Recent Posts

Posted in Plants

Palm Puzzle: the Case of the Confused Coconut (and How to Save It!)

Last week we encountered a strange-looking Coconut tree (Cocos nucifera). All the leaves from this…

Posted in Invertebrates

The Elusive Monarch Chrysalis

Since discovering my first Tropical Milkweed just walking distance from my home a couple of…

Posted in Birds

Rare Return: The Rediscovery of the Sungrebe in Trinidad After Three Decades

The Sungrebe, a bird that had not been observed in Trinidad and Tobago since 1991,…

Posted in Birds Fish

When Catching Fish is Literally Getting a Bite!

It’s not always smooth sailing for Ospreys (Pandion haliaetus) when fishing. Not only can they…

Posted in Reptiles and Amphibians

Fugitive on the Crawl

Red-eared Slider in the Caroni Swamp” A Red-eared slider (Trachemys scripta elegans) in Caroni Swamp…

Posted in Birds

An extremely rare visiting Sungrebe sets the record straight!

Two members of the birdwatching community (Chelsea Sampson & Davis Gunn) stumbled on a rare…

Posted in Birds Reptiles and Amphibians

Photo Gallery by Jerome Foster

Breeding Crested Caracaras: A Growing Presence in Trinidad Crested caracaras (Caracara cheriway) are still considered…

Posted in Reptiles and Amphibians

Chillin Under the AC: The Cane Toad’s Ingenious Heat Escape

Amidst the scorching Trinidadian heat during what seems to be another hot spell, a fascinating…

Posted in Geology Plants

Resilience of the Tambran Tree on Farallon Rock, South Trinidad

As a child, I often pondered the enduring presence of a lone tree on Farallon…

Posted in Art

“Dos Amigos”

The painting “Dos Amigos” by Dennis de la Rosa is based on a landscape scene…

Posted in Geology Plants

Coastal Erosion in La Lune (South Trinidad)

Paradise Beach is a secluded haven where one can immerse themselves in the serenity of…

Posted in Birds

Cocoa Thrush with partial leucism

Cocoa Thrush (Turdus fumigatus) with partial leucism seen at the Royal Botanical Gardens on Sunday…

Posted in Birds Plants

The Trinidad Piping-Guan and Chicks

Locally known as the Pawi is a bird in the chachalaca, guan, and curassow family…

Posted in Birds

Green Kingfisher “courtship feeding”

The Green Kingfisher is an agile and efficient fisher. From its perch, kingfishers are often…

Posted in Plants

Moriche Palms are mass flowering in Trinidad

Synchronous patterns in Moriche palms (Mauritia flexuosa-Calamoideae) at the landscape-level scale are well known on…

Posted in Plants

Psiguria mistaken for Chinese Ginseng in Tobago by locals

Farmers and local bushmen were amazed to learn that what they believe was the Chinese…

Posted in Birds

Cowbird befriending an Oropendola

Giant Cowbirds are frequently seen around the colony of Crested Oropendola attempting to lay their…

Posted in Invertebrates

Angiopolybia pallens wasp feeding on a dead earthworm

Angiopolybia pallens wasp feeding on a dead earthworm. Date: 22 March 2015Location: Rio Claro Wasps…

Posted in Plants

Bamboo Flowers at St Ann’s Plateau

While traversing through the lower montane/disturbed forest along the St. Ann’s to Santa Cruz trail…

Posted in Birds Reptiles and Amphibians

Tropical Mockingbird attacking a Parrot Snake

The Parrot Snake (Leptophis ahaetulla), being a good climber, was observed stealing eggs from the…

Posted in Reptiles and Amphibians

Why is this diurnal lizard active at night?

The streak or striped gecko (Gonatodes vittatus) is perhaps one of the most common native…

Posted in Birds

A Grey-lined Hawk with its prey of a Giant Ameiva

A Grey-lined Hawk (Buteo nitidus) observed on a roadway near the Caroni Bird Sanctuary on…

Posted in Reptiles and Amphibians

Trinidad Black-Back Snake consuming a Skink

The Trinidad Black-Back Snake or Erythrolamprus melanotus nesos is endemic to Trinidad and Tobago. In…

Posted in Plants

Bamboo Flowering: a 150-year old natural spectacle

A Common Bamboo (Bambusa vulgaris) clump, situated along a hiking trail in the Bamboo Cathedral,…

Posted in Birds

Nest pirates

The Piratic Flycatcher (Legatus leucophaius) does not build a nest of its own. Instead, it…

Posted in Birds Invertebrates Reptiles and Amphibians

Photo Gallery by Shane Manchouck

Posted in Invertebrates

Up close and personal with a Wandering Spider

An adult male Brazilian Wandering Spider (Phoneutria sp.) sits still while being photographed in Salybia,…

Posted in Plants

Flowering Miconia stenostachya observed on the summit of El Tucuche, Trinidad, WI.

Numerous Miconia stenostachya plants were observed during a hike to the top. Before this, members…

Posted in Plants

Botany Trip to the Mt. Tamana, Central Range, Trinidad.

Members of the botany group (from left to right: Shane Manchouck, Linton Arneaud, Chantal Leotaud,…

Posted in Plants

Fasciation in Manilkara Zapota L. (Sapotaceae), Trinidad

Sapodilla (Manilkara zapota) tree one year after a termite nest was burnt.(A) Normal long shoot…

Posted in Invertebrates

Gulf Fritillary on Sulfur Cosmos flower

A Gulf fritillary (Dione vanillae) was spotted in my flower garden gracefully sitting on a beautiful…

Posted in Birds

Kiskadee stealing nesting material

The Great Kiskadee -always the opportunist- is captured here stealing material from the nest of a…

Posted in Plants

Growing the Nipa palm

Nuts of the nipa palm (Nypa fruticans) are regularly found on our beaches, especially on…

Posted in Plants

White Lined Tanager feeding on Balisier

White Lined Tanager (Tachyphonus rufus) eating the real flower of the Balisier plucked from the…

Posted in Birds

Caracara raiding a bird’s nest

Yellow-Headed Caracara (Milvago chimachima) caught in the act of piercing the nest of a Yellow…

Posted in Birds Invertebrates Mammals

One year in, one year to go

While I have been experimenting with camera traps in south Trinidad for several years now,…

Posted in Invertebrates

The Moth Trap

Unfortunately I have not been able to spend as much time on this website as…

Posted in Birds Invertebrates Mammals Reptiles and Amphibians

Asa Wright’s Legacy

One of my fond memories as a child was reading an article written by Williams…

Posted in Birds Invertebrates Mammals Plants

A Tale of Two Forests

Forest environments vary widely in their capacity to attract and sustain wildlife. From the dry…

Posted in Birds Invertebrates Mammals

Known Unknowns

“We also know there are known unknowns; that is to say, we know there are…

Posted in Birds Invertebrates Mammals

Treasures in the bush

For the last few weeks I have been spending most of my free time in…

Posted in Birds

The 2011 Christmas Bird Count

The annual Christmas Bird Count was held in Trinidad and Tobago on 2 January 2012….

Posted in Birds Fish Plants

Unfamiliar faces

It took me just about 15 minutes to drive to the South Oropouche Lagoon (SOL)…