ASA WRIGHT. ASA WRIGHT. EVERY BIRDER going to Trinidad repeats Asa Wright as if it was a holy mantra. In actuality, Asa Wright is a rather small resort in the hills, not especially luxurious, but THE birding destination. There are several endemic species right on the property, including the oilbird, bellbird and a couple of manakins plus hummingbirds galore.
Connie fought hard to make sure we would visit all the locations we were promised because the lodge tried to fit us into the one size fits all” category. It didn’t hurt that a large group from Caligo was also there and we could follow their itinerary.
Golden-headed manakin
Tim and Candice, good friends from Colorado, were part of that group, along with their daughter, Andrea. We didn’t get to bird with them much but it was nice to chat in the evenings at dinner. Most of the time we were with Bill and Geoffrey, a couple of very serious photographers with many thousands of dollars of cameras. But we were with Tim, Candice and Andrea for the highlight of the trip; hundreds of scarlet ibis returning to the mangroves to roost for the night.
The oh-so-shy bearded bellbird
Despite the birds we saw, it was a bit disappointing. Too regimented and much more expensive than it should have been. It seems like we spent a lot of time in the van crissing and crossing the island, mired in the improbable traffic. And my allergies were off the chart. We are beginning to think that organized group tours are not for us and we will start looking for ways to get our own guides like we did in Madagascar.
