APRIL
We will all look at cobwebs with new found respect following April’s lecture in which Dr Jo-Anne Sewlal explored the spider web in “Webs and what they are for”. Do you know what a stabilimentum is?
The bird group headed to Carli Bay that month and was rewarded with some excellent birds including Greater Ani and Straight-billed Woodcreeper. Afterwards, the group visited Orange Valley and Brickfields where the laughing gulls and other seabirds kept the birders busy.
The Art group also spent some time in central, visiting the El Socorro Centre for Wildlife Conservation and drawing, sketching and painting all that they could.
While “the road to hell” doesn’t sound like the sort of place you would want to go, that is exactly where the Club went for its field trip at Manzanilla point.
Finally, the Club participated in the National Wildlife Survey by conducting the Chaguaramas leg of the survey, comprised of 30 transects!
MAY
This was a very busy month for the Club. We began with a lecture by Heather Auld of Carleton University on “Guppy Mate Choice Behaviour” where we found that mate selection was not as simple a task as expected.
The bird group headed up to Grande Riviere where they looked for pawi and other birds.
There was even the opportunity to take in the amazing spectacle of turtle nesting.
Meanwhile, some members participated in the San Antonio Green Market’s celebration of international biodiversity day.
Similarly, members participated in Atlantic’s celebration in Pt Fortin.
The field trip for that month was Macajuel Pond. In keeping with the area’s serpentine name, members reported seeing a total of 5 fer-de-lance along the way!
The 2014 Living World was completed and available for distribution in May alongside our newest joint publication – the T&T Butterfly Guide.
JUNE
The June lecture was all about bird banding in T&T as Carl Fitzjames spoke to us on his work in various parts of Trinidad and some of the results of recent banding studies.
The bird group visited Gran Couva and had a good time looking for raptors and other forest birds.
The June field trip was to Chaguaramal in the Aripo Valley where members explored the steep slopes, home to interesting bromeliads, birds and some magnificent trees.
