Killdeer are a type of plover that is quite common on the island. They nest here, often on the mudflats surrounding our salt ponds. In these pictures, I believe they are engaged in what is called a scrape ceremony. This is how they choose a nesting site and is often the prelude for mating. The male will scrape the ground […]

It’s nesting time for the bananaquit (also known as the sugar bird, sucrier, and a few other names). It’s actually basically always nesting time for them, because they breed and build nests throughout the year. Their nests are usually spherical and made of grass, cotton and various other materials with a small opening on the side. Thanks to our recent […]

I’ve had a few people ask me about the White-winged Dove, because it is a relatively recent arrival to the island. It is native to the Caribbean, but has been expanding its range into the Lesser Antilles. At first glance, it looks a lot like our native Zenaida Dove (known locally as the Mountain Dove, and if you know other […]

Here’s a baby bush cricket, probably Carylla proalbifrons or a similar species. Everyone who read The Very Hungry Caterpillar when they were little knows that some insects, like butterflies, undergo a complete metamorphosis. Many other insects, including crickets, undergo an incomplete metamorphosis, from egg to nymph to adult. Nymphs are typically similar in form to adults, although they often don’t […]

Cuban tree frogs will lay their eggs in just about any fresh water, even temporary pools and manmade structures. It’s a necessity if your children are tadpoles and you live on a relatively dry island. A couple years ago, some friends found hundreds or even thousands, of tadpoles and young frogs in an unused swimming pool. Many of the frogs […]

If you hear a loud, rasping insect at night, it’s probably the broad-tipped conehead. It’s a type of katydid, and as you can see, they have a little cone at the top of their head. They’re quite common on St. Martin and can be either green or brown. Party conehead is also all excited because we hit our fundraising goal […]

This centridine bee is really taking off. These bees are specially adapted to harvest oils from flowers, instead of, or in addition to, pollen and nectar. This group also includes a species on St. Martin known as Abeille folle des plages, which is French for crazy beach bee. Our fundraising projects are also really taking off. As of this morning […]

Launching! Today I’m launching a couple fundraising projects. On Kickstarter, I have a project to raise funds for a printing of the all-new, totally-updated 2nd edition of the wildlife guide. Contributors receive rewards, so this is the perfect way to pre-order a copy of the new book. Even if you already have the first edition, you’ll want the new one, […]

The Lesser Antillean Bullfinch is found only in the Lesser Antilles, but is common on most of the islands in its range. They have a thick bill for eating seeds. Males are black with reddish-brown patches on the chin, near the tail and above the eyes. Females are basically plain brown. One source tells me the local name for this […]

The common gallinule can be found on all of our ponds. When the first edition of the guide was published, it was the common moorhen, but since then the old world and new world populations have been split into two species, and ours was renamed. It’s a member of the rail family and is locally known as the water chicken. […]