Naturetrek Wildlife Tour, Visiting St Lucia 5 – 12 January 2018

Ed Drewitt is a freelance naturalist, broadcaster, wildlife detective and consultant. This January he guided a bird watching group booked through http://www.naturetrek.co.uk. The following is his brief account of the amazing trip to Saint Lucia.

The hot and sunny Caribbean is the perfect place to visit in the new year and St Lucia is no exception. During our nine-day tour we encountered all the country’s endemic birds from the St Lucia Warbler to the St Lucia Parrot as well as species that are found just in the Lesser Antillean islands such as the saltator and the bullfinch.

We stayed at the luxury Anse Chastanet hotel where many of these species can be seen and visited rainforest reserves to see birds such as the sought after Rufous-throated Solitaire and the Pearly-eyed Thrasher. The solitaire showed particularly well, singing and feeding on berries close to the viewpoint.

At Millet rainforest reserve we had very close views of Grey Tremblers and the St Lucia Black Finch, all feeding on the halved coconuts put out for them on stakes. A sky ride in the forest near Castries provided the opportunity to look down onto the forest and be at eye level with stunning hummingbirds such as the territorial Purple-throated Caribs. On the boat journey there we saw three ospreys and a peregrine. And a trip to the dry woodland in the east revealed the endangered White-breasted Thrashers.

Finally, the sea provided the perfect opportunity to see over 200 Pantropical Spotted Dolphins just off the Pitons, the iconic volcanic landmarks that depict St Lucia.

View more images in the gallery below (all photos credit Ed Drewitt):