St. Croix birds...and a Male Leatherback Turtle

The writer's block still has a firm grip so i decided today to go through my pictures and pick some that i haven't put up here before.

This is one of those magical storms that come out of the east and create so many different tones of grey, white, and black.

Double click this picture because not all things in nature are pleasant. This is a Red-tailed Hawk that had just captured a delicious Zenaida Dove...unfortunately something happened and the Hawk was killed. The Dove died in its grasp. i found the birds just the way they look on the side of the road.
Very sad day for both of them.

Another natural fatality...this Green-Throated Carib was nailed by a Mongoose just as we were walking to the car. The Mongoose dropped it but it was too late. Its beauty even in death was something i wanted to capture because they are really difficult to photograph. Double click and notice the iridescent colors of its feathers.

This is a Ruddy Turnstone that i photographed at Southgate Beach. These guys travel thousands of miles to winter in the Caribbean and South America. i love their little orange legs.

i had a friend visiting from Atlanta and we were doing a west end tour. This Yellow Warbler was hanging out with a buddy at Hamms Bay and i only just managed to snap a pic.

American Oystercatchers are one of my favorite birds on island. They make all sorts of noise when they are moving down the coast hunting for food. They usually travel in pairs and hunt for crustaceans. Most people miss seeing these stunning birds...so if you are out along the coast keep your eyes peeled.

This guy is whats known as a leusistic bird. Sometimes nature blows it and leaves out some of the pigment cells making the bird vulnerable to predators. This bird, which is commonly called an Antillean Bullfinch has been frequenting our bird feeder.

The common Antillean Bullfinch looks like this...so you can see the one on top is really missing pigment.

A very common bird on St. Croix is the Grey Kingbird which i think is quite regal looking.

Smooth-billed Anis are all over the island. They usually travel in flocks and make loads of noise when they are moving. We have a small local flock of six that move through the neighborhood regularly.

This is a Barn Swallow that was part of a flock at Salt River. These little guys also travel thousands of miles to winter in the Caribbean.

Not many people can claim to have swum with a Leatherback Turtle. This male came up out of no where at Cane Bay and swam around us to see what we were up to. i had a friend visiting who had hardly ever snorkeled.  She was so cool, calm and collected when this monster of a turtle came to visit it was a real pleasure to have her with us. This guy was huge(Carapace was 5 to 6 feet long) which is hard to tell when you don't have anything to compare him to.

This is an interesting thing that sea urchins do. They collect shells that will sometimes cover the entire sea urchin. i've never been able to find out if they are being attacked by the mollusks, protected by them, or eating them. Some times of the year all the urchins in an area will be covered with shells, almost like they are using the shells to hide. If anyone knows why they are doing this please let me know.

Another beautiful storm with a double rainbow.

See ya next week.