Grafton Caledonia Wildlife Sanctuary

Grafton was a cocoa estate whose owner began feeding birds after Hurricane Flora devastated the island in 1963 and left the wildlife without food, and the feeding has continued ever since. The estate is now a sanctuary, and at a set time each afternoon a warden puts out food on a platform, bringing in mot mots, cocricos, jacamars, tanagers and doves at close range. Trails run through the second-growth forest behind.

The landscape

• The feeding platform - birds coming in at close range at a set time each afternoon.
• The blue-crowned motmot - one of the regular and most striking visitors.
• The cocrico - Tobago's national bird, common on the estate.
• The forest trails - walks through the regenerating cocoa estate behind.

When to go

January to May is driest. The feeding happens in the afternoon at a set time, which is when most people come. Early morning is also good for birds along the trails.

Good to know

The main event is a feeding session and lasts around twenty minutes. Trails are informal and poorly marked. It is free and unstaffed for much of the day, and a donation is expected.

Nearby

Plymouth is north, and Black Rock is on the coast.