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The Bellbird Newsletter the Asa Wright Nature Centre The Bellbird Newsletter THE ASA WRIGHT NATURE CENTRE www.asawright.org Tel: (868) 667-4655 Email: [email protected] FEBRUARY 2013 A DON ECKELBERRY A DON ECKELBERRY Birds of Asa Wright SCSCHOHOLLARSHIPARSHIP WIWINNNNERER inspired these models AATT AASASA WRIGHWRIGHTT even made wispy feathers with a milk carton. We watched a time lapse video of Mr. Palmer building a family of life-size elephants, taking a total of 250 hours. For this artist, there is no task too big. Not limiting himself to a particular style, Mr. Palmer also draws and paints. That day we were able see a fascinating assortment of the sketches he had been working on during Matthew Palmer speaks to a group of artists. Photos: Johanne Ryan his stay at Asa Wright. There was something that appealed to everyone in this collection. atthew Palmer will enthrall you when He also showed us the models of a Green he describes his art. For him, the role M Hermit, Rufous-tailed Jacamar, White- of art is to conceive a tangible work which necked Jacobin and Purple Honeycreeper captures the intangible; the unidentifiable that were crafted at Asa Wright. mystery present in all things. His sculpture The artists in attendance had an of an owl, for example, is not simply the opportunity to display their work. Looking at appearance of the owl, but also its spirit and Mr. Palmer’s art and hearing his description movement. of art, the artist or dilettante would be Mr. Palmer, who hails from Washington, impressed by his creativity, his industry but spent a week at the Asa Wright Nature most importantly his desire to translate what Centre as the winner of the Don Eckelberry cannot be seen into a concrete work of art. Scholarship Award which is given by the J.L. Ryan Society of Animal Artists. He is a self-taught A close look at some of Matthew Palmer’s sketches artist who has an inherent artistic talent has made large pieces for Universities and which he perfects by doing. On Friday 15th Nature Centres – a model of a skeleton called February, he met with a group of artists who Interested in seeing more of ‘Dooley’, an elephant made of silhouettes of gathered in the Mango Room to learn about Matthew Palmer’s art? butterflies, a bald eagle, gallinule, a manatee, his work and to share their work with him. fish and several more. To make these models In addition to showing us photos and Visit he experiments with different mediums like videos of his artwork, he explained the story www.matthewgraypalmer.com. bronze, epoxy clay, cement, marble, limestone behind them. And, what a variety. He steel and styrofoam. For one of his birds, he Design and Layout courtesy Lonsdale Saatchi & Saatchi Advertising Ltd, a friend of the Asa Wright Nature Centre The Bellbird Newsletter THE ASA WRIGHT NATURE CENTRE FEBRUARY 2013 • PAgE 2 THE VERANDah–SURPRISE NEW SPECIES OF REACQUAINTANCES STICK INSECTS Barbara Bach and Mary Beecher A male Apteroxylus (now Mary Price) were school friends chaguaramalensis in Boston long ago. They were in a biology class together. Then they moved on and did not keep in touch. However, the biology they learned was enough to interest them in birds, Photos courtesy ASPER (Association pour la and both became Bird Watchers, Systématique des Phasmes et travelling to various destinations to l’Etude de leur Répartition) see the birds of the world. Without their knowing it, both are living in Michgan, and both were looking for a break from the winter other and renewed a friendship which Have you ever seen a “God Horse” on a bush? You storms sweeping the State. Mary and distance and time had interrupted! may mistake it for a twig. But it is alive – a stick insect her husband Rick decided to come And that is typical of the belonging to the order Phasmida derived from the Greek to the Asa Wright Nature Centre for serendipity of Asa Wright and her word ‘Phasma’ meaning ghost. Over 3,000 species of stick that escape. Barbara was wondering Verandah! While, to our knowledge, insects have been described to date. what to do in the impending Spring these are the first school friends to ASPER is a French organisation dedicated to the Break—although “spring” was connect years later at Spring Hill, systematic study of stick insects and their distribution. It was nowhere in sight—when her friend, we have had the pleasure of seeing founded in 1997 to produce an inventory of the Phasmids and fellow birder, Gwen Nystuen others who reconnected with birders of Guadeloupe with the National Park of Guadeloupe. The contacted her and asked if she would they had met two, five or more years ASPER team has since expanded its repertoire and studied ago in Africa, Central America or the like to join a group going to the Asa the stick insects of islands of the Lesser Antilles like St. Far East! Such is the family of birders Wright Nature Centre in Trinidad. Lucia, Dominica, Martinique and Trinidad and Tobago Barbara jumped at the chance. worldwide—their paths can cross anywhere in the world, just as Barbara’s In 2010, the ASPER team comprising Phillipe Lelong, And so, one morning on the Yannick Bellanger and Toni Jourdan travelled to Trinidad verandah overlooking the Arima and Mary’s had at Asa Wright. We were delighted to entertain to study our country’s stick insects. They believed there valley, with the birds they love all was a possibility of finding new species on the island. around them, they recognised each Barbara, Mary and their family and friends, and learn of the happy While in Trinidad, the ASPER team had a chance to coincidence that brought two school stay at Simla and was able to visit Mount Chaguaramal at Aripo with naturalist guide, Harold Diaz. This trip proved ROAD WORKS CONTINUE: While we friends together after many years apart. had hoped that our driveway repairs fruitful as they discovered two new species of stick insects: would have been finished by now, Clonistria caputaurata and Apteroxylus chaguaramalensis. this has not yet happened. However, Both of these are rare species and can be found at Mount all of the infrastructure works, DID YOU KNOW? Chaguaramal. The new species of Clonistra can also be retaining walls, drainage and curbs Did you know... that there are two found at Morne Bleu. Be on the lookout for stick insects are completed, and we are awaiting endemic birds’ species in Trinidad? the arrival of the pavers, to lay a in your neighbourhood. You may be more successful in new, smooth asphalt surface along The Common Piping Guan also finding them at night as they are mostly nocturnal. If you the driveway. We apologise for any locally known as the Pawi, and the do stumble upon one that you cannot identify send a photo temporary inconvenience. Trinidad Mot Mot. to [email protected]. J.L. Ryan WHAT’S THAT BIRD? Have you seen a bird, or an animal, or a plant If you or anyone you know has done something helpful to preserve the that you could not recognise, or were uncertain environment, please feel free to share it with us, either write a short story, about? Well, send us your photograph, along or send us a few pictures to [email protected] with location, and your “guess”, and we will try to identify the species for you, and publish your You may be selected as our Young Environmentalist for the month! Once question and our response here! you are featured in our monthly newsletter, you along with 2 adults will be given a complimentary day visit to Asa Wright Nature Center, which Email your question and pic to: includes viewing birds/animals on the verandah, a Nature tour and use of [email protected]. the clear water pool. Ages 5-16. .
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