Tufted Coquette ( Lophornis ornatus )

The Tufted Coquette ( Lophornis ornatus ) is a tiny hummingbird that has a rufous head crest and a coppery green back with a whitish rump band that is prominent in flight. The forehead and underparts are green, and black-spotted rufous plumes project from the neck sides. The tail is golden rufous.

I was lucky enough to see this tiny beauty at Asa Wright Nature Centre where I tried to get some photos but these birds are FAST!

img_7519a img_7523a img_7530a img_7562a

They range throughout eastern Venezuela, Trinidad, Guiana, and northern Brazil.  I saw a few at Asa Wright’s and they can also be found at Yerette in Trinidad.

tuftcoq

LEARN MORE ABOUT TUFTED COQUETTES

Wikipedia

Birdlife

Neotropical Birds

Asa Wright Nature Centre

VIDEOS

Very nice mini-doco on Tufted Coquettes.

 

Theyr’e gorgeous and they know it, this time they cooperated with the videographer.  The one at the end is a female.

 

 

Bearded Bellbird (Procnias averano)

The Bearded Bellbird (Procnias averano) also known as the campanero or anvil-bird, is a passerine bird which occurs in northern South America. The male is about 28 cm (11 in) long with white plumage apart from a brown head and black wings. At his throat hang several black, unfeathered wattles. The female is a little smaller with olive-green head and upper parts, yellow underparts streaked with green and a yellow vent area. The male has a loud, repeated metallic hammering call, as well as various other vocalisations.  Since I only got photos from directly below, I will include a Wikipedia shot of the full bird’s body.

beardbellbird2

My photos

img_7360a img_7346

They have an oddly disjointed range from Trinidad south to Brazil.  The guide at Asa Wright’s knows where to find them so it’s an easy sighting!  Very cool little birds!

beardbellbird

LEARN MORE ABOUT BEARDED BELLBIRDS

Wikipedia

Birdlife

Neotropical Birds

Asa Wright Nature Centre

VIDEOS

Intense conversation between these guys.

It’s pretty easy to locate them by their calls, they love to make their presence known!

 

Golden-Headed Manakin (Ceratopipra erythrocephala)

The Golden-headed Manakin (Ceratopipra erythrocephala) is a small passerine bird which breeds in tropical Central and South America in both wet and dry forests, secondary growth and plantations.

While I did see one at Asa Wright’s, he was a bit camera shy!

img_7319a img_7327a

Here’s a full bird from Wikipedia.

ghmanakin

They have a large range from Panama, Colombia and Trinidad south and east to the Guianas and Brazil and northern Peru. It is not found south of the Amazon or the Ucayali Rivers.  They are readily seen on the main trail at Asa Wright’s but best to go in the morning if you stay there to see them lekking.

ghmanakin2

LEARN MORE ABOUT GOLDEN-HEADED MANAKINS

Wikipedia

Birdlife

Neotropical Birds

Asa Wright Nature Centre

VIDEOS

While manakins are known to dance to attract a mate, I couldn’t find a dancing clip online.  Here’s one of a lek.

And a few close-ups of the bird’s movements.

White-bearded Manakin (Manacus manacus)

The White-bearded Manakin (Manacus manacus) is a small passerine bird which breeds in tropical South America. This manakin is found in forests, secondary growth and plantations. It is a small, plump bird about 10.7 centimetres (4.2 in) long.  At breeding time, males are involved in lekking behaviour on the forest floor during which they puff out their neck feathers.

img_7377a img_7341a dscn3912 dscn3904

They have a large range from Colombia and Trinidad south and east to the Guianas and Brazil, Bolivia and Peru.  They are readily seen on the main trail at Asa Wright’s but best to go in the morning if you stay there to see them lekking.

whtbrded-mnkn

LEARN MORE ABOUT WHITE-BEARDED MANAKINS

Wikipedia

Birdlife

Neotropical Birds

VIDEOS

A very lucky birder found one male trying to court 3 females!

Some more filmed at Asa Wright’s.

Guided Walk For Visitors At Asa Wright Nature Centre

If you are a day visitor at Asa Wright Nature Centre, you will get a 90 minute nature walk included in your admission and this should not be missed!   Our guide came to collect us and led us down the stairs out to the main trail.  It was a small group, just me and two other ladies.  My husband decided to rest on the verandah.

Tegu Lizard

img_7508

Agoutiimg_7302 img_7208 img_7211

Proceeding down the trail, the guide pointed out some local plants.dscn3880 dscn3889 dscn3891 dscn3894 dscn3896 dscn3899 dscn3900

A very shy Golden-headed Manakinimg_7319a img_7327a dscn3903 dscn3904

Plump little White-bearded Manakindscn3907 dscn3912 dscn3916 dscn3918 dscn3921 img_7395 img_7377a img_7341a img_7346

Beards are clearly in style at Asa Wright’s as this Beared Bellbird shows off!img_7351a img_7358a img_7360a dscn3926 dscn3928 dscn3929 dscn3931

Going back, there is a slight incline but manageable.

dscn3924dscn3935 dscn3937 dscn3939 dscn3943

Wake up!  How can my husband doze off with all those hummingbirds around?dscn3945

Lodge Review: Asa Wright Nature Centre, Trinidad

To be specific, I am reviewing the public areas accessible on a day visit but just want readers to be aware they have accommodation as well.  Asa Wright Nature Centre is a gorgeous eco-lodge situated in a beautiful rainforest habitat and is one of the highlights of birding in the Caribbean.  There are two ways of visiting AWNC, as an overnight guest or as a day visitor.  While I would have much preferred to stay overnight and wake with the birds, I wasn’t in a financial position to overlook the benefits of using Club Carlson points for a free stay at the Radisson.  Any other time, we would have stayed at AWNC, booking instructions are here.

The next best thing is making a day visit.  They allow  day visitors during the hours of 9am – 5pm. Guided walks with their professional naturalist guides are conducted daily at 10:30am and 1:30pm. The walk lasts about 1.5 hours.  I’ll post about that separately as there are way too many photos.  For now, lets see the public areas of the lodge.

It takes about an hour to drive from the airport or as we did from the Aripo Livestock Station.

dscn3855

Driving onto the property, we passed several hiking trails and some beautiful scenery.  Cabins are scattered around the property.dscn3857 dscn3860 dscn3862 dscn3863

There is a car park for day visitors and then you check into the reception, pay the fee, then proceed to the fabulous Asa Wright verandah.dscn3864 dscn3865 dscn3866 dscn3868 dscn3870 dscn3871

And here it is, where all the hummingbird action is found!  Just sit back, relax and enjoy the spectacle!dscn3872 dscn3873 dscn3946

There is a set lunch menu each day which you can pay for separately if you wish or order sandwiches if you can’t tear yourself away from the verandah.dscn3948 dscn3949

The gift shop has some nice handicrafts & other bird themed gifts. dscn3950 dscn3951

I bought this hummingbird necklace.dscn3953

Example of postcard available – Tufted Coquette, meet them in person on the verandah!dscn3954

It was tough to tear ourselves away, it is such a beautiful, relaxing place but we did have a flight to catch so no choice but to say farewell earlier than we would have liked.dscn3955

Birding The Verandah At Asa Wright Nature Centre

Whether you are a lodge guest or a day visitor at Asa Wright Nature Centre, you will be amazed at the beauty and variety of birds seen on the verandah.  Lazy birding at it’s best!  Hummingbirds need to feed every 15 minutes so don’t worry if you miss one, he’ll be back so you can keep trying for those stunning photos!  There are guides available to help you identify the birds.  This is my eBird list, not bad for about 5 hours!

dscn3872

Bananaquit, Violaceous Euphoniadscn3875

Turquiuse Tanagerimg_7123a img_7154a img_7159

Blue-grey Tanagerimg_7474 img_7165

Purple Honeycreepersimg_7148 img_7141 img_7194a img_7197 img_7187a img_7183

Silver-beaked Tanagerimg_7181 img_7279 img_7423

White-chested Emerald img_7430 img_7436a

Copper-rumped Hummingbird img_7450 img_7464 img_7506

Crested Oropendulaimg_7649a img_7641a img_7639a img_7632a

Palm Tanagersimg_7480 img_7482 img_7491 img_7502

White-necked Jacobinimg_7516 img_7129 img_7136

Crested Oropendulaimg_7170a img_7173 img_7249
Long-billed Starthroat img_7256a img_7260a img_7267 img_7268 img_7271 img_7146 img_7212

Tufted Coquettesimg_7238 img_7294a img_7295a img_7519a img_7520a img_7523a img_7530a img_7532a img_7533a img_7552a img_7559a img_7560a img_7561a img_7583a img_7562a

 

Silver-beaked Tanager (Ramphocelus carbo)

The Silver-beaked Tanager (Ramphocelus carbo) is a medium-sized bird with attractive dark crimson & black colouring.  When a male bird faces forward, it kind of looks like he is doing a “milk moustache” commercial!

This one was seen at Wildsumaco Lodge area.

DSCN2190a

And this pair was seen at Asa Wright’s in Trinidad and shows the difference between male (above) & female.

IMG_7180 IMG_7185

This tanager is a resident breeder in South America from eastern Colombia and Venezuela south to Paraguay and central Brazil, and on Trinidad where they are commonly seen at Asa Wright’s.

silverbeak

LEARN MORE ABOUT SILVER-BEAKED TANAGERS

Wikipedia

Birdlife

Neotropical Birds

VIDEOS

In both these videos you can see the subtle beauty of this small bird.

 

Oilbirds (Steatornis caripensis)

The Oilbirds (Steatornis caripensis), locally known as the guácharo, are birds found in the northern areas of South America (including the island of Trinidad in the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago). Nesting in colonies in caves, they are nocturnal feeders on the fruits of the oil palm and tropical laurels. They are the only nocturnal flying fruit-eating birds in the world (the kakapo is flightless). They forage at night, with specially adapted eyesight. However they navigate by echolocation in the same way as bats, and are one of the few kinds of birds known to do so. They produce a high-pitched clicking sound of around 2 kHz that is audible to humans.

DSCN1264 DSCN1251 IMG_3186aAlthough they have a large range in the northern part of South America, there are a few Oilbird caves which are easier to access such as Chontal near Mindo, Rio Claro in Colombia & Asa Wright’s in Trinidad.

oilbird

LEARN MORE ABOUT OILBIRDS

Wikipedia

Birdlife

Aves Ecuador

Audubon

Neotropical Birds

VIDEOS

Mindo Oilbirds showing the love!

Night flights