10,000 Birds

OCTOBER 12, 2022

Or as most of us will term it – right place, right time. Anyway, onto the business of last Friday: a very short drive off of the main north-south highway on Trinidad after heavy rains over the previous few days led us to several Scarlet Ibis that were feeding along the near flooded roadway.

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Trinidad Hunting Rights Birds 162

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. One can only see the truest purple when the light is just right!

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Trinidad Experience Experiments Rights 130

10,000 Birds

JUNE 8, 2022

Clearly a maddening situation for any right-thinking thrush. Back in Trinidad, both Spectacled Thrush and Cocoa Thrush would nest in our backyard. They seem to be a bit angry for the most part. After all, if one were to search the word “thrush” on the internet, the top result is the fungal infection.

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Trinidad Emotional Breeding Cats 147

10,000 Birds

SEPTEMBER 2, 2020

Last weekend I ended up spending some time with a few Glossy Ibises at a nearby wetland here on Trinidad and it got me thinking about some of the other ibis species I’ve managed to see. Also, the title of this post is a nod to this movie that was shot right here in T&T. Interesting times.

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Trinidad Adoptable Species Rights 187

10,000 Birds

SEPTEMBER 6, 2023

As mentioned in many other posts on this blog, the avifauna of Trinidad & Tobago consists of several species and family groups occurring very interestingly, in threes. I hadn’t noticed this until I began compiling my own book on the birds of T&T some years ago, and I thought it rather uncanny.

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Trinidad Bats Falcons Groups 130

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. While we were in Tobago for the first couple of days of the trip we stayed at the Bacolet Beach Club Hotel , a gorgeous boutique hotel right on Bacolet Bay. Barred Antshrike Thamnophilus doliatus.

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Trinidad Birds Rights 152

10,000 Birds

MARCH 22, 2024

She did just that, and the fact that they were well used gave exactly the right impression she needed of someone who knew, when it came to birds, what she was talking about. It’s difficult to explain why, but it just feels right. I’ve no idea what binoculars the current CEO of the RSPB, Rebecca Speight, uses.

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Austria Factory Branding Germany 189

10,000 Birds

JULY 28, 2012

The island paradise of Trinidad boasts three bands of mountains running east to west. Tanagers in Trinidad are a real treat, especially when crackers like Turquoise , Speckled , Bay-headed , and Swallow turn up with the usual Palm , Blue-gray , and White-lined. Pawi conservation is somewhat contentious in Trinidad!

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Trinidad Stud Turkey Shelters 162

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. Who else has not one but two different manakin leks right off their trails?

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Trinidad South America America Ecuador 242

10,000 Birds

JULY 8, 2020

The Trinidad Motmot is the only endemic species on the island. I refrain from placing a timestamp on the couple hundred yards of gentle descent into Cuffie River, as it is highly likely one may be distracted by one or two Rufous-tailed Jacamars sallying into the roadway, or a Trinidad Motmot observing the observer from the adjacent bamboo.

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Trinidad Parrots Species Hunting 164

10,000 Birds

DECEMBER 31, 2013

I didn’t travel much this year, with a June family trip to California and Nevada and a four-day trip in July to Trinidad and Tobago being my only opportunities to get birds not in the northeastern United States. Seriously, go to Trinidad and Tobago right now and see the ibis. It was a great day loaded with great birds!

2013 170

2013 New York City New York Trinidad 170

10,000 Birds

JANUARY 5, 2022

It may seem like an unnecessarily recurring theme in my posts about birding within Trinidad & Tobago, but the more I write on the subject the more it becomes apparent that the number three must have some significance, somewhere. The three main peaks of the Trinity Hills are what gave it its name, and by extension the island of Trinidad.

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Trinidad Birds Tigers Groups 236

10,000 Birds

MARCH 11, 2013

Confusing, right? Lone Common Black Hawk photo by Mike Bergin in Caroni Swamp, Trinidad (rum punch supplied by Caligo Ventures ). How about the fact that a Blackhawk is not a Black Hawk? One might even say that a Blackhawk is not actually a Blackhawk or that a Black Hawk may be a different Black Hawk.

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Chicago South America 2013 Illinois 237

10,000 Birds

SEPTEMBER 8, 2023

Yet they also bring up questions, which I’m going to talk about right now before diving into the specifics of the guides themselves. I think we do have the right to expect that artwork and species descriptions when repeated are current, reflect recent studies and taxonomic thought. © 2023 by Steve N. © 2023 by Steve N.

Costa Rica 203

Costa Rica Belize El Salvador Birds 203

10,000 Birds

JULY 20, 2019

Folks want to know what they can see, if it’s worth traveling to Trinidad and Tobago, if they should to to Ecuador for three days or three weeks, or if one should drive to Wisconsin to look for a vireo with white eyes or a blue head. Not every list has Great Tinamou on it.

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Costa Rica Birds Owls South America 196

10,000 Birds

SEPTEMBER 16, 2020

As darkness enveloped the scene, the booming calls seemed to pass right through me as the displaying Pinnated Bittern lurched forward, its neck expanding and contracting with the expulsion of each wave of sound. And the vocalizations began. Can you see both birds? Suddenly, this familiar wetland became a stage for a strange ballet.

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Falcons Experience Experiments Birds 274

10,000 Birds

MARCH 21, 2015

Although the proposal failed to pass, more than one person who voted on it mentioned that Howell was probably right but that a more thorough study was needed. Black-faced Antthrush : Just as the Maya Antthrush sounds different from the birds in Costa Rica, so do the birds in Amazonia, Trinidad and Tobago, and the Guyanas.

Costa Rica 205

Costa Rica Species South America America 205

10,000 Birds

OCTOBER 10, 2018

Trinidad Colorado is located just a few miles north of the Colorado – New Mexico border, and home to the Trinidad Reservoir. Jeanne and I parked the 5th wheel in the Trinidad Lake Campground, and found it to be perhaps the nicest campground we had ever been in. Guess I was just not holding my mouth right?

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Colorado Texas Trinidad Albuquerque 113

10,000 Birds

FEBRUARY 5, 2020

Trinidad and Tobago has historically had seventeen species on record, sixteen on Trinidad and six on Tobago. Extremely visible White-necked Jacobins and Black-throated Mangos tussle over canopy feeding rights, both species also frequent artificial feeders quite regularly during the right time of year.

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Trinidad South America Venezuela 2019 254

10,000 Birds

MAY 27, 2020

Fortunately, I live in Trinidad and Tobago – a twin-island nation that boasts the second highest density of bird species in the world. Birders who are lucky enough to live near Trinidad’s west coast have been reporting up to two hundred American Flamingos from various locations along the coastline. Variegated Flycatcher.

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Trinidad Pelicans Humane Fish 218

10,000 Birds

DECEMBER 20, 2023

While they didn’t let me walk right up to them, they didn’t fly away from the moment we pulled in the parking lot. Also an uncommonly seen bird in Guyana, there is only a single record of this species on Trinidad – and that bird was only seen once.

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Farming Guyana Birds South America 210

10,000 Birds

AUGUST 19, 2020

These intrepid travelers have captivated the very essence of my being, years ago when I used to work on an industrial port on the west coast of Trinidad I noticed each year these alien looking birds would appear, stick around for a while and then depart. I happened to look up at just the right time to catch a small flock of Scarlet Ibis.

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Trinidad South America Blackbirds Industry 173

10,000 Birds

OCTOBER 3, 2018

We had Elk right in our camp with us every day. Pronghorn Antelope are about as common as Jackrabbits throughout Wyoming, but this guy walked right by me one morning. I end this story, with an early morning photo of Yellowstone Falls, taken right as sunrise, from Artists Point. Here are the rest of the animals that we did see.

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Wyoming Wolves Grizzly Bear Mountain Goats 104

10,000 Birds

NOVEMBER 6, 2018

Text is on the left, plates are on the right. Images of each species are grouped together, with the brightest colored bird, usually the adult male, on the far right, and duller plumages–female and immature–to the left. The images on the right, from the Peru field guide, are more intense in color.

America 211

America El Salvador Costa Rica Honduras 211

10,000 Birds

SEPTEMBER 12, 2016

You can’t even see my visit to Trinidad and Tobago on this map but you definitely notice Kazakhstan !). Yeah, this thing could become a total time suck but it is a time suck that might actually be helpful to someone someday so it is totally justified. Looking at a map of my bird sightings also makes me want to fill in gaps.

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New York Kazakhstan Trinidad Branding 159

10,000 Birds

JUNE 10, 2020

I figured that hey, it’s a resident so it’s here all the time, I must see it at some point, right? The adult Streaked Xenops (top right) keeps an eye on the younger bird, now acclimatizing to the workings of their unorthodox feeding strategies. Streaked Xenops in typical position.

2012 182

2012 Bears Experience Experiments 182

10,000 Birds

DECEMBER 10, 2012

In June 2012, I had the great fortune to visit Trinidad and Tobago in a group that included birder and artist Matthew Dodder. Matthew began birding (and drawing birds) as a boy in Boston, during the Great Blizzard of 1977. “The Laws Guide” doesn’t jump into all this material headlong however.

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Laws Birds California Nevada 205

10,000 Birds

AUGUST 15, 2019

Trinidad and Tobago, Aruba, Curaçao and Bonaire) and that border is known as the Bond’s line. The illustrations are precise, detailed and beautiful, reaching about the right number of species per page, so they are not overcrowded, nor bare in places. Humiliated, Bloch pulled away. I just love the fold-able plastic covers of this book.

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Saint Kitts and Nevis Antigua and Barbuda Dominican Republic Cuba 151

10,000 Birds

DECEMBER 15, 2012

Horned Guan by Adam Riley Mike was tempted to go with a guan as well, since he had the good fortune to encounter the Trinidad Piping Guan in the only country it can be found. And, the best thing was that it did not require tapes, just the right habitat and good ears and patience. Definitely one of the highlights of my birding career!

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2012 Birds Guatemala Florida 143

10,000 Birds

OCTOBER 6, 2018

Watch out for Tom during October to see this anomaly put right. Trinidad Lake Watchable Wildlike Trail and Hides, Colorado. There are a number of potential reasons for this, the most likely by far being that Pat has been batting for both teams for a couple of weeks. Alphabetic Taxonomic. Stygian Owl – Asio stygius.

2018 113

2018 Australia Woodpeckers Los Angeles 113

10,000 Birds

JANUARY 5, 2019

This year the big prize must go to Tom who has pushed himself, right to the wire to acheive a magnificent score for a self-funded, wife-organised, wife-sponsored Little Big Year , accounting for 57% of the total. Trinidad Lake SP–Watchable Wildlife Trail. And Pat gets to keep the awards in the remainder of the categories.

2018 113

2018 Australia Woodpeckers Sparrows 113