Welcome To Trinidad’s Colourful Airport

Posted on November 22, 2016 by Tara

Probably the most important tip I can give you is try to sit as far to the front of the plane as possible as immigration lines can be long and slow. We arrived on Copa from Bogota via Panama and were near the front so we got through very quickly.

First stop after exiting customs was the tourist information office to grab some leaflets and maps. I knew my car wouldn’t have a GPS so wanted to be prepared.

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We then headed to the car rental booths (Hertz for us) to pick up our rental car. They have a shuttle to take you to where the cars are. dscn3556 dscn3976

After our visit to Trinidad, we were back to Port of Spain’s airport (POS) to check in for our British Airways 5th Freedom route to St Lucia (only 4500 Avios)! dscn3977

We never flew this airline but I love the hummingbird logo! dscn3978

I can’t walk past a Cinnabon stall, we don’t have them in Australia and it’s a rare treat! dscn3979

Once past security, POS has a modern layout with a nice variety of shops and artwork. dscn3980 dscn3981 dscn3982

We could have used Priority Pass to enter this lounge but didn’t have time. dscn3983

I did pick up a few knick-knacks here – bird themed of course! dscn3984 dscn3985

Planning A Birding Trip To The Caribbean

Posted on November 18, 2016 by Tara

The Caribbean is one of the most challenging regions to go birding in, especially if you are on a budget. You can get to most of the best islands for birding with miles but if you want to hop around between islands you are stuck with very expensive short flights. Sooner or later, you will probably have to fly on Liat which is popularly known as “Leave Island Any Time or Luggage In Another Termnal”.

The other option is birding from a cruise ship. This will get you to several islands and if you choose your itinerary wisely you could position yourself for some excellent birding. I was successful in birding Jamaica & Grand Cayman from a cruise ship several years ago.

The islands highlighted in yellow are some of the most popular ones for birding and for parrot lovers, they all have endemic parrot species.

caribbean-map

CHOOSING THE ISLANDS TO VISIT

This was the easiest part. The islands are fairly small and it’s easy to find out where the birds are. I used eBird to get an idea but knew I would be hiring a guide at least on St Lucia and Dominica since time was short. I was after several amazing Amazon Parrot species which are endemic to particular islands. Puerto Rico has the Puerto Rican Amazon. Dominica has the Imperial Amazon (Sisserou) & Red-necked Amazon (Jaco). St Lucia has the St Lucia Parrot. St Vincent has the St Vincent Parrot. Trinidad has a couple of Parrotlets I was chasing – Green-rumped Parrotlets & Lilac-tailed Parrotlet. There are also several Macaws and Amazon species plus lots of hummingbirds & manakins around the island so it was a great all-rounder.

GETTING AROUND

We used United miles on Copa to get from Bogota to Trinidad via Panama. Then we used miles from Port-of-Spain to St Lucia, only 4500 Avios for the short flight. After that, we had to use Liat to St Vincent, Dominica & San Juan.

On Trinidad & Puerto Rico, we rented a car and drove around on our own. On St Lucia, St Vincent & Dominica, we used a combination of guided birding tours (St Lucia), buses & taxis to national parks (St Vincent) and a private birding day trip on Dominica.

ACCOMMODATION

The Caribbean can be very expensive and even small lodges can be at least $150 a night. Luckily I had some Hotels.com free nights, 2 Expedia credits for a promo they messed up on and some Orbucks from a photo competition they ran in 2014 which got our small hotels on St Lucia, St Vincent & Dominica plus one night at a small hotel south of San Juan for free.

We had 2 nights free in Trinidad at the Radisson thanks to the 2 for 1 redemption opportunity that came with the Club Carlson Visa booked just one month before that particular benefit went away.

We had one free night at the San Juan Intercontinental courtesy of the Chase free night with the IHG Rewards Visa.

Yes, you read that right, getting lucky with some hotel promos got us the entire week in the Caribbean for FREE!

Over the next few weeks, I will be posting in detail about our birding in the Caribbean so stay tuned!

Red-bellied Macaw (Orthopsittaca manilatus)

Posted on August 17, 2016 by Tara

The Red-bellied Macaw (Orthopsittaca manilatus), also known as Guacamaya Manilata, is a medium-sized, mostly green South American parrot, a member of a group of large Neotropical parrots known as macaws. It is the largest of what are commonly called “mini-macaws”. The belly has a large maroon patch which gives the species its name.

Red-bellied Macaw (Orthopsittaca manilata)

And since I couldn’t get a perched shot here’s one from Wikipedia.

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They have quite a large range in in Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, Bolivia and Venezuela. I saw a pair flying overhead at Nariva Swamp while driving but by the time I pulled over, they were gone. I’ve seen them in several places such as Cristalino and near Napo Wildlife Center.

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LEARN MORE ABOUT RED-BELLIED MACAWS

VIDEOS

Preening to look their best!

Oilbirds (Steatornis caripensis)

Posted on July 31, 2016 by Tara

The Oilbirds (Steatornis caripensis), locally known as the guácharo, are birds found in the northern areas of South America (including the island of Trinidad in the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago). Nesting in colonies in caves, they are nocturnal feeders on the fruits of the oil palm and tropical laurels. They are the only nocturnal flying fruit-eating birds in the world (the kakapo is flightless). They forage at night, with specially adapted eyesight. However they navigate by echolocation in the same way as bats, and are one of the few kinds of birds known to do so. They produce a high-pitched clicking sound of around 2 kHz that is audible to humans.

DSCN1264 DSCN1251 IMG_3186a Although they have a large range in the northern part of South America, there are a few Oilbird caves which are easier to access such as Chontal near Mindo, Rio Claro in Colombia & Asa Wright’s in Trinidad.