Caroni Swamp

File:Caronipanchrisfitzpatrick.JPG

Panoramic view of Caroni Bird Sanctuary looking North

The Caroni Swamp is the second largest mangrove wetland in Trinidad and Tobago. It is located on the west coast of Trinidad, south of Port of Spain and northwest of Chaguanas, where the Caroni River meets the Gulf of Paria.

The Caroni Swamp is an estuarine system comprising 5,611 hectares of mangrove forest and herbaceous marsh, interrupted by numerous channels, and brackish and saline lagoons, and with extensive intertidal mudflats on the seaward side. This swamp is an important wetland since it is ecologically diverse, consisting of marshes, mangrove swamp and tidal mudflats in close proximity. The wetland provides a variety of habitats for flora and faunal species and as such, supports a rich biodiversity. It is highly productive system that provides food and protection and is a nursery for marine and freshwater species.

The Caroni Swamp is an important tourist attraction and provides an important habitat for the scarlet ibis (Eudocimus ruber), one of the national birds of Trinidad and Tobago. It is also home to many other species of birds and houses The Caroni Bird Sanctuary, and is a protected wetland under the Ramsar Convention.

Wildlife highlights

• Great pondhawk (Erythemis vesiculosa) male Trinidad.JPG

  Great pondhawk dragonfly (Erythemis vesiculosa)

• Four-eyed fish (Anableps anableps).jpg

  Four-eyed fish (Anableps anableps)

• Cook's tree boa (Corallus hortulanus).jpg

  Cook's tree boa (Corallus hortulanus)

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  Scarlet ibis (Eudocimus ruber) flying in to roost

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  Roosting scarlet ibis (Eudocimus ruber)