Aqua Mania Adventures is another repeat sponsor for Les Fruits de Mer, and we are grateful for their continued support in sharing wildlife education on St. Martin.
They also have lots of great ideas for getting the most out of the island experience: “Take an adventurous day trip to Saba for hiking or diving, or a lavish day in exquisite St. Barts for shopping, French cuisine and beach time; our high speed ferry Edge is the way to go. Hop on our beautiful catamarans Tango and Lambada for day sails to Anguilla and Prickly Pear with crystal clear waters and powdery white beaches as far as the eye can see. Sail into the sunset on our evening cruises, along St Maarten’s golden coastline, with cocktails in hand and a chance to spy the green flash. To explore St. Maarten’s underwater beauty, choose Sand Dollar for half day snorkel trips to Creole Rock or enjoy Scuba Diving with our friendly dive instructors at Dive Adventures.”
Aqua Mania Adventures
Aqua Mania Adventures is a one-stop vacation shop that offers departures to Saba, St. Barths, Anguilla and Prickly Pear, as well as sunset cruises around St. Maarten. Lovers of marine life can book half-day snorkel trips to Creole Rock or scuba diving with Dive Adventures. Strategically located at the Simpson Bay Resort marina, the “Leisure Technicians” at Aqua Mania Adventures will help you plan an unforgettable vacation. https://www.stmaarten-activities.com – Aqua Mania Adventures on Facebook
As part of this year’s International Migratory Bird Day festivities, BirdsCaribbean has released a free ebook—Heritage Plants—with information about some fantastic, bird-friendly native plants and trees that you can add to your backyard or neighborhood. It is available for free download now from the BirdsCaribbean website. The theme of this year’s IMBD, including St. Martin’s Migratory Bird Festival is Restore Habitats, Restore Birds. We will be sharing information about habitat restoration and giving away Lignum Vitae/Gaïac seedlings at the event, so be sure to put it on your calendar and invite your friends!
Hotel L’Esplanade are more than just sponsors of the Migratory Bird Festival, owners Kristin & Marc Petrelluzzi have been members of the association from the beginning and have helped us out as volunteers at almost every event we’ve ever done. And not just the easy stuff—they led a beach clean-up in Cul-de-Sac at the very first Migratory Bird Festival. Les Fruits de Mer wouldn’t be where we are today without them.
Hotel L’Esplanade
This hotel has established a cult following from guests that enjoy an authentic, luxurious, unpretentious and un-touristy Caribbean experience with a homey feel. Acknowledged by TripAdvisor as one of the Caribbean’s “Best Hidden Gems”, and more recently named #19 of the top 25 hotels in all of the Caribbean. Hotel L’Esplanade has been a benefactor member since 2013 and has sponsored many Les Fruits de Mer events. http://www.lesplanade.com – Hotel L’Esplanade on Facebook
You know who’s helping make this year’s Migratory Bird Festival Possible? These guys are! Delta has been one of our sponsors from the beginning. One reason why we’ve done so many things is that we know we can count on their support.
Delta Petroleum
Founded in 1985, Delta serves the Caribbean with superior performance diesel, gasoline and LPG meeting U.S. and European standards. Delta is a proud and growing member of the communities from the Virgin Islands to Martinique. Delta Petroleum was a sponsor of many of our events. http://deltapetroleum.com
Do you want all the good feelings that come from supporting wildlife education on St. Martin? Would your company like to do something for the community and get recognized for it? Contact us! We are more than happy to welcome new sponsors and corporate members.
You can’t save a species if you don’t know what’s hurting it. In this week’s Wild Statia we take a look at how field research can point the way to the conservation efforts that will make the biggest difference, and what’s going on with Red-billed Tropicbird eggs on Statia.
It’s not just the best place in Grand Case to watch the sunset while enjoying a cool drink, they also support wildlife education on St. Martin, including this year’s Migratory Bird Festival.
Calmos Cafe
Located on the beach in Grand Case, St. Martin, Calmos Cafe is a restaurant and bar serving great food in a friendly, casual atmosphere seven days a week. Calmos Cafe has been a benefactor member of Les Fruits de Mer since 2013 and a sponsor of many of our events. http://lecalmoscafe.com
Do you want to support wildlife education on St. Martin? Do you think you could convince your boss to support it? Contact us! We are more than happy to welcome new sponsors and corporate members.
The theme this year for our Migratory Bird Festival—and hundreds of other International Migratory Bird Day events from Canada to Argentina—is Restore Habitat, Restore Birds. For us, that means Club Gaïac will be back, and we will be doing education about this amazing tree and giving away as many seedlings as we can.
Do you know what you need to make seedlings? Seeds! Right now happens to be a great time to gather them. Many trees are dropping their seeds and the ground beneath them is covered in dry fruit and seeds. For trees that are growing over concrete or other flat surfaces, you can actually use a broom and dustpan to sweep up the fruit and seeds and then sort them later. In some cases it only takes about five minutes to gather a thousand seeds, and sorting them at a table is a lot easier on your back than picking up seeds one-by-one off the ground.
Be sure to put the Migratory Bird Festival on your calendar: Saturday, October 17th, 9am-1pm at University of St. Martin. You can also join the event on Facebook and use the “Invite” button to invite your friends.
Birds—both migrants and year-round residents—are all over right now. They are resourceful, and many of the shorebirds and other wetland species will use any body of water available to them. As long as it has crabs, snails, aquatic insects or other food for them, that is. Check out a few photos here, but don’t forget to put the main event on your calendar, too: Migratory Bird Festival. See you there!
We are very excited to be putting on the Migratory Bird Festival at University of St. Martin this year. It is a wonderful location for easy access to migratory birds and they are a fantastic event partner.
About University of St. Martin
The University of St. Martin is committed to offering quality career and academic education that will provide students with a solid foundation to enter the field of their chosen career or to pursue further academic studies. The University of St. Martin was founded on the principle that education can improve the quality of life for people on St. Martin and in the region, and continues to be steadfast in its commitment to the community. For over two decades, USM has been offering students the opportunity to discover their potential and helping them realize their academic and professional goals. http://usmonline.net
Everyone on St. Martin—not to mention the plants and animals around us—is deeply familiar with the drought that has gripped the island in recent months. To the migratory birds that are just arriving from North America, it must be quite a surprise. What will they find when they arrive? We take a look in this week’s Bird Watch SXM.
Mark Yokoyama offers some advice during his event photography workshop. (Photo by Leno Davis.)Every two years, bird educators, scientists and conservationists from throughout the Caribbean and beyond gather for BirdsCaribbean’s International Meeting. At this year’s meeting in Kingston, Jamaica, over 200 international delegates from 33 countries/islands gathered to share the latest in Caribbean bird science, conservation and education. Representing St. Martin, Les Fruits de Mer co-founder Mark Yokoyama facilitated two media-related workshops during the meeting and released a free ebook, Look Sharp! Promote Your Organization with Great Photography.
Birds—Connecting Communities and Conservation was the theme for the meeting, and the event photography workshop presented by Mark Yokoyama focused on forging that emotional connection through the power of great images. Michaela Roberts of ECHO Bonaire found the workshop “very dynamic, fun and informative” and Leno Davis commended the hands-on portion as excellent, delivering “instant results.” Deanna Albert from the University of the West Indies commented that it was “good to know how to make non-governmental organizations visually appealing to the public—locally, regionally and internationally.”
The conference opened with “Jamaica Day—A Celebration of Jamaica’s Unique and Wonderful Birds” which included a dozen presentations about Jamaica’s birds, from the latest research in tracking Jamaican seabird populations to the role of birds in pest control on Blue Mountain coffee farms. The extended look at Jamaica’s birds also included reports on the launch of the Caribbean Birding Trail program in Jamaica and Jamaica’s historical contribution to ornithology. Other highlights included the announcement of the rediscovery of the Black-capped Petrel in Dominica over 150 years after it was last documented and the release of a new book—The Endemic Birds of Cuba—by Nils Navarro.
In addition to over 120 presentations, workshops and panel discussions, the delegates enjoyed a variety of field trips to explore Jamaica’s wilderness areas first-hand. Conference trips visited Hope Gardens, Goat Islands, Cockpit Country, Portland Bight Protected Area, and the Blue and John Crow Mountains National Park, amongst other destinations. Many meeting participants were particularly eager to catch a glimpse of some of the 29 bird species endemic to Jamaica that can be seen nowhere else in the world.
The event photography ebook is available for download on the websites of both BirdsCaribbean and Les Fruits de Mer. The free, 26-page book draws from experience working with many talented photographers on St. Martin as well as advice from local journalists and media experts about how to use photography to promote non-profit events and activities. Mark, a member of BirdsCaribbean’s Media Working Group, also hosted a workshop to help bird educators partner more closely with the Media Working Group to promote their activities more effectively through traditional and online media.
Thanks to everyone who came out for the Heritage Photo Exhibition at Lagoonies on Friday. The opening was lots of fun and everyone had their say in voting for the Erika Cannegieter-Smith People’s Choice Award, which went to Nathaly Pieters for her image of the pier at Grand Case. We didn’t have a lot of time to take pictures at the event, but below are a few by Mark Yokoyama & Maël Renault. If you were there and took any nice photos of the event, feel free to send them on to us!
Lagoonies is closed today, but the exhibition panels will be going back up early afternoon tomorrow and will be up until Tuesday evening if you didn’t get a chance to see them at the opening.
Each bird may have many names. They vary from language to language and island to island. Some are local, some are universal and most tell some kind of story.
The exhibition for the 2015 Heritage Photo Contest will be held on Friday, July 17th at Lagoonies Bistro in Cole Bay. Photo entries will be on display and attendees will have the opportunity to vote for their favorite for the Erika Cannegieter-Smith People’s Choice Award. The exhibition opening will be held from 6-10pm with the awards ceremony taking place at 9pm. We hope to see you there!
Lagoonies Bistro is located at the Lagoon Marina, Wellington Road 33-35 between ELECTEC and FKG in Cole Bay.
The remaining natural spaces on this island seem few and far between. Some of the best are the islets and offshore rocks that are still precious nesting grounds for seabirds:
One Strong Arm
The Simpson Bay Bridge is familiar to all residents and tourist who pass over it. The raising of the bridge is a feat of strength, engineering and beauty.
Blue and orange
The contrast between the blue sky and the orange building is striking. The details of the building design represent St. Maarten traditional island architecture.
La Bamba
La Bamba is a very popular locale where locals and tourists go to have fun. As well Kim Sha Beach holds a lot of popular events throughout the year
Boats
The juxtaposition of the mega yachts with the Venetian gondola depicts the diversity and the unexpected beauty of the island. The colours produced by the sunset and clouds create a dramatic backdrop.
Thanks to everyone who stopped by the Lagoonies Regatta on Saturday to get your free Gaïac seedlings. We gave out about 50 seedlings to folks all over the island. Hopefully some of them will be big, beautiful trees in 100 years! We’ve also added some additional trees to the Gaïac Map, so be sure to check that out if you haven’t seen it recently!
Devant une photo telle que elle ci, j’aime m’imaginer les différentes personnes qui ont pu passer par ici. Car la diversité, c’est ça qui représente ce petit village qui est Grand Case.
Caye Chateau, the waters allow you to have a clear view of anything in it, which is a lot. If you don’t have any I advise you to bring a child you know, they are the best at showing you things you miss out on, they have the better eyes and are closer to the ground! This day ours found part of a boat, the name and them in it, plus the surroundings made it another perfect Sint Maarten day.
Naked boy hill, (Guana bay) that name alone should make you want to climb it. Views stretch from St Barths, to most beaches up to Anguilla, the Philipsburg harbor and St Peters hills. So Cool.
Cette photo a été prise a la sortie de l’ecole de Grande Case (deuxième pont), c’est une habitante de Grand Case faisant sa vaisselle dehors (au bord de la nationale). Elle représente pour moi un souvenir d’un mode de vie ancien (en toute simplicité…)face a une maternelle qui représente le future de l’ile(modernité, ordinateurs, vêtements a la mode…!).
C’est un vrai gage de souvenir et de tradition qu’elle offre aux enfants qui avec chance a chaques sorties d’ecole peuvent l’apercevoir dans ces activités extérieurs.
Usually treading stealthily along the bank of rocks, the surf provides a welcome cooling effect to this member of the island’s primitive-appearing iguana.
Guana Bay while crazy waves crushing in, our son decides to play soccer in it. It is a wonderful site with the regatta going on in the background, but any child, at any time, at any beach shows you the pure joy. Let them keep that and all the children to come!
