My name is Laura and I have recently arrived in Montserrat to join the Mountain Chicken team here. I had the pleasure of seeing a mountain chicken on my first trip to Montserrat last year, and couldn’t believe how big they are. Especially when I was told that the frog I considered to be a giant was just a youngster, barely half the size of the biggest ones… I am absolutely delighted to be back now to work with these fabulous frogs and this amazing and dedicated team!
We have a busy season ahead of us, with the fourth mountain chicken release planned for later this year. But before that, we have surviving frogs to find, and plenty tree frogs to swab. The forest is currently very dry, we have had hardly any rain and the ghauts have all but dried up. The other night we were visiting the ghaut where the previous mountain chicken releases were carried out. We didn’t see any mountain chicken, but as we approached, the leaf litter in the ghaut became alive with hundreds (if not thousands) of the tiny tree frogs leaping about to get away from us. They had accumulated there in search of hard-to-come-by moisture. It was a sight to behold!
While we wait for a decent rainfall, Lloydie and I have been busy planning our education and outreach work. Once the Easter break is over we will go out to visit the primary and secondary schools on the island to talk frogs with the kids. We are also hoping to get on the radio and plenty more, so keep your eyes peeled for news from the mountain chicken project here in Montserrat!
