10,000 Birds

SEPTEMBER 30, 2020

“Sit under a fruiting tree and birding shall be fruitful.” ” After spending the last couple months chasing migratory shorebirds, I was aching for some forest birding. It was a dreary morning, with Trinidad under watch for an incoming tropical wave. Small-billed Elaenia.

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Trinidad Birds Woodpeckers Species 269

10,000 Birds

APRIL 13, 2022

As is my self-declared tradition of speaking of groups of birds within the species gamut of Trinidad & Tobago, allow me to introduce you to yet another group of three. Alas – both Trinidad and Tobago each have two Myiarchus flycatchers. Any opinions on this, other than it being a bird? Does habitat overlap?

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Trinidad ALA Groups Species 202

10,000 Birds

OCTOBER 27, 2021

The islands and surrounding islets of Trinidad and Tobago boast an astounding list of almost 500 species of birds. There is a recurring theme of threes within the multitude of bird species in T&T, you can see for yourself in some previous posts I made. The post Honey x3 appeared first on 10,000 Birds.

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Trinidad Groups Family Species 256

10,000 Birds

NOVEMBER 8, 2023

Very early in the year, I wrote a post on this blog about what I thought was a strong contender for BOTY (Bird of the Year) here in Trinidad & Tobago. It was on one of my nemesis birds, one which I have eventually gone on to see and hear several times since. Birds have wings, right? Is it possible ?

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Trinidad Hunting Rights Birds 176

10,000 Birds

JANUARY 11, 2023

How can one, in what is barely the second week of the first month of the year – even think of suggesting a Bird of the Year? I began recording my bird sightings with photographs in late 2009, and since then I have seen (or at least heard) a fair proportion of species recorded within my home country of Trinidad & Tobago.

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Birds Trinidad 2020 2012 259

10,000 Birds

JULY 27, 2013

And while the birds that we in the western hemisphere refer to as blackbirds in their common names are from several different genera it wouldn’t be unreasonable to think that if a bird is in the same genus as the North American meadowlarks that it would also be called a meadowlark. If only naming birds were so simple!

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Blackbirds Trinidad Costa Rica Nicaragua 166

10,000 Birds

NOVEMBER 22, 2023

Guyana’s capital city of Georgetown, a quaint, sprawling network of roads and waterways is a regulated introduction to the country’s 800+ species of birds. Bird number one in a new country, and fittingly, a lifer for me. Lesser Kiskadee A pair of very similar looking birds flew in to confuse things even more.

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Guyana Parrots Birds South America 180

10,000 Birds

MARCH 31, 2021

This is not the most confusing aspect of birds by any means, after all there are tanagers which belong in the cardinal family and cardinals that are tanagers. These birds occupy literally every terrestrial habitat within their extensive range, from high altitude forests to coastal, rocky habitat.

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Trinidad Litter Guyana Family 257

10,000 Birds

MAY 26, 2021

Pandemic life has taught me valuable lessons, many of which are in relation to birds. Usually I would be taking people in the field, showing them loads of birds and we’d be preoccupied with what is in front of us at the particular moment in time. The post An Emerging Trend appeared first on 10,000 Birds.

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Trinidad Litter 2020 Groups 253

10,000 Birds

JULY 21, 2021

In the southeastern end of Trinidad, the Trinity Hills rises above the mostly flat interior of the island. This trio of hills stood out to a certain lost seaman over 500 years ago – who took it as a sign of the Holy Trinity and therefore coined the name La Isla de la Trinidad. Little Hermit. Rufous-breasted Hermit.

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Trinidad Family Species Birds 261

10,000 Birds

JULY 20, 2022

The exploration of triads within the avifauna of Trinidad and Tobago has taken me through various families and species groups on this blog. On the smaller island of Tobago there are three species of woodpeckers and three species of woodcreepers – one of each is found on Tobago but not Trinidad. Golden-olive Woodpecker.

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Woodpeckers Trinidad South America Hunting 231

10,000 Birds

DECEMBER 8, 2021

Continuing here with the series on threes within the avian landscape of Trinidad and Tobago (in case you missed it, T&T has three each of trogons , antshrikes , spinetails , manakins , hermits , honeycreepers , and resident warblers ) we arrive at one of the more difficult species triads to encounter. Read more about that here.

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Trinidad Breeding Family Species 243

10,000 Birds

DECEMBER 5, 2019

While Colombia may have almost 2000 bird species, it is a huge country with, still, complicated long-distance travel logistics. On the other hand, small countries with relatively long bird lists offer higher species densities per square mile. The Species per Square Mile Approach. Why 99,999? And why 1000?

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Gambia Equatorial Guinea Species Rwanda 232

10,000 Birds

MAY 17, 2023

The southern forests of the island of Trinidad are home to the much-maligned Moruga Grasshopper. International organisations have provided “assistance” to the government of Trinidad & Tobago over the years to placate residents and aggrieved farmers. Something was attracting all these birds, and keeping them here.

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Trinidad Squirrels Investigation Bears 147

10,000 Birds

JUNE 9, 2021

In my last post here , I spoke of a rather odd trend permeating the birdlife here in Trinidad & Tobago. These endearing birds are almost always found in pairs or small family groups, and I often have difficulty deciding which bird to photograph as both males and females are equally beautiful. Barred Antshrike (female).

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Trinidad Bears Family Groups 208

10,000 Birds

MARCH 6, 2022

In February 2022, the Collaborative submitted 127 checklists in 7 countries ( Costa Rica , United States , Mexico , Trinidad and Tobago , United Kingdom , and Serbia ). The first four were seen in Trinidad and Tobago and the last in China. Good Birding in March! There are 44 hotspots with at least 400 species observed.

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Costa Rica United Kingdom Trinidad United States 207

10,000 Birds

FEBRUARY 19, 2020

This was actually the place where the late Richard ffrench spent much of his time as a music teacher, amassing countless observations of birds that would later form the basis of one of the essential birding guides for Trinidad and Tobago. The subtle white edging to the gape of this bird indicates it is near breeding time.

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Trinidad Birds Parrots Falcons 194

10,000 Birds

FEBRUARY 17, 2021

Getting familiar with birds is a process. As a child, poring through the pages of the Encyclopedia of Animal Life (I was gifted this 25 years before I appeared in Audubon magazine myself) birds gripped my attention. Not all the birds, of course, but many of the distinctive and conspicuous species. Streak-headed Woodcreeper.

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Trinidad Laws Family Hunting 173

10,000 Birds

JULY 12, 2023

All fades under the blinding lights of new backyard birds, however. Regular readers will be well aware that I am a huge fan of sitting at home, sipping coffee, and birding. The benefits of long-term observation of the same birds have fertilized my psyche in ways I never thought possible.

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Trinidad Barn Owls Owls Reptiles 221

10,000 Birds

DECEMBER 22, 2021

Here in Trinidad, we routinely experience several of these migrants – most of these birds surely pass by unrecorded as not everyone is a birder and not all birders are huge fans of suffering from Warbler Neck. The rain eventually subsided, and a couple birds hopped into view. One in particular, caught my eye.

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Trinidad 2015 Suffering Cats 238

10,000 Birds

MARCH 27, 2024

Some movement in the grasses almost to our feet pulled me out of gazing and back into birding mode. These tiny birds were barely distinguishable from the ground – but they were certainly birds. After all, they are annual visitors to my native Trinidad and Tobago. I was surprised at how gently the sun rose.

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Guyana Giraffes Brazil Trinidad 201

10,000 Birds

AUGUST 18, 2021

In fact it slipped me to upload this earlier as I was completely swamped with some other (bird-related) responsibilities. Over the past few years we have been rewilding our yard here in the suburbs of the island of Trinidad. Southern Beardless Tyrannulet , a name longer than the bird!

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Trinidad Birds 264

10,000 Birds

JUNE 28, 2023

One of the interesting aspects of Trinidad’s nature is that both southern corners of the roughly boot-shaped island are dotted with wetlands. Trinidad’s southwestern peninsula has pockets of wet savanna that support sizeable groves of moriche palm. Birds are of course, plentiful here.

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Trinidad Protest Protesting Protesters 149

10,000 Birds

AUGUST 9, 2023

With my recent relocation to the central forests of Trinidad, I have been afforded the incredible opportunity of observing three oft-confused species in close proximity to one another. While the bird above recalls a Great Kiskadee in size and structure, both Variegated and Piratic Flycatchers are considerably smaller and slimmer.

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Trinidad Abandon Abandoning Abandonment 143

10,000 Birds

APRIL 14, 2021

Trinidad’s cloud forests typically aren’t birded much. These magical forests hide isolated treasures like the critically endangered Golden Tree Frog – not to mention several species of birds not found anywhere else in the country. Not for long though, as the walking began shortly thereafter.

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Trinidad Groups Parrots Species 260

10,000 Birds

JULY 6, 2022

Having spent all my life in Trinidad, it was the first time I would be stationed away from the island of my birth. Last month I took the boat back to Trinidad as I was booked to guide a trip there for a week and a half. The disparity in species could be stark, for example if one were to bird on different sides of the planet.

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Trinidad Turkey Squirrels Species 245

10,000 Birds

APRIL 29, 2020

The last time I had seen a Summer Tanager was during a Christmas Bird Count in 2012. Sightings in Trinidad have been sporadic, 38 to be exact since the formation of the T&T Bird Status and Distribution Committee. This is an immature bird, as evidenced by the yellow wash on his underparts.

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Trinidad Birds Squirrels 2012 194

10,000 Birds

MARCH 22, 2023

Something that’s irked me more often than I’d like to admit is the inclusion of the word “common” in the name of a bird. It seems almost insulting, sure it allows some insight into the abundance of the particular species in a particular area at a point in time, but all birds are rare and exotic somewhere.

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Trinidad Litter Bears Birds 174

10,000 Birds

DECEMBER 21, 2022

It is undoubtedly the most wonderful time of year – when we don our binoculars and boots and head off on a tradition spanning more than a hundred years – that of the Christmas Bird Count! On Trinidad, there was no such state involvement in the count, we were pretty much on our own. Mangrove Cuckoo.

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Falcons Trinidad Ducks Groups 229

10,000 Birds

SEPTEMBER 1, 2021

After a lifetime of lockdown measures we’re all surely chomping at the bit to get back out and slip back into that birding groove. I shall not get into those, as we may never get to the birds! My first experience was with a nesting pair, one bird was out at the time and the other was comfortably sitting quite low in the nest.

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Birds Owls Litter Trinidad 231

10,000 Birds

JULY 22, 2013

Such was the situation on Saturday morning in Trinidad when Mukesh Ramdass, who was guiding me for the day, suddenly pulled over and told me it was my lucky day. I was also surprised at how used to traffic this bird had become. … Birds Black-throated Mango hummingbirds nests trinidad' I had no idea!

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Trinidad Birds 157

10,000 Birds

FEBRUARY 22, 2023

The sky cracked open as we ascended into the modest hills of Trinidad’s Northern Range. Slowly, the shapes of birds were beginning to materialise. We just needed to find somewhere that was less cluttered to allow us some chance of seeing birds! As we say here, de road wash ‘wey. And so, we continued.

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Trinidad Eagles Bears Litter 162

10,000 Birds

SEPTEMBER 8, 2023

Birds of Belize by Steve N. Howell and Dale Dyer and Birds of Costa Rica by Dale Dyer and Steve N. Dale Dyer put in years working on his paintings for Birds of Central America , both in the field and in the museum. Howell utilizes the IOC World Bird List (v.11.2, Why are these issues? © 2023 by Steve N.

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Costa Rica Belize El Salvador Birds 203

10,000 Birds

FEBRUARY 2, 2022

One of the most regularly traversed roads for the purpose of birding on the island of Trinidad is the Arima-Blanchisseuse Road. Most folks who have come here for birding have stayed at the Asa Wright Nature Centre (likely reopening later this year – but more on that to come) which is located along this picturesque road.

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Trinidad Squirrels Birds Species 208

10,000 Birds

AUGUST 31, 2022

The twin-island postcolonial paradise of Trinidad & Tobago celebrates its 60th anniversary of independence today, and as much as I am vehemently anti-nationalist I figured I’d draw some attention to this fact. I was on the fence about including it here, but it is a difficult bird to say no to.

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Trinidad Woodpeckers Bears Family 162

10,000 Birds

JULY 23, 2013

That is why on my trip to Trinidad and Tobago I was up early before the other participants and birding whatever area was available to me. Birders are always birding and this goes triple for when we are in a place loaded with potential life birds. Barred Antshrike Thamnophilus doliatus. Palm Tanager Thraupis palmarum.

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Trinidad Birds Rights 152

10,000 Birds

JULY 6, 2022

During the second quarter of 2022 (April, May, and June), the Collaborative submitted 581 checklists from 7 countries ( China , Costa Rica , Mexico , Trinidad and Tobago , Saint Lucia , the United Kingdom , and the United States ). Good Birding! The 2022 year list is up to 1,124 species. Please adjust your calendars accordingly.

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Saint Lucia United Kingdom Costa Rica United States 147