When looking at Caribbean biology from a historical perspective, I came up with a way to oversimplify things based on how research was/is conducted. (I’m sure there are plenty of other great ways to oversimplify this.) Although it’s an imperfect framework for viewing things, I think it does help explain why we are so ignorant in certain areas and how […]
Shorebirds are starting to show up everywhere on St. Martin as they arrive for the winter and stop by during their migration. I snapped a few photos when I was crossing the drainage canal in Philipsburg after a meeting yesterday. I think we have the solitary sandpiper, killdeer, semipalmated sandpiper and pectoral sandpiper, but some of the sandpipers look alike, […]
There are four species of Anolis lizard on St. Martin, two native and two introduced. At yesterday’s session of the wildlife education program, we taught local youth to identify them based on photos and tested them in the field. They need to know, because next week we’ll be doing a survey in the field to see how populations of our […]
Ever see a perfect wildlife photo and wonder how the magic happens? Well, it ain’t always magical. This morning I was trying to take some photos of carpenter and centrid bees feeding at candlebush flowers and I think my batting average was about 0 for 100. Here are some of the better ones, and they might not look as bad […]
When birdwatching at your local wetland reminds you of the trash-compactor scene from Star Wars, it’s probably time to do something about it. Some friends decided to start cleaning up some of the mess here in Grand Case, so that’s what we’re doing. Hopefully egrets and herons won’t have to hunt in a sea of junk and gallinules won’t be […]
Our neighbor, Oswen from Caribbean Paddling, rescued an immature tropicbird that was stranded at Orient Beach, unable to fly. It’s resting in the shade at the moment until he can bring it to the vet’s office when it opens up after lunch. As you can see, this bird doesn’t have its distinctive, long tail feathers yet. I am guessing that […]
Did anyone get a new camera lately? I am still looking for a few old digital cameras to use in a photography workshop with local youth as part of a wildlife education program with Nature Foundation and Be The Change SXM. Any old digital camera will do as long as it works. The session is on Sept. 19th, so if […]
You probably know that many of the birds passing through St. Martin right now, or just arriving for the winter, are coming from North America. Did you know that, in some cases, you can find out exactly where they came from? If you look closely at these photos, you can see that each of these birds is wearing a band […]
Here are some photos I took last night in Grand Case, mostly insects and other animals attracted to outdoor lights. There were probably well over 100 species in just one location. For parents, or anyone interested in seeing some interesting critters, try leaving the light on on your porch at night and observing the insects that arrive. If you have […]
The canal didn’t look as bad as it does sometimes, but we were still able to get a couple hundred pounds of trash from just the beach side of the bridge. That was just with a handful of folks in about an hour. If anyone wants to join in next time, there’s plenty of trash to clean up on the […]