Rescuing the mountain chicken: 29/03/09

One of the harsh realities of life out here is that we still need to go to the supermarket! Finding all the usual things we have at home can be difficult and we have to accept what is available and learn that fresh fruit and vegetables are only available on certain days and as for anything else you are looking for, just improvise – this is after all an island and of course, any island has a logistical problem when it comes to bringing in supplies.

Here in Montserrat however the problems are even more extreme. The island is only small and since the volcano erupted, two thirds of it has been segregated as part of the exclusion zone - so there is very little land available for farming. Montserrat therefore relies heavily on imports of supplies from the other islands such as Dominica.

And of course moving products around inherently brings with it the risk of introducing diseases to the wildlife, crops and domestic animals – and chytrid was no exception. The regular arrival of fresh vegetables and fruit from Dominica was always the biggest threat for the mountain chicken since they were coming from an infected area. This is not just a problem in Montserrat – the arrival of alien species and pathogens via fresh fruits and vegetation is well reported in many other places.

I had forgotten that it was a Sunday morning when Matt Morton and I ventured out to the local supermarket and was surprised to find it closed. However, being a nice sunny morning, we continued on down the road as far as the exclusion zone – from here there was a clear view of the volcano and we walked along the road down to what had once been a wide river – now it just resembles a moonscape with nothing growing and volcanic ash feet deep.

Across the river bed there is even a house buried up to the first floor in ash. On the hillside it was also possible to see the Air Studios, once occupied by George Martin, and now deserted. There is a slightly surreal eerie feeling down there and the contrast with the lush greenery of the north of Montserrat is marked.

Walking back up the hill we saw another iguana dash across the road in front of us – fortunately this is one that might make it to lay its eggs this year as it seemed to be heading for the river bed where apparently last year many iguanas laid their eggs in the volcanic ash.

The aim of the morning was to finish the last touches to the nets in the transit facility and this we did in record time. The facility is now ready to receive frogs.

Javier, Blacka and I made our usual evening visit to Pelican and this time made it right to the top of the transect. We found several live frogs but most were recaptures from earlier visits. Javier had been hoping to see more live frogs in the top end of the transect but we were to be disappointed – the ghaut seems to be almost empty of frogs and it was a lonely call from a solitary frog that we heard from above us in the forest.

Things never go strictly to plan in any project and here in Montserrat decisions have to be made and then adapted to the situation in the field that can change on a daily basis. One of the major challeneges we face is how to keep 50 mountain chickens in captivity. It may sound straightforward when you have access to the large colonies of insects of the Herpetological Department in Jersey for example. But the difficulties begin when your plan starts in Montserrat where you'll have to assure a regular and diverse supply of live prey – theres a reason that these frogs are so large! This is where the planning comes in and a lot of time is spent making sure that as many of the elements are secured and the plans for collecting the frogs are fully developed and understood by all. Monday will be the day for more discussions on the plans for the way forward and hopefully we will all head downwards in Pelican Ghaut in search of more ponds and healthy frogs.