Palm Island in the

Grenadines The Grenadines () is a chain of small islands that lie on a line between the larger islands of Saint Vincent and Grenada in the Lesser Antilles. Nine are inhabited and open to the public (or ten, if the offshore island of Young Island is counted ...

is a small island one mile from

Union Island Union Island is part of the nation of Saint Vincent and the Grenadines. It has a surface of and lies about west-southwest of Barbados within view of the islands of Carriacou and the mainland of Grenada, which lies directly south. Clifton and ...

, only accessible by boat. It has an area of and has five beaches. Originally known as ''Prune Island'', Palm Island got its current name when the former owners, the late John Caldwell ("Johnny Coconut") and his wife Mary, planted hundreds of coconut palms (''Cocos nucifera''), transforming the deserted,

swamp A swamp is a forested wetland.Keddy, P.A. 2010. Wetland Ecology: Principles and Conservation (2nd edition). Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, UK. 497 p. Swamps are considered to be transition zones because both land and water play a role in ...

y, and

mosquito Mosquitoes, the Culicidae, are a Family (biology), family of small Diptera, flies consisting of 3,600 species. The word ''mosquito'' (formed by ''Musca (fly), mosca'' and diminutive ''-ito'') is Spanish and Portuguese for ''little fly''. Mos ...

infested island into a palm covered one. Its grass

airstrip An aerodrome, airfield, or airstrip is a location from which aircraft flight operations take place, regardless of whether they involve air cargo, passengers, or neither, and regardless of whether it is for public or private use. Aerodromes in ...

was sacrificed to the planting of more palms following the construction of a concrete airstrip on

. The circular air traffic control building remains although it is now used as a nursery for young palms.

Nature

The island is a haven for wildlife and during 2015, 125 land turtles were introduced to replace the small population that was washed away by

Hurricane Ivan Hurricane Ivan was a large, long-lived, and devastating tropical cyclone that caused widespread damage in the Caribbean and United States. The ninth named storm, the sixth hurricane, and the fourth major hurricane of the active 2004 Atlantic h ...

in 2004. Although not indigenous, the vegetation is akin to Union Island where the turtles were sourced and they are released from nursery cages as soon as they grow past the size where they would be prey to the native land iguanas. Other wildlife easily seen are house geckos (

Gekkonidae Gekkonidae (the common geckos) is the largest family of geckos, containing over 950 described species in 62 genera. The Gekkonidae contain many of the most widespread gecko species, including house geckos (''Hemidactylus''), the tokay gecko (''Ge ...

), ground and tree lizards,

hermit crabs Hermit crabs are anomuran Decapoda, decapod crustaceans of the superfamily (taxonomy), superfamily Paguroidea that have adapted to occupy empty scavenged mollusc shells to protect their fragile exoskeletons. There are over 800 species of hermit c ...

, land crabs ( Coenobitidae).

Sea turtles Sea turtles (superfamily Chelonioidea), sometimes called marine turtles, are reptiles of the order Testudines and of the suborder Cryptodira. The seven existing species of sea turtles are the flatback, green, hawksbill, leatherback, loggerh ...

are reputed to come ashore to lay eggs but rare tracks are usually the only indication that they have visited. The island also provides habitation for pigeons and doves (

Columbidae Columbidae is a bird Family (biology), family consisting of doves and pigeons. It is the only family in the Order (biology), order Columbiformes. These are stout-bodied birds with small heads, relatively short necks and slender bills that in ...

common blackbird The common blackbird (''Turdus merula'') is a species of true thrush. It is also called the Eurasian blackbird (especially in North America, to distinguish it from the unrelated New World blackbirds), or simply the blackbird. It breeds in Europ ...

, tropical mockingbird, sandpipers, bananaquit, blue and crowned herons (''

Botaurus ''Botaurus'' is a genus of bitterns, a group of wading birds in the heron family Ardeidae. The genus includes species that were previously placed in the genus ''Ixobrychus''. Taxonomy The genus ''Botaurus'' was introduced in 1819 by the Englis ...

'') and

hummingbirds Hummingbirds are birds native to the Americas and comprise the Family (biology), biological family Trochilidae. With approximately 366 species and 113 genus, genera, they occur from Alaska to Tierra del Fuego, but most species are found in Cen ...

. The skies above are populated by

osprey The osprey (; ''Pandion haliaetus''), historically known as sea hawk, river hawk, and fish hawk, is a diurnal, fish-eating bird of prey with a cosmopolitan range. It is a large raptor, reaching more than in length and a wingspan of . It ...

laughing gull The laughing seagull (''Leucophaeus atricilla'') is a medium-sized gull of North America, North and South America. Named for its laugh-like call, it is an opportunistic omnivore and scavenger. It breeds in large colonies mostly along the Atlantic ...

and

frigatebird Frigatebirds are a Family (biology), family of seabirds called Fregatidae which are found across all tropical and subtropical oceans. The five extant species are classified in a single genus, ''Fregata''. All have predominantly black plumage, l ...

. Sand flies or "noseeums" (no-see-em, no-see-ums) as they are known colloquially combined with the ubiquitous mosquito occasionally annoy the hotel guests but blanket spraying by the hotel ground staff keeps their effect to a minimum.

Tourism

Palm Island is the home of ''Palm Island Resort and Spa'', with 40 rooms and suites and several private villas. There are two restaurants (the Royal Palm Restaurant and the Sunset Grill) and two bars, a spa, swimming pool, gym, library, tennis court, table tennis room and TV/Internet Room plus other facilities for guests. Typically the resort hosts 100 guests with 92 staff. The island golf course has been reclaimed by the natural habitat with just the flagsticks remaining although a driving range parallel to the Casuarina Beach still exists but is rarely used.

References

Birds of the Caribbean

External links

Official Palm Island Hotel web site
Islands of Saint Vincent and the Grenadines {{SaintVincent-geo-stub Resorts in Saint Vincent and the Grenadines

Nature

See also

Tourism

References

External links