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INSTITUTE FOR FIELD ORNITHOLOGY

2007 IFO Neotropical Bird Ecology Report

Instructor: John Kricher • 24-29 May 2007 • Asa Wright Centre, Arima Valley, Trinidad

We all arrived at the famous Asa Wright Centre by the evening of May 23rd. Some even arrived early enough to go to the beach to watch giant Leatherback Turtles dig nests and lay eggs. Those who didn't would do that later in the workshop.

We were up early the first morning to get acquainted and watch the daily bird show on the famous veranda of the Centre. Palm Tanagers seemed to be everywhere, including inside the veranda, where at least 5 nests were in progress! Other tanagers -- Blue-gray, Silver-beaked, White-lined were busy at the fruit trays along with Bananaquits and an occasional Violaceous Euphonia. An agouti was enjoying bread scattered on the ground as a couple of Ruddy Ground-Doves walked past. Hummingbird feeders, as well as flowering plants such as vervain and lantana, attracted Copper-rumped Hummingbirds, White-necked Jacobins, White-chested Emeralds, plus a few Tufted Coquettes and even a Ruby-Topaz.

After breakfast we birded the long driveway leading to the Centre, along with our local guide Roodal Ramlal. Good looks at Lineated Woodpecker, Streaked and Piratic Flycatchers, and Violaceous and Collared Trogons highlighted the walk. The sky was overcast and some showers happened off and on. Roodal said we had "brought the rain." But that didn't turn out to be the case, as virtually the entire week provided us with excellent weather.

The major event of our first afternoon was a drive to Caroni Swamp and a boat ride into the mangroves to witness the nightly arrival of Scarlet Ibis. We saw Bicolored Conebill and Common Potoo from the boat as we maneuvered among the mangrove channels. Before the ibis began to appear, we watched dozens of Yellow-crowned Night-Herons foraging in the shallow lagoon, soon to be joined by flocks of Scarlet Ibis, brilliant in the late afternoon sunlight. The rum punch, a tradition at the Asa Wright Centre, was served as the ibis roosted, the punch colored red for the occasion.

Our second day was spent mostly on the Aripo Savanna and Narivo Swamp, ending among the moriche palms at Waller Field. The savanna is an excellent habitat for grassland and scrub species. We found Fork-tailed Flycatchers, Red-breasted Blackbirds, Yellow-chinned Spinetails, lots of Ruddy Ground-Doves, Savanna Hawk, Green-rumped Parrotlet, and Southern Lapwing. We also had Grassland Yellow-Finch, a relatively new arrival in Trinidad.

A picnic lunch was served at Manzanillo Beach looking out on the Atlantic Ocean. This lengthy beach boasts "a million" coconut palms. We didn't count them.

We birded the roads around Nariva Swamp, a brackish water swamp that slowly becomes fresh water. We found such species as Squirrel Cuckoo, Pearl Kite, Plumbeous Kite, and Rufous-browed Peppershrike.

The daily rum punch was served at Waller Field, an abandoned WWII air base that is now undergoing commercialization as it rapidly becomes an industrial park and office complex. Habitat is threatened there as in some other areas we visited such as the Melon Patch at Nariva Swamp. But we went directly to stands of moriche palm, a species that thrives in areas of poor tropical soils. There we found Moriche Oriole, Fork-tailed Palm-Swift, and Sulphury Flycatcher, all species whose distribution is associated with moriche palms. Another highlight was magnificent looks at Red-bellied Macaws coming to feed on the fruits of the palms and then roost among the palms.

The next two mornings were spent birding along the Blanchisseuse Road, beginning atop a hill with a large communication tower and working our way back to the Asa Wright Centre. We were seeking Trinidad Piping-Guan. Three had been observed in the many fruiting trees near the tower. On the first morning the guan "trio" failed to appear as expected and our group had spread out as we birded along the road. Once a single guan did arrive (unfashionably late), only one of our group was there to observe the bird. But we had many other forest species such as Red-rumped Woodpecker, Cocoa and Plain-brown Woodcreepers (at a small ant-swarm), Golden-headed Manakin, Slaty-capped Flycatcher, Plain Antvireo, Golden-fronted Greenlet, Common Black Hawk, Collared Trogon, Rufous-breasted Wren, Long-billed Gnatwren, Scaled Pigeon, Green Hermit, Blue-crowned Motmot, Bay-headed Tanager, and Channel-billed Toucan. On our second morning, no guans appeared. All we could say is that they were "Guan but not forgotten."

Much of our workshop was spent at the Asa Wright Centre and its surrounding trails. Interspersed with daily field work on the trails were classes on tropical bird ecology, held either on the veranda or outside on the shaded terrace. We hiked Dunston Trail to the famous Oilbird cave and observed this unique species. We walked to the equally famous lek of the White-bearded Manakin, a lek that was studied by David Snow. We had wonderful looks at male Bearded Bellbirds along the well-named Bellbird Trail. We watched the display of the Golden-headed Manakin. Using these examples directly observed in the field the classes focused on topics such as sexual selection and frugivory, vocalization, nesting behavior, and species diversity.

Some species, normally difficult to observe, were easily seen around the Centre. These included Great and Barred antshrikes and Rufous-breasted wren. We watched a nest cavity of Ferruginous Pygmy-Owls and some saw the young fledge, flying out of the cavity into the tropical rain. On one particularly interesting afternoon, rain showers subsided and lots of "rain flies," termites emerged. It was instructive to watch the birds, including palm tanagers, flycatching.

The final afternoon of the workshop was spent discussing mini-projects that were done by participants. Always creative and fun, these projects really highlight the workshop. Projects included a study of which birdbaths were used and by what species, how trogons oriented (back to you or front to you) when the came in to an imitation of their call, food preferences at the feeders (birds don't eat melons but love bread), bellbird vocalization patterns, activity at the manakin lek (males took "many breaks"), and manakin visitations at a fruiting melastome.

The workshop immersed participants in the ecology of neotropics. They saw many species of birds and learned something about bird ecology. They saw land crabs, agoutis, large tegus lizards, nesting leatherback turtles, and one group of participants even found a small fer-de-lance, adding some excitement on the final day of the workshop.

No trip to the tropics is ever the same as others. Each is unique. There is more to be learned with ever visit. It was a good workshop.

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