Sunday, August 18, 2013

Cuba - August 2013


Our first stop at the Copacabana Hotel, Havana enabled us to pick up some of the regulars:
- Antilliean Palm Swift*
- Purple Martin*
- House Sparrow
- Cuban Blackbird*
- squadron of White Ibis flew over at dusk
- Collared Dove
- Barn Swallow.

On the tour of Havana
- Killdeer, Cuban Grackle* at the fort
- Turkey Vultures (which are very numerous here and pretty much the only bird of prey one is likely to see) circling the big modern monument on Revolution square
- Common Ground Dove and Red-legged Thrush* at the Hotel Nacional and a Brown Pelican patrolling the sea
- Cuban Emerald* is the only Hummingbird likely to be seen
- Gray Kingbird* and Loggerhead Kingbird* are everywhere. Former has paler head with distinct eyestripe, whereas latter has a darker head overall.
- Feral Pigeon, natch.

The Forest Park in Las Terrazas turned out to be a great spot
- Cuban Trogon* glimpsed on a Telegraph wire...fortunately better views to come (photo)
Yellow-Faced Grassquit
Red-Legged Honeycreeper

West Indian Woodpecker

Loggerhead Kingbird

Cuban Green Woodpecker

Green Heron

Gray Kingbird

Common Ground Dove

Crescent Eyed Pewee

Northern Mockingbird

Cuban Emerald


Royal Tern

Yellow-Capped Night Heron

Yellow Warbler
Magnificent Tropicbird

Little Blue Heron


Cuban Tody
Cuban Trogon

- Great Lizard-Cuckoo* - distinctive silhouette rising from the canopy
- Cuban Tody* (photo)
- Red-legged Honeycreeper* - in green phase (photo)
- Yellow-faced Grassquit

Yellow-Faced Grassquit
Banos de San Juan
- Little Egret

Smooth Billed Ani
From the bus
- Smooth-Billed Ani*
- Green Heron
- American Kestrel 
- Mourning Dove
- White-Winged Dove


Vinales
- Tawny Winged Blackbird*
- West Indian Woodpecker*
- Northern Mockingbird
- Bird Walk, Cuban Green Woodpecker*
- Rural Walk, Cattle Egret

Then a long drive to Australia and a Crocodile Breeding Centre where we saw a Grey Heron (!)

Then to Playa Larga where Lydia brilliantly spotted a Yellow-throated Warbler* in a palm tree.

At Caleta Buena, Crescent-eyed Pewee* 

Our hotel at Cienfuegos had great sea views and from the front we saw
- Laughing Gull
- Royal Tern* 
- Magnificent Frigatebird.

At Trinidad 'Ma Dolores'
- Cuban Crow* in the Royal Palms
- Yellow-crowned Night* and Little Blue Herons on the river.

Passing thru mangrove swamps we saw Black-necked Stilt on our way to boat trip to Cayo Blanco, where a very friendly group of Yellow Warblers* were present.    

At Santa Clara, Lydia spotted Ferdinanda Flicker, but I missed it!


3 comments:

Anonymous said...

You might just have managed to inspire us to take up twitiching.
Great pictures - Regards Richard, Sarah, Gwylim & Iwan!

Alan Y said...

You certainly brought a new dimension to our travels on this trip. Thanks for including us, and also for a bit of bat watching.

Anita said...

Fab photos! We went cycling in the Lee Valley yesterday and I took binoculars and a book. Managed to identify a cormorant and a coot, so a long, long way to go as yet! Anita