# Codrington Lagoon

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**Codrington Lagoon** is a [lagoon](/source/Lagoon) on the west coast of [Barbuda](/source/Barbuda), an island in the [Caribbean](/source/Caribbean). The lagoon measures 9 km long and 2.5 km wide,[1] covering 3,600 hectares and taking up a large portion of the island.[2] Its water is shallow (between 1–4.5 m deep), and much of the shore of the northern half of the lagoon is [marshland](/source/Marsh). The village of [Codrington](/source/Codrington,_Barbuda), the main settlement on the island, is located on the eastern shore of the lagoon.

Prior to 2017, the lagoon's only connection to the [Caribbean Sea](/source/Caribbean_Sea) was a small [channel](/source/Channel_(geography)) at the northern tip of the lagoon, called [Cuffy Creek](/source/Cuffy_Creek) (locally "the creek").[1] In 2017, [Hurricane Irma](/source/Hurricane_Irma) destroyed a portion of the western edge of the lagoon and two inlets developed,[1] providing additional access to the lagoon from the sea.

## Frigatebird colony

To the north of the lagoon is a [magnificent frigatebird](/source/Magnificent_frigatebird) (*Fregata magnificens*) colony, on the tiny Man of War Island. The colony, known as the Frigate Bird Sanctuary, is one of the main [ecotourism](/source/Ecotourism) attractions in Barbuda. The colony is the largest in the Caribbean region, and is a [Ramsar site](/source/Ramsar_site).[3]

During the mating season (from September through March or April),[4][5][6] the male bird displays a large, scarlet red [throat pouch](/source/Throat_pouch) to attract a female mate.[7][6] The pair will lay one egg on a nest built on the [mangroves](/source/Mangrove) of Man of War island.[8][6] These birds do not walk or swim.[9] They live solely on fish, which they often steal from other birds, giving them their local name, *Man of war*. They have few predators in the lagoon, making this nesting site one of the most important in the world for the endangered species.

The colony had an estimated 2,500—5,000 nesting pairs prior to [Hurricane Irma](/source/Hurricane_Irma) landfall in September 2017.[10][11] The lagoon was hit by Hurricane Irma's [storm surge](/source/Storm_surge), and although there was a temporary decline in magnificent frigatebird numbers,[12] the population survived.[13]

## References

1. Biguenet, Maude; Chaumillon, Eric; Sabatier, Pierre; Bastien, Antoine; Geba, Emeline; Arnaud, Fabien; Coulombier, Thibault; Feuillet, Nathalie (2023-12-06). ["Hurricane Irma: an unprecedented event over the last 3700 years? Geomorphological changes and sedimentological record in Codrington Lagoon, Barbuda"](https://nhess.copernicus.org/articles/23/3761/2023/). *Natural Hazards and Earth System Sciences*. **23** (12): 3761–3788. [doi:10.5194/nhess-23-3761-2023](https://doi.org/10.5194/nhess-23-3761-2023). [ISSN 1561-8633](https://www.worldcat.org/issn/1561-8633)

1. ["The List of Wetlands of International Importance"](https://medwet.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/RamsarSitesList_22November2024.pdf)

1. ["Antigua and Barbuda | the Convention on Wetlands, the Convention on Wetlands"](https://www.ramsar.org/country-profile/antigua-and-barbuda)

1. [*The New Yorker*](https://www.google.com/books/edition/The_New_Yorker/j1jkAAAAMAAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&bsq=magnificent+frigatebird+%22mating+season%22+barbuda&dq=magnificent+frigatebird+%22mating+season%22+barbuda&printsec=frontcover). F-R Publishing Corporation. 1994.

1. Carlozzi, Carl A. & Carlozzi, Alice A. (1968). [*Conservation and Caribbean Regional Progress*](https://www.google.com/books/edition/Conservation_and_Caribbean_Regional_Prog/3aCCAAAAIAAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&bsq=barbuda+frigate+september-april&dq=barbuda+frigate+september-april&printsec=frontcover). Antioch Press. ISBN 978-0-87338-062-1.

1. Nicholson, Desmond V. (2001). [*Heritage Landmarks: Antigua and Barbuda*](https://www.google.com/books/edition/Heritage_Landmarks/4PcpAQAAMAAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&bsq=barbuda+frigate+september-march&dq=barbuda+frigate+september-march&printsec=frontcover). Museum of Antigua and Barbuda.

1. Etherington, Melanie (2002). [*The Antigua and Barbuda Companion*](https://www.google.com/books/edition/The_Antigua_and_Barbuda_Companion/0MB5AAAAMAAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&bsq=october). Interlink Books. ISBN 978-1-56656-477-9.

1. Bendure, Glenda & Friary, Ned (1994). [*Eastern Caribbean: A Lonely Planet Travel Survival Kit*](https://www.google.com/books/edition/Eastern_Caribbean/FLMfAQAAMAAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&bsq=mating%20season). Lonely Planet Publications. ISBN 978-0-86442-235-4.

1. Diamond, Antony W. & Schreiber, E. A. (2020). ["Magnificent Frigatebird (Fregata magnificens), version 1.0"](https://birdsoftheworld.org/bow/species/magfri/cur/introduction). *Birds of the World*. [doi:10.2173/bow.magfri.01](https://doi.org/10.2173/bow.magfri.01). [ISSN 2771-3105](https://www.worldcat.org/issn/2771-3105)

1. Lewis, Emma & Sutton, Ann. ["After the Storm"](http://www.birdscaribbean.org/2017/09/after-the-storm/). *BirdsCaribbean*. 2017-09-11. Retrieved 2017-09-18.

1. ["Barbuda sees a comeback of national bird after Hurricane Irma"](https://www.bbc.com/news/world-latin-america-44547090). *[BBC](/source/BBC)*. 2018-06-25. Retrieved 2026-04-23.

1. ["Barbuda Frigatebirds still AWOL after Irma"](https://antiguaobserver.com/barbuda-frigatebirds-still-awol-after-irma/). *Antigua Observer Newspaper*. Retrieved 2026-04-23.

1. ["Barbuda sees a comeback of national bird after Hurricane Irma"](https://www.bbc.com/news/world-latin-america-44547090). 2018-06-25. Retrieved 2026-01-26.

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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Codrington Lagoon](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Codrington_Lagoon) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Codrington_Lagoon?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.