Trinidad And Tobago Day Four: Birds, Ants, Flowers And Other Cool Stuff At Asa Wright Lodge
At lunch we discussed our visit to the oilbird cave earlier Saturday morning at the Asa Wright Nature Center and Lodge. After lunch I spent some time observing, and trying to photograph, the many birds that visit the nearby feeders and fruit trees. It is a truly relaxing and exhilarating experience if you enjoy nature. It is heaven for the birders staying at the lodge. Dozens of white necked Jacobin hummingbirds darted from trees to the feeders. There were many other species too. This, I believe, is a white-chested Emerald hummingbird.
This a black-throated Mango hummingbird .
And of course there were many colorful tanagers flying about, even in the hot afternoon sun, including this female white-lined tanager
and the male white-lined tanager. 
A female silver-beaked tanager. 
And the pretty blue-grey tanager. 
I also saw this bird for the first time, the beautiful great kiskadee. Sitting on the veranda at the Asa Wright Lodge is an experience any lover of nature will always treasure. I know I will. Here is a link to some more photographs of the birds I saw on the veranda. Trinidad Day Four Asa Wright veranda afternoon April 27 2019.
I spent about an hour on the veranda. It was now mid-afternoon and the sun was intense.Temperatures were now near 90 degrees. I had already hiked about five miles but I couldn’t just sit around in this beautiful rainforest. I decided to take a walk with my macro lens. I first walked around the beautifully landscaped grounds of the lodge. There were many tropical flowers in bloom.
I always love to get a different perspective on the beauty of nature. I always observed insects and flowers up close. Now,with the internet, social media, my blog and, of course my macro lens, I can share it with everyone. 
After roaming the gardens of the lodge I walked along the driveway. I found g a few frogs in streams even in the afternoon heat.
I took some close up photographs of the tropical plants,
and trees.
I also observed some ants on the buds of some of the xotic flowers. growing along the trail. 
I have been fascinated with ants since I watched them in my yard as a young child. 
I also found some wasps on some of the flowers near the lodge.
I walked back to the lodge and down the discovery trail where I found some leaf cutter ants.
I looked for, and found, one of the larger leaf cutter ants. Their jaws are designed for cutting the leaves. Other ants in the colony transport 
them back to the large nest.
It was now late afternoon and I headed back to my cottage. Here is a link to some more photographs from my hike. Trinidad Day Four Macro lens hike. April 27 2019. 
I edited some photographs as the sun set and the quick tropical darkness descended on the rainforest. Once again the lodge provided us with a nice buffet meal that included a number of local dishes. I again enjoyed a good meat and conversation with my new friends. Tales of the birds we saw, and our stories of travel made for a good evening. It was another long day. And another day without much relaxation. But I fell asleep thinking about the wonderful day I had at the Asa Wright Nature Center and Lodge. 
Shall I not have intelligence with the earth? Am I not partly leaves and vegetable mould myself? Henry David Thoreau
Recent Comments