18 - 26 February 2002
by Mark Lockwood
Cindy and I recently returned from a southern Caribbean cruise and four extra days in Puerto Rico. The cruise originated in San Juan made stops at Aruba, Venezuela, Grenada, Dominica, and St. Thomas. We birded at every location and made arrangements for guides or transportation on three stops. Below is a brief description of our activities and a few of the highlights.
18 February
This was a day at seas about the ship. I expected not to see any birds from the ship as the Caribbean is not known for pelagic species away from breeding areas. I was surprised to see three Red-footed Boobies at about 11:30 AM and even more surprised to see a group of 50 along with two Pomarine Jaegers at 1:10 PM.
The first stop was Aruba. We birded the Bubali freshwater wetlands near the high rise hotels in northwestern Oranjestad and the grounds of a couple of nearby hotels. We also made a brief stop at the Casibari Boulders (a tourist spot) during a tour of the island. Highlights included White-cheeked Pintails, Caribbean Coots and Bare-eyed Pigeons at Bubali and Brown-throated Parakeets, a female Ruby-topaz Hummingbird and a male Blue-tailed Emerald elsewhere. A total of 39 species were seen.
The next stop was at Caracas, Venezuela (really the port of La Guaira). I had made advance arrangements to met Chris Sharpe (rodsha@TELCEL.NET.VE) to bird El Avila National Park. Chris is a conservationist and leads bird tours around Venezuela also. We had a great time with Chris and the birding was excellent. The Avila is in the Costal Cordillera that separates Caracas from the Caribbean. The lower north slope is dry scrub, but there is excellent cloud forest in the range. Highlights included the following endemics: Blood-eared Parakeet, Groove-billed Toucanet, Black-throated Spinetail, Caracas Tapaculo (actually seen), and Golden-breasted Fruiteater. We also saw Spangled Coquette, Rufous-shafted Woodstar, Scalloped Antthrush, and Ochre-breasted Brush-Finch. We did hear two White-tipped Quetzals, but could not see them. We saw 71 species and heard eight others.
The next day was at Grenada. We actually didn't arrive until 11:00 Am at the port. We decided it would be easier (and quicker) to book transportation rather than rent a car. I contact Mandoo (mandoo@grenadatours.com) in advance and arrange for the half day. Mandoo was familiar with our target areas, including the Grenada Dove sanctuary at Perseverance Estate. This area is now fenced and Mandoo had contacted to care taker in advance so we were able to get in without any trouble. We were lucky enough to get a brief, but fairly good look at one Grenada Dove despite the poor time of day. We missed Grenada Flycatcher here, but did see Eared Dove, Antillean Crested Hummingbird and Bare-eyed Thrush. Our next stop was the visitor's center at Grand Etang National Park. Despite the crowd of people, we easily found our target species, the Lesser Antillean Tanager. We also found several Lesser Antillean Bullfinches. Since we missed the Grenada Flycatcher we decided to try some other area in the lowlands. While passing through St. George's, Mandoo pulled in to a complex of government building which had fairly extensive, though manicured grounds. We saw many more bullfinches as well as at least three Grenada Flycatchers and another Bare-eyed Thrush. We saw 23 species during our brief four hours on Grenada.
This day found us on Dominica. As the ship was pulling into the harbor at about 7:00 AM, there were two Parasitic Jaegers flying around the area. The weather on this day made birding difficult. We were trying to find birds in a torrential downpour! About every 15 or 20 minutes, it was stop for a few minutes before starting up again. We had made arrangements with Bertrand Jno Baptiste (drbirdy2@cwdom.dm) to take us to the Syndicate Trail area of the Northern Forest Preserve. Bertrand is the bird expert on Dominica and a very nice guy. Despite the very poor conditions we saw almost all of our target birds. We did miss Imperial Parrot and Bertrand said that he sees them about 80% of the time when conditions are favorable. Highlights included four species of hummingbird, including Blue-headed, and three thrashers in one flock, Scaly-breasted and Pearly-eyed Thrashers and Brown Trembler. All in all we encountered 34 species, including Rufous-throated Solitaire which we only heard. Bertrand on two occasions heard Imperial Parrot, but I cannot claim to have even heard that rare endemic.
The shop docked at St. Thomas and we took a taxi to the ferry crossing at Red Hook for the ride to St. John. We basically birded to areas of Virgin Islands National Park, the Caneel Hill and Lind Point Trails and the Cinnamon Bay lop trail. The Caneel Hill and Lind Point Trails originate at the NPS headquarters and pass through dry forest. The highlights of this walk were a Green-throated Carib and two Mangrove Cuckoos. The Cinnamon Bay trail is well-known as a place to look for Bridled Quail-Dove. On our second time around were we pleased to find one walking down the trail. We ere able to watch it as long as we wanted to. What a beautiful bird.
The cruise ended in San Juan and we went to the airport to pick up our rental car. Our first stop was to look for Plain Pigeon near Comerio. The place is described in Mark Oberle's excellent book on Puerto Rican birds. The traditional spot is north of Cidra on Rte 172 near Comerio at Escuela Superior Sabana. The school is 1.5 km from junction with Rte 156. We pulled into the parking area next to the baseball field and since it was Saturday there was a game being played. Despite the number of people there, we quickly found a Plain Pigeon which offered excellent views. Our next stop was in the southwest at Guanica. We stayed at Mary Lee's by the Sea this evening and after checking in, we headed for Parguera. The critically endangered Yellow-shouldered Blackbird is found in this small town. The best know place at on the ground of the Parador Villa Parguera. We looked around there without success and after about 45 minutes of looking in the surrounding area, Cindy spotted a beautiful adult. We looped up to San German on our way back to Guanica to look at the introduced population of White-winged Parakeets that are usually found on the Interamerican University campus. We were not disappointed as at least 50 were in a single fruiting tree. While were standing there a Hispaniolan and an Orange-winged Parrot joined the fracas. The Hispaniolan Parrot is supposedly an established exotic on Puerto Rico. We then made our way back to Rte. 334 and the gate to the Guanica State Forest just before dusk. Were found a Greater Antillean Oriole and a couple of Adelaide's Warblers before dark. Once it became dark, the Puerto Rican Nightjars began calling. We could hear at least four and one flew across the road a couple of time. PR Screech-Owls are common here, but they were not calling at all.
25 February
We were walking along Rte 334 before dawn and heard five or six PR Nightjars. We did hear one screech-owl calling just before dawn, but could not see it. At dawn we also heard two PR Lizard-Cuckoos, but could not see either of them. We did see PR Tody, PR Flycatcher, PR Woodpecker and PR Vireo. From here we made our way up to the rest stop at km 16.2 on Rte 120 in the Maricao State Forest. This is the best place to see the Elfin-woods Warbler. We were fortunate enough to see one adult and an immature. We also saw PR Tanager, PR Spindalis, PR Emerald, Lesser Antillean Pewee and Red-legged Thrush among others. We went from there to Hacienda Juanita where we stayed the next two nights. We saw many of the same birds that were at the rest stop as well as Black-whiskered Vireo, Greater Antillean Oriole and Green Mango.
26 February
We visited Susua State Forest this morning and heard the elusive Key West Quail-Dove but could not see it. There were many birds around the campground, including PR Woodpecker, PR Tody, Lesser Antillean Pewee, and Adelaide's Warbler. We spent the afternoon at Hacienda Juanita and added a female Antillean Euphonia.
27 February
Having missed the PR Lizard-Cuckoo we decided to leave early and make one more attempt for this bird. When we arrive at the Guanica State Forest gate on Rte. 334 at 7:00 Am, it was open, so we drove up to the office and walked around the Granados Trail which Mark Oberle's book mentioned as a good place for the cuckoo. We were lucky enough to spot one along the walk along with most of the other species seen at this preserve on our earlier visit. We left here and headed for San Juan seeing a small group of Caribbean Martins in Ponce along the way.
I would not recommend going to Puerto Rico in February because many of the endemics were not singing, making them more difficult to find. We missed PR Screech-Owl which is a common bird. They did not respond to a tape recording of the song or to squeaking. The PR Lizard-Cuckoo is difficult to see under normal circumstances and very difficult to find when they are not vocalizing.
Birds observed
Well offshore
17 Feb 2002
| SPECIES | WHERE OBSERVED |
| Red-footed Booby | three were observed from the ship at 11:30 AM and a flock of 50 (mostly immature) was seen at 1:10 PM. The location pf the large flock was 16º22.2'N, 68º23'W. |
| Pomarine Jaeger | two were with the flock of 50 Red-footed Boobies on the 17th |
Aruba - 18 Feb 2002
| SPECIES | WHERE OBSERVED |
| Pied-billed Grebe | two at Bubali |
| Brown Pelican | 15+ seen at various locations along the coast and at Bubali |
| Magnificent Frigatebird | 10+ seen at various locations along the coast and at Bubali |
| Great Blue Heron | two at Bubali |
| Great Egret | six at Bubali |
| Snowy Egret | two at Bubali |
| Tricolored Heron | two at Bubali |
| Cattle Egret | one at Bubali |
| Green Heron | one at Bubali |
| Black-crowned Night-Heron | - |
| White-cheeked Pintail | eight at Bubali |
| Blue-winged Teal | six at Bubali |
| Osprey | one seen over Bubali and one along the coast east of Oranjestad |
| Crested Caracara | three in the interior of the island |
| Peregrine Falcon | one on a small island just east of Oranjestad docks |
| Common Gallinule | six at Bubali |
| Caribbean Coot | 12+ at Bubali |
| Killdeer | two at Bubali |
| Greater Yellowlegs | six at Bubali |
| Willet | 20+ along the coast |
| Ruddy Turnstone | three along the coast north of the hotel district |
| Laughing Gull | 10+ along the coast north of the hotel district |
| Royal Tern | 12+ along the coast |
| Sandwich Tern | one near the docks at Oranjestad |
| Rock Dove | common |
| Bare-eyed Pigeon | 20+ at Bubali and around the nearby hotels |
| Eared Dove | 10+ at Bubali and around the nearby hotels |
| Common Ground-Dove | 4 on the lawn of a hotel near Bubali |
| Brown-throated Parakeet | 10+ at Bubali and another 25+ around the nearby hotels |
| Ruby-topaz Hummingbird | a female on the grounds of a hotel near Bubali |
| Blue-tailed Emerald | a male in the garden of a restaurant next to the McDonald's in the hotel district and another at the Casibari Boulders gardens. |
| Tropical Mockingbird | 30+ at Bubali and around the nearby hotels |
| Yellow Warbler | a bright male with a rufous cap at Bubali |
| Northern Waterthrush | one at Bubali |
| Bananaquit | 30+ at Bubali and around the nearby hotels |
| Black-faced Grassquit | two in a vacant lot near the McDonald's |
| Carib Grackle | 20+ at Bubali and around the nearby hotels |
| Troupial | one at Bubali |
| House Sparrow | four in a vacant lot near the McDonald's |
39 species
Venezuela - 19 Feb 2002
| SPECIES | WHERE OBSERVED |
| Brown Pelecan | 20+ along the coast |
| Magnificent Frigatebird | 10+ along the coast |
| Black Vulture | six near the coast |
| Turkey Vulture | two near the coast |
| Roadside Hawk | one on the roadside in Galipán humid forest |
| Short-tailed Hawk | one light phase over xeric coastal scrub |
| Band-tailed Pigeon | at least five in Galipán humid forest |
| Ruddy Pigeon | 2 singing, Galipán humid forest; 1 seen, Los Venados |
| White-tipped Dove | one walking along road, Galipán humid forest |
| Red-eared Parakeet | a flock of four aloud extended view as they were pearched in the Galipán humid forest; several flocks heard, Galipán Ridge |
| Ani sp. | a flock in lower Galipán humid forest (probaly Groove-billed, but we did not stop to look) |
| White-collared Swift | flocks over xeric coastal scrub, Galipán humid forest, Galipán Ridge and Los Venados |
| Gray-rumped Swift | a flock of c10 over Galipán Ridge with some nice sunlit views of individuals showing good field marks |
| White-tipped Swift | a flock of c15 over Galipán Ridge with Gray-rumped Swifts |
| Spangled Coquette | a female feeding on a Pointsettia tree 10 feet away, Los Venados |
| Blue-tailed Emerald | a female and male in xeric coastal scrub |
| Speckled Hummingbird | one in Galipán humid forest, two along Galipán Ridge and one at Los Venados |
| Long-tailed Sylph | a female at Los Venados |
| Rufous-shafted Woodstar | a female catching insects, Galipán Ridge |
| (White-tipped Quetzal) | 2 singing, Galipán Ridge |
| (Collared Trogon) | 1 heard, Fila del Avila cloud forest trail |
| Rufous-tailed Jacamar | one in xeric coastal scrub |
| Groove-billed Toucanet | two in the Galipán humid forest and another with closer views at Los Venados |
| Scaled Piculet | one in xeric coastal scrub |
| Golden-olive Woodpecker | one in Galipán humid forest |
| Red-crowned Woodpecker | one in the port of La Guaira |
| Smoky-brown Woodpecker | one in Galipán humid forest and two along Fila del Avila cloud forest trail |
| Olivaceous Woodcreeper | heard in Galipán humid forest and one briefly seen along Fila del Avila cloud forest trail |
| (Cocoa Woodcreeper) | heard in Galipán humid forest |
| Montane Woodcreeper | one along Fila del Avila cloud forest trail |
| Black-throated Spinetail | two seen at point blank range, Galipán humid forest |
| (Crested Spinetail) | heard only, Galipán humid forest |
| White-fringed Antwren | a striking male in xeric coastal scrub |
| (White-bellied Antbird) | several singing in xeric coastal scrub and Galipán humid forest |
| Scalloped Antthrush | one heard and briefly seen, Fila del Avila cloud forest trail |
| Caracas Tapaculo | one observed from 3 feet, Galipán Ridge |
| Golden-breasted Fruiteater | a female in Galipán humid forest |
| (Chestnut-crowned Becard) | one at Los Venados |
| (Golden-crowned Flycatcher) | one heard at Los Venados |
| Great Kiskadee | heard and seen at various locations with open habitats |
| Pale-edged Flycatcher | singles in Galipán humid forest and along Galipán Ridge |
| Flavescent Flycatcher | nice eye-level views of a single bird, Fila del Avila cloud forest trail |
| White-throated Tyrannulet | two along Galipán Ridge |
| Mountain Elaenia | one along Galipán Ridge |
| (Venezuelan Tyrannulet) | its plaintive whistling song commonly heard at all forest localities |
| Gray-breasted Martin | several near the coast and along Galipán Ridge |
| Blue-and-white Swallow | a flock over Galipán Ridge |
| Southern Rough-winged Swallow | two over xeric scrub |
| Green Jay | about 8 at Los Venados |
| House Wren | singles in xeric coastal scrub and at Los Venados |
| Glossy-black Thrush | a pair in Galipán humid forest and three along Galipán Ridge |
| Pale-breasted Thrush | one at Los Venados |
| Long-billed Gnatwren | one in vines along Fila del Avila cloud forest trail |
| Tropical Gnatcatcher | at least 10 birds in noisy parties at our two stops in the xeric coastal scrub |
| Brown-capped Vireo | several; seen or heard at all forest localities |
| Crested Oropendola | several colonies and flying birds seen on our ascent up the north slope |
| Tennessee Warbler | one male along Galipán Ridge |
| Tropical Parula | one in xeric coastal scrub |
| Cerulean Warbler | a male in Galipán humid forest |
| Blackburnian Warbler | one male at Los Venados |
| Slate-throated Redstart | two in Galipán humid forest, two along Galipán Ridge and two at Los Venados |
| Three-striped Warbler | two in Galipán humid forest, four along Galipán Ridge and three along Fila del Avila cloud forest trail |
| Bananaquit | in all foresdt habitats |
| White-sided Flowerpiercer | a male along Galipán Ridge |
| Speckled Tanager | one at Los Venados |
| Golden Tanager | two in Galipán humid forest and two along Galipán Ridge |
| Bay-headed Tanager | one at Los Venados |
| Beryl-spangled Tanager | two on Galipán Ridge |
| Fawn-breasted Tanager | tow in Galipán humid forest |
| Blue-naped Chlorophonia | a pair along Galipán Ridge |
| Blue-gray Tanager | several on our ascent up the north slope |
| Blue-capped Tanager | common at all forest localities |
| Oleaginous Hemispingus | at least five, Fila del Avila cloud forest trail |
| Common Bush-Tanager | common at all forest localities |
| Chestnut-capped Brush-Finch | one along Galipán Ridge and several (10+) along Fila del Avila cloud forest trail |
| Ochre-breasted Brush-Finch | and adult with two juvinles along Galipán Ridge |
| Black-faced Grassquit | several in xeric coastal scrub |
| Blue-black Grassquit | several females in ric coastal scrub |
| Rufous-collared Sparrow | common at non-forest localities, especially Los Venados |
71 species + 8 heard only
Grenada - 20 Feb 2002
| SPECIES | WHERE OBSERVED |
| Red-billed Tropicbird | one adult 10 to 15 miles west of Grenada |
| Brown Booby | one adult 10 to 15 miles west of Grenada |
| Red-footed Booby | 15+ (mostly brown morph adults) 10 to 15 miles west of Grenada |
| Brown Pelican | 20+ along the coast |
| Magnificent Frigatebird | five along the coast |
| Cattle Egret | 12 at the dump across from Perseverance Estate |
| Royal Tern | four along the coast |
| Rock Dove | common |
| Eared Dove | 12 in open habitats adjacent to Perseverance Estate |
| Grenada Dove | one seen briefly within the sanctuary at Perseverance Estate |
| Smooth-billed Ani | six at the dump across from Perseverance Estate |
| Antillean Crested Hummingbird | two at Perseverance Estate and three at Grand Etang NP |
| Grenada Flycatcher | five in a city park in St. George's feeding on palm fruits |
| Gray Kingbird | three at Perseverance Estate and several seen along the roadside |
| Bare-eyed Thrush | three at Perseverance Estate |
| Tropical Mockingbird | two in open habitats adjacent to Perseverance Estate |
| Bananaquit | abundant, by far the most commonly encountered bird |
| Lesser Antillean Tanager | four around the visitors center at Grand Etang NP |
| Blue-black Grassquit | four in open habitats adjacent to Perseverance Estate |
| Black-faced Grassquit | 20+ in open habitats adjacent to Perseverance Estate |
| Lesser Antillean Bullfinch | about 10 around the visitors center at Grand Etang NP |
| Carib Grackle | 20 in open habitats adjacent to Perseverance Estate and common along the roadside |
| Shiny Cowbird | two in open habitats adjacent to Perseverance Estate |
23 species
Dominica - 21 Feb 2002
| SPECIES | WHERE OBSERVED |
| White-tailed Tropicbird | four seen from the highway near Salibury (north of Roseau) |
| Brown Pelican | five along the coast |
| Magnificent Frigatebird | six along the coast |
| Great Egret | three just north of Roseau |
| Cattle Egret | 30+ at the dump in Roseau |
| Green Heron | one near Roseau |
| Broad-winged Hawk | two from the Syndicate Trail and four others elsewhere in the Northern Forest Reserve |
| Parasitic Jaeger | two in the harbor at Roseau |
| Royal Tern | two along the coast |
| Rock Dove | common |
| Eurasian Collared-Dove | common around the docks at Roseau with 15+ seen |
| Zenaida Dove | six around the docks at Roseau with 15+ seen |
| Common Ground-Dove | four in the Northern Forest Preserve |
| Red-necked Parrot | 15+, mostly seen from the lookouts along the Syndicate Trail |
| Purple-throated Carib | two in the Northern Forest Preserve |
| Green-throated Carib | one in the Northern Forest Preserve and one at Bertrand's house |
| Antillean Crested Hummingbird | two in the Northern Forest Preserve and two at Bertrand's house |
| Blue-headed Hummingbird | a male and female in the Northern Forest Preserve |
| Caribbean Elaenia | one in dry scrub near the coast below the Northern Forest Preserve |
| Lesser Antillean Pewee | two in the Northern Forest Preserve, one at the beginning to the Syndicate Trail |
| Lesser Antillean Flycatcher | four in an orchard in the Northern Forest Preserve |
| Gray Kingbird | common along the roadsides and in open habitats within the Northern Forest Preserve |
| House Wren | one seen well in the Northern Forest Preserve |
| (Rufous-throated Solitaire) | three or four heard along the Syndicate Trail |
| Scaly-breasted Thrasher | one in an orchard in the Northern Forest Preserve |
| Pearly-eyed Thrasher | two in an orchard in the Northern Forest Preserve |
| Brown Trembler | two in an orchard in the Northern Forest Preserve |
| Yellow Warbler | two in the Northern Forest Preserve |
| Plumbeous Warbler | two in the Northern Forest Preserve |
| Bananaquit | abundant |
| Lesser Antillean Saltator | two in dry scrub near the coast below the Northern Forest Preserve |
| Black-faced Grassquit | 30+ in open habitats |
| Lesser Antillean Bullfinch | common in open habitats with more than 30 seen |
| Carib Grackle | 10+ around Roseau |
33 species + 1 heard only
St. John - 22 Feb 2002
| SPECIES | WHERE OBSERVED |
| Brown Booby | two flying around Cruz Bay and one at Red Hook on St. Thomas |
| Brown Pelican | common |
| Magnificent Frigatebird | fairly common |
| Great Egret | one seen flying near Cruz Bay |
| Cattle Egret | two seen flying near Cruz Bay |
| Zenaida Dove | four on the NPS headquarters grounds and five around Cinnamon Bay |
| Bridled Quail-Dove | one along the Cinnamon Bay loop trail |
| Mangrove Cuckoo | two on the Caneel Hill Trail |
| Smooth-billed Ani | 12 along the Caneel Hill and Lind Point Trails |
| Green-throated Carib | one along the Lind Point Trail and another at the small store at Cinnamon Bay |
| Antillean Crested Hummingbird | two along the Lind Point Trail and two at the small store at Cinnamon Bay |
| Gray Kingbird | three in open habitat near Cruz Bay and four along Lind Point Trail |
| Pearly-eyed Thrasher | common along Caneel Hill and Lind Point Trails and along Cinnamon Bay Trail with over 20 seen |
| Bananaquit | common along the Caneel Hill and Lind Point Trails and along Cinnamon Bay Trail with over 50 seen |
| Lesser Antillean Bullfinch | about 20 along the Lind Point Trail and 10+ at Cinnamon Bay |
| Greater Antillean Grackle | common at Cruz Bay |
| House Sparrow | five at Cruz Bay |
17 species
Puerto Rico - 17 and 23-26 Feb 2002
| SPECIES | WHERE OBSERVED |
| Brown Pelican | two at San Juan on the 17th and four at Parguera on the 23rd |
| Magnificent Frigatebird | two at San Juan on the 17th and six on the 23rd |
| Great Blue Heron | one seen flying at Susua State Forest on the 25th |
| Great Egret | two near Guanica on the 24th and another there on the 26th |
| Snowy Egret | one at San Juan on the 23rd |
| Little Blue Heron | one adult at Parguera on the 23rd and an immature at Maricao on the 25th |
| Cattle Egret | 20+ at San Juan on the 17th and 23rd |
| Green Heron | one at Parguera on the 23rd |
| Turkey Vulture | uncommon, 10 per day primarily in the mountains |
| Osprey | one near Parguera on the 23rd |
| Red-tailed Hawk | two or three per day |
| Broad-winged Hawk | two near Comerio on the 23rd |
| American Kestrel | two or three per day |
| Merlin | one at Guanica State Forest on the 24th |
| Killdeer | three at Susua State Forest on the 25th |
| Royal Tern | 12 at Mary Lee's by the Sea (near Guanica) on the 23rd |
| Rock Dove | common to abundant in urban areas |
| Scaly-naped Pigeon | 10 on the 24th and 20 on the 25 thin around Hacienda Junaita's and in the Maricao State Forest |
| Plain Pigeon | one at the traditional spot north of Cidra on the 23rd (near Comerio at Escuela Superior Sabana on Rte 172 at 1.5 km from junction with Rte 156) |
| Eurasian Collared-Dove | a small number at Parguera on the 23rd |
| White-winged Dove | common around Guanica and other open habitats in the coastal lowlands, less common in the mountains |
| Zenaida Dove | four at San Juan on the 17th, 10+ at Escuela Superior Sabana on the 23rd and five at Susua State Forest on the 25th |
| Common Ground-Dove | common |
| (Key West Quail-Dove) | one heard at Susua State Forest on the 25th |
| Monk Parakeet | two in Cidra on the 23rd |
| White-winged Parakeet | 50+ at the Interamerican University in San German on the 23rd |
| Hispaniolan Parrot | one at Interamerican University in San German on the 23rd |
| Orange-winged Parrot | one at Interamerican University in San German on the 23rd |
| Mangrove Cuckoo | one near Cidra on the 23rd and another at Guanica State Forest on the 24th |
| Puerto Rican Lizard-Cuckoo | one at Guanica State Forest on the 26th; two heard there on the 24th and three others on the 26th |
| Smooth-billed Ani | 20 at Parguera on the 23rd |
| (Puerto Rican Screech-Owl) | one heard on the evening of the 23rd and another at dawn on the 24th at Guanica State Forest |
| Puerto Rican Nightjar | three heard and one seen flying across the road at Guanica State Forest on the evening of the 23rd and at least five heard there predawn on the 24th |
| Antillean Mango | one female seen well at Parguera on the 23rd and two large hummingbirds through to be this species at Susua State Forest on the 25th |
| Green Mango | two at Hacienda Juanita on the 24th and 25th |
| Puerto Rican Emerald | a female at the Maricao State Forest on the 24th and a pair there on the 25th and a male at Hacienda Juanita on the 25th |
| Puerto Rican Tody | common at all forested locations (Guanica, Maricao and Susua State Forests and Hacienda Juanita), 10 to 15 seen daily |
| Puerto Rican Woodpecker | two at Interamerican University in San German on the 23rd, one at Guanica State Forest and another at Maricao State Forest on the 24th, one at Hacienda Juanita and two at Susua State Forest on the 25th, and one at Guanica State Forest on the 26th |
| Caribbean Elaenia | three at Guanica State Forest on the 24th and one at Susua State Forest on the 25th |
| Lesser Antillean Pewee | singles at Maricao State Forest and Hacienda Juanita on the 24th and three at Susua State Forest on the 25th |
| Gray Kingbird | common everywhere in open habitats, the most commonly encountered species |
| Loggerhead Kingbird | two at Escuela Superior Sabana on the 23rd and four at Hacienda Juanita on the 25th |
| Puerto Rican Vireo | three at Guanica State Forest on the 24th, one at Susua State Forest on the 25th and two at Guanica State Forest on the on the 26th |
| Black-whiskered Vireo | four at Hacienda Juanita on the 24th and 10 there on the 25th |
| Caribbean Martin | a group of about 15 in Ponce on the 26th |
| Cave Swallow | small flocks (10-20 birds) along Rte. 2 between Ponce and Cayuga |
| Red-legged Thrush | two at Maricao State Forest and one at Hacienda Juanita on the 24th, three at Susua State Forest and four at Hacienda Juanita on the 25th, and one along Rte 120 in Maricao State Forest on the 26th |
| Northern Mockingbird | singles in Guanica State Forest on the 23rd, 24th and 26th and one at Susua State Forest on the 25th |
| Pearly-eyed Thrasher | three at Guanica State Forest on the 23rd, four there on the 24th, three at Susua State Forest, two at Hacienda Juanita, and one at Maricao State Forest on the on the 25th |
| Northern Parula | females at Guanica State Forest on the on the 23rd and Susua State Forest on the 25th |
| Yellow Warbler | three at Parguera on the 23rd |
| Black-throated Blue Warbler | a male and female at Maricao State Forest on the 24th |
| Adelaide's Warbler | fairly common at Guanica State Forest (2 on the 23rd, 15+ on the 24th, and 5 on the 26th) and two at Susua State Forest on the 25th |
| Prairie Warbler | male at Mary Lee's by the Sea on the 23rd |
| Elfin-woods Warbler | an adult and an immature bird at Maricao State Forest on the 24th |
| Black-and-white Warbler | two at Guanica State Forest on the 24th and one at Susua State Forest on the 25th |
| American Redstart | singles at Maricao State Forest on the 24th and 25th and three at Susua State Forest on the 25th |
| Bananaquit | common in all forested habitats |
| Puerto Rican Tanager | four at Maricao State Forest and two at Hacienda Juanita on the 24th and eight at Hacienda Juanita and two at Maricao State Forest on the 25th |
| Puerto Rican Spindalis | two females at Maricao State Forest and six (including one male) at Hacienda Juanita on the 24th, up to eight at Hacienda Juanita on the 25th and two at Maricao State Forest on the 25th |
| Antillean Euphonia | one female at Hacienda Juanita on the 25th |
| Yellow-faced Grassquit | two near Mary Lee's by the Sea on the 24th |
| Black-faced Grassquit | four at Parguera on the 23rd, four at Guanica State Forest on the 24th and six at Hacienda Juanita on the 25th. This species was frequently seen along roadsides in open habitats as well |
| Puerto Rican Bullfinch | one at Guanica State Forest on the 24th, three at Maricao State Forest and two at Hacienda Juanita on the 24th, five at Maricao State Forest, two at Hacienda Juanita, and three at Susua State Forest on the 25th and four at Guanica State Forest on the 26th |
| Yellow-shouldered Blackbird | one at Parguera on the 23rd |
| Greater Antillean Grackle | common at San Jaun and in other urban areas (Guanica, Parguera, San German, Maricao, etc.) |
| Shiny Cowbird | one at Parguera on the 23rd |
| Greater Antillean Oriole | one Guanica State Forest on the 23rd, two at Hacienda Juanita on the 24th and another there on the 25th |
| House Sparrow | uncommon in urban areas, only a small number seen |
| Indian Silverbill | about 10 in the disturbed area around Mary Lee's by the Sea on the 23rd |
67 species + 2 heard only
1 exotic (Orange-winged Parrot)
Total = 169 species + 12 heard only and 1 exotic
Mark Lockwood
Austin, Texas
mark.lockwood@tpwd.state.tx.us