Night-time Visitors At Marigot Bay Resort?

What's That Noise?

Inspired by the weekly Nature Day at Zando's Kids' Club, we'd like to introduce you and your animal-loving kids to some of our most common native creatures - as well as one of the rarest. If reptiles are your thing, prepare to be wowed by the cast of characters you can expect to meet in Saint Lucia.

In fact, Zando is short for Zandoli which is the Creole or patois word for one of our most frequently seen friends. During the long hot days at the Marigot Bay Resort and Marina, if you watch closely on your private balcony or around the garden shrubbery, you're very likely to find a gecko or two, scientifically known as the House gecko or Hemidactylus mabouia. These little lizards are sort of flat and wiggly with pale, almost translucent colouring, who hang around in corners and behind picture frames, helpfully snapping up mosquitoes and flies that get in their way.

Also common here - but found only here - is the Saint Lucian anole or Anolis luciae, a species of lizard in the family Dactyloidae. This lizard is endemic to the island, and can be recognised by its bright green colour and slightly pointed head.

What you won't see is the Saint Lucia whiptail lizard, which is the only species of its kind surviving in the Caribbean. The Saint Lucia whiptail sports the same colours as the flag of the island, and its conservation is not only important scientifically, but also has cultural value. The tiny lizard is now only lives on the small islets of Maria Major and Maria Minor in the south, protected by the waves of the Atlantic Ocean and Saint Lucia National Trust.

And to answer the title question, "what's that noise?".

Well, every night from sunset at Marigot Bay Resort and Marina, you'll hear a symphony of chirping and croaking from legions of little residents that wake up as you prepare to sleep, singing their nighttime lullaby while hidden in the bushes and trees.

Among the most melodic stars of the nightly show are the soprano section of Lesser Antillean whistling frogs or coqui Antillano, and the booming base voices of larger cane toads, while our insect friends provide the percussion section, including bird-sized grasshoppers locally known as klak-klaks because of the noise they make.

From sunset until dawn, the natural sounds of Saint Lucia are often a surprise to first time visitors to the resort, but for residents of the islands, this unique opera of creepy creatures provides the backing track to a great night's sleep.

Listen here for a sweet sample until we meet again...