Cuba Caribbean Endemic Birding IV 6Th to 15Th February 2017 (10 Days) Trip Report

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Cuba Caribbean Endemic Birding IV 6Th to 15Th February 2017 (10 Days) Trip Report Cuba Caribbean Endemic Birding IV 6th to 15th February 2017 (10 days) Trip Report Cuban Tody by Dušan Brinkhuizen Trip report compiled by Tour Leader, Dušan Brinkhuizen Trip Report – RBL Cuba - Caribbean Endemic Birding IV 2017 2 Top ten birds as voted for by participants: 1. Cuban Tody 6. Gundlach’s Hawk 2. Zapata Wren 7. Blue-headed Quail-dove 3. Fernandina’s Flicker 8. Cuban Green Woodpecker 4. Bee Hummingbird 9. Cuban Trogon 5. Yellow-headed Warbler 10. Western Spindalis Tour Summary Feb 7: Niña Bonita Lake, just outside of Havana, was our first birding stop of the tour. Seasonally, this freshwater lake holds numerous species of waterfowl; and species that we scoped included Lesser Scaup, Ring-necked Duck, Northern Shoveler, Blue- winged Teal and Ruddy Duck. Pied-billed Grebes were present in good numbers, as well as American Coots. We saw several species of herons and egrets, and also Double-crested Cormorant and some Brown Pelicans. We soon continued our journey westward to Las Terrazas to search for some of our very first Cuban endemics. The localised Cuban Grassquit was our principal target for the day, so we went immediately to a hotspot for this species. Arriving at the spot, we directly detected a large mixed-flock of grassquits as we came out of the bus. A few seconds later, we were watching both Yellow-faced and the even more handsome Cuban Grassquit in the scope – a superb start! A splendid Cuban Green Woodpecker showed up in a nearby tree, shortly followed by the equally attractive West-Indian Woodpecker. We continued to a spot for the Cuban Tody, locally known as Cuban Grassquit by Dušan “Carta Cuba”. The bird was a little secretive at first but Brinkhuizen eventually, we all got great looks at this truly electrifying island endemic! After meeting up with our local guide, Otis, we enjoyed a welcome cocktail and a short introductory talk regarding the Las Terrazas community and reserve. After the talk, we scanned the lake and a Snail Kite was scoped nicely. Our next important target for the morning was Olive-capped Warbler and we continued to Otis’ local patch to look for this species. Olive-capped Warbler is a pine forest specialist and fairly soon, we located a singing pair of this attractive warbler in a patch of pines – that was easy! Our next stop produced a neat Cuban Pygmy- owl that perched right in the open. We watched the owl for a while when suddenly, a Cuban Green Woodpecker flew in and chased it off! A birdy spot at a greenhouse produced a great mixed-species party, with the stunning Western Spindalis, Cuban Emerald, Magnolia Warbler, Yellow-throated Vireo, Red-legged Thrush and several Red-legged Honeycreepers. An adult Least Grebe was scoped at a small sewage pond. Olive-capped Warbler by Dušan Brinkhuizen We had a nice lunch on site with live music, and Trip Report – RBL Cuba - Caribbean Endemic Birding IV 2017 3 some of us even went for a dance! After lunch, we enjoyed watching Cuba’s National bird: the “tocororo”, a fantastic Cuban Trogon. We continued our journey westward to La Güira National Park and a short stop at a fish pond en route produced Caspian Tern, more Snail Kites and an Osprey. Late afternoon birding inside La Güira National Park was very productive. The amazing song of the Cuban Solitaire was heard at the start of the trail and soon we watched the bird perched at close range. Cuban Vireo, Cuban Oriole and another Olive-capped Warbler all showed really well. In a single tree, we scoped both Scaly-naped and White-crowned Pigeon – a real treat. Superb looks at a Yellow-headed Warbler was a nice finishing touch for the day! Feb 8: The following morning, we started at Hacienda Cortina to look for the rare Fernandina’s Flicker. When we arrived at the site, one of the first loud calls that we heard was the flicker! A minute later, we watched a splendid pair of this Cuban endemic in the scope. The pair was clearly looking for a nest site in a dead palm tree, but according to our local guide, Caesar, the resident pair of American Kestrel typically wins the battle over the nest site. A walk through the lovely hacienda produced several scarce migrants, including Indigo Fernandina’s Flicker by Dušan Bunting, Summer Tanager, Tennessee Warbler, Cape May Brinkhuizen Warbler and Black-throated Green Warbler – the latter being a lifer for Pat! A huge surprise was our encounter with a singing Giant Kingbird – a first timer for myself in Western Cuba! A pair of Giant Kingbird was watched for a prolonged time in the scope and we were able to compare this rare endemic with a nearby Loggerhead Kingbird, a very similar but slightly smaller species. We then continued to the famous cave system of Cueva de los Portales, where Ernesto 'Che' Guevara was hiding during the Cuban missile crisis in 1962. The impressive habitat at the cave is characterised by steep-sided, vine-covered limestone monoliths called “mogotes” and the sought- after Cuban Solitaire is actually fairly common at this site. As we arrived, a neat Cuban Pygmy-owl was located in the tree next to the bus. Cave Swallows and a few Cuban Martins overhead were a welcome addition to our growing list of endemics and specialities. A cracking Cuban Tody was showing off nicely at eye-level. At the entrance of the cave, a singing Cuban Solitaire was perched fully in the open and we scoped it beautifully. At the river, we watched both Northern and Louisiana Waterthrush side-by-side, a rare sighting according to Caesar. Our local guides, Caesar and Mario, told us some interesting Cuban history inside the cave while we also listened to the beautiful song of the solitaire echoing from the limestone walls. A small group of Jamaican Fruit-eating Bats was watched with the spotlight. On our way back to the hotel, we did a scan at an open forest patch where Caesar had recently heard a Gundlach’s Hawk. We waited for a while but there was no sign of the hawk being present. A splendid male Blue Grosbeak spotted by Christian was a nice consolation. After lunch, we Giant Kingbird by Henry Mauer started our longish drive to the Zapata peninsula, Trip Report – RBL Cuba - Caribbean Endemic Birding IV 2017 4 with a short scheduled stop at Niña Bonita Lake. In the late afternoon, we arrived at our beach hotel in Playa Larga. Feb 9: We had an early, pre-dawn start to Santo Tomás, a small remote village in the heart of the Zapata swamp. We were surprised by a Stygian Owl that we flushed from the road. Unfortunately, the owl flew off quickly and only a few people got to see it in time. We tried playing the tape but it did not come back. The Cuban Nightjar did respond and we watched the bird beautifully, in flight as well as perched. It started to get light and we continued straight to the canal where two boatmen were waiting for us. During a pleasant and relaxing boat ride into the swamp, we saw several migrant warblers and also our first Zapata Sparrow – superb! When we arrived at the viewing platform, we flushed a Wilson’s Snipe, a scarce migrant to Cuba that is not that frequently observed. The Zapata Blue-headed Quail-dove by Henry Mauer Wren was our principal target here and we had our fingers crossed, hoping to get a glimpse of this Endangered and difficult to get species. Our local guide “Super Mario” played his tape and within a few minutes, the chunky brown wren popped up in a nearby bush and started singing elaborately – what a blast! Everybody got their bins on it and we watched it sing for quite a while. Very pleased with this rare endemic in the bag, we birded our way back along the canal. In the forest at Santo Tomás, we followed Super Mario and some serious bushwhacking produced a Worm-eating Warbler, multiple Swainson’s Warblers and a glimpse of a Grey-fronted Quail-dove! After lunch at Punto Perdis, we went to Cueva de los Peces where we waited at the restaurant for a very special treat. In recent years, the restaurant staff had been putting out rice for the rare and Endangered Blue-headed Quail-dove in turn for a tip. Just as we arrived, a small party of these superb grouse-like endemics showed up – amazing! As we watched these stunning quail-doves at very close range, a neat Ovenbird walked by as well. In the afternoon, we went to the forest of Soplillar to look for a roosting Stygian Owl. The species had been difficult to track at night because of the full moon, so Mario wanted to give it at least a try in the daytime. We were unsuccessful in locating the stygian, but we did enjoy the endemic Bare-legged Owl sticking its head out of a cavity. In the late afternoon, we enjoyed great views of the local race of Northern Flicker and also both Cuban Parakeet and Cuban Amazon perched at close range. Even though Mario had told us that the Stygian Owl was not around, we went to search for it after dinner on the hotel grounds. This is when Mario tricked us by playing the owl behind our backs. For a split second, we thought we had found it but, of course, we soon found out it was a good prank! Feb 10: The next morning, we started off with no less than four species of quail-dove! From behind a blind at Bermejas, Zapata Wren by Dušan Brinkhuizen Trip Report – RBL Cuba - Caribbean Endemic Birding IV 2017 5 we watched a forest trail packed with doves.
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