The Bellbird Newsletter T h e A sa W r i g h t N atu r e C e nt r e

www.asawright.org Tel: (868) 667-5162 Email: [email protected] AUGUST 2010 Rainy Mountain Days

Following the devastating dry season earlier this year, we saw the forests begin to sing again with the April showers. And now, in August we are seeing rainfall to make up for all the deficits of the dry season! At the Asa Wright Nature Centre the rainy season brings a different ambience to the forests. Mostly, the early mornings dozen Jacobin Hummingbirds, flashing like a sapphire in the sunbeam! are fine, with stars shining bright in the their green, blue and white iridescence in And sometimes the afternoon pre-dawn sky. Our birds sing loudly with the sudden sunlight. showers spring forth brilliant rainbows the daybreak, the antshrikes and mocking An after-rain walk along the driveway across the valley! Persons lucky enough birds being the first to serenade. will see you regularly challenged by to be on the verandah at these times Clouds of mist rise out of the valley, the red mountain “manicou” crabs, may see a flock of Orange-winged parrots different hidden streams sending up their which come out to forage. These are flying home across a rainbow! mist at different times, like alternating aggressive creatures who will snap their And Rainy Mountain nights... when puffs of steam. claws at you. However, they are also the the full moon wears a faint rainbow But as beautiful as this rising mist favourite food of the Great Black Hawk, halo, or if the night is cloudless, the is, it is going up to become the afternoon so you should be on the lookout for stars shine brightly through the rain- clouds, and to bring the afternoon rains. these raptors, perched close by, or even washed sky. Nights when you see the And these come in over the ridge to the feeding along the road! lightning dancing in the distance beyond east, roaring as loudly as waterfalls, until Along the trails the raindrops continue the valley, or when you lie, half awake in they arrive at the Centre, pounding on our to fall from the treetops long after the your cottage, listening to the night, the roofs for a while until they move on, far shower has passed. The sunbeams streams below chattering to you, and the more silently than they arrived. which filter through holes in the canopy passing rains quietly pattering upon the In the wake of each passing shower, focus on the sights you should see -- roof! the birds begin to sing again, and the spotlighting brilliant red Chaconia flowers Most people visit us in the northern elusive Mot Mots come out to the feeding set amidst the shades of green; a tight hemisphere winter, our dry season. tables below the verandah, joined by noisy geometric spider web, with rainbows But Asa Wright has many moods, and Oropendolas with their young, now learning shining in its glistening raindrops; or a the Rainy Mountain time is a mood you to feed themselves. Above them flit half a brilliant blue marbleu butterfly, sparkling should experience. BellBird Newsletter AUGUST 2010 Page 2 AWNC hosts monthly Introspective Retreats

The Asa Wright Nature Centre is collaborating with Dr. Theo Ferguson, developer of the leadership development programme, Leading From Above The Line, in the hosting of a series of monthly one-day Introspective Retreats. Four very Dr. Ferguson pictured here at a Hummingbird seminar he held at Asa Wright Nature Centre. successful retreats, which are open to the public, have been held to date. The next themselves and their true intentions in Wright Nature Centre as the venue for retreat is scheduled for 3rd October 2010. life. his 8-day Leadership Self-Discovery These Introspective Retreats are • Learning to harness their personal Retreat commencing October 2010. helping individuals to retreat from the power through a better understanding And his other major interest is being “busyness” of living in order to better of the five sources of inner power. an outstanding bird photographer, who reflect on their true life intentions and • Developing greater leadership has a permanent exhibit of some of to determine corrective actions they may awareness through a better his work in the Dining Room of the Asa need to make to improve the quality of understanding of their leadership Wright Great House. A special edition their lives. potential. album of his work was presented by Specifically, participants have been Dr. Ferguson sees the Asa Wright Nature the Government of Trinidad and Tobago benefiting by: Centre, world-renowned as a place of peace, to the visiting heads of State at last • Having a better understanding of tranquillity and nature, as an ideal venue for year’s Summit of the Americas and the retreats. Commonwealth Heads of Government He has now decided to use the Asa meetings in Port of Spain. Boat-billed Flycatcher (Megarynchus pitangua) Quick, think of a bird that has yellow Cicadas are a particular favourite at underparts, a brown back and a black head mealtime and are normally struck against with a white band encircling the crown... a branch before eating. no, it’s not the ubiquitous Kiskadee. To the The Boat-billed Flycatcher, being untrained eye, the Boat-billed Flycatcher exclusive to the New World, ranges from is often mistaken for possibly one of the Mexico to Argentina and, of course, most well-known birds in Trinidad, the Great Trinidad. It breeds from February to Kiskadee. However, as a birder so very well June, usually laying between one and knows, to successfully identify this bird one three eggs. Boat-billed Flycatchers tend must take a closer look. to be found in family groups, youngsters The Boat-billed Flycatcher belongs remaining with parents for months until to the family of Tyrant Flycatchers, one of Photo Dr. Theo Ferguson coming of age. the largest of all bird families. The most So the next time you spot a Kiskadee distinguishing feature of the Boat-billed renowned call of “kiss-ka-deeee! “ Its call is perched atop a wire a more detailed scan Flycatcher is its oversized, curved bill, a a loud, irksome “choip, choip, choip, choip”. may reveal its true identity – the Boat- feature which can be attributed to the origin Still, at times some of its vocalisations are billed Flycatcher. If not, a trip to the Asa of its name. Another notable trait is the similar to those of the Kiskadee. Wright Nature Centre just may provide olive-brown tinge to the feathers on its back Also known as the Broad-billed Kiskadee, you with your first sighting! –JH Ryan as opposed to the plain brown colour of the this nine-inch bird is much more common back of the Great Kiskadee. Similar to the here than one may think. Found perched high Kiskadee, there is a concealed yellow patch up in trees at forest edges, semi-open forest, References: on the crown. At the sound of its call, one coffee and cocoa plantations, it builds stick ffrench, Richard. 1991. A Guide to the Birds can also recognise the Boat-billed Flycatcher. nests in the foliage. It forages for insects, of Trinidad and Tobago. The Boat-billed Flycatcher does not make the small vertebrates and occasionally, berries. Hilty, Steven L. 2003. Birds of Venezuela.

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