Trinidad, one of the Caribbean Islands, was
discovered by Christopher Columbus in 1498.
It was called by the native Carib people IERE
or The Land of the Hummingbird. This picture of a Copper-rumped Hummingbird shows why.
© Photograph courtesy Dr. Russell Barrow
Trinidad is the Southern most island of the Caribbean, located off the East coast of Venezuela, the two countries being separated by a channel which is not more than seven miles wide. As a result of its location, Trinidad and Tobago have a South American or neotropical fauna, as opposed to the other islands of the Caribbean whose bird life is predominately "Tropical North American". Its location also gives Trinidad the unique advantage of harbouring over 400 species of birds, making it one of the richest birding countries per square mile in the world. Dr. Russell Barrow, a renowned local photographer, has captured many of these species on film.
In addition it also has an advantage over its South and Central American neighbours of having most of its 1200 square miles easily accessible by good roads and forest tracks, making for an easy and attractive alternative to the mainland's dense forests and inaccessible swamps. All the good birding areas are within a one to two hour drive from the capital city Port-Of-Spain or the Asa Wright Nature Centre which provides excellent accommodation for visiting birders.
From a comfortable balcony in a well kept Plantation House
on the grounds of this Nature Centre, one may observe a wide variety of birds which visit
the feeders. These may include exotic hummingbirds like the Copper-rumped,
the White-necked Jacobin, the Black-throated Mango, the Tufted
Coquette (Trinidad's smallest bird; 2.75" long) and the Blue-chinned Sapphire.
Walking along the well kept forest trails may reward the visitor with sightings of forest
dwellers like the Chestnut Woodpecker, theCollared Trogon, the Green, Red-legged and Purple Honeycreepers,
the Golden-headed Manakin and, perhaps most exciting of all,
the White-bearded Manakins performing all day long in their Leks.
On a short drive from the House along a well paved road, there is a good chance of
spotting many of the twelve species of Tanagers that are resident in Trinidad including
the Speckled, Silver-beaked and
Turquoise.
In the North of the island a range of mountains, up to
3,000 feet in height, runs along the coast. There are several good roads leading into the
numerous valleys that separate the peaks. Driving along these roads deep into the range
will reward the visitor with excellent opportunites for sighting forest dwellers without
having to trek through jungle terrain.
You could expect to see many of the Flycatchers such as the Tropical
Kingbird, Tropical Pewee, Slaty-capped
Flycatcher,Yellow-breasted Flycatcher and the ubiquitous Great Kiskadee. If you are fortunate, you may run into some of the
less common birds such as the Tropical Parula, and the Violaceous Euphonia.
A classic example of the advantage of accessibility over its South American neighbours is that of the Scarlet Ibis, (The national bird of Trinidad) which breeds in neighbouring Venezuela but spends a large proportion of its life feeding in the Trinidad mangrove swamps. A journey into the Caroni Swamp just before sunset presents the visitor with the never to be forgotten spectacle of hundreds of Ibis coming in from their feeding grounds to roost and transforming drab mangrove bushes into a blaze of red-blossomed shrubbery. On the way into the swamp, keep a sharp lookout for the Red-capped Cardinal in the mangrove bushes along the banks of the canal. This bird is rather rare and is more readily observed around the lake in the Pointe-a-Pierre Wild Fowl Trust in South Trinidad with other birds like the Anhinga.
In addition to the many resident species, a large number of migratory species from North America visit the island between the months of August to October and so it is possible to record, on one island, a wide variety of Northern species which are scattered over a large area of that continent. Many of these migrants are easily accessible for observation in the rice fields and in the sewage ponds. Pictures of some of these migrants that are available on this page include those of the Ruddy Turnstone, the Hudsonian Godwit and the American Golden Plover.
The sister island of Tobago lies 22 miles off the
Northeast coast of Trinidad and is also a very rewarding site for birders. This is the
place to witness the interception of fish laden Red-billed Tropic Birds by piratic
Frigate-birds made famous by David Attenborough in one of his documentary films on Tobago.
It is also the home of the endangered White-tailed Sabrewing Hummingbird which presents a
worthy challenge to any enthusiastic visiting birder. The beautiful Blue-crowned
Motmot and the jeweled Rufous-tailed Jacamar are also widely
distributed and easily accessible to view. Look in areas of thicketed undergrowth along
forest edges for the unusual Stripe-breasted Spinetail. Birding
visitors to Trinidad will be well rewarded by at least a two day visit to the sister isle
of Tobago.
The two islands are home to many other beautiful creatures, here are some examples for your enjoyment.
After a long day of bird watching, it is nice to sit back and enjoy a beautiful sunset
that is so distinctly Caribbean.
This page is dedicated to
the memory my father Russell Barrow March 1924 ~ September
1997
Keith Barrow
Ontario, Canada.
You are visitor number since August 11th 96.
Pictures can be downloaded for noncommercial
educational use without permission.
I would appreciate any comments, however, due to the amount of spam I'm
receiving, I deleted the link to my e-mail address. Please send your comments to
k.barrow@sympatico.ca
I would also appreciate if you would indicate your city and
country of residence.
Note, I no longer live in Trinidad nor am I knowledgeable in this field; therefore, please do not request any information on the subject.
This page was last updated September 2002.