Cuba March 13-23 2011

Cuba

March 13-23 2011

Bob Biggs-Tom Cadwallender-Richard Dunn-Steve Taylor

A proposed trip to China was put on hold when the price for the trip started to go through the roof, and when Bob suggested that we could do a trip to Cuba, I was all too keen. This would be my first time over the Atlantic, so, consequently, many things would be new to me

Sunday March 13

We all arrived at Newcastle Airport, checked in and relaxed; we had a long way to go. Arriving at Havana after a nine and a half hour flight from Newcastle to Gatwick and then on, we had approximately one and a half hours before it got dark, this gave us time to collect our bags, get the hire car and get onto the autopista, past and beyond Havana. After what seemed an age we were through passport control and into the baggage collection hall; loads of bags, but not ours, then someone noticed that a kind Cuban airport chappie was taking bags off the carousel and building piles of bags on the floor, Steve’s bag was quickly found, but no more. This was a worry, did Steve have enough clean pairs of underpants to keep the rest of us supplied until such time that we got our bags or bought some new. Steve was off, with vouchers in hand, he could get the car hire sorted, while we waited. And all at once the bags arrived, the last to drop onto the belt, hurrah we can get moving – alas no, the remaining three bags all had a red X on the baggage label, we were to be scrutinised. We were put to one side and then we had to empty our bags item by item,

Q: what’s this? A: a camera,

Q: what’s this? A: a lens,

Q: it’s a big one, are you a professional? A: No

Q: Why have you come to Cuba? A: I’m not too fuckin’ sure; can I just get on the next plane and go home?

Tom asked the question “have you never seen a birder before?” This was not answered; the only thing that we three had in common was that we were birders and we all had tripods, Steve didn’t have a tripod, he went through, unhindered. We think, that they thought, that we were spies!!! I mean, FFS, me, James Bond?

So eventually, three hours after we arrived in customs (nothing to declare, all that I took, I will be taking home, channel) we were set free, only for some incompetent female, on the final walk through, try to send us back to the beginning because one of the other hopeless morons on the baggage check (we had at least TWELVE, hopeless morons) had failed to stamp the baggage tags with a “cleared” !!! This nearly proved to be the point where we said “ok, send me home, I’ve had enough”

Meanwhile on the other side, Steve had done as much as the car hire as he could, bought some water for the boys, and then just generally watched the world (girls) go by!

Once through, car hire was completed, and we were away, using plan B.

Cubans (The Government) are totally paranoid and you are not allowed to take in any GPS units (have they not seen how good Google Earth is?), so a little USB GPS dongle (plan B) on my key ring was missed during THE search, and that attached to my netbook (which somehow they also missed), with some mapping software, got us out of the airport and onto the autopista, before it packed in, never to work again.

So here we were, doing what all the advice advises against; driving in Cuba, in the dark, scary! We drove on to La Güira, staying at overnight San Diego de los Banos at the Hotel Mirador (22°38'47.76"N 83°22'20.93"W).

Monday March 14

First light and I was out of the door and on the balcony, looking for the first bird, which for me would probably be a lifer. Following Steve’s lead, it was out the back of the hotel, where the action was, a local had pointed out to him a hummingbirds nest. As the birds started to appear, I didn’t know which way to look; a bird in flight, “what was that?”, a wing or a tail seen “did you see that?”, a call heard “what’s making that call?”. And then I saw a bird that I could identify and sadly it wasn’t a hummingbird; a Snowy Egret flying by takes the honour of first new bird. And then a Turkey Vulture and they are very common, I soon discover. A couple of hours before breakfast strolling around the hotel and the nearby park and river had me reeling, new birds came thick and fast; Mourning, White-winged & Common Ground Dove, Belted Kingfisher, Great Lizard Cuckoo, Northern Parula, Palm & Yellow-throated Warbler, Red-legged Thrush and the builder of the nest, Cuban Emerald.

After breakfast, just before we head out, we bump into a local guide, Caesar, who will take us out this afternoon for any species that we miss this morning, so we arrange to meet him later. And soon we have a target for him, as we can’t find the site for Cuban Grassquit. Further up the road we stop for an American Kestrel and while stopped have our first Cuban Pewee. Our destination is La Güira national park also known as Hacienda Cortina

This road leads up into the hills, to a spot where you can get Olive-capped Warbler and Cuban Solitaire. The road is in a very bad condition, barely passable in the car; this site, soon, might become inaccessible due to the road state.

We had Olive-capped Warbler at 22°39'12.25"N 83°26'49.24"W and 22°39'22.00"N 83°26'43.14"W, not far apart and excellent views at both. For Cuban Solitaire, we walked up hill to a ruined building and followed a trail off to the right for approximately 500 meters. The solitaire could be heard singing and eventually three are found off at a distance, one of them coming close at 22°39'33.58"N 83°26'28.73"W.

Up here we also had Broad-winged and Red-tailed Hawk and Cuban Trogon. We also have our first encounter with a tough group; the Kingbird! Loggerhead Kingbird is what we have today.

So by now it’s very warm and we have no water with us, so we head back down the hill, struggling with the road again and back to the hotel, where we collect water and more importantly Caesar who takes us straight to the correct spot and within minutes we have both Cuban and Yellow-faced Grassquit, a little local knowledge goes a long way!

He takes us back to La Güira, and along a different road, to a bar, where we park and walk to a small lake 22°38'6.84"N 83°24'31.00"W, that has three Least Grebe and a Louisiana Waterthrush, and in the surrounding area Cuban Tody, Smooth-billed Ani, Cuban Green and West Indian Woodpecker and Red-legged Honeycreeper. Leaving here we decide that the Paso Real Fish Farm is where we would like to go next, so Caesar points the way.

A sharp stop is called for, as a Cuban Meadowlark is seen next to the road 22°33'56.87"N 83°23'2.88"W, we jump out and take a few photos of this impressive bird, and collect some ticks while doing this, Steve has at least ten on him, I have two (I (much) later find another on my back when we return to the UK).

So we arrive at the ponds and park at 22°33'14.82"N 83°19'32.75"W. Snail Kite are immediately on view, at least six, Black-necked Stilts, Killdeer, Spotted Sandpiper, Caspian Tern, Neotropic Cormorant and Brown Pelican. Also Tricolored Munia an introduced species.

While here a brown Lada car comes down the track and Caesar walks over to talk to them, me thinking that it was the owner of the fish farm, who he said he knew and that he had permission to be there. After ten minutes or so the car started up and drove up the track to where we were to turn around and I got a look at the occupants; KGB! I don’t know if there is a Cuban equivalent but these three blokes and the sour faced woman with them just looked like KGB, bomber jackets, silly peaked caps, shifty eyes. Anyway Caesar had been grassed up, someone nearby by had phoned the secret police and they had bollocked Caesar for taking us there and also bollocked him because we had not locked the car; they said we had to leave! This Cuban paranoia casts a huge shadow over everything and we are a despondent group in the car as we leave none more so than our guide, who is totally pissed off. And again we are thinking; why have you come to Cuba?

The temperature high today was 29°c

Overnight, Hotel Mirador.

Tuesday March 15

No birding today other than during a few brief stops as today is a travel day, driving from one end of Cuba to the other. One stop that was memorable, for both good and bad reasons, was at a service area at 23° 2'24.42"N 82°29'36.70"W. The good; Pied-billed Grebe, Brown Pelican, “American” Great Egret, Great Blue Heron, hundreds of Ruddy Duck, Lesser Scaup, Ring-necked Duck.

The Bad; a dog getting killed on the road and no-one batted an eyelid! Dogs are treated very poorly in Cuba; some of the live ones look like a mercy killing would be being kind to them.

So, after a ten and a half hour drive, we arrive at the gate to the ranch and the old woman on the gate is not too impressed with our vouchers, but after much Spanish that is totally not understood by us and English that she clearly does not understand, she opens the gate and we are in and heading for the accommodation 20°59'50.27"N 77°42'43.62"W. When we arrive they are even less impressed by our vouchers; it is very clear to us that they are not expecting us at all! However they do put us up and they set about feeding us as well so all is not lost.

The temperature high today was 31.5°c

Overnight at La Belén.

Wednesday March 16

We were awoken by some bizarre bird call, just as the skies started to lighten, so we headed out and birded the gardens. The bizarre call was Cuban Crow, with plenty in the area. Also in the garden; Cuban Emerald, Tody and Green Woodpecker, Black-throated Blue Warbler, Yellow-bellied Sapsucker, Cuban and a Baltimore Oriole.

To move around in La Belén you need a guide and we had Camillo, a quiet chap who knew where the birds where.

On the morning session we went looking for pigeon, and Plain Pigeon in particular. As well as Plain Pigeon we also had White-crowned Pigeon. Limpkin was new for me, it’s a bird I associate with water, but here it was strolling around in dry paddocks under the trees. Another good bird for here was Cuban Parrot, with three seen and also Cuban Parakeet, plenty of them. It took a while but we finally nailed the Cuban Palm Crow, the biggest bird for this region, it only occurs in the area.

Back at the rooms during the hottest part of the day, there was no water for the toilet, taps or showers, so a dip in the pool was most welcome for Dunn, Taylor and Cadwallender (Biggs didn’t partake, he thought it might ruin his cravat), and when it was discovered that the shower worked here, I went back to the room to get my wash bag, only to discover that the room shower was running, so a wash was had there.

In the late afternoon, we headed back out, looking for Northern Jacana. It took half a dozen pools before we found a pair, but we saw many good birds while looking; Osprey, Greater Yellowlegs, Solitary Sandpiper, Tricoloured Heron, Shiny Cowbird, Giant and Loggerhead Kingbird.

While watching the Northern Jacana’s at an out of the way pool, with two guides, Camillo with us and a guide with Graham, a fellow Brit who was also staying here and doing much the same route as us, a Policeman rode up on horseback and started to grill the guides. FFS we are on a private ranch with two guides, what is their problem?

I’ll put this here but it has no connection with La Belén, a Cuban told us that if anything, anything, goes wrong, tits up or backfires, they (the government) blame the Americans!

Like the Americans give a toss about a crumbling, paranoid state just ninety miles to their south!

So after the evening meal, the owner/manager appeared with the bill, for the beer and the food, except that we had already paid for the food, it’s included in the price. After a bit of huffing and puffing, they understood this

The temperature high today was 32.5°c

Overnight at La Belén.

Thursday March 17

One of the questions I asked before we went was; is there anything that might kill me, snakes alligators, tigers, lions that sort of thing. No was the answer, so when we went out this morning and met the German group which had arrived last night, the first thing they showed us was a dead Scorpion that had been very much alive when it was discovered in one of their rooms, makes you think!

So, again no water this morning, let’s go birding. We walked along the road from the ranch a short way to an area where Graham had stopped yesterday and had a Fernandina’s Flicker. No luck with that but we had Giant and Loggerhead Kingbirds, Cuban Tody, both crows, and a fine selection of American warblers.

After breakfast, we are packed and ready to go, when, the owner/manager arrives and through a young girl tells us that we have to pay, no we say, we have already had this conversation. Yes you have to pay for your meals, no we say, it’s all inclusive and we produce the paperwork that says so. After much muttering, mumbling and not inconsiderable grumbling from them, we leave. It appears that whoever has booked up with them for us has short changed them or scammed them and that they think they can charge us again for what we have paid for or, they are trying to scam us. They also tried to make Graham pay for the guide even though it’s in with the price. Why have you come to Cuba?

Leaving the ranch we try to find some pools that we had read about, but without success, so we set off, stopping just up the road at a bridge over a pool, where there are some Northern Jacana and a single American Purple Gallinule.

So we drive on and after five hours or so we are at the check point/toll gate that has to be passed to get onto the resorts at Cayo Coco. The guy that demands the passports has a uniform and a face like a smacked arse! After what seems like an age, we have our passports back and can proceed across this huge causeway and one of the first birds we see, brings the car to a halt; Magnificent Frigatebird, a stunning bird! I’m very impressed with that! And further up the causeway, a Clapper Rail ran across the road in front of the car.

Carrying on we reach the Hotel Sol Cayo Coco, our base for the next couple of days. Once we are checked in and tagged with our all inclusive wrist bands and bags dumped in our rooms, which, praise be, have running water, we head out birding.

We head towards the next island, Cayo Guillermo, looking for Bahama Mockingbird. After plenty of Northern’s a bird is found with a different song, which can’t be seen, but another can and it looks different, target bird in the bag! It proceeds to allow Steve and me to get really close to it, too close for me, I can’t focus on it; it’s within the minimum focus range.

On the way up we had stopped at a pool 22°34'14.91"N 78°38'43.23"W that had plenty; Blue-winged Teal, Black-necked Stilt, Stilt Sandpiper, Willet, Caribbean Flamingo, American Coot, Laughing Gull. Just beyond the pool is a bridge, looks ok to me, but it has a warning!

So, now it’s dusk, no more birding today, and we are all inclusive; beer! We walk straight to the bar and sink a few swift ones before we head to the room to shower and then dinner. In the room I remove my foot from my shoe, (and remember, it’s been in there all day, since La Belén, no water, no showers) and a bloody big bloody cock roach shoots out of my shoe and starts to run up my leg (I have shorts on!!!), I am not ashamed to say, my first reaction was to scream, girlie style, I then did a merry little jig, that involved a lot of hopping on one leg and kicking/thrashing the leg with the roach on it until it was off, meanwhile my room buddy, Cadwallender was too busy pissing himself with laughter to help me. It had been in there all day and I never felt a thing, and then I remembered the Germans and the Scorpion this morning, I just had to have some more beer to calm the nerves, followed by a Mojito, now that did the trick.

Overnight, Hotel Sol Cayo Coco 22°32'7.10"N 78°21'20.21"W.

Friday March 18

So this morning we head out early, past the rooms of the still slumbering, drunken chavs that we found ourselves amongst last night. Chav, it’s not just a British thing, that’s for sure, Continentals do well, as do Canadians, but that’s another story!

Leaving the hotel we head for Cayo Paredon Grande and in particular, the lighthouse, where we have Oriente Warbler at 22°28'51.63"N 78° 9'52.59"W and a bit further down the track, Thick-billed Vireo at 22°28'35.91"N 78° 9'25.16"W. Back at the car, confusion is the order of the day! A perched bird is not identified, and then it takes flight, flying around like a lark and appears to be doing a Skylark song flight; that’s right, Cuba hasn’t got Skylark, what’s that bird? It comes in and lands on an antenna, so a ‘scope is on it, and it’s a, it’s a, it’s, bloody hell! It’s a House Sparrow!

So, we head back, stopping at the rickety bridge 22°25'39.22"N, 78°16'6.94"W, to have a good look at the Magnificent Frigatebirds, there are twenty five in the air, chasing terns or diving in on surfacing Double-crested Cormorants. We (me, Bob & Tom) are wandering off when we get a whistle from Steve, what’s he got? There has been a bit of migration, could be something good. And, oh yes, it was! An absolutely stunning male Painted Bunting. And it was knackered; it had not long since arrived. And while here we have two Lesser Black-backed Gulls, our first Cuban rarities!

Later, after lunch, and as it starts to cool down we head for the “Wild Boar Cave” 22°32'41.17"N, 78°24'19.99"W, a site that is said to have Zapata Sparrow. We looked at two pools at 22°33'5.85"N 78°24'21.53"W and 22°33'9.40"N 78°24'29.24"W. The first had a flock of Least Sandpiper and a Northern Waterthrush; the second had a Greater and a Lesser Yellowlegs, together. I tried hard to get a good photograph of them both together, fail.

The car park at the cave was excellent, a bit of open space in the wood, and birds are easy to see as they move around the edges. Highlight for me here, was my lifer Ovenbird, stunning, even though it was nearly dark.

Overnight Hotel Sol Cayo Coco.

Saturday March 19

So, after all that was good yesterday afternoon, we head back to the cave. Possibly in hope of a Zapata Sparrow, but really because it was excellent birding. And again, today, it didn’t disappoint. Driving along the approach road, a Cuban Black Hawk, perched low in a bush, just sits and lets us take its picture. The Least Sandpiper and the Northern Waterthrush are still at one pool and the two yellowlegs are still at the other. At the car park, the Ovenbird is still present, but it’s been joined by another eleven, Grey Catbird appear to be everywhere, White-eyed and Yellow-throated Vireo are new, Cuban Gnatcatcher’s are prolific, Western Spindalis are common, as are Cuban Bullfinch and then Tom finds a Key West Quail-Dove, that seemed to be happy enough to parade around for a while. Trying to re-find the Quail-Dove, I bump into the “care taker” and in an excellent “no English, no Spanish” moment, he shows me a Cuban Green Woodpecker nest, with young, and more importantly, two small water troughs, that he keeps topped up for the birds. If only we had known of these troughs earlier, the birds were drawn to them.

So, that’s it, time to leave. We head back, and have a late breakfast, tip the waitress who insisted on calling Bob, “Bom”. Oh, how we laughed! If you see Bob, ask him how he put a head on the beer!

Driving back over the causeway, Red-breasted Merganser is the target, as Bom didn’t see them as we were coming on. No sooner said than done, and Merganser is in the bag. And then a voice from the back, “isn’t that a Roseate Spoonbill?” Well actually, yes, it is!

Not much more to report, until mid afternoon when we reach La Boca 22°22'0.82"N, 81° 9'53.37"W, which is on the road down to Playa Larga. A stop is called for as I think I have seen West Indian Whistling Duck. I don’t know what I did see, but it certainly wasn’t West Indian Whistling Duck. However the stop was very helpful; a Killdeer nest with eggs was found, Anhinga seen, American Purple Gallinule, Neotropic Cormorant, Antillean Palm Swift and Northern Rough-winged Swallow also seen.

We had been concerned over our next accommodation; we had no idea what Casa Particulare’s were like. Arriving in Playa Larga we stopped and asked a woman if she knew where the casa particulare of Enrique was. She did, and if we moved over in the back, she would show us. So half a mile later, she was out of the car and pointing down the road, she wasn’t going to take us there after all, she just wanted a lift. Stopping outside, it looked ok, so we went and knocked, Enrique was on the phone, but would soon be with us. And when he arrived we were back in the car and driving along a very shabby looking back lane and stopping beside an alley that went to the beach. We are led down the alley and through the gate to the house...

...and introduced to our host, Kiki, Enrique’s son-in-law. The Casa turned out to be the best place we stayed at during our time in Cuba and for Kiki; nothing was too much trouble, a great host. In the above photo me and Tom had the upstairs room, with a view over the Bay of Pigs...

Sunrise and midday over the Bay of Pigs

After we are settled in, our guide for the next two days, Angel, pronounced “Ann-hell”, arrives and we give him our “shopping list”, some of which he immediately crosses off, which is to be expected as we didn’t expect to see those birds!

Overnight, Playa Larga, Zapata

Sunday March 20

Departure was delayed this morning; Cuban time went to daylight saving time and our host forgot to put his clock forward, so we waited another 30 minutes while they knocked some breakfast up, which greatly appreciated.

When we left, we headed towards Playa Giron, with Angel, in the car guiding us along to a roadside pull in, of which, I have no idea where it was. Anyway, we are out the car and onto the trails, and we haven’t gone too far when Angel stops us and points out a Blue-headed Quail-Dove calling, and we are off piste and into the trees, which are just secondary growth, very tightly packed together, and almost impossible to negotiate. We haven’t gone far when he signals to stop, he’ll move forward and have a look, so we stand in single file waiting and listening. I can hear the leaf litter being scratched about behind me and as I turn to have a look, see the rear of a dove vanish into the gloom of the trees. Straining my eyes, peering through the gaps, where did it go and then there it is; I’m looking through my binoculars at a Blue-headed Quail-Dove!

Because of the way the trees are growing, I’m the only one who can see it. Angel comes back and say’s “no good”, but when he hears that I have seen one, he is quickly out of the trees and onto the main track, where, a long way further down the track, another Blue-headed Quail-Dove is walking away from us and out of sight. Further along the same track, Ruddy Quail-Dove is seen. This picture is after the dove sightings, further into the wood, where it has been thinned. Gives some idea of what it was like.

We may have walked miles, or then again we might not have! I lost all sense of direction as we walked the tracks, what seemed to take forever on the way in, took moments on the way out! So we arrive at Angel’s stake out, and there it is, at the top of the biggest tree in this part of the forest. Ironic, that we see the world’s smallest bird on top of a huge tree! It looks good through the scope, but my pictures of Bee Hummingbird are crap!

By now it’s midday and very hot, and we are back at the car heading back to base, it appears that we will do a morning and then an afternoon session.

We drop Angel off, head for the casa and have a cold drink, before trying our luck along a different road. Stopping by a track into the trees we wander in and soon have a close Great Lizard Cuckoo, and as we stop to watch this, notice that there are Yellow-headed Warblers close by. Me and Steve spend a bit of time trying for good photos and in doing this miss the only Yellow Warbler of the trip. Later back at the car its decided that it really is too hot, so it’s back to the casa, where we take advantage of the sea, with a very refreshing swim.

Late afternoon and we collect Angel from his house and head back into the woods, to a different spot, where we have a Cuban Nightjar, perched up, in a tree. And then from here it all seems to go horribly wrong; none of the stake out birds is on site! A big dip afternoon, we miss one thing after another.

The temperature high today was 32°c

Overnight, Playa Larga, Zapata

Monday March 21

This morning, we collect the guide and head for an area known as La Turba 22°26'37.30"N 81°10'17.03"W, “the” place to see Zapata Wren; we didn’t see it! The deal here is that the guide plays the call at various spots and you hope for a response. We tried this a few times along the track, but with no joy. So we head further on to a spot where Zapata Sparrow 22°24'53.56"N 81°11'6.97"W can be seen; we didn’t see it! By now, it’s windy and the chance of seeing either of these birds is gone. Heading back along the track, Angel tells us to stop, he can hear a Zapata Wren singing, so he tries to lure it in, with not much success, so Steve tries his mp3 player and the bird is almost out in the open, both Angel and Steve can see the reed stalks moving as the bird moves through and inexplicably, Angel tells Steve to turn off the call, and the wren vanishes back into the vast swamp!!! We are now into an afternoon and a morning where the birds just aren’t cooperating, very frustrating and now it’s lunch time, time to quit.

Back at base we have a quick cool drink, then head for La Cueva de los Peces 22° 9'59.25"N, 81° 8'14.39"W. Highlight here was undoubtedly, White-collared Swift. We had been watching warblers, Palm, Prairie and Black and White, with Northern Parula and American Redstart, when it was noticed that there were hirundines, American Barn, Northern Rough-winged and Cave Swallow over the trees and then, in with them, three White-collared Swifts.

Late afternoon and we collect Angel and head off to a more open area, and with a lot of luck, track down a calling male Fernandina’s Flicker and in the same area, a couple of Cuban Martin, but no sign of Gundlach’s Hawk. A tree trunk is scratched and a Bare-legged Owl shoots out of its nest and not too far from that tree, the same tactic has a Cuban Pygmy Owl peering out.

Back in the car, we drive to a wet area 22°13'58.17"N 81° 6'24.62"W and have plenty of water birds; Herons and Egrets, Moorhens and American Coots, Blue-winged Teal and Belted Kingfisher. And that’s about it, nearly dark, time to go back to base.

The temperature high today was 31.5°c

Overnight, Playa Larga, Zapata

Tuesday March 22

Our last morning in Zapata and we have no guide as he has other things to do, so after having a conversation with Graham the other night (his and our time in Zapata overlap) we head for Bermejas, where it appears that everything we have struggle to see over the past few days, is on offer. As soon as we have parked the car, the guide for the area, Orlando, appears. We tell him what we need and what we would like to see again. And we are off, at high speed down well maintained tracks, with long sight lines through the trees. We stop at a spot where two trails converge with a small pool at the side and Orlando splits us up; me watching the two trails, Tom and Steve watching the trail in the opposite direction and Bob watching the pools. We stand motionless for ages, until I get my eye onto a passing warbler flock, that have a Blue-winged Warbler in with them, most of the others are Yellow-headed Warbler and a couple of Northern Parulas. And then Orlando is moving pushing and pulling us towards Bob, who it seems had whistled (I had missed that), he has a Grey-headed Quail-Dove at the pool. We stay for a while longer and have another Grey-headed Quail-Dove come to drink.

We tell Orlando that we would like to see Bee Hummingbird, and he’s off and it’s up to us to keep up! Back to the road and across to the other side to a flowering hedge and there she is; a female Bee Hummingbird at just over head height. Very small indeed, she seems dwarfed by the Cuban Emerald’s and they are no giants, measuring just over three and a half inches!

Back across the road and up a different trail, Fernandina’s Flicker, at the nest. A side trail from this one, two Bare-legged Owls on top of a tree stump in which they are nesting. The Cuban Pygmy Owl is not at home, nor is the Northern Flicker, but we are very pleased with Bermejas.

We head back to the converging trails, in the hope of Blue-headed Quail-Dove, Steve opts to go back to the Bee Hummingbird. After an hour or so with no luck, we join Steve, and hear that he has had a male Bee Hummingbird in with the female. And after no time at all, there he is, an absolute stunner.

And we were told that this fantastic site had no birds, nothing to see. It appears that the guides each have their own patch, and will not move away from it to get you the birds. Angels patch was very overgrown and the birds difficult, Orlandos patch on the other hand was well tended and the birds are easy. You pays your money and you takes your choice!

Leaving Zapata we head back up the road towards the motorway, and acting on instructions from Angel we try again for the wren and the sparrow. As we drive in we pass the temporary camp of some fishermen, who watch us drive by. Parking the car at the sparrow spot, we hear the unmistakable sound of a motorbike coming along towards us. It’s one of the fishermen; he’s seen that there wasn’t a guide in the car with us and realised that he can make some money, pulling a scam on the gringo birders. First he is all official like, then starts writing car down the make and registration when we cannot understand what he is after. And then when we offer some small notes to his hand, he is all smiles, carry on! The robbing bastard! Angel had said to us that we would be ok, here without him, he didn’t mention that we would get scammed by some fat smelly fisherman.

And it was all in vain, we failed again with the wren and the sparrow.

Back on the motorway we flash along with Steve at the wheel, and in no time are in Havana, and eventually at the Hotel Sevilla, which is tucked away, up a side street. One of the car hire guys outside the hotel helps us get the car back to the correct office, even though he doesn’t work for them, and it’s only just in time. The car has to be returned by 18:00, with an empty tank; we return it at 17:50, with 10kms of fuel left according to the on board computer. And the chappie wasn’t very happy, he had the door locked, ready to go home, and the car was a mess, “very dirty”, with a lot of a palm frond hanging from the underside.

Checked in and washed, we head out for a night on the town in Havana. About ninety minutes later, we are back at the hotel. We are not impressed by the squalor, the smell, the dilapidation and the fact the every other person on the street is a prostitute or someone looking to mug you for your hard earned cash. No, we are happier in the hotel bar, and even in there, there are prostitutes.

The temperature high today was 36.5°c

Overnight, at the Hotel Sevilla, Havana.

Wednesday March 23

Up early, we have breakfast and then grab a taxi and head for the Havana Botanical Gardens, Jardin Botanico Nacional de Cuba, 22°59'29.00"N 82°20'30.72"W. We arrive just after opening time and catch them unawares. They think we need a guide, no we just want to wander in the general direction of a pond. A guide arrives, who proceeds to tell us the history of the gardens and very quickly she catches on that we aren’t interested; we are spread over a very wide area and she can’t talk to us all. We reach a path and she points off in that direction, water that way. And then we are on our own. Plenty of Antillean Palm Swifts are flying around, the area that is planted with palm trees, strange that! And Tom spots a head which it turns out, belongs to Northern Bobwhite, we have another nine.

When we reach the water, it’s a bit of a letdown, it’s not what we had hoped for. We had Green and Little Blue Heron, Killdeer and Spotted Sandpiper and an Osprey over. And that is it, we have to leave to get to the hotel and check out, and sit around till 15:30 for our bus to the airport, which when it turns up is just a taxi, and he only wants to pick up two, as per his paperwork! We have the same paperwork and another better bit of paperwork that says we have paid for four, we all get in and he takes us to the airport, he doesn’t get a tip; by now I think we are fed up with people trying it on.

The temperature high today was 30°c by 10:30

flight home

Species

Least Grebe (Tachybaptus dominicus)

Pied-billed Grebe (Podilymbus podiceps)

Brown Pelican (Pelecanus occidentalis)

Double-crested Cormorant (Phalacrocorax auritus)

Neotropic Cormorant (Phalacrocorax brasilianus)

Anhinga (Anhinga anhinga)

Magnificent Frigatebird (Fregata magnificens)

Great Blue Heron (Ardea herodias)

Great Egret (Ardea alba)

Reddish Egret (Egretta rufescens)

Tricoloured Heron (Egretta tricolor)

Little Blue Heron (Egretta caerulea)

Snowy Egret (Egretta thula)

Cattle Egret (Bubulcus ibis)

Green Heron (Butorides virescens)

Black-crowned Night Heron (Nycticorax nycticorax)

White Ibis (Eudocimus albus)

Roseate Spoonbill (Platalea ajaja)

Greater Flamingo (Phoenicopterus ruber)

Blue-winged Teal (Anas discors)

Northern Shoveler (Anas clypeata)

Ring-necked Duck (Aythya collaris)

Lesser Scaup (Aythya affinis)

Red-breasted Merganser (Mergus serrator)

Ruddy Duck (Oxyura jamaicensis)

Turkey Vulture (Cathartes aura)

Osprey (Pandion haliaetus)

Snail Kite (Rostrhamus sociabilis)

Northern Harrier (Circus cyaneus)

Sharp-shinned Hawk (Accipiter striatus)

Cuban Black Hawk (Buteogallus gundlachii)

Broad-winged Hawk (Buteo platypterus)

Red-tailed Hawk (Buteo jamaicensis)

Crested Caracara (Caracara cheriway)

American Kestrel (Falco sparverius)

Merlin (Falco columbarius)

Northern Bobwhite (Colinus virginianus)

Limpkin (Aramus guarauna)

Clapper Rail (Rallus longirostris)

American Purple Gallinule (Porphyrio martinica)

Common Moorhen (Gallinula chloropus)

American Coot (Fulica americana)

Northern Jacana (Jacana spinosa)

Black-necked Stilt (Himantopus mexicanus)

Grey Plover (Pluvialis squatarola)

Semipalmated Plover (Charadrius semipalmatus)

Killdeer (Charadrius vociferus)

Short-billed Dowitcher (Limnodromus griseus)

Spotted Sandpiper (Actitis macularius)

Solitary Sandpiper (Tringa solitaria)

Greater Yellowlegs (Tringa melanoleuca)

Willet (Tringa semipalmata)

Lesser Yellowlegs (Tringa flavipes)

Ruddy Turnstone (Arenaria interpres)

Semipalmated Sandpiper (Calidris pusilla)

Least Sandpiper (Calidris minutilla)

Stilt Sandpiper (Calidris himantopus)

Lesser Black-backed Gull (Larus fuscus)

American Herring Gull (Larus smithsonianus)

Laughing Gull (Leucophaeus atricilla)

Caspian Tern (Hydroprogne caspia)

Sandwich Tern (Thalasseus sandvicensis)

Royal Tern (Thalasseus maximus)

White-crowned Pigeon (Patagioenas leucocephala)

Plain Pigeon (Patagioenas inornata)

Eurasian Collared Dove (Streptopelia decaocto)

Mourning Dove (Zenaida macroura)

Zenaida Dove (Zenaida aurita)

White-winged Dove (Zenaida asiatica)

Common Ground Dove (Columbina passerina)

Grey-fronted Quail-dove (Geotrygon caniceps)

Key West Quail-dove (Geotrygon chrysia)

Ruddy Quail-dove (Geotrygon montana)

Blue-headed Quail-dove (Starnoenas cyanocephala)

Cuban Parakeet (Aratinga euops)

Cuban Parrot (Amazona leucocephala)

Great Lizard Cuckoo (Coccyzus merlini)

Smooth-billed Ani (Crotophaga ani)

Bare-legged Owl (Gymnoglaux lawrencii)

Cuban Pygmy Owl (Glaucidium siju)

Greater Antillean Nightjar (Caprimulgus cubanensis)

White-collared Swift (Streptoprocne zonaris)

Antillean Palm Swift (Tachornis phoenicobia)

Cuban Emerald (Chlorostilbon ricordii)

Bee Hummingbird (Mellisuga helenae)

Cuban Trogon (Priotelus temnurus)

Belted Kingfisher (Megaceryle alcyon)

Cuban Tody (Todus multicolor)

West Indian Woodpecker (Melanerpes superciliaris)

Yellow-bellied Sapsucker (Sphyrapicus varius)

Cuban Green Woodpecker (Xiphidiopicus percussus)

Northern Flicker (Colaptes auratus)

Fernandina's Flicker (Colaptes fernandinae)

Cuban Pewee (Contopus caribaeus)

Grey Kingbird (Tyrannus dominicensis)

Loggerhead Kingbird (Tyrannus caudifasciatus)

Giant Kingbird (Tyrannus cubensis)

La Sagra's Flycatcher (Myiarchus sagrae)

Tree Swallow (Tachycineta bicolor)

Cuban Martin (Progne cryptoleuca)

Northern Rough-winged Swallow (Stelgidopteryx serripennis)

Barn Swallow (Hirundo rustica)

Cave Swallow (Petrochelidon fulva)

Grey Catbird (Dumetella carolinensis)

Northern Mockingbird (Mimus polyglottos)

Bahama Mockingbird (Mimus gundlachii)

Cuban Solitaire (Myadestes elisabeth)

Red-legged Thrush (Turdus plumbeus)

Cuban Gnatcatcher (Polioptila lembeyei)

Cuban Palm Crow (Corvus minutus)

Cuban Crow (Corvus nasicus)

House Sparrow (Passer domesticus)

Black-headed Munia (Lonchura malacca)

White-eyed Vireo (Vireo griseus)

Thick-billed Vireo (Vireo crassirostris)

Cuban Vireo (Vireo gundlachii)

Yellow-throated Vireo (Vireo flavifrons)

Black-whiskered Vireo (Vireo altiloquus)

Blue-winged Warbler (Vermivora pinus)

Northern Parula (Parula americana)

Cape May Warbler (Dendroica tigrina)

Black-throated Blue Warbler (Dendroica caerulescens)

Black-throated Green Warbler (Dendroica virens)

Yellow-throated Warbler (Dendroica dominica)

Olive-capped Warbler (Dendroica pityophila)

Prairie Warbler (Dendroica discolor)

Palm Warbler (Dendroica palmarum)

Black-and-white Warbler (Mniotilta varia)

American Redstart (Setophaga ruticilla)

Worm-eating Warbler (Helmitheros vermivorus)

Ovenbird (Seiurus aurocapilla)

Northern Waterthrush (Seiurus noveboracensis)

Louisiana Waterthrush (Seiurus motacilla)

Common Yellowthroat (Geothlypis trichas)

Yellow-headed Warbler (Teretistris fernandinae)

Oriente Warbler (Teretistris fornsi)

Summer Tanager (Piranga rubra)

Western Spindalis (Spindalis zena)

Red-legged Honeycreeper (Cyanerpes cyaneus)

Cuban Bullfinch (Melopyrrha nigra)

Cuban Grassquit (Tiaris canorus)

Yellow-faced Grassquit (Tiaris olivaceus)

Indigo Bunting (Passerina cyanea)

Painted Bunting (Passerina ciris)

Tawny-shouldered Blackbird (Agelaius humeralis)

Eastern Meadowlark (Sturnella magna)

Cuban Blackbird (Dives atroviolacea)

Greater Antillean Grackle (Quiscalus niger)

Shiny Cowbird (Molothrus bonariensis)

Baltimore Oriole (Icterus galbula)

Greater Antillean Oriole (Icterus dominicensis)