The Elder

 INVADED BY STRANGE SPECIES OF BIRDS

“For the lack of thrush you eat blackbirds” adverbial translation: “Beggars can't be choosers”,

Are we natives of St-Martin "beggars" within the French Republic and therefore have no say on the becoming of the fauna, flora and marine life of our Homeland?

Today our Island and the people are suffering the backlashes from the invasion of many species of wild animals unknown on the Island up to the last 2 to 7 years, mainly:

-The invasion of a strange species of thrush (Grive)

- The invasion of Blackbirds (Merle), unknown to our Island up to the last two years, yet are published by those that have in hands our fauna as belonging to the wild life of our Island,

- the invasion of Iguanas unknown to the natives before the last seven years, at the same time the mongoose that was the most familiar wild animal on the Island seems to be disappearing.

At the same time we are seeing less and less of our non-migrant birds such as sugar-birds, yellow breast, doves, ground-doves.

For the last two to three years my garden and home are invaded by a species of bird called thrush. Contrary to the thrush known in my days growing up in St-Martin this new species is very fierce, very wicked, very noisy, very invasive and persevering, a character that has nothing in common with our old time species.

It is unknown the number of species of thrush actually existing on the Island, in recent years the thrush in St-Martin without distinction of species has been listed a protected species, while in guadeloupe only certain species are protected, if not mistaken the described species in St-Martin is hunted in Guadeloupe.

In Guadeloupe you may find two species distinguished mainly one from the other by the color of their legs, yellow legs for one, grey legs for the other and seemly a number of sub-species.

The yellow legged thrush is a protected species in Dominica, St-Lucia and Monserrat but not in Guadeloupe.

I have no knowledge about the species that have now invaded my home Garden/Orchard but before I use to be awaken in the morning by the gentle and agreeable cooing of the doves (Turtledoves) perched in trees surrounding my house

Today I'm awaken by the strident and continuous whistling of thrushes that can pursue all through the day.

The fruit trees surrounding my house were for years the “habitat of doves and ground-doves (Ortolan), where they will built their nest, lay, cover and hatch their eggs, at times using the same bird nest year after year. No more, today they are constantly attacked and driven away by this strange species of thrush. I can only see now and again a dove or a ground-dove from a distance.

This seemingly new species of thrush has invaded and decided to be the sole and exclusive host of the fruit trees surrounding my house, no other bird is allowed to trespass on its take over territory.

May a dove attempts to build his nest even upon a brace of the hang-over of my house roof! It immediately falls under the heavy peck of a thrush, the dove leaving the air covered with it feathers from the merciless pecks received from the thrush.

The dove having no other choice than to abandoned his nest, the thrush will take over the spot and start building his own in the same spot wit twigs and little roots. The brace in question being slanted, every piece of twig or root will fall to the ground as the thrush tries to form his nest.

I do not know whether it is a question of lack intelligence or of blind perseverance but every year we can keep a camp fire from the quantity of twigs and roots dropped before our door from the thrush attempting hopelessly to built his nest on the slanted brace of our house roof overhang yet never managing to form a nest.

On the other hand, what have dissuaded the doves from building their nest within the area occupied by these thrushes is the fact that when the dove's eggs hatches the thrush at times would just swallow the newly hatched baby-dove and at other times just pick out the eyes.

Finding a ripe fruit today in your orchard that is not already eating into by these thrushes is a question of luck today, and at times they even would not allow the fruit to ripe.

Contrary to the old time species of thrush known in St-martin, that was rather a very shy species, this species is fierce and will also invade the inside of our home.

In the entrance room of our home my wife usually kept a large wooden fruit dish with all variety of fruits from the home orchard as well as from the market, Today the only fruits that can be kept uncovered are oranges and grapefruits all other fruits including tomatoes and avocados must be either hidden in close cabinets or kept under special wire-net fruit containers.

There is no where inside the house to keep fruits uncovered, Kitchen or bedroom, thrushes will find them. And even when covered, they find a way under the cover to peck out the fruits.

The other wickedness with this species of thrush is that wherever they set inside the house, they let go their shit even in the very fruit dish they eat and shit at the same time.

Thrushes were not unknown to me as I grew up in St-Martin. Behind the home of my grand parents was a huge fig tree bearing little tiny berries that was a food of choice for thrushes and during the mango season I will often come in view of thrushes wherever there was a foliage of mangoes trees.

But never have I witnessed as today, thrushes invading the inside of homes, claiming the exclusivity of home's orchards, fighting and running away other categories of birds, ravaging other birds nest of their newly hatched baby birds etc... This is why I see this thrush as a new species recently introduced on the Island

The thrush was not a bird that was hunted in St-Martin, as a matter of fact most St-Martiners including myself did not know that the thrush was an edible bird until in the late fifties when an important population of Guadeloupe natives was introduced in St-Martin. They hunted the thrush so intensively that in a short time the thrush was practically not seen in St-Martin,

Born and grew up in St-Martin I only knew it existed a bird called “merle” (Blackbird) by getting up by heart French recitations.

Surprisingly In the last two years, I have noticed quite a few blackbirds around on the Island. What surprised me most is few days ago, going to pay my bill at EDF in the Spring/Concordia, was to behold on the little that remains as green grass pasture in the area where usually you will see in particular numerous ground-doves, there were only blackbirds feeding in the spot and place.

I'm not a specialist in species, so I cannot affirm whether this recently introduced blackbird is of the European species or the Caribbean species, but what I Know of Blackbirds is that in guadeloupe exist a species that does not feed only on insects and fruits but also eat bred and meat and this pushes them to attack other birds nests. They often crack open the eggs in process of hatching and devour the baby-birds.

The male is all black and the female dark grey, shaded in certain spots by a dark brown.

There exist also another species of blackbird called the little blackbird of St-Lucia, much resemblance to the Guadeloupe species but the black of the male is shaded by a purplish metallic blue.

This species originated from South America started to migrate up the Caribbean arc from 1899. In 1959 it was as close to us as on the Island of Antigua.

Is this the species that has migrate to our shore in the last two years? I cannot say

What is said of this species is that instead of building its own nest, the female when ready to lay, will prefer to lay its eggs in an other bird's nest, charging that chosen bird to cover its eggs, hatch and raise its little ones as adoptive parents.

What is unfortunate is that the female of this species before laying its eggs, will often empt the chosen nest of its eggs and even baby-birds.

If this is the actually species that we are now seeing in St-Martin, obviously it constitute a threat to the survival of our non-migrant species.

WHERE ARE OUR MONGOOSE (MANGOUSTE)?

Of the last 36 years on my property on friar's Bay hill, rare was the day I haven't seen a mongoose crossing in the bushes until for the last seven years. I cannot remember the last day I have seen a

mongoose any where on the Island.

It might still have mongoose on the Island but it is undeniable that they have fallen from an over-population to an endangered species.

On the other hand, where I use to see mongoose few years ago, today I'm seeing a colony of Iguanas. Even on the road where usually we may cross a mongoose run over by an automobile today in the same place we find run over Iguanas.

HOW OUR ENTIRE ISLAND BECOME INVADED BY IGANAS.

Born and grew up in St-Martin, the first time in my life I have seen an Iguana was around the age of 30 years old and not in St-Martin but on an excursion trip to Les Saintes/Guadeloupe.

Today rare is the day pass-by that I'm not in a battle against Iguanas ravaging my garden and fruits.

Action speaks louder than words. “Beggars can't be Choosers”. 

We the natives have no other choice than to passively suffer the backlashes resulting from the arbitrary policies of the State's in its arbitrary administration of the natural resources of our Island.

A policy of exclusion that can only create a general sense of colonial conquest and oppression directed against the natives. In the name of creation of natural reserves natural zones, the natives are pushed aside as to give place to a lucrative exploitation of natural resources of our Island by a selective elite.

We are not treated in our Homeland as a responsible civilization entitle to the recognition of our legitimate traditional and cultural attachment to the “terroir” of our Island, on the contrary we are simply pushed aside as irresponsible destroyers of our own natural environment,

In recent years, to the exclusion of all native, new settlers have erect themselves as the exclusive protectors of the flora, fauna and marine life of our Island, all tinted by a colonial civilizing mentality in regards of we the natives.

Our Island natural life is not at it's beginning as these new settlers seems to be flashing it in our eyes today. on the contrary, Our natural environment for over three centuries has constituted an integral part of our sense of patriotism, our cherished tang.

Today we have the feeling of amputated native, we have lost our sense of belonging to our Island, we are treated even below the status of foreigners in our homeland, Some seems to be making it their objective to deprive we the natives of the basic of our patriotic pride.

As natives the soil and its natural life have always been the cherished “Terroir” of our forefathers, our attachment has a legitimate tradition, a homeland culture that demand the respect of all.

It is a crime against humanity to separate a people from the management of their natural environment, it is an act of devitalization of a people of the constituent of their patriotic pride.

Any exclusive initiative of a selective few that interferes with the people's life, their tradition, their culture, their attachment to the natural life of their Homeland is simply an act of colonial take-over.

No one can be more qualified to manage and write the history of the fauna, flora and marine life of our Island than we the natives, most of us estate owners and live in daily and traditional communion with our country's climate and natural life, the basic substance of our patriotism.

We denounce the current policy of exclusion in regards of the natives and demand the respect of our legitimate rights to be at the very least consulted in the decisions affecting our natural environment, 

We have the rights to be the deciders on the life of the wild animals population of our Island, to voice our opinion on what can be hunted and what should be protected, what species can be introduced on the Island and what should not be, what species has risen to a state of over-population and therefore destructive to the flora and agriculture of our Island.

It's overdue time to put a stop to the perpetration of the current neocolonialism policy, nihilism.

I felt revolted reading on face-book the comment of a Beauperthuy son of the soil, one of the most generational rooted St-Martiner and grand estate owner of the Island, concerning a “Blackbird” published as belonging to the wild animals life of St-Martin. He claimed and rightfully that he has never known this bird on the Island until in the two last years.

I felt revolted when recently picking up a revue on Saint-Martin's natural reserve with on front page a group photo of the board members, they were all of European complexion, not one of native's ethnic, we just are not counted as responsible people.

It is the negative effect these type of colonization images on the mental of our young people that pushes them to retreat themselves into society's outcast gangs.

My remark may be considered to be superfluous to some but believe me, in my long history of communication with youngsters, these type of images, these type of little society's details are the vehicles of nihilism agents upon the mind of our young people, they constitute the trigger to a sense of self-negation, the annihilation of their faculty of self-esteem and subsequently, a sense of negation regarding life, their own life and the life of others.

Little details, but unfortunately within a colonial context as our Island, evolve a general nihilistic impact in particular upon the youth in quest for identification.

We are all touched by yesterday's tragedy occurred during St-Martin's Fish Day festivity. It is an unforgiven act of violence, there can be no possible excuse to justify the act of one consciously taking the life of another or even of his own life.

Regardless to the status of the perpetrator or of the victim, taken one's life away is an unforgiven sin. Even the death penalty pronounced by a court of justice is an unforgiven act of violence, even one taking away his own life is an unforgiven act of violence..

We did not create life, we have only discovered it,

We have accepted it without questioning it purpose. We should live it out here on earth with the only belief that it is an undisclosed secret of God and of which only he, has the legitimate authority to end it in his own time.

The beginning and the end of man's life here on earth, are God's supreme and exclusive prerogative.

At the end of time all who have trespassed on God's supreme authority over life and death will be equally judged notwithstanding our earthly status or pretense.

On an other hand, throughout the Bible we find many examples in which God has always considered us as a “People” jointly responsible.

The same applies to us today, as a human society, we are in one way or the next, directly or indirectly responsible of the general trend taken by our society. The perpetrator of the crime being the direct unforgiven sinner does not exonerate us as responsible members of the society from all culpability.  God sees us as a People.

In this sense, how much of us as we condemn the criminality trend of our today's youth, question our responsibility, our duty and failure to be uplifting models to our youth, this not in words but in the images we project as adults and the ideals we cherish?

How much of us felt revolted to see that the opening ceremony of the same Fish Day festivity, primarily honoring our fishermen, was hosted not by the daughter of one of our local fishermen, but by a lady of European ethnicity?

Do we have to deny our native's identity and faculties even to host a public ceremony before invited foreign officials, as to prove our loyalty to France?

Wouldn't it been a more uplifting image, a “point de repere” for our youth in their quest for self-esteem to witness one of their own hosting this local festivity?
Was it not possible to find in St-Martin, one daughter resembling out local fishermen and capable of hosting this local cultural event?

We overlook little images as such but it is exactly on these little images that our youngsters find material to build their personality, recognize themselves through their elders and develop a sense of pride a sense of belonging to society and a spirit of hope in attaining an upright standard in society life.

To deprive them of their self-esteem building material then we should not be surprised of them becoming society offenders.

I'm not launching a campaign against you the new settlers on this Island, but simply begging that you may perform your role within the respect of universal values due to all people in their homeland, respect for the natives profound attachment to all the constituent values of their homeland and their rights to be at the very least equal partners in its management.

You can play an active role in society without treating natives as unqualified and irresponsible people.

To expropriate native from their land and strip them of the substance of their patriotic pride of being the legitimate managers of their homeland natural environment is nothing less to the atrocities perpetrated by European colonizers against the first Caribbean's indigenous inhabitants some three to four centuries back.