Land Critters

We have a herd of wild goats that have been hanging around our neighborhood. They are very shy and run away the minute they see us.  They eat everything.  We often see them on their hind legs eating leaves off the tops of bushes. Their free roaming numbers are an ecological issue for the island.

Most of the frogs sleep during the day and come out at night.  They sleep in our plants, flower pots and behind furniture.  I have even caught them sleeping behind the pillows in the cabana.  This guy was out during the day.  He must be a wild teenager and is out partying during the day while the family is sleeping. 

This handsome fellow is a Caracara, the only bird of prey we have on the island.    We often see this one from our house  with a fish in his beak eating dinner around twilight. He is of the Falcon family. We often hear them as they enter the area. Very majestic. 

The crazy parrots are always a source of amusement and frustrations.  As you may recall the "Mango Wars" in a previous blog details the constant watch to save our mangos. The parrots hang upside down on the wires for our amusement.  They are always in pairs and they come early morning and late evening as there is a roost nearby. They are loud and raucous as they enter our yard and do fly bys....casing the joint for mangos

There are many different lizards on Bonaire. The large iguanas, Blue Whiptail lizards (locally known as Blau-Blau's or Blue-Blues in English) which are medium sized lizards and then these gray guys that are small lizards.  I can seldom get photos of lizards because they move too fast and seldom pose of me. 

The iguanas start out bright green, like Kermit green. They age into gray green with black stripes.  They are notorious for visiting pools and lounging in and around them. Our wall keep the iguanas out of our garden.

The progeny of donkeys left by the Spaniards and Dutch who farmed and mined the island are still here in large numbers.  There are 800 + donkeys in the donkey sanctuary and another 1,000 freely roaming. They too create an ecological problem because their numbers can't be sustained on the island without damage to the soil and plant life. Although cute and loved by the tourists, they have a tough life on the island with little to eat and limited fresh water.

Our famous flamingos, which are protected so well that you can't get photos of them, are native to Bonaire.  They fly back and forth to Venezuela.  The scientists recently discovered that the flocks in both country are linked as they share breeding grounds and mates. Once in a while, we are lucky enough to see a few near the road where we can get a photo.