Safari aims to raise awareness of the island's lesser-known

It's been supported by bushcraft expert and TV presenter Ray Mears, who visited St Lucia earlier this year in search of these vulnerable creatures and has become an ambassador for the small six campaign to raise awareness of conservation and sustainable tourism on the island.

- BY HANNAH STEPHENSON

The overnight rain has left the Des Cartiers trail in the Quilesse Forest Reserve muddy, so we gingerly wend our way, negotiating the slippery path of decomposing leaves and avoiding exposed giant tree roots threatening to trip us up underneath the rich canopy of trees, where Nestor listens for bird calls and we all look up, straining our eyes for signs of these elusive species.

"The number one indication that a bird is there is the call," he explains, occasionally using an app on his phone which mimics the calls of the birds we are looking for.