Flora and Fauna of Virgin Gorda

Virgin Gorda is a small island in terms of both size and population (8 square miles, fewer than 4,000 people), but like most tropical destinations, it has a diverse selection of flora and fauna. Here's a tiny sampling of what we delighted in last week. Alas, my underwater digital camera is no longer seaworthy and I didn't replace it before our trip, so these are all land based. In no particular order...

You got your beach (and boardwalk) fowl:

Running goats & climbing goats:

Wilbur and his friends:

I just love this one!

Which means this one must be Charlotte:

At home we call this an orange garden spider. Don't know what it's called on VG.

The mighty pelican (don't you always think of Ogden Nash?):

And a tiny crab--look closely:

Here are some flower shots by day:

I think this was a flamboyant.

Oleander

Firecrackers

One evening near twilight I went outside and randomly shot some flowers on a micro setting with flash.   I was surprised by what the results were:

Tiny bougainvillea blooming out of the rocks

Blue Wreath 

Ixora

This hibiscus just might be my favorite shot

We also saw frigates, hummingbirds, grackles, and bananaquits flying around the villa but weren't able to snap photos of them all. And there were dozens, if not hundreds of flowers that I didn't shoot, including the wonderfully fragrant jasmine blooming outside our door at Euphoria that laced the air with its delicate perfume. Melanie shot lots of lizards and a few skinks but I somehow came up empty-handed where those are concerned. 

One of things I love best about this island is the lack of demarcation between indoor and outdoor, between humans and animals--it's just all there in a wild jumble for the [picture] taking. 

P. S. Happy birthday, sweetheart!  I scheduled this post at 10:15 on 10/15 in your honor.