Feb 4 - the journey home

Gladwin was ready and waiting for us at 6 am and we loaded up and drove along the coast to the other end of the island where the airport is located.  It was still dark and we saw the sun rise over the hills.  The road is challenging and there are many switch backs.  But there was no traffic and we made it in an hour.

We said farewell to Gladwin and Tobago.   We went through security and ate our boxed breakfast from the Inn.  Barbr did not have any problems going through security this time..  Our first flight left on time and this was  a baby flight of 1/2 hour to Trinidad.

Once is Trinidad we had a bite to eat.  I think Barbr had to give up her water bottle when she went through Security since no liquids are allowed.  The flight to Fort Lauderdale took 3 hours and 20 minutes and we were fine for time for our next flight.

We had to go through US security and check our bags to Canada.  This time I had the problem.   I encountered  a precise check-in airline person and I had to weigh my carry-on which was about 7 pounds over the 22 pound limit for carry-ons.  I took out my computer and a book and then something else which I then carried.  My purse which weighed under 5 pounds, was not weighed so I know what I will do next time.   Once we were through checking in, these items went back into my bag.  At least we did not have the same problem as Colleen and I in New Zealand had  when we were both over our limits and tried another door only to find the same airline person waiting for us.  We then just put our stuff into another bag and the "carry-on" was at the right weight.  No one asked us about the other bag which was our third  bag....  Both the carry-on and your personal bag can weigh up to 22 pounds each, no one weighed my personal bag/purse and it weighed just a few pounds with only my ipad, phone and purse stuff, so go figure.  Collectively the two bags were way under the limit then.  But the focus was on the carry-on rolling bag.

The flight home was 3 hours and it was great to land in what I call end-of-the-line sleep Ottawa
is hard to believe we went from a warm humid morning to a cold dark city in the land of snow and ice.  Barbr and I were joking maybe we could just stay in Fort Lauderdale for a bit.  But this was impossible, we were expected home by family, friends and each of our dogs..  Teddy went nuts when he saw me, dogs never forget!! I am sure Bear went crazy too.

We learned afterward that Peggy and Brenda did not make their connection and had to spend the night and got home on the early flight the next day. So they were probably tired from the delay.

It is great to be home!!

A couple of days later I walked to the Rideau Centre.  I walked through Confederation Park and viewed the ice sculptures and took this photo.  Really in February, home really is the land of snow and ice!

Feb 3 - By Boat to Little Tobago Island

Feb 3 2017 – By boat to Little Tobago Island

This was our boat today.

Today we had an easy morning; a boat trip and we did not start until 9 am.  We went on the Super Star 2 boat (which is an old boat) that is glass-bottomed with our guide, Mr. Z to Little Tobago Island.  The ocean was calmer than the previous two days, although it still was pretty rolling.  According to Mr. Z and the other boatmen, for them, this was a “calm” ocean.  This is the Atlantic and once out of the bay, there is the open ocean.  There are reefs between the islands and there are lots of waves.  It was a rough ride.  I decided to go after talking to Mr. Z last night who said who the boat trip in good weather takes 20 minutes. 

The views from the boat on a sunny day are unbelievable.

It was tricky getting off the boat at the dock on Little Tobago Island.  

 The island is one mile long and it has a good hill on it.  We walked up the trail, first to a future museum site and then up to the top lookout.  We heard lots of birds and saw some very nice birds; Red-legged Tropicbird, Red-footed Booby and the Brown-crested Flycatcher.  The Tropicbird on its nest just two feet away from the lookout deck.  The Red-footed Booby with its big fluffy chick was viewed through a scope.  

Here is the Tropicbird on its nest.

Here is another Tropicbird flying.

We looked for the Chivi Vireo which we were told that this was going to be a subspecies split from the Red-eyed Vireo, but had no luck.  We had great views of the Shiny Cowbirds and the Tobago Motmot.  

Barbr is always curious about the plants and she took some photos of the greenery on Little Tobago

 We also managed to squeeze ourselves into a selfie at the lookout.  It is a bit crowded but everyone is in.

We then walked from the lookout down to the pier for the return journey.  It was 12:30 pm and the sea was calmer.  On the return, the captain slowed the boat at the coral reef and everyone looked through the glass bottomed boat for the activity below.  We saw different fish, both big and small, plants and the different corals.  There is another world under the water and it was beautiful.

 Some of our group went snorkeling in the afternoon.

Once we arrived back at the inn, I went birding up Starwood Lane which is on the Inn’s property.  It was very birdy there and I had great looks at the Motmot, a Pigeon, Blue-black Grassquit and Black-faced Grassquit.   I hoped  to go back sometime (either today or tomorrow) but we have to leave at 6 am for our flight and it is dark now.   The security guard told me that there was a back garden with fruit trees for the birds and that was also a good place for birds.  I have simply run out of exotic birding time!

We girls went for a swim in the salt pool this afternoon instead of our normal after supper  9 pm swim.  A hot tub visit followed the swim and we were all happy and rested.  

Supper was very good again this evening and we said good-bye to several people in our group who we knew we would not see early tomorrow.

Each of us is thrilled with the trip and the birds and the whole tour.

The Trinidad and Tobago trip went quickly and it was busy.  I hope to do the trip list tomorrow at the airports and come up with the number of birds and for me, an approximate number of lifers for me.

We are busy packing up   Brenda and Peggy leave for the airport at 7:30 am as their flight is at 10:30am.

our stuff right now and Barbr and I leave for the airport tomorrow at 6 am as the airport is two hours away and our first of three flights is at 9:15 am.

Barbs, Brenda and Peggy

Feb 2 - Gilpin Trail up on the mountain at Tobago

Our day started in the dark as we had an early start time.  Barbr managed to get several sunrise photos as we drove along the coast.

Our able guide was Gladwin, and he kept us watching for birds and entertained us at the same time. Gladwin started out the day with guessing the bird of Canada (Gray Jay).  He knew that the Canadian nature experts had already made the decision and  selected the Gray Jay.   Parliament just has to vote on it.  Then he asked what states the others on trip were from and tried to guess the state bird for that birder.  Glawin sometimes had a hint and he guessed correctly.  He gave a short summary about a trail up the mountain which is named after his father who was a bird guide in Tobago for about 40 years and the trail is called the James Path.  Gladwin also gave us a very good summary of the best birds in Trinidad by group such as the doves, tanagers, woodcreepers and woodpeckers to name a few categories.  This is was all interesting to have him tell us.  Gladwin told us how lucky we and he were to be in Tobago to enjoy nature. 

We went up to Gilpin Path on the mountain about an hour away from here.  The road is excellent and we stopped several times to view excellent birds such as the Ruby Topaz Hummingbird, the Red-rumped Woodpecker and the White-necked Jacobin.  We had good views of the Blue-backed Manekin and the Rufous-tailed Jacamar.

Once on the trail it is a fascinating true jungle.  Most of us had walking sticks and there was a man in a pick-up truck by the trail who rented out rubber boots.  I took a pair and so did Barbr.  The trail was very muddy and slippery with the overnight rain, so it was a good idea to not have to worry about muddy footwear.

One had to look and plan each step of the trail so it was only when we stopped that we looked for birds.  We found the Trinidad Motmot/Blue-crowned Motmot which is a stunning bird and the White-tailed Sabrewinged Hummingbird.  Our guide also pointed out one sitting on a tiny coconut shaped nest.  The jungle and the birds were fascinating.

This is the Trinidad Motmot, just a spectacular bird.

We had our boxed lunch at the lookout on top of the mountain and we were really hungry from the two hour walk on the trail.  Off came the muddy rubber boots and Gladwin drove down the mountain.  We got caught up in the traffic all the way back to the Blue Waters Inn.

During the night it rained and the surf was thundering.  It is only now settling down but it is still very windy.  Maybe it is windy here all of the time.  But so beautiful.  I am writing this sitting on the patio outside and I hope that the battery will hold out to complete this post for the day even though it is only after 3 pm. 

I needed a cup of tea and thought I would get these posts done and add photos later.  Barbr was to meet me down here but she must have fell asleep as she has not shown up yet.  Both Barbr and Peggy are entitled to rest, they kept up with everyone on the trail.  The walking was fine as the ups and downs were gentle but it was a long walk.

After this I will sit a bit and I hope to visit a trail on the property here and see what birds could be found.  There are Bannaquits here at the inn that come right up to the table or the bar and look at you.  Also there are 6 Ruddy Turnstones that are also around on the grounds and follow people within 5 feet.  They are not yet in breeding plumage but getting there.

The waves on the beach here are strong and the surf is loud even though one can swim in the bay before the jetty end.  The girls and I plan to go for a swim after supper and then a soak in the hot tub under the stars.  I am not sure I will be going on the boat trip tomorrow morning at 9 am.  The sea looks too rough for me and the boat is too dinky.  This combination does not work well for me at all, I am not good on water and there are maybe 5 to 7 foot swells right now.  It is still rough out there.  I will decide tomorrow morning.....

Now on to make the most of the daylight hours. Two more sleeps and we have to head home to the land of snow and ice.   I checked and there is no selfie today, gosh we forgot.

Barbs, Brenda & Peggy

Feb 1 2017 – Travel Day – from Trinidad to Tobago

Today was another hot and sunny day in Trinidad and we had to pack up and bid Asa Wright and its guides and staff and wonderful birds Good Bye!!  We were sad to leave here.  It is so comfortable there.   

We had time for a group picture.  We thought everyone was there and we found out that there was one missing.  When the missing person showed up we took a photo of her alone against the green   Barbr worked her magic and inserted the missing person into our group photo and it looked great.

ASA Wright knows how to get its guests to the airport.  Each of us verified that our luggage was packed into the luggage van which would follow our minibus.  Once at the airport we would have our luggage to check it in.   This system eliminated the worry that "maybe my bag did not get picked up from outside the room" and once we arrived at the airport it would be too late to go back and get it.  

 Leaving mid-morning we drove along the road that hugs the side of the mountain.  We traveled this road many times but when we came to the three tight areas there was the usual quiet in the van.  We had only inches to spare and we never knew what part of the road was being worked on.  This work is ongoing and we could only see little bits of progress.  But for an mountain side road, it was still open for traffic.  And this road was busy.  We sort of got used to it by the last day.  The construction crew slept and cooked about 10 feet from the tightest spot.  The security guard also stayed with them.  They even had a bird cage hanging from the work tent with a bird in it.  Nothing like the comforts of home even when one is working on a side of a mountain miles from any town.

Once we arrived in Port of Spain, there was heavy traffic all the way to the airport.  It was slow and all our luggage for the group of 12 on this tour followed in another packed minibus.  It was so slow, and it took over one and half hours.  We then had our packed lunch from the AW kitchen in the airport waiting area.  We waited to get on the plane and had to walk across the tarmack a distance.  No air conditioned corridors to get into the plane.  So we had little steps to climb up to the back door of the plane.  It was a turboprop plane.  The flight to Tobago was half an hour long.  This was the shortest flight I have ever been on, a real baby flight.

Then we were met by a driver of a bus with no air conditioning to drive to the other end of the island where Blue Waters Inn is located.   We opened all the windows and it was fine.  Here is a sign that we came across in our drive.

When I heard that the ride was supposed to take 1.5 hours across the island I claimed the front seat beside the driver, the seat was not taken.  My Gravol was packed in the bottom of my suitcase and I could not get to it.  The driver was very nice and we had a long curving switchbacks by the ocean and the drive took almost two hours.  It was a beautiful drive but we were not expecting to be so long in the car.  We did stop at one pond and just birded by ourselves for 20 minutes.  

Blue Waters Inn is right on the beach. The surf and waves are about 20 feet from our door. 

This is the view from our room

There are bird feeders here along the shore and birds also.  We are on the Atlantic Ocean and when we arrived the surf was pretty strong.  It changed with the tide and became a really wild surf with big crashing waves which were thunderous. 

 Brenda and I took the opportunity to walk in the surf and the short beach.  This was not Daytona Shores or Smyrna Beach but pretty spectacular all the same.

 There were several Ruddy Turnstones which were very tame with people and they were always on the shore, or just resting on the pier.  They would come up to you, maybe hoping for a handout.  There was also a Chachalaca that came to the balconies to see what was going on.  Blue Waters Inn was a very relaxing place.  

 We explored a bit of the Blue Waters Inn today, since there were no birding activities and evening came quite quickly.



We had a welcome rum punch here and then supper at 6:30 pm.  This Bananaquit joined us for the rum punch welcome.  Whoever it was beat him to the rum punch.

Service was fine but a bit too slow for us, and we finally left our table after our delicious main course just before 9 pm.  We four girls went for a swim in the infinity pool and then a soak in the hot tub right by the ocean.  The stars were out and the pools were salt pools so that makes skin so soft. 

By the time we were out of the tub, it had clouded over.  We grabbed our desserts that we had ordered and I got a mug of hot water  for a night time beverage.   By time we walked to our room the heavens opened up and we had a rain shower.   I had a quick shower and was ready to enjoy my dessert now at bed time.  For the first time in a week, we have a TV and CNN!!!   The tide coming in is overpowering and very loud.  It is the best sedative in the world!!!

Tomorrow we will meet up with our guide at 7 am and we will bird all day.  The Inn will provide a box breakfast (restaurant here does not open until 7 am) and a box lunch, so we all looking forward to tomorrow to get started here.

Our impression of Tobago from the drive is that is neat and tidy and colonial in mood.  There are all kinds of people around and the city is very clean as opposed to Port of Spain which has nice areas but some really grotty areas too.  Tobago seems more prosperous and even the roads are better.  As we got further from town, it was still neat but we went through some poor areas and some nice ones.  It is very different from Port of Spain.

Jan 31 - A Sublime Birding Day – Oilbird started and the Scarlet Ibis ended the day

     

Just like the saying “the journey is the experience”, today was one of those days for us.   

It was already hot at breakfast and the sun was shining.  There was some intermittent cloud cover thankfully.  After breakfast we started on our Oilbird outing.   We climbed down a trail from the Asa Wright central building  and then had to go up the trail and then go back down the trail to get to the cave/canyon where the Oilbirds live.  These are nocturnal fruit eating nightjar sized birds that sleep during the day,  Any kind of light bothers their eyes.  It took about an hour to get down into the cave area.  The climb down, up and down again is rustic but pretty with many stone steps and some sloping flat ground.  Where something is moss covered, then it is slippery and it is a long way down.  Thankfully it did not rain recently, otherwise it would have been treacherous to do this trail, it is rated as “difficult”.  There are pipe railings at many spots so one has something to grab on to for stability. 

Peggy and Brenda and I were intending to go and Barbr wisely decided instead to bird around Asa Wright grounds.  The climb was shady and humid and once we got there, the guide, Randell put a light on the sleeping birds inside the cave where they live.  We went up in groups of 3 or 4 to view them from about 20 to 30 feet away.  The Oilbird is beautifully patterned and some of them opened their eyes, so looks were brief.  There were a couple of fat roly-poly chicks also.  This is the most accessible colony of Oilbird in Trinidad and has been here for years.  Asa Wright is famous for the Oilbirds and their refuge here.  There are no good photos here, it was too dark and one could not

It was an experience getting down into the caves and climbing out was also a slog but not too bad.  This climb down and back up was so much easier than my climb down into the valley to view the Cock of the Rock in Ecuador.  By the time we all returned back to the verandah at Asa Wright, we were drenched and a shower was needed.  Then we birded on the verandah until the lunchtime bell.

After lunch we left with our guide for our last outing, this time  to  Caroni Bird Sanctuary. 

We stopped at a marsh in Riva and then went on to Caroni Swamp.  We viewed a stunning Red-capped Cardinal at the security gate of the park.  The bird stayed long enough for everyone to admire him.

 We noticed a well fed cat hanging around the center and the security office.  The lady security officer said that this cat belonged to the center and the cat’s name was Miss Mew.  

 It was here that the mangrove swamp tour started and we climbed onto a large flat bottomed tour boat to travel and bird the mangrove swamp and journey to the island in the river where the wading birds particularly the Scarlet Ibis and others such are Little Blue Heron, Tri-coloured Heron, Snowy Egret and Great Egrets fly in just before dusk and roost together overnight.   We had several nice birds and mammals in the mangrove swamp and it is a very enjoyable way to bird!  Finally we got to the part of the river where it opened up in a huge bay.

We were quite comfortable on the boat and it was a great way to bird.

There is a foursome photo of us on this boat.

 Barbr took this photo of us enjoying the ride.  Don't we look as pleased as dogs look when their heads are hanging out the car window and are enjoying the wind!

 The swamp was gorgeous with birds ahead of us.

Then there was the snake in the tree just over our heads.

We also viewed the ubiquitous Pine Warbler which we have seen most days.

Each turn we made in the swamp was interesting.

Then we came out into the bay where the water opened up.

The sun was still out when we saw the first wave of Snowy Egrets started to fly in.   Then the magic started, groups of Scarlet Ibis, bright blood red in the sunshine began to arrive in flocks from all directions over the next half hour to settle on the  island for the night.  Their  flight over the water and in the sun was breathtaking and sublime.  The Scarlet Ibis flew in quietly and then when they landed there was squawking to get themselves settled among the herons. 

What was really awesome was that different groups of Scarlet Ibis just kept coming and coming from all directions and when we thought that was it, there were still more groups coming.  We were going ohhh and ahhhs for the whole time!  This was just amazing. 

Our  journey out to the island roost was wonderful but the fly-in was the icing on the birding cake.  We were all in awe.  Our guide had his scope and we all had close up looks at the birds.  Then the rum punch was brought out for all and we toasted the birds and the fly–in.  I’ll always remember this experience forever.

There were  other tour boats near us and each had its own docking "branch" spot.  We viewed this seriously overloaded boat.  We counted 15 people on this small dingy and one can barely see the boat itself.

We returned to the docking point just as it was almost dark, there was hunt by all for misplaced minibus keys (found in the driver’s door key slot) whew!  Off we set off in the dark back to our last night at Asa Wright.  I was up late reading last night trying to finish my book (note to self:  do not bring good books to read on birding trips, one is not good for the other!).   Maybe my late evenings are catching up with me.  While others are getting ready for bed, I am just getting organized to write  on my computer in bed and go through photos.  But it is worth it in the end, we have a record of the trip, to read on rainy days sometime in the future.

Barbr, Peggy, Brenda and I enjoyed this day and the birds.  The fish were jumping in the river and there were snakes viewed in the trees overhead as we passed by and nothing jumped into our boat.  I would say the Scarlet Ibis fly-in was the highlight of the Trinidad trip.  It was magic in nature.