Cuba – Day 2

Despite the time shift I had just encountered from traveling to Cuba I was up well before dawn. My unexpected first bird calling from somewhere in the darkness was a Killdeer. The second was more expected as a Barn Owl screeched while flying somewhere nearby. I saw a strange light behind the trees and thought it unusual that there was a light so bright in such a rural area, until it became obvious that it was a setting full moon. Soon others awoke and we poked around the edge of the forest and the banana plantation looking for birds as the run rose. After a great homemade breakfast we boarded the bus for our first birding stop of the day.

That first stop was to where we saw so many things the previous afternoon at Orquideario de Soroa. As you might expect arriving just after sunrise there was much more activity than the day before. We recorded 16 species in the hour or so that we were there, and I got decent (but not marketable) shots of Cuban Solitaire, Western Spindalis, and Cuban Oriole among others. The money shots came from a Cuban Tody with an attitude (as, I guess, all todies do) who chattered at us at close range with its feathers fluffed out, showing both its front and back sides.

Cuban Tody from the front. You can purchase this image here.
Cuban Tody from the back. You can purchase this image here.

Much of the remainder of the day would be spent at Reserva de la Biosfera Sierra del Rosario at Las Terrazas (hereafter, Las Terrazas). The area was designated a UNESCO Biosphere Reserve in 1984. Birding was centered around the mostly reforested areas surrounding a lagoon and the community of Las Terrazas itself with the assistance of a resident guide.

As the guide introduced himself and began to talk about the area under the shade of Caribbean Pines he was interrupted by the calls of our first Cuban endemic of the area: several Olive-capped Warblers. They reminded me of Grace’s Warbler, including their apparent preference for pine woodlands. An endemic Yellow-headed Warbler also made an appearance at close range. While this was a species we had already seen on the trip, I was able to get a better photo this time. After the guide finished our initial introduction to the area we poked around on an adjacent hillside where we found several Stygian Owls waiting out the daylight in the tops of several Caribbean Pines.

Olive-capped Warbler at the entrance to Las Terrazas. You can purchase this image here.
Cuban Trogon at Las Terrazas. You can purchase this image here.
Loggerhead Kingbird at Las Terrazas. You can purchase this image here.

I was excited when we ventured down a trail, and was even more excited that it had some fairly rough terrain. Birding on the trail was decent, though it was difficult on the trail (as it often is) to get everyone good looks at foliage-obscured birds when they are spread out on a narrow ribbon of dirt. Our best location was a clearing where the trail widened and we had close-up views of another Cuban Trogon, and I was able to get pretty good photos of Loggerhead Kingbird and a fly-by Red-tailed Hawk.

For lunch we drove to a nearby hilltop to eat at Cafetal Buenavista, a beautiful stone building with stunning views for miles in all directions. The restaurant was clearly popular with the monied people of Cuba, as well as senior officers in the Cuban military, including a chauffeured general who looked like what you might expect a Cuban general to look like.

After lunch we returned to Las Terrazas where we visited the studio of renowned Cuban artist Lester Campa. I was not aware we were stopping here, or even that he lived there, until we showed up on his doorstep at his studio on the water. I immediately recognized his image combining John Lennon and Che Guevara, which I assume is his most famous painting. His most common theme was a combination of music and nature, and I was awestruck by many of his works despite not considering myself much of an art aficionado.

We ended birding along the lagoon where we saw Limpkins and Purple Gallinules, among other things, then to a nearby farm where we got close looks at large numbers of Cuban Grassquits. We ended the day where we started, in Soroa, with another group dinner at a different house. This one had internet, which allowed me to call my wife for the first time and reassert that there were limited opportunities to contact the world outside of Cuba. That was alright, though, as it was nice to disconnect.

A Red-tailed Hawk flies over and checks us out at Las Terrazas. You can purchase this image here.
Cuban Grassquit at Las Terrazas. You can purchase this image here.

The table below summarizes the 49 bird species observed on our second day in Cuba based on output from eBird. The 13 Cuban endemics observed that day are highlighted in green.

Common NameScientific NameCountLocation
Scaly-naped PigeonPatagioenas squamosa1Orquideario de Soroa
Common Ground DoveColumbina passerina1Reserva de la Biosfera Sierra del Rosario–Las Terrazas
White-winged DoveZenaida asiatica1Auto selected 22.76491, -82.99434
Zenaida DoveZenaida aurita1Reserva de la Biosfera Sierra del Rosario–Las Terrazas
Mourning DoveZenaida macroura1Auto selected 22.76491, -82.99434
Smooth-billed AniCrotophaga ani4Auto selected 22.76491, -82.99434
Great Lizard-CuckooCoccyzus merlini1Auto selected 22.76491, -82.99434
Cuban EmeraldRiccordia ricordii1Orquideario de Soroa
Common GallinuleGallinula galeata2Reserva de la Biosfera Sierra del Rosario–Las Terrazas
American CootFulica americana1Reserva de la Biosfera Sierra del Rosario–Las Terrazas
Purple GallinulePorphyrio martinica1Reserva de la Biosfera Sierra del Rosario–Las Terrazas
LimpkinAramus guarauna1Reserva de la Biosfera Sierra del Rosario–Las Terrazas
KilldeerCharadrius vociferus1Auto selected 22.76491, -82.99434
Great EgretArdea alba1Reserva de la Biosfera Sierra del Rosario–Las Terrazas
Turkey VultureCathartes aura1Auto selected 22.76491, -82.99434
Red-tailed HawkButeo jamaicensis1Reserva de la Biosfera Sierra del Rosario–Las Terrazas
Barn OwlTyto alba1Auto selected 22.76491, -82.99434
Cuban Pygmy-OwlGlaucidium siju1Reserva de la Biosfera Sierra del Rosario–Las Terrazas
Stygian OwlAsio stygius2Reserva de la Biosfera Sierra del Rosario–Las Terrazas
Cuban TrogonPriotelus temnurus1Orquideario de Soroa
Cuban TodyTodus multicolor1Orquideario de Soroa
Belted KingfisherMegaceryle alcyon1Reserva de la Biosfera Sierra del Rosario–Las Terrazas
Cuban Green WoodpeckerXiphidiopicus percussus2Reserva de la Biosfera Sierra del Rosario–Las Terrazas
West Indian WoodpeckerMelanerpes superciliaris2Orquideario de Soroa
Loggerhead KingbirdTyrannus caudifasciatus2Reserva de la Biosfera Sierra del Rosario–Las Terrazas
Yellow-throated VireoVireo flavifrons1Reserva de la Biosfera Sierra del Rosario–Las Terrazas
Gray CatbirdDumetella carolinensis2Orquideario de Soroa
Northern MockingbirdMimus polyglottos1Auto selected 22.76491, -82.99434
Cuban SolitaireMyadestes elisabeth2Orquideario de Soroa
Red-legged ThrushTurdus plumbeus1Auto selected 22.76491, -82.99434
Western SpindalisSpindalis zena8Orquideario de Soroa
Yellow-headed WarblerTeretistris fernandinae1Reserva de la Biosfera Sierra del Rosario–Las Terrazas
Eastern MeadowlarkSturnella magna2Reserva de la Biosfera Sierra del Rosario–Las Terrazas
Cuban OrioleIcterus melanopsis3Orquideario de Soroa
Tawny-shouldered BlackbirdAgelaius humeralis8Orquideario de Soroa
Cuban BlackbirdPtiloxena atroviolacea1Auto selected 22.76491, -82.99434
Greater Antillean GrackleQuiscalus niger4Reserva de la Biosfera Sierra del Rosario–Las Terrazas
Black-and-white WarblerMniotilta varia1Reserva de la Biosfera Sierra del Rosario–Las Terrazas
Tennessee WarblerLeiothlypis peregrina1Reserva de la Biosfera Sierra del Rosario–Las Terrazas
Northern ParulaSetophaga americana1Orquideario de Soroa
Black-throated Blue WarblerSetophaga caerulescens1Reserva de la Biosfera Sierra del Rosario–Las Terrazas
Palm WarblerSetophaga palmarum1Auto selected 22.76491, -82.99434
Olive-capped WarblerSetophaga pityophila2Reserva de la Biosfera Sierra del Rosario–Las Terrazas
Yellow-throated WarblerSetophaga dominica1Orquideario de Soroa
Summer TanagerPiranga rubra1Orquideario de Soroa
Red-legged HoneycreeperCyanerpes cyaneus1Auto selected 22.76491, -82.99434
Yellow-faced GrassquitTiaris olivaceus1Reserva de la Biosfera Sierra del Rosario–Las Terrazas
Cuban BullfinchMelopyrrha nigra2Reserva de la Biosfera Sierra del Rosario–Las Terrazas
Cuban GrassquitPhonipara canora35Reserva de la Biosfera Sierra del Rosario–Las Terrazas

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