10,000 Birds

AUGUST 17, 2022

Don’t get me wrong, Rufous-breasted Wrens are fairly common across both Trinidad and Tobago. I’m sure in many of my accounts on this blog this species appears in the early paragraphs. All the while it moved a grand total of three times – vastly differing from all my prior experiences with this species!

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Trinidad ALA Experience Experiments 234

10,000 Birds

JUNE 14, 2023

Mentions of Trinidad being the “land of the hummingbird” served to further irk me later on, and the fact that the airline selected this logo to reference that makes me bring up a little bit of breakfast. To my limited knowledge, hummingbirds all had brown wings. Could this be a real bird?

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Trinidad Experience Experiments Rights 130

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 257

10,000 Birds

JUNE 8, 2022

Back in Trinidad, both Spectacled Thrush and Cocoa Thrush would nest in our backyard. This gave us several chances to experience them at various stages of growth. A pair of Spectacled Thrushes at the very commencement of their noisy life. This Cocoa Thrush seemed to be contemplating whether leaving the nest was a good idea after all.

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Trinidad Emotional Breeding Cats 147

10,000 Birds

AUGUST 4, 2021

Obliging species like Grey-headed Kingfisher , Long-crested Eagle , and even a pair of Greater Blue-eared Starlings ensured we didn’t get anywhere quickly. Needless to say, I was still overwhelmed by the presence of numerous species of shorebirds I hadn’t previously seen.

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Buffalo Kenya Trinidad 2019 264

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. Only a couple articles back I described the experience of a morning’s birding along this road. This skulking species always manages to elude me. And on this morning sadly it was no different.

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Trinidad Squirrels Birds Species 220

10,000 Birds

MARCH 18, 2020

Many moons ago, when I used to work in the (supposedly) booming petrochemical industry in Trinidad, most of my time was actually spent birding. Although relatively common here they’re notoriously difficult to see well – a phenomenon clearly not unique to this species ! I was thrilled to see a Short-tailed Hawk fly in.

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Trinidad Battery Industry Bats 220

10,000 Birds

NOVEMBER 25, 2020

During a two-year long moratorium on hunting in T&T, I had some of the most incredible birding experiences. It had been some months since we had been in the hills of Trinidad’s Northern Range, and let it be known that all forests are very different. Our yearly CBC racked up its highest numbers in a decade.

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Trinidad Hunting Venezuela Woodpeckers 261

10,000 Birds

MARCH 21, 2015

These and several other species might end up being armchair ticks if and when we take a closer look at their evolutionary history. Taxa that could end up being split into one species occurring north of the Isthmus of Tehuantepec, and one south of the isthmus. (2). Two subspecies of the same species that differ within Costa Rica. (4).

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Costa Rica Species South America America 213

10,000 Birds

JUNE 25, 2012

Asa Wright Nature Centre in Trinidad holds a prominent position on that list of luminaries. The dichotomous republic of Trinidad and Tobago may be something of a cipher to anyone unfamiliar with the point where the Caribbean ends and South America begins. Now I’ve finally spent time at Asa Wright, I understand why.

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Trinidad South America America Ecuador 246

10,000 Birds

SEPTEMBER 8, 2023

An associated issue is that the Belize and Costa Rica guides share many of the same descriptions of species, written by Howell. Similarly, descriptions of species repeated across volumes do not lose their accuracy with each publication. Other species are splits and lumped and have had their names changed. Why are these issues?

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Costa Rica Belize El Salvador Birds 216

10,000 Birds

MARCH 10, 2021

(The White-tipped Dove is actually called, in Spanish, the Paloma Arroyera , or “Gully Dove” And sorry, I have yet to get a photo of this shy species. Like most of the species on this list, this tiny highland bird prefers to make its presence know by singing, rather than by being seen.

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Trinidad Emotional Transported Mexico 182

10,000 Birds

OCTOBER 26, 2022

Over the course of the following hour or so we observed many different species *coincidentally* alight on the wall near to the body of the fallen yellowlegs. Animals obviously see death and experience it as we do, so the question is not one of if, but of how. Life departed from yet another little body, and all were notified.

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Elephants Ducks Humane Family 271

10,000 Birds

SEPTEMBER 1, 2021

Now, although I have seen this species several times before, we have a unique relationship. 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. I only saw the bird’s head, and made a poor photograph through the bramble.

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Birds Owls Litter Trinidad 243

10,000 Birds

SEPTEMBER 16, 2020

But this experience which I’m about to relate to you was much more significant than chasing a rarity. Having extensive experiences with this species did not prevent me from enjoying them, for as I said – they show themselves. You can still check the spoonbill out in all its innocence here. Frustrated, yes.

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Falcons Experience Experiments Birds 284

10,000 Birds

AUGUST 5, 2020

Especially as we were at the time about to experience a rapidly advancing tropical storm. Two species of icterids populated the area, the presence of either was a direct indicator of the degree of water present. But for the time being we occupied ourselves observing two invasive species – Common Waxbills and Tricolored Munias.

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Livestock Ducks ALA illegal 215

10,000 Birds

OCTOBER 14, 2020

Out of the approximately 26 species of snipes worldwide, two have been recorded on Trinidad. The trouble begins with the recognition of the fact that both species of snipe were formerly part of a single species – Common Snipe ( Gallinago gallinago ). On Trinidad it took me some more time until I saw my first snipe.

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Trinidad Welfare North America Emotional 269

10,000 Birds

JANUARY 19, 2022

While the combination of the words “coast” and “forest” may conjure images of tidal mudflats and mangroves or even coconut trees, the northern coastline of Trinidad features tropical rainforest that plunges steeply into the bejeweled waters of the Caribbean Sea. It almost looks as if the bird is underwater!

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Trinidad Woodpeckers Bats Venezuela 264

10,000 Birds

FEBRUARY 16, 2022

Having been marooned on Trinidad for the last two years, my body was aching for a change. For anyone who’s been birding in T&T, you should be able to attest to the fact that Trinidad Motmots are far easier seen on Tobago than on Trinidad. Along the trails there are many species that accompany the walker.

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Trinidad Woodpeckers Species Humane 202

10,000 Birds

MAY 27, 2020

Far less experience the two in a single morning. Fortunately, I live in Trinidad and Tobago – a twin-island nation that boasts the second highest density of bird species in the world. The first species we got a good view of was an extremely cooperative pair of White-shouldered Tanagers. Variegated Flycatcher.

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Trinidad Pelicans Humane Fish 231

10,000 Birds

MAY 13, 2020

This sleepy fishing village on the north coast of Trinidad should ring a bell – it boasts the densest nesting population of Leatherback Turtles in the entire western hemisphere. The mature forest deep in the hills is the single best place in the world to catch a glimpse of the critically endangered Trinidad Piping Guan.

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Trinidad Turtles Turkey Birds 216

10,000 Birds

JUNE 24, 2020

Birding in Trinidad and Tobago has been likened to an introductory chapter in the book of birding in the Neotropics. While the 480-odd species recorded within T&T may outstrip our fellow Caribbean islands by leaps and bounds, it pales in comparison to the massive lists of mainland South and Central America. And for good reason.

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Trinidad Family America Species 258

10,000 Birds

DECEMBER 23, 2020

Seven hours in total, reaching halfway up the second highest peak on Trinidad, El Tucuche. Trinidad Lancehead , or Fer-de-lance. The following year, 2014, I elected to join a different group birding the lowland seasonal forest at the opposite end of the CBC radius from where I had that wonderful experience the year before.

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Trinidad Livestock 2015 Groups 174

10,000 Birds

JANUARY 25, 2023

Those who are familiar with my ethos know quite well that I am very much for the experience as opposed to the payoff. Whether on Trinidad or Tobago, there are few places one can visit where the presence of the sea isn’t felt. Some call it a preference for the journey rather than the destination.

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Trinidad Pelicans Groups Birds 147

10,000 Birds

NOVEMBER 6, 2018

Covering 1,261 species with data and taxonomy current up to August 2017, the field guide is an exciting achievement. And, then there are the more familiar birds–Wood-warblers, sandpipers, hawks–some species migrants, some species with a wide range. Can you guess which of the species cited above are endemic?

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America El Salvador Costa Rica Honduras 213

10,000 Birds

MARCH 30, 2022

I don’t know what the experience is like in other parts of the world – so do let me know – but at least here in T&T, some of the absolute best waterbirding can be done at sewage ponds. On the opposite bank, we spotted a Least Grebe on a nest.

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Ducks Groups Experience Experiments 212

10,000 Birds

JUNE 10, 2020

Eventually, I learned to read the “status and distribution” section to whittle my must-see list down to species that were actually possible within T&T. The years passed and I had several similar experiences with this cryptic species. Back then, I distinctly remember drooling over plates of birds I needed to see.

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2012 Bears Experience Experiments 192

10,000 Birds

APRIL 25, 2019

Here are the results: 3 per cent of respondents (in no particular order): Trinidad and Tobago, Chile, Tanzania, Madagascar. Yet, the fact that tiny Panama is as popular as huge Brazil, with twice as many bird species, speaks volume for Brazil’s stage of ecotourism development. 8%: Brazil, Panama. 10%: Australia, Papua New Guinea.

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Papua New Guinea America Costa Rica Sri Lanka 214

10,000 Birds

FEBRUARY 3, 2021

Chacachacare (pronounced shaka-shaka-reh ) is the westernmost of the Bocas islands off the northwestern tip of Trinidad. Accessible by boat only, it takes about half an hour to get there from mainland Trinidad. Trinidad and Tobago has a wide array of different habitats, made possible by a unique rainfall distribution.

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Trinidad Netherlands Columbus Whales 177

10,000 Birds

DECEMBER 15, 2012

It was a heart-pounding scene straight out of Jurassic Park, an odd experience for a laid-back pursuit like birding. This bird represented only the second documented record of this species in Florida. This may sound mundane, but my Best Bird of the Year is a species we all know quite well in one form or another.

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2012 Birds Guatemala Florida 149