Tropical Mockingbird / Mimus gilvus, Tobago

I had never seen a Tropical Mockingbird before and we got quite a few chances to photograph them on our trip to Trinidad & Tobago. This was one of the ones that were hanging out at the Blue Waters Inn. Was so nice to have a bird that stood still for a moment, and out in the open, unlike most of the birds we were fortunate enough to see on this 10-day trip.

"The Tropical Mockingbird is the neotropical counterpart to the Northern Mockingbird (Mimus polyglottus), replacing Northern Mockingbird south of the Isthmus of Tehuantepec. The two species are similar in appearance, but Tropical Mockingbird has less white in the wings, lacking the white primary coverts and white bases to the primaries of Northern Mockingbird. The distribution of this species is discontinuous. The original range was southern Mexico south to Honduras, and again in northern South America, but with a gap from central Honduras south to Colombia. In the 1930s, however, an introduced population was discovered in central Panama. Tropical Mockingbird occupies open habitats with scattered shrubs and trees, and readily colonizes towns and gardens. It often perches in exposed sites, such as along telephone or electric lines or in the tops of shrubs. This species is primarily insectivorous, but also consumes small vertebrates and small fruit. The song of the Tropical Mockingbird is a long musical series of phrases, many of which are repeated several times. Unlike the Northern Mockingbird, however, the Tropical Mockingbird is not reported to mimic other species." From Cornell Lab of Ornithology, Neotropical Birds.

neotropical.birds.cornell.edu/portal/species/overview?p_p...

Bear with me, everyone, as I think I am going to have to post 5 photos (I posted 6 the first two days) from my trip each day, otherwise it will take me many months (years?) to get them on to Flickr. Obviously, no comments expected, unless you happen to like one photo in particular. Actually, I am so disappointed with my photos - never have so many photos come out blurry, many totally blurry and no use at all. I'm not sure why, though the light was often really bad and maybe the humidity had some effect. For some species, I will be posting awful shots, just for the record. I might even post a pile of photos at a time some evenings, when far fewer people are on Flickr, and then post five better images the following morning. Won't even stop and add descriptions, etc., just so that I can get my photos added here.

It will take me forever to do much of a write-up about this trip, but I hope to add an extra bit of information about each photo to the very simple, basic description. Right now, I'm not quite sure where I was and when, lol! We arrived back in Calgary in the evening of 21 March 2017, and I have to get myself somewhat organized and should be seeing to all sorts of important things. Instead, of course, I have been stuck in front of my computer all day, each day : ) Totally dead beat after such a busy time away, dealing with extremely early mornings and hot, humid weather. Those of you who know me well, know that I am a dreadful night-owl, so getting up around 5:15 am was an absolute killer. Also, heat and humidity don't agree with my body, so each trip out was quite exhausting - but a thrill, of course! In the morning of 21 March, we had to get up around 2:00 am, as we had such an early flight (5 and a half hours) from Trinidad to Toronto - followed by a four-hour flight back to Calgary. On our very first day, we had three flights in a row, as we flew from Calgary to Toronto, then Toronto to Port of Spain on Trinidad, from where we had a short flight to the island of Tobago. Still can't believe I've actually had this trip!

This adventure was only the second holiday (or was it actually my third?) of any kind, anywhere, that I have had in something like 30 or 35 years! The other holiday was a wonderful, one-week holiday with my great friends from England, Linda and Tony, when we went down south to Yellowstone National Park and the Grand Tetons in September 2012. I have had maybe half a dozen weekends away, including to Waterton National Park, which have helped keep me going.

Six birding/photographer friends and I decided that we would take this exciting trip together (from 12-21 March 2017), spending the first two or three days on the island of Tobago and then the rest of the time at the Asa Wright Nature Centre on the nearby, much larger island of Trinidad. We decided to take a complete package, so everything was included - flights (we were so very lucky to get Black Friday prices, which were 50% off!), accommodation at both places, all our food, and the various walks and day trips that we could chose from. Two of my friends, Anne B. and Brenda, saw to all the planning of flights and accommodations, which was so very much appreciated by the rest of us. I could never have done all this myself!

What a time we had, seeing so many beautiful and interesting things - and, of course, everything was a lifer for me. Some of these friends had visited Costa Rica before, so were familiar with quite a few of the birds. There was a lot more to see on Trinidad, so we were glad that we chose Tobago to visit first and then spend a longer time at Asa Wright. It was wonderful to be right by the sea, though, at the Blue Waters Inn on the island of Tobago.

The Asa Wright Nature Centre, on the much larger island of Trinidad, is such an amazing place! We stayed in cabins up or down hill from the main building. Really, one doesn't need to travel away from the Centre for birding, as so many different species visit the Hummingbird feeders that are right by the huge, open veranda, and the trees of the rain forest high up a mountainous road. The drive up and down this narrow, twisting, pot-holed road was an adventure in itself! Never would I ever do this drive myself - we had a guide who drove us everywhere in a van/small bus. I had read many accounts of this road, lol! There was just enough room for two vehicles to squeeze past each other, and the honking of horns was almost continuous - either to warn any vehicle that might be coming fast around the next bend or as a sign that drivers knew each other. The drive along this road took just over an hour each way.

I'm already missing the great food that was provided every single day at Asa Wright and the Rum Punch that appeared each evening. I never drink at all, so I wasn't sure if I would even try the Punch - glad I did, though, as it was delicious and refreshing.