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 ABOUTfeatured: 30 Best Snorkeling Blogs Fun Ways to enjoy the caribbeanArchive for the ‘Reptiles + Iguanas + Snakes’Jan 19, 12 Comments Off
Good evening Amigo’s!! I found this big, beautiful Green Iguana, Iguana iguana on the way to work this morning laying in the sun on top of a big rock, overlooking the ocean. From my view point I could only see his head and front legs so I was a bit limited on the composition. Even with my 200mm lens he spotted me and immediately started moving his head up and down as if to say, “your close enough, one more step and I am gone”! Here in Curacao this is by far the number one most admired creature by visiting tourists. A fully grown male can reach up to two meters in length, that’s over six feet long and yes, this includes the tail! Despite their size Iguana’s can move very quickly! Iguana’s are very much like some of the creatures I find underwater in the way that when you first spot one and you make eye contact they will almost always first remain completely motionless and rely first on their own camouflage. And second, if they still feel they are in danger they will move or shift their bodies to the side of the tree away from danger and often peep with one eye from behind the trunk to see if the coast is clear. And third, if all else fails, they will run or jump in the opposite direction as fast as they can and usually not stopping to look back. Large Green Iguana’s have a grey-green color while the young are bright green though they can darken quickly when in danger or frightened. Iguana’s will only eat leaves and fruit and have the capacity to always choose the leaves with the highest nutrient value. Females will deposit their eggs in a hole that they have dug in the sand. The locals call these Yuana and in Dutch it’s Groene Leguaan.
My hand is still fully swollen from the wasp sting yesterday but is a bit better.
Have a great day all, Barry
Jan 19, 12 Comments Off
Good morning friends, last night after getting home from work it poured, and like magic there were little Tree Frogs, Eleutherodactylus johnstonei jumping around everywhere! Honestly our back deck was covered in these little frogs, I have never seen that many here before! So I did what any dedicated photographer would do, I ran in and grabbed my 105 macro and spent the night outside in the rain! I found this sweet little beauty singing in our big potted plant that we have by the back door, he was loving the rain! This very small tree frog is thought to be introduced to Curacao in the eighties. Probably the frogs or their eggs were hidden in potting soil from Venezuela. Actually the frog belongs in the humid environments of the South American rain-forests. Here in Curacao this little frog cannot live outside of urban areas, like our deserts or North Coast areas, it has to be in areas that are getting watered regularly. It prefers potted plants or plants which hold a bit of water themselves like bromeliads. One may hear the melodious whistle of this Tree Frog in many places all over the island but their favorite places to live are in the well watered bushes of your favorite resort. Although the whistling reminds some people of romantic tropical nights the sound they make can be quite irritating especially if your new to the island. When we first arrived it drove me crazy at night but now I can’t seem to sleep without it. The frequency used by the frogs is such that the sound is very difficult to locate, an excellent adaptation for fooling would be predators but quite annoying if your a photographer with a camera and you can hear them but can’t find them?? Here is Curacao the locals call these frogs “Koki” and in Dutch, your goning to love this one, it’s called a “Fluitkikker” yeah say that one 10 times real fast! The downside to my night of fun-with-frogs is that I got badly stung by a some wasps that were hiding in a hidden nest on this same plant! My hand this morning looks like I am wearing a baseball glove, truly amazing! I doesn’t really hurt it’s just swollen beyond belief and yes I did put ice on it most of the night and took some medication, that didn’t really seem to help!
Well, it just started to rain again, I need to go and clear water off our deck and check for any more stranded tree frogs.
Have a wonderful day folks!! Barry
Aug 12, 11 Comments Off
Hi all, just a super quickie this morning to say all is well here in Curacao. The ocean has been really churned up this week which means a bad time to be shooting photos underwater. Remember I told you we installed a new live-video camera underwater in front of the Substation at 30 feet? Well yesterday we were inside watching it and the whole screen went dark as a massive school of fish pased by, it was insane! I rushed to get my gear and my camera but by the time I got out there they were gone?? Because of the poor visibility I just couldn’t see them but did stay out for close to an hour searching. After work I went on a fast hour and a half ride with Stijn who is doing the triathlon as well this weekend, he should do very well!! Not much else other than that we are still having on and off rain here and it’s the first year I can remember that the salt ponds are still full of water from winter. So full in fact that all the trails we normally ride during the year are still underwater, that’s fairly strange considering it’s August. In years past we always used to ride our bikes around the big pond but this year it’s just not going to happen, I guess the good side is the flamingos are loving it!!
Here is a cool medium sized Iguana I found sitting high on top of a wall soaking up the morning sun. I get requests for these all the time but rarely see them. And no, they are not rare here they just blend in with their natural habitat so well and remain motionless if you walk by that one never sees them. At least this one never sees them!
Sorry so short, I have to get moving, I have a dive at 9:00. Bye now, Barry
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