Birding trips to Cuba should attempt to squeeze in at least a few hours for a look around Havana and in particular the streets and houses of Old Havana . The opening of the film provides a brief glimpse of Cuban city life showing first the Capitolio Nacional building and main concourse. The Plaza de la Revolution is overlooked by the Jose Martin Monument and a massive outline of Che Guevera on the opposite buildings. Our accommodation in the Hotel Raquel was an ideal base and contrary to many reports from Cuba the quality of most hotels, food and transport arranged for us by Cubanacan was excellent. The atmosphere within the narrow streets between the old three storey Spanish colonial buildings is magical. Transport comes in many forms including horse-drawn buggies, pedal and motor-cycle ‘rickshaws', articulated buses and the ubiquitous old American cars. With music being still a very important aspect of life in Cuba a visit to Hemingway's bar at La Bodeguita Del Medio or any street corner bar in the evenings is a must . Be careful however of too many mojitos!
Heading out of Havanah along the Malecon to the west of the island our first birding area was based on Soroa in the Sierra del Rosario Mountains , designated as a World Biosphere Reserve. First morning en route to the Mirador Trail a Cuban Knight Anole and the much smaller Cuban Brown Anole caught our attention. Whilst commoner birds such as the Greater Antillean Grackle were to be expected it wasn't long before we had our first views of Cuba's national bird, the Cuban Trogon (endemic).
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| Cuban Trogon |
During the trip this proved to be relatively easily seen and, like all the Trogon family, obligingly photogenic. Almost immediately, and with as much excitement, we found our first Fernandina's Flicker (e). Again, considering the threats to this endemic species, we were fortunate in having several subsequent sightings. A noisy West Indian Woodpecker called at its nest hole and one of the most beautiful of the Turdus family, the Red-legged Thrush , dutifully sang for the camera. Travelling on to the Mirador Hotel as a base for the Pinar del Rio and La Guira we moved higher into the foothills. Up through the pine trees and Gumbo Limbos a Turkey Vulture provided intriguing views followed by a Greater Antillean Oriole (a relatively recently split from Black-cowled Oriole ). A little further up a further endemic was found, a Yellow-headed Warbler (e) which is confined to western and central Cuba, with another Cuban Trogon (e) nearby. The beautiful Western Stripe-headed Tanager , an endemic sub-species Spinalis zena pretrei, also gave brief views. At the end of the trail Tawny-shouldered Blackbirds were displaying and our first Cuban Emerald hummingbird posed in the afternoon sunshine. The song of a Cuban Solitaire (e) caused a mild panic until it was found and filmed still performing it's rather mournful song. Returning back down we were delighted to find an Olive-capped Warbler busily gathering nesting material on the ground. Whilst a relatively common permanent resident it is very local and confined to this western area of the island and to a small area in the eastern provinces.
A long drive through endless miles of sugar cane plantation took us to Guama and Hotel Batey Don Pedro , perhaps the poorest of two hotels used as a base for visits to the Zapata area. Early in the morning on the way to Palpite a sunny roadside stop produced another Fernandina's Flicker (e) which was again accompanied by a nearby noisy West Indian Woodpecker . The track through woodland at Palpite revealed our first Cuban Crow with its distinctive call plus a Cuban Bullfinch . A Yellow-bellied Sapsucker circled a tree trunk probably soon to leave for N. America. Filming continued with one of the gems of the trip, the Bee Hummingbird (e) which as well as being the smallest bird in the world also emulated its apian counterpart by rarely remaining still for more than a few seconds! Eventually a reasonable image size was captured. Moving through thick undergrowth a Cuban Pygmy Owl (e) was found by sheer chance whilst we were being entertained with a fine performance by a Great Lizard Cuckoo .
The altogether better second hotel at Playa Larga was in the Horizontes chain similar to that at Soroa . The grounds here allowed a close approach to an American Kestrel . A short drive down a peninsula at Las Salinas close to the infamous Bay of Pigs brought waders, Greater Flamingo and an obliging Common Black Hawk . Two early morning starts took us to Bermejas and the excellent Refugio de Fauna-Bermeja where all four species of Quail-Dove can be found. The best film of Cuban Trogon (e) was taken here together with two more endemics, Cuban Green Woodpeckers (e) at their nest hole and an obliging Cuban Screech Owl (e), which was rudely awoken by tapping the broken trunk of its palm tree. A Cuban Peewee was overhead whilst we were sitting quietly beside a wet area in the forest. The water attracted a Yellow-faced Grassquit and familiar North American birds such as Ovenbird , Northern Waterthrush and Mourning Dove. The prize however was the close approach of a Grey-headed Quail Dove.
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| Grey-headed Quail Dove |
Another wettish area closer to the hotel gave us the unusual sight of a Fernandina's Flicker (e) feeding on the ground with the by now to be expected West Indian Woodpecker again nearby. Another familiar North American warbler, a Black-throated Green , was filmed here, together with a Green Heron and a Northern Flicker taking a lengthy dust bath on the edge of the woodland. A trip into the Zapata Parque Nacional proper with its endless reed-beds provided film of one of the abundant wintering North American Palm Warblers , Purple Gallinule and the desired endemic Zapata Wren (e) singing loudly at the edge of the reeds. A morning trip was arranged by boat into the swamp down the Rio Hatiguanico . Whilst waiting to embark an obliging Cuban Blackbird (e) appeared, a Loggerhead Shrike sat for a long time on a handrail and the first of several Limpkins was feeding in the channel. A slow trip with a frequently cut engine allowed film of a Turkey Vulture , Purple Gallinules , several more Limpkin and numerous Snail Kites which always flew to land slightly ahead of the boat.
Another long trek to Najasa was broken by an overnight stop at the Hotel Las Cuevas in the 16 th century Spanish town of Trinidad . The World Heritage Site designation is fully justified as the cobbled streets, brightly painted houses and balustrades complete with caged Bullfinches and Parrots suggested that little has changed. Apart from the well known areas of the Plaza Mayor and the Iglesia y Convento de San Fransisco the film reveals more mojitos being consumed at the famous La Canchanchara where Chan Chan as the film's background music was played for us.
Around Najasa an early morning trip to a lake provided film of a Pied –billed Grebe struggling with a large eel . A Smooth billed Ani. was nearby. The private farmland signed Aves Endemicas lived up to it's promise although a cast of less exotic species such including Loggerhead Kingbird , a Limpkin in the woodland, Yellow-crowned Night Heron and West Indian Woodpecker also provided photographic opportunities. We were treated to excellent views of Cuban Parakeet (e), Cuban Parrot (e) and Cuban Pygmy Owl (e) but a calling Giant Kingbird sadly eluded the camera.
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| Cuban Parrot |
En route to our final destination we finally obtained satisfactory film of another manic gem, a most charismatic species for some, namely the Cuban Tody (e). The last stop was on the northern shore of the island at the all-inclusve (all exclusive for Cuban nationals) resort of Cayo Coco . The Hotel Tryp was similar to numerous other five star establishments but enjoyed a spur of mangrove which had been built into the body of the hotel. This accounted for a bemused Northern Waterthrush hopping amongst the guests, together with a superb Yellow-throated Warbler preening within the concourse! Outside the lawn watering attracted bathing Greater Antillean Grackle , a Common Ground Dove , Yellow-faced Grassquit and Northern Mockingbird . Caya Guillermo was very good for waterbirds where in-plumage Roseate Spoonbill , White Ibis , Tri-coloured Heron and Reddish Egret were all filmed. Another superb Western Stripe-headed Tanager was on the roadside. Near the Elbaga Field Station through a maze of dense woodland trails a more open wet area provided a couple of typically skulking Key West Quail Doves . Moving east along the cays, again of Hemingway fame, Magnificent Frigatebirds wheeled overhead. At Cayo Paredon Grande we were frustrated by all too brief views of a Cuban Gnatcatcher (e), whilst along the beach a flock of Piping Plovers were also very wary in an almost gale force wind. None-the-less they were pleasing to see for those who have struggled in the past for distant views around their Michigan Great Lakes breeding grounds. One of those less common birds requiring careful identification is the Bahama Mockingbird . Whilst outnumbered by the Northern Mockingbird we filmed both and show the former tail-fanning with it's white tips rather than margins and it's higher pitched call. Finally, back around the hotel before leaving, we filmed another Northern Flicker at its nest hole, a Cape May Warbler in the bushes, a Killdeer and a very obliging flock of the sadly reducing West Indian Whistling Duck .
Filmed in conjunction with Dr Nigel Stones
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