ASTT PLEIN-AIR CARONI SWAMP TRIP-
Saturday 1st March 230pm-630pm
Report by Peter Sheppard
Photos: peter Sheppard
Thank you to all members who attended Saturday's Plein-Air Field Trip to the CARONI SWAMP BIRD SANCTUARY.
We could not have asked for better weather, although the morning
period was touch and go, but by 230pm the clouds just went away for us.
There was 12 of us who met at the small boat shed at Canal #9 at the
site referred to as THE CARONI SWAMP BIRD SANCTUARY just West of the
Churchill Roosevelt Highway. Winston Nanan had allocated a boat just
for our group so we were able to spread out.
As we embarked on canal #9 into the direction of the afternoon sun,
we found some wooden boats tied in the shade of the mangrove with a
boy and his father fishing for cat fish. We asked out driver, Nazir
to back up and we sat on the opposite side of the canal and sketched
them for about 15-20minutes. Our boat continued down the canal we
encountered Mr Boa (Snake) sleep in the folk of the tree about 12'
above us. The mangrove and canal extended straight ahead of us
creating nice lines of perspective and v-shaped reflections in the
water. We made a left turn along a water course which was recently
dredged and as a result there was some churned up debris on the
embankment. But nature makes everything beautiful in due course and
the twisted roots of the mangrove was a perfect perch for The Blue
Heron which they were many of along the boat trip.
The tide was falling and we found ourselves in one of the open
lagoons thus unveiling a magnificent panoramic view of the wetland
environment with a backdrop of the Northern Range. Egrets, Herons
and even Scarlet Ibis were seen either on the water on on the mud- flats
searching for the food. Before long a flock of brilliant
Scarlet Ibis approached from the West. This seemed to me to be an
early arrival and as such the sunlight on them was amazing.
Our next location was a tunneled area through the mangrove where we
tied up and sat for about 30-45minutes and did some more sketching.
As if pre-arranged, two Scarlet Ibis sat on the branches in front of
us. The roots of the mangrove criss-crossed on both the left and
right of us and the canopy of branches and greenery over us. There
was light at the end of the tunnel providing elegant linear
reflections on the still water. Everyone shared their snacks and had
a drink thus creating a spontaneous picnic. Later on we returned to
the main lagoon for viewing the Scarlet Ibis and tied up next to the
other boats packed with visitors to the Caroni Swamp Bird Sanctuary
including the boat with the loud Asian Tourists who oooo'ed and
ahh'ed loudly whenever the birds flew past.
Taking advantage of the good weather days ahead, we are planning two
more PLEIN AIR sessions this month. One on Saturday 15th March and
the other the weekend after Easter on Saturday 29th March. Once those
venues are confirmed we will update this site to announce it, but I
think they are both very exciting trips and we look forward to more
people joining our plein-air sessions.
New member: Sharon Arrindel |
ASTT Member Tara Amar
puts pencil to paper |
Early arrivals-The National Bird-The Scarlet Ibis in flight, Caroni Swamp
The group absorbs the beauty of the main lagoon
