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 […]
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 […]
A couple articles I wrote about birds have been published this week. Learn about yellow-crowned night heron plumage on SXMinfo.fr and the voyage of the whimbrel at The Daily Herald.
A backswimmer flew into our kitchen last night. It’s an aquatic insect from the order Hemiptera, so it’s related to insects like stink bugs, aphids and cicadas. They get their name from swimming upside down. Although they spend most of their time in the water hunting insects and tadpoles, they can fly as well, which is how they get to […]
Right now, migratory shorebirds are arriving on St. Martin from North America. Some will spend the winter here, while others will fly on to South America. Many of these birds have different plumage at different times of year. During the summer, they wear what is known as their breeding plumage, which is usually more distinctive. During the winter they will […]
Here is a pair of checkered swallowtails mating near Friar’s Bay. This species is originally from Asia and their caterpillars feed on citrus trees (it’s also known as the Lime Butterfly and many other combinations of Lime/Lemon/Citrus and Swallowtail/Butterfly). The first recorded observation of this species in the Caribbean was in the Dominican Republic in 2004, and it spread quickly […]