Bahía de los Cochinos: Most Americans know it as Bay of Pigs, a place name that is usually followed by the word “invasion”, due to a failed 1961 landing operation that while manned by Cuban exiles, was organized and financed by the Central Intelligence Agency in an attempt to overthrow Fidel Castro. It is both because of this history and the opportunity to bird at the adjacent Zapata Swamp that this was the part of the trip I most anticipated prior to even setting foot on Cuban soil.
Because I woke up on Day 3 in Cuba in the western mountains, the fact that we were heading to Bahía de los Cochinos meant that it would be a travel day. After an early morning breakfast, we boarded the bus and headed east toward Havana, looking for birds along the way.
Our first stop was at a series of farming ponds next to the highway near Pinar del Río. Here, we picked up a number of new species for the trip including Forster’s Tern, Spotted Sandpiper, and Snail Kite. A later stop at Embalse Nina Bonita was more productive with several species of waterfowl, Bonaparte’s Gull, Gull-billed Tern and other water-associated species. During a fuel stop in Havana I found a flyover Peregrine Falcon. We had a couple species – none new for the trip – at a wonderful lunch stop. While the species list grew during these quick stops, none of them were things we traveled to Cuba for (unless the “Cuban” American Kestrel gets split as a separate species).
Birding at impoundments near Pinar del Río. 
Highway traffic near Pinar del Río. 
Birding during a fuel stop outside of Havana. 
Roadside restaurant on the way to Bahía de los Cochinos (Bay of Pigs). 
Lunch on the way to Bahía de los Cochinos (Bay of Pigs). 
A roadside vendor sells garlic and onions on the way to Bahía de los Cochinos (Bay of Pigs). 
A stop at Palpite Casa de Bernabe for Bee Hummingbird. 
Hotel Playa Larga at Bahía de los Cochinos (Bay of Pigs). 
Hotel Playa Larga at Bahía de los Cochinos (Bay of Pigs). 
Roadside decoration. 
A sunset run at Hotel Playa Larga at Bahía de los Cochinos (Bay of Pigs).
As we got closer to Bahía de los Cochinos we stopped in a small village. A bar near the bus was signed “Bar Colibri”, and it was an indicator of the spectacle we would observe in the backyard of a residence across the street called Casa de Bernabe: our first looks at Bee Hummingbird, the smallest bird in the world. None of us were sure how many there were. We agreed that there was a minimum of four, but they zipped around so quickly that they were difficult to follow. They would frequently land at eye level and below, often a few feet away, but only for a few seconds at a time. I was able to get a lot of decent photographs that I wouldn’t call excellent because Bee Hummingbirds apparently don’t like to perch in the sun.
It was while watching the Bee Hummingbirds that the sound of Cuban Crows calling was pointed out, and we walked through a back gate to find them. We saw several, and heard more. They were noisy, but no birder on a first trip to Cuba would guess the call to be a crow as they sound more like a parrot. We also picked up a lot of other species while following the crows around.
After about an hour, we loaded back into the bus and made our way to Playa Larga, arriving about an hour before sunset. I had just enough time for a short run along the coast before dinner and heading to bed excited about the prospect of birding Zapata Swamp the next day.
The table below summarizes the 54 bird species observed on our second day in Cuba based on output from eBird. The 5 Cuban endemics observed that day are highlighted in green.
| Common Name | Scientific Name | Count | Location |
| Ring-necked Duck | Aythya collaris | 1 | Embalse Nina Bonita |
| Lesser Scaup | Aythya affinis | 10 | Embalse Nina Bonita |
| Pied-billed Grebe | Podilymbus podiceps | 1 | Embalse Nina Bonita |
| Rock Pigeon | Columba livia | 1 | Palpite Casa de Bernabe |
| Mourning Dove | Zenaida macroura | 1 | Auto selected 22.76491, -82.99434 |
| Smooth-billed Ani | Crotophaga ani | 4 | Palpite Casa de Bernabe |
| Antillean Palm Swift | Tachornis phoenicobia | 2 | Carretera de la CUJAE, Havana CU-City of Havana 23.04766, -82.41825 |
| Bee Hummingbird | Mellisuga helenae | 4 | Palpite Casa de Bernabe |
| American Coot | Fulica americana | 1 | Embalse Nina Bonita |
| Killdeer | Charadrius vociferus | 1 | Auto selected 22.76491, -82.99434 |
| Spotted Sandpiper | Actitis macularius | 2 | Pinar del Rio–Farming Ponds |
| Bonaparte’s Gull | Chroicocephalus philadelphia | 2 | Embalse Nina Bonita |
| Gull-billed Tern | Gelochelidon nilotica | 1 | Embalse Nina Bonita |
| Forster’s Tern | Sterna forsteri | 1 | Pinar del Rio–Farming Ponds |
| Wood Stork | Mycteria americana | 1 | Auto selected 22.33028, -81.18326 |
| Magnificent Frigatebird | Fregata magnificens | 1 | Embalse Nina Bonita |
| Double-crested Cormorant | Nannopterum auritum | 1 | Pinar del Rio–Farming Ponds |
| Neotropic Cormorant | Nannopterum brasilianum | 1 | Pinar del Rio–Farming Ponds |
| Brown Pelican | Pelecanus occidentalis | 2 | Embalse Nina Bonita |
| Great Blue Heron | Ardea herodias | 1 | Pinar del Rio–Farming Ponds |
| Great Egret | Ardea alba | 1 | Pinar del Rio–Farming Ponds |
| Snowy Egret | Egretta thula | 1 | Pinar del Rio–Farming Ponds |
| Little Blue Heron | Egretta caerulea | 2 | Pinar del Rio–Farming Ponds |
| Cattle Egret | Bubulcus ibis | 1 | Pinar del Rio–Farming Ponds |
| Green Heron | Butorides virescens | 1 | Pinar del Rio–Farming Ponds |
| Black-crowned Night-Heron | Nycticorax nycticorax | 1 | Pinar del Rio–Farming Ponds |
| White Ibis | Eudocimus albus | 3 | Hotel Playa Larga |
| Turkey Vulture | Cathartes aura | 10 | Pinar del Rio–Farming Ponds |
| Osprey | Pandion haliaetus | 1 | Pinar del Rio–Farming Ponds |
| Snail Kite | Rostrhamus sociabilis | 2 | Pinar del Rio–Farming Ponds |
| Red-tailed Hawk | Buteo jamaicensis | 1 | Carretera de la CUJAE, Havana CU-City of Havana 23.04766, -82.41825 |
| Barn Owl | Tyto alba | 1 | Auto selected 22.76491, -82.99434 |
| Cuban Trogon | Priotelus temnurus | 2 | Palpite Casa de Bernabe |
| Belted Kingfisher | Megaceryle alcyon | 2 | Pinar del Rio–Farming Ponds |
| West Indian Woodpecker | Melanerpes superciliaris | 1 | Palpite Casa de Bernabe |
| American Kestrel | Falco sparverius | 1 | Pinar del Rio–Farming Ponds |
| Peregrine Falcon | Falco peregrinus | 1 | Carretera de la CUJAE, Havana CU-City of Havana 23.04766, -82.41825 |
| Loggerhead Kingbird | Tyrannus caudifasciatus | 1 | Palpite Casa de Bernabe |
| Cuban Crow | Corvus nasicus | 4 | Palpite Casa de Bernabe |
| Cave Swallow | Petrochelidon fulva | 1 | Palpite Casa de Bernabe |
| Gray Catbird | Dumetella carolinensis | 1 | Palpite Casa de Bernabe |
| Northern Mockingbird | Mimus polyglottos | 1 | Embalse Nina Bonita |
| Red-legged Thrush | Turdus plumbeus | 1 | Palpite Casa de Bernabe |
| Cedar Waxwing | Bombycilla cedrorum | 2 | Palpite Casa de Bernabe |
| Scaly-breasted Munia | Lonchura punctulata | 4 | Embalse Nina Bonita |
| Eastern Meadowlark | Sturnella magna | 2 | Carretera de la CUJAE, Havana CU-City of Havana 23.04766, -82.41825 |
| Tawny-shouldered Blackbird | Agelaius humeralis | 6 | Palpite Casa de Bernabe |
| Cuban Blackbird | Ptiloxena atroviolacea | 1 | Carretera de la CUJAE, Havana CU-City of Havana 23.04766, -82.41825 |
| American Redstart | Setophaga ruticilla | 1 | Palpite Casa de Bernabe |
| Magnolia Warbler | Setophaga magnolia | 1 | Palpite Casa de Bernabe |
| Black-throated Blue Warbler | Setophaga caerulescens | 1 | Palpite Casa de Bernabe |
| Palm Warbler | Setophaga palmarum | 1 | Embalse Nina Bonita |
| Black-throated Green Warbler | Setophaga virens | 1 | Palpite Casa de Bernabe |
| Red-legged Honeycreeper | Cyanerpes cyaneus | 2 | Palpite Casa de Bernabe |
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