill, with Mount McNish to the north-east. Walling’s Forest IBA (AG008) is c.4 km to the east of Boggy Peak. The entrance to Christian Valley is from the road between Jennings and Bolans. Along the entrance road is the ruin of the colonial Blubber Valley sugar estate house (now surrounded by a chicken farm). The Christian Valley estate house lies at the end of the road. During the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, the surrounding hills served as a refuge for escaped African slaves (“maroons”). Maroon trails are still used by foresters and farmers.
Key Biodiversity This IBA is significant for supporting populations of nine (of the 11) Lesser Antilles EBA restricted-range birds that occur in Antigua. Within Antigua, some of these species (Bridled Quail-dove Geotrygon mystacea, Scaly-breasted Thrasher Margarops fuscus, Pearly-eyed Thrasher M. fuscatus and Antillean Euphonia Euphonia musica) are entirely confined to the Christian Valley and Walling’s Forest IBA (AG008) ecosystem. A significant population of the Near Threatened White-crowned Pigeon Patagioenas leucocephala also occurs at this IBA.
Non-bird biodiversity: No Globally Threatened or endemic species have been recorded, but the area has a diverse flora and insect fauna. Seven bat species (including Antillean fruit-eating bat Brachyphylla cavernarum and greater bulldog bat Noctilio leporinus) have been documented.
|Species||Season||Period||Population estimate||Quality of estimate||IBA Criteria||IUCN Category|
|White-crowned Pigeon Patagioenas leucocephala||resident||2007||50 individuals||poor||A1||Near Threatened|
|Bridled Quail-dove Geotrygon mystacea||resident||2007||unknown||-||A2||Least Concern|
|Purple-throated Carib Eulampis jugularis||resident||2007||unknown||-||A2||Least Concern|
|Green-throated Carib Eulampis holosericeus||resident||2007||unknown||-||A2||Least Concern|
|Antillean Crested Hummingbird Orthorhyncus cristatus||resident||2007||10 individuals||poor||A2||Least Concern|
|Caribbean Elaenia Elaenia martinica||resident||2007||unknown||-||A2||Least Concern|
|Scaly-breasted Thrasher Margarops fuscus||resident||2007||unknown||-||A2||Least Concern|
|Pearly-eyed Thrasher Margarops fuscatus||resident||2007||unknown||-||A2||Least Concern|
|Lesser Antillean Bullfinch Loxigilla noctis||resident||2007||350 individuals||poor||A2||Least Concern|
|Antillean Euphonia Euphonia musica||resident||2007||unknown||-||A2||Least Concern|
|IUCN habitat||Habitat detail||Extent (% of site)|
|Forest||Tropical lowland evergreen||major|
|Land-use||Extent (% of site)|
|energy production and mining||-|
Acknowledgements Authors Joseph Prosper, Victor Joseph, Andrea Otto, Shanee Prosper (Environmental Awareness Group)
References Bacon, PR., (1991);Bunce, L., (1993);Caribbean Conservation Association. (1991);Lindsay, k. and Horwith, B. (1997);MacPherson, J. (1973);Martin-Kaye, P., (1969);Martin-Kaye, P., (1959);Pregill, GKD et al.(1994);Raffaele, H., et al. (1998); Spencer, W (1981)
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Recommended citation BirdLife International (2015) Important Bird Areas factsheet: Christian Valley. Downloaded from http://www.birdlife.org on 27/02/2015
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