Article · Wikipedia archive · Last revised Jun 13, 2026

Codrington Lagoon

Codrington Lagoon is a lagoon on the west coast of Barbuda, an island in the Caribbean. The lagoon measures 9 km long and 2.5 km wide, covering 3,600 hectares and taking up a large portion of the island. Its water is shallow, and much of the shore of the northern half of the lagoon is marshland. The village of Codrington, the main settlement on the island, is located on the eastern shore of the lagoon.

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Jun 13, 2026
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Codrington Lagoon
Satellite image of Barbuda with Codrington Lagoon on the west of the island
Codrington Lagoon on the west of Barbuda1
Codrington Lagoon
LocationBarbuda, Antigua and Barbuda
Coordinates17°39′N 61°50′W / 17.650°N 61.833°W / 17.650; -61.833
Typelagoon
Surface area
3,600 hectares (8,900 acres)
SettlementsCodrington
Official name
Codrington Lagoon
Designated2 June 2005
Reference no.14882

Codrington Lagoon is a lagoon on the west coast of Barbuda, an island in the Caribbean. The lagoon measures 9 km long and 2.5 km wide,3 covering 3,600 hectares and taking up a large portion of the island.4 Its water is shallow (between 1–4.5 m deep), and much of the shore of the northern half of the lagoon is marshland. The village of Codrington, 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 was a small channel at the northern tip of the lagoon, called Cuffy Creek (locally "the creek").3 In 2017, Hurricane Irma destroyed a portion of the western edge of the lagoon and two inlets developed,3 providing additional access to the lagoon from the sea.

Frigatebird colony

To the north of the lagoon is a 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 attractions in Barbuda. The colony is the largest in the Caribbean region, and is a Ramsar site.5

During the mating season (from September through March or April),678 the male bird displays a large, scarlet red throat pouch to attract a female mate.98 The pair will lay one egg on a nest built on the mangroves of Man of War island.108 These birds do not walk or swim.11 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 landfall in September 2017.1213 The lagoon was hit by Hurricane Irma's storm surge, and although there was a temporary decline in magnificent frigatebird numbers,14 the population survived.15

References

References

  1. "NGA GEOnet Names Server". National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency. 2008-07-07. Archived from the original on 2003-10-08. Retrieved 2008-07-22.
  2. "Codrington Lagoon". Ramsar Sites Information Service. Retrieved 25 April 2018.
  3. 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". Natural Hazards and Earth System Sciences. 23 (12): 3761–3788. doi:10.5194/nhess-23-3761-2023. ISSN 1561-8633.
  4. "The List of Wetlands of International Importance" (PDF).
  5. "Antigua and Barbuda | the Convention on Wetlands, the Convention on Wetlands".
  6. The New Yorker. F-R Publishing Corporation. 1994.
  7. Carlozzi, Carl A.; Carlozzi, Alice A. (1968). Conservation and Caribbean Regional Progress. Antioch Press. ISBN 978-0-87338-062-1.
  8. Nicholson, Desmond V. (2001). Heritage Landmarks: Antigua and Barbuda. Museum of Antigua and Barbuda.
  9. Etherington, Melanie (2002). The Antigua and Barbuda Companion. Interlink Books. ISBN 978-1-56656-477-9.
  10. Bendure, Glenda; Friary, Ned (1994). Eastern Caribbean: A Lonely Planet Travel Survival Kit. Lonely Planet Publications. ISBN 978-0-86442-235-4.
  11. Diamond, Antony W.; Schreiber, E. A. (2020). "Magnificent Frigatebird (Fregata magnificens), version 1.0". Birds of the World. doi:10.2173/bow.magfri.01. ISSN 2771-3105.
  12. Lewis, Emma; Sutton, Ann. "After the Storm". BirdsCaribbean. 2017-09-11. Retrieved 2017-09-18.
  13. "Barbuda sees a comeback of national bird after Hurricane Irma". BBC. 2018-06-25. Retrieved 2026-04-23.
  14. "Barbuda Frigatebirds still AWOL after Irma". Antigua Observer Newspaper. Retrieved 2026-04-23.
  15. "Barbuda sees a comeback of national bird after Hurricane Irma". 2018-06-25. Retrieved 2026-01-26.