Trinidad & Tobago Birds
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Here's an excerpt from one of our reports:
November 26
Our close-knit group of 12 West Virginians (including me) met at Columbus International Airport to fly via American Airlines to Raleigh/Durham and thence on to Miami International. The intrepid members of our group were Craig and Susan Aufdenkampe, Dick and Jeanette Esker, Glenn Haynes, Rexine and Dale Johnson, Sally Maxwell, Carl and Shirley Radcliffe, and Mary Shepherd. In Miami, Floridian Nicky Reeder, Craig's great-aunt, joined us. From Miami we continued on American Airlines to Port-of-Spain, Trinidad. Our four-hour nonstop flight took us down the Bahama chain, over Puerto Rico, and just west of the Leeward Islands. Our final approach was over the Boca Islands, drowned mountains that lie between Trinidad and Venezuela, and then over the Gulf of Paria just south of Port-of-Spain. The lights of the capitol city gleamed in stark contrast to the inky blackness of the Northern Range that lay beyond.
The queues at Trinidad & Tobago Immigration moved slowly until some members of our group took the initiative of switching from the Visitors lane to the Residents lane. After the pleasant confusion of claiming luggage (none missing), we passed speedily through Customs and out into the starry, balmy tropical night. We found out that it had been raining nonstop for the previous four days and that many of the thoroughfares were flooded. Our arrival couldn't have been better timed; we brought the sun with us.
Once outside we met our guides and new friends Roodal and Jogie Ramlal. These Indian fellows whisked us up and away to the Asa Wright Nature Centre, which would be our home for the next week. En route we passed through the city of Arima, home of the Matouk® brand of calypso sauces, pepper sauces, and various other kinds of condiments that can be purchased in the U.S. Arima rocked to the beat of steed drum music and parang (Indian Christmas music). The beat helped set the atmosphere for that first night.
At the Centre we were greeted by manager Richard Quamina. We unloaded the luggage and the staff showed us to our rooms or cabins. After taking a few minutes to settle in, we regrouped in the dining room to enjoy the first of many delicious meals to come, many of which included sandwiches made with savory homemade bread. Then we retired for the night, falling asleep to the exotic sounds of the night, including our first Ferruginous Pygmy-Owl.
November 27
As on most days that followed, many of us were up before dawn to savor one of the most enchanting places anywhere, the Asa Wright Nature Centre veranda. Aided by AWNC staff naturalists Sheldon Driggs and later by Kenny Calderon, we began sorting through the almost overwhelming variety of birds. By the time the breakfast gong sounded, names like Bananaquit, Blue-gray Tanager, Palm Tanager, Crested Oropendola, Great Kiskadee, Green and Purple Honeycreeper, and many others had become part of our vocabulary. A splendid male Tufted Coquette, looking just like the photo on the cover of my book, probed the blue Vervain below the feeders while constantly pumping its tail. After breakfast we took a leisurely walk with Jogie to explore the grounds of the Centre. Just above the car park grew a sizeable Calabash (Crescentia cujete)tree festooned with its large gourdlike fruits. The natives hollow out the dried fruits and use them to hold water. Along the trail we were introduced to many tropical plants, including Mountain Immortelle (Erythrina poeppigiana), with fiery blossoms that attract tanagers and Bare-eyed Thrushes; Balisier or Lobster Claw (Heliconia wagneriana); Deer Meat (Centropogon cornutus), whose tubular red flowers were clearly designed for hummingbirds; Hot Lips (Cephaelis tomentosa), whose name aptly describes the appearance of the blossom; and the national flower, Chaconia or Wild Poinsettia (Warszewiczia coccinea). At the Centre, as well as throughout Trinidad, the bright yellow Cassia or Golden Shower Tree was in bloom. We identified Breadfruit (Artocarpus incisus) trees and learned to distinguish them from the closely related Breadnut tree. We also learned to identify Coffee (Coffea arabica), Cocoa (Theobroma cacao), Banana (Musa sp.), and a variety of citrus trees. Mangoes (Mangifera indica) were conspicuous everywhere, and Papaya (locally called Pawpaw) (Carica papaya)and Cecropia trees
were invaders, found wherever slashing and burning had left clearings.
An anomaly in a rainforest, a Magnificent Frigatebird passed overhead, along with zillions of Black and Turkey Vultures and a wide variety of raptors including Merlin, Double-toothed Kite, White Hawk, Common Black-Hawk, Broad-winged Hawk, and Zone-tailed Hawk. A cacophonous flock of about 50 Violet-tailed Parrotlets moved from tree to tree, instantly disappearing as they landed and nestled among the identically colored leaves. Parrotlets usually are hard to find, but on our trip they were an everyday occurrence. When I exclaimed, You wouldn't believe how seldom we see this species! I had no idea of how many more times during the trip I'd utter that phrase.
Unusual new birds included Green Hermit, Brown Violet-ear (only my second ever), Blue-crowned Motmot, Crested Oropendola, and Chestnut Woodpecker at the feeders; a reliable pair of Channel-billed Toucans in a nutmeg (Myristica fragrans) tree down the valley; a Buff-throated Woodcreeper hitching itself up the mango tree to the left of the veranda; and later a stray Blackpoll Warbler on the grounds. Appearing to the naked eye as a spot of white against the otherwise dark green foliage down the valley, a male Bearded Bellbird sat atop a Matchwood tree emitting its powerful KONK call. We became acquainted with many kinds of Wild Ginger (Alpinia sp.) and Ginger Lilies, watching these favorite nectar sources of the hermit hummingbirds carefully in hopes of spotting one of these somber-hued, supersonic, low-flying species.
After a welcome midday siesta, we met Sheldon for a late afternoon hike to the world's most accessible Oilbird cave. For the first time, we were in a deep, primeval rainforest, with trees towering hundreds of feet overhead, with vines and lianas dangling to the ground. Along the trail we observed any number of Tarantulas in the open ends of metal handrails. We were fascinated by trees such as Mountain Mahogany and Mountain Immortelle, with their immense buttressed root systems, and Sandbox Tree, with its protruding thorns along the trunk. A pair of cooperative Red-crowned Ant-Tanagers were a surprising find, since they usually flee at the sound of walkers in the woods. We also found trails of leafcutter ants (Atta), along which the workers toiled with their parasols of green leaves.
The grotto at the entrance to Guacharo Cave is almost indescribable. Giant blue Morpho butterflies undulate in the restless air currents. Day-flying insectivorous bats flit for insects in the perpetual twilight of the gorge. Child-sized elephant-ear plants blanket the banks of the Guacharo River. The roar of the water is magnified many times over by the rock walls of the gorge, producing a sound more consistent with a much larger flow. Over the roar we could hear the chirps of tiny cricket frogs (Calistethis) calling along the river's edge.
The true troglodytes among us removed their shoes and waded through the cool waters of the Guacharo River, stepping over the slippery rocks to enter the cave. Once inside we found lots of the nocturnal, cave-dwelling Oilbird. Those of the group who ventured into the cave had excellent views of roosting birds and their young in the nests as well as a single sleepy Chestnut-collared Swift. Even from the cave entrance, we stay-behinds also picked out several Oilbirds in the light of Sheldon's flashlight, and we could hear their roaring. Sheldon explained that in times past the nestlings, fattened on an oil-rich diet of regurgitated palm fruits, were collected by the native inhabitants and rendered into oil, giving rise to the species' name.
Those of us who Sheldon persuaded to linger in the gorge until after dark were treated to the sight of Oilbirds departing on their nocturnal forays. As if testing the level of light outside, one bird at a time ventured forth, only to return to the cave, clicking to find their way. By the time the main flight began the daylight had disappeared totally. The ensuing pitch darkness made the hike back from the cave something not soon to be forgotten.
After dinner ("Watch out for that yellow stuff -- it's hot pepper sauce, and you could use it to start a fire!") we tallied up the day's birds: 76 species (all new for the trip, of course) without having left the Centre grounds. It had been quite a first day.
November 28
Awakening to a chorus of Ferruginous Pygmy-Owls, Cocoa Thrushes, Great Kiskadees, and other exotic bird songs, some of the group gathered on the veranda in the predawn darkness for some early birding. The smell of the freshly brewed coffee awaiting them there may also have hastened their departure from their beds. Blue-crowned Motmots, Boat-billed Flycatchers, about ten species of hummers, and scattered individuals of about 20 species of birds fed within sight among the bamboo, Heliconia bihai, and bromeliad-covered trees visible down valley.
After breakfast we met Roodal and Jogie for our first trip afield. During the next eight hours we would traverse the winding (an understatement!) Blanchisseuse Road across the Northern Range to the fishing hamlet of Blanchisseuse on the Caribbean. Prominent in their understated functionlessness were a parade of guardrails fashioned from 1"-thick bamboo poles. They almost shouted "Don't count on us!"
At each stop along the way Roodal and Jogie lived up to their reputations as the best bird guides on the island. They spotted and showed us great birds such as exotic Speckled Tanagers, strikingly beautiful Scaled Pigeons, Violaceous Trogons, a pair of Green Kingfishers (the male of which we viewed through the Questar telescope), Rufous-tailed Jacamars, Lineated Woodpeckers, the first of many Tropical Kingbirds, yet another (!) Blackpoll Warbler, Golden-crowned Warblers, Blue Dacnis, Yellow-rumped Caciques, and many others. Particularly memorable was a pair of tiny Bat Falcons relentlessly driving off a bulky Broad-winged Hawk.
Lunch provided an interesting clash of cultures for us. We ate along Blanchisseuse Road, sitting atop a black-and-white painted concrete abutment along a hairpin curve. After enjoying a wonderful rice pilaf, we began tossing spoonfuls to a proud roadside rooster that had cautiously approached us from a small hut perched on the side of the hill above us. It was pleasant to watch the rooster benefit from our passage, but it made us uneasy seeing the lady of the house watching her fowl eat what may have been a tastier dish than she had. Before long, though, she was the happy recipient of all of our surplus pilaf, and we were back on the road.
Once at the Caribbean, we stopped in the village of Blanchisseuse for a beach walk. Brown Pelicans patrolled offshore and Magnificent Frigatebirds patrolled silently overhead as we drank in the ambience of the secluded coconut-lined beach. After the coolness of the mountain heights, Blanchisseuse seemed hot, so we paid a visit to the local store for cold drinks and a chance to meet some of the more colorful residents of the town. One of my favorite memories is of Jeanette holding her binocular strap like a leash while a perfectly intoxicated fellow peered through her optics.
We stopped several times on our return trip to the Centre. As in Blanchisseuse, some of us may remember the stops at the more open areas as quick walks from one spot of shade to another. One of the most spectacular montane vistas was that above the hamlet of Morne Le Croix, where we counted at least five Channel-billed Toucans in one tree. Flying somewhat below us, flocks of Blue-headed and Orange-winged Parrots were perfectly illuminated by the golden hues of the late afternoon sunlight -- another lifetime view, especially of the lovely cobalt blue heads of the former and the pumpkin-orange wing patches of the latter. Also strikingly beautiful when seen bathed in that special light were Yellow-rumped Caciques. A bit farther on we passed one of the largest Silk Cotton or Kapok (Ceiba pentrandra) trees in Trinidad growing alongside the diminutive Marianne River. A real surprise was a Spectacled Owl, spotted by Roodal from the moving van, which was expertly concealed in a dense stand of bamboo. Even when standing beside the bamboo we found the owl exceedingly difficult to pick out. How Roodal recognized it as an owl and not a fallen leaf was a mystery, but regardless, it was a superb find.
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