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This tour will not run in 2010
Cost: £1720 plus about £770 for flights (2009) These prices may be subject to a surcharge due to exchange rate fluctations. Please click here for details and an explanation of the price breakdown Maximum group size: 10 with 1 leader. Please note that single room accommodation may not always be available at Asa Wright Nature Centre. |
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| These beautiful, mountainous green islands off South America's northeast coast are widely celebrated among birdwatchers, for whom they have an enduring and particular appeal. Nowhere, it seems, are tropical birds more accessible and easily studied, and nowhere is there a place more ideally suited than the Asa Wright Nature Centre for seeing them in an intense yet relaxed setting. At an elevation of 1200 feet in Trinidad's Northern Range this former coffee plantation, surrounded by rainforest, with a cool climate and broad vista of the Arima Valley, offers first class accommodation and truly excellent cuisine. Tobago is probably the best island in South America for vagrant birds, and its Caribbean atmosphere, coral reefs and picturesque coastline provide many pleasing contrasts. This tour is conducted at an easy pace and while providing a good introduction to neotropical birds, an introduction facilitated by an excellent field guide. It also has much to interest even the experienced South American birdwatcher as the trip list includes a number of birds difficult to find elsewhere, among them Oilbird and such hummingbirds as White-tailed Sabrewing and Tufted Coquette. And finally, with the Scarlet Ibises in Caroni Swamp and the seabirds at their island colonies off Tobago, this trip also includes two world famous avian spectacles. Day 1: The tour begins with a morning flight from London to Trinidad. On arrival in the afternoon we will transfer to the Asa Wright Nature Centre for a five night stay. Days 2-5: Even before dawn breaks over the Northern Range of Trinidad, birds will herald the start of a new day as the low-pitched vocalizations of Blue-crowned Motmot, the unforgettable call of the Great Kiskadee and the repetitive whistle of a Ferruginous Pygmy-Owl beckon us to the famous veranda of Asa Wright Nature Centre. As the sun comes over the ridge, we will sip our coffee or tea and watch an amazing variety of birds assemble around the veranda. Twenty-five or more species regularly visit the fruit and nectar feeders while many more forage in the nearby flowering shrubs. The hummingbirds, honeycreepers and tanagers are fearless around the feeders and their brilliant colours and breathtaking closeness create an engrossing spectacle that we'll return to watch time and again. Well maintained trails below the guesthouse will allow us to visit a lek of White-bearded Manakins performing their courtship dances, seemingly oblivious to our peering eyes and clicking cameras. The constant tonk-tonk-tonk ringing through the forest will lead us to the haunts of a superb cotinga, the Bearded Bellbird.
Of the eight breeding colonies of Oilbirds in Trinidad, the best known and most accessible, is Dunston Cave on the grounds of the Nature Centre, during our stay at Asa Wright we will visit these famous caves, and with the use of a torch and telescope we'll have amazingly detailed views of these incredible noctural fruit-eating birds resting on ledges. On many of our days at the Nature Centre we'll venture further afield. One of our trips will be along the Blanchisseuse Road, where we'll look for forest birds of the Northern Range such as the vocal but skulking Stripe-breasted Spinetail, Black-faced Antthrush, Speckled Tanager, Plain Antvireo and Golden-crowned Warbler. As mid-morning approaches we'll scan openings in the forest to search for soaring raptors including the striking White Hawk and Common Black Hawk. A late afternoon trip to the Aripo Savannah will have us scanning the moriche palm glades for such specialized species as Moriche Oriole, Sulphury Flycatcher and Red-bellied Macaw. As night falls we'll search for Paraques and White-tailed Nightjars and will listen for Tropical Screech-Owls and Common Potoos as they start their nocturnal rounds. On Trinidad's west coast we'll visit a picturesque shoreline where good numbers of herons, waders, gulls and terns feed. During an evening boat trip in Caroni Swamp we'll explore narrow watercourses through the mangroves to search for Straight-billed Woodcreeper, Silvered Antbird, Black-crested Antshrike or Clapper Rail. Hundreds, sometimes thousands of Scarlet Ibises gathering to roost provide the world famous and intensely colourful finale. The island's east coast will provide opportunities to visit another wetland, Nariva Swamp, where we'll look for retiring species such as Pinnated Bittern, Azure Gallinule and Yellow-chinned Spinetails. A sunset vigil at a grove of royal palms will allow us to witness Red-bellied Macaws as they noisily assemble to roost. Trinidad Piping-Guan, Trinidad’s only endemic species is being sighted more frequently on the island. While in its forest habitat, we will constantly scan distant trees and listen for the distinctive wing-drumming sounds in the early morning hours in hopes of spotting one of these highly endangered birds. Nights at Asa Wright Nature Centre. Day 6: Leaving early for Piarco Airport, we'll take a short flight to Tobago and be met by our local guide. From Crown Point Airport we'll drive to Speyside where we will be based for two nights, birding en route. After lunch overlooking the sparkling Caribbean, we will depart on a 20-minute boat trip to Little Tobago Island. Following a short hike along a forested track, we will witness a seabird extravaganza as Red-billed Tropicbirds sail past in screaming groups and Brown and Red-footed Boobies glide over the waves below and land on their cliff nests. Those huge pirates of the sea, the Magnificent Frigatebirds will join the groups of boobies and tropicbirds, sometimes harassing them to give up the food they have just caught. This area is home to a considerable number of seabirds and, if we're lucky, we may catch sight of a Masked Booby or Audubon's Shearwater. Night at Blue Waters Inn, Tobago. Day 7: Today we will visit a variety of habitats as we spend the full day exploring the island. Sites should include wetlands, coastal lagoons and beaches, amongst others and a visit to Grafton Estate where we should be treated to close up views of Tobago's national bird, the cocorico or Rufous-vented Chachalalca, as well as Pale-vented Pigeons, Blue-crowned Motmots and other species that overcome their wariness to partake of the daily offerings of food. Other special birds to look for today may include the superb Rufous-tailed Jacamar, Green-rumped Parrotlet, Great Black Hawk, White-cheeked Pintail, Black-bellied Whistling Duck and Red-crowned Woodpecker. Night at Blue Waters Inn. Day 8: After an early breakfast we will head to Gilpin Trace Rainforest Reserve. Our primary target here will be the White-tailed Sabrewing, a spectacular near-endemic hummingbird, but we'll also search for other species found on Tobago but not on Trinidad including Fuscous Flycatcher, Blue-backed Manakin, Venezuelan Flycatcher, Yellow-legged Thrush and Olivaceous Woodcreeper. Other notable species could include Collared Trogon, White-throated Spadebill and Plain Antvireo. After lunch we will start heading south towards the airport, taking in some birding en route, for our overnight flight to London where the tour concludes on Day 9.
E-mail or phone +44 (0)1767 262522 for availability.
Last updated December 2008 |
This tour provides a wonderful introduction to the many colourful birds of South America, none more so than this Tufted Coquette. The feeders at the Asa Wright Centre attract a wide variety of birds, such as this Bananaquit...
and White-necked Jacobin.
and the noisy Bearded Bellbird.
While further afield we'll search for the endemic Trinidad Piping-guan.
Leaving Trinidad we travel to Tobago, whose national bird is Rufous-vented Chachalaca. Photos by Stuart Elsom, Jeremy Roberts, and Judy Davis
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On the feeders below the verandah we are likely to see aChestnut Woodpecker.
Away from the house, a system of trail will take us close to other birds...
such as this White-bearded Manakin...
