Several years ago, I was hiking the hills behind Grand Case when I noticed a young goat caught with its head stuck in a wire fence (1st photo). It had stuck its head through to eat something, but couldn’t get out because of its horns. Although it was very afraid by my approach, I was able to free the young […]
Like other insects, butterflies use heat from the sun to warm up their bodies. That’s why they are more likely to rest with their wings open in the morning, when they are trying to warm up. On this tropical checkered skipper, you can also see that the body and the inner portion of the wings are dark, which also aids […]
On St. Martin, we have two native species of Anolis lizards, Anolis pogus (top in the photo) and Anolis gingivinus (bottom in the photo). They are both considered part of the “bimaculatus” group of anoles that live in the Northern Lesser Antilles, and as such are generally thought to come from a common ancestor arriving from the Greater Antilles. It […]
Help me represent St. Martin at the 2013 meeting of the Society for the Conservation and Study of Caribbean Birds. This year’s meeting takes place at St. George’s University in Grenada and I have been invited to present to the society about my book and my wildlife education program. It is also a fantastic opportunity for me to learn more […]
The St. Martin Book Fair was fantastic once again. I was lucky enough to have a few copies of the new edition of my book available, and hopefully the folks who got a copy are enjoying it. I also had the opportunity to do a workshop – Wildlife Beats – about natural and human-influenced cycles on St. Martin and how […]
Sleepin’ lizards! Learn more about a day (and night) in the life of St. Martin’s wildlife and much more at the Wildlife Beats workshop tomorrow at 11am at University of St. Martin. In the workshop, we’ll discuss the various cycles that influence St. Martin’s wildlife, from periods as short as a day to as long as an ice age. The […]
I had a terrific time at Sister Regina School in Simpson Bay this morning, talking about how the various animals on St. Martin got here. It was a new presentation, called “Life on St. Martin: An Ongoing Assembly” and you can read a description of it on the EDUCATION page of this site. I think it went over quite well. […]
Cuban tree frogs are a highly-successful invasive species on St. Martin and elsewhere. Even though their tadpoles need fresh water to live in, they are able to live in relatively dry areas. One way they do this is by taking advantage of almost any available body of fresh water, even small, temporary pools. They also have a technique that helps […]
The snowy egret is common on St. Martin today, often seen on our salt ponds where it feeds and nests. I would also guess that it was a common resident 200 years ago. However, 100 years ago it may not have been here at all. It seems strange, but you can find out why at my St. Martin Book Fair […]
For the last couple years, St. Martin and the rest of the Eastern Caribbean have seen large amounts of sargassum coming ashore on our beaches during the summer. Will this be a new annual phenomenon? Or is it part of a larger cycle where the sargassum arrives for a few years, but then doesn’t come for years, or decades? Have […]