In mid-April, we joined 11 other adventurers for a 16-day Cheeseman's Ecology Safari to Trinidad and Tobago. We traveled under the leadership of Edward Rooks, a native Trinidadian, who is now married and living/working in the Bay Area.
Trinidad and Tobago were “discovered” in 1498, when the Spanish explorer, Christopher Columbus, landed on their shores. In reality, the islands had been “found” and occupied by the indigenous Amerindian tribes of the Arawaks and Caribs many years earlier.
Trinidad remained in the hands of the Spanish from the 15th Century until the British captured it in 1797 – it became a British colony in 1802.
Tobago, by contrast, was ruled at one time or other by a myriad of European powers, including the Spanish, Dutch, French and British. Tobago, too, was decreed a British colony in 1814, and the Crown enjoined them administratively in 1889. Trinidad and Tobago achieved independence from England in 1962 to become the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago.
Trinidad, previously a part of the South American mainland, measures 37 miles (80km) by 50 miles (60 km), and boasts an ecological diversity unmatched in the Caribbean. The north coast’s scenic beaches and sand provide the perfect atmosphere for seclusion, rest and recreation. Dominated by densely forested peaks, the northern interior offers excellent hiking trails, while the agricultural plains of central Trinidad provide a fascinating contrast. The east coast features protected wetlands and miles of fine brown sand lined by groves of coconut palms. The island’s ‘southland’ is a friendly base from which to explore the island’s modern oil towns, picturesque fishing villages and calm deserted beaches.
Tobago is really the last of the “unspoilt" Caribbean islands. This strip of elongated land, just 41 by 14 kilometres, abounds with natural allure: palm-lined beaches, lush rain forests and pristine coral reefs. It is home to the oldest protected rainforest reserve in the western hemisphere.
The flag of the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago
Our leader, Ed Rooks, shared his extensive knowledge of the natural world in his native country. He is an artist and educator, who painted the following composite of 36 avian species, while working at the Asa Wright Nature Center. As visiting there and seeing/filming the Oilbirds in a cave on the property was one of the highlights of the trip for Rich, we mailed this postcard to ourselves. It now serves as a pleasant reminder of a wonderful trip, especially since Edward helped us see and observe ALL of these species, that he'd painted many years ago.
"The Group", who helped Ed find 231 species, setting a new record for this tour, which he has led every other year since 1999. (Asa Wright's home is in the background.)
A Great Kiskadee, a common flycatcher in Trinidad, greeted us outside PAX, our St. Benedict's Guest House, on the first morning. We discovered this species frequently begin calling BEFORE first light.
Harlan birds near the entrance of PAX below the St. Benedict's church.
A Ruddy Ground-dove stares back at us on the veranda at PAX before we leave to bird.
Above a male Barred Antshrike hops into an opening, temporarily ceasing his skulking. His calls bring forward a female (below) to an open branch, also.
As Dick, a member of "The Group" was also a PhD entomologist, we benefited from his and Edward's knowledge about and interest in the insects, also. This added to our awareness and enjoyment of the insects around us, especially the many different butterflies, like this "Postman", Heliconius erato, (above) or the Heliconius sara (below).
Most of us would rather forget the chiggers:-).
This Blue-chinned Saphire hummingbird was 'captured' in flight near our PAX Guesthouse, which was situated above nearby Port of Spain, the capital of Trinidad.
A Bananaquit straddles across two stems behind the Guest House. Below is the view from PAX toward Port of Spain and Tunapuna.
A Southern Lapwing peered at us in the grass at Chaguaramas.
Courtenay Rooks, Edward's cousin, assisted us during the first 2 days in Trinidad.
A Rufous-tailed Jacamar devours a Cicada using its long bill.
Trinidad's national flower, the Chaconia, is also called the "Wild Poinsettia" or the "Pride of Trinidad and Tobago". It is a flaming red forest flower, honoring the last Spanish Governor of Trinidad and Tobago, Don Jose Maria Chacon.
Trinidad and Tobago’s population figures now stand at about 1.3 million. Most Trinbagonians are of African or Indian descent, comprising 40% of the population each, while the rest of the ethnic mix trace their history back to European, Chinese or Middle Eastern ancestry. This diversity is reflected in the religious mix as well – Christianity is the largest faith, followed by Hinduism, Islam and the traditional African faiths. We briefly visited this Hindu shrine to a God called Hannuman, depicted as a large upright monkey, in the photo above.
We saw familiar species like this Ruddy Turnstone at Waterloo.
And new species, such as this Bare-eyed Thrush busy devouring palm fruits.
The tropical flora was striking, also, as evidenced by this species of Heliconia (above) and Ginger (below).
The National Bird of Trinidad, this adult Scarlet Ibis is part of a breeding colony at the Wildfowl Trust. Note the black-tipped wings.
A Palm Tanager glances up: this is the most commonly seen member of the Tanager Family in Trinidad.
Though flash was not allowed at night on the beach in front of our Mt. Plaisir Estate hotel in Grande Riviere, this 'late-laying' Leatherback Turtle demonstrates how she uses both front flippers to move sand to cover her nest cavity.
Rich attempts to film this female Leatherback laying eggs into her nest cavity.
A Leatherback Turtle egg, which was uncovered by another turtle's attempt to dig a nest cavity, is displayed above. Notice it is 'soft'-shelled and has been dented like can occur with a ping-pong ball.
Another Leatherback Turtle, which misjudged when daylight would occur, finishes digging her nest cavity before laying 80 - 100 eggs. She'll then cover it and make her way back across the beach to the water.
The turtles leave an interesting track as they make their way back to the water.
A Smooth-billed Ani, also known as an "Old Witch" locally, is a common resident on both islands.
We saw a Trinidad Piping Guan twice in the forests above Grande Riviere. It is the only endemic bird species found in Trinidad/Tobago.
Galera Point (Toco) Lighthouse, located where the Atlantic Ocean meets the Caribbean Sea on the NE corner of Trinidad. Note the Black Vultures on top.
The lighthouse keeper allowed us to climb to the top for a view, which was spectacular.
A Gray Kingbird poses on an overhead wire as we made our way to a local ranch.
A Crested Oropendola hangs from its woven nest on a ranch we birded near Grand Riviera.
A Rufescent Tiger-Heron holds perfectly still in a tree along the Shark River.
The following day we returned to Piarco Airport a flew the short flight to Crown Point Airport on Tobago. We were able to walk the short distance to our Kariwak Village Hotel where Dean later filmed this male Ruby-topaz Hummingbird on the grounds.
Stopping at the sewer ponds for a Hilton Hotel, we saw this group of Black-bellied Whistling-Ducks.
Arriving at the Grafton Estate, we enjoyed the feeder station which attracted many species, including this pair of Red-crowned Woodpeckers.
A Blue-crowned Mot-mot also perched nearby during the lunch-time photo-op at the Grafton Estate.
We enjoyed watching the behavior of Blue-backed Manakins on the Grafton Estate, also. Note: this male's red mortarboard.
A colorful caterpillar of a Frangipani Hawk Moth crawls amongst Frangipani flowers.
This Cocoa Woodcreeper hugs the trunk of a tree just outside our Kariwak Village Hotel.
This Pachystachys species' flowers were beautiful on Tobago.
On our drive to the Blue Waters Inn on the northern shore of Tobago, we stopped and meandered through the markets in downtown Scarborough, the capital city.
Birding in the Tobago Forest Reserve, first declared a reserve in 1764 shortly after the island fell to British Rule, allowed us to see some beautiful species like this male Collared Trogon (above) and White-tailed Sabrewing (below).
Once a common species on Tobago, White-tailed Sabrewings became very rare following Hurricane Flora in 1963. However, since being rediscovered in 1974, they are gradually re-establishing population in selected areas.
A Golden-olive Woodpecker drills for insects along the Gilpin Trace.
Members of the local Speyside Pan Orchestre entertained us at the Blue Waters Inn one evening. It was amazing to hear the variety of music possible on these steel drums.
This 'pan-man' is rockin'!
A species of Long-tongued bat visits the hummingbird feeder at Blue Waters Inn.
May 1st, we took a glass-bottom boat to Little Tobago where we saw many Laughing Gulls and other seabirds nesting.
A Red-billed Tropicbird flies over Little Tobago, too.
A Sooty Tern peers back through vegetation on Little Tobago.
A Rufous-vented Chachalaca, a special species on Tobago, shows no fear.
"The Group" then returned to Trinidad and went into the central highlands to the Asa Wright Nature Center and Reserve, which we used as our 'base' for several days.
The veranda, with it's row of various bird feeders below, soon became a favorite hang-out as High Tea was served at 4 PM, followed by Rum Punch at 6 PM.
Bananaquits greatly out-number this Red-legged Honeycreeper as they eat fruit and bread.
Here a Yellow Oriole inspects the fruit and bread offerings.
A Blue-gray Tanager follows....
A male Purple Honeycreeper shows off his contrasting yellow legs/feet.
The female Purple Honeycreeper is green with streaking below.
A pair of Green Honeycreepers: male-bluish green with black head and female all grass-green eat papaya.
The female Green Honeycreeper is more like a Tanager in build/bill.
A White-chested Emerald perches momentarily before darting back to a feeder.
A female Great Antshrike pops out to investigate our 'pishing' noise.
A male Great Antshrike popped out of the underbrush, also.
A male White-necked Jacobin rests momentarily.
A gorgeous male Red-legged Honeycreeper perches vertically for this photo.
A male Tufted Coquette feeds from a lantana flower.
Sexy-Pink Heliconia is a hybrid plant.
We saw several White-tailed Trogons on an early morning walk with Edward.
Golden-headed Manakins were moving about, too.
We visited a lek of White-bearded Manakins who were dramatic when wing-snapping over their backs in order to attract a passing female.
The calls from the Bearded Bellbirds echoed through the forest.
Torch Ginger blooms abounded at Asa Wright.
A Crested Oropendola displays his entrancing eye and brillant tail feathers.
A sign along a trail at Asa Wright describes the Oilbirds found there in a cave which we visited. They are a unique, nocturnal, fruit-eating bird, which possess low frequency echolocation capability.
A large rodent, an agouti, cleans up under the feeders at Asa Wright Nature Center.
Lizards of various shades and sizes were plentiful: (above) an Ameiva ground lizard raises its head, while (below) a Matte or Tegu lizard eats scraps below the feeders at the Asa Wright Nature Centre.
"The Group" birded through all kinds of weather with our indefatigable leader.
Rich films so-called establishing shots with his Canon GL2 mini-DV videocamera.
A Channel-billed Toucan is backlit from the forest.
Is one of the Martha's slowing down near the end of the trip???
Our trip to the Southeastern portion of Trinidad took us through Wallerfield, a previous US Army Air Corp base, which harbored several new species like this Red-breasted Blackbird.
We also saw a single Collared Plover at Wallerfield (above) and a Yellow-chinned Spinetail (below) before we continued on to an Atlantic beach for lunch.
Tropical scenery in the Cocal area near one of our lunch stops.
A drive through Nariva Swamp produced this male White-headed Marsh-Tyrant (above) and a colorful Heliconius species butterfly (below) called the Silver-spotted Flambeau in Trinidad.
We also saw the first of several Red-bellied Macaws.
A red Dragon-Fly posed near THE END of our T & T trip, which we'll remember forever.
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