The Bellbird NewsletterJULY 2010
T H E A S A W R I G H T N A T U R E C E N T R E
www.asawright.org Tel: (868) 667-5162 Email: [email protected]
THE TROPICAL SCREECH OWL (Otus choliba)
The Tropical Screech Owl or Otus choliba (also known as Spix’s Screech Owl) is one of the six species across T&T that gets much less attention than it merits. It belongs to the genus Otus, which exists in both the Tropical and Temperate regions of the world excluding the Australian region. It ranks as the second smallest owl in T&T, measuring 7.8 -9.5 inches in length and is strictly nocturnal. In addition to Trinidad & Tobago, it ranges from Costa Rica to North Argentina, Paraguay, Southern Brazil and parts of Venezuela.
This owl can be identified by its short ear tufts, greyish-brown head and dark streaks on the crown and upper part of the body. Its facial disc is brown and outlined in white. The under part of this owl is pale grey with fine dark
cross-streaks. However, perhaps the easiest way of identifying this owl is by its call. One can hear screech-like hoots in quick succession leading up to a loud single or double note.
Tropical Screech Owls normally forage alone for a variety of small and large invertebrates, including grasshoppers, beetles, spiders, moths and leaf-cutting ants. Sometimes there may even be a small bird on the menu! Foraging often takes place on roadsides, resulting in roadside casualties. They, like many other owls, play an important role in controlling the population of many types of invertebrates.
Although these owls are mainly found in forests and the forest edge, they can also be found living in coffee plantations
and orchards as evidenced by their calls. They commonly nest in tree cavities or woodpecker holes during the February to May period. At this time, a bird would lay between one and four eggs. After being incubated by the female, they hatch and 30 days later are ready for flight.
Recently, staff at the Asa Wright Nature Centre had the fortune of hosting an injured Tropical Screech Owl for a few days. The poor fellow was too weak to even fly, but after three days of close monitoring and care, he was as animated as one can imagine. Lovingly named “Frank,” he was released on the Spring Hill Estate, after his exclusive photo shoot of course. How many species of owls have you seen in your neighbourhood?
Show us your photography skills by sending any such interesting photos to [email protected]. Your photo may be selected for a future issue!
In this issue we bid farewell to one of our Asa Wright staff stalwarts – Jason Radix.
Jason left us in July to take up the position of Operations Manager at the Blue Waters Inn, Speyside, Tobago, and we congratulate him on this move, but look forward to cooperating with him on an ongoing basis.
Many of the overseas visitors to Spring Hill also include a visit to Blue Waters as part of their visit to Trinidad and Tobago, so we will continue to be in touch with Jason.
Jason first came to Asa Wright during the August school vacation of 1992. He says that his aunt, who was working as a kitchen supervisor, brought him here, and he immediately fell in love with the place. Spending time on the verandah he learned the names of the birds and the flowers and plants upon which they fed, and then began to help identifying these to guests. This “help” got him recruited by the manager, and
Blue Waters for Jason
soon Jason was helping two other tour guides with tours of Spring Hill.
He finished school and returned to work at Asa Wright as a tour guide and also enrolled at the Trinidad and Tobago Hospitality and Tourism Institute where he acquired an associate degree in Tourism Management. He then entered the University of the West Indies to get his full degree in Tourism Hospitality and Management, and then continued postgraduate studies in this field.
While at university he continued to work at Asa Wright, progressing through
the ranks of Tour Guide, Front Desk Supervisor, Marketing Assistant to eventually become Marketing Manager. One of his responsibilities was the preparation and production of the BellBird Newsletter, and it is here that he will be especially missed!
We all wish Jason the very best in his new position, and look forward to sharing guests with him in the future.
And, for those who may not know, the aunt who first brought him to Spring Hill is Ann Sealey, now Lodge Manager of the Centre!
An Asa Wright Farewell
JASON RADIX, former Marketing Manager of the Asa Wright Nature Centre,
photographed at the Centre by Conservation Officer Atkin Isaac.
BellBird Newsletter JULY 2010 Page 2
Celebrating ‘e’!
Birding along any of Asa Wight’s forest trails is sure to produce countless flights of avian fancy as some of the Centre’s feathered citizenry show off their brilliant colours to mates, rivals and bird watchers alike, while others display intricate foraging behaviour and delightful courtship performances. But not every animal that flies over the head of an overwhelmed birder on an Asa Wright trail is necessarily a bird. Indeed, many birders have been beguiled away from focusing their binoculars on a target bird by the distracting swoop of another master flier patrolling the forest path just a few feet overhead.
Sac-winged or White-lined Bats, Saccopteryx sp., are found in most forest habitats, and although these bats are commonly seen flying and hunting mosquitoes and other small insects during the day in Trinidad, this behaviour is actually very unusual elsewhere in their range. There are two species of White-lined Bats recorded on the island, among Trinidad’s almost 70 recorded bat species.
The Founders Circle of the Texas-based organisation, Bat Conservation International (BCI), visited Trinidad and the Asa Wright Nature Centre twice this year during the months of January and May. The
Asa Wright Bird Tour 2010
Design and Layout courtesy Lonsdale Saatchi & Saatchi Advertising Ltd, a friend of the Asa Wright Nature Centre
Bat Conservation International Guides: Trinidad wildlife naturalist Geoffrey Gomes (left) watches as BCI Founder Merlin Tuttle (seated) displays a bat for guests. Mammalogist Fiona Reid is standing behind Tuttle.
A nectar feeder and flower pollinator:This individual is being fed sugar water to display the long tongue it uses to probe flowers for nectar. Many species of forest plants and trees depend on bats for cross-pollination. At right, Sac-winged Bat. This insect eater is commonly seen flying over forest paths during the day. It will consume many pounds of mosquitoes during its lifetime. Photos: Geoffrey Gomes
With this issue of the Bellbird Newsletter we are celebrating 12 months of the Bellbird on the Internet. The decision to share our information on the World Wide Web rather than mailing out lots of printed paper was a natural step for a conservation-oriented organisation. And our first e-edition was sent out in August 2009.
The decision was also contingent upon the upgrade done by our Internet provider, TSTT! Thanks to their support, our sometimes problematic service was sorted out early last year and we have enjoyed reliable service since then, so this e-edition depends upon TSTT as well! We also appreciate the inputs we
receive from the good people at Lonsdale Saatchi & Saatchi who pull all the graphics together for us before we send it off to you.
And did you ever wonder: Why the Bellbird? Well, as you can read in the September 2009 issue posted on the Asa Wright website (www.asawright.org), the Bellbird has the loudest call in the forest, so we chose that name to send out our message!
This e-newsletter is distributed via direct email, and posted on our website as well as our personal Facebook account and fan page.
We may be physically remote, but we are just a click away from you! So log in!
LEAVING HIS JOB and homeland inDecember 2009, Courtney Van Beekset out as an explorer in search of his El Dorado – the Asa Wright NatureCentre, Trinidad. Still in his early 20s,Courtney recently completedundergraduate training ingraphic design at MasseyUniversity, New Zealand,and is an enthusiasticamateur wildlifephotographer.
He arrived in Trinidadtwo months after leaving NewZealand (with brief stops in Panama,Argentina, Peru and Chile) to actualisehis commitment to volunteer at the AsaWright Nature Centre. Almost immediately on arrivalCourtney went to work, though he wasclearly distracted by the dozens of birdsperforming off the Asa Wright verandah,and also visible from the large windowsof the Ian Lambie Education Unit. Hecouldn’t contain his glee when he wasasked to photograph some of thewildlife he would later use to prepare aButterfly Identification poster and othereducational material.
Trinidad and Tobago’s Lonsdale Saatchi &Saatchi Advertising Ltd has won six Gold and22 Silver Addy awards, including the Best ofShow award, at the Caribbean AdvertisingFederation’s annual Awards for Excellence.
We are extremely proud of our partnersat Lonsdale for their achievement, especiallysince five of the awards were given for workdone through the Lonsdale partnership withthe Asa Wright Nature Centre.Two of the Silver Addys were awardedfor illustrations in the “Step Away... (and visitNature at Asa Wright)” concept, and anotherSilver was won for the “Asa Wright Birds”poster. The Promise of the Pawi children’sbook, which highlights the plight of Trinidad’s
only endemic bird, won two Silver Addys – forIllustration and Publication Design.Production of The Promise of the Pawiby Guardian Wildlife Trust and the PawiFoundation (with a UNDP grant) began withLonsdale’s partnership with Asa Wright, oneof the few habitats left for the endangeredPawi. Dr Carol James chairs both the AsaWright Nature Centre and Guardian WildlifeTrust boards. The book will be launched onApril 14 at the Normandie.Asa Wright enjoys a special workingpartnership with Lonsdale, who through theirworldwide Saatchi & Saatchi network’s BLUEproject have helped us with public relationsinitiatives over the past year, including theproduction of this monthly Bellbird newsletter.
Courtney assisted in redesigningAsa’s bar menus, produced bookmarksand posters, and expressed keen interestin Asa Wright’s Butterfly Garden initiative.His next stop is a jungle mission inthe Corcovado Reserve of Costa Rica,then to Nicaragua, his final stop beforereturning to New Zealand where he plansto hone his skills in graphic design. Hislifelong aspiration is to work as a graphicartist for National Geographic magazine.Asa Wright extends heartfeltgratitude to Courtney Van Beek for hispriceless contribution and wishes him thebest in his endeavours. The naturecentre welcomes persons with similarcommitment to the environment topartner with us by becoming a volunteer,intern or financial contributor.
From New Zealand toAsa Wright in Trinidad
The Bellbird Newsletter
Courtney Van Beek and Asa Wright guideAtkin Isaac at the Nature Centre.
Cover of the children’s book produced byLonsdale Saatchi & Saatchi for Guardian LifeWildlife Trust and Pawi Foundation, throughLonsdale’s partnership with Asa Wright.
Written by Janice HernandezIllustrated by Leizelle Guinness
THE ASA WRIGHT NATURE CENTRE • March 2010
Asa, Guardian Wildlife Trust share in 5 Addy® Awards
The Bellbird Newsle
tterSeptember 2009
T h e A S A W r i g h T N A T u r e C e N T r e
www.asawright.org
Tel: (868) 667-5162 Email: [email protected]
By far one of the loudest and most
peculiar forest bird species one is
likely to see, the Bearded Bellbird
– also called the Mossy Throated
Bellbird or Campanaro because of its
beard-like wattles and metallic sound
– can easily be heard and recognised
during forest excursions.
These pigeon-sized Bellbirds are of
a small group of four species which
form part of the Cotinga family and
are distributed throughout most of the
American tropics. All Cotingas are
adorned with strange appendages,
colours and/or have odd behaviours.
Unlike other Cotingas, Bellbird males
are raucous birds (heard over great
distances), performing explosively
loud croaks or bell-like sounds used
mainly to advertise their territories.
These forest birds can be heard
and observed displaying within the
sub-canopy regions of the forest
(30-80 feet up). While the Bearded
Bellbird is the only resident species in
Trinidad, it is often heard rather than
seen. Among the best places to see
this special bird is along the nature
trails of Asa Wright Nature Centre.
Staff of the unit Trust Corporation (uTC), in a
continuing effort to exercise their Corporate
Social responsibility, performed volunteer
trail-clearing work on the Asa Wright Spring hill
estate during the weekends from May 31 to
July 25, 2009.
An estimated 250 uTC staff members (just
under half of the company’s entire staff)
participated in this year’s programme. All
branch offices (except from Tobago) were
represented, with most participants having
visited before on private trips, some having
made their first visit during the company’s first
volunteer programme in 2008.
During the clean-up sessions, groups averaging
30 persons were lead into the forest and
overseen by Mr. Winston rojas, who they all
claimed was very informative, professional
and helpful. his assistance was essential to
the programme’s overall success. Clearance
of the Centre’s ten-mile network of trails was
The Bearded Bellbird
(Procnias averano)
Listen for the Bellbird
CENTRE CLOSED FOR RENOVATIONS
The Asa Wright Nature Centre & Lodge will be closed to the visiting public for renovations from Thursday 3rd – Wednesday 16th September 2009.
UTC clears
trails at
Asa Wright
done with some volunteers commenting that it
was their first time in the rainforest.
uTC’s Marketing Assistant Ms. Denise
Artherton, who coordinated the programme,
was in high praise of the work conducted at
the Centre and communicated that it was a
rewarding experience for everyone involved.
This exercise, she said, is just one of a series of
uTC’s Corporate Social programmes pursued
around the country,
Management and Staff of the Asa Wright
Nature Centre are exceedingly grateful to the
unit Trust Corporation and thank them for the
tremendous volunteer work done over the
programme’s last two cycles, and look forward
to hosting them again in the future.
www.asawright.org THE ASA WRIGHT NATURE CENTRE April 2010
Copper-rumped
Hummingbird
(Amazilia tobaci erythronotus)
Whether green, blue, turquoise or
aquamarine… whether tufted, hooded or
crested, hummingbirds are star attractions
wherever they appear. This highly popular
bird family, concentrated within the American
tropics and Caribbean, comes in a variety of
sizes and colour combinations. Of the species,
the Copper-rumped Hummingbird is the most
common and well-distributed on both our
islands. At home in forests, savannahs and
swamps, it also frequents flowering yards in
residential areas.
First-time visiting birdwatchers to Asa
Wright Nature Centre are more likely to see
the Copper-rumped Hummingbird before
any other species, as they forage between
flowering plants and nectar feeders.
While not as brilliantly hued as many of
its more flamboyant cousins, this species
is particularly known for its belligerence
towards rival birds (not always other
hummingbirds) invading its territory. This
behaviour may be typical of many (if not all)
hummingbird species, but the Copper-rumped
is the best example of the family’s aggressive
territorialism.
The Copper-rumped Hummingbird can be
further recognised by its straight bill, green
crown, bright green face and underparts,
white rear flanks, rufus wings and undertail
coverts, green nape and back, coppery bronze
lower mantle and rump, and greyish blue tail.
Adult male and female birds look alike and
can be seen from the main house verandah
and throughout the Asa Wright property.
Come see for yourself!
Asa Wright Back in Class
For the past three years, students and
children have been the only stable and
increasing segment of excursionists and
day-trippers to the Asa Wright Nature Centre.
So it is timely that the Education Outreach
Programme is now being reintroduced,
conducted by Denise Etienne, who at Asa
Wright is a contributor to the overall growth
in student and young visitors under age 12.
Denise, employed with the Asa Wright
Nature Centre for over 10 years, has worked
in the Tour Guide department and once
held the position of Senior Guide. During
her career at the Centre her knowledge
and passion for nature has flourished with
a particular interest in naturalist teaching.
She formalised this interest in 2008 during
a nine-month teacher naturalist workshop at
the Stony Brook-Millstone Watershed in New
Jersey. Upon her return, discussions between
her and members of the Board lead to the
creation of the “Valley Schools Outreach
Programme” (VSOP) and she was appointed
to the Education department.
According to Denise, this programme is
broadly developed to connect the “great
outdoors” to various classroom subjects at the
Primary level. Some objectives include exciting
and educating students with nature which
exists in their own schoolyards, enhancing
basic English skills (grammar, spelling and
creative/poetry writing), as well as creative
art skills and imagination, by various activities
using examples from nature.
An estimated 700 students from 14 schools
have been visited in the past two years, all
located within and surrounding the Arima
Valley. Classes selected to participate are
standards two and three, with children aged
seven to 10 years old. Students and teachers
are briefed on the programme’s objectives
and what is expected of them. Most of the
exercises are conducted at the school through
weekly visits by Denise, but also include a
field trip to the Asa Wright Centre.
A new term began in April and it is
Denise’s hope that the programme will some
day be expanded to schools outside of the
Arima area incorporating national spread,
acceptance and participation. Persons willing
to contribute and/or participate in this
programme are asked to contact the Centre
at [email protected] or 667-4655.
Outreach Programme Returns to Schools
Binoculars for the bats
BCI tours were led by BCI President and Founder Dr Merlin Tuttle, mammal field guide author Fiona Reid, and Trinidad-born wildlife naturalist Geoffrey Gomes.
Both islandwide tours were highly successful with a total of 27 bat species caught and/or observed during the January trip, and 32 species during the May trip to Trinidad. At Asa Wright itself, nets were positioned in various locations but the most productive were those placed along the Discovery Trail, where, in just two hours, 14 species of bats were caught in mist nets. To provide a bit of perspective, when the BCI Founders Circle visited Uganda in 2009, they caught a grand total of 15 species of bats in their entire two-week visit!
Bat species caught on the property were carefully bagged and taken back to the Asa Wright verandah where the three guides conducted an after-dinner “show and tell” for the 11 tour participants. After the display, each bat was safely released to continue its nocturnal foraging activities.
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