Having got the first batch of frogs out and into the forest there was little time to relax as it was soon time to get ready the final group... last but not least. Preparations were smooth as the team new exactly what to do from the night before. The last of the mountain chickens left in the facility were...
Having had a few nights of peace and quiet in the temporary ponds, it was time to release the first half of the captive-bred mountain chickens into their new home. The team mobilised to get the chosen frogs ready for release. They needed to be identified, swabbed and have the transmitters checked for the radio tracking before being placed...
It was a tense day yesterday. We knew the mountain chickens due for the next release were in the air winging their way to Montserrat but what were we going to find out once we opened those boxes?? We were all very excited when we go the call to say they had landed and Jervaine and Big Lloyd from...
Most of the team is here now with the arrival of Gerardo Garcia (head of the captive-breeding programme) yesterday evening and now Ben Baker from Chester so the cavalry has arrived. The team has been busy making the final preparations for the arrival of the mountain chickens with checking the holding facilities where the frogs will be housed for...
A very Happy New Year to all! 2011 was an amazing 12 months for the mountain chickens in Montserrat and the Mountain Chicken Project Team and we are very excited about 2012. And what better way to start the year than another release! That's right folks, more mountain chickens are currently winging their way to Montserrat. Imagine...flying chickens! The...
Just when things were coming to an end here on Montserrat for me as a volunteer, another adventure took off! I got the opportunity to spend a week with our sister mountain chicken project on Dominica, run by ZSL. The project members on Dominica have put a lot of work into setting up a facility for captured wild frogs...
It's been four amazing months here on Montserrat for me and my fellow volunteer Blanca. The adventures have been countless and could possibly only be outnumbered by the good laughs. We have spent many nightly hours scrambling through the mud of the forest, listening out for calling males and gazing into the dark in search of that lustrous red...
I may be a little fella, but my heart is as big as Texas! If you've been to Montserrat, you know there is a concert going on in the trees from dusk till dawn. The majority of the choir members are tree frogs: Eleutherodactylus johnstonei.
One reason for the tree frogs' persisting abundance is their ability to withstand the chytrid...
After a few weeks trying to organize the event, it finally happened!!! Last Saturday the Mountain Chicken team went to the forest. That is no news, I know. But this time there was a different reason to go: a fantastic, tasty and delicious meal…
The first step was to choose the location to set up the kitchen (oh, yes, everything...
Dominica is often called nature isle and is an emerald jewel in the Caribbean Sea. It has 60% of its forests remaining and the most intact reptile and amphibian assemblage in the Caribbean. Dominica was once the stronghold of the giant amongst frogs, the mountain chicken (Leptodactylus fallax). The mountain chicken has...