Easy Birding in Trinidad

Typical Itinerary

1. Day 1: Fly to Trinidad & transfer to Asa Wright Nature Centre

   We depart on our international flight to Port of Spain, Trinidad's largest city and the capital. On arrival, we transfer to the Asa Wright Nature Centre, located in the scenic hills of the island’s Northern Range. The Asa Wright Nature Centre protects an area of 200 square kilometres and has established itself as one of the world’s must-visit locations for keen naturalists. With comfortable accommodation and excellent facilities onsite, it is the perfect place to base ourselves for the week ahead.

   Accommodation: Asa Wright Nature Centre, 4-nights

2. Day 2: Birdwatching around the Asa Wright Nature Centre

   Our first full day on Trinidad is spent familiarising ourselves with the extensive grounds of the Asa Wright Nature Centre. With the breaking of dawn, the birds of the forest gradually become more active and, as the morning progresses, the bird song becomes ever louder, as more birds join the chorus. The forest gradually becomes a hive of activity with a wide variety of species visiting the feeding stations on view from the verandah, including a tantalising mix of bananaquits, parrots, tanagers and kiskadees.

   After taking in this morning spectacle, we join one of the centre’s expert guides on a walk through the bird-rich grounds. This is an ideal opportunity to see some of the species that are typically trickier to view from the verandah, such as golden-headed and white-bearded manikins, delightful tufted coquette hummingbirds and several species of honeycreeper. With luck, we may see the manikins displaying at one of the nearby leks, with a further chance of such charismatic species as Trinidad motmot and collared trogon.

3. Day 3: Blanchisseuse Road & Northern Range

   Today, we take the Blanchisseuse Road to the village of Brasso Seco in Trinidad’s Northern Range to explore the higher forests of Trinidad’s Northern Range above the Asa Wright Nature Centre, with several birding stops along the way.

   There is a good chance that here we could see all three species of trogon found on Trinidad – green-backed, collared and Guianan. Other typical birds here include channel-billed toucan, swallow-tailed kite, golden-olive and red-rumped woodpeckers, lilac-tailed parrotlet, orange-winged parrot, long-billed gnatwren, speckled tanager and the charming ferruginous pygmy owl. Nearby, we look for the critically endangered endemic Trinidad piping-guan.

4. Day 4: Dunston Caves & Caroni Swamp

   We dedicate this morning of our itinerary to visit a very special location in the grounds of the Asa Wright Nature Centre – Dunston Caves. Access to these caves is strictly controlled and only guests of the centre are allowed to visit on one day of the week. The reason for this strict access to Dunston Caves is due to the species that resides inside. These caves are home to a colony of the world’s only nocturnal fruit-eating bird, the oilbird. 

   The walk from the centre to Dunston Caves takes around 45 minutes, but this does depend on what we see along the way. The trail is relatively easy-going with a few flights of stairs with handrails, but we are not in any rush and can take our time. Once at the caves, we proceed to enter in small groups with an expert guide who, with the aid of a torch, will show us these unique birds.

   Later in the day, we venture into Caroni Swamp and board a boat to explore the vast network of mangroves, where we should see striated, little blue, great and tri-coloured herons. In addition to the birdlife, we may also be lucky enough to spot silky anteater or even one of Caroni’s multiple snake species. However, the bird that most of us will have come to see in the Caroni Swamp is the stunning, brightly coloured scarlet ibis, one of Trinidad and Tobago’s national birds.

5. Day 5: Grande Riviere & turtle watching

   Today, we spend another relaxed morning at Asa Wright exploring some of the trails we might not have ventured on yet and hopefully catch a glimpse of some wonderful species as they dart amongst the lush vegetation. In excess of 400 species have been recorded in Asa Wright, so there will be plenty of activity to keep us entertained whilst on our leisurely and relaxed birding excursions in the centre's reserve. 

   Later in the day, we transfer from Asa Wright to the small village of Grande Riviere on the northeast coast of Trinidad, where we spend the night. We take our time on this drive, stopping en route for birding as we meander through the verdent forest in this part of the island. Grande Riviere is one of the largest nesting sites in the whole of the Caribbean for leatherback turtles, but it also a good location for encountering the endangered and endemic Trinidad piping-guan.

   In the evening, just a short walk from our hotel (possibly less than 100 metres), we hopefully have the opportunity to see leatherback turtles nesting, a species currently listed as ‘vulnerable’, coming ashore to lay their eggs. These turtles have flexible shells, covered in a thin layer of skin making it appear leathery, which is where their common name is derived from. Leatherbacks can weigh more than 900 kilos, making them the largest turtle species in the world. Watching these giants of the ocean come ashore to first excavate their nest and then enter a trance-like state as they lay their eggs, is a remarkable experience.

   Accommodation: Mt Plaisir Estate Hotel, 1-night

6. Day 6: Leisurely morning & return to Asa Wright

   This morning is completely free to spend at leisure following our night of turtle watching the previous evening. For the early risers among us, we can some birding from the hotel and along the nearby beach. 

   After breakfast, we start making our relaxed journey back to Asa Wright, and we dedicate some time to explore the forests around Grande Riviere which are home to a diverse array of birds species, such as swallow-tailed kite, olive-grey saltator, crimson-crested woodpecker, Trinidad piping-guan, silvered antbird and Trinidad euphonia.

   We aim to return to Asa Wright by mid-afternoon and the rest of the day is spent exploring the grounds or enjoying the birds that we can see from the famous verandah. 

   Accommodation: Asa Wright Nature Centre, 2-nights

7. Day 7: Final day at Asa Wright

   For the final day of our Easy Birding itinerary, we spend the full day at Asa Wright, and we can explore any of the trails we haven't ventured on so far, or we can retrace our steps and see if we can encounter any new species for our checklists. Hopefully, we will be able to enjoy the array of tanagers, parrots, manakins and hummingbirds as well as glimpses of some of the more elusive species, such as collared trogon, tufted coquette, barred antshrike and bearded bellbird.

   Once again, we can enjoy some time on the verandah and a sundowner for our final night in Trinidad.

8. Day 8: Depart Trinidad

   On our final morning in Trinidad, we enjoy the Asa Wright Nature Centre and its verandah at our leisure, before transferring back to the international airport in Port-of-Spain to catch our return overnight flight back to the UK.

9. Day 9: Arrive UK