Mastic Reserve
| Mastic Reserve | |
 | |
|---|---|
 Grand Cayman endemic species in the Mastic Reserve | |
| Location: | 19°19’0"N, 811833°0’0"W |
| Information | |
Mastic Reserve lies at the eastern end of the north side of Grand Cayman, one of the Cayman Islands. It is managed by the National Trust for the Cayman Islands. The Reserve is named after the |yellow mastic Sideroxylon foetidissimum and |black mastic Terminalia eriostachya trees which grow in the reserve.
The Mastic Trail runs through the Reserve.
Description
Mastic Reserve is a tract of mainly forested land, 2,061 acres in size. It is bounded on the south and west by the Central Mangrove Wetland, and on the north by farmland. It encompasses the largest tract of contiguous native dry forest in the Cayman Islands, as well as the highest part of the low-lying island, with an elevation of 59 feet above sea level. It also includes stands of royal and silver thatch palms (Roystonea and Coccothrinax proctorii respectively) as well as abandoned agricultural land, now grassland.[1][2]
Mastic Trail
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The Mastic Trail is based on a traditional footpath that had fallen into disuse. In 1994 and 1995 it was restored and reopened as a 2½ mile walking track that passes through the reserve, traversing the central part of Grand Cayman from south to north. The southern part includes a 558-foot hand-built rock causeway, known as the “Mastic Bridge”, through black mangrove forest (Avicennia germinans).[2]
Birds
The Reserve has been listed by BirdLife International as an "Important Bird Area" because it supports significant populations of white-crowned pigeons, Cuban amazons, Caribbean elaenias, thick-billed vireos, Yucatan vireos and vitelline warblers.[1]
Other birds found in the reserve include West Indian woodpeckers and Caribbean doves.[2]
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 "Mastic Reserve". Important Bird Areas factsheet. BirdLife International. 2014. http://www.birdlife.org. Retrieved 2014-04-03.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 "Mastic Reserve & Trail". National Trust for the Cayman Islands. 2014. http://www.nationaltrust.org.ky/index.php/info-sheets/mastic-reserve-trail. Retrieved 2014-04-04.