Staff day...

Las Cuevas beach 

Yesterday the staff of Asa Wright Nature Center went to Las Cuevas beach for our staff day. It was just a perfect day, good food, good weather and great camaraderie!   

Be good,

D

Connections...

The sun warms my soul

The rain washes away my pain
The breeze soothes my racing mind
The flower adds essence to my very being
The touch heals my wounded heart

© Denise Etienne

Epiphany...

One place, one time, one moment,
Life now seems important.
I now feel, I now smile, I now live,
It’s the beginning of the end.
A new birth, a new life, a new joy, a new song,
I yearn to hold I long to see…
Time becomes eternity.

  © Denise Etienne

Discovery outside the kitchen!

Winston Rojas with Tigre snake

So today I decided not to take my camera to work, and of course there was an interesting find…

 There was a three foot long Tigre (Spilotes pullatus) snake outside the kitchen this morning, which definitely got our attention! Pictured is my brother-in-law, Winston Rojas (the known snake handler at work) holding him/her. The snake was mainly black above with white markings on the underside and through the face. It’s a non-venomous snake and is known to eat mainly small mammals and birds, like everything else it has an extremely important role to play in our environment. They help control our pest population, so we need to learn put our fears aside and show these creatures respect, for we are all sharing this earth. Live and let live!

Be good,

D. 

Above photo courtesy © Jobe Millington of Asa Wright Nature Center

Oilbirds

Oilbird feather

I have not blogged for quite sometime, I guess I’ve been preoccupied … but I’m back now! My Naturalist career started at the Asa Wright Nature Center (AWNC), Trinidad in 1995. I have always had a deep love for the environment, and was honored to be a part of this hidden paradise.

Today my colleague Caleb and I went on an adventure, because I share my time between Guiding and Outreach Teaching, I have not been on this trip in quite a while. As we got to the core of our destination, it brought back so many memories… that of friends past and present: Mr. Lambie, Sheldon, James and others as well. The task ahead of us? Counting Oilbirds, these are the only nocturnal birds in the world that has a diet of strictly fruits! There are other known colonies in the northern parts of our island and South America.

Gushing waters, slippery paths, musky odor, scenic views and screeching Oilbirds sums up our expedition.

White necked Jacobin Hummingbird

Watercolor painting © Beatrice Bork

   Whilst on the wing

    Hovering over sixty beats a second    

    I glance for food
    Taking both nectar and insects
    Even sugar solution sometimes

    Nimble and swift am I
    Eventually sitting for a moment
    Checking out my surroundings
    Keen to defend my territory
    Even against my own kind
    Diving and displaying my immaculate feathers

    Justly, I am a site to behold
    Attracting most of the attention
    Certainly, the birders grasp at my magnificence
    Once this beautiful island was named after us
    By their fore fathers
    It was called “Iere”, Land of the  Hummingbirds
    Nowadays it is known as Trinidad, and we are still being revered 

     © Denise Etienne

 This is a sneak preview of our collaborative effort on our book which features the Birds of Trinidad and Tobago, as well as poetry.

Scarlet Ibis

Swamps are the habitats in which I live 
Crustaceans are what I eat 
Allowing me this brilliant 
Radiant red plumage
Long ago they would hunt and eat me
Expensively were my feathers sold
Today, I am a spectacular tourist attraction


Indeed the National Bird of this cosmopolitan island
By law in Trinidad
I am protected and considered endangered 
So take some time and go look for me in Caroni


© Denise Etienne


This is an acrostic poem that I wrote on the Scarlet Ibis, which is the National bird of Trinidad. I am working on a book with friend of mine, Beatrice Bork, a talented animal artist. The book will be a compilation of her watercolors and my poems.

So I’ve started on my journey to get healthy again! 


Be good!


D.