Shagga Crab

I don’t know the real name for this crab, but I’ve grown up knowing it as a Shagga. It’s a saltwater crab found on rocks all around Barbados.

As you can see from the photograph, the Shagga crab’s camouflage is outstanding. It’s easy to look at a rock and miss it completely unless the crab moves.

You can go to any beach or cliff that’s on the water anywhere on Barbados, sit and watch closely, and you’ll see these crabs. They live on the rocks. I’ve never seen one swimming nor on the sand, so I think they live their entire life on rocks and cliff faces.

If you’d like to read more about Barbados, please visit my other blog, Things Barbados.

Barbados Green Monkeys

Saw this huge troop of Green Monkeys outside my back door a couple mornings ago. Don't think I've ever seen such a large troop, so it was pretty cool. Unfortunately they were too spread out for me to get a photo of the entire troop.

There were lots of juveniles, at least one very pregnant female plus others, and, of course, the dominant male. There were probably two dozen in all, maybe more. They didn't stick around for very long, but long enough for me to enjoy them and their frolicking.

Things have started to dry up a bit on the island, so monkeys are having to roam further afield to find food and water - this is when fruit trees take a hit.

I love being able to watch them at such close quarters, but I wouldn't mind at all if they didn't poop on my deck.

If you'd like to read more about Barbados, please visit my other blog, Things Barbados.

Seaside Morning Glory

Seaside Morning Glory is a hardy vine that grows on the beach and other salty windswept environments all around Barbados, but particularly on the north, east and south-east coasts of the island. The vine grows very quickly and can overtake an area if allowed to get out of hand.

The leaves are thick and hardy, but the flowers are very delicate. They are at their best early in the morning, and have wilted by afternoon. The seaside morning glory is good for helping to hold the sand on the beaches and though it will die off a bit in dry weather, once the rains start to come, they grow rapidly, much like a weed.

The specimens shown in these photographs were found growing on rocky outcrops on the east coast of Barbados, areas seemingly devoid of soil.

If you’d like to read more about Barbados, please visit my other blog, Things Barbados.