10 - 20 July 1997

by George Dremeaux

We chose the Caribbean for our family summer vacation this year essentially for these reasons: a healthy assortment of new birds, some good snorkeling, a change in culture and enough points of interest to keep the four of us (my wife, Myra; our kids, Lillie, age 15, and Andy, age 13; and myself) happy.

For the latter two components we used the excellent, though occasionally flawed (Robert Sutton is not even remotely close to 93 years old) Lonely Planet Guide to Jamaica, and the rather weak Frommer's guide to Puerto Rico.

As far as the birding goes we are highly indebted to Mark Oberle and Gail Mackiernan for both their outstanding reports and their willingness to communicate with us directly prior to our trip.  We also want to thank Marcia Braun, Ron Outen, Dennis Forsythe, D.  Cooper & B.  Kay, Peter Post, and our old pal, the late Tom Davis, for their invaluable help in organizing this trip.

For the sake of clarity I have divided this report into two parts, one for Jamaica and one for Puerto Rico.  I will not repeat directions for birding sites already described in Mackiernan/Oberle although I will clarify them where necessary.  New information includes directions, in Puerto Rico, to a productive hummingbird feeder on Culebra Island and a reliable PR Screech Owl site in Maricao (as per Outen).

 Compared to the last ten days in Jamaica, Puerto Rico was a breeze.  I'm sure that the fact that it's a United States territory was a major contributing factor.  The language barrier presented a minor inconvenience at worst.  Food and lodging were more than adequate.  Getting around wasn't all that easy, on the other hand, as roads are poorly marked if at all.  We had to rely on a lot of intuition to find our way in the more remote areas, especially in the south west.

July 10

We arrived at the At Wind Chimes Inn in Condado, San Juan late at night after an eight hour layover in Miami, during which we took a cab to the nearest multi-plex and saw Men in Black.  Our rental car was a brand new Toyota Tercel from National Car Rental at a bargain rate of $180 for ten days.  It seems this promotional rate had expired weeks before, and that whoever had given it to us when we had booked our reservation back in April had done so erroneously.  Their mistake, we got the good rate anyway.

July 11

We spent the entire day visiting Old San Juan with its delightfully narrow streets, colorful buildings and impressive forts.  Night at At Wind Chimes.

July 12

We left Condado very early to make the 9:00 AM Fajardo to Culebra ferry not knowing if we would be taking the rental car.  The Saturday morning crowd at the terminal was overwhelming and by the time we found out that, no, we could not take the car, we had precious little time to pack our backpacks for the two nights we would spend there.  In our haste we left behind some key components to our birding endeavors, most notably our field guides and my tripod, an oversight which would have implications in the very near future.  Birds seen on the ferry:

2 White-tailed Tropicbirds
Magnificent Frigatebird
Laughing Gull
Sooty Tern

We called the Club Seaborne guest house upon our arrival, as instructed, and were told to wait at the little plaza by the ferry docks for our ride.  While waiting we picked up our first life-birds in Puerto Rico: CARIBBEAN MARTIN overhead, a very tame PEARLY-EYED THRASHER in the square and a SCALY- THROATED PIGEON on the wires.  During our ride to the guest house we asked the driver where the best snorkeling was, and whether she knew of any bird feeders on the island.  As it turned out, Club Seaborne had a hummingbird feeder by the bar, which we scrutinized immediately upon our arrival.  There were numerous BANANAQUITS and GREEN-THROATED CARIBS (another life-bird), plus one BLACK-FACED GRASSQUIT.  Presently another hummingbird arrived that we did not recognize.  It was similar to the Caribs only it had a bright orange gorget.  It was at this point that we realized that we had left our field guides behind on the main island.  We figured by process of elimination that maybe it was an Antillean Mango, and that the field guide didn't show the throat color properly.  It was soon joined by two other individuals, one with a bright orange throat and one with only a few specks.  We figured there were two adults and one immature.

We had arranged to rent a four wheel drive vehicle in case we could not bring the other rental car.  This was delivered to us at the guest house.

At this point we got our snorkeling gear together, had some lunch, and headed off to the beach.  The snorkeling close to shore here was better than in Jamaica.  We identified 39 species of undersea creatures including a fine Gray Angelfish, lots of Butterflyfish and Parrotfish, and an occasional Trumpetfish and Trunkfish.

July 13

I got up early to try to photograph the action at the feeder.  I rigged up a tall bar stool as a makeshift tripod, more of a camera rest, really, and waited for the hummingbirds to come in.  I especially wanted that orange-throated fellow to show up.  The previous day's BANANAQUITS, CARIBS and lone BLACK- FACED GRASSQUIT were all in attendance.  They were joined in short order by a PEARLY-EYED THRASHER.  An oriole-like whistle turned out to be a TROUPIAL.  I rushed to the room to get Myra.  The Troupial elected to stay and we both had great looks.  Mr. Orange-throat, alas, did not make an appearance.  We had breakfast and hit the beach for another excellent outing of snorkeling then headed back to the room to pack our things and go.  I lugged my camera one more time to the feeder and, lo and behold, there it was.  I was able to get two shots of the bird with the orange showing.

We had intended to look for a vantage point to do a sea watch of some kind, but when we went to pack up the car we found that we had a flat tire.  It seems that african Acacia scrub is everywhere on the island, and one is warned to avoid even the tiniest green patches on the road for fear encountering one of their impressive thorns.  I guess we weren't careful enough.  The car had a jack, but no socket wrench, so we had to bum a ride to the ferry and would have to forego the potential seabirds.  On the ferry, however, we saw:

Laughing Gull
Sandwich Tern
2 Bridled Terns
Brown Noddy

The first thing we did when we got back to the car was to look up our hummingbird friend only to find that, oops, Antillean Mango has a green throat (I knew that), and that, furthermore, no Puerto Rican hummer fit the bill.  We then consulted Bond only to find that no hummingbird in the Caribbean has an orange throat either.  Uh-oh.  All we could do now was to wait until we got home to examine the pictures.

Jump ahead in time to July 29 and the package of processed slides from Fuji labs.  I frantically search the boxes containing the Culebra Island pictures, and find the culprit.  Although the photos themselves are not great, the orange is clearly visible in both.  The bird, as it turns out, appears in every respect to be a Green- throated Carib with an orange throat.  We come up with two possibilities:

1.  The orange is pollen from a food source.  We don't think this is the case because we both remember it as being iridescent.  Also it appears to be well defined and scaly in appearance rather than diffused and dusty.

2.  Assuming this to be a Green-throated Carib we wonder if it is not a different color phase or morph of some kind.

We've made duplicates of the slides and are in the process of having them digitized to make them available on the internet.  We will also be consulting various concerned parties to try and solve this mystery.

And now, back to the trip.  We went to check out El Yunque prior to the next day's birding and hike.  At the entrance road to the lower visitor center we saw a PUERTO RICAN LIZARD- CUCKOO fly across the road.  Our first Puerto Rican endemic.  There was also a RED-LEGGED THRUSH.  We would return with a tape in the morning.  We checked out the Cocos Falls which were swarming with Sunday afternoon tourists.  No hummingbirds.  We drove up the road to see how far up it was open.  It looked good for tomorrow's hike to El Yunque peak.  Night at the Parador La Familia in Fajardo.

July 14

As this hike was to be a family affair we did not get off to an especially early start, and the morning's birding suffered for it.  Our first stop was the Cocos Falls for either of the Puerto Rican endemic hummers.  We managed a female PUERTO RICAN EMERALD, but no Green Mango.  We went back down to the entrance road to the lower visitor center and played the tape of the Lizard-Cuckoo, which responded immediately by giving us great looks at this most impressive bird, very rewarding indeed after our awful experiences in Jamaica with the other two big Cuckoos.

Perhaps due to the late date, we found a virtual absence of bird song except for the occasional BLACK-WHISKERED VIREO and numerous BANANAQUITS.

Based on the information we had recently received, we did not expect to find Puerto Rican Parrot, and, not surprisingly, we neither heard nor saw this highly endangered species.

As we started hiking up to the El Yunque summit we came across a family of PUERTO RICAN TANAGERS which cheered us up somewhat, but other than Bananaquits and a lone male PR EMERALD, we were to see not another bird.  Our hopes for the Elfin Woods Warbler at this site were dashed, and we seriously started to wonder how things would turn out in general, birding-wise, during the rest of the trip.  The hike itself, however, was first class, and when we completed the El Yunque portion, we then hiked up the Mt.  Britton trail.  Birds seen:

Cattle Egret
Red-tailed Hawk
Zenaida Dove
White-winged Dove
Common Ground-Dove
Puerto Rican Lizard-Cuckoo
Smooth-billed Ani
Black Swift
Puerto Rican Emerald
Gray Kingbird
Red-legged Thrush
Cave Swallow
Bananaquit
Puerto Rican Tanager
Yellow-faced Grassquit
Black-faced Grassquit
Greater Antillean Grackle

July 15

After another night at the not so lovely Parador La Familia we headed off early for the Humacao wildlife refuge which is situated on Rt.  3 just east of Humacao.  If you're driving west on Rt.  3 and get to some overpasses and a shopping center with a Pollo Tropical, you've gone too far.  It's a mile or two east of the first overpass, and it's indicated by a small sign on the right.  Enter the reserve (which closes at 3:30 PM, and may be closed on weekends), park and walk straight to an overlook of the first lake, on the right.  In the trees above the overlook we saw two ANTILLEAN CRESTED HUMMINGBIRDS.  The lake itself yielded RUDDY DUCK, AMERICAN & CARIBBEAN COOTS, and COMMON MOORHEN, while the river or canal behind us had many GREEN HERONS and a TRICOLORED HERON.  Keep walking straight and follow the road as it turns left and then right over a pair of rickety bridges.  At the first roadway turn right to find the second lake on your left.  Here we saw 10 to 15 WHITE-CHEEKED PINTAILS, more RUDDY DUCKS and 2 LEAST BITTERNS.  This, being the morning, was a bad time to see the nocturnal West Indian Whistling-Duck, but having just seen them a few days before at Elim Pools in Jamaica, we had decided not to plan the day around being at Humacao at the optimum time, and subsequently we missed them.  Our morning's birding having come to a satisfying close, we headed off to Ponce for an afternoon and morning of sightseeing in what turned out to be a very picturesque city.  Night at the old yet dignified Hotel Melia with a balcony and a lovely view of the central plaza.  Birds seen at Humacao and on the road to Ponce:

Magnificent Frigatebird
Ruddy Duck
White-cheeked Pintail
Tricolored Heron
Cattle Egret
Green Heron
Least Bittern
Turkey Vulture
American Kestrel
Common Moorhen
American Coot
Caribbean Coot
Laughing Gull
Scaly-naped Pigeon
Zenaida Dove
White-winged Dove
Common Ground-Dove
Smooth-billed Ani
Antillean Crested Hummingbird
Gray Kingbird
Northern Mockingbird
Caribbean Martin
Cave Swallow
Bananaquit
Greater Antillean Grackle

July 16

Part of our sightseeing plans included a visit to the Seralles Castle high on a hill to the north of and overlooking Ponce.  After first checking out the nearby Giant Cross, we turned the car and headed further north about a hundred yards or so (which, incidentally, was the wrong way).  At this point we detected some flitting of wings in the trees before us, pulled over, and were rewarded with the best birding in Puerto Rico thus far.  In short order, in this suburban neighborhood, we picked up 4 life-birds, including 2 endemics: PUERTO RICAN TODY, PR BULLFINCH, ANTILLEAN MANGO and the eminently approachable ADELAIDE'S WARBLER.  In addition, we also tallied SCALY-BREASTED MUNIA (Ricebird), CARIBBEAN MARTIN, YELLOW-FACED GRASSQUIT and our first STRIPE- HEADED TANAGERS in Puerto Rico.  This had the feel of a mixed foraging flock so typical of the tropics of Central and South America.  We wondered if perhaps the breeding season was over and that disparate species of birds might not be engaging in this familiar behavior.

After the Seralles Castle tour (so this is how the rich sugar and rum barons lived in Puerto Rico) we headed off to the Tibes Indian Ceremonial Center.  Another required tour here had us getting worried about getting to La Parguera in time for the daily Yellow-shouldered Blackbird extravaganza.  We shouldn't have worried.  As we pulled into the Parador Villa Parguera the first pair of YELLOW-SHOULDERED BLACKBIRDS flew over the car.  We would see at least a couple of dozen of these endangered birds throughout the late afternoon and early evening, flying overhead and perched in the palms near the swimming pool as children and adults alike noisily and obliviously splashed about.  What a great site.  That evening we opted to take one of the phosphorescent bay tours, and were not disappointed by the spectacle of bioluminescent plankton around the boat.

We assumed, mistakenly, that it wouldn't be too much of a drive from Maricao, during one of the two following nights, to Guanica State Forest for the PR Nightjar.  Birds seen that day:

Magnificent Frigatebird
Turkey Vulture
American Kestrel
Rock Dove
Zenaida Dove
Common Ground-Dove
Antillean Mango
Puerto Rican Tody
Gray Kingbird
Caribbean Martin
House Sparrow
Scaly-breasted Munia (Ricebird)
Adelaide's Warbler
Bananaquit
Stripe-headed Tanager
Yellow-faced Grassquit
Puerto Rican Bullfinch
Yellow-shouldered Blackbird
Greater Antillean Grackle

July 17

A birding morning as Myra and I let the kids sleep and headed off to Guanica State Forest.  Based on the various reports, we had decided to start with the Rt.  333 access and, specifically, the side road to Playa Jaboncillo at its western end, which gave us our second fabulous birding spot in Puerto Rico.  We parked the car at the top of the side road, not realizing that it was, at most, a tenth of a mile to its terminus, where there was a parking lot.  As soon as we started walking down the hill we heard and saw our first PUERTO RICAN FLYCATCHER.  Shortly afterward we found PR VIREO.  Two more life-birds, and endemics, to boot.  From here to the end of the road (the beach) we saw the following:

Little Blue Heron
Zenaida Dove
Common Ground-Dove
Puerto Rican Lizard-Cuckoo
2 Antillean Mango
1 Puerto Rican Emerald
10 Puerto Rican Tody
Caribbean Elaenia
3 Puerto Rican Flycatcher
2 Puerto Rican Vireo
3 Pearly-eyed Thrasher
12 Adelaide's Warbler
Puerto Rican Bullfinch

We got back in the car and headed toward Rt.  334, the other access road to the State Forest, and the one that leads to the headquarters.  PR WOODPECKER was another endemic lifer.  Birds seen along Rte 334:

Rock Dove
Common Ground-Dove
Mangrove Cuckoo
Puerto Rican Lizard-Cuckoo
Puerto Rican Woodpecker
3 Caribbean Elaenia
2 Puerto Rican Flycatcher
Red-legged Thrush
Northern Mockingbird
3 Pearly-eyed Thrasher
3 Adelaide's Warbler
3 Puerto Rican Bullfinch
 

It is interesting to note that the region, at the time, was drought- stricken and most of the trees were bare.  Was it due to the drought or is it a normal, seasonal thing?  We don't know.  We are also at a loss to understand why there should have been such an abundance of birds under such harsh, arid conditions.  We do know that the lack of foliage made the birding much easier than it would have been if the brushy forest had been green.

We headed back to the hotel, had breakfast with the offspring and did our laundry at a laundromat on the road just north of the Parador where we added WHITE-THROATED MUNIA (Warbling Silverbill) and a single dove which, to me looked more like a Eurasian Collared-Dove than a Ringed Turtle-Dove.  The bird appeared darker, grayer than the latter species, which I believe borders more on white.  Although we've seen the Eurasian Collared-Dove in the wild (Homestead, FL), we've only observed the Ringed Turtle-Dove in captivity.  The jury remains out on this one.

Laundry completed, we headed up toward Maricao, with a stop at the picturesque town of San German.  We checked into the Parador Hacienda Juanita late in the afternoon.  No sign of the Green Mango.

Based on Outen's report, we asked the manager if, in fact, PR Screech Owl could be found at night by the dumpster near their residence.  She told us that they regularly came out between 8:30 and 9:00 PM.  After dinner we headed over there and heard and saw nothing.  We tried the tape, and still nothing.  We decided to try Oberle's spot at km 16.2 on Rt.  120.  Nothing.  Back to Juanita, with the same results.  Although we were spending two nights here, we had intended, the following night, to go back down to Guanica to try for the PR Nightjar, but having missed the owl on our first night here, it looked like those plans would have to be aborted.

July 18

Assuming we would not try for the Nightjar, there were now only three endemics left: Green Mango, PR Screech Owl and Elfin Woods Warbler.  Once again we let the kids sleep and set out early.

Some notes on Rt.  120:

This main road which connects the town of Maricao with Sabana Grande to the south is well marked with bornes or kilometer markers.  The two best birding spots for us were at km 16.2 (not 16.3, as it is sometimes noted), where the road to the Maricao State Forest headquarters branches off to the west, and km 14.1 where there is a graffiti laden observation tower.  Km 12.6 was another good spot, a bit lower in elevation.  We did not try for the Plain Pigeon site roughly described in Oberle's report of Nov-Dec 1995).

We started at the headquarters road at km 16.2 where the birding was lackluster to non-existent until about 7:30 AM when the first bird of the day, A PR TODY announced that things were about to improve.  We were delighted to find a pair of BLACK- COWLED ORIOLES amongst a fine selection of species.  The list:

2 Scaly-naped Pigeon
Zenaida Dove
3 Puerto Rican Tody
2 Puerto Rican Vireo
1 Red-legged Thrush
2 Puerto Rican Tanager
2 Puerto Rican Bullfinch
2 Black-cowled Oriole

No sign of the Elfin Woods Warbler, and although we're quite sure we heard the Lesser Antillean Pewee twice, we were unable to find it.

At the observation tower at km 14.1 we briefly saw what was probably a Green Mango.  There was another pair of BLACK- COWLED ORIOLES and we picked up ANTILLEAN EUPHONIA, a life-bird.  The whole list for this site:

3 Black Swift
Puerto Rican Emerald
2 Puerto Rican Tody
Puerto Rican Woodpecker
2 Puerto Rican Vireo
Black-whiskered Vireo
Red-legged Thrush
3 Puerto Rican Tanager
3 Stripe-headed Tanager
2 Antillean Euphonia
Black-faced Grassquit
2 Black-cowled Oriole

An excellent morning of birding but neither sight nor sound of the Warbler.

Back at the Hacienda Juanita Myra got a good look at a GREEN MANGO while I got us some coffee.  We should be handcuffed together on these trips.

Showers and breakfast and off to visit the Rio Cumui Cave Park.  This is a huge and beautiful limestone cavern with a nice variety of calcite formations.  Its most striking feature, though, is the enormous sink hole where the roof of the cave collapsed eons ago, allowing sunlight to reach the cave floor 250 feet below and where a small forest with tree ferns thrives surrounded by dainty waterfalls.  In the parking lot we got our best look of the trip at a male ANTILLEAN MANGO.

Back at Hacienda Juanita it was decided that we would try for the owl again rather than take the drive back to Guanica for the Nightjar.  The grounds of the hotel had been productive for other birders in the past, and this afternoon they finally paid off for us.  I finally got a good look at GREEN MANGO, and a PR WOODPECKER decided to take a snooze on an exposed tree limb allowing us to get the scope on him for some fabulous looks.  Birds seen up until dark at the hacienda:

Scaly-naped Pigeon
White-winged Dove
Ruddy Quail-Dove (h)
Green Mango
Puerto Rican Woodpecker
Puerto Rican Vireo
Red-legged Thrush
Stripe-headed Tanager
Puerto Rican Bullfinch

We had dinner at the restaurant then pessimistically walked over to the manager's residence and immediately heard two PUERTO RICAN SCREECH OWLS calling in the tree directly above the house.  We could not get them in our flashlights' beams, however.  Myra and I debated using the tape and ultimately decided to give it one try.  This turned out to be one try too many as they fell silent and seemed to disappear off the face of the earth.  Shades of Marshall's Pen.  After moping around for what seemed like hours- but was actually minutes - we detected the sound of owls as they called up the hill behind the house, by a streetlight on Rt.  105.  We headed over to the spot and one owl obliged us by calling frequently about twenty feet up a tree on the side of the road.  Again we could not find him, but we ultimately glimpsed him as he flew by the street lamp and was to call no more.  Although it was a shame not to have had a good look at the bird, we nonetheless felt a sense of intimacy at having been so close to it while it was calling and were quite happy to know we had found one more endemic.  For us now, the only endemic left that we could possibly see was the Elfin Woods Warbler.  We would again set out early in the morning for one last try before heading back to San Jose.

July 19

The same sites that had been so productive only 24 hours earlier were, seemingly, devoid of bird life this morning.  Birds seen at km 16.2 and 14.1 combined (all single individuals, except for the Adelaide's Warbler):

Scaly-naped Pigeon
Ruddy Quail-Dove
Puerto Rican Woodpecker
Puerto Rican Vireo
Black-whiskered Vireo
Red-legged Thrush
3 Adelaide's Warbler
Puerto Rican Tanager

In addition, a stop at km 12.6 yielded 3 more ADELAIDE'S WARBLERS and a male ANTILLEAN MANGO.  We didn't think this species occurred this high up in elevation.

Having not detected the Elfin Woods Warbler either by sight or song in two mornings of birding (not including El Yunque) we finally decided to throw in the towel.

A full day of sightseeing awaited us including the Taino Indian Center and the Arecibo Observatory and so, after showers and breakfast, the Dremeaux clan headed off for their last full day of vacation.  We did manage to add a new bird: a pair of SHINY COWBIRDS (yippee) at a gift shop near the Indian Center.  We returned to At Wind Chimes in San Juan for our final night.

July 20

The very last new bird of the trip was a JAVA SPARROW seen from the hotel as we were having breakfast outdoors in the little courtyard.

Although the birding in general had not been as good as in Jamaica, probably due to the later date, a few sites - Guanica State Forest, the first morning at Maricao State Forest and the little suburban patch north of Ponce - proved to be outstanding.  The big difference, though, between these two islands is that we look forward to returning to Puerto Rico to seek out those birds we missed as well as the ones we did not try for.

Our first trip to the Caribbean (Trinidad doesn't count) certainly whetted our appetite for more, and thoughts of our next destination danced through our heads.  Would it be another big island like Hispaniola?  Cuba, though difficult, unattainable even, would be possible someday.  The Bahamas, Martinique, Guadeloupe, Dominica.  Little by little, the list of Caribbean endemics could become more complete.  And although it's hard to compare its meager number of species to that of nearby South and Central America, there is a special lure to seeking out endemics on an island chain which conjures up images of Darwin and the voyages of the Beagle.
 

ANNOTATED BIRD LIST

E - endemic species

White-tailed Tropicbird
2 seen July 12th on the Fajardo - Culebra ferry near an island just west of Culebra.

Magnificent Frigatebird
2 seen on the Culebra - Fajardo ferry. Other sightings on the south shore near Ponce and at La Parguera.

Brown Pelican
Seen both days on Culebra Island.

Ruddy Duck
Over 25 seen at Humacao Refuge.

White-cheeked Pintail
Over 10 seen at Humacao Refuge.

Tricolored Heron
One seen at Humacao Refuge

Little Blue Heron
One at Culebra Island and another over Rt. 333 in Guanica State Forest.

Cattle Egret
Scattered sightings throughout the island.

Green Heron
Several seen at Humacao Refuge.

Least Bittern
2 seen at Humacao Refuge.

Turkey Vulture
Scattered sightings throughout the island.

Red-tailed Hawk
One very dark individual seen on the El Yunque trail, then two other sightings while driving, north of Maricao.

American Kestrel
Seen both days on Culebra Island, and twice again near Ponce.

Common Moorhen
Several seen at Humacao Refuge.

American Coot
Several seen at Humacao Refuge.

Caribbean Coot
Several seen at Humacao Refuge.

Laughing Gull
Seen both ways on the Fajardo - Culebra ferry and again near
Ponce.

Sandwich Tern
On the Culebra - Fajardo ferry very near to Culebra.

Bridled Tern
2 seen on the Culebra - Fajardo ferry.

Sooty Tern
2 seen on the Culebra - Fajardo ferry.

Brown Noddy
One seen offshore from Culebra, and another on the Culebra - Fajardo ferry.

Rock Dove
Scattered sightings.

Scaly-naped Pigeon
Seen on five days: both days on Culebra Island, at Humacao Refuge, and both days in Maricao State Forest.

European Turtle-Dove / Ringed Turtle-Dove
see account of July 17.

Zenaida Dove
Very common, seen eight of nine days.

White-winged Dove
Very common, seen six of nine days.

Common Ground-Dove
Very common, seen seven of nine days.

Ruddy Quail-Dove
Heard at the Hacienda Juanita in Maricao, then seen the following days on Rt. 120 just north of km 16.2.

Mangrove Cuckoo
One very obliging individual near the headquarters of Guanica State Forest at the end of Rt. 334.

Puerto Rican Lizard-Cuckoo
4 sightings, all with good looks: both days at the lower El Yunque visitor center, at Playa Jaboncillo, Rt. 333, and on Rt. 334 both in Guanica State Forest.

Smooth-billed Ani
4 sightings: both days on Culebra Island, in the lower elevations of El Yunque, and from the car on the road from Humacao to Ponce.

Puerto Rican Screech-Owl
Observed once at the Parador Hacienda Juanita in Maricao. See account of July 18.

Black Swift
Seen twice: on the El Yunque trail, and at the observation tower at km 14.1 on Rt. 120, south of Maricao.

Antillean Mango
Five sightings, all in the west: north of Ponce near Seralles Castle; Playa Jaboncillo, off Rt. 333, Guanica State Forest; Rio Camui Cave Park; km 12.6 on Rt. 120 south of Maricao.

Green Mango
One at km 14.1 on Rt. 120 south of Maricao, then 5 individual sightings over 2 days at Hacienda Juanita.

Green-throated Carib
5 -10 both days at the feeder at Club Seaborne on Culebra Island, see account of July 13 for details on the mystery hummingbird.

Antillean Crested Hummingbird
2 males at Humacao Refuge.

Puerto Rican Emerald
4 sightings: a female at Cocos Falls; a male on the El Yunque trail; a male at Playa Jaboncillo, Rt. 333, Guanica State Forest; a female at km 14.1, Rt. 120, south of Maricao.

Puerto Rican Tody
One north of Ponce near Seralles Castle; 10 at Playa Jaboncillo, off Rt. 333, Guanica State Forest; 3 at km 16.2 and 2 at km 14.1 on Rt. 120 south of Maricao.

Puerto Rican Woodpecker
One on Rt. 334, Guanica State Forest, twice at km 14.1 on Rt. 120 south of Maricao and one at Hacienda Juanita.

Caribbean Elaenia
One at Playa Jaboncillo, Rt. 333, and 3 on Rt. 334 in Guanica State Forest.

Puerto Rican Flycatcher
3 at Playa Jaboncillo, Rt. 333, and 2 on Rt. 334 in Guanica State Forest.

Gray Kingbird
Abundant, seen eight of nine days.

Puerto Rican Vireo
Playa Jaboncillo, off Rt. 333, Guanica State Forest; both days at km 16.2 and km 14.1 on Rt. 120 south of Maricao; and both days at Hacienda Juanita.

Black-whiskered Vireo
El Yunque, lower visitor center;  km 16.2 and km 14.1 on  Rt. 120 south of Maricao.

Red-legged Thrush
El Yunque, lower visitor center;  Rt. 334 Guanica State Forest; km 16.2 and km 14.1 on  Rt. 120 south of Maricao; Hacienda Juanita.

Northern Mockingbird
Very common throughout Puerto Rico and Culebra Island.

Pearly-eyed Thrasher
Culebra Island; 3 at Playa Jaboncillo, Rt. 333, and 3 on Rt. 334 in Guanica State Forest.

Caribbean Martin
Seen on Culebra Island, near Seralles Castle, north of Ponce, and in San German.

Cave Swallow
Scattered sightings throughout PR.

House Sparrow
Culebra Island, Ponce and La Parguera.

White-throated Munia (warbling Silverbill)
A pair by the laundromat just north of the Parador Villa Parguera.

Scaly-breasted Munia (Ricebird)
Near Seralles Castle north of Ponce.

Java Sparrow
One seen in Condado, San Juan.

Adelaide's Warbler
North of Ponce near Seralles Castle; 12 at Playa Jaboncillo, off Rt. 333, 3 on Rt. 334, Guanica State Forest; 3 at km 14.1 and 2 at km 12.6 on  Rt. 120 south of Maricao.

Bananaquit
Abundant, seen seven out of nine days.

Puerto Rican Tanager
A family of 5 on the El Yunque trail; 2 at km 16.2 and both days at km 14.1 on Rt. 120 south of Maricao.

Stripe-headed Tanager
3 North of Ponce near Seralles Castle; 3 at km 14.1, Rt. 120 south of Maricao; 2 at Hacienda Juanita.

Antillean Euphonia
A pair at km 14.1, Rt. 120, south of Maricao.

Yellow-faced Grassquit
Only 2 sightings, in Fajardo and near Seralles Castle, north of Ponce.

Black-faced Grassquit
Quite common, seen 6 out of nine days.

Puerto Rican Bullfinch
3 north of Ponce near Seralles Castle; 1 at Playa Jaboncillo, off Rt. 333, 3 on Rt. 334, Guanica State Forest; 2 at km 16.2; 1 at Hacienda Juanita.

Troupial
One near the hummingbird feeder at Club Seaborne, Culebra Island.

Black-cowled Oriole
2 at km 16.2 and 2 at km 14.1 on  Rt. 120, south of Maricao.

Yellow-shouldered Blackbird
Easily seen at and around the Parador Villa Parguera in the afternoon and again the following morning.

Greater Antillean Grackle
Abundant, everywhere.

Shiny Cowbird
2 seen behind a gift shop near the Taino Ceremonial Indian Center.

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George Dremeaux
Mt. Kisco, NY
dremeaux@cloud9.net
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