Even when there are no turtle tracks, the trip to look for them can be very enjoyable!
June 5th, 2011 by Marc AuMarc
June 3rd, 2011 by Marc AuMarc
On yet another hot and sticky day I went on a short walk in the Grand Case area. My first stop was the bridge, where the canal to the airport salt pond had been opened recently. Several royal terns were happily fishing there and I was happy to stop and take a few photos of them.
As I continued through town I ran into a couple friends, one of which pointed out a cherry bush on the hill and asked me to bring some back if I went up that way. A cherry bush is actually a cashew tree, and the cashews themselves actually hang from the bottom of what looks like a vaguely heart-shaped fruit. Actually, apparently the cashew itself is the fruit, and the fruit-like part is a pseudo-fruit. Unprepared, the cashew is actually poisonous, but the pseudo-fruit is sweet and delicious. The tree itself was popular with a particular cerambycid (longhorn) beetle, Trachyderes succinctus and what seems to be a braconid wasp. There were also a number of fruit flies and small beetles eating the fallen fruit.
I stopped to take a couple photos of Grand Case before returning with my cherry fruit, sweaty but well-rewarded.
June 3rd, 2011 by Marc AuMarc
In La Grotte du Puits des Terres Basses, there are a number of solution cavities in the ceiling. These are hemispherical depressions created when water dissolves the rock. They seem to be a popular site for maternity colonies, where mother bats raise their young. In some of the photos below, you can see some of the young bats, still mostly hairless (chauves-souris qui sont vraiment chauve). The bats seem to be Brachyphylla cavernarum. In addition, particularly on the baby bats, insect parasites can clearly be seen. Also featured are some of the various invertebrates found in the cave, including cave crickets, the giant centipede, spiders and snails.
June 1st, 2011 by Marc AuMarc
The wildlife guide will have a table at the St. Martin Book Fair events Thursday evening in Marigot and Saturday in Philipsburg. Stop by and get your book signed or pick up a copy!
