A large bird population, inlduing frigatebirds (Fregattvögel) and pelicans live at the Cayo de los Pájaros Bird Island in the Los Haitises National Park on the northeast coast of the Dominican Republic.
The humpback (Buckelwal) wale calf seems to rest on its mother, playful and relaxed. In February, hundreds of wales meet in the Samana Bay in the North of the Domincian Republic. Some give birth, others mate.
Humpback whales slap their tails and fins in a repetitive fashion and leap out of the water and twist on to their backs (breaching). The resulting sounds travel underwater and seems to communicate messages to other whales.
White Herons in the Dominican Republic (Great Egret, Silberreiher) enjoy coastal areas including lagoons, wetlands, ocean, and beaches. Here they sit in mangrove trees of a small island in a lagoon near the main capital Santo Domingo (Boca Chica), undisturbed by jet skis and other extensic water sport activities.
Three cacti species, which can grow up to 10 m, dominate the arid landscape of the ABC islands. More information. Their fruits and flowers provide critical food resources for a variety of the islands’ bats, birds and reptile, like these whiptail lizards.
Kayaking in one of the largest protected mangrove swamps in the south of Bonaire and snorkelling through channels. We saw upside down Jellyfish (Quallen), attached to the bottom, and a lot of fish. Mangroves are breeding places for fish, that are well protected from predators (Verfolgern) here.
For many birds in Northern Curaao, it seems to be much easier do feed on sugar in Jaanchies Restaurant – even if there is a fierce competion – than to search for fruits in the dry wilderness.
Green birds with yellow masks on their head fly with loud screams from one tree to another. The Caribbean brown throated parakeet is searching for fruit. It is a own subspecies of Bonaire.
I will never forget this sound: thousands of Hermit Crabs (Einsiedlerkrebse) that bump into each other when walking around, thus producing a crackling sound. They arrive in the afternoon after tourists have left this remote island two hours away from Curacao – and eat everything one hundred visitors have left over after their rib and hamburger lunch.
As Bonaire is very dry, the very few fresh water wells had been very important for inhabitands in former time. The people in Bonaire now produce desalinated water, but the Bronswinkel’s Fresh Water Well is still important nowadays for a lot of animals, including birds, iguanas, lizards and goats.