Vol 1 - The Trinidad and Tobago Field Naturalists' Club

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Page 4 THE FIELD NATURALIST Issue No. 1/2013just had to see this out-of-this-world creaturefor myself, so we both borrowed snorkelinggear and dove into the deep blue inthe name of underwater photography. Unfortunately,the mystical creature had hadenough of curious snorkellers and the fallingtide, and was nowhere in sight. Disappointed,we began our swim back to shore. A hugeschool of tiny bait fish took us by surprise,however, and refused to leave us alone untilwe had given them an audience.Dan’s delicious, steaming hot dhal and rice,flavoured with a bouquet garni of lemongrass, was a welcome feast after a quick dipunder the cascades of the nearby crayfishriddledriver. Observing the dampness of theevening, Dan told us that if one ever neededto build a fire in such weather it is easierdone by cutting a hole in the hollow stem ofthe bamboo which would provide a protectedand dry refuge for a flame, a trick hehad learnt from his mother.A little while after my late lunch/early dinner,I had the pleasure of becoming closely acquaintedwith a ¾”, brownish-grey jumpingfrog; Humboldt's Toad (Rhinella humboldti)that made quite at home in the palmof my hand.As the setting sun was pulled across the skyin a chariot driven by a flock of parrots, webecame curious about the congregation ofquite a few turkey vultures in one area of thebeach. Upon our approach, and urged by thechastising of Kay Hinkson, they flew off butonly after devouring a cache of turtle hatchlings.We were lucky enough, however, to witnessthe journey of the surviving 29 hatchlingswho hurtled down the beach and intothe great ocean.An evening of indeterminate weather waspunctuated by a double rainbow, of whichthe “paparazzi” took full advantage, and wefinished the day gazing at some star—or wasit a plane—through gathering clouds andlighting fireworks. Our walk back to ourtents yielded the unmistakable scent of ‘wildanimal’, perhaps porcupine, suggested Dan.Most of us fell asleep in the late hours of thenight to the sound of cicadas, occasionalstreaks of lightning parting the sky, and theroll of distant thunder.I woke in the early hours of the morningand decided to take a stroll down the beachwith mum. To the eastern end we discoveredseveral tracks along the beach. Dan, the onlyother human afoot, appeared and informedus that he was sure there was a major nestinglast night and that we had just missed anadult, hawksbill probably, returning to the sea.Excited, we walked the entire distance of thebeach counting fresh adult turtle and hatch-Humboldt's Toad,Rhinella humboldtiat home in Kathryn’s palmPhoto: Vicki Blanchard
Page 5 THE FIELD NATURALIST Issue No. 1/2013ling tracks. Whilst counting, we noted thatone hawksbill had even wandered up pastthe sand and had flattened an area amongstthe vegetation. Based on the tracks, we accountedfor 10 adult hawksbill turtles, 2 adultleatherbacks and a total of 270 hatchlings inall! There were 4 recently hatched nests; thehatchlings per nest were 65, 54, 50 and 101,respectively. (We triple-checked that last nestto make sure)!arrived and we set off on our little excursionto Madamas Beach. The path was muddyfrom the rain on the previous night, and attimes a bit steep, but generally clear and obvious.The only species that came anywhere nearthe turtle in number was the turkey vulturewith 25 representatives. The most energeticand visible had to be the 6 sandpipers caughtfrolicking in the receding waves. Of note wasthe remains of the breast plate of an apparentlyslaughtered turtle that was found onthe beach. Another chunk of ‘plate’ was alsofound on Madamas Beach.The most intriguing discovery, however, wasthe trail of a four-legged creature that movedwith feet one after the other in very closepairs. No tail tracks were evident. The distancebetween the tracks was about 6inches. Each paw was about 1.5 to 2 inches inlength which included claw-like indentationsto the front. It seemed to be hunting thesand crabs and had also, by evidence of itstracks and leftovers, made a meal of a hatchlingor two. Almost half of the beach wascovered in these tracks that meandered betweenthe tree line and water’s edge. Quite adistance to cover so it may have been possiblethat he or she had company.We returned to the campsite for a goodhelping of Dan’s lemon grass tea and breakfast.Not long after ten o’clock, the secondgroup of hikers, Esperanza Luengo and family,Curious tracks foundon Madamas BeachPhoto: Vicki Blanchard
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Vol 1 - The Trinidad and Tobago Field Naturalists' Club

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