April tourist destinations - Caroni Swamp

Caroni swamp is one of our new favorite places in Trinidad (we also like the beaches and have a favorite sushi restaurant). Caroni is a mangrove swamp with channels that were originally cut for irrigating sugar cane fields. The wetlands are now protected and are the nesting place for that national bird - the scarlet ibis - these pictures do not do these beautiful red birds justice.



The tour leaves at 4:00 and goes an hour into the swamp. The birds seem to fly like clockwork and around 5:30 each day the return to a nesting spot for the night after a day of eating. The birds landed in a couple of trees - fight for spots with black cormorants. What was weird was that while these trees were covered with birds, other trees were absolutely empty.




The birds flew in from every direction to the nesting spot.


On the boat ride we also spotted snakes ...


... and crabs (which the birds eat).