Yesterday afternoon we had another session for the Be the Change SXM/Nature Foundation SXM wildlife education and ranger training program. The order of business for the day was to conduct a census of Anolis lizards in an area where one introduced species has become established. The kids were great at spotting the lizards and identifying them by species. In two […]
When looking at Caribbean biology from a historical perspective, I came up with a way to oversimplify things based on how research was/is conducted. (I’m sure there are plenty of other great ways to oversimplify this.) Although it’s an imperfect framework for viewing things, I think it does help explain why we are so ignorant in certain areas and how […]
If you are interested in birds, I recommend liking the page for the SCSCB, the Society for the Conservation and Study of Caribbean Birds. You’ll get bird conservation news and plenty of great photos and information about birds that live in our region. I learn something new there most days. For example, I just learned that this is a 2nd-year […]
The whimbrel is a gorgeous shorebird that breeds up in the arctic and then spends its winters in the south, including St. Martin. These birds will often return to the exact same locations each year, so the ones we see on St. Martin each winter may be coming back over and over, just like many of the tourists who visit […]
Environmental Protection in the Caribbean (EPIC) has been doing conservation work and biological research on St. Martin for over ten years, including some of the longest-running bird studies in the Caribbean. EPIC’s U.S. non-profit has also partnered with me to accept contributions towards my program to get my wildlife book in schools, libraries and other public institutions, and to do […]
If you are at the beach in the morning and see something that looks like tank tracks coming up from the sea, they’re probably sea turtle tracks. Three species of sea turtle nest on St. Martin, the hawksbill (pictured), the leatherback and the green turtle. They typically nest between April and November on beaches all over the island. If you […]
One of our current research projects is to identify a species of soapberry bug found on the island. These insects are true bugs from the subfamily Serinethinae. Ours are predominantly orange. Insects from this group feed on vines from the soapberry family, and ours use their piercing mouthparts to puncture the seeds and suck out the insides. So far, I’ve […]