Although we saw the green-throated carib on our endemic bird walk on Saturday, we didn’t see the one that was nesting just a few meters from where we walked. Here’s a photo of the mother on her nest. We can tell it’s the mother because males don’t take care of the eggs or the chicks. This mother spent a lot […]

We had a terrific time on the endemic bird walk and saw 7 of the 8 locally-endemic species/subspecies that were on the flyer. (No kestrels this time!) One of the highlights was seeing a yellow warbler sitting on her nest. Thanks to everyone who came!

One of the things we will see on this morning’s bird walk is a large nesting colony of Great Egrets, Snowy Egrets and Cattle Egrets. They have been nesting on Étang de Cimetière in Grand Case for at least several years. One mangrove tree has been a particular favorite of theirs, and over the last few years it has died, […]

Today I went down to the Sister Marie Laurence Primary School to talk about the different types of habitat on St. Martin and the different animals which live in each habitat. Once again, the students were great and had lots of interesting questions. Next week I’ll be back to do a nature walk near the school and I think we’ll […]

The Carib Grackle is found in the Caribbean and parts of South America bordering the Caribbean. The subspecies found on St. Martin is only found in the northern Lesser Antilles. It’s one of the endemic birds that we are sure to see on Saturday’s bird walk. It is interesting to note, however, that this bird was first officially recorded on […]

I had a great time at the Montessori School book sale on Wednesday! I got to answer the question “And what is this one?” about 200 times. I learned that there are a lot of tarantulas in Pointe Blanche, and “at least seven” were seen in one house. I also learned that there is a funnel web spider in Australia […]

I made a little handout featuring some of the birds that are endemic to our area and can be seen on the walk to Happy Bay that we are doing on Saturday. Most of them are species that are endemic to the Caribbean or Lesser Antilles, and some are found in more places, but the subspecies found on St. Martin […]

This Saturday at 9am, I will be doing a bird walk on behalf of Environmental Protection in the Caribbean (EPIC) as part of the Caribbean Endemic Bird Festival. Endemic means being unique to a specific place. Although there are no birds that are found only on St. Martin, the island is home to a number of species and subspecies that […]

Some insects, like crickets and their relatives, undergo what is known as incomplete metamorphosis. The immature insects are known as nymphs, and they typically look somewhat similar to adults, but often without functional wings. In order to grow, they need to shed their exoskeleton periodically, a process known as molting. This bush cricket is molting for the last time. It […]

I’ve been stung by the Jack Spaniard wasp more times than I can count. When they are just flying around, they are peaceful, but if you get too close to a nest, they become quite aggressive. Usually it is a nest that I don’t notice until they are stinging me. I have noticed one exception: if there’s only one wasp […]