Eco Travel In Your Own Backyard: Exploring The Garden ~ By Bernie Tetrault
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Eco Travel In Your Own Backyard
 Exploring The Garden ~ By Bernie Tetrault
Before you take off on that long awaited trip to view wildlife in its natural habitat take a closer look around you. You just might be surprised.

Having several producing banana trees, a Chinese Water Apple tree, several decorative banana type trees and a dead evergreen in my garden is unusual for someone from the Northeastern United States. Ex-pats by definition live in some rather exotic and different environments.

I currently live in Phuket, Thailand in a town of about 75,000. I live within the city limits on a quite street (Soi) and have the only garden or yard. Most housing in towns and cities in Thailand are tightly spaced. It is normal for the side of one house to be within 2 meters (6 ft. approx.) or less from its neighbor. Efficient use of land is the key in developing a community in Asia as land is often sold by the square meter. You can actually build to the exact property line and most area is either covered by the home, carport, outside seating area or just plain old cement.

Having a yard that is 7 meters (22 ft.) by 11 meters (35 ft.) approximately and contains the prior mentioned plants is one of the reasons I choose this house. My neighbors think I’m a little touched since I now have to cut the grass/weeds fairly regularly.

I noted upon moving in that there were a lot of butterflies bouncing around both the garden itself and the outside security wall that is lined with flower pots and various potted vegetation that is indigenous to the region. Phuket has always amazed me, since I started vacationing here 7 years ago, with the amount of flowering plants and trees and the abundance of butterflies. You are hard pressed to be anywhere on this island without being in sight of something that is flowering at the moment, and if you stop and look closely you’ll also be within sight of a butterfly or six.

My interest in the beauty and numbers of species of butterflies in the area was piqued once again by a chance encounter with another ex-pat Steve Bird. Steve had owned and operated a butterfly farm here on Phuket and still exports pupa of various species to England. Over the course of several weeks and a few glasses of our favorite beverages at a local pub, he began to educate me in the life and times of the butterfly. 

Butterflies have one of the most interesting life cycles I’ve come across. There are distinct stages and activities that take place between the laying of an egg and the emergence of the butterfly. But that is another project and subject of a future book.

One of the key points I learned from Steve was the necessity for keen observation when you're searching for signs of butterflies. Some eggs are no bigger than the head of the common pin and are often hidden from predators. Now, as an experienced photographer, I had always prided myself on the ability to see, in terms of photography, but this was a new experience in what to see and how.
"She disappears for a few days at a time but always returns. How do I know it’s the same lizard? She is missing her left rear foot as you can see".
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In the simplest terms a photographer watches for the moment of impact, the perfect picture that will tell the story. The view, the action whatever the subject, a photograph is a moment. In observing wildlife it’s not the moment so much, but rather the comparison of that moment to the one previous. The comparison may take many forms, the current moment compared to a minute ago, a day ago, a month ago. The key is to remember the past moment and compare. This is a process that is natural to us but we don’t seem to use it regularly except on our own area of expertise. Probably due to the amount of data we gather through our eyes it gets lost in the pile. But it’s still in there. The key is to note the time when you say to yourself hmmmm something different here…… then try and decipher what it is that you’re seeing differently.

The subtle change you see may indicate nothing or it may be a sign that something is happening that is worth observing or checking more closely. Check it out! Yes, you may have to get up from your lounge or you may have to walk a few steps, but if you don’t, you might miss something that is really interesting. 

For example I spend a lot of time on my computer either writing or working on photographs. My office window looks out on my garden and beyond that the street. In moments of thought or just plain day-dreaming my eyes wonder through that area on a regular basis, there is always activity whether it is the breeze moving branches or people on the street: my eye is drawn to movement.
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On one of these occasions I noted a twig that appeared to be sticking out of the dead tree where I KNEW there were no twigs. It was located near the base of the tree and since the tree was on its last legs it couldn’t be a sucker, so I went to take a quick look. As I approached the twig moved…

At the upper end of this twig that was several inches long was a rather long body and a head that reminded me of a dinosaur. My twig was in fact a tree lizard of the Calotes family, one of about 35 Calotes species found in South Asia. So, I had seen a tree lizard, not earth shattering by any means, except this lizard is seldom seen and almost never found in inhabited areas. I have watched my friend for many months; she always suns herself in the same spot on the same tree at about the same time of day. She disappears for a few days at a time but always returns. How do I know it’s the same lizard? She is missing her left rear foot as you can see in. She has recently shed her skin, similar to some snakes, and is a slightly lighter color now. She can disappear in the blink of an eye and with the natural camouflage is almost impossible to spot. I never would have seen her but for her tail sticking out from the trunk of the tree.

A note of interest here, like many creatures that are susceptible to predators of one sort or another, my friend watches my eyes. I can get no closer than about 6 feet normally, however, with a camera in front of my eyes I can get to within a couple of feet. This is fairly common and a neat point to remember when you are trying to photograph wild life. This doesn’t always work but it has enough times for me to mention it, move slow with the camera up in front of your eyes and you’ll see a difference.

Another time I noted a small section of a banana leaf was curled in a peculiar way. Sort of like you would roll a newspaper into a funnel or a trumpet. I cut the leaf out and found the caterpillar of the Hesperiidea (Skipper) family. This caterpillar has the ability to cut a leaf in such a way as to let it roll into itself to provide the caterpillar with protection and food at the same time. It does this several times during its growth cycle and finally builds a closed one for its pupa stage.
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One day cutting the grass I noted a weed with a broad flat leaf that had some circles cut in it. Turns out that a moth larvae/caterpillar was doing the work. Inside a conical type shell was a small creature that was having his dinner on the leaf. I’m not sure which family this one belongs to but I believe it’s a moth versus a butterfly.

I have two small boroughs near some ornamental rocks in one corner of the yard. I had first thought they might be home to snakes but that didn’t make much sense as there were always toads around when it rains and snakes are the greatest form of population control for frogs and toads. I basically forgot about them until one evening I was watering the grass and talking with a neighbor. Being distracted I let the water run quite a while in one area of the lawn and out of the ground came a toad. A boroughing toad????? Yep another creature that lives in my garden.
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I don’t have any butterflies that lay eggs or build pupa but several come to eat specific plants and to sleep in specific plants on occasion. It turns out that each specie of butterfly has a specific plant for breeding, eating, sleeping etc. A plant for egg laying must provide the food source for the caterpillar when he emerges from the egg. Another plant will provide the food for the adult butterfly and yet another will probably provide the sleeping spot for the butterfly.

Another evening as I was watering I disturbed a small yellow (Lemon Migrant) butterfly from a sleeping position. It returned time and again to the same leaf to rest. This occurred over a period of some twenty minutes. It turns out that behind the leaf it had chosen was a dead leaf identical in color to the butterfly. A predator would be confused by the two “leaves” and would have gone hunting for easier prey.

These are some of the residents of my backyard. Look around and you will find some of your own I’m sure. Once you get to know your yard/garden the occupants will show themselves. I believe, if you’re an ex-pat, you will find a considerable amount of ‘new’ or even exotic critters within your area.  It isn’t always necessary to travel to that distant National Park or reserve to view some of the local wildlife. 

Be observant of changes and when you hear yourself wondering “what’s different with that today?” check it out.
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Rematch!
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