On the Fringe

We've had a lot of rain over the past week. Makes me believe wet season is well and truly here. Apparently the frogs and toads agree. They are chorusing like crazy, gathering at the seasonal pools that have accumulated, looking for one thing: love.

It seems that any time in nature when there is an aggregation of animals, there is another species standing by to take advantage of it. That would be the case with the fringe-lipped bats (Trachops cirrhosus; above) whose specialty is frogs. Notice the warty-appearing "papillae" around the mouth and chin? These are not just decoration. No, they have a very specialized purpose. Since frogs don't necessarily want to be eaten, many have evolved distasteful chemicals secreted through the skin. The bat flies by, brushing the frog with just a little "kiss" with the papillae. That tiny taste test tells the bat whether this frog is a prey possibility or better left alone.

The red-eyed tree frog (Agalychnis callidryas) has evolved a neat defense against the fringe-lipped bat. The males chorus in short bursts -- ack! ack! ack! -- and then abruptly fall silent. After all, just one lonely voice calling out ... and the bat can home right in on that one foolish individual. Bon appetit and good by Mr. Big Mouth!

Socially Progressing

When mama Social Flycatcher was absent the nest, I pointed my camera into the opening and got these shots, two days apart. In the top left image, the first chick has hatched, and two days later, the second and third have hatched. Staggered hatching is called "asynchronous." It is thought to benefit the parents by spreading their workload and reducing sibling rivalry since the young are at slightly different stages of development.

Meanwhile, both parents are feeding the chicks and also spending a fair amount of time keeping them warm. These particular Social Flycatchers are not in the least spooked by us moving around on the veranda. I'm sure they are well familiar with us and have long since realized we pose no threat. And who knows, one of them may even have been raised in this same hanging basket location, a favorite with Socials over the past nearly decade.

Postscript: Just before this was to be published, I decided to check the nest as it had seemed suspiciously quiet all day. I peeked in only to find it ... empty. Something happened to the chicks overnight -- I suspect a snake -- although I did check the ground to make sure they hadn't somehow been tipped out. With the nest right outside my window, I can't help but be a little sad, especially for the hardworking parents. Now the question is ... will they re-nest?

A Real Spectacle

Here's my first attempt at sharing a short (5 second) video from my Canon pocket camera. This was the scene a couple of days ago on the Punta de Cacao road on the Gallon Jug Estate. The frogs were going CRAZY calling -- it was deafening! We'd had 2.2-inches of rain the previous night -- on top of all the rain of the previous few days -- and they were taking advantage of it. You can see there is water over the road and a seasonal pool at the side of the road. I couldn't get close enough to the skittish frogs in order to get any close up photos this time.

There were several species though, primarily the Mexican tree frog (Smilisca baudinii), Sheep frog (Hypopachus variolosus), and the Red-eyed tree frog (Agalychnis callidryas). With amphibians and their habitats under pressure in so many places in the world, witnessing such a "spectacle of nature" with hundreds (thousands?) of frogs, was really exciting.

Kitty's in the Neighborhood

What can I say, it is always nice to see the jaguar known as Kitty Carlisle. And here she is, moving fairly rapidly, through the Bajo Trail intersection at Chan Chich Lodge. She's made regular appearances near the Lodge with a portfolio dating back to 2004. I keep hoping sometime she'll bring her offspring by the camera (since she's almost certainly had young every other year or so), but it hasn't happened yet.

Female jaguars, as it turns out, are fairly secretive and not photographed as often as males by the camera traps. This is borne out with my own data, and that of colleagues. Still, on occasion, I've met a researcher who has shown me camera trap photos of young jaguars in their study area -- I'm envious! It hasn't happened here yet although there are plenty of eye witness reports (sadly, I am not among those that have seen a jaguar cub). At any rate, clearly the Kitty feels confident in the Chan Chich neighborhood to venture out during all hours.

Mid-May Ocelots

It's been a bit of a dry spell between camera trap photos. The camera I've been using has been in for cleaning and repairs recently (it's been doing things like shooting 1700+ images of "nothing" in 1 hour) but it's now back in service. Luckily Ben came through with this nice pair of mid-May ocelot photos from Chan Chich Lodge, the Bajo Trail.

One was shot on May 13 and the other on May 16. It's not entirely straightforward to compare the two images but from what I can tell by zooming in, this is not the same individual. The ocelot in profile (lower picture) is certainly a familiar-looking male often photographed in this Bajo Trail intersection near the Lodge.

New on the Scene

I admit it, I was a horse crazy kid. So I couldn't resist a photo of this newcomer on the Gallon Jug farm scene. Evidently she was a "surprise," born on 3 May. Just-turned-five year old Liza, who shares the same birthday, named her "Blondie." Love the crescent moon between her eyes.

Eddie, who manages the Gallon Jug cattle and horses, said they began suspecting something when they had to let out the saddle girth a notch or two on the mare. Evidently there are 3 other mares with the same "problem" and evidently, 3 more "surprises" on the way!

Socially Acceptable

This hanging basket on our veranda contains what is left of my sickly vanilla orchid. I've been nurturing it for a couple years in the vain hope it might produce a vanilla bean. Just when I'd decided it was unlovely -- a real basket case if you will -- this Social Flycatcher (Myiozetetes similis) apparently found it very hospitable. In fact, she and her mate built a cozy fluffy nest in it over a matter of days.

Social Flycatchers are common throughout Belize, Mexico, Central and South America. They are beautiful and outgoing, brown, yellow, black and white birds that do well in human-modified landscapes. When I last checked, there was one egg in the nest but I'm betting there are at least 4 by now. It's not the first time the Socials have nested on our veranda ... and I'm glad they found my ailing plant "socially acceptable."