Birding Hacienda Jacana: July/August

As is typical of my style, by the time we were rolling down the hill approaching the Hacienda Jacana entrance, all I could hear was my stomach digesting itself. With approximately two hours left in the day, the question was to bird or to eat? Obviously the only logical answer was both.

I wolfed down that late lunch, and recorded a number of species by ear as we ate – trying desperately to hear Barred Antshrikes and a distant Southern Beardless Tyrannulet over the din of mastication. My food had not yet reached my stomach properly and I was already getting my camera ready for a brief walk before the sun dipped below the treeline.

Opting for slight cover, I walked along the various walkways linking the cottages and enjoyed the song of a lone Yellow-rumped Cacique from across the river. A movement from the undergrowth caught my eye, and I was excited for a brief moment until I realized that it was indeed a familiar bird – albeit looking a bit odd. This balding Blue-black Grassquit is likely an immature that is currently mid-moult into his adult plumage.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Further down the road the unmistakable tap, tap, tap on a branch could only mean one thing. Didn’t take long at all to locate the largest woodpecker in the Caribbean, the Crimson-crested Woodpecker.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Happy to get such a great view of such a beautiful bird before the night fell, I was content and about to return to the cabin when I heard the all-too-familiar call of one of Hacienda Jacana’s specialty species – Red-bellied Macaws! Snapped off a couple frames as two pairs rocketed past, thanking my lucky stars for the sighting. But more was to come.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

An hour into the darkness of the night and we had a pair of Tropical Screech Owls calling to each other for quite some time. The raucous shriek of a Limpkin shattered the regular night chorus of frogs and insects for a brief period of ten minutes or so. Before dawn broke, we heard the expected friendly hooting of a Ferruginous Pygmy-owl. Always brings a smile to my face.

The following morning luck didn’t particularly follow me – but I definitely heard a lot. At the crack of dawn the Limpkin from the night before descended on the bank of one of the ponds, and I decided to take my chances to grab the shot. Skittish as always, I took great care in stepping silently on the damp ground. Perhaps a little too much care. I got to the pond and there was no sight of the Limpkin. Then it popped up no more than twenty feet away, startled both photographer and intended subject and instantly took off. Oh well.

Hacienda Jacana is the best place on the island to secure excellent views of some of Trinidad’s most sought after avian species, such as the Red-bellied Macaw, Grey-necked Wood-Rail – and most recently I personally learned that if you want to get a good view of Black-tailed Tityra…

 

 

 

 

 

 

The trema tree next to our cabin was producing the small green berries I know birds love – so I kept a casual eye on the tree as I had a cup of coffee. Trinidad was under a national heat-wave-watch, and even in the forest it got rather hot rather quickly. The sun sprung high in the sky and seemed to linger as high as possible for as long as possible. Even the clouds avoided the sun.

Anyway, the trema tree was somewhat quiet, only visited by the occasional Tropical Mockingbird. Until a flash of mysterious looking feathers darted into the thickest part of the tree. A little bending on my part and I was able to secure a decent view – the closest view I’ve ever had actually – of a Piratic Flycatcher. These nest-robbing birds are usually found at the tops of the tallest trees, calling into the distance and scanning the horizon for potential prey and/or homes.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Also in the same tree was a very flitty Ochre-bellied Flycatcher.

 

 

 

 

 

 

I noticed another tree that was bearing fruit – well something edible – that was interestingly enough only attended to by the two species of Thrush, nothing else. Not sure what it’s called, but it was a definite dinner bell for the ubiquitous Spectacled Thrush.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

As well as the slightly less colourful but no less musical Cocoa Thrush.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Of course, the hummingbird opportunities are always there for the taking – we recorded eight species during our stay. This Copper-rumped Hummingbird seemed to have a white moustache – likely parasites of some sort?

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Channel-billed Toucans, although listed as vulnerable according to the IUCN are regulars within forested areas in Trinidad. It’s also the only species of toucan that’s native to the Caribbean – which makes sightings like these all the more special.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Toucan vocalizations can travel for miles, and so too can the calls of an equally attractive bird; the metallic-looking Rufous-tailed Jacamar. We had been hearing these birds in the distance for most of the day, but when the calls increased in volume we knew they were close. A quick scan of the mid-story branches where they enjoy perching revealed this male.

 

 

 

 

 

 

The often overlooked Tropical Pewee is another mainstay on the grounds. Yes, its name sounds like its call.

 

 

 

 

 

Bird calls are often critical in identification, the frenetic twittering of battling Boat-billed Flycatchers ensured that I didn’t record them as Great Kiskadees (which there were lots of). One individual perched for a half a minute, giving me an excellent view of that bulbous bill.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Bird calls can also be misleading, especially when certain species are around. I’ve heard Tropical Mockingbirds imitate the call of the Common Pauraque (caused a lot of confusion in my poor brain) during the last trip here. Violaceous Euphonias routinely imitate a myriad of neighboring species, including the uncommon Trinidad Euphonia. There is a fine point within the intonation of the imitation that will give an indication of the origin of the call. But a sighting circumvents that headache-inducing process, for sure. Trinidad Euphonias tend to stay high in the canopy, males have a dark throat as opposed to the yellow throat of the more common Violaceous Euphonia.

 

 

 

 

 

While my neck was already on a strain from looking up into the branches, my peripheral vision picked up some movement behind a clump of vegetation. Although Lineated Woodpecker was already on the list, it was still pleasant viewing.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Also extremely high up for a brief moment was a single Variegated Flycatcher – I had to bring the pictures up on the computer before I could make a definitive call on its identity due to its scarce nature. Also saw a lone Grey Kingbird fly through – they seem to be getting more and more common within Trinidad.

Taking a break from all that flycatcher activity in the treetops, I decided to undertake the supposedly mountainous task of locating the ventriloquist of the forest, using its call. All trogon species are notorious for their ability to seemingly throw their voice from one tree to the next – for brightly coloured birds they are ridiculously difficult to spot. Nevertheless, I finally managed to locate this male Guianan Trogon – of course after many minutes of whistling back to him.

 

 

 

 

 

 

By this time, the sun had started to dip toward the horizon again, and I decided to check around the water’s edge for anything out of the ordinary. Just as I was pondering the dearth of woodcreepers thus far, I heard a fluttering no more than ten feet above my head. I actually had to move away from this Plain-brown Woodcreeper to create this image.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Nothing out of the ordinary at the water’s edge as I had hoped – but what is Hacienda Jacana without its namesake? A brief shower of rain sent these young Wattled Jacanas into a frenzied search for cover, except the one chick who figured out it was a passing cloud 🙂

 

 

 

 

 

 

I was hoping for better luck the next morning – and before the sun had a chance to rise properly I managed to sneak up on this Green Kingfisher. Usually bolts when they sense any attention directed toward them, this female probably wasn’t fully awake yet. Unlikely though – take a good look at her huge pupils – she’s funneling all the available light onto her retinas, fully focussed on the first meal of the day.

 

 

 

 

 

 

The call of the Rufous-browed Peppershrike is a staple of the auditory landscape of the forest – but most times this bird remains strangely hidden.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I almost didn’t get the shot of the previous bird because I got distracted by some movement in a nearby palm tree. To my amazement, unbelievably, the tree was literally filled with Red-bellied Macaws! This was the most I’ve ever seen at one time – there were at least a dozen birds here. How many can you spot?

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

While macaws are some of the largest members of the psittacine family, parrotlets are some of the smallest. This Green-rumped Parrotlet is only a fraction of the size of its large cousin, but the similarity within the family is nothing short of astounding.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

It’s completely absorbing to observe the life cycle of many of these birds, and I do consider it an honour that they let me enjoy that little slice of their life. From the last time I was at Hacienda, I noticed many birds gathering nesting material or hunting non-stop to feed their ever-hungry brood. This time I noticed many young birds making their first forays into their world; this young Black-tailed Tityra is now killing grasshoppers all on its own – albeit supervised from a distance.

 

 

 

 

 

 

The list:

1. Little Tinamou
2. Striated Heron
3. Turkey Vulture
4. Black Vulture
5. Zone-tailed Hawk
6. Limpkin
7. Grey-necked Wood-Rail
8. Southern Lapwing
9. Wattled Jacana
10. Pale-vented Pigeon
11. White-tipped Dove
12. Grey-fronted Dove
13. Ruddy Ground Dove
14. Smooth-billed Ani
15. Squirrel Cuckoo
16. Tropical Screech-owl
17. Ferruginous Pygmy-owl
18. Grey-rumped Swift
19. Short-tailed Swift
20. White-necked Jacobin
21. Rufous-breasted Hermit
22. Little Hermit
23. Ruby-topaz Hummingbird
24. Black-throated Mango
25. Blue-chinned Sapphire
26. White-chested Emerald
27. Copper-rumped Hummingbird
28. Guianan Trogon
29. Green Kingfisher
30. Rufous-tailed Jacamar
31. Channel-billed Toucan
32. Golden-olive Woodpecker
33. Lineated Woodpecker
34. Crimson-crested Woodpecker
35. Lilac-tailed Parrotlet
36. Orange-winged Parrot
37. Green-rumped Parrotlet
38. Red-bellied Macaw
39. Black-crested Antshrike
40. Barred Antshrike
41. Plain-brown Woodcreeper
42. Streak-headed Woodcreeper
43. Forest Elaenia
44. Southern Beardless-Tyrannulet
45. Ochre-bellied Flycatcher
46. Yellow-breasted Flycatcher
47. Tropical Pewee
48. Piratic Flycatcher
49. Great Kiskadee
50. Boat-billed Flycatcher
51. Variegated Flycatcher
52. Tropical Kingbird
53. Fork-tailed Flycatcher
54. Grey Kingbird
55. Golden-headed Manakin
56. Black-tailed Tityra
57. White-winged Becard
58. Rufous-browed Peppershrike
59. Golden-fronted Greenlet
60. Southern Rough-winged Swallow
61. Grey-breasted Martin
62. White-winged Swallow
63. House Wren
64. Rufous-breasted Wren
65. Long-billed Gnatwren
66. Cocoa Thrush
67. Spectacled Thrush
68. Tropical Mockingbird
69. White-lined Tanager
70. Silver-beaked Tanager
71. Blue-grey Tanager
72. Palm Tanager
73. Turquoise Tanager
74. Blue-black Grassquit
75. Bananaquit
76. Crested Oropendola
77. Yellow-rumped Cacique
78. Shiny Cowbird
79. Trinidad Euphonia
80. Violaceous Euphonia

 

Feel free to check the activity at this beautiful eco-resort via my previous reports!

Jan/Feb, Mar/Apr, May/Jun