Laughing Bird Caye National Park managed by SEA Belize (Southern Environmental Association) http://www.seabelize.org
Laughing Bird Caye National Park is one of the gems in a string of pearls that is the Belize Barrier Reef World Heritage Site. It is a beautiful Belizean isle situated on the western side of the Victoria Channel, only 11 miles off the coast from Placencia Village in the Stann Creek District of Belize.
Laughing Bird Caye itself is a small, coconut-studded island. Laughing Bird gets its name from the large number of laughing gulls that once used it as a rookery. Overuse by humans caused the gulls to abandon the island completely, although a few have been sighted here since 1990. The government has taken steps to minimize this disruption.
This long narrow isle stands on an elongated ridge of reef known as a faro. A faro is an angular atoll on a continental shelf, also known as a shelf atoll. Like an atoll, a faro is steep sided and encloses a central lagoon. The Laughing Bird Faro is separated from the mainland, the barrier reef and other cayes by deep channels on all sides.
Due to the uniqueness of the Caye, the Faro, and the abundant and diverse marine habitats and life, the Caye was declared a protected area in 1981 under the National Parks System Act. On 21 December, 1991, Laughing Bird Caye National Park was declared. Finally, in 1996 the Belize Barrier Reef Reserve System was inscribed on the World Heritage List with Laughing Bird Caye National Park designated as one of the premiere protected areas within the World Heritage Site.
The uniqueness of this structure contributes to both the abundance and variety of coral habitats and marine life. The Caye gets its name from the Laughing Gull (Larus artricilla). This bird once used to breed on the Caye, but because of growing human presence, the colonies have moved to nearby undisturbed cayes for breeding.
The island is covered with coconut trees and scattered coastal mangroves. Seven plant species have been recorded on the island:
- Coconut tree – Cocos nucifera
- Spider Lily – Hymenocallis littorallis
- Seaside Purslane – Sesuvium portulacastrum Euphorbia sp.
- Red mangrove – Rhizophora mangle
- Morning Glory – Ipomoea sp. *Black mangrove – Avicennia germinans
Four categories of protected areas exist in Belize:
- National Parks are established for the benefit and enjoyment of the general public.
- Wildlife Sanctuaries protect nationally significant species that require specific human manipulation for their perpetuation.
- Natural Monuments are areas reserved for the protection and preservation of a nationally significant natural feature.
- Nature Reserves are reserved strictly for scientific research.
