Today we attended the annual Arrowroot Jollification in Colombier. Arrowroot (Maranta arundinacea) is a tropical plant cultivated for its starchy roots. A jollification is a St. Martin custom similar to an Amish barn-raising, where a community comes together to complete a task, such as building a house, fixing a wall, or preparing arrowroot, while also having food together and hanging out.

The main steps of the arrowroot process include harvesting the roots, cleaning them and removing the skin, pounding them in large mortars and then straining the pounded root with water to separate the starch from the fiber. The starch ends up in the water, and once it has settled, the water is carefully removed and the remaining starch water is dried in the sun.

The jollification also included food and drink stands, a DJ and a youth marching band. The event was really fun, and attendees are encouraged to participate in the arrowroot preparation, particularly the pounding. The jollification will continue tomorrow.

We also happened to see some interesting things on our walk into and out of Colombier. The small stream that runs through the valley is completely dry in many places, including areas that were home to crayfish and three species of fish just one month ago.

On Sunday the SXM Trails hiking association took a hike up to Fort William, at the top of a hill overlooking Great Bay, the Salt Pond and Fort Amsterdam. The early morning views from the top of the hill were really outstanding. After descending the hill, we followed the rocky beach around Little Bay and went into Cay Bay. The cliffs on the western side of Little Bay were very beautiful. Part of a small airplane wing was washed up on the rocks.

I actually didn’t take many photos of animals on the hike, but did get quite a few photos of the rocks and cliffs. The new hotel development in Cay Bay made me a little bit sad, but the hike was still a great time.

After over a year of looking off our balcony at Anguilla, we finally made it out there, thanks to our friend Christian, who was taking his cousin and her boyfriend there. Our esteemed captain was Yann and the boat, Carré d’As (basically translates as four aces) was fantastic.

We headed out from the marina in Marigot, past the ruins of La Belle Creole and on towards Anguilla. The sea was calm, and soon we were rounding the southwestern tip through the Anguillita Channel. Our first quick stop was Sandy Island, a tiny plot of sand with a half-dozen palm trees that is ringed by coral reef. If it weren’t so close to Anguilla, it would be the prototypical desert island.

Next, we continued to Crocus Bay, a stunningly beautiful area with cliffs riddled with caves. We jumped off a big rock into the water, snorkeled and I took a look inside one of the caves. I could smell and hear the bats, and there was a telltale pile of almonds on the floor indicating the presence of Jamaican fruit-eating bats. The chamber was quite large, with very high ceilings and many recesses, so I did not actually see the bats.

A bit of rain sent us up to Shoal Bay for more snorkeling, sunning and sandwiches. As the afternoon got later, we headed up past the tip of Anguilla to Scrub Island, admiring several blow holes where underwater caves shoot jets of water up through the rocky shoreline. Our last stop was Tintamarre and some free-diving to the tugboat wreck there. A perfect day!

Last Sunday, I hiked with SXM Trails on Naked Boy Hill on the Dutch side. It was a reasonably strenuous uphill jaunt on the east coast side of the hill, and the view from the top was really great. It was a particularly good vantage point for viewing the burned area of Sucker Garden Hill. On our way down, we followed a line of cables and pipe on a rocky slope that was full of goat-nibbled orchids. We even saw an unusual fern with large fronds and black stems that seemed out of place on the relatively arid hillside.

I also saw the turnip-tailed gecko for the first time, but unfortunately it was two halves of said gecko that had been accidentally stepped on. That said, at least I know they are on the island.

How often do you see insect eggs? Given how many insects there are around us, there must be tons, but they’re rarely seen. On a recent visit to Philipsburg, I found many clusters of what are almost surely oleander caterpillar moth (Empyreuma affinis) eggs. The moth itself was unknown on St. Martin before hurricane Luis, but is a Caribbean species with an expanding range. Now, they’re extremely common, perhaps in part because there are so many oleander bushes on the island. In the photos you can see eggs at different stages of development, including empty ones which had already hatched.

I also captured images of a few critters a the Rastafarian farm during their We Agree with Culture event. There were clusters of leafhoppers on some of the bushes, and a Cuban tree frog. The Cuban tree frog is another species that has been spreading around the Caribbean and beyond.

St. Martin is a small island with a rich historical and natural heritage. It is also experiencing great pressures from increasing population and tourist development that threaten the local environment and sites of historical interest. Below are ten organizations that are dedicated to the preservation of Saint Martin and the exploration of its natural and historical treasures.

EPIC (Environmental Protection in the Caribbean) is a non-profit dedicated to promoting conservation in the Caribbean, particularly Saint Martin, through research and community-based projects. Much of their work focuses on cleaning up the Simpson Bay lagoon, protecting and expanding mangrove wetlands and research on sea birds.

Sint Maarten Pride Foundation is a local organization dedicated to environmental awareness and conservation on Sint Maarten. Their work includes beach and pond clean-ups as well as work to preserve historical landmarks.

Nature Foundation St. Maarten is a non-profit that manages the Dutch side marine parks and also promotes conservation of wetlands and terrestrial habitats on the island.

St. Maarten National Heritage Foundation is a non-profit that operates the museum in Philipsburg, and promotes the study and preservation of local history, culture and nature.

Musee de Saint Martin is the museum in Marigot is dedicated to the preservation of Saint Martin heritage. The Association Archéologique Hope Estate is based there, as is Heritage magazine.

Réserve Naturelle de Saint-Martin manages the French side nature reserve, including the large marine reserve and land-based reserves on the French side. They also conduct a variety of research including sea turtle nesting surveys.

St. Martin Trails is a hiking association that goes on hikes every Sunday to various parts of the island, with quarterly trips to hike on nearby islands.

Youth Link Foundation organizes activities of social, cultural, environmental and educational value for youth on Sint Maarten.

Sint Maarten Archeological Center is a non-profit promoting science and archaeology amongst youth while preserving the archaeological heritage of the island.

And, of course, Les Fruits de Mer is the world’s first extreme shallow snorkeling team, dedicated to exploring the shallowest waters of the world and sharing their wonders.

Who did I miss in this post? Let me know!

A couple weeks ago, a large hillside area over Sucker Garden in the Dutch side burned. Apparently a fire to burn brush or trash had gotten out of control. Luckily, there were no serious injuries or houses burned. Although it was perhaps the largest fire in recent memory, the fire department was able to get it under control, and in some places slave walls (stone walls from colonial times) stopped the spread.

I was in the area on Friday, and took a few minutes to walk the area. I was particularly interested to see if any animal remains would be there, particularly the Leeward Island racer, a snake which is effectively extinct on the island. As it turned out, aside from thousands of burnt and crumbling snail shells, there wasn’t much to see. It was quite odd, though, to walk through the burned area. As you can see in the photos, without grass and brush, it’s very clear how little soil there is in much of the island.

I have a couple galleries of local stuff here. The first is a set of plants and critters from the Grand Case area. It’s pretty heavily weighted towards the spider that has absolutely overtaken mangroves and pond shores around the island. It seems to prey heavily on midges, which have been super common for a while, perhaps explaining the population explosion for the spiders.

The next set is just a few photos of an awesome rainbow that I saw the other morning in Grand Case Bay.

If you’re like me, you often need to identify Caribbean animals, and it’s not always easy to find resources on the web, so I figured I’d post links to some of my favorites.

The Catalog of the Lepidoptera of the French Antilles is a site in both French and English that features most of the butterflies and moths of this area. A few groups are missing (Hespirids, Pyralids, etc.) but the families that are present are well represented with photos and descriptions. The focus is primarily on Guadeloupe and Martinique, but distribution in St. Martin and St. Barths is also noted.

The Museum of Comparative Zoology Caribbean Insect Database is sometimes down, but when it’s accessible it’s a great place to find thousands of specimen photos.

Father Sanchez’s Web Site of West Indian Natural History is a terrific overview of West Indian fauna with tons of photos. It includes the full range of vertebrates and invertebrates, plus information about many plants and fungi.

The Action Nature St. Martin Guide is in French and has quite a few of the species on Saint Martin.

Mark de Silva’s page at the Moth Photographers Group is primarily focused on the Grenadines, but many of the species are found throughout the Caribbean.

The Caribbean Spiders Photo Gallery by Jo-Anne Sewlal is a great place to see photos of various spiders from different families.

Tom Murray’s Florida Butterfly Database features many species also found in the Caribbean.

BatHead has a Caribbean Bat Guide that is really terrific, plus information about which species are on each island.

Caribherp will help you identify your West Indian reptiles and amphibians. The site is very comprehensive and includes photos.

The Virgin Islands Arthropod Database is a handy resource for checking to see what species might be nearby, although you will have to go elsewhere to get photos.

And, of course, no list would be complete without The Incomplete Guide to the Wildlife of Saint Martin. With information and photos of about 300 species, it is far from comprehensive, but it is a good place to start understanding the wildlife of Saint Martin and the northern Lesser Antilles as well.

UPDATE: Barbara reminded me of the Biological Inventory of Sint Maarten, which offers an excellent overview about the flora and fauna of the island and a very valuable list of references for digging deeper.

The day after the cleanup at Fresh Pond, I met with volunteers to plant trees near Little Bay Pond. A joint effort by the St. Maarten Pride Foundation, the Nature Foundation and EPIC, the event was well-attended, including many students. Volunteers planted a variety of trees between the pond and the roadside, as well as a number of red mangroves at the water line. Stones were collected to mark the newly-planted trees, and trash was collected from the area. We even saw a really nice rainbow!

With all the activity, it was also a good chance to see a few creatures, particularly when picking up rocks. Although I had to skip my SXM Trails hike to attend the planting, it was well worth it.