Lynnea Parker has been working with the program since January, assisting on a number of projects as our Avian Stewardship Assistant. Recently, she took a well earned vacation in Cuba – and we thought it would be fun for Lynnea to write a short blog on her trip. Here it is in her own words!

I went on a family vacation to Cuba in mid November. While everyone was frying on a beach near Varadero (turning various shades of red to purple) I was often found scampering around the resort looking for birds in the dense vegetation which bordered the property. On the occasion I braved the 30+ degrees Celsius to frolic in the ocean, I was keen to spot potential seabirds. My constant desire to bird watch no doubt annoyed my family to some extent! They didn’t understand why I couldn’t just “relax” 🙂

To prepare for my trip I purchased the Field Guide to the Birds of Cuba by Arturo Kirkconnell and Orlando H Garrido published in 2000. Studying it on the airplane, I identified which species could be found in the Matanzas – Varadero area (located on the north eastern side of Cuba, east of Havana). While I wasn’t going to the “hotspot” of Cuba, which could arguably be Playa Largo near Cuba’s largest National Park, I was still able to put together a list of roughly 100 potential species. The species diversity in Cuba is limited, despite being situated nicely between mainland Florida and Mexico. One reason for islands having reduced biodiversity relates to Island Biogeography Theory, in which limited resources and greatly reduced immigration from other islands, or indeed the mainland, leads to less diversity, but greater appearance of endemics (species which are found nowhere else on Earth). The Galapagos are the most famous example of this phenomena, although being a larger island, Cuba has a greater diversity of species and habitats. The list of potential species included the Cuban Trogon, Cuban Tody, Great Lizard Cuckoo, Key West Quail Dove, Smooth-billed Ani, Antillean Palm-Swift to name a few. 

During my seven day trip I was able to find 50 species. Unfortunately, the Cuban Trogon and Cuban Tody were not among them. The two best places I visited for birds was Rancho Gaviota west of Matanzas (a huge rural farm set in a nature landscape) and the Varahicacos Ecological Reserve on the eastern end of the Varadero peninsula.

Below is a selection of photos to highlight some aspects of my trip, with a species list at the end of this blog post. My full album of photos can be seen here: Birds of Cuba Album

Rancho Gaviota, Matanzas Cuba

On this particular day my family and I drove to Rancho Gaviota in caravan of Jeeps. The excursion was to visit the rural ranch and have a traditional Cuban lunch which consisted of foods originating from the farm. I think everyone agreed it was fantastic. After lunch we had an hour or so to explore the farm, of which my mom decided to cave in and help me bird. I had been recounting earlier in the day how difficult a time I was having finding new species. While, my mom made the difference and found me some of the best species of the whole trip! Who knew! She remarked that I was trying too hard to find the birds, and therefore missing them all.

 

Varahicacos Ecological Reserve

On this day I went off with a companion to check out the ecological reserve close to the resort I was staying at. It was a fantastic experience walking through the reserve. As we walked down the forest path, geckos and lizards would scurry away to the nearest tree. At one point we heard a loud buzzing and found a massive bee’s nest formed in the cracks of a rock fissure (quickly departing after the discovery). While there were few birds to be seen, numerous species could be heard… or was there? I quickly grew tired of the Grey Catbirds and Northern Mockingbirds fooling me at every turn. Despite their trickery, there were a few nice finds.

 

Other interesting sightings from my trip:

Left column, top to bottom: Cape May Warbler, Royal Tern, Eurasian-collared Dove, Greater Antillean Grackle

Right Column, top to bottom: Black-throated Blue Warbler, Northern Mockingbird, Sanderling

–>Odd incident, I had a female Cape May Warbler land on my table and eat rice right from my plate while I was still sitting there…. not the kind of species you would expect to come begging for scraps! 

Species Seen in Matanzas and Varadero, Cuba (November 8th to 14th) Lifers indicated in Bold

Helmeted Guineafowl – Numida meleagris

Rock Pigeon – Columba livia

Scaly-naped Pigeon – Patagioenas squamosa

Eurasian Collared-Dove – Streptopelia decaocto

Common Ground-Dove – Columbina passerina

Key West Quail-Dove – Geotrygon chrysia

White-winged Dove – Zenaida asiatica

Smooth-billed Ani – Crotophaga ani

Great Lizard-Cuckoo – Coccyzus merlini

Antillean Palm-Swift – Tachornis phoenicobia

Cuban Emerald – Chlorostilbon ricordii

Black-necked Stilt – Himantopus mexicanus

Killdeer – Charadrius vociferus

Ruddy Turnstone – Arenaria interpres

Sanderling – Calidris alba

Laughing Gull – Leucophaeus atricilla

Royal Tern – Thalasseus maximus

Magnificent Frigatebird – Fregata magnificens

Double-crested Cormorant – Phalacrocorax auritus

Brown Pelican – Pelecanus occidentalis

Great Egret – Ardea alba

Snowy Egret – Egretta thula

Cattle Egret – Bubulcus ibis

Green Heron – Butorides virescens

Roseate Spoonbill – Platalea ajaja

Turkey Vulture – Cathartes aura

Osprey – Pandion haliaetus

Cuban Black Hawk – Buteogallus gundlachii

Broad-winged Hawk – Buteo platypterus

Yellow-bellied Sapsucker – Sphyrapicus varius

West Indian Woodpecker – Melanerpes superciliaris

American Kestrel – Falco sparverius

Merlin – Falco columbarius

Cuban Pewee – Contopus caribaeus

Blue-gray Gnatcatcher – Polioptila caerulea

Gray Catbird – Dumetella carolinensis

Northern Mockingbird – Mimus polyglottos

Cuban Blackbird – Ptiloxena atroviolacea

Greater Antillean Grackle – Quiscalus niger

Ovenbird – Seiurus aurocapilla

Black-and-white Warbler – Mniotilta varia

American Redstart – Setophaga ruticilla

Cape May Warbler – Setophaga tigrina

Northern Parula – Setophaga americana

Blackburnian Warbler – Setophaga fusca

Black-throated Blue Warbler – Setophaga caerulescens

Palm Warbler – Setophaga palmarum

Yellow-throated Warbler – Setophaga dominica

Prairie Warbler – Setophaga discolor

House Sparrow – Passer domesticus