The Daily Bucket is a regular feature of the Backyard Science group. It is a place to note any observations you have made of the world around you. Rain, sun, wind...insects, birds, flowers...meteorites, rocks...seasonal changes...all are worthy additions to the bucket. Please let us know what is going on around you in a comment. Include, as close as is comfortable for you, where you are located. Each note is a record that we can refer to in the future as we try to understand the patterns that are quietly unwinding around us.
May 2014
Blackbird Caye
Turneffe Atoll
Belize
Most of my days down in Belize earlier this month I was underwater, swimming with the fishes and all. More on that later. But the small island where I stayed for two weeks, Blackbird Caye, has quite a variety of terrestrial life too, some of which I was able to see, wandering around between dives. Turneffe Atoll is a national Marine Reserve with wonderful biodiversity.
The caye is narrow where I stayed, with the dock on the oceanside. Vegetation grows out of white coral sand, fertilized by dead leaves, bird poop and other organic material.
Spiny-tailed Iguanas (Ctenosaura similis) are abundant. Their markings are varied, so I know I wasn't looking at the same one over and over.
more pics below...
(All photos by me. In Lightbox...click to enlarge)
I've read they can grow up to 5 feet, but the largest ones I saw were about 3 feet long. This one scampered up a tree while we watched. They are omnivorous and will eat eggs from nests, as well as their more typical diet of fruits, leaves and flowers. See him up on the trunk? and his track in the sand? Those thin lines were everywhere. Wiki says these are the fastest running lizards in the world, clocked at 20 mph.
Some were small. This one was no more than a foot long. Beautiful patterned skin.
Brown anoles (Anolis sagrei) are non-native and abundant in the cayes. They are a food source for the equally abundant Great-Tailed Grackles.
Geckos were around too. One parked itself between the wall and the AC unit of our cabin.
I looked and looked for snakes, either the Boa Constrictor or the Green Snake, but they prefer the mangroves which are hard to access on foot. Some Red Mangroves grew along the shore like this:
but mostly the mangroves rise directly from the water. On our way to some dive sites, we weaved our way through small mangrove islands.
Besides bare footprints and iguana tracks, a common sight in the morning were these tracks, here seen at the foot of the steps of our cabin. These are left by hermit crabs, which can get pretty big. This one is the size of a softball.
On the beach, the hermit crabs were tiny:
Crocs...sigh. I would love to have seen an American Crocodile - from the shore - but in spite of my best efforts, no luck. They were reported to swim along the shore at night on the lagoon side of the caye, and we went out searching twice. I gave up after coming back the second time with 26 mosquito bites, even though I was swathed with netting, which left me flu-ish for the night. Frankly, I am more leery of sand fleas and stinging mosquitoes than a mere croc. Perhaps I will get lucky next time I visit.
(more Turneffe atoll biodiversity - marine, flora, and birds - later)
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What natural events are unfolding in your backyard these days? Reports are welcome from all over.
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