Leaving the Vinales region in northwestern Cuba, we traveled east for several hours before heading south. Our destination was the Zapata Peninsula, Cuba’s largest wetland and a Ramsar-designated Wetland of International Importance.
After driving for almost eight hours, we finally stopped at a restaurant for lunch. On the grounds I found another Cuban endemic species and another life bird—the Cuban Crow. Shortly after our lunch stop, we arrived in the small town of Caleton, which would be our base for the next several days.
Our first birding stop was at a private residence. The property was basically the equivalent of a “pay yard” in North America. For a small amount of money, we went on to the property and birded the yard. This yard was a birding paradise, filled with native plants and 12-15 feeding stations.
The variety and quantity of birds in the yard was astonishing. It was here that I got my first look at the Bee Hummingbird, the world’s smallest bird and an endemic species to Cuba. Female Bee Hummingbirds weight 2.6 grams, and males weigh only 1.95 grams! For weight comparison, a nickel weighs five grams, or more than twice the weight of two male Bee Hummingbirds!
Other species observed on the property included Cuban Emerald (another hummingbird species), West Indian Woodpecker, Cuban Blackbird, Greater Antilles Grackle, Tawny-winged Blackbird, Gray Catbird, Red-legged Thrush, Cuban Oriole, and Yellow-faced Grassquit. The warbler species were Cape May, Black-throated Blue, Northern Parula and Palm.
Every morning, we left Caleton when it was still dark in order to arrive at the location of our “target” birds. One morning we saw five different Cuban endemic species in the first hour or two, including Blue-headed Quail Dove, White-fronted Quail Dove, Bare-legged Owl, Cuban Parakeet and Cuban Amazon. I got some amazing videos of many of these species that I will post on The Lookout’s Facebook page.
One morning we drove to Santo Tomas, a small outpost in the heart of the Zapata wetlands. Here we got into small, non-motorized boats, piloted by locals using long poles to push the boats. Our boat trip took us down a narrow canal in search of two endemic species found in this area—the Zapata Sparrow and the Zapata Wren. It was such a peaceful, serene experience, as we glided in silence through the water.
We found the sparrow quite easily, and got decent looks at a few of them. Eventually we reached a spot where we left our boats and walked a short distance into the surrounding marshy habitat. Our guides had been cautioning us that the wren was very difficult to find, and we might not see it.
Once we were situated in “the spot,” our guide played the vocalization of the wren. Almost immediately one flew into view, and proceeded to sing and sing for us. It was simply breathtaking.
On another occasion we drove south to Las Salinas, an area best characterized as mangrove swamps, coastal lagoons and mudflats. The variety of birdlife was dizzying, and we added yet another endemic species to our trip list—the Cuban Black Hawk, which is similar in many ways to the Common Black Hawks that occur in Arizona.
It was at Las Salinas where we saw flocks of American Flamingos, Roseate Spoonbills, Wood Storks, White Ibis, and a variety of herons, egrets and even a Peregrine Falcon!
One evening we enjoyed a bird walk at dusk and waited until it was almost dark before our guide started playing a recording of another target bird, the Cuban Nightjar. Again, we were blessed with success in finding this endemic species.
More next week on my Cuba trip. Until then, Happy Birding!
Eric Moore is the owner of The Lookout, in Prescott, where you will find a Hallmark Gold Crown Store, wild bird products, and Swarovski and Vortex optics. Eric has been an avid birder for over 55 years. Eric can be contacted at eric@thelookoutaz.com.
I have been doing a lot of digiscoping on this trip—using my Swarovski spotting scope and my iPhone to take both still shots and video. After I get home I will get some these loaded onto The Lookout Facebook page so you can see what I saw!
This past weekend was the winter solstice, the shortest day and the longest night of the year. While I personally do not like the cold, I do love the winter night sky. Each morning when I go outside to retrieve the newspaper, I like to just pause, and look at the heavens and take in the wonder of the night sky.
Maybe like you, unfortunately I live in a neighborhood where some of my neighbors leave their outside lights on all night long. Why? I have no idea. To me it is annoying, and a poor use of precious resources. We live in a time when we need to be so mindful of how we use energy.
One may think it is a little thing, a 100 watt bulb left on all night, but multiply that by hundreds and thousands of lights left on all night and what a huge impact this has on energy use.
There is a dark sky ordinance in some communities. I personally like living in a community where people value dark skies. I like living in a neighborhood where there aren’t any street lights.
Another issue to consider is the impact of lights on wild birds, especially when they are migrating. Lights at night disorient while birds, resulting in window strikes, resulting in an untimely death.
Several months ago the Courier ran an article about outdoor lights at night, and the impact on wild birds. I concur.
