CUBA

“’s extraordinary history, from ancient cultures, through Spanish Colonial, to Castro’s communism, has given it an Afro-Latin culture found nowhere else on earth. If you enjoy destinations that are not overdeveloped and have a unique individuality - now is the time to go!” Roy Atkins

Dates Thu 20 April - Fri 5 May 2017 This is a great time to visit. Home to around 25 endemic Price £4,395 , we’ll try to find as many as we can, including the Deposit £850 Single Supp £300 smallest bird in the world - the Bee Hummingbird!

Leaders Roy Atkins and local guides Chance to see almost all the 25 endemic bird species (depending on your !) Flights Virgin Atlantic, scheduled Whole day (not just an afternoon) sightseeing in Havana Outbound: Morning, Gatwick-Havana The smallest bird in the world at 2.25 inches - the delightful Bee Hummingbird Inbound: Overnight, Havana-Gatwick Weather Mostly hot, dry and sunny, but it is Cuban Tody, Cuban , Zapata , Fernandina’s Flicker and Cuban Solitaire sometimes overcast and it may rain Beautiful island with lush mountain forests, scrubland, sandy beaches and mangroves at times. It is often very humid, 17°-27°C Great selection of other special Caribbean - around 150 bird species in total Walking Easy. There are some hill trails, but all are taken at a gentle pace. American waders, warblers and other passage migrants heading north Be prepared for early starts (essential to find some of the key species), On arrival in Havana it is a short drive west We journey to Playa Larga, near tempered where possible with a break to our hotel in Soroa, in the Sierra del Rosario. to the Bay of Pigs, on the Caribbean after lunch, prior to birding again from 1 4-7 l ate afternoon, when it is cooler coast and the richest area for birds, the Cienaga After some birding around the hotel de Zapata National Park. We’ll explore mangrove Meals All included from dinner on Day 1 2-3 and Orchid Gardens, we travel to swamp, scrubland, salt pans and coast, looking to lunch on Day 15. Food is generally La Guira National Park and our first endemics: simple, bearing in mind that Cuban for Gundlach’s Hawk, Yellow-headed Warbler cuisine is quite plain in comparison the beautiful Cuban Trogon, Cuban Pygmy Owl and and La Sagra’s Flycatcher. Among five species to some other Caribbean countries Cuban Tody, plus attractive Yellow-headed Warbler. of are the very rare Fernandina’s On occasion biting insects can be With luck we may find Scaly-naped Pigeon, Flicker and West Indian Woodpecker. Key West, a nuisance - bring repellent or even Grey-headed Quail-dove along the trail, Ruddy, Grey-headed and stunning Blue-headed Accom Twin and single rooms all ensuite or Swainson’s and Black-throated Green Warbler. Quail-Doves all occur, but catching sight of these Cuban Solitaires sing from the canopy, where Visa A Tourist Card is required, we shall secretive ground-lovers requires persistence and arrange this for you before departure they can be hard to find, we’ll check through the luck! One evening we’ll search for Stygian Owl and Yellow-faced Grassquits, or rarer endemic Cuban Group 12 the strange ‘jumping’ Cuban Nightjar. Grassquit. This hilly region of pine woodlands and scrub also holds other specialities, like Another day we’ll visit the Zapata Swamp, Just some of what we hope to see: Cuban Green Woodpecker, Olive-capped Warbler, to search for rare Zapata Wren and endemic Cuban Blackbird, Cuban Martin, Cuban Emerald, Red-shouldered Blackbird. We may visit Las Cuban Trogon Grey-headed Quail Red-legged Honeycreeper and Cave Swallow. Salinas Wildlife Refuge, where the smallest bird Cuban Tody Cave Swallow Bee Hummingbird Olive-capped Warbler Oriente Warbler Gundlach’s Hawk Magnificent Frigatebird West Indian Woodpecker Roseate Spoonbill Cuban Nightjar American Flamingo Red-shouldered Blackbird Zapata Wren Cuban Black Hawk Cuban Screech Owl Giant Kingbird Stygian Owl Great Cuckoo Fernandina’s Flicker Cuban Emerald Scaly-naped Pigeon Thick-billed Vireo Cuban Pygmy Owl Antillean Palm Swift [email protected] | 01479 812498 www.speysidewildlife.co.uk “Your chance to visit this beautiful island, where lush forests, craggy hills, vast and coral beaches provide a diverse list of birds including around 25 endemic species and some of the most unusual birds in the Caribbean, including the smallest bird in the world.” Roy Atkins

in the world occurs - the Bee Hummingbird - just Frigatebird, Brown Pelican, Double-crested and two and a quarter inches long! Reddish Egret, Neotropic Cormorants, Great Blue and Tricoloured Wood Stork, Roseate Spoonbill and Cuban Black Herons, Yellow-crowned Night Heron and Roseate Hawks are found, plus Jutia, a large rodent that can Spoonbill, as well as many waders such as Willet, climb trees, and Manatee. At dusk we may find Black-necked Stilt, Short-billed Dowitcher and Bare-legged (or Cuban Screech) Owl. both Greater and Lesser Yellowlegs.

We make an early start for the long After breakfast, we head back across the 8-9 transfer to Camagüey, in south-central 13 causeway, stopping to check for American Cuba and La Belen National Park. Set on the edge Flamingos (now ‘split’ from the paler ‘Old World’ of the lovely Sierra de Najasa mountain range, Greater Flamingo), White Ibis, Wood Stork and a wonderful diversity of birds includes four key a plethora of Nearctic waders. In the fringing species - Cuban Parakeet, Plain Pigeon, Giant bushes, wintering warblers and other North Kingbird and Cuban Palm Crow, now ‘split’ from America-bound migrants, help round off our its cousin on Hispaniola. We hope to find the birding in style. We have all day to travel back Great Lizard Cuckoo, Antillean Palm Swift, buzzing to Havana, so can take our time. Cuban Emerald, Cuban Vireo and Cuban Bullfinch, with noisy flocks of Rose-throated Parrots We can enjoy a relaxed breakfast before screaming through the trees. 14 spending the day exploring Havana and enjoying a tour of this fascinating city. There will Outline Itinerary We travel north to Cayo Coco, be time to experience a taste of Havana’s 10-12 a low-lying island accessed by incredible mix of culture, colonial architecture, Day 1 Fly direct to Havana and transfer a man-made causeway. An early start one morning street music and classic American cars. to our hotel takes us to the lighthouse on Cayo Paredon Grande 1 night at Villa Soroa Hotel in search of one special bird - the Cuban race of We have until lunchtime for Days 2-3 Sierra del Rosario and La Guira NP Thick-billed Vireo. Two more endemics, Oriente 15-16 further exploration, then we 2 nights at Hotel Mirador de San Diego Warbler and Cuban Gnatcatcher are here, while transfer to the airport for the evening flight back to the UK, arriving in London on the morning of Days 4-7 Playa Larga and Zapata Peninsula Zapata Sparrow occurs near our hotel. Scrub 4 nights at Playa Larga Hotel jungle and mangrove at nearby Cayo Guillermo, Day 16. holds Bahama Mockingbird, Clapper Rail, ‘Golden Days 8-9 Sierra de Najasa and La Belen NP Warbler’ (the Caribbean race of Yellow Warbler), 2 nights at Hotel Finca La Belen Crested Caracara and Broad-winged Hawk. Days 10-12 North coast and tropical Cayo Coco As Caspian and Royal Terns call overhead, we may 3 nights at Tryp Cayo Coco Hotel find Piping Plover along the shore, or Magnificent Days 13-14 Transfer to Havana then a whole day enjoying the city 2 nights at Hotel Florida or Ambos Mundos Days 15-16 Further exploration then transfer to the airport for our flight, arriving in the UK on the morning of Day 16

Charles Sharp: Bee Hummingbird, Cuban Trogon, Oriente Warbler, Cuban Tody, Great Lizard Cuckoo Severin Stander: Sierra del Rosario www.speysidewildlife.co.uk 01479 812498 | [email protected]