2009 Trinidad And Tobago Birding Trip

Birding Trinidad & Tobago

A

wonderful introduction to the birds of South America, Trinidad & Tobago is home to the most diverse and exciting birdlife on earth. This relaxed and easy-paced tour stays at only two locations, the internationally famous Asa Wright Nature Centre on Trinidad, and Cuffie River Lodge on Tobago. The highlights are numerous: the glorious spectacle of wave upon wave of Scarlet Ibis at twilight, the amazing oilbirds, motmots, hummingbirds and honeycreepers from our balcony, nightjars and potoos by flashlight, antbirds, jacamars and woodcreepers along Asa Wright nature trails, not to mention agoutis, tropical butterflies, flowering plants, and a glass-bottomed boat over a superb coral reef. A perennial favourite with birders and naturalists everywhere! Day 1: Arrival in Trinidad The trip begins at Port of Spain’s Piarco Airport where you will be met and transferred to our lodge. Night at the Asa Wright Nature Centre. Days 2 to 7: Asa Wright Nature Centre and Lodge During our stay we explore the grounds and nature trails that radiate out from the lodge and take day trips to the many excellent birding localities in Trinidad. We will explore cocoa, coffee and citrus plantations, as well as the rainforest searching hummingbirds, including White-necked Jacobin, Black-throated Mango and the splendid Tufted Coquette; honeycreepers, including Purple and Green; and tanagers, including Silver-beaked, White-lined, Bay-headed and Turquoise. We visit a cave where Oilbirds and Chestnut-collared

Featured Birds • Scarlet Ibis • Red-billed Tropicbird • Ornate Hawk-eagle • White Hawk • Channel-billed Toucan • Bearded Bellbird • Oilbird

• Moriche Oriole • Silvered Antbird • White-tailed Sabrewing • Red-bellied Macaw • Golden-headed Manakin • Ruby-topaz Hummingbird

Swifts reside, as well as travel through some of the most scenic mountains and highest rainforest on the island. Here we have a chance to see all three species of trogons (Collared, White-tailed and Violaceous), Speckled Tanager, Swallow-tanager, Golden-crowned Warbler, Bluecrowned Motmot, Little Tinamou, Lilac-tailed Parrotlet, and an array of raptors, including Gray Hawk, Common Black-hawk, Gray-headed and Swallow-tailed Kites, and Bat Falcon. The beach at Blanchisseuse has many Brown Pelicans and Magnificent frigatebirds present, and may produce sandpipers and plovers, as well as American Pygmy and Green Kingfishers. We end the day having seen a wide diversity of birds as well as some spectacular scenery!

november 20 -30, 2009 / november 19 - 29, 2010

In contrast to the rainforests and lush vegetation of the Northern Range, we also visit the Aripo Savanna and the abandoned United States airfield at Wallerfield. Pearl and White-tailed Kites frequent this area, as do Savanna Hawks and Yellow-headed Caracaras. Red-bellied Macaws can sometimes be encountered in fruiting trees or more often flying overhead to feeding areas elsewhere. Ruby-topaz Hummingbird, a stunning bird, occurs here, and we have a good chance of finding it. Yellow-rumped Caciques are here, and an array of flycatchers, including Sulphury and Bran-colored. One of our target birds is the extremely rare Moriche Oriole, and we make special efforts to find one. An evening excursion to the Caroni Swamp brings the flight of roosting wading birds: egrets, herons and especially Scarlet Ibis congregate in hundreds in the mangroves. The Nariva Swamp is a large triangularshaped area along the eastern coast of Trinidad. It is good habitat for wading birds, rails, raptors, and manatees! The swamp is the best place in Trinidad to find Silvered Antbird. There may also be Red Howler and Capuchin Monkeys in the larger stands of trees. Days 8 to 10: Tobago Our birding experience in Tobago will contrast our first week in Trinidad. We visit the central highlands, mangrove swamps, and take a boat ride around Little Tobago Island, with the target of finding those species not found on Trinidad. Around Little Tobago, the seabirds are the main attraction, and possibilities include Brown and Red-footed Boobies, Magnificent Frigatebird, and the stunning Red-billed Tropicbird. Day 11: After our last night in Tobago we depart on our group flight back to Trinidad, to catch our international flights home in the afternoon.

Cost: $3,450 USD / $3,550 USD; based on double occupancy single supplement $450 USD Max: 12 adventurers Fitness Level: Fairly easy to moderate walking. Tour Includes • All meals, from dinner Day 1 to breakfast Day 11 • Ten nights of charming and comfortable accommodations • All ground transportation • Your guide Paul Prior Tour Cost Does Not include: • Transportation to/from Trinidad • Internal group flights • Mandatory medical insurance • Alcoholic beverages with meals • Items of a personal nature • Any expenses incurred due to weather, delays etc.