Faraaz Abdool is a freelance wildlife photographer, writer, speaker, and poet based right here in Trinidad & Tobago. Focusing mainly on birds, his work has been widely published both digitally and in print.
Faraaz also functions as a marketing agent for several international birding destinations in addition to guiding birders within our country.
He considers ecotourism a valuable asset for habitat and biodiversity conservation, and this plays a pivotal role in the bespoke, transformative itineraries he crafts, which lean heavily on the principles of wellness and community, within which food and feeling are only accentuated by the birds.
Asa Wright Nature Centre, 2019
Photograph, stretched canvas
15” x 15”
Rarely, if ever, found singly, Turquoise Tanagers are charismatic residents of forests throughout Trinidad. Very little of them is turquoise, despite their name – the colour is limited to a small band on each wing.
Las Lapas, 2017
Photograph, stretched canvas
15” x 15”
A spectacular sight on any day, the Swallow Tanager is a reminder of the visceral connection we have in Trinidad with the South American mainland. Each year, a few select individuals travel from the mainland to the higher elevations of the Northern Range to breed. Interestingly, their nest is placed inside a hole in an embankment.
Main Ridge Forest Reserve, 2022
Photograph, stretched canvas
15” x 15”
Thick branches and massive leaves encase a Cocoa Woodcreeper within the protected rainforest of Tobago’s backbone. Even though this is the largest species of woodcreeper in T&T, it is still dwarfed by the landscape.
Morne Bleu, 2020
Photograph, stretched canvas
15” x 15”
The largest and most powerful raptor in T&T, the Black Hawk-Eagle is a menace to a multitude of creatures. It prefers to hunt from a perch within the forest, from where it would make a short but very quick and direct flight toward its intended prey. Its relatively short, broad wings combined with a long tail give it the ideal combination of speed and manoeuvrability in the air.
Asa Wright Nature Centre, 2017
Photograph, stretched canvas
15” x 15”
Most often found in the company of a raging swarm of army ants, the Great Antshrike has a unique and very successful feeding strategy. It follows these rivers of ants as they travel through the forest, ready to pounce on any creatures that may be trying to escape the marauding ants.
Main Ridge Forest Reserve, 2022
Photograph, stretched canvas
21” x 14”
Mature forests with large, broad-leaved trees provide the ideal habitat for the leaf litter ecosystem that is replete with myriad species of arthropods. These small invertebrates fall prey to larger predators such as spiders and centipedes, all are in turn fed on by birds such as this Grey-throated Leaftosser. As its name implies, it systematically throws leaves in the air to reveal any animals hidden beneath.