Rufous-vented chachalaca / Ortalis ruficauda, Tobago

This was one of the first tropical birds that I saw on our recent trip to Trinidad & Tobago. There were several of them that flew into the trees by the Blue Waters Inn and walked along the pathway outside our rooms.

"The rufous-vented chachalaca (Ortalis ruficauda) is a member of an ancient group of birds of the Cracidae family, which are related to the Australasian mound builders. It inhabits northeast Colombia and northern Venezuela where it is called guacharaca, and the island of Tobago in the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago where it is known as the cocrico and is one of the country's two national birds. Rufous-vented chachalaca is a largely arboreal species found in forest and woodland, but it is also found in more open dry scrubby areas. These are medium-sized birds, similar in general appearance to turkeys, with small heads, long strong legs and a long broad tail. As other chachalacas, the rufous-vented chachalaca is a very noisy species, preferring to execute their vocal feats at dawn. The species is a social bird, often seen in family groups. It is one of the national birds of Trinidad and Tobago and is featured on that country's coat of arms." From Wikipedia.

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rufous-vented_chachalaca

Bear with me, everyone, as I think I am going to have to post 6 photos from my trip each day, otherwise it will take me many months (years?) to get them on to Flickr. Not sure how long I can keep this up, posting 6 a day - takes hours each day, but I will at least start off this way. Obviously, no comments expected, unless you happen to like one photo in particular. Actually, I am so disappointed with my photos - never have so many photos come out blurry, many totally blurry and no use at all. No idea why - the light was often really bad and maybe the humidity also had some effect. For some species, I am going to post awful shots, just for the record.

It will take me forever to do any kind of write-up about this trip, but eventually, I hope to get some kind of description written. Right now, I'm not quite sure where I was and when, lol! We arrived back in Calgary in the evening of 21 March 2017, and I have to get myself unpacked and organized. Totally dead beat after such a busy time away, dealing with extremely early mornings and hot, humid weather. Those of you who know me well, know that I am a dreadful night-owl, so getting up around 5:15 am was an absolute killer. Also, heat and humidity don't agree with my body, so each trip out was quite exhausting. Yesterday morning, 21 March, we had to get up around 2:00 am, as we had such an early flight (5 and a half hours) from Trinidad to Toronto - followed by a four-hour flight back to Calgary. On our very first day, we had three flights in a row, as we flew from Calgary to Toronto, then Toronto to Port of Spain on Trinidad, from where we had a short flight to the island of Tobago.

This adventure was only the second holiday (or was it actually my third?) of any kind, anywhere, that I have had in something like 30 or 35 years! The other holiday was a one-week holiday with my great friends from England, Linda and Tony, when we went down south to Yellowstone National Park and the Grand Tetons in September 2012. I have had maybe half a dozen weekends away, including to Waterton National Park, which have helped keep me going.

Six birding/photographer friends and I decided that we would take this exciting trip together, from 12-21 March 2017, spending the first two or three days on the island of Tobago and then the rest of the time at the Asa Wright Nature Centre on the nearby, larger island of Trinidad. What a time we had, seeing so many beautiful things - and, of course, everything was a lifer for me. Some of these friends had visited Costa Rica before, so were familiar with quite a few of the birds. There was a lot more to see on Trinidad, so we were glad that we chose Tobago to visit first and then spend a longer time at Asa Wright.

The Asa Wright Nature Centre is such an amazing place! We stayed in cabins up or down hill from the main building. Really, one doesn't need to travel away from the Centre for birding, as so many different species visit the Hummingbird feeders that are right by the huge, open veranda, and the trees of the rain forest that live in the area, high up a mountainous road. The drive up and down this narrow, pot-holed road was an adventure in itself! Never would I ever do this drive myself - we had a guide who drove us everywhere in a van/small bus. I had read many accounts of this road, lol!

And now I am going to take a break from typing and go and make myself some breakfast - already missing the great food that was provided every single day and the Rum Punch that appeared each evening. I don't drink at all, so I wasn't sure if I would even try the Punch - glad I did, though, as it was delicious.