Trois-Pistoles

After a very exciting road trip from Ottawa to Trois-Pistoles where we (Brooke, Beka, Karmen and I)  got lost in Montreal due to our exit being closed (they cover the street names so we had no idea we had passed it even), small car problems (the protective sheet metal dragging on the ground as we drive through downtown Montreal) which were solved with a smile at Canadian Tire. Being so late due to all this mess in Montreal meant that I wasn't able to stop and take pictures on our drive up. There was a lot of beautiful scenery along Hwy 20 after Montreal. Gulls were flocking in the 100's and flying in intricate spirals.

I met my host family and we are staying in a basement apartment of a very nice house with an older couple. The house is about 20 minute bike away from Trois-Pistoles. The host family has a cottage nearby and I am excited to go birding there soon. There are a lot of bird around here. I heard them calling this morning when I went for a short walk.

I wish I had come early. The urge to explore is killing me. This is ironic because the name of the program I am in is explore. The truth is I am a bit worried about them having everything planned for us and not having enough free time to see the area well.

As I struggle to learn this overwhelming language I will try to get out and see the wildlife that this area has to offer.

Jamaica Day 10: Before saying goodbye

On my last day I didn't do any birding or herping (looking for reptiles and amphibians). I just relaxed at the beach and by the house. Enjoyed watching the birds but didn't chase any of them down. The last few pictures I took in Jamaica were of orchids and butterflies in the yard. There was also a large swallowtail but it never stopped moving!

Jamaica Day 9: Back to the wilderness!

After a nice day of relaxing on the beach it was time to get back at it. I awoke early this morning to dogs barking and after a quick breakfast headed towards the river.

I saw:
great egret

cattle egret
black crowned night heron

Black-crowned night heron

common moorhen
ruby throated hummingbird
brown pelican
yellow warbler

Yellow warbler

Herons and pelicans standing on fishing traps always amuse me because you know they could be in for a lazy treat but its hard not to remember the many times I have seen them get caught in nets or on a fishing line.

The river is quite beautiful in the morning with the small run down shacks and boats going along it. Early rising locals smiling and saying hello.

There were many dragonflies and butterflies along the path I took beside the river. None of which I can identify yet but I'll work on it and update later.

Swallow tail butterfly

Red eyed vireo> had a dark stripe down it's eye and grey on it's head with a brownish body.

Red eyed vireo on it's nest

I'm not too sure about this one...

Royal tern

Skipper (Hesperidae) butterfly

Another red eyed vireo

Dragonfly

Common yellowthroat

Common yellowthroat

The scenery was gorgeous as I walked there and back.

White-crowned pigeon

White-crowned pigeon

On my walk towards Margaritaville along the road I saw a fair number of olive throated parakeets.

Find the parakeet!

Today was a great day for birding and I barely even remembered my own birthday! I must have looked surprised when my friend wished me a happy birthday because my response was "ohh yeah".

Jamaica Day 8: Relaxing and the ocasional sighting

It is nearing the end of the trip and although I have seen a lot here I would still like to see more but lack of sleep and the excitement of seeing new wildlife is wearing off a bit and I am completely satisfied just laying on a beach all day today. I saw the usual birds plus a new one that I didn't recognize right away.

 Movement in the sand caught my eyes and I noticed another tiger beetle (Family-Cincindelinae). This time I was ready with my camera and am very satisfied with the photo since they are usually very quick moving insects and the traffic on the beach quickly scared him off. I saw a few more throughout the day as I walked around the beach near Margaritaville.

Tiger beetle

At night this black witch moth decided the porch was a good place to hang out.There were still geckos and frogs out but the owl didn't return.

Black witch moth

Jamaica Day 7: Beach Bums

Today we relaxed on the beach for the day. As always there was an afternoon rain, sunburns and chicken pattys. I found some interesting invert life. There was another species of jumping spider and a tiger beetle. I had never noticed tiger beetles on the beach before this trip so I guess they are more common in the rainy season? I do love these beetles. They are can be bright metallic colours with spots and are all predatory. VERY COOL!

White flowers outside of Margaritaville

Jumping spider

The highlight of the day was definitely Luminous Lagoon. We drove from Negril towards Montego Bay and then about half an hour to Farmouth (Where a few scenes from James Bond were filmed). Here we saw a new bird that was entirely yellow with an orange-ish head and darker wings. They call them canaries. Looks similar to a white collared seed eater.

Yellow canary -Chris Law

After the sun set we headed out on the 7:30pm boat toy gave of the lagoon. They gave us a short history of the area and then we found  bio-luminescent dinoflagelates. These microscopic organisms glow when disturbed. The water was brackish, warm and very shallow. On the bottom was a few feet of mud.  This is one of the only places in the world where people can see this biological phenomenon.

Jamaica Day 6: YS Falls

We were the first to arrive at YS Falls today. The falls were flowing strong and the water was brown because of all of the rain the day before. This meant that they gave us $3 off the entrance fee which made it $13 instead of $16. I don't mind the water being brown but I guess people had complained before so they warn you automatically and give you a discount so you can't really say much.

The falls

Flowers on vines hanging from the falls

 As we climbed the staircase to the top of the falls there were a lot of anoles on the rocks and trees.  Near the top of the falls we got a look at a broad-winged hawk flying over.

 

 Bellow the falls we saw many hummingbirds including: red-billed streamertails and ruby throated. These were going to bromeliads, poor man's orchid treest and heliconias.  The trees were litered with mockingbirds and kingbirds. Two Jamaican woodpeckers were seen in the tree beside the spring water pool. Parrots flew over.

Very large snail

As always the falls is a beautiful place where I had a ton of fun. Even kept swimming when it started to storm again in the afternoon.

On our ride home we stopped at the family farm  were we saw nesting loggerhead kingbirds, jamaican woodpeckers and white-chinned thrush. There were also jamaican mangos, banannaquit and a small greyish bird. All of the fruit is coming into season and naseberries breadfruit and mangos were some of the many things we brought home. Naseberries are very sweet fruits about the size of  a kiwi and they have black seeds inside. I HIGHLY discourage trying to eat them before they are ready. The unripe fruit is VERY bitter and sticky. The taste stays in your mouth and  your mouth ends up sticking to itself. Very unpleasant!

Jamaica Day 5: Night crawlers

The night brings out a lot of creatures in Jamaica. Walking around the backyard looking for owls once again I saw a lot of things but no owls.

Stink bug sp.

Hermit crab

Eleutherodactylus  cundalli- Jamaican rock frog

While looking for frogs on the vegetation there were a lot of other things crawling around. Ants don't stop being active and it was hard to avoid getting bit by a swarm of them.  There were slugs, milipedes, moths, spiders, anoles, hermit crabs, geckos, frogs and insects.

Very large slug

Moth

Millipede

We found a new species of frog that night in the ditch along the road and posed it nicely on a stick for pictures.

Jamaican masked frog- Eleutherodactylus luteolus

Eleutherodactylus luteolus

Eleutherodactylus luteolus

Anole

If you're identifying herps from the Caribbean this website is very useful! > http://www.caribherp.org