Green Cay National Wildlife Refuge, encompasses the 6 ha (14 acre) island of Green Cay lying midway between the town of

Christiansted Christiansted ( , ; ) is the largest town on Saint Croix, one of the main islands of the United States Virgin Islands, a territory of the United States of America. The town is named after King Christian VI of Denmark. History The town was found ...

and

Buck Island Reef National Monument * Buck Island Reef National Monument protects Buck Island, a small, uninhabited 176-acre (712,000 m²) island about north of the northeast coast of Saint Croix, U.S. Virgin Islands, and 18,839 acres of submerged lands, totaling 19,015 acres. ...

, just north of

Saint Croix Saint Croix ( ; ; ; ; Danish language, Danish and ; ) is an island in the Caribbean Sea, and a county and constituent Districts and sub-districts of the United States Virgin Islands, district of the United States Virgin Islands (USVI), an Unin ...

in the

United States Virgin Islands The United States Virgin Islands, officially the Virgin Islands of the United States, are a group of Caribbean islands and a territory of the United States. The islands are geographically part of the Virgin Islands archipelago and are located ...

of the

Caribbean The Caribbean ( , ; ; ; ) is a region in the middle of the Americas centered around the Caribbean Sea in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, mostly overlapping with the West Indies. Bordered by North America to the north, Central America ...

. It is administered as part of the Caribbean Islands National Wildlife complex. There is a smaller "Green Cay" off the coast of Saint Thomas ().

Wildlife

The wildlife refuge preserves habitat for the largest remaining population of the endangered

Saint Croix ground lizard The Saint Croix ground lizard (''Pholidoscelis polops'') is a small lizard endemic to the U.S. Virgin Islands. Description Growing to a size of between 35 and 90 mm (excluding the tail), adults have a pattern of light brown, dark brown and ...

. Much smaller populations of ground lizards live on nearby

Protestant Cay Protestant Cay is a four-acre triangular islet in the Christiansted Harbor, 200 yards north of Christiansted. The island is home to a resort, the Hotel on the Cay, which is home to a protected sand beach, small shop and beach bar. It also has th ...

() and on

Ruth Island Ruth Island (also known as Ruth Cay) is an artificial island off the southern coast of Saint Croix, U.S. Virgin Islands Saint Croix ( ; ; ; ; Danish and ; ) is an island in the Caribbean Sea, and a county and constituent district of the Uni ...

. Its extirpation from the mainland of Saint Croix is generally attributed to the introduction of the

small Indian mongoose The small Indian mongoose (''Urva auropunctata'') is a mongoose species native to Iraq and northern India; it has also been introduced to several Caribbean and Pacific islands. Taxonomy ''Mangusta auropunctata'' was the scientific name proposed ...

. In 2008, the National Park Service reintroduced the lizard to Buck Island, translocating 57 individuals from Green Cay.

Important Bird Area

Green Cay has, along with the nearby Southgate Coastal Reserve, been recognised as an

Important Bird Area An Important Bird and Biodiversity Area (IBA) is an area identified using an internationally agreed set of criteria as being globally important for the conservation of bird populations. IBA was developed and sites are identified by BirdLife Int ...

(IBA) by

BirdLife International BirdLife International is a global partnership of non-governmental organizations that strives to conserve birds and their habitats. BirdLife International's priorities include preventing extinction of bird species, identifying and safeguarding i ...

because they support populations of

green-throated carib The green-throated carib (''Eulampis holosericeus'') is a species of hummingbird in the subfamily Polytminae. It is found in Puerto Rico and most of the Lesser Antilles.HBW and BirdLife International (2020) ''Handbook of the Birds of the World ...

Antillean crested hummingbird The Antillean crested hummingbird (''Orthorhyncus cristatus'') is a species of hummingbird in the family Trochilidae. Its range extends from eastern Puerto Rico throughout the Lesser Antilles ; it has also been recorded as a vagrant in Florida, US ...

American coot The American coot (''Fulica americana''), also known as a mud hen or pouldeau, is a bird of the family Rallidae. Though commonly mistaken for ducks, American coots are only distantly related to ducks, belonging to a separate order. Unlike the we ...

brown pelican The brown pelican (''Pelecanus occidentalis'') is a bird of the pelican family, Pelecanidae, one of three species found in the Americas and one of two that feed by diving into water. It is found on the Atlantic Coast from New Jersey to the mouth ...

laughing gull The laughing seagull (''Leucophaeus atricilla'') is a medium-sized gull of North America, North and South America. Named for its laugh-like call, it is an opportunistic omnivore and scavenger. It breeds in large colonies mostly along the Atlantic ...

least tern The least tern (''Sternula antillarum'') is a species of tern that breeds in North America and locally in northern South America. It is closely related to, and was formerly often considered conspecific with, the little tern of the Old World. Oth ...

royal tern The royal tern (''Thalasseus maximus'') is a tern in the family Laridae. The species is endemic to the Americas, though vagrants have been identified in Europe.Buckley, P. A. and F. G. Buckley (2020). Royal Tern (Thalasseus maximus), version 1. ...

Caribbean elaenia The Caribbean elaenia (''Elaenia martinica'') is a species of bird in subfamily Elaeniinae of family Tyrannidae, the tyrant flycatchers. It is found in the West Indies, in parts of Central America, and on islands just off the northern South Ame ...

s and

pearly-eyed thrasher The pearly-eyed thrasher (''Margarops fuscatus'') is a bird in the thrasher family Mimidae. It is found on many Caribbean islands, from the Bahamas in the north to the Grenadines in the south, with an isolated subspecies on Bonaire. Descriptio ...

References

External links

Green Cay National Wildlife Refuge homepage
National Wildlife Refuges of the United States in the Caribbean Protected areas of the United States Virgin Islands Uninhabited islands of the United States Virgin Islands National Natural Landmarks in the United States Virgin Islands National Register of Historic Places in the United States Virgin Islands Protected areas established in 1977 1977 establishments in the United States Virgin Islands Saint Croix, U.S. Virgin Islands Important Bird Areas of the United States Virgin Islands Seabird colonies {{USVirginIslands-geo-stub

Wildlife

Important Bird Area

See also

References

External links