Torch Ginger, Asa Wright, Trinidad
Heliconia, Trinidad
American Pygmy Kingfisher / Chloroceryle aenea, Ca…
Silver-beaked Tanager / Ramphocelus carbo, Trinida…
Torch Ginger, deep in the shadows
Scarlet Ibis, Caroni Swamp, Trinidad
Scarlet Ibis - like decorations on a Christmas tre…
Scarlet Ibis and Egrets, Caroni Swamp
Scarlet Ibis, Caroni Swamp, Trinidad
Green Honeycreeper male, Asa Wright, Trinidad
Green Honeycreeper female, Trinidad
American Pygmy Kingfisher / Chloroceryle aenea, Ca…
Green Honeycreeper male, Trinidad
Ring-necked Pheasant male / Phasianus colchicus
Green Honeycreeper male, Trinidad
Green Honeycreeper male, Trinidad
Green Honeycreeper female, Trinidad
A new addition
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Fall colours near the Highwood River
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One of these things is not like the others ...
A much-needed change of colour
Happy Thanksgiving to all Americans!
Day 4, Baltimore Oriole, The Tip, Point Pelee
Day 7, Tadoussac
Day 6, Green Jay / Cyanocorax yncas, southern Texa…
Day 6, Northern Cardinal male, southern Texas
Day 2, sunrise 8
Western Tanager / Piranga ludoviciana
Western Tanager / Piranga ludoviciana
Rose-breasted Grosbeak male / Pheucticus ludovicia…
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A mountain meadow, Kananaskis, Alberta
Fall colours in Fish Creek Park
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Ah, those glorious Larches in their fall colours
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Irricana grain elevators mural
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Bee on Sunflower
Green Honeycreeper female, Asa Wright, Trinidad
Splash of colour
Torch Ginger bud, Asa Wright Nature Centre, Trinid…
Green Honeycreeper male, Asa Wright, Trinidad
Aphelandra sinclairiana, Asa Wright Nature Centre,…
Torch Ginger, Asa Wright Nature Centre, Trinidad
Green Honeycreeper male, Asa Wright Nature Centre,…
Green Honeycreeper female, Asa Wright, Trinidad
Green Honeycreeper female, Asa Wright, Trinidad
Green Honeycreeper male, Asa Wright Nature Centre,…
Green Honeycreeper male, Asa Wright Nature Centre,…
Green Honeycreeper, Asa Wright Nature Centre, Trin…
Hot Lips / Psychotria poeppigiana, Asa Wright Natu…
Collared Trogon / Trogon collaris, Asa Wright, Bel…
Torch Ginger / Etlingera elatior, Asa Wright Natur…
Torch Ginger / Etlingera eliator, Trinidad
Green Honeycreeper female, Asa Wright Nature Centr…
Green Honeycreeper male, Asa Wright Nature Centre,…
Splash of colour
Colour from Ornamental Cabbages
Modern - but I like it
Jazzing up the old silos - with Pacman
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A beautiful start to a day
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Long gone, but memories remain
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Heliconia, Lobster-claws, Asa Wright, Trinidad
Look closely at this image - see if you can spot what I discovered last night, when I was editing this photo : )
The only times I had ever seen Heliconia plants, before our trip to Trinidad & Tobago in March 2017, was in the Conservatory at the Calgary Zoo. What a thrill it was to see these spectacular plants growing in the wild.
"Heliconia, derived from the Greek word helikonios, is a genus of flowering plants in the family Heliconiaceae. Most of the ca 194 known species[3] are native to the tropical Americas, but a few are indigenous to certain islands of the western Pacific and Maluku.[2] Many species of Heliconia are found in rainforests or tropical wet forests of these regions. Several species are widely cultivated as ornamentals, and a few are naturalized in Florida, Gambia and Thailand. Common names for the genus include lobster-claws, toucan peak, wild plantains or false bird-of-paradise.
These herbaceous plants range from 0.5 to nearly 4.5 meters (1.5–15 feet) tall depending on the species.Their flowers are produced on long, erect or drooping panicles, and consist of brightly colored waxy bracts, with small true flowers peeping out from the bracts. The growth habit of heliconias is similar to Canna, Strelitzia, and bananas, to which they are related.The flowers can be hues of reds, oranges, yellows, and greens, and are subtended by brightly colored bracts. The plants typically flower during the wet season. These bracts protect the flowers; floral shape often limits pollination to a subset of the hummingbirds in the region." From Wikipedia.
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Heliconia
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 dear 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.
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 came across 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 only times I had ever seen Heliconia plants, before our trip to Trinidad & Tobago in March 2017, was in the Conservatory at the Calgary Zoo. What a thrill it was to see these spectacular plants growing in the wild.
"Heliconia, derived from the Greek word helikonios, is a genus of flowering plants in the family Heliconiaceae. Most of the ca 194 known species[3] are native to the tropical Americas, but a few are indigenous to certain islands of the western Pacific and Maluku.[2] Many species of Heliconia are found in rainforests or tropical wet forests of these regions. Several species are widely cultivated as ornamentals, and a few are naturalized in Florida, Gambia and Thailand. Common names for the genus include lobster-claws, toucan peak, wild plantains or false bird-of-paradise.
These herbaceous plants range from 0.5 to nearly 4.5 meters (1.5–15 feet) tall depending on the species.Their flowers are produced on long, erect or drooping panicles, and consist of brightly colored waxy bracts, with small true flowers peeping out from the bracts. The growth habit of heliconias is similar to Canna, Strelitzia, and bananas, to which they are related.The flowers can be hues of reds, oranges, yellows, and greens, and are subtended by brightly colored bracts. The plants typically flower during the wet season. These bracts protect the flowers; floral shape often limits pollination to a subset of the hummingbirds in the region." From Wikipedia.
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Heliconia
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 dear 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.
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 came across 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
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