Wild Tobago

Faraaz Abdool asks us to sharpen our other senses as we walk in the rainforest. When we least expect it, we may be lucky to hear, and maybe see, these birds that are good at hiding.   Wherever we are on the planet, the probability of seeing a bird is always high. On an island as compact as Tobago, it is impossible to escape them! Yet, there are several species that exist alongside those we’re accustomed to that are rarely encountered. This is most apparent in wild areas such as the Main Ridge Forest Reserve. Here, there is ample space, a network of undulating hills covered in untamed forest for all forms of feathered friends to proliferate.   Within a habitat such as this, a variety of factors can contribute to the bird being infrequently seen. Perhaps it feeds on a low-density food and thus requires considerable territory from which it can subsist. In that case it is purely up to luck and chance for the human observer to cross paths with this specie...

Who are these birds that hop effortlessly along the sides of trees, sometimes hanging upside down to peck at insect treats? Faraaz Abdool continues his exploration in the rainforest and introduces the wood creepers. All photos by Faraaz Abdool These little birds may be considered similar to woodpeckers, but they are different. One is often unsure of whether or not the flash of brown is a bird – until it takes to the air, flapping and gliding on splayed russet feathers to assume a position on the side of another tree.   As their name suggests, woodcreepers do seem to creep effortlessly up and down the trunks of trees, defying gravity as they hop along the underside of branches. Just as woodpeckers are tethered to large trees, so too are woodcreepers. Being smaller birds, however, allows them access to thinner branches than their heavier cousins; and thus they have the luxury of foraging further away from the thickest limbs. Most woodcreepers are designed to blend into the ...