Promoting Trinidad and Tobago's Flora and Fauna

The month of September brought to an end an extraordinary event for the local bird-watching community occasioned by three pairs of Crested Doradito (Pseudocolopteryx sclateri) that attempted to nest in the South Oropouche Lagoon. The six birds were first detected in late July while still in the process of gathering nesting materials. However by the [...]

I had been planning to visit Icacos for a while now. The dry scrub, swamps and marshes on the peninsular would be filled with interesting birds. Or at least I imagined that they would be. Austral migrants from the mainland do travel as far north as Trinidad when avoiding the southern winter and Icacos would [...]

Several rare birds were recorded in the month of August in south Trinidad. The South Oropouche Lagoon yielded several Paint-billed Crakes, two Dark-billed Cuckoos and an Aplomado Falcon. A visit to the Rousillac Swamp produced a Lesser Elaenia. Elsewhere in south Trinidad, Lined Seedeaters were observed. The Paint-billed Crakes (Neocrex erythrops) were first seen in late July (the [...]

The last time I visited Bush-Bush was in August 2009 in order to see the visiting Jabiru Storks (Jabiru mycteria). On that occasion we went only as far as was necessary to see them – a short boat ride to the expansive marshland that surrounds Bush-Bush wildlife sanctuary. But off in the distance I could [...]

The White-tailed Trogon (formerly Trogon viridis) has been split into two species by the South American Classification Committee (SACC) on the basis of genetic and vocal differences. Birds west of the Andes (including western Peru, western Ecuador, western and northern Colombia and Panama) are now classified as Trogon chionurus (but will retain the name White-tailed [...]

The Blue-crowned Motmot (formerly Momotus momota) has been split into five species by the South American Classification Committee (SACC) on the basis of plumage variation. The Trinidad and Tobago form has been renamed the Trinidad Motmot (Momotus bahamensis). It is found only on Trinidad and Tobago and therefore becomes the islands’ second endemic bird species [...]

The familiar Bare-eyed Thrush (Turdus nudigenis) has been renamed the Spectacled Thrush by the South American Classification Committee (SACC). This was done to prevent confusion with an African thrush species (Turdus tephronotus) which also goes by the name Bare-eyed Thrush.

An adult Rufescent Tiger-Heron (Tigrisoma lineatum) was observed near the Los Blanquizales Swamp on 20th June 2010. The bird was seen sitting in a grass choked waterway near the main road. An immature bird was seen here on 9th January 2010.

A pair of Rufous Crab-Hawks (Buteogallus aequinoctialis) were observed mating in the mangrove swamps near Los Gallos village in Icacos on 30th May 2010. In the past, a single bird has been seen at this location, but this is the first time that two birds have been observed. Copulation took place atop an electricity tower [...]

The rains have finally come and after such a particularly severe dry season the country as a whole can breathe a sigh of relief. Our reservoirs are slowly refilling, our hills are clad in greenery again and smoke no longer obscures the horizon. On the other hand extensive flooding has already taken place in several [...]