In the following story I have tried to convey my feelings and memories of what was for me a super trip to a little bit of birding paradise. I hope that when you have finished reading it you will have sensed what I have tried to convey. Forget the grammar, forget the spelling, this is my story, in my language, about my trip.

By Charlie Fox

In Search of Emeralds, Sapphires, Rubies and Other Jewels
(8th – 18th May 2004)

Day 1: The outward journey.
I’ve arrived – the heat and humidity hits me like walking into a wall, but at least I’m on terra firma again – Piarco International Airport, Port of Spain, Trinidad.

Collect baggage, through customs and meet my transport. Forty five minutes later, having climbed a precarious and winding road to some 600ft above sea level I duly arrive at my accommodation for the next seven nights namely the Pax Guest House, Mount St.Benedict, Tunapuna. Warmly greeted by Oda the hostess and shown to my room lovingly called the ‘Attenborough-Oddie’ room, as apparently this is the room these two venerated guests have when they stay in Trinidad.

It’s already dark and my very long, and tedious, day comes to an eventual end when having had dinner I gratefully climb into bed and effectively pass out.

Day 2: The ‘getting to know you’ day
Awoken from oblivion at 5:15 by my alarm and, as I was to do every morning, I immediately opened the door on to my personal, small but perfectly adequate, balcony. Drag out the chair, make the most essential drink of the day, my first cup of tea, and park myself looking out over the forested valley and hillside before me. As the light begins to strengthen a cacophony of sound suddenly erupts from all around as birds begin to sing and all other manner of creatures announce their presence. I was visited as I was every morning, by a Southern House Wren, who searched around the spotlights outside my room for any tasty morsel attracted by the lights the previous night. In the gloom birds begin to move, Palm Tanager, Palm Tanager, Palm Tanager ad infinutum. Are there any other species? The light improves steadily and then the other birds become obvious. Copper-rumped Hummingbird, Bannanaquit by the dozen, Blue-grey Tanagers, the very raucous Orange-winged Parrots with their very distinctive shallow wing beats, Greater Kiskadee shouting from what seems every treetop “kiss-ka-deeee, kiss-ka-deeee”– but I’ve seen all of these before, I need something a bit juicier. And there it is, Yellow Oriole – what a cracker in its golden yellow and black livery. Quickly following on behind, a Rufous-browed Peppershrike not twenty feet away, and then a male Silver-beaked Tanager, looking for all the world as though he was clothed in a deep crimson crushed velvet – superb! This is more like it. It’s still only 6:00am when my eye is suddenly caught by something in the sky, and on looking up I am met by a sight I certainly was not prepared for at this time of the day – hundreds of vultures, mostly Black with a spattering of Turkey Vultures, circling high up in the sky. They don’t have to wait for the heat of the day to create any thermal activity; it’s that hot that there are thermals twenty four hours a day.

Down to breakfast, after which my host, Gerard, introduces me to my guide for the week – Kenny Calderon. Now here’s a big lad. He makes me feel comfortable about my size, which is good considering my doctor takes what seems like great delight every time that I see him in telling me that I’m clinically obese. That great broad grin tells me that we are going to get on just fine.

The idea of the first day is to settle down and get your eye in, and it starts with a climb up the road that leads to the monastery at the top of the hill. Due to walking difficulties I view this with some trepidation, but I need not have worried as being the only guest on this particular tour we climbed at my pace (slowly!) stopping and picking off new species as we went – the aptly named Long-billed Starthroat (Hummingbird) with a bill of half its body length, Boat-billed Flycatcher (you have to inspect every Kiskadee to get this one), Short-tailed, Zone-tailed and White Hawks high overhead, Ruddy Ground-dove by the score, and to top it off superb views of Squirrel Cuckoo. We reach the top and to be honest I’ve had enough for now so it’s back for lunch and a rest, and some very close views of a male White-chested Emerald on the hummingbird feeder.

We do the same climb in the late afternoon, more slowly and more methodical perhaps than the morning walk. We take a rest sitting on a wall overlooking the town far below. Immediately in front of us are trees and shrubs clinging to the hillside that falls away so steeply that you would be hard pushed to be able to walk on it. It is then that I am taught a lesson in the art of calling birds in. Kenny begins to give a virtuoso performance with a mixture of calling like a Ferruginous Pygmy Owl, a daylight hunter, and ‘pishing’. Within five minutes the trees immediately in front of us are lined with a mixture of twenty plus tanagers, Cocoa Thrush puts in a fleeting visit, Golden-headed Manakin, Yellow-bellied Elania, Golden-fronted Greenlet, Violaceous Euphonia (another little cracker) all pop out to have a look at what the fuss is all about. What a way to end the birding day; magnificent. <49 species, 24 lifers>

Day3 : The Research Station, Nariva Swamp and beach
We start the day with a rather precarious descent down the hill, weaving and dodging cars, people and the inevitable stray dogs. I’m glad that breakfast had time to settle, but I would be used to it by the end of the week. Our first port of call is the Agricultural Research Station. This had only just been re-opened to visitors following the devastating foot and mouth outbreak in the UK. We stop next to a lane leading down between two wet looking fields. There not thirty feet away sits a Common Snipe and what turned out to be rather common, Southern Lapwing. We had already picked up Green-rumped Parrotlet and Grey-breasted Martin (very big for a martin) on the way in. We made our way down the track when we note several birds moving around in the scrubby patches in the field. The first to show itself well turned out to be a male Red-breasted Blackbird. Now ‘Red’ is the operative word for this bird, the breast being more or less the same colour as our post-boxes. This is followed quickly by male Yellow-hooded Blackbirds firstly briefly displaying from the tops of the shrubs then skulking down into the bottom. Then fine views of some half a dozen Grassland Yellow-finchs on the ground ahead of us. This is a Trinidad ‘Mega’ vagrant, a bird which I had searched for on some of the other Caribbean islands further north without success. A line of some 20 White-winged Swallows sitting on a wire round this little walk off well.

A short distance on and a large number of vultures are in evidence sitting in the fields. It is now that I realise that the grey cows are not cows at all but Water Buffalo. I can only assume that the vultures standing around not doing anything are waiting for one of them to die. Other species seen include Pied Water-tyrant, White-headed Marsh Tyrant, Wattled Jacana, and Savanna Hawk. We then drive to the coast to a picnic area for our lunch.

After lunch we drive along the Atlantic eastern coastline which is totally covered in acres of Coconut Palm, an industry in Trinidad that is on its last legs. We manage to add a pair of Grey Hawks to our list on the way, before reaching the Nariva Swamp area. Stopping at the first bridge over the Narina River there was a strong smell of what I immediately thought was sewerage. The river was a very dark brown and the smell was in fact tannins – very strong. No sign of any kingfishers. Stopping on occasions as we travelled on we add Black-crowned Antshrike, Brown-crested Flycatcher, Bi-coloured Conebill and finally the small but perfect American Pygmy Kingfisher. We reach the old rice fields (another failed industry). These contain plenty of Great Egret, Wattled Jacana, Yellow-chinned Spinetail and White-headed Marsh Tyrants. We manage to get a reasonable view of the wary and elusive Striped Cuckoo before seeing the real ‘bonus’. Not one, but two, Pinnated Bitterns displaying with their raised white shoulder plumes blowing in the breeze. A few minutes drive back to the coast road for the parrot roost. This turned out to be a bit of a damp squib; such is the nature of birdwatching. Very few parrots came to roost in the palms but at least Yellow-crowned Parrot and Red-bellied Macaw were seen well.

A long drive back, and as nightfall approached, rain began to fall. I then discovered that driving in Trinidad was like driving on other Caribbean Islands – inadvisable. White lines and instruction signs are there for decorative purposes only, lights in any form certainly optional – drive? No thank you!.!!!! < 58 species, 18 lifers, 78 trip )

Day 4: Day of the Trogons
Today we go up, not down. The Blanchisseuse road is the main road that links the northern coast to the interior at Arima. Its fine along the lower levels, but no more than a series of large potholes held together with strips of tarmac the higher you go. As the road started to climb I became aware of the forest closing in on either side, with the consequence that light levels fell dramatically. This is a very narrow and twisting road, winding back and forth as it follows the best contour route up the into the Northern Range. Looking out of the passenger side the mountainside dropped dramatically away, in places straight down. I have to say that I felt some concern welling up inside of me, what metal barriers there were, were well beaten up, but it was their replacements – bamboo poles with attached yellow ‘Caution’ tapes fluttering in the breeze that really had me worried!

We stopped at various points along the way and boy, was I glad of Kenny. His eyesight , acute hearing and knowledge of bird calls were to say the least, impressive. I can honestly say that without him I wouldn’t have seen a third of what I did see – Stripe-breasted Spinetail performing brilliantly (Kenny said this was the best views that he had ever had of this bird), Euler’s Flycatcher, Bay-headed Tanager, Channel-billed Toucan some way off, and Red-legged and Green Honeycreepers. Another stop at an area cleared for the production of christophine, a type of squash, provided Grey-rumped and Band-rumped Swifts, Southern Rough-winged and Barn Swallows, and a pair of what Kenny said were Blue-headed Parrots. I had no doubt that was what they would be but being seen at distance and only in silhouette I would not be adding them to my list just yet.

A visit to the Asa Wright Nature Centre was included, although I would be spending time here at the end of my stay at the Pax. Driving into the centre we suddenly stop, “found you a trogon” Kenny says. Getting out and walking back twenty yards, there sits an Olivaceous Trogon not 10 feet above my head. Nice one. Tagged on to a party then being led on a tour down the ‘Discovery’ trail. Well it was easy enough going down the hill, passing many lines of Leaf-cutter Ants along the way, but I was certainly going to pay a heavy price later on. Odd birds were popping about but what interested me most was the White-bearded Manakin lek, which apparently has been in constant use for over 50 years. Whenever a female approaches the males of this small black and white bird go berserk, instantaneously jumping from branch to branch, to the ground and back while with their wings making a noise similar to the snapping of your fingers – intriguing. I made a mental note to get down here early with camera before people started moving about. Missed the only Bearded Bellbird seen, and never to be seen, although heard, during the whole trip. And then the climb back to the centre. Well suffice to say that I was soon left far behind the group – it was really a struggle for me but by stopping regularly and resting I finally managed it back, minus the odd pint or two of sweat and resolving to forget any attempt on the north face of the Eiger.

At another stop on the way down Kenny answers a bird calling deep in forest. A couple of minutes later I am rewarded with the second of the days trogons, this time a pair of Collared. Plain-brown Woodcreeper was just a piece of icing on the cake. We stop a couple of times more on our way back to the Pax with just reward – the third Trogon, White-tailed. A full set - could this day have been any better? <49 species, 12 lifers, 96 trip>

Day 5 :Arena Dam and nightjars
Today is a split day. We start by going to the Arena Dam area around San Rafael. By 9 o’clock it is already extremely hot and I feel the humidity level rising as my clothes begin to stick to my skin. The dammed lake is a main source of water supply to the northern end of the island and is totally fenced in. It contains a very nice picnic and barbeque area for families. Unfortunately due to threats of poisoning the water supply made recently by some ‘fruitcake’ it is now closed off, but Kenny manages to get us in to the site. Pied-billed Grebe, Neotropic Cormorant and a couple of hundred of the once scarce Black-bellied Whistling Duck are a good start. As we go around we quickly add Lesser Swallow-tailed and Fork-tailed Palm Swifts. Excellent views of a Plumbeous Kite round off our trip to the dam. On leaving we take a small, obviously not well used track into the surrounding forest area. Again I am treated to a masterclass, this time in forest birding, as Kenny finds by call initially, the rather small and inconspicuous species of Plain Antvireo, White-flanked Antwren and White-bellied Antbird. These are managed forests that are selectively logged so there is a good mix of young and old trees alike throughout the area. We add Yellow-olive Flycatcher and Golden-olive Woodpecker before making our way back to the Pax for lunch and a few hours free time.

Sod’s Law comes into operation during lunch, having taken my camera gear back to my room. I look out of the dining room window to see a large ‘hummer’ at the feeder. Blue-black head, green back, dark wings and liberally ‘splodged’ in a brilliant white that Dulux would be proud of – a superb male White-necked Jacobin. This bird literally has the word ‘orgasmic’ stamped through it like a stick of rock. With no camera I am left with nothing to do but observe and enjoy.

Kenny picks me up again around 15:30 and we make our way along the Roosevelt Highway to the old abandoned Wallerfield US Army airfield in the area of the Aripo Savannahs reaching it around 16:00. Originally built by the United States during WWII it had lain derelict for many years before finally being handed back to the Trinidad Government. It is now being cleared ready for development into an industrial area. As the sun starts to drop in the sky, and the intense heat diminishes, birds start to become more visible. After all you know, they neither are not mad dogs nor are they Englishmen for that matter - they hide from the mid-day sun. Rufous-breasted Wren is the first new species seen. Green-rumped Parrotlet, quickly lost in the leaves of the gigantic bamboo stand, the large Savanna Hawk settling down for the night in a large tree, Red-bellied Macaws flying over, and above all the sheer peace and quite make this an evening to enjoy. Suddenly a hummingbird appears around a flowering tree just in front of us - Ruby-topaz. As I watch, the sunlight catches it perfectly, the flashing brilliance of the red head and contrasting yellow throat and breast is so intense that it makes me flinch from my bins and then the bird is gone not to be seen again. As the gloom deepens one of the birds we were specifically waiting for is late arriving for its roost, but just manages it while there is only just enough light to recognize it – the rare Moriche Oriole. The light has now completely gone.

We give it a half an hour before we start to cruise the old runways. “I can hear them” says Kenny. All I can hear is the car engine. He repeatedly sweeps the edges of the runways with the spotlight when eventually we spot a pair of bright reflections. Closing in to within twenty feet there sits a Paraque, not a new bird for me as I had seen it in Texas. I try to get some photos, probably unsuccessfully. The bird flies off weaving through a thick stand of shrubby trees. How do they do that in the pitch black? Further driving up and down the runways reveals the second species of the night, White-tailed Nightjar. We see many birds of these two species, before Kenny gets out and stand up on the door ledge. “Potoo”. Climbing up I see two very large, orange eyes staring back at me, the bird sitting up on the end a large upright stick, just as it would do to hide during the day. A fine end to the day. <74 species, 17 lifers, 118 trip>

Day 6 : Temple in the Sea and Flying Matches
Today we head for the western coast. Trinidad lies less than 15 miles off the mouth of the Orinoco River that drains the majority of Venezuela, so instead of seeing the bright blue sea of the Caribbean as one would on other islands further north, we are instead faced with rather muddy looking water. The tide is fast reaching its zenith and the first very noticeable birds are numerous small flocks of Black Skimmers passing by, every so often dipping their elongated lower mandible into the water as they search for fish. One heart-warming sight was to watch a pair of dogs, yes dogs, fishing in the shallow water. Unsuccessfully I might add. On the quickly disappearing beach several waders are racing about – Black-bellied (Grey), Semi-palmated and Collared Plovers, Greater and Lesser Yellowlegs, Spotted (in breeding plumage), Semi-palmated and Western Sandpipers. Further along the beach a large area of mixed sandbank and isolated mangroves, the southern end of the Caroni swamp, was quickly becoming swathed in a carpet of roosting Black Skimmers along with Royal, Yellow-billed and Large-billed Terns interspersed with many Yellow-crowned Night, Little Blue and Tricoloured Herons, along with the odd Great Blue. A single bird catches the eye. Now I must have seen thousands of Red Knot, but I had never seen one in full breeding plumage – nice one. Kenny again displays his excellent bird knowledge by pointing out two Willet standing next to each other, one of the Eastern and one of the Western race differing slightly in both size and plumage colour. As the tide begins to fall the skimmers start to move out in small flocks, and we turn around and start making our way back to the car. A quarter of a mile away in front of us proudly stands a Hindu temple on an isolated spit of land maybe a couple of hundred yards out in to sea. There are temples along with the odd mosque scattered all around the island. What is not often realised is that Trinidad has a large population of people of Indian descent, a legacy of the indentured labour brought to the island after the abolition of slavery. A hard working and industrious people they now seem to own most of the business on the island.

A long drive back, along the Uriah Butler Highway, and into the heart of the petrochemical industry, to get to the Wildfowl Trust. It is now the hottest part of the day and following a walk around, picking up Red-capped Cardinal, American Purple Gallinule, plenty of Black-bellied Whistling Duck, Yellow-hooded Blackbirds, Kiskadee and Common Moorhen we stop for lunch and a rest in the shade. I attempt to photograph a large green Iguana, some 18” long. The only response from Kenny is a muted “Many, many years to grow”. There is Muscovy Duck here, but given that they seem to be too fat to fly, and totally tame to boot, I believe that at best, their lineage is suspect. Not one to add to the list.

Back down the highway for a quick walk into the Caroni rice fields. Large-billed Terns, plenty of jacana, a few egret including Snowy and a nice pair of Osprey. Fork-tailed Flycatcher and Eared Dove round the walk off. It is still incredibly hot and we find a bar so that we can have a drink. Unfortunately for Kenny he can only have soft drinks while he is driving. I on the other have no such restriction and a very cold ‘Carib’ goes down just fine.

Now for what should be the real highlight of the day, a boat trip into the Caroni Swamp. When we arrive at the boarding point there is already a waiting crowd of sightseers, mainly American, all suitably dressed for the impending meeting with the midges and mosquitoes – Bermuda shorts and open sandals! We all board the boat and set off down the narrow channel bordered by thick mangrove. No signposts here, you have to know the way. After a quarter of hour our boatman suddenly stops, “Potoo” he exclaims. Well I had a job finding it and it was only twenty feet away. The camouflage is incredible, so incredible in fact that the cynic in me immediately surfaces. There are options: either this bird roosts in exactly the same spot every day or it’s stuffed and mounted. No way can I accept that the boatman randomly spotted it at the speed we were going. We proceed and eventually the channel opens out into large lagoons with islands of mangroves. As we motor across Yellow-crowned Night and Tricoloured Herons abound with several Southern Lapwing and Great Egret. I had made sure that I sat at the back of the boat. From the seat in directly in front of me came questions. ’What’s that big white bird over there?’ – “Great Egret” I helpfully replied. From the seat adjacent to the questioner came ’What’s that big white bird over there?’ pointing in different direction – “Great Egret” I again helpfully replied, and so on, and so on. Bless’em.

The sun begins to fall dramatically from the sky, but at least the threatened rain has gone away, and we are bathed in beautiful sunshine. “Look”, came a shout, and from the direction of the sun came a bird that was for me the whole purpose of the boat trip. Glowing bright vermilion in the sunshine with a luminosity that had to be seen to be believed, looking for the world like a giant ‘Swan Vesta’ match – Trinidad’s national bird, Scarlet Ibis. Over the next half or so an hour the “oooohs” and “aaahs” coming from the boat told their own story. What a superb sight, these birds are indeed jewels in their own right. Unfortunately as this is the breeding season the number of birds coming to roost is greatly reduced, but I had seen enough to ensure that I went to bed a very happy man. <73 species, 6 lifers, 149 trip>

Day 7 : Blanchisseuse Road and Kenny’s encore.
This is normally the tour’s free day, when participants get the opportunity either to go for something special, like Trinidad Piping Guan, Trinidad’s only endemic bird species, or just revisit somewhere of interest. After discussions with Kenny I decided that I would like to go back to the top of the Northern Range, a decision as it turned out that I was not to regret.

At 6:30 we are on our way, racing down the Churchill and Roosevelt Highways, through Arima and up into the hills. We soon reach the start of the forested area and a quick stop soon provides the opportunity to compare Blue-black and Sooty Grassquits, along with Violaceous Trogon, Rufous-breasted Wren and Pale-breasted Spinetail; but no time to hang about. Urgently trying to get higher up the range, I muse that it is a good job that I’ve got used to the standard of driving on Trinidad. Wending our way along the tortuous road the sight of bamboo pole crash barriers still do not make me feel entirely comfortable! On reaching the heights we slow to no more than 15mph. Suddenly we stop – “woodpecker”. Just as on previous occasions all I can hear is the car engine. Getting out, I become aware of a single dull tap every 3 or 4 seconds. High above us hanging to the underside of a branch is a superb male Lineated Woodpecker. How on earth did he hear that! Another couple of minutes we add the very nice Trinidad Euphonia, Tropical Pewee and Yellow-olive Flycatcher.

Onwards and upwards again, and we pull over in to a parking spot on a bend at the highest point on the road. It’s getting hot but at least we are in the shade of the mountainside. Immediately in front of us the hillside drops dramatically away several hundred feet down in to the valley bathed in bright sunshine. Then suddenly, not more than a hundred yards away, and illuminated by that same sunshine a flock of birds, seen previously only as silhouettes, ten Blue-headed Parrots pass by – what a stunning view. And just to round this stop off the ‘brrrzzzzz’ of fast beating wings announce the arrival of another jewel – Blue-chinned Sapphire, one of the larger hummingbirds but what a beauty. Starting to make our way slowly back along our route, further stops add Streaked Xenops (a difficult one to get), Swallow Tanager and Green Hermit .

We turn off on to a side road travelling perhaps no more than quarter of a mile when we stop for a look around. Not promising to say the least but Kenny starts up his Ferruginous Pygmy-owl trick. It take several minutes but birds slowly begin to appear – Bay-headed Tanager, Golden-crowned Warbler, Golden-headed and White-bearded Manakins. Then it goes ballistic! No less than a full tiara of hummingbirds, Green Hermit, Blue-chinned Sapphire, White-chested Emerald, Long-billed Starthroat, Copper-rumped, Black-throated Mango and rounding off with reputedly the second smallest bird in the world, a female Tufted Coquette. Also putting in an appearance were White-shouldered, Palm and Blue-grey Tanagers, Piratic Flycatcher, Kiskadee, Southern House Wren, Yellow Oriole et al. The headiest 30 minutes birdwatching I believe that I have ever experienced. I didn’t know which way to look!

At our last stop we walk down a track into the forest, Plain-brown Woodcreeper and White-tailed Trogon putting in an appearance. I can hear a bird calling some distance away, and being answered by another a lot further away. Kenny whistles his reply. Taking some time the bird gets nail-bitingly closer and closer. I have no idea what it is, I don’t know the call, and Kenny hasn’t enlightened me. Suddenly there on the forest floor and all too briefly in the sunshine, not just one but a pair of the rail-like Black-faced Antthrush, with their upright tails and rufous under-tail coverts in full view. To admit that that I am full of admiration for such bird skills would be an understatement. What an encore!

Getting back to the Pax and enjoying a beer with Kenny sadly brought me to the end of my guided tour for tomorrow I move on. We say our goodbyes, but I certainly won’t forget him. <68 species, 15 lifers, 166 trip>

Day 8: On to Asa Wright
Up and out on the balcony at the usual time I was met by the ‘red sky in the morning’. How true this saying turned out to be as within 30 minutes the sky clouded over and the heavens opened. Not much to see here as the birds don’t like the rain any more than I do, so I complete my packing, the only thing I really hate about travelling around. Down to breakfast with the rain still hammering down but all is not lost as the large ‘White Hawk’ sitting in a tree across the valley becomes a Grey-headed Hawk upon closer inspection.

My transport arrives, I settle my bills and make my goodbyes and set off for my next set of lodgings, the Asa Wright Nature Centre high up in the Arima Valley. It continues to rain all of the way there.

Arriving in time for lunch I am shown to my large and spacious room. The rain eases off and I spend the rest of the day trying to get photographs around the various feeders, but I know where I’m going to be first thing tomorrow. An evening walk provides me with a Great Antshrike and an Ochre-bellied Flycatcher. My 100 lifers target is getting closer. <44 species, 4 lifers, 170 trip>

Day 9 – The rainforest Lek
Having selected myself a suitable walking stick from those available to visitors, and having prepared my knapsack the previous evening I was ready to go when my alarm went off at 5am. By 5:45 I was sitting on the bench next to my quarry’s lek, that of the White-bearded Manakin. Not being renowned as an early riser, or early for anything for that matter, I can proudly state that I was there before they were!

I didn’t have long to wait as within 20 minutes the first black-and-white bundle had arrived, and having used the intervening period, my camera was ready to go. Flash would be essential as I knew from my previous visit that even in the middle of the day the lights levels at the forest floor would be atrocious.

One by one the numbers increase and I set about my task, taking several photographs. It was all a bit of a guessing game as I had never used flash with a 500mm lens before, but I didn’t want to get too close for fear of disrupting the proceedings. Several times the birds went into overdrive although I never saw any sign of a female, but they must have been there. Before finally leaving them to it, still jumping around like demented lunatics, I managed to add my only lifer of the day – White-necked Thrush. I made my way back up the hill (again very, very slowly) arriving back in time for breakfast at 7:30. Congratulating myself, I hope to hell that I’ve got something decent on film.

Again I spent most of the day, taking in the peace and tranquillity of the surroundings while trying desperately to get that ‘perfect’ bird picture, re-acquainting myself with Blue-crowned Motmot which I last saw on Tobago, but these are a lot more timid here, as in all fairness were all the birds seen in Trinidad.

Again I already knew what I would be doing tomorrow morning, something that I viewed with a degree of trepidation to the point that it had me questioning whether I should even attempt it. <41 species, 1 lifer, 172 trip)

Day 10 : Oilbirds
Poodled around with the camera until breakfast. “we leave at 8:30” the guide informs me. Trepidation or not, difficulty with walking and climbing or not, I was determined give it a go. There were only three of us, me and an elderly couple. I cannot express in words the frustration when people some years older than me are able to leave me standing. I just hope that the next visit to the hospital finally puts me right. The first part is easy – all downwards, then it gets difficult – I have to climb up. Down; up; down; up; slowly but surely we plod along , my determination tempered only by the thought that I’ve going to have to do it all again in reverse. We make several short, but nonetheless welcome stops as the guide explains the different trees and seeds we find along the way. After an hour we are on the last leg, a series of steep steps down to Dunston Cave. As it turns out it is not a true cave, but rather a deep cleft cut through the hillside by a stream. We make our way down, precariously at times over the wet boulders. Before going any further our guide tells us that he has a bonus for us, a Chestnut-collared Swift sitting on a nest not ten feet away – lifer number 98. We move forward on to an area of flat ground, the guide adjusting his torch before shining into the darkness ahead. Calls emanate from the depths that would surely curdle the blood on any dark night. On raising my bins I am met by very large red eyes staring back as sitting there is lifer No. 99. Oilbird is the world’s only nocturnal fruit eating bird and the natives used to believe, and some still do, that if it regurgitated a fruit stone on to the roof of your house then someone inside would die. What surprised me was the size of the beast, being a good 18 inches long with a wingspan of over 40 inches. For a night flyer, no small bird this. We get excellent views unhindered by any real time constraint. Super job, but I’m already thinking that lifer 100 is only a glimpse away.

We make our way back, again I have to just have s a short rest every so often, but that last section climbing back out of the valley up to the lodge nearly sees me off! However the feeling of elation on getting back in one piece soon makes the difficulties a memory.

I spend the rest of the day with camera in hand still searching for that elusive perfect picture. I just love the sound of nothing but nature. Today a large Chestnut Woodpecker comes to the feeder. Bright chestnut, with red cheek patches and a bright yellow crown and crest this bird looks superb in the sunshine. An eye-catching movement high in the trees adds not a Kenny but a real Ferruginous Pygmy Owl. Tufted Coquette comes to the Leana in front of the veranda, at least that’s what I think the guide called the shrub with little orange flower on it. She tells me that the ‘Tufties’ tend to favour the blue flower up around the car park. I make my way up there and I don’t have long to wait before a female flits in, although she doesn’t get much peace before a Copper-rumped Hummingbird chases her off. A short while later a male appears and having visited many flowers it lands. What a cracking little bird, his gold epaulettes glistening in the sunshine. Well worth the effort!

To add icing to the cake the glow of self congratulation for this morning’s escapade doesn’t wear off before bedtime! <36 species, 2 lifers, 174 trip>

Day 11: ‘Leaving On A Jet Plane’
A sad day – I have to leave this little piece of paradise and return to crowded roads, polluted air and worst of all the incessant ring of those damned mobile phones. As I sat on the benches close to the feeders with camera to hand the light levels were dramatically swinging from one extreme to another as large ominous clouds passed across the face of the sun. This made any photography difficult but I wanted to use up the films I already had loaded.

Around 11:00 a large party of wide-eyed schoolchildren, looking very smart, and all in their school uniform (I think we should try this idea in the UK), pass by with their guides. They had been gone about 10 minutes when on looking down the Arima valley I see a low flying cloud racing towards the centre. Not two minutes later the heavens open. Rain, accompanied by rolls of thunder announcing the start of the wet season, rattles down so fast that the gutters overflow because it cannot get down the down-pipes quick enough. Those little ones must be looking like drowned water rats.

It continues to rain with different degrees of intensity, but always raining. I shower and pack my gear away then spend the rest of my time up on the veranda, to wait for my lift to the airport, troubled only by the thought that I am one lifer short of my target for the trip. The hummingbirds coming to the feeders not 18 inches away from your face provide excellent consolation, especially as they are that close you can feel the breeze created by their wing-beats; no need for any optics to see these little beauties. Leaving time approaches quickly, when with only half an hour to go a small brownish blob zooms in and begins to feed on the flowers only three feet below me. Oh yes!!!! That small brown blob turns out to be a hummingbird not seen before. Lifer 100 is a Little Hermit virtually within touching distance, no need for bins, for even my eyesight is not that bad. There is a God after all!

The taxi arrives at 15:30 to take me to the airport and I make a mental note to return some day. Booking in I take a chance and again ask for an aisle seat. Up to the cavernous departure lounge, paying departure tax of $100 T &T (£10) en-route, only to find no toilets in sight? Caribbean people tend to be fairly laid back so I am not surprised that the flight crew are still arriving only 15 minutes before take off. Needless to say we will be late taking off despite the flashing screen still protesting that the take-off will be on time. Boarding the aircraft is via the front door and I walk through the first and club class only to look up and find that I had gone past my designated seat. Upgraded! You see there is a paradise; it just depends on where you search for it. <37 species, 1 lifer, 175 trip>

Trip Tips
The first thing to bear in mind when travelling to anywhere like Trinidad is the ferocity of the sun. Trinidad is only 10 degrees north of the equator and even of cloudy days the ultra-violet radiation that you can receive is immense by British standards. My best suggestion here is keep covered up, after all you’re here for the birdwatching not for a suntan. Pale skin?, then slap on plenty of high factor lotion. Shorts and sandals will ensure that within a few days you will look and walk like a lobster. Lightweight cotton trousers, shirts and sturdy footwear are the order of the day. Wear a floppy wide-brimmed jungle hat, not a baseball hat as this will not protect the back of your neck or your ears. It also cuts down the amount of extraneous light entering the eyes and will make looking at anything that bit more comfortable.

For the men in particular (I hope), unless you grow a beard, shaving regularly is a must unless you want to finish up looking like a Magpie. Due to the humidity I found it near impossible to get a decent shave with an electric razor, so I’m glad I took some disposables.
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You cannot drink enough water, believe me. As quick at it goes in it exudes from the skin. Don’t forget that alcohol, tea and coffee will dehydrate you. If you get a sudden headache/migraine, or a sudden feeling of extreme tiredness during the day, then you almost certainly are not consuming enough water.

Take medical needs with you. Chemists are thin on the ground, doctors are expensive, and you won’t find the drugs that we get in the UK.

Being tropical there are some bugs, especially during the early evening. Keeping covered up as much as possible and plenty of repellent will keep bites to a minimum.

You do need a good guide. If you try to do it on your own you are likely to finish up bitterly disappointed in your final list. Some birds are plentiful and relatively easy, but Trinidad is an island of many habitats and some species are quite rare and difficult to find. Personal safety is also a good reason to have a guide.


Credit where credit is due, and in true Oscar fashion I would like to thank the following:

For organising a holiday that went without a hitch anywhere…..WildWings

For making me feel that my needs were important, and for taking care of them………..
Gerard, Oda and their super staff at the Pax Guest House and the staff and guides at the Asa Wright Nature Centre, Trinidad.

And finally but by no means least my warmest and sincerest thanks to Kenny Calderon (Pax Guest House Birding Head Guide), whose superb skills, patience and humour certainly made this a holiday to cherish and remember in the times to come.