The next is a few creatures from near the Bistro Nu in Marigot, mostly showcasing Anolis pogus:

At the Butterfly Farm near Galion, I spent a bit of time trying to capture some of the local bird species, with varying success:

Finally, a couple creatures from Quartier d’Orleans:

Notable sitings from our first trip included a huge mass of laughing gulls at the dump, mysterious (non-turtle) tracks on the beach and a sampling of the Anolis gingivinus that live on the rocky beach area between the two beaches we survey.

Our second visit was great for seabird photos. I was able to capture a female and an immature magnificent frigatebird jousting in the air. There were also many reddish bees that were swarming where the vegetation meets the beach, sometimes stopping to do something that looked like fighting but could have been mating. The nearby flowers had a very curious shape, presumably to facilitate pollination, that can be seen below.

The second collection is taken from near the cemetery and the salt pond and mangrove area there. Of particular note is a butterfly I had not previously seen, the white peacock:

As I was doing this, a horse approached. At first, it was nice to see a friendly horse, but then he started following me around. I think he was after my backpack, or perhaps my straw hat. He would walk right behind me, almost breathing down my neck, and if when I turned around he would quickly turn his head and look the other way, as if to say, “Following you? Of course not! I just happened to be standing here, minding my own business.” Eventually he left to go wallow in some mud.

I saw a few interesting things, including what I’m guessing were some flatworms and some monarch butterfly caterpillars eating a small plant with red and orange flowers that I don’t think is a milkweed. On my way back, I found a cluster of chrysalides on a bush and brought them home to find out who they belong to.

My favorite sighting was a banded jawfish that kept peeking out of his burrow in the sandy channel. As you can see from the photo below, in addition to excavating burrows, they use larger rocks and coral rubble to create a masonry-like structure around the entrance. Usually they retreat into their burrow when approached and are reluctant to re-emerge, but since we were in the vicinity for so long doing exercises, I think this one grew tired of hiding and kept popping back up. I also saw a lancer dragonet, but with the fisheye lens I wasn’t able to get a good photo of something so small.