Going once to the island of Trinidad in the Lesser Antilles Islands of the southern Caribbean was a pleasure and a privilege. Going a second time was even better – especially with my wife, Lori.

My first trip was a Naturalist Journeys/Caligo Ventures tour of Trinidad and Tobago where I was the host guide. A breath-taking highlight was during our trip to Caroni Swamp where thousands of Scarlet Ibis flocked to their communal night roost on a small island.

Afterward I phoned Lori on a rainy November day in Seattle. She was at work dealing with all the stresses of her job cleaning up toxic waste sites for the Environmental Protection Agency. When I described this shockingly beautiful sight, the phone went silent on her end for a while. This proved to be the moment when she decided to retire after her 37-year career at EPA. No longer would she miss opportunities like this one!

Fast forward three years later, and we were in Trinidad together with a small group of friends. We stayed at the venerable Asa Wright Lodge, one of the first eco-lodges established in 1967. The lodge promotions claim that you can see 40 life birds from its verandah before breakfast – it’s true!

A distinct highlight of our trip to Trinidad was the Caroni Marsh boat tour led by Lester Nanan. He represents the third generation of boat pilots and interpreters from his family to lead tours through the 12,000-acre marsh, located less than ten miles from the capital/principal city of Port of Spain.

Lester’s tour was in late afternoon on a typical sunny, humid tropical day. He maneuvered the large flat-bottomed boat into a mangrove-lined channel. Then he started spotting birds while he drove slowly through the channel: Masked Cardinal, Yellow-hooded Blackbird, Boat-billed Heron, and American Pygmy Kingfisher were among them.

Lester steered our boat into open water, just before sunset, and parked across from a small island shrouded in vegetation. We watched and waited. Our Naturalist Journeys/Caligo local guide, Charron, broke out appropriately pink-colored rum punch drinks as we waited.

A few of the first Scarlet Ibis appeared, flying in brilliant red lines toward the island. Then they started flooding in by the hundreds– an incredible spectacle. They fluttered about over the island, and one by one settled on the vegetation to spend the night. As the light faded, the island appeared like a huge Christmas display with alternating patches of bright red and verdant green.

Lori was moved to silence and then tears. First hearing my story about this place, followed by her decision to retire, and now witnessing this spectacle for herself, was overwhelming.

The Ibis flock in from a 40-square mile area. Their brilliant red tones derive from their diet which is high on crustaceans. American Flamingos exhibit similar colors, also due to their shellfish diet, and indeed, one of these spectacular birds flew amid the thousands of Scarlet Ibis.

This experience and the refuge itself, was brought to us by the Nanan family. Starting with Lester’s grandfather, Simon Oudi Nanan in the 1930s, tours of Caroni Marsh were first provided in the 1930s. Simon’s son, Winston, assisted with the tours and became expert in the flora and fauna of the marsh. In the first several decades of their tours, the marsh was not protected and the Ibis could still be hunted.

Then in 1948, Simon and Winston led a successful petition drive to establish the Caroni Bird Sanctuary. In 1962, when Trinidad gained its independence from Great Britain, the Scarlet Ibis was designated its national bird. From this point on, the species and its roosting area were protected; hunting it was no longer allowed.

In 2012, the 50^th anniversary of Trinidad and Tobago’s independence, Winston Nanan was awarded the prestigious Humming Bird Silver Medal for his work to save the swamp, the Scarlet Ibis and the 100-plus other species that inhabit it. In 2015, Trinidad renamed the Caroni Bird Sanctuary to honor Winston Nanan who was instrumental in the preservation of the marsh and Trinidad’s national bird.

Sadly, Winston passed away three years ago., He left behind a living legacy in his son Lester, who continues to lead interpretive tours like the one we were on last month. Winston’s legacy also lives on via the vast, biologically-diverse marsh he helped protect and the thousands of Scarlet Ibis that continue to roost there. Bird luminary and author Kenn Kaufman referred to Caroni Marsh as “one of the most famous birding swamps on the planet.”

As dusk settled in, we departed with the vivid memory of thousands of roosting Scarlet Ibis and of being in the company of dedicated conservationists. Thank goodness there are people like the Nanans who protect and steward our natural heritage.