Northern Shrike
White-tailed Ptarmigan
White-tailed Ptarmigan camouflage
A change from a world of white
Time to rest
Wilson's Snipe
Ruddy Turnstone, Tobago
White-necked Jacobin, Asa Wright, Trinidad
Where countryside and civilization meet
Once was wild
White Pheasant
Wild Turkey
Licorice Allsorts eyes
Wild Turkey at the Cochrane Ecological Institute
I spy with my little eye
Common Redpoll
A welcome addition to our Christmas Bird Count
Feeding frenzy - is the top right bird a Hoary Red…
Common Redpoll with an orange spot
Always a treat
Common Redpoll
Northern Pygmy-owl
Immature White-necked Jacobin
Visit to the Oilbird cave, Trinidad
Oilbird, Asa Wright Nature Centre, Trinidad
Purple Honeycreeper male, Asa Wright, Trinidad
Hooded Merganser male
Townsend's Solitaire / Myadestes townsendi
Bananaquit / Coereba flaveola, Trinidad
White-necked Jacobin, Asa Wright, Trinidad
White-necked Jacobin female, Trinidad
A most welcome find
Snowy Owl number 5
Two male Snowy Owls in the same field
Bananaquit, Trinidad
You never know where you'll see a Snowy Owl
Common Redpoll in falling snow
Pine Grosbeak male feeding on berries
Oilbird, Asa Wright, Trinidad
White-necked Jacobin, Trinidad
Juvenile Northern Goshawk, feeding
Yellow Oriole, Trinidad
White-chested Emerald / Amazilia brevirostris, Tri…
Masked Cardinal, Trinidad
Saffron Finch / Sicalis flaveola, Trinidad
Hummingbird, Trinidad
Curious glance from a Great Horned Owl
Masked Cardinal at the edge of Caroni Swamp
Black-throated Mango / Anthracothorax nigricollis,…
Two Tropical Screech Owls, Caroni Swamp, Trinidad
American Pygmy Kingfisher / Chloroceryle aenea, Ca…
White-lined Tanager male / Tachyphonus rufus, Trin…
A cute, young face
White-necked Jacobin immature, Trinidad
Boreal Chickadee, caught just in time
Hairy Woodpecker
White-lined Tanager female, Trinidad
Hairy Woodpecker / Picoides villosus
Bald Eagle after a cooling hosepipe shower
Green Honeycreeper male, Trinidad
Pine Grosbeak male / Pinicola enucleator
Shaking off the raindrops
Great Kiskadee, Asa Wright, Trinidad
Evening Grosbeaks, male and female
It's the little guy/gal again
Common Redpoll / Acanthis flammea
Another surprise on another gloomy day
Canada Geese on ice at Pine Coulee Reservoir
Swainson's Hawk juvenile
Barn Owl
Common Redpolls / Acanthis flammea
One of a pair
Shadows
Couple of Coots / Fulica americana
American Tree Sparrow / Spizelloides arborea
Yesterday's absolute treat - the size of your fist…
At the Saskatoon Farm
The ever-friendly Black-capped Chickadee
Rufous-vented chachalaca, Blue Waters Inn, Tobago
Double-crested Cormorants / Phalacrocorax auritus
After a busy night of hunting
Ruddy Turnstone, Blue Waters Inn, Tobago
Evening Grosbeak female
Wood Duck male
Pam and friend
Yesterday's Bald Eagle
Bald Eagle / Haliaeetus leucocephalus
Merlin
Oilbird / Steatornis caripensis, Trinidad
At the Oilbird (Steatornis caripensis) cave, Trini…
Ring-billed Gull / Larus delawarensis
Great Horned Owl juvenile
Yellow Oriole, Asa Wright, Trinidad
Great Horned Owl on a fence post
Happy Thanksgiving!
I'm tiny - and BLUE
Red-breasted Nuthatch
Pretty little Hummer, Asa Wright, Trinidad - immat…
Three years later ....
Sweet young owl
Purple Honeycreeper female, Asa Wright
Magpies, Wood Ducks and a (Greater?) Yellowlegs
American Goldfinch
Swainson's Hawk
Juvenile American Coot
Palm Tanager, Asa Wright, Trinidad
Wood Duck juvenile
Juvenile Swainson's Hawk
Wood Ducks
Hybrid Mourning Dove-Eurasian Collared Dove
Green-winged Teal and Black-bellied Plover
American Goldfinch eating Sunflower seeds
Swainson's Hawk juvenile
Killdeer / Charadrius vociferus
Yellowlegs
Canada Warbler / Cardellina canadensis
Swainson's Hawk juvenile
Green Honeycreeper female, Asa Wright, Trinidad
Semipalmated Plover / Charadrius semipalmatus?
You looking at me, lady?
Blue-gray Tanager / Thraupis episcopus, Asa Wright…
Handsome Wood Ducks
Sleepy Short-eared Owl
Short-eared Owl
Spiked hairdo
Location
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191 visits
Purple Honeycreeper male
I think this was my favourite bird to see during our five day stay at the Asa Wright Nature Centre, on the island of Trinidad (off the coast of Venezuela). I had seen photos of them before six friends and I went on this adventure, and I was hoping so much that we would see one. I need not have worried, as there were many of these small, purple/blue birds each day. Just love their bright yellow legs and feet.
"The purple honeycreeper (Cyanerpes caeruleus) is a small bird in the tanager family. It is found in the tropical New World from Colombia and Venezuela south to Brazil, and on Trinidad. A few, possibly introduced birds have been recorded on Tobago.
The purple honeycreeper is 4.5 in (11.5 cm) long, weighs 0.42 oz (12 g) and has a long black decurved bill. The male is purple with black wings, tail and belly, and bright yellow legs. Females and immatures have green upperparts, and green-streaked yellowish-buff underparts. The throat is cinnamon, and there is a blue moustachial stripe. The call of purple honeycreeper is a thin high-pitched zree.
This is a forest canopy species, but also occurs in cocoa and citrus plantations. At the upper limit of its altitudinal range, it frequents premontane rainforest, usually rather low-growing (33–50 ft/10–15 m) and full of epiphytes and mosses.
The purple honeycreeper is often found in small groups. It feeds on nectar (particularly from bromeliad and similar flowers, to which its bill shape is adapted), berries and insects, mainly in the canopy. It is a bold and inquisitive bird, responding readily to the call of the ferruginous pygmy owl (Glaucidium brasilianum) by coming out of cover and searching for the presumed predator to mob it. The female purple honeycreeper builds a small cup nest in a tree, and incubates the clutch of two brown-blotched white eggs." From Wikippedia.
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Purple_honeycreeper
This adventure was only the second holiday of any kind, anywhere, that I have had in something like 30 or 35 years! The other holiday was a wonderful, one-week trip 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, much larger island of Trinidad. We decided to take a complete package, so everything was included - accommodation at both places, all our food, and the various walks and day trips that we could choose from. Two of my friends, Anne B. and Brenda, saw to all the planning of flights and accommodations, which was so very much appreciated by the rest of us. I could never have done all this myself! We were so lucky with our flights, as we were just in time to get Black Friday prices, which were 50% off!
What a time we had, seeing so many beautiful and interesting things - and, of course, everything was a lifer for me. Some of these friends had visited Costa Rica before, so were familiar with some 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. It was wonderful to be right by the sea, though, at the Blue Waters Inn on the island of Tobago. Just gorgeous.
The Asa Wright Nature Centre, on Trinidad, 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 high up the mountainous road. The drive up and down this narrow, twisting, 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 minibus. I had read many accounts of this road, lol! There was enough room for two vehicles to pass each other, and the honking of horns was almost continuous - either to warn any vehicle that might be coming fast around the next bend or as a sign that drivers knew each other. The drive along this road, from the coast to Asa Wright, took just over an hour each way.
Even after 8 months, I still miss the great food that was provided every single day at Asa Wright and even the Rum Punch that appeared each evening. I never drink at all, so I wasn't sure if I would even try the Punch - glad I did, though, as it was delicious and refreshing. Breakfast, lunch and dinner were all served buffet-style, with a great variety of dishes from which to choose. To me, pure luxury. So very, very grateful to have been invited to be part of this amazing adventure.
This is a video that I found on YouTube, taken by Rigdon Currie and Trish Johnson, at many of the same places we visited on Trinidad and Tobago. Not my video, but it made me feel like I was right there still. Posting the link here again, so that I won't lose it.
youtu.be/BBifhf99f_M
I also came across the following 27-minute YouTube video of the flora and fauna of Trinidad, filmed by John Patrick Smith in February 2015.
youtu.be/6HHBm9MIxnk
"The purple honeycreeper (Cyanerpes caeruleus) is a small bird in the tanager family. It is found in the tropical New World from Colombia and Venezuela south to Brazil, and on Trinidad. A few, possibly introduced birds have been recorded on Tobago.
The purple honeycreeper is 4.5 in (11.5 cm) long, weighs 0.42 oz (12 g) and has a long black decurved bill. The male is purple with black wings, tail and belly, and bright yellow legs. Females and immatures have green upperparts, and green-streaked yellowish-buff underparts. The throat is cinnamon, and there is a blue moustachial stripe. The call of purple honeycreeper is a thin high-pitched zree.
This is a forest canopy species, but also occurs in cocoa and citrus plantations. At the upper limit of its altitudinal range, it frequents premontane rainforest, usually rather low-growing (33–50 ft/10–15 m) and full of epiphytes and mosses.
The purple honeycreeper is often found in small groups. It feeds on nectar (particularly from bromeliad and similar flowers, to which its bill shape is adapted), berries and insects, mainly in the canopy. It is a bold and inquisitive bird, responding readily to the call of the ferruginous pygmy owl (Glaucidium brasilianum) by coming out of cover and searching for the presumed predator to mob it. The female purple honeycreeper builds a small cup nest in a tree, and incubates the clutch of two brown-blotched white eggs." From Wikippedia.
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Purple_honeycreeper
This adventure was only the second holiday of any kind, anywhere, that I have had in something like 30 or 35 years! The other holiday was a wonderful, one-week trip 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, much larger island of Trinidad. We decided to take a complete package, so everything was included - accommodation at both places, all our food, and the various walks and day trips that we could choose from. Two of my friends, Anne B. and Brenda, saw to all the planning of flights and accommodations, which was so very much appreciated by the rest of us. I could never have done all this myself! We were so lucky with our flights, as we were just in time to get Black Friday prices, which were 50% off!
What a time we had, seeing so many beautiful and interesting things - and, of course, everything was a lifer for me. Some of these friends had visited Costa Rica before, so were familiar with some 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. It was wonderful to be right by the sea, though, at the Blue Waters Inn on the island of Tobago. Just gorgeous.
The Asa Wright Nature Centre, on Trinidad, 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 high up the mountainous road. The drive up and down this narrow, twisting, 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 minibus. I had read many accounts of this road, lol! There was enough room for two vehicles to pass each other, and the honking of horns was almost continuous - either to warn any vehicle that might be coming fast around the next bend or as a sign that drivers knew each other. The drive along this road, from the coast to Asa Wright, took just over an hour each way.
Even after 8 months, I still miss the great food that was provided every single day at Asa Wright and even the Rum Punch that appeared each evening. I never drink at all, so I wasn't sure if I would even try the Punch - glad I did, though, as it was delicious and refreshing. Breakfast, lunch and dinner were all served buffet-style, with a great variety of dishes from which to choose. To me, pure luxury. So very, very grateful to have been invited to be part of this amazing adventure.
This is a video that I found on YouTube, taken by Rigdon Currie and Trish Johnson, at many of the same places we visited on Trinidad and Tobago. Not my video, but it made me feel like I was right there still. Posting the link here again, so that I won't lose it.
youtu.be/BBifhf99f_M
I also came across the following 27-minute YouTube video of the flora and fauna of Trinidad, filmed by John Patrick Smith in February 2015.
youtu.be/6HHBm9MIxnk
Wilfried, Elena M, neira-Dan and 2 other people have particularly liked this photo
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