When I posted about the Melocactus survey, I neglected to include this set of photos of an abandoned house in on Babit Point near the survey area. Although abandoned structures are not uncommon on either side of the island, this one seemed particularly lonely, and was in stark contrast with the abundant recent developments just across the bay on the Dutch side of Oyster Pond.
On Friday I had the great pleasure of tagging along on a hike with the sixth grade class from Learning Unlimited. Our guide for the hike was none other than Riet Sint, author of the book Island Walks, a guide to the hiking trails of Saint Martin. We did the Bellevue hike, starting from Cole Bay across from Grand Marche and heading up the hill for some terrific views of the lagoon and the Marigot area. The area used to be a plantation, and Riet told us quite a bit about the history of the area. We were also able to find quite a few critters along the way, including grasshoppers, crickets, termites, ants, both species of Anolis lizard and many of the invasive checkered swallowtails which were laying eggs on citrus shrubs that were growing alongside the trail.
Salines d’Orient is a large salt pond between Orient Beach and Le Galion. On a recent visit, I explored the pond, finding large mudflat areas where the water had receded. Although some spots were firm and sandy, others areas had a cracked crust over black mud. A purple ring of what I think must be algae surrounded much of the pond. Late in the afternoon, some royal terns were bathing and flying around the pond.
While I was checking out the large fire on Wednesday, I took a walk around Eastern Point to see if the fire had spread in that direction. Luckily, as far as I could tell it hadn’t. This was good news because it’s one of the most beautiful parts of the island, full of Melocactus and gorgeous views.
A couple days ago there was a large fire at the northeast corner of the island in the Wilderness/Cul-de-Sac area. Apparently it started Tuesday night and I first saw it on Wednesday morning as it burned on the hills overlooking Cul-de-Sac. By the time I got back with my camera a little after noon, the fire spread considerably, and over the course of the afternoon it had burned almost all the grassy areas between the road to Anse Marcel and the road to the dump. I was told it started at the dump, and the dump was indeed burning along with much of the hill behind it. Although brush fires are a natural occurrence during the dry season, this one seemed to be manmade and significant amounts of trash burning surely released a lot of nasty stuff into the air.
In the photos below, you can see the fire in progress and some of the burned areas just after the fire. There were several firemen fighting the fire around a couple under-construction buildings that were vulnerable, but most of the houses were separated from the fire by roads. In the grassy areas, the fire burned quite quickly, leaving some of the larger trees and shrubs somewhat intact. It was also a bit uncanny that, aside from the area of the fire, the visibility was excellent, offering clear views of St. Barths as well as what I guess was St. Kitts further in the distance.
I was quite interested to see if any animals would be flushed out by the fire, but all I could see were lots of grasshoppers. A few cattle egrets also patrolled the edge of the fire for an easy meal. I also failed to find animal remains in the burned areas despite checking a pretty large section including hillside, flat areas and small ravines. Although some of the forested areas did burn, other parts seemed to escape damage. Large boulders in the ravines may have helped contain the fire. I look forward to heading back over the coming weeks to see how the area recovers.
While some members were in Guadeloupe to hike, some were busy with the regatta and some were undoubtedly discouraged by the heavy rain through the night and early morning, seven people did show up for the SXM Trails hike this morning. The route was quite nice, starting at Hope Estate and taking us around Étang Chevrise, down Orient Beach and back up over the hill and down through the rock quarry area. Highlights included a large group of brown pelicans on the pond (at least 25), an American kestrel in Orient Bay and at least six types of spider.
Here are a few photos of our trip to Marigot yesterday to watch the regatta. Having taken a nap on the pier while everyone watched the boats come in, there are no photos of sailboats.
Yesterday I had the opportunity to join a Eric Francius, a botanist from Guadeloupe, as he conducted a cactus survey with help from Marie and the interns from the Reserve Naturelle. Friday’s survey was at Babit Point in Oyster Pond, an area that the Reserve Naturelle is trying to establish as part of the reserve.
En route, I walked from Quartier d’Orléans, passing Étang aux Poissons, Baie de l’Embouchure and Coralita Beach. It was a lovely walk just after a rainstorm.
The cactus survey focused on one of three species of cactus in the area, Melocactus intortus, often referred to as turk’s head or pope’s head cactus. When healthy, these cacti have a single cephalium (the red part that sticks up) and produce small, pink fruits. Under stress, if they are kicked over by a donkey, for example, they create many small cactus buds. The survey counted the number of adults and immature cacti and recorded the number of cephalia on each cactus. Multiple areas were surveyed, including flat areas with other vegetation and the preferred habitat of steep, rocky hillside.
Eric taught me quite a few things about cacti. One thing I didn’t know was that cacti are all native to the Americas. He also explained that there is an Argentinian pyralid moth that feeds on cactus, particularly opuntia. This moth was used to control invasive cacti in Australia, South Africa and St. Kitts, but now is spreading around the Caribbean, threatening native cacti. The large, orange and black caterpillar is found inside the cactus pad.
The survey location was also a convenient vantage point to watch the sailboats participating in the Heineken Regatta.
While there, I stumbled upon a fly that was busily engaged in something on an unopened candlestick cactus flower bud. It was extending its abdomen and rubbing it against the flower bud, strongly suggesting that it was trying to lay eggs inside it. Although it briefly left a couple times, it was doing this for at least fifteen minutes. Close examination of the bud revealed some sort of liquid left on the surface, but it was unclear what this was. Photos will be sent to a specialist.
Harmony Nights happen on Tuesdays in Grand Case for about twelve weeks during the high season. Last Tuesday came at the end of the French side carnaval, so the dancers had flower-themed outfits, which was the theme of this year’s carnaval. Each week there is a different marching band, bands playing on the street and various stalls selling various stuff. The Rhythm Boys were playing near the cultural center, and I particularly liked the bass box that the bassist was playing.
The rock dove, or what most people think of as a pigeon or a rat with wings, is quite common in Philipsburg and Marigot, but I don’t see it much outside of those cities. It was a bit of a surprise to see a flock land in St. Louis, but it was also a good chance to get a few photos of them without concrete in the background. Plus, they really are quite pretty. That said, hopefully they will remain mostly centered around the big cities rather than displacing the several native species of dove and pigeon on the island.
