Sunday, February 23

Getting there. April and I began our Tobago trip at about 3 a.m., battling a winter blizzard that eventually left Indianapolis with a fresh 8 inches of snow. All of the valet parking lots at the airport were full or closed, so we parked at a long-term lot, left our winter coats in the car, and took a shuttle bus to the terminal building. Even at 5 a.m. the line for Ambassadair was a long one -- we weren't the only people seeking warmer climes. Al and Pat Roush and Jerry and Gin recognized us and greeted us in line.

We began boarding shortly after clearing the airport security area and were ready for takeoff at our 7 a.m. departure time. All 45 of us, in fact. We were short 105 passengers, many of whom were still clearing airport security, so we remained at the gate until after 9 a.m. The plane was de-iced, and when the last passenger had boarded, we were ready for takeoff. The jet was pushed away from the gate, but the pilot saw a light on the controls that he didn't like, so we taxied back to the gate while the device was repaired. After having been on the jet for three hours, at last we taxied to the end of the runway and took off for Tobago.

Within a few minutes we had escaped the lead-gray skies and snow and were cruising through a sapphire world far above the challenging weather below. The storm clouds were unbroken almost to the coast of Georgia, where we left U.S. airspace. Our flight took us diagonally over Puerto Rico, which looked like it still retained a lot of uncut forest. After about 5-1/2 hours the pilot announced that we had begun our descent to Tobago. I looked out my window and saw an island ahead, with runways at the southwestern end, just like in Tobago, but the rest of the island looked wrong. There were many coves, each dotted with yachts, and the airport area was almost an island in itself. It took me a minute to realize that I was viewing Grenada and that our descent was starting more than 100 miles from Tobago.

Some 10 minutes later, I did spot the real thing, with the Main Ridge of Tobago rising like a long green spine almost the full length of the island. We approached from the seaward side, the west, and touched down at Crown Point International Airport amid scenery that included mostly palm trees and sea. I scanned for birds on the last few seconds of the approach, since the waters off the end of the runway often teem with terns, boobies, and frigatebirds. But at 250 mph all I saw were shapes of "things" whizzing past. After the jet had taxied to a stop on the tarmac near the compact airport terminal, we stepped out into the warm, humid Caribbean breeze and the welcoming 4 p.m. sunshine.

Arriving a few minutes behind us was a Boeing 767 from Europe. Soon we had two jetloads of arrivals standing in line for Customs and Immigration, which was a breeze. Outside our maxitaxi was waiting to whisk us to our accommodations for the next few days. Our luggage was all marked with light blue tags, so the luggage handlers knew where each piece was supposed to go -- to the Hilton, the Mt. Irvine Bay Hotel and Golf Resort (hereafter Mt. Irvine), or elsewhere.

First birds. Our birding began at the airport, with the first of the ever-present Magnificent Frigatebirds gracefully and effortlessly soaring overhead like gigantic Barn Swallows. Our maxitaxi took us from the airport to Shirvan Road and then north five miles to Mt. Irvine. One thing I try not to do while driving from one place to another with a birding group is bird from the vehicle because most people get frustrated when they can't get a view of the bird. Even so, some of us caught glimpses of birds such as Smooth-billed Ani, Gray Kingbird, and Cattle Egret and just had to call out their names.

Mt. Irvine. The Mt. Irvine complex is a sprawling property dominated by an 18-hole golf course. The central building includes a historic sugar mill as in integral part of the dining area. The grounds are ablaze with flowers, colorful plants, and flowering trees. One could hardly imagine a more welcome scene after having started the day in a Hoosier snowstorm.


About the hotel -- The grounds and swimming pool were immaculate. Flowers and ornamental plants were everywhere. It seemed as though our group of 12 comprised more than half of guests at the hotel, since we never saw anything like a crowd while we were there. The food was delicious, with an unbeatable local flavor, and quite expensive. The rooms were clean, cool, secure, and generally offered an opportunity to bird from the balcony or patio. Some of us watched TV long enough to learn that Indianapolis had continued to get snow throughout the day, while others tuned in to local channels to watch the competition in Trinidad for best costume in the Carnival.

Darkness was complete at 6 p.m. so we did what birding we could between checking in, unpacking, and freshening up. Among the many species we saw this evening before dinner were soot-colored Smooth-billed Ani, scintillating emerald Copper-rumped Hummingbird, a larger hummingbird called a Black-throated Mango (female on her nest in a tree near the lobby), Gray Kingbird on the wires, a phoebe-sized flycatcher called a Yellow-bellied Elaenia, rather subdued Tropical Mockingbird, a lone Yellow Warbler, and about a billion each of the ever-present Bananaquits, Blue-gray Tanagers, and Palm Tanagers.

The latter species was so abundant that it was difficult to convince the group that as recently as 10 years ago a birder would have had a very difficult time finding a Palm Tanager on Tobago. I had only seen my first one there, near Hillsborough Dam, some five years before, and now they were everywhere.

This was a day for getting to know each other. As my friend Craig Faanes wrote in his birding-travelogue novel, Somewhere South of Miami, "in the Tropics one must always be prepared to expect anything". Still, I was amazed at the group's range of birding experience. Al and Jerry seemed like seasoned birders, whereas Betty had bought her binoculars shortly before the trip. No problem, mon! Everyone would soon become familiar with lots of beautiful birds.

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