Asa Wright Nature Centre
06-10-2008
Asa Wright Nature Centre
I spent a day last week at the Asa Wright Nature Centre, which is located in the lush rainforest of Trinidad. Amazingly the tiny nation of Trinidad & Tobago is ranked in the top 10 countries on the planet for bird species, as there are approximately 430 different species of birds there. T&T is the southern most nation in the Caribbean, is outside the hurricane belt, and its close proximity to South America means that there is a rich diversity of wildlife located on both islands.
In terms of mammals there are only about 108 species (and over 60 of those are bats) but the islands are famous for their bird life and birders from all over the world come to feast on the splendour that is contained within the rainforests. All around the capital city Port of Spain and the University of the West Indies campus in the city of St. Augustine are hundreds upon hundreds of cattle egrets and turkey vultures. Those two species stand out for me as they are easily recognizable, but there are countless other birds that I can only guess as to their scientific name.
The Nature Centre is a non-profit establishment where myself and the group of fellow students and aspiring teachers spent 2.5 hours on a hike through the jungle. We saw and heard bell birds, scarlet ibis, snowy egrets, and spotted many lizards. Back at the main verandah there were loads of hummingbirds and others that were beautiful but are unknown to me. The sheer volume of birds in T&T is bewildering, and while I'm not a birder I can appreciate viewing the multi-coloured birds that seem to be everywhere I turn.
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