Birds in the Caribbean 2 - Tobago

Motmot - Grafton Bird Sanctuary, Tobago

With Trinidad done and dusted, it was time to transfer to Tobago, where we stayed at the Cuffie River Nature Retreat. Here it is possible to photograph Hummingbirds, including the fabulous Ruby Topaz, at the front of the hotel. The Motmot are regular visitors as are the Chachalacas and Red-crowned Woodpeckers. Our first full day here featured a familiarisation walk, which revealed a few species, but by far the highlight was spotting a Common Potoo.

Again we had booked a couple of days out, the first being an all day trip taking in a number of sites to the south of the island. Starting at the Tobago Plantations Estate we were happy to have a number of opportunities to get close to the birds, including a very nice Black-necked Stilt. To be truthful, that was as good as it got. We visited four more sites and got very little.

One of these sites was the now-derelict Grafton Bird Sanctuary. Sadly, the lady who set it up died in 1983 and it was handed to a trust, which has overseen a gradual decline. Looking it up on dear old Google reveals it was still open in 2013, though in terminal decline, therefore it’s no surprise it has become derelict. However, there are still birds there, although the trails have naturally become overgrown, and we did get our best Marmot images of the whole trip there.

Our final full day was to be a trip into the rainforest, followed by a visit to Little Tobago for the Red-billed Tropicbirds and Frigatebirds. As with a number of things on this trip, it didn’t go quite to plan. The day dawned bright enough, but by the time we were on the road conditions changed and the rain came in. OK, it was the rainforest and we spotted a few new species on the way there, but by the time we were due to go into the forest itself, the rain was torrential and would heave been a waste of time. Indeed, as we sat at the entrance in the hope of a lull in the conditions, all we saw were extremely wet people making a hasty exit. The pity about this was being our last day there was no chance for a revisit.

Moving on, the afternoon trip was more successful and involved a short boat ride to Little Tobago, followed by a steep climb up to the viewing point. Getting there was fun in itself, as although the sea looked quite benign, the landing on the island was hairy to say the least. The waves were breaking across the concrete jetty and getting ashore with our gear without getting wet involved excellent timing by both the skipper of the boat and us. Thankfully we managed it without too much problem, but it could be an issue for someone less mobile. An intense two-hour session followed with a constant stream of both species displaying, before the light started to go. Then it was time to run the gauntlet of the return journey, fortunately without incident again.

Save for the final morning around the lodge concentrating on the Hummingbirds again, that was the end of our trip. In hindsight it was a good trip, but it could have been better. Our booking agents left something to be desired even though they profess to be Trinidad & Tobago experts. We had stressed on many occasions that we were going to photograph birds and not as birdwatchers, therefore needed to get close. Despite regular assurances, it was clear that neither they, nor the guides we were given, understood our needs. Would we go again, for a variety of reasons, probably not?

Birds in the Caribbean 1 - Trinidad

White-necked Jacobin - Asa Wright Nature Centre, Trinidad

Following on from our Fox trip to the Netherlands that I wrote about earlier, we headed off to Trinidad and Tobago for ten days in late February. The itinerary worked out as two locations in Trinidad, followed by a transfer to Tobago for a four-day stay.

Our first stop was at the well-known Asa Wright Nature Centre, where it is possible to photograph all day long from a superb balcony in close proximity to your room. Being on the edge of the rainforest, that balcony was a godsend at times, but at others far from it as the secondary business of entertaining cruise ship passengers crowded out paying guests. Venturing out into the grounds yielded plenty of birds to photograph, or in some cases ‘try’ to photograph. Naturally, Hummingbirds are the major attraction, but plenty of other species to try for too. I won’t go into detail about what we got there, a quick look at our photostreams from the links on our homepage will show you that, but it was a rewarding location.

Whilst there, we had two trips out to the Aripo Valley and the Arena Forest, both of which were disappointing. Looking back it’s easy to think it would have been a better use of our time to remain at the Nature Centre perfecting our Hummingbird techniques. But to be honest, three days there would have been overkill.

Moving on we headed for a family run location by the name of Hacienda Jacana. This is a small site consisting of four two-bedroom houses overlooking a lake, frequented by a variety of herons, kingfishers and even a caiman. Unusually, the breakfast here is self-catered with provisions supplied by the owners, who will supply any special requirements on request. Dinner is prepared by the owners and delivered to the house at a pre-arranged time. The arrangement works surprisingly well and the dinners are superb. We spent some time photographing in the grounds, but had arranged a private guide for two days to take us to other parts of the island.

This plan worked quite well and again delivered some excellent images, but unfortunately on the first day, a Saturday, traffic conditions delayed us somewhat and a visit to a Nature Reserve had to be severely cut short to enable us to get to the Caroni Swamp to witness the Scarlet Ibis flying in to roost. This is a wonderful spectacle, but very hard to get useable images. By definition the light is going when they start to arrive and the boats moor up some distance from where they roost. To make life more difficult for us, it was raining at the time and a large plastic sheet was used to cover all of the passengers in the boat. Nevertheless, a sight we won’t forget.

Next day was a planned visit to the Nariva Swamp that really didn’t come off. Weather was less than optimum and no one had arranged the required permit to enter the site. Consequently there weren’t too many shutter clicks that day, although we were rewarded with a (admittedly distant) sighting of an Aplomado Falcon. The day drew to a close with a sighting of a pair of Blue & Yellow Macaws high in the trees in steady rain and that was Trinidad over.

Back Again

Nesting Great Crested Grebe

More than four months have passed since my last blog post and it’s come to the point where I have to make a choice. Until now my style has been to post a daily image on social media, with this website being bottom of the list. It’s no surprise that such a long gap has resulted.

My intention now is to turn my style on its head and the website will be first and foremost, with social media in it’s variety of forms following on. Sure, the daily posting might suffer at times, but if we’re going to have a website, we should concentrate more on it.

While I intend to move in this direction as of now, I don’t expect to be firing on all cylinders until early July.

Since my ‘Close Fox Encounters’ post in January we’ve completed a couple of trips, firstly to Trinidad and Tobago in February. More recently we visited Mull, with two friends who, like us, are wildlife photographers. In the coming days, I intend to blog about both trips, which have been both rewarding and frustrating too.

Locally, the frustration is even greater and it’s rare for us to spend a day out in the field. There are a few reasons for this, but primarily it’s the inevitability of having photographed what there is to offer and the challenge diminishing. I avoid the scrumages that result from the arrival of a rare species, only being tempted if the bird hangs around and interest wanes. A rare occurrence.

I suppose the best example of that is the sad demise of the Barn Owls at Lorton Meadows. I spent a fruitless evening down there, which only served to strengthen my resolve to get some decent pictures this year. Within a week, that project was over.

Great Crested Grebes at Radipole Lake were another failure this year. I only witnessed one pair on the lake this year where there had been three last year. Consequently, the weed dance shot and the female with a chick on her back image have to wait until next year.

I guess it’s those frustrations that keep us going and coming back for more all the time. That is the same resolve as I need to apply to this blog and website in general.