Bird of the Day
Trinidad Piping Guan
Flora/Fauna of the Day
This is our last day of birding in Trinidad. It turns out to be a truly special day: guans + tangerines + turtles + cheese + lighthouse...
We have some coffee and bread in the dark very early in the morning - Piero prepared this for us as we wouldn't return for breakfast for several hours.
Even though it is still dim when we reach the Piping Guan birding spot, a Piping Guan silhouette greets us. Some others join him as we watch them feed at the top of the wild nutmeg trees. As the sky slowly brightened, we could see that there were four birds feeding near the top.
Here is a piping guan in action:
video link
We saw a Channel-billed Toucan and some Orange winged Parrots in the same tree as the guans, and closer we saw a Black-tailed Tityra.
After our "piping guan fix" Nicholas and Chris #2 drive us down a steeply wooded slope into some riverine forest for more birding.
Exciting finds were a Piratic Flycatcher, two Giant Cowbirds, a Blue Dacnis with some tangers, a Gray-headed Kite and a pair of Lineated Woodpeckers.
A local farmer offered us some delicious fresh tangerines. We shared some granola bars while we waited out a rainfall in the vans.
We birded a bit more after the rain...
Then our guides took us to see the baby leatherback and green turtles they had been telling us about (they are right behind Mt Plaisir). They are raising these to increase the turtle survival rate when they hatch. They are very vulnerable to Frigatebirds who love to eat baby turtles.
Back to Mt Plaisir for a hearty late breakfast.
Chris#1 took a few moments to complete our morning bird list.
And Estelle made a last visit to a craft shop.
After our second breakfast, we wandered up and down the beach, enjoying our last hour at Mt Plaisir, and the birds of Grand Riviere. A nice surprise was the flock of Turquoise Tanagers right at the back of Chris's room.
When Piero asked Barbara how she had enjoyed her breakfast, she mentioned that she was disappointed the cheese platter was not available.
So, on the way back to Port of Spain, he took us to visit his farm where he produces delicious cheese. We all had samples...
Then we were on the road for Port of Spain. We made a wonderful stop at Galera Point (Toco) Lighthouse where the Caribbean and Atlantic waters meet.
Piero - who had been a professional photo journalist - took a group photo for us.
Now Piero would drive Aaugun to the airport as she had planned a further little holiday in Tobago. Chris#2 would take Chris#1, Bill, Barbara and Estelle to Piarco Village Suites near the airport (it was a bit hard to find) so we could easily get our early morning flights home the next morning. Bill had bagged 81 lifers! Our trip list was 186 birds. Home would be a different world.
