A Bird in the Hand: 5 May 09
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| Discovery Trail |
Delayed yet again by broken or missing replacement parts, Cap’n & Crew headed out for a little local bird watching….twitchers or just plain twits? After an early start, and snacked up on “doubles” and “saheenas”, our group arrived at the Asa Wright Nature Centre, hidden up high in the hills behind Port of Spain. A former coffee and cocoa plantation, the centre is now an award winning eco-reserve; an old planters house (1907) set in a lush tropical rainforest reserve. We took a tour, led by knowledgeable naturalist Molly, to see tiny, shy, flittery birds. Only one, which resembled a tawny frogmouth, seemed to match our beefy birdlife. He watched with disdain as we desperately tried to take photos, yawning offhandedly as we moved on down Discovery Trail.
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| Feeding Birdies |
After lunch in the main house buildings, the Cap’n & Crew were the only takers to brave icy mountain waters of nearby Clearwater Pool for a refreshing dip – our very first swim of the season! Too lazy to walk back up the hill to the change shed, we stripped off our wet bathers at water's edge. It was only then that Cap’n Observant noticed a security camera!! Bird watching of a different variety and I'm sure highly amusing for security staff. Damn……
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| Jhandi Flying |
Leaving the steep hills of the Northern Range, our drive took us onto the flat lands of the Caroni Plains, home to many descendents of indentured Indian workers who replaced freed slaves in 1840’s. Hindus only make up about 24% of the population (more are of East Indian descent) as many had to convert to Catholicism during Spain’s long period of rule. It was a requirement then to be Catholic to marry or own land. Reminiscent of prayer flags in Nepal, many Hindu homes fly colourful flags (jhandi) on bamboo stakes to appease gods and bring blessings.
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| Caroni Swamp |
Once at 9th Cut, we boarded our open pirogue for a little bird watching in the Caroni Swamp, an intriguing & somewhat brackish 40 sq kilometres of mangroves, marshes and tidal lagoons. Trinidad’s national bird, the scarlet ibis, calls this home. Our boatman, resplendent in gold “herb leaf” (da smokin’ kine, mon) ear studs, took us through a maze of channels to see blue heron, white egret and one lonely, green tree python. Just before dusk, we moved as closely and quietly as possible, to a designated roosting island. Whilst our guide book mentions viewing flocks of 12000 scarlet ibis, we still felt fortunate to see hundreds of these almost luminous, bright red birds swirling through the soft evening light. Unfortunately, unless kitted up with the latest high-tech birding cameras, catching them on film is nearly impossible.
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| Buying Doubles |
We ended a successful day out slurping on home-made rum & raisin ice-cream from Point Cumana. This somewhat run-down area is home of “rum & coke”. Now a little less popular than in the 1940’s, Fernandes Rum Bar was frequented by visiting US soldiers during their stay at a nearby military base in Chaguaramas. Now sing with me to Lord Invader’s (he's not a Star Wars character!) calypso tune… "
Drinking rum and coca-cola,
goin' down to Point Cumana.
Both mother and daughter,
working for the Yankee dollar…..”
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