Copies are now available at the museum in Philipsburg and At Books End in Simpson Bay.

Here’s the link to the radio interview on Nature Talk last Friday.

Interview on Nature Talk about the Incomplete Guide to the Wildlife of Saint Martin by Hank Plank on
soundcloud.com
Click to listen to this sound by Hank Plank: A December interview on Jadira Veen’s radio program on Pearl FM in Philipsburg. | Shared via SoundCloud

We made another quick stop at the three small islets by Baie de l’Embouchure on New Year’s Eve. We had a particularly great time walking out towards the southernmost islet in ankle-deep water, then letting the current push us back to Saint Martin at great speed through very shallow water.

As I gradually close out my photo library for 2010, I have a few insects from around our apartment in December.

And, a few more photos of the sky.

And now, a break from our regular programing to share a little holiday culture from Grand Case. First, a few local buildings, including the Christmas house.

Next, the annual Christmas parade, including the Snow Princess and Johnny as Santa.

And, what holiday season would be complete without the traditional Caribbean pirate party?

I had a couple last excursions in December, one of which was the inauguration of a new trail around Pinel Islet. There were a variety of important folks there, like the prefect of French Saint Martin and the director of coastal areas for France, who had flown in to check out Saint Martin. Yann and Marie had made a fake boat with wildlife games for children that is now on the beach at the end of the new trail.

The other excursion was an SXM Trails hike from La Belle Creole to various parts of Terres Basses. En route we stopped by Le Trou de David and at the end of our walk we lucked out with a lovely rainbow.

Our next day of snorkeling expeditions brought us to two shallow shipwrecks. The first was in Cay Bay, a boxy, barge-type wreck. The visibility was generally poor due to the swell, and the wreck was not too picturesque, but it was still worth checking out. The bay is currently being developed for a new hotel, so who knows what the area will look like in a year or two.

Traffic kept us from the south shore beaches, so we had lunch and then did a quick snorkel of the wreck in Galisbay. Again, visibility was poor, but it was still pretty fun to snorkel the half-submerged wreck.

On Monday we managed to visit four snorkeling sites. The first one was Gibbs Bay, which is located on the Dutch side between Dawn Beach and Guana Bay. It’s quite out of the way and also really nice. There were loads of soft corals, mixed schools of blue tang and surgeonfish and even some living elkhorn corals.

Next, we headed up to Dawn Beach and snorkeled the North side of the bay. Near the beach, there were some algae-covered patches of dead coral that were not that interesting. If you swim far enough to reach the outer side of the reef, there are a few soft corals, but overall it wasn’t that exciting.

Next we went to Coralita, the beach at Baie Lucas. The bay is relatively shallow, with sea grass and sand which gives way to some coral formations as you swim out. It seemed like a perfect place to see spotted eagle rays, and we did see one. There were quite a few nice soft corals there as well, and the bay is relatively protected, making it fairly calm.

Our last stop was at Le Galion, which is extremely shallow and calm. We swam out around the north corner of Baie de l’Embouchure and encountered a shallow area filled with sea urchins. In some slightly deeper areas there were a handful of living corals, and on our way back we found a couple spotted eagle rays feeding in the sea grass.

Team members Chris and Theresa had tipped us off about this snorkeling spot during the summer, but this was the first time we checked it out ourselves, and it was quite fantastic. From the northernmost end of Orient Bay, we swam around the rocky outcrop. The first area was okay, but after passing a small sandy area we came to a much better area with soft coral-encrusted rocks and loads of fish. There were colorful encrusting hard corals and large areas of what seem to be mat zoanthids. As in many relatively shallow areas, the remains of large elkhorn corals were common. It was the first really great locale we visited on this expedition.

On Christmas Eve, we tried snorkeling at the southern end of Orient Bay near Club O. Off the beach, the sea floor is mostly a mix of sand and sea grass patches. Near the point, there are rocks and coral skeletons as well as coral debris that has washed up and accumulated there. It wasn’t outstanding, but there were a variety of fish and a few living soft corals.

From there, we decided to check out the mangroves and shallow waters in the southern part of Baie de l’Embouchure. The visibility amongst the mangroves was mediocre, but we did have a nice time in the Bay. One highlight was the groups of urchins that gave cover to juvenile fish. It’s definitely a key nursery area for juvenile fish as well as young spiny lobsters.