TOUCAN BIRDING TOURS CUBA MARCH 2007 TRIP REPORT
GROUP MEMBERS: Andy and Melissa Banthorpe, Dr Sonia Jupp, Olga Aardoom
TOUR LEADER: Frank Lambert.
ITINERARY - 3 March 2007
Group members arrive in La Habana via Paris. Once the entire group is assembled we set off to Soroa for the night (about 1.5 hours drive from Havana). Stygian Owl seen very well near our cabins despite the full moon.
4 March - We birded in the forested hills near Soroa in the morning, departing for San Diego de los Banos after lunch. Soroa provided a very good introduction to the more widespread Cuban endemics, including the trogon, tody, Cuban Green Woodpecker and solitaire, as well as a few migrants such as Louisiana Waterthrush and the first of many Ovenbirds. Birding in Hacienda Cortina in La Guira NP in the afternoon produced a good selection of wintering wood warblers, but there was no sign of Giant Kingbird.
5 March We visited “the pines” in La Giura NP where we easily found Olive-capped Warbler, Western Spindalis (Stripe-headed Tanager) and Cuban Vireo. As we left the area, a brief view of a male Cuban Grassquit was unexpected.We then headed to specifically Cuevas de los Portales (a former hideout for Che Guevara) where we failed to see Cave Swallows (a summer visitor) but had excellent views of Cuban Solitaire again.
29 March – 9 April 2009 Itinerary
We briefly stopped again at Hacienda Cortina before lunch. A late afternoon departure for a night in Hemingway’s favourite hotel in the old part of Havana (La Habana) stopping at two reservoirs near Presa Nina Bonita on route, where we saw Ring-necked Ducks, Lesser Scaup and hundreds of American Coots.
6 March Leaving Havana after breakfast, we headed for Cayo Coco, arriving late in the afternoon. More than a thousand Greater Flamingos seen in distant sunlight was a memorable spectacle as we crossed from the mainland along the causeway. A very tight flock of at least 600 Double-crested Cormorants was also of great interest.
7 March We started the day with West Indian Whistling Duck and Clapper Rail in the hotel grounds before breakfast. The rest of the day was spent birding on Cayo Guillermo (Bahama Mockingbird, Cuban Gnatcatchers) and Cayo Coco (Oriente Warblers, Cuban Vireos, Gundlach’s Hawk on a nest). The beach just east of our hotel produced a good selection of waders, including Wilson’s and Piping Plovers and an American Oystercatcher (for which there are only a handful of records for Cuba). Despite strong winds and rain associated with a cold front, we managed to see all of our target species for the day.
8 March We revisited the nest site of Gundlach’s Hawk early and saw one bird flying around the area before going to Cayo Paredon Grande (Thick-billed Vireos). Afternoon on Cayo Coco, including the trail at Las Cuevas de Jabali looking unsuccessfully for Key West Quail-Dove but finding at least two Zapata Sparrows.
9 March We visited Las Cuevas de Jabali before breakfast, where we had fantastic views of Key West Quail-Dove, then travelled to Camaguey, where we had lunch. After lunch, we birded in La Belen NP where we saw Giant Kingbirds and, in the rain, Bare-legged Owl (Cuban Screech-owl).
10 March All day birding La Belen NP and its environs around Najasa. Palm Crows were seen around Najasa, whilst La Belen provided great views of a pair of Cuban Grassquits as well as Cuban Parrot, Cuban Parakeet, Plain Pigeon, Cuban Pygmy Owls and Bare-legged Owls and another Gundlach’s Hawk on a nest.
11 March Travel day from Camaguey to Playa Larga in the Bay of Pigs in the Zapata Peninsula. We stopped en route at La Boca Crocodile Farm to see Cuban Red-Winged Blackbird.
12 March Zapata Peninsula: Bermeja, Palmite and Soplillar. We spent nearly three hours watching a water hole in the forest at Bermeja where we had amazing views of at least 10 Grey-headed Quail-Doves and at least 6 Key West Quail-Dove. The endangered Blue-headed Quail-Dove, however, proved elusive and was not seen. A full-plumaged male Bee Hummingbird was seen briefly near Palmite in the afternoon, whilst Soplillar produced another Key West Quail-Dove. There has been extensive recent logging in the Soplillar area, and its reputation as a good birding site is perhaps no longer deserved. We had distant views of Cuban Nightjar near Playa Larga in the evening (perched in mid-storey in dense forest).
13 March Zapata Peninsula: La Turba, Palmite, La Boca and Bermeja. Pre-dawn start near La Turba Ecological Station where we heard but could not see Cuban Nightjars. Zapata Wrens started calling just after dawn, and at first proved elusive. However, it was not long before we obtained amazing prolonged scope views of this elusive endemic singing from the top of a small tree at the edge of the marsh. Late morning provided us with fantastic views of three Bee Hummingbirds (including a full-plumaged male) near Palmite and Cuban Martins at La Boca. In the early afternoon we saw another male Bee Hummingbird near Bermeja before spending three hours watching the forested water hole at Bermeja. Although we again failed to see Blue-headed Quail-Dove we did see a very good selection of wood warblers coming to drink, including the only Worm-eating Warbler of the trip. In the evening we finally had good views of Cuban Nightjar near Playa Larga and a superb Stygian Owl outside our bungalows.
14 March Birding near Playa Larga before our departure for Havana, stopping at La Boca en route and Havana Harbour, where we saw at least 10 Forster’s Terns. Arrival in Havana for lunch. Brief city tour before transfer to airport for international flights with Air France.
15 March Arrive home.
Weather: Generally hot but fairly cloudy for most of the tour, and with rain showers intermittently in the Cayo Coca area and La Belen NP.
Thanks is due to our tour guide in Cuba, Felix Reinaldo and our driver Javier, both of whom did an excellent job and made this trip the success it was. Our local birding guides, Cesar, Paulino, Arelis, Pestana and Mario assisted greatly in finding the birds we were looking for.
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