Pseudoscorpions are tiny arachnids that look a bit like scorpions, but don’t have a stinger. They’re harmless and typically eat tiny insects and other invertebrates like mites. These photos were taken on Statia, at their volcanic peak, the Quill. Are there pseudoscorpions on St. Martin? Almost surely, although they are easily overlooked. The adults seen here are approximately 1/2 cm […]

Here’s a third set of photos from the festival, with guests checking in and getting their bird checklists, chatting about birds and a few shots of the beach where the tour wrapped up (and where Kristin and Marc were able to pick up lots of trash, big and small). Thanks again to everyone who came to the festival!

We had a ton of kids at the Migratory Bird Festival and did a lot of bird-related art, including coloring, drawing and clay sculpture. Les Fruits de Mer member Stephen was the ringleader of the kids area and Tumay from Art Summer Camp Sxm brought clay and helped the kids make some amazing bird sculptures. Art supplies were sponsored by […]

We’ve got a ton of great photos of the Migratory Bird Festival from Olivia Roudon. We’ll be sharing them in a few sets, this first one showcases the mangrove discovery trail and folks enjoying the guided tours as well as just exploring the trail on their own. We were incredibly excited to have about 200 people visiting this beautiful site […]

Here’s a short-billed dowitcher feeding at Étang de la Barrière. Despite its name, it has a very long bill that it uses to probe in mud or sand to find crabs, snails and other small animals to eat. For shorebirds in general, the longer their bill, the more likely they are to feed in this way, using their bill to […]

There was a belted kingfisher this morning at Étang de la Barrière, the site of the upcoming Migratory Bird Festival. Hopefully we’ll see him on Sunday. On the one hand, they are shy, but on the other hand, once they find a good spot they tend to stay there, and there was one at this site all winter last year. […]

I had a great meeting with Governor Eugene Holiday earlier this month, and I hope he is enjoying the wildlife book. As a resident of St. Martin, I care deeply about the island. As an American citizen, I have the luxury of being completely removed from local politics. I am happy to work with anyone on the island to promote […]

Le 29 septembre 2013 de 8h00 à 11h00 à Cul de Sac, les amoureux de la Nature de tous âges sont invités à participer à l’édition saint-martinoise de la journée internationale de la migration d’oiseaux (IMBD en anglais ; 23 septembre). L’événement aura lieu sur le sentier de découverte de la mangrove de l’Etang de la Barrière, à proximité directe […]

I’m headed to Statia tomorrow for the Statia Sustainable Conference to give a talk about water, wildlife and sustainable tourism development. I’m really looking forward to it, and I have heard only great things about the conference. Hopefully I’ll be sharing a few wildlife photos here in a couple days featuring species that are present on Statia, but not on […]

There were many birds this morning at the small pond created for livestock on the way to Cul-de-Sac, but I wasn’t the only one there early in the morning to see the birds. Cats and dogs can be wonderful pets, but they can also be very dangerous for local wildlife. Like the mongoose, they are predators that are not native, […]