Trinidad and Tobago is the perfect combination of Caribbean and South American birding, and there is no better introduction to birding the new world tropics than a trip to these two islands. Located just 7 miles off the coast of Venezuela, Trinidad contains an abundance of species found in northeastern South America, while the smaller island of Tobago is known for its Caribbean beaches and the Tobago Main Ridge Forest Reserve, the oldest in the western hemisphere. Few places around the world have such a high concentration of birds in such a small land area, making this experience a true birders’ paradise.
Our tours in Trinidad are based out of our two ecolodges, the World Famous (and now re-opened!) Asa Wright Nature Centre and Mt. Plaisir Estate Hotel and are enhanced with our diverse and vibrant culture to create a birding experience unlike any other destination. Visitors will explore the island’s trails and many birding hotspots to witness Trinidad’s impressive species list of over 450 birds and plentiful wildlife highlights, including the Scarlet Ibis, endangered Leatherback turtles, a variety of hummingbirds at close range, and our two endemic species – the Trinidad Piping Guan and the Trinidad Motmot.
After 7 nights in Trinidad, we will slow things down and travel to Trinidad’s sister isle, Tobago, where we will spend two nights on the beachfront at the Blue Waters Inn. Known as the last un-spoilt Caribbean island, Tobago is perfect for birding, snorkeling, and relaxing. We will enjoy birding the forests and coastlines, as well as a glass-bottom boat trip to nearby Little Tobago Island, in search of nesting sea birds. Your tour leader for this trip will be Neil Glenn.
DAY ONE – A warm welcome to Trinidad!
Direct flights with British Airways from London Gatwick to Port of Spain. Upon arrival at Trinidad’s Piarco International Airport, you will be met at the airport and shuttled to your first ecolodge at Asa Wright Nature Centre, which comprises of 29 rooms surrounded by approximately 1,500 acres of mostly forested estate in the Arima and Aripo Valleys of the Northern Range.
At the Asa Wright Nature Centre, you will be greeted by the team members and a refreshing rum punch or fruit punch to start off your holiday. The large verandah of the Main House offers breathtaking views of the valley and is an excellent vantage point to witness a variety of species of birds and wildlife. Dinner will be served on arrival and we settle in ready for our Neotropical birding adventure!
DAY TWO – Full Day at Asa Wright Nature Centre
We spend a full day at the Asa Wright Nature Centre enjoying the ambiance and exploring the nature trails and natural pools with our knowledgeable tour guides. Early morning risers can meet on the verandah to witness nature in all its splendor as you are joined by Copper-rumped Hummingbirds, Tufted Coquettes alongside Bananaquit and Honeycreepers, Crested Oropendolas, and White-lined and Silver-beaked Tanagers.
After breakfast, guests will bird the trails to get an up-close experience and immersed in nature, as you walk along the forested trails with our tour guides. We will then hike to the Oilbird Cave, also known as Dunstan Cave. The Oilbird is found only in the northern region of South America and Trinidad. The site located at Asa Wright is one of Trinidad’s major colony sites and is known to be the most accessible in the world. This unique nocturnal, fruit-eating, bizarre bird is truly an encounter that should not be missed.
Dinner will be served in the spacious dining room, followed by an evening bird presentation and night walk with a Tour Guide to see nocturnal species.
Birding highlights – Trogons, Flycatchers, Bellbird, Toucans, Manakins, Tanagers, Ant birds, Woodpeckers, Wood creepers, Ant Wrens, Tanagers (white lined, bay-headed, turquoise), and Humming birds (Brown Violetear, Ruby Topaz, Black-throated Mango, White-necked Jacobin, Blue- chinned Sapphire, Tufted Coquette, Copper rumped, White-chested Emerald).
DAY THREE – Aripo Savannah / Nariva Swamp
After breakfast we will journey to the foothills of the Northern Range where lies the Aripo Savannah, a great location for open country-side and rough pasture birding which makes for exciting exploration while providing a few interesting new species. Here we will also find a cross of Water Buffalo and Brahma Cattle.
As we continue birding, we will head to the east coast of Trinidad towards the Nariva Swamp for a picnic lunch on the beach. Driving along ‘Coconut Alley’, Raptors can be spotted perched on the coconut trees. We will be led to beachside habitats before we enter Nariva swamp. Here the Nariva Swamp meets the sea, and the freshwater environments of herbaceous swamp and mangrove swamp forest create just the right conditions for spectacular birding.
Birding highlights at Aripo Savannah – Great Kiskadee, Tropical Kingbird, Carib Grackle, Short-tailed Swift, Cocoi Heron, Savannah Hawk, Gray-headed Kite, Yellow-headed Caracara, Wattled Jacana, Southern Lapwing, Pinnated Bittern, Green-rumped Parrotlet, Fork-tailed Palm Swift, White-winged Swallow, White-headed Marsh Tyrant, Pied Water Tyrant, Yellow-chinned Spinetail, Red-breasted Meadowlark, Grassland Yellow Finch, Ruddy-breasted Seedeater.
Birding highlights east towards Nariva: Common Black Hawk, Yellow-headed and Crested Caracaras, Savannah Hawk, Pearl Kite, Grey-lined Hawk, Plumbeous Kite (seasonally), Green and American Pygmy Kingfishers, Black-crested Antshrike, Silvered Antbird, Ruddy-breasted Seedeater, Yellow-crowned Parrot, Red bellied, Blue and Yellow Macaws, Brown-crested Flycatcher, Pinnated Bittern, Black-bellied Whistling Duck, American Purple Gallinule, Yellow-hooded Blackbird, White-tailed Goldenthroat, Long-winged Harrier. In years past we have also found Mega-rarities like Double-striped Thick-knee and Jabiru.
DAY FOUR – Brickfield / Waterloo Temple in the Sea and the Caroni Bird Sanctuary
Waterloo is the best area for finding pelagic species and migrant birds in Trinidad with its extensive tidal mudflats along the West Coast. Of significant interest are birds arriving from the mainland of South America. From February to November large numbers of both Yellow-billed and the striking Large-billed Tern are present, whereas from mid-April to October, breeding Collard Plovers can be found. Many of the shorebirds found in Trinidad are passing migrants. During the appropriate seasons, resident birds are augmented in varying numbers by Wilson’s Plover, Spotted, Solitary, Pectoral, White rumped and Stilt Sandpipers, American Golden Plover, and occasionally, Hudsonian Godwit. The shallow waters of the Gulf of Paria provide a safe haven from inclement weather and the list of rarities in this area is substantial. It includes the only Maguari Stork, Terek Sandpiper, Kelp, and Great Black-backed Gull to be found in the islands. In some areas near Carli Bay, we can find rare resident Rufous Crab-Hawk.
Another significant area interest is the beautiful Hindu Temple of the Sea, in view from our birding areas and well worth visit.
At the Caroni Swamp you will board a motorized flat-bottom boat and cruise along the mangrove channels as you witness all facets of wildlife (watch for Ruschenberger’s Tree Boa and Silky Anteaters). The boat is then moored in quiet spot in the mangroves along a large lake to await the Scarlet Ibises that come in by the hundreds to roost after feeding all day.
Waterloo and coastal birding highlights: Magnificent Frigatebird, Brown Pelican, Neotropic Cormorant, Great and Snowy Egrets, Little Blue and Tricoloured Herons, Yellow- crowned Night Heron, Black-necked Stilt, Southern Lapwing, Willet, Hudsonian Godwit, Whimbrel, Greater and Lesser Yellowlegs, Semipalmated and Black-bellied Plovers, Short- billed Dowitcher, Laughing Gull, Royal Tern and Black Skimmer.
Birding highlights at Caroni: Long-winged Harrier, Yellow-hooded Blackbird, Bicolored Conebill, Masked Cardinal, Straight-billed Woodcreeper, Green-throated Mango, Northern Waterthrush, Anghinga, Striated Heron, White-cheeked Pintail, Large-billed Tern, Pied Water Tyrant, Black-crested Antshrike, Common Potoo, American Flamingoes and the Scarlet Ibis.
DAY FIVE – Full Day at Blanchisseuse and the Northern Range The Northern Range is the north-easternmost extreme of the Andes chain and extends as a band of forested hills across the northern Caribbean coastline of Trinidad. The forest supports a bird species list of well over 200 species, and productive birding can be found directly off the Blanchisseuse Road. You will spend a full day in the mountains of the Northern Range on the Blanchisseuse Road with frequent stops at the bird hot spots such as Las Lapas and Paria Junction, with a picnic lunch.
Birding highlights in Blanchisseuse – Trogons, flycatchers, Speckled Tanager, Swallow Tanager, antbirds, Channel-billed Toucan, woodpeckers, woodcreepers, White-bearded Manakin, various raptors, Blue-headed Parrot, Bat Falcon.
DAY SIX – Journey to Grande Riviere
We will check out of Asa Wright Nature Centre after breakfast and bird along the way to Grande Riviere with a stop at the Toco light house, where the Caribbean Sea meets the Atlantic Ocean. Grande Riviere, located in the northeast tip of Trinidad, is known as the largest leatherback nesting site in the Caribbean, and the densest. Guests will have a unique opportunity to witness these amazing sea-creatures as they practice their timeless “family tradition” of returning to the place where they were born to lay their eggs. The season for this is from March – August. We will also enjoy the sights of the endangered Blue-throated Piping-guan (pawi), Crimson-crested Woodpecker, and Swallow-tailed Kite.
Dinner will be provided at your second ecolodge, Mt. Plaisir Estate Hotel, a charming escape at our well-appointed beachfront hotel, set against a backdrop of lush tropical rainforest. After dinner we will take a walk along the beach where Leatherback turtles can be seen nesting in the sand (once in season). Viewing these large animals in their habitat is truly a unique experience you wouldn’t want to miss. It is important to note that we are very careful to be considerate of the turtles as they are sensitive to light and noise and can easily become frightened and distressed.
Birding highlights at Grande Riviere – Grey-headed, Plumbeous and Swallow-tailed Kites, Lesser Swallow-tailed Swift, Channel-billed Toucan, Crimson-crested Woodpecker, Silvered and White-bellied Antbirds and Black-tailed Tityra.
DAY SEVEN – Piping Guan and Birding the Montevideo Trace
Today will be an early start as we grab coffee and leave the ecolodge between 5:30am – 6am. This is the best time for spotting the endangered Piping Guans! A hike up Montevideo Trace will lead us to the hilltop and a large clearing where, amongst the nutmeg trees, we will find the Trinidad Piping Guan. We will then proceed along the Montevideo trace for other key species in the area.
Birding highlights at Montevideo – Silvered Antbird, White-bellied Antbird, White-flanked Antwren, Golden-headed Manakin, Red-legged Honeycreeper just to name a few.
DAY EIGHT – Flight to Tobago, Birding the Bon Accord Lagoon and Tobago Plantations
After breakfast, we will be transported to the airport for a flight to Trinidad’s sister island, Tobago. Before heading to your 3rd hotel location, Blue Waters Inn, we will make a few stops along the way at the Bon Accord Lagoon and other lowland areas. The Bon Accord Lagoon and the surrounding wetlands is a vibrant and unique ecosystem that supports all forms of life, from crabs that spend all their lives clinging to mangrove roots to birds that fly halfway around the world and back every year.
Birding highlights at the Bon Accord Lagoon – Green Heron, Lesser Scaup, Yellow-crowned Night Heron, Snowy Egret, the elusive Mangrove Cuckoo, Black-bellied Whistling Duck, White-cheeked Pintail, just to name a few.
DAY NINE – Gilpin Trace, Main Ridge Forest, Little Tobago Island, and Glass Bottom Boat Tour
After breakfast, we will drive into the mountains of the historic Tobago Main Ridge Forest Reserve. The canopies and trees of the lush Main Ridge Forest Reserve are home to over 260 species alone, making it the best place on the island to spot a variety of species.
Birding highlights to Gilpin Trace: Trinidad Motmot, Collared Trogon, White-tailed Sabrewing, Great Black Hawk, Blue-backed Manakin, Yellow-legged Thrush, Red-crowned Woodpecker, White-fringed Antwren, Plain Antvireo, White-throated Spadebill, Olivaceous Woodcreeper and Stripe-crested Spinetail, Red-rumped and Golden-olive Woodpeckers, White-necked Thrush and Gray-throated Leaftosser.
In the evening time, we will board a glass-bottom boat for a pleasant cruise to little Tobago Island, the best area for pelagic species. On little Tobago Island, we will walk at birder’s pace up-hill via a staircase to the seabird lookout. The island is one of the country’s most significant wildlife sanctuaries and offers incredible views of plentiful and rare sea birds, both from the boat and while walking along the trail up to a lookout point, where tropical Dry Forest occurs. On our trip back to the mainland, the Captain will take time to look for colourful fish and possible Hawksbill sea turtles as we pass a former coral garden off Goat island. The Atlantic side of the island has experienced extensive coral bleaching over the years, and while the site is still excellent for divers, snorkeling is not the same as it has been in previous years.
Birding highlights in Little Tobgao: Red- billed Tropicbird, both Red-footed and Brown Boobies, Chivi Vireo, Brown-crested Flycatcher, Pale-vented Pigeon and Scaly-naped Pigeon.
DAY TEN – Relaxation Time and Departure
On your last day you can choose to relax and enjoy the amenities at Blue Waters Inn, such as snorkeling, swimming, diving, or simply take a stroll along the beach. We will depart for a flight back to Trinidad, where we will connect for the overnight British Airways direct flight back to London Gatwick.
DAY ELEVEN
Arrival back in the UK where the tour will conclude
