[email protected] Tel: (868) 667-4655 October 2020 October a ‘bonanza of Buff-breasts’ , Bobolinks on cue and a Halloween surprise

By Martyn Kene ck The month kicked o with the largest ever documented gathering of Bu -breasted Sandpipers found in T&T. The individual found on 24th September was joined by no less than 11 others, all feeding in a damp eld of mud and short grass on Caroni rice project. A few days later, six more were found in farmland at Orange Grove. The exceedingly active tropical weather systems in Bobolink by Nigel Lallsingh Northern Shoveler by Rodney Jagai both the Atlantic and Caribbean have, no doubt, contributed to incredibly high shorebird totals. The most dominant of the scarcer species were American Golden Plover with well over `100 birds at Orange Grove and at least 75 on the rice project. Add to that what is likely to be our highest ever single count of Hudsonian Godwit – 22  ying over Princes Town. Bobolinks truly are an October bird in Trinidad & Tobago. Indeed, over Masked Duck by Nigel Lallsingh the course of the last 25 years, the Flying American Golden Plovers by Rodney Jagai month accounts for almost 80% of all documented sightings. So eight birds appearing along Rahamut Certain “long stayers” remained all two Upland Sandpipers and a pair trace were right on time. A  ock of month including several Glossy Ibis, of Masked Ducks seen by just a few over 200 birds in Caroni rice project Aplomado Falcons and Snail Kites. towards the end of the month were lucky observers. By far the rarest bird found during much less expected. Interestingly enough, this month’s the month was a moulting immature sightings are in synch with other A Dark-billed Cuckoo photographed Northern Shoveler which spent just Caribbean islands. Indeed in Orange Grove on 11th October one day on a  ooded eld at Caroni. documented their rst ever Snail was certainly a “late lingerer” – This is just the 5th sighting in the last Kite during the month together with almost all birds are found here in July 25 years. and August. individual Bu -breasted Sandpiper The nal excitement for the month and Bobolink, both of which are was again at Caroni on the 31st with extremely rare on that island.

Design and Layout courtesy Lonsdale Saatchi & Saatchi Advertising Ltd, a friend of the Asa Wright Nature Centre OCTOBER • PAGE 2 October 2020 on the move Martyn Kene ck During the last three weeks of the month, throughout lowland Trinidad, there has been a mass movement of White-tailed Page, leilus. They drift, languidly across elds, mud ats, even urban open areas like car parks. Despite their magni cent coloration these are not butter ies, they are daytime  ying moths. Known as an eruption, this phenomena occurs every 3-4 years – and no one knows why! There are small local populations in south and central Trinidad but they cannot account for the numbers being seen. They occur throughout the northern half of South America, east of the and many must cross the Gulf of Paria to supplement our own moths. But they do not stop here – this migration has been recorded throughout the as far as St Kitts and is a sight to behold. White-tailed Page by Kevin Foster

Global Big Day 17th October 2020 Martyn Kene ck the illegal bird trade....and it was a Caribbean and despite the ravages resounding success of Covid-19 and (at least locally) Each year, the Cornell Lab facilitates a heavy rain through much of the day of birding citizen science. Initially No less than 7,107 species of bird day 22 territories took part. Trinidad this was an opportunity to celebrate were identi ed from 78,800 birding & Tobago tallied a very creditable nding birds near and far. However locations in 169 countries by at least 4th place with 132 species behind this year, the concept was widened 32,600 participants. Birdwatching is Bahamas, (139 sp); Dominican to become the Global Bird Weekend becoming one of the fastest-growing Republic (145 sp) and 1st place aiming to become the biggest ever outdoor leisure activities in the Puerto Rico with a dominant 163 birding weekend and to support world. species. BirdLife International’s appeal to end Here amongst the islands of the

YOUNG ENVIRONMENTALIST OF THE MONTH If you think your child, aged 5-16, has done something helpful to preserve the environment, please feel free to share it with us. Either write a short story or send a few pictures to [email protected]. He/she may be selected as our Young Environmentalist of the Month. Once your child is featured in our monthly newsletter, he/she and two adults will be given a complimentary day visit to Asa Wright Nature Centre, which includes viewing birds/ on the verandah, a nature tour and use of the clear water pool.

Design and Layout courtesy Lonsdale Saatchi & Saatchi Advertising Ltd, a friend of the Asa Wright Nature Centre OCTOBER • PAGE 3 October 2020

AWNC the Bamboo Valley Trail

Peter O’Connor But from the abandoned generator the trail moves steeply uphill again, Last month we walked the relatively crisscrossing the generator piping as level Chaconia Trail, leading to we climb it. When the trail levels o a cross-road in our forest, then comfortably, we nd ourselves in a heading upwards and into the grove of bamboos, -- this is Bamboo gardens surrounding our residential Valley. And here we meet another compound. trail, coming up from our left. This is Today we are going to walk down the Heliconia Trail which we passed those steps, to the cross-roads, earlier, it being a bit of a short-cut where the Chaconia Trail meets the from where we had walked. From Heliconia Trail and the Bamboo Valley where we left it earlier, Heliconia Trail. And it is the Bamboo Valley Trail heads down to the river and we will explore. It is an easy descent crosses the stream several meters down to the sound of water rushing, Old generator by Peter O’Connor above Lovers’ Pool and waterfall. One the trail dog-legging back and forth. has to cross the stream from rock to At the last sharp turn we will see rock at this point, and then walk up another sign, pointing into the forest, a surprisingly “boggy” slope to meet indicating the Adventure Trail. And those who took the long route up. there is a sense of “adventure” here But here the several clumps of as that trail disappears into obviously bamboo keep the forest  oor deep forest. But that for another day! cleared of undergrowth, and all the Instead we continue down towards bamboos sigh and sing in the breeze. the sound of tumbling water and This is a lovely place to meet and rest arrive at a small bridge crossing for a while, especially if some of us our own Arima River, just below trekked Bamboo Valley and others a beautiful small waterfall and a walked on the Heliconia Trail. But delightful river pool, with sunbeams we must move on, and we head up sparkling on the wings of sapphire again, through our former cocoa Morpho butter ies dancing in the Lover’s Pool by Peter O’Connor (cacao) acreage, which we will soon mist. The dense forest encroaches bring back into production, just like the trail – few birds can be seen our co ee! although both Rufous-breasted if you decide to refresh yourself under the Eventually the Bamboo Valley Trail Wren and Long-billed Gnatwrens are waterfall or in the pool, we must move on, meets our paved driveway, out near frequently heard chattering through and the next thing we meet is our old, sadly the entrance gate, and we walk back the thick vines. abandoned, Hydro-Generator. This magni cent cast-iron relic once provided the electricity for to the Centre listening to the several The waterfall and pool are beautifully the Centre. And the infrastructure for it—the little streams, the sighing bamboos secluded and sometimes called dam upstream (which is our Clearwater Pool) and the birdsong of Spring Hill “Lovers’ Pool”, this probably for the and the cast-iron piping to bring water to drive Estate. animals which love it so? But even a generator are still in place.

Design and Layout courtesy Lonsdale Saatchi & Saatchi Advertising Ltd, a friend of the Asa Wright Nature Centre