Tropical Birding - Trip Report Trinidad & Tobago, January 2018 Trinidad & Tobago January 11–21, 2018 Tufted Coquette Leader—Bill Murphy Co-Leader—Wesley Homoya Local Guides — Charlie Madoo (Caroni Swamp), Tyrone Frank (Little Tobago Island) Drivers — Ivan LaRose (Trinidad), Bert Isaac (Tobago) Report by Bill Murph; photos by Wesley Homoya www.tropicalbirding.com +1-409-515-9110 [email protected] p.1 Tropical Birding - Trip Report Trinidad & Tobago, January 2018 Day 1: Arrival Day 2: Asa Wright Nature Centre (AWNC) Day 3: Orange Grove, Aripo Livestock Station, Manzanilla Beach, Mayaro Road, Nariva Swamp, Waller Field Day 4: Blanchisseuse Road, Textel Tropospheric Scatter Site, Las Lapas Trace, Morne La Croix (plus Grande Riviere for some) Day 5: Carapachaima (Hanuman temple), Brickfield, Temple-in-the-Sea (Waterloo), Orange Valley, Carli Bay Day 6: Grounds of AWNC, Caroni Swamp Day 7: Magdalena ponds, Little Tobago Island (LTI), Cuffie River Nature Retreat (Cuffie River) Day 8: Cuffie River, Gilpin Trace and Niplig Trace, Bloody Bay (Sunshine Café) Day 9: Cuffie River and environs, Old Donkey Trace (plus snorkeling at Castara for some) Day 10: Cuffie River, Fort James (Plymouth), Grafton-Caledonia Wildlife Sanctuary, Bon Accord ponds Day 11: Departure his midwinter exploration of the beautiful islands of Trinidad and Tobago was highlighted by views of stunningly gorgeous hummingbirds, cryptically colored Oilbirds in their dimly illuminated crevice, two species of manakins T displaying on their leks, a wide variety of species enjoying fruit on platform feeders, Scarlet Ibis gathering at dusk at their communal roost, and a lone Savanna Hawk that established the first record of that species for Tobago. We worked as a team and had a terrific time while recording about 200 species of birds. This was my final birding tour to Trinidad & Tobago (birding tour #94, visit #98), so I was especially happy to see that you were so happy! Masked Cardinal Wesley and I arrived three days before the tour started so that we could perform due diligence regarding sites, road conditions, current entrance requirements, and presence of target species. Several participants also arrived a day or two before the trip started, and several remained for a day or two after the trip ended. Wesley met his parents at the airport the day the tour ended, and the three of them enjoyed five more days in paradise. www.tropicalbirding.com +1-409-515-9110 [email protected] p.2 Tropical Birding - Trip Report Trinidad & Tobago, January 2018 The official tour included six nights in Trinidad at the splendid Asa Wright Nature Centre, seven miles north of the city of Arima in Trinidad's Northern Range, and three nights at the tranquil Cuffie River Nature Retreat near the village of Runnemede in Tobago. At Asa Wright we had plenty of time to enjoy the unmatched opportunity to enjoy the birds, mostly of Amazonian origin, visiting the busy fruit and nectar feeders and in the very productive nearby Trema trees from the shady veranda while enjoying locally grown coffee, rum punch, and cold drinks. During our stay we explored the grounds of the Centre and made excursions in Ivan LaRose's maxi taxi, God's Favour, to Orange Grove, a former sugar cane plantation; the eastern edge of the Aripo Livestock Station near Arima; Manzanilla Beach on the Atlantic Ocean; Mayaro Road, which runs atop an ancient former sandbar along the Atlantic Ocean through miles of coconut palms; Nariva Swamp, which drains east-central Trinidad; Waller Field, an abandoned World War II military base constructed by the U.S. Army; Blanchisseuse Road, which connects central Trinidad to the Caribbean Sea; the Textel Tropospheric Scatter Site, which at 1,800 feet provided our highest birding opportunity; Las Lapas Trace, a dirt road leading down from the heights above the Asa Wright Nature Centre into the Lopinot Valley to the west; the hamlet of Morne La Croix, known for views of flocks of Blue-headed Parrots in late afternoon; sites along the Gulf of Paria on Trinidad's west coast (including Carapachaima for the spectacular Hanuman temple; Brickfield Fishing Centre; Temple-in-the-Sea, near Waterloo; Orange Valley, with its long, concrete pier; and Carli Bay, a popular swimming and fishing park), and the splendid Winston Nanan Caroni Bird Sanctuary (Caroni Swamp). Some participants also made a highly successful foray to the remote village of Grande Riviere on the northeastern coast to see the Trinidad Piping-Guan, a species endemic to Trinidad. Trinidad Piping-Guan From Trinidad it was only a 20-minute flight to another gem, the West Indian island of Tobago. Here we explored various ponds at the Magdalena Grand Beach & Golf Resort (Magdalena ponds), uninhabited Little Tobago Island, the peaceful Cuffie River Nature Retreat along with its productive entrance drive and Old Donkey Trail, pristine sections of the Tobago Main Ridge Preserve (Gilpin Trace and Niplig Trace), the village of Bloody Bay as seen from our outdoor dining area at the Sunshine Café, Fort James in Plymouth, the Grafton-Caledonia Wildlife Sanctuary, and the Bon Accord ponds. Three members of the group and I made an afternoon foray to the village of Castara for snorkeling (them) or "liming" at a beachside pub (me). www.tropicalbirding.com +1-409-515-9110 [email protected] p.3 Tropical Birding - Trip Report Trinidad & Tobago, January 2018 Our visit to Tobago provided us opportunities to see species never found in Trinidad, such as Rufous-vented Chachalaca, White-tailed Sabrewing, Red-crowned Woodpecker, Olivaceous Woodcreeper, White-fringed Antwren, Venezuelan Flycatcher, Blue-backed Manakin, and Scrub Greenlet, all of which we found. We enjoyed a trip in a glass- bottomed boat to Little Tobago Island to see breeding Red-billed Tropicbirds, Brown and Red-footed Boobies, and their piratic scourge -- the Magnificent Frigatebird – and viewed amazing coral reefs and tropical fish during our trip back to "mainland" Tobago. White-necked Jacobin Of special mention was our first birding stop on Tobago, at the Magdalena ponds, where we were treated to a unique opportunity. A distant, large raptor appeared at first to be a likely candidate for Osprey, a relatively common visitor to Tobago. As it drew near, upon closer inspection we noted that it was not an Osprey at all but was instead a species we had already encountered in Trinidad several times during our trip – a Savanna Hawk. Incredibly, we documented – and Wesley quickly photographed – the first Savanna Hawk for Tobago in history. This event added of some extra adrenalin to an already pretty fantastic trip. Wesley and I will submit our documentation to the T&T Birds Status and Distribution Committee. Drivers are crucial to making trips successful and safe. I am grateful to my friend Ivan LaRose ([email protected]) for his excellent service transporting us in his maxi taxi in Trinidad and to Bert Isaac, who has done a similarly excellent job for me over the years on Tobago. Besides driving and spotting birds, these gentlemen provided us with insight into the culture and history of their respective islands. Another person I would like to mention who made our trip so very successful was Regina Dumas (nature@cuffie- river.com) at Cuffie River Nature Retreat. By designing, constructing, and managing that wonderful inn and offering her gracious services as hostess, cook, and multitasking facilitator, she provided us, as she has with many of my groups in past years, with a never-to-be-forgotten experience. www.tropicalbirding.com +1-409-515-9110 [email protected] p.4 Tropical Birding - Trip Report Trinidad & Tobago, January 2018 Birding aside, there was something magical about this tour. Birding groups generally are affable, but this group bonded to an astonishing degree right from the start. Several of you have contacted me since you returned home, expressing as sense of loss and nearly identical feelings of "homesickness" for our birding group. This absolutely is not typical after a birding tour! I consider it a huge tribute to each of you that we were able to share a sense of being a team or a family to such a degree. I know that each of us returned home with personal memories we will always treasure. As for me, I will always remember fondly the farewell dinner that Regina and some of you arranged for my send-off, commemorating my final tour to T&T. It was indeed a totally unexpected and splendid event. I thank you again so much for your thoughtfulness. To all of you who accompanied us on this exceptionally enjoyable tour, thank you. You were such a friendly, gregarious, generous, and loving group! Like you, I am still "homesick" for our group. Need I say that April and I will always welcome you at our house. I hope very much to rendezvous and bird with you again. Good birding! Bill Murphy, Fishers, Indiana USA (Photo right: Trinidad Motmot) Bearded Bellbird www.tropicalbirding.com +1-409-515-9110 [email protected] p.5 Tropical Birding - Trip Report Trinidad & Tobago, January 2018 Species List BIRDS This list does not include species recorded by leaders only. Names and order of species follows the checklist we used during our tour, the Asa Wright Nature Centre Species Checklist, as updated by Martyn Kenefick and me in 2015. Key: (H) = heard only Tinamidae (Tinamous) LITTLE TINAMOU (Crypturellus soui) — (H) The mournful whistle of this chicken-like skulker was audible at dawn and dusk from the AWNC and throughout the Northern Range almost every day. Cracidae (Guans, Chachalacas, and Curassows) RUFOUS-VENTED CHACHALACA (Ortalis ruficauda) — The national/island bird of Tobago; individuals or small flocks were seen and especially heard every day. TRINIDAD PIPING-GUAN (Pipile pipile) — The members of our group who sacrificed sleep to visit at the traditional viewing site at Grande Riviere at dawn were successful in their quest for this large, arboreal, turkey-like species, one of only two birds endemic to T&T (the other being the Trinidad Motmot).