Caroni Swamp

The Caroni Swamp is a mangrove system south of Port of Spain and the roost of the scarlet ibis, the national bird of Trinidad and Tobago and one of the most intensely coloured birds in the world. Flat-bottomed boats leave in the late afternoon and wait in an open lagoon while flocks come in from the feeding grounds at dusk, settling on the mangroves until whole trees turn red. The same channels hold caiman, tree boas coiled on branches and silky anteaters, and the guides find them on the way out. Boats leave in the late afternoon and are back after dark.