Trinidad and Tobago - Central Colorado...
Transcript of Trinidad and Tobago - Central Colorado...
Trinidad and Tobago
Dates: May 8 – 17, 2018
Maximum Participants: 12
Cost: $2,700 per person double occupancy.
Single Supplement: $500
Focus: Birding, natural history, sea turtle nesting, rainforest ecology, local
scenery, and culture.
Guides: Guides are provided for the entire trip. The guides will share a robust
knowledge of local natural history. A representative from the Central
Colorado Conservancy will accompany the group.
Activity Level: Easy, mostly walking and travel by auto or boat. Some short hikes in the
rainforest over uneven ground.
Supporting: Your included donation supports the land and water protection projects
of the Central Colorado Conservancy.
Draft Daily Itinerary
Day 1, May 8th Arrive and transfer to Asa Wright Nature Centre (AWNC)
Welcome to Trinidad! Upon arrival at Piarco International Airport, you are met by an AWNC guide who
drives you from the bustling metropolis to the quiet seclusion of the AWNC, about an hour’s trip up into
the Northern Range. Lush forests of the Arima
Valley offer untamed vistas and provide the
perfect place to learn about Trinidad’s abundant
birds and natural heritage.
AWNC’s wide veranda is the perfect place to
marvel at the almost tame hummingbirds,
tanagers, honeycreepers, oropendolas,
bananaquits, and other birds that frequent the
feeders. The views of the valley are breathtaking.
Beyond the Centre is an extensive trail system.
Tea time is 4:00 pm, followed by Rum Punch at
6:00 pm and then dinner.
Dinner is included this night if your flight arrives in time to transfer to Asa Wright Nature Centre by 6 pm.
Most of the flights from Colorado do not land until later in the evening. In this case dinner would be on
your own.
Day 2, May 9th Asa Wright Nature Centre
This morning begins with 6:00 AM coffee and tea served on
the veranda. A Centre naturalist is on duty to help us spy as
many as 40 life birds before breakfast! After breakfast, enjoy
an introductory walk on the Centre’s Discovery Trail, learning
more about the forest and discovering additional species.
Many enjoy the challenge of spotting the Bearded Bellbird, as
their distinctive “bonk!” echoes throughout the forest. Near
the known bellbird lek, in the trees, are two species of
manakins also attending their leks closer to the ground.
Morning Birding Highlights: Trinidad Motmot; both Cocoa and
Spectacled Thrushes; Gray-fronted Dove; White-bearded and
Golden-headed Manakins; Green-backed and Guianan
Trogons; Channel-billed Toucan; Chestnut Woodpecker; Rufous-
browed Peppershrike; both Turquoise and Bay-headed Tanagers;
Green Hermit; Tufted Coquette; Black-throated Mango; Forest Elaenia; Ochre-bellied Flycatcher;
Asa Wright Nature Centre
Purple Honeycreeper
Yellow Oriole; White-necked Thrush; Rufous-breasted Wren; White-flanked Antwren; and Long-billed
Gnatwren.
This evening we will enjoy some night birding, complete with rum punch and hot dinner in tow. A used
airfield is the first birding stop (pre-sunset), then we venture to the Aripo Livestock Station where we
enjoy dinner, then set off on a slow drive for night birds. Bird possibilities include: Fork-tailed Palm-
swift; Sulphury Flycatcher; Moriche Oriole (extremely rare); White-tailed Nightjar; Common Pauraque;
Common Potoo; Tropical Screech-owl; Barn Owl; and Spectacled Owl.
Included: breakfast, lunch, dinner
Day 3, May 10th Asa Wright Nature Centre and the Northern Range
Today we take a day-long excursion into Trinidad’s
Northern Range on the Blanchisseuse Road. We make
frequent birding stops and then enjoy a local lunch
and cacao demonstration in picturesque Brasso Seco.
We continue through the mountains to the village of
Morne la Croix for afternoon tea and cakes as we
enjoy watching parrots head in to roost. The day will
include opportunities to observe leaf-cutter and army
ants, as well as a chance to photograph butterflies,
orchids and other tropical flora. Birding highlights
may include: Swallow-tailed Kite; Common Black
Hawk; Bat Falcon; Collared Trogon; Ornate Hawk-
Eagle; Channel-billed Toucan; Trinidad Piping Guan;
Short-tailed Hawk; Streaked and Euler’s Flycatchers;
Rufous-tailed Jacamar; Blue-headed Parrot; Lilac-
tailed Parrotlet; Orange-winged Parrot; Collared
Trogon; Golden-olive, Red-rumped and Chestnut
Woodpeckers; Ferruginous Pygmy-owl; Stripe-
breasted Spinetail; Cocoa and Plain-brown
Woodcreepers; Dusky-capped, Slaty-capped
Flycatchers; Rufous-breasted Wrens; Long-billed
Gnatwren; Golden-fronted Greenlet; Speckled and
Hepatic Tanagers; and Yellow-rumped Cacique.
Included: breakfast, lunch, dinner
Trinidad Motmot
Day 4, May 11th Asa Wright Nature Centre and Caroni National Park
Enjoy coffee, tea, and breakfast on the veranda, followed by this morning’s walk. We start on a short,
but steep, path to Dunston Cave, a riparian grotto at AWNC. The group will enjoy exclusive access to a
breeding colony of Oilbirds — strange nocturnal, fruit-eating birds that congregate here at one of the
world’s most accessible nesting caves. Bird Highlights on the Oilbird Excursion: Oilbird; Red-crowned
Ant-Tanager; Black-faced Antthrush; White-bellied Antbird; and Gray-throated Leaftosser.
After lunch, we depart for Caroni Swamp, birding along the way. At Caroni National Park there is a
visitor center and restrooms. We board a boat for a trip through the mangroves. Here we watch for
Ruschenberger’s Tree Boa and Silky Anteater. As the sun sets we watch for hundreds of Scarlet Ibis to fly
in to roost. Birding highlights may include: Long-winged Harrier; Yellow-hooded Blackbird; Bicolored
Conebill; Masked Cardinal; Straight-billed Woodcreeper; Green-throated Mango; Northern Waterthrush;
Anhinga; Striated Heron; White-checked Pintail; Large-billed Tern; Pied Water-Tyrant; Black-crested
Antshrike; Common Potoo; and Scarlet Ibis.
Included: breakfast, lunch, dinner
Day 5, May 12th Depart Asa Wright Nature Centre, Arrive Tobago and Blue Waters
This morning we say goodbye to the wonderful staff
of AWNC and embark on the journey to Tobago.
However, before our group goes to the airport we
will enjoy coffee, tea, and breakfast on the veranda.
We will bird on the way to the airport. Today you can
choose to buy lunch at the airport or carry a sack
lunch from the Centre (ask the night before). For
those who like to try local foods, we highly
recommend “doubles”, the local favorite — ask your
guide where to find them as you’re dropped off. We
will eat lunch at the airport when waiting for the
flight to Tobago. Generally, check-in is quick leaving
us time before the flight.
Once we land in Tobago, our birding guide greets us in an air-conditioned bus. Welcome to the distinctly
Caribbean and laid-back Tobago! The group will make a few stops for birding, so be prepared with close-
toed shoes, sunscreen, hat, and binoculars. We then travel through vibrantly-colored hillside villages to
the Blue Waters Inn, a delightful and small inn right on the beach. Blue Waters Inn is equipped for great
seaside experiences, including swimming, kayaking, casual snorkeling, and diving, and the restaurant’s
signature dishes include fresh-caught lobster and kingfish, crisp coconut shrimp salad and distinctly
Caribbean flying fish wraps. A pool and the sea await! Common Tobago Species en Route to Blue Waters
Inn: White-cheeked Pintail, Short-tailed Swifts, Trinidad Motmot, Yellow-crowned Night-Heron, and
Green Kingfisher. Common at Blue Waters Inn: Black-faced Grassquit, Rufous-vented Chachalaca,
Ruby-topaz Hummingbird
Trinidad Motmot, Redcrowned Woodpecker; Magnificent Frigatebirds; Brown Pelican; Ruddy Turnstone;
and White-fringed Antwren. Spectacled Caimans can be seen on the drive to Blue Waters Inn.
Included: breakfast and dinner
Day 6, May 13th Blue Waters Inn and Gilpin Trace
In the morning we drive high into the mountains arriving at
the historic Tobago Main Ridge Forest Preserve, the world’s
oldest legally protected forest. Scientific American wrote this
was the first act in the modern environmental movement.
Tobago’s mountain forests are home to 210 species of birds.
On a trail into the forested interior, we look for a number of
elusive species including: White-tailed Saberwing, a large
hummingbird once thought to be extinct. Saberwings were
rediscovered after hurricanes caused extensive forest
damage in the 1960s. We also will seek out the Blue-backed
Manakin, Yellow-legged Thrush and other Tobago
specialties, including Red-crowned Woodpecker and White-
fringed Antwren. We return to the Inn for lunch.
After lunch the afternoon is free. You are free to participate in various activities such as snorkeling,
diving, and kayaking in private Batteaux Bay. Or, lounge by the pool or go birding on your own.
Included: breakfast, lunch, dinner
Day 7, May 14th Blue Waters Inn and Little Tobago Island, Leave Tobago, arrive Mt. Plaisir
This morning we board a glass-bottom boat for a pleasant
jaunt to Little Tobago Island. The island, one of the
country’s most significant wildlife sanctuaries, offers
incredible views of plentiful and rare seabirds, both from
the boat and by walking a trail up to the cliffs and a
lookout point on the island. Leaving the island (if sea
conditions allow) the captain will take time to look for
colorful 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 and,
while still excellent for divers, snorkeling is not what it once was.
Mid-day we leave for Trinidad and the Grand Riviere. We will arrive at Mt. Plaisir Estate Hotel late. Once
arriving back in Trinidad, Mt. Plaisir is up to a three-hour drive to the other side of the island.
Blue Waters Inn – photo credit: Lynn Tennefoss
Red-billed Tropicbird - photo credit: Peg Abbott
Dinner is alfresco at the relaxing Mt. Plaisir Estate Hotel. Our rooms overlook the beach, where you can
leave your patio door open at night and drift off to sleep as waves crash on the beach below.
Included: breakfast, dinner
Day 8, May 15th Mt. Plaisir
In the morning we will search for the Trinidad
Piping Guan. This species was hunted to near
extinction. Locally known as Pawi, the bird has
responded to conservation efforts. We will search
the wild nutmeg trees, their preferred feeding
habitat.
Rest up or enjoy the beach in the afternoon in
anticipation of our evening outing to search for
nesting Leatherback Sea Turtles.
The beaches here are home to the world’s densest
congregation of nesting Leatherback Sea Turtles. On some nights, hundreds of
these gigantic turtles populate the beach. Most of the turtles nest between
April and July. During turtle season dozens of nesting Leatherbacks can be seen overnight. Access to the
nesting beaches is by permit only. In the evening they will guide us out to the beach to witness this
graceful and moving sight. No flash photography is allowed but with luck there will be some of these
giants on the beach during dawn or dusk.
Birding highlights include: Trinidad Piping Guan, Southern Lapwing, Lilac-tailed Parakeet, Gray-headed
and Plumbeous Kites, White Hawk, Bat Falcon, Linneated and Crimson-crested Woodpeckers, Grayish
Saltator, Silvered and White-bellied Antbirds, Black-tailed Tityra, Trinidad Euphonia, and mixed flocks of
colorful tanagers.
Included: breakfast, lunch, dinner
Day 9, May 16th Mt. Plaisir
The morning will include a bird walk and another
opportunity to look for the Trinidad Piping Guan.
Your afternoon is free to enjoy. After dinner we will go
out looking for turtles again on the beach.
Included: breakfast, lunch, dinner
Leatherback Sea Turtle
Trinidad Piping Guan - photo credit: Peg Abbott
Day 10, May 17th Depart for Home
Today our trip in Trinidad and Tobago comes to an end. We recommend scheduling your departure
flight in the afternoon since it takes up to three hours to reach the airport. It is advised to be at the
airport 2.5 hours before your international flight. Early transfers might be arranged at an additional
expense or participants can choose to stay in Port of Spain for the night and fly out the next morning
(not included in the cost of the trip).
Included: breakfast
Note: Best laid plans are always subject to change pending weather, wildlife sighting opportunities,
and/or any unforeseen circumstances. The itinerary might be changed to adjust for local conditions or to
take advantage of wildlife opportunities.
Tour Details
Included in the Tour: Nine nights of accommodations at
lodges and inns, local guides, all listed meals, drinking
water, ground transportation and inter-island flight, bird
list, turtle watching permit, and donation to the Central
Colorado Conservancy.
Not included in the Tour: International flight to and from
Trinidad; additional hotel or lodge nights before or after
the tour; the following meals: first night dinner if arriving
late in the day, lunch on day five, lunch on day seven,
lunch or dinner on day ten; tips; laundry; alcoholic beverages; and items of a
personal nature. Most international flights from Denver, Colorado arrive at Piarco
International Airport, Trinidad around 9:00 pm in the evening. Some people might
choose to arrive a day early and book an additional night at Asa Wright Nature Centre. Contact Andrew
Mackie ([email protected]) if you are considering this option.
Payments and Deposits: Total cost of the trip is $2,700 per person, double occupancy. This includes a
$500 tax-deductible gift to the Central Colorado Conservancy. The single supplement is $500. A deposit
of $500 per person is required to reserve your spot. The deposit is due
by January 10, 2018 and the remainder of the payment is due by
March 1, 2018. A refund, less $200 administration fee, can be issued up
until March 8, 2018. After this time, refunds will only be issued if the
space can be filled by another participant. Travel insurance is highly
recommended. Anyone interested in paying the full amount in 2017,
will get a donation letter for $500 in this tax year. Please make your
check payable to the Central Colorado Conservancy, PO Box 942,
Salida, CO 81201. Each participant will be required to fill out a
registration form, medical form, and liability release form once the
deposit has been received. The trip is expected to sell out,
Small Flambeau Butterfly
Thick-billed Euphonia - photo credit: Dave Ramdass
only a deposit will confirm your spot. Reservations are on a first come basis.
Make checks payable to the Central Colorado Conservancy, PO Box 942, Salida, CO 81201. Credit cards
can be used but an additional 2.5% fee is charged. Call the Conservancy office at 719-539-7700 for more
details.
Health and Safety: The trip requires good physical fitness and mobility, or the ability to walk short
distances over uneven terrain. The trip is suitable for people of all ages, though this trip is not available
to children under the age of 15. If you have health questions, please consult your doctor before
registering. The tour leaders must be advised in advance of any special health needs. Weather
conditions can change without notice and it is the responsibility of the traveler to have proper clothing
and equipment. A list will be provided for the clothing and gear recommended for this trip. Trinidad and
Tobago are tropical islands. Please check with the Centers for Disease Control webpage
(https://www.cdc.gov/) for recommended immunizations or disease prevention. Local public health
departments can provide needed immunizations.
Travel Insurance: Insurance is highly recommended. You can review plans at
https://www.travelinsurance.com/. Also, AAA members can purchase insurance through their program.
Get a free quote at: https://www.allianztravelinsurance.com/get-quote
Bananaquits- photo credit: Noel Snyder
For more information on the Central Colorado Conservancy visit www.centralcoloradoconservancy.org
or call 719-539-7700. For more information on Caligo Ventures visit at www.caligo.com.
Golden Tegu Lizard- photo credit: Noel Snyder
Tropical Screech Owl - photo credit: Peg Abbott
Tufted Coquette
Prehensile tailed Porcupine- photo credit: Ray Mendez