Popular North American General Interest Magazine has named St. Maarten as one of the Top Ten destinations in the Caribbean for Bird-Tourism. The magazine highlighted Sint Maarten as an “A hot spot for migrating sea birds with a burgeoning bird watching scene. Visitors to the annual Migratory Seabird Festival can enjoy guided tours to the island’s 164 species in a variety of locations and learn more about the birds through local environmental organizations. Specific mention was also given to the National Bird of St. Maarten, the Brown Pelican; “You won’t need your binoculars to spot St. Maarten’s national bird, the Brown Pelican—it can be found on nearly every beach!
Reader’s Digest is an American general-interest family magazine, published monthly and reaches approximately 40 million people in more than 70 countries, with 49 editions in 21 languages, making it the largest paid circulation magazine in the world. “The fact that St. Maarten has been featured as the number eight destination in the Americas for Bird Watching shows that both conservation efforts and efforts to increase eco-tourism are starting to pay off. Bird-tourism is a multi-million dollar industry and together with other eco-tourism initiatives it would be in the best interest of the country to continue to invest in building out this market. This shows that not only does environmental protection work in safeguarding nature, but also has an impact on the economy of St. Maarten in a very positive way,” commented Tadzio Bervoets, Nature Foundation Manager.
Read more at http://www.readersdigest.ca/travel/world/10-best-tropical-destinations-bird-watchers