A Day of Birding in Trinidad: Yerette and Caroni Experience

Overview

Lying just seven miles off the coast of South America, Trinidad holds the richest birdlife of any island nation in the Caribbean, more than 400 species crowded onto one small, green island. You do not need a week to fall in love with it. You need one perfect day, and you need someone who knows exactly where to stand and when.

This is that day. We begin in the cool of the morning at Yerette, a private sanctuary in the Maracas Saint Joseph valley known across the birding world as the Home of the Hummingbird, where these tiny jewels arrive not in ones and twos but in their hundreds. There is a deep rightness to beginning here, because long before it was called Trinidad, the first peoples knew this island as Iere, the Land of the Hummingbird. To watch them swarm the garden at Yerette is to meet the island by its oldest and truest name. We end at golden hour on the still water of the Caroni Swamp, watching the national bird of Trinidad and Tobago, the brilliant Scarlet Ibis, pour across the sky in their thousands to roost. Between the two, a proper Trini meal and the warm, unhurried company of a guide who treats every guest like family.

It is a day for the serious birder with a life list and a long lens, for the photographer chasing the shot of a lifetime, and equally for the traveller who wants to witness something they will never forget. Whether you arrive a seasoned expert who knows every call by ear, a photographer with the Merlin Bird ID app in one hand and a camera in the other, or a curious newcomer just discovering this world, your guide meets you exactly where you are, and you will leave with a longer list, fuller memory cards, and a fuller heart than you came with.

Tour Highlights

• Spend the morning at Yerette, the celebrated private hummingbird sanctuary in the Maracas Saint Joseph valley, where hundreds of hummingbirds gather in a single garden, on the island the first peoples named Iere, the Land of the Hummingbird
• Look for the dazzling Tufted Coquette, the Ruby Topaz, the White necked Jacobin, the Copper rumped, the Blue chinned Sapphire, and the White chested Emerald, among the loveliest of Trinidad’s 17 hummingbird species
• Enjoy a relaxed brunch in the garden setting as the hummingbirds feed all around you, a photographer’s dream
• Take a guided boat tour into the mangrove channels of the Caroni Swamp, a protected wetland alive with herons, egrets, anhingas, and more
• Witness the unforgettable evening spectacle as thousands of Scarlet Ibis, the national bird, return to roost and turn the mangroves crimson at sunset
• Watch for the flamingos that now grace the Caroni wetlands, a picture perfect flash of pink that has made a welcome return to Trinidad’s shores
• Travel the whole day with an expert naturalist guide who is a storyteller first, weaving the birds into the wider story of our islands
• Hotel pickup and drop off, both sanctuary entrance fees, and your meals all taken care of

• Confirmation will be received at time of booking, unless booked within 3 hours of travel. In this case confirmation will be received as soon as possible, subject to availability.
• Not wheelchair accessible
• Near public transportation.
• No heart problems or other serious medical conditions
• Most travelers can participate.

• You can cancel up to 24 hours in advance of the experience for a full refund.
• For a full refund, you must cancel at least 24 hours before the experience’s start time.
• If you cancel less than 24 hours before the experience’s start time, the amount you paid will not be refunded.
• Any changes made less than 24 hours before the experience’s start time will not be accepted.
• Cut-off times are based on the experience’s local time.
• This experience requires good weather. If it’s canceled due to poor weather, you’ll be offered a different date or a full refund.