Puerto Rico

We've been birding all over the ABA area, but heading to distant lands to view other colorful birds has always been on the list. I can finally show people my pictures of birds and (hopefully) get actual interest. Let's face it, a tody looks way cooler than a sparrow, even if that sparrow is a rarity. Selecting Puerto Rico was pretty easy in a pandemic, but planning for it was not as easy. Puerto Rico has 17 species of endemic birds, and a host of other incredible birds spread across the island. If you really want to bird the island you need about 5 days of birding if conditions are perfect, which is obviously not going to be the case in the tropics. We had 3 days so we were obviously going to miss out on some areas. This time I had some company, Robert, an old friend from high school, was making his first Birding with Christian trip!

We arrived in San Juan on our first day in the afternoon with Ponce as our stop, about 2.5 hours away. Our first stop near Caguas was one of the only places to see Plain Pigeon on the island. We went to the baseball field to look up in the trees, only to find it closed due to the pandemic. We waited outside for pigeons to fly over, observing the first lifers of the trip. Greater Antillean Grackles were abundant, as were Scaly-naped Pigeons, and we had a Gray Kingbird as well. Doves did fly by, and in the moment I thought we had our Plain Pigeon. But I can't count it after looking at field guides. The views were so brief that I couldn't get the field marks to rule out other common doves. I started questioning whether or not there was white on the wings or not, and at that point you just have to accept that you're a terrible birder and you need to take the L. We only had about 30 minutes of daylight to bird so I wasn't kicking myself too much. On to Ponce!

Pearly-eyed Thrasher

Ponce was the closest city to our first real birding stop, Guanica State Forest. This dry forest on the southwest coast is home to many endemics, most notably the endangered Puerto Rican Nightjar. This is the best place in the world to see this species. Plenty of endemics can be found here as well. Remember how I said conditions had to be perfect? They weren't today. Rain was expected on and off, making our birding urgent. But the moments of sunshine made for it with intense moments of stellar birds.

Within a few minutes of driving in we had our first big find. Sitting in a tree was a Smooth-billed Ani! Anis are some of my favorite birds because they look like dinosaurs with the massive bills and uniform black colors. I have seen Groove-billeds in the RGV, but Smooth-billeds are very rarely found in the Everglades area of Florida. Within a few minutes a massive bird flew across the road and I slammed on the brakes, I instantly knew what we had. PUERTO RICAN LIZARD-CUCKOO! This was one of the birds I came here to see, and it did not disappoint. I saw enough of it to admire it for a little bit, but in typical cuckoo fashion it was very skittish and disappeared before we could get a photo. 

It started to rain once we got on the trail, but that didn't stop us from seeing some fantastic birds. A very cooperative Pearly-eyed Thrasher greeted us, and shortly afterwards we got our second endemic, Adelaide's Warbler. We would see plenty of the latter of each side of the trail. We also had a Puerto Rican Woodpecker, Bananaquit, and Puerto Rican Flycatcher. The star of the trail would be a Puerto Rican Tody. Todies were the birds that really got me into Caribbean birding, and while common, seeing one absolutely made the trip. 

Puerto Rican Tody

Bananaquits became way more abundant as we got higher up. This is like the Chickadee of Puerto Rico. They sound similar and are everywhere, but they never got old. Coming from the mainland a Bananaquit is stunning bird. Their name sounds exotic, they look exotic with their curved bill and black and yellow bodies, and the Bahamanian subspecies is a rare visitor to the Miami area. We had to have seen over 100 total on our trip and each one was as exciting as the last. Just before the rain started up again we also had Red-legged Thrush, Puerto Rican Bullfinch, and a female Black-faced Grassquit. By this time the rain turned into a torrential downpour and we left the camera and binoculars in the car to hike on.

Bananaquit were every but were hard to get moving through the foliage

Day 2 took us to Maricao State Forest, which was the spot I was most excited about. This was the best spot for 2 of my most sought after birds of the trip: Puerto Rican Spindalis and Antillean Euphonia. Getting here is a pain, and there aren't many trails outside of one at the 16.8 km marker. You have to go to Sabana Grande and then head towards Maricao. Google Maps took us the wrong way from San German, which led to an over hour long detour up treacherous mountain roads.

Due to our map error we got on the trail at 10:30. I was stressed, we missed prime birding hours. But those fears  evaporated when we head a bird that Robert compared to a jazz drummer. Deep in the foliage I could get a very clear of what it was. PUERTO RICAN SPINDALIS! Formerly called a stripe-headed tanager, a spindalis has long been on my list of sought after birds. Western Spindalis is another stunning and rare visitor to southern Florida, so whenever one shows I always consider catching a flight to chase it. But here one was 15 feet away from me!

Green Mango

The fun was only beginning, you can tell not many people travel this trail and it was extremely overgrown, coming up to our thighs. We paused at a hill and just listened, and in a few minutes the forest came alive. The first bird to come out made this 25 year old man squeal with delight. Antillean Euphonia, the best looking bird I've ever seen provided minutes of entertaining views out in the open. I was so slack-jawed that I almost missed another stunning bird. Robert, who knows nothing about bird identification but makes up for it with enthusiasm and great eyes, whisper yelled "hummingbird! Behind you!" I turned around and about fell over with shock. He found the endemic Green Mango! All of this is going on while we were ignoring a brilliant American Redstart. I'm stopping in Texas to see that bird, but in Puerto Rico it may as well have been a House Sparrow. Opportunities to see show many shades of blue, green, and yellow don't come around too often and need to be taken advantage of.

Antillean Euphonia

Eventually the birds moved on and we continued to a heavily shaded area that initially seemed quiet. We only saw one bird here, but it was one of the more sought after birds. A small black and white warbler was shifting in a bush, and came out to reveal itself, which caused me to about faint. Elfin-woods Warbler! This endemic bird was only discovered in 1971, and they are pretty hard to find due to their reclusive nature and the dense mountain forests in Puerto Rico. To have one out in the open was a serious treat, and it made the ensuing Carrasco Plant rash totally worth it. Our day wasn't quite over, and we hiked around Hacienda Juanita before eating lunch. We had just enough time, and it ended up being much needed. We got some of the better looks at Bananaquit we had, but a vibrant Puerto Rican Emerald stole the show. On our way out we had a Loggerhead Kingbird, which I am so glad we got a picture of because I thought it was the more common Gray Kingbird initially.

Lack of a dark mask and no notched tail makes it a Loggerhead Kingbird!

Our last day was spent at El Yunque National Forest, but almost no birding was done due to rain. We still saw Red-legged Thrush and Puerto Rican Tanager up close, and that was ok considering the quality of birding the last 2 days. It was nice to just hike and listen without looking for stuff. El Yunque does have great birding, it just wasn't on display for us, but the rain forest absolutely made up for the lack of birds. Cascading waterfalls behind dense tropical vegetation was a sight to see, and if anything the rain added to experience. Our hike up Mt Britton would have been packed with birds if it was drier, but instead we got to listen to the water rushing down the mountain. It was so peaceful!

El Yunque

Overall this was an outstanding birding trip, I ended up with 23 lifers to put my total up to 478. A good chunk of those 23 were also some of the most beautiful birds I've ever seen, so that made it even better. We would have seen more if we had more time, but we gave it all we had for the time we were there. If the rain had held off we would have for sure had Yellow-shouldered Blackbird, Puerto Rican Screech Owl, and Puerto Rican Nightjar. If we had a few more days we would have gotten Puerto Rican Parrot as well, but missing it gives me a perfect chance to come back. An extra day or 2 would have allowed us to hit Susua State Forest for Key West and Ruddy Quail Dove, Rio Abajo for the parrot, and Humacao for West Indian Whistling-duck, Caribbean Coot, and Antillean Crested Hummingbird. 

Magnificent Frigatebird

Despite our misses, I am so glad that we prioritized Maricao, Guanica, and El Yunque. Guanica and Maricao were perfect for birding and should be used to get the majority of the birds one would look for on the island. El Yunque is without a doubt the best hiking destination. I can't wait to get back and chase some more endemics!

Everglades National Park

 The Everglades are one of the most iconic natural areas in the country. When people think of them they of a tropical swamp full of alligators and mosquitos, and you wouldn't be wrong to think that. But there is so much more to the Everglades. This is an incredibly unique area, especially when compared to the rest of the country. Located just north of the Tropic of Cancer, the Everglades are home to flora and fauna that cannot be found anywhere else in the United States. 

This is the only place in the world where alligators and crocodiles coexist. The Seminoles held out for ages here due to the inaccessibility of the area. And it's less than an hour's drive from the Miami suburbs. With the Columbus Day banking holiday it was a no brainer to make the trip here to chase some of the unique birds. 

American Crocodile

We arrived at the park late morning on Saturday morning at around 11:30. Not the optimal time for birds, but the scenery made up for it. The sea of grass stretched on for miles, and we frequently saw Great Egrets and Little Blue Herons shoot up to fly away from the road. There isn't a ton of land in the Everglades. It's pretty much a massive river flowing from Lake Okeechobee down to Florida Bay. This provides ample habitat for most of the waders found in the United States, which we saw plenty of. 

Florida Softshell Turtle

But there is also a mix of hammocks, or small islands of trees that elevate about the water to provide ample habitat for many other species of birds. Our first experience with one was very productive with a stunning male Black-throated Blue Warbler. Things really picked up at our second stop, Mahogany Hammock. A stunning Prairie Warbler was very cooperative, but it was not the best bird on the trail.

A larger bird moved in the trees above the trail, which was very odd. The trees seemed too dense for anything larger than a warbler to move, and by the time my eyes registered it was a bird it was gone. TJ, likely annoyed about having to look for a bird that was likely gone, pretended to be patient. Then the dark bird flew to an opening in the canopy that left it perfectly in the light. WHITE-CROWNED PIGEON! Some people will be surprised that I got hyped over a pigeon, but it's more than just a pigeon.

White-crowned Pigeon

It's no secret that I hate established exotics like Rock Pigeon, but this is a different bird. WCPI is a primarily Caribbean species that extends north enough to be in the Everglades.. They are very secretive and apparently impossible to photograph. And here it was, basking in the sun for perfect views.

Our next stop was Flamingo, where we walked around the beach in search of shorebirds. Highlights were a lifer Red Knot, and the best views I've ever had of Black Skimmer and Wilson's Plover. For someone who is absolute garbage at identifying shorebirds it was very helpful in getting Wilson's Plover down. We also stopped at the marina for one of the better nature experiences of the trip. This is probably the easiest place to see American Crocodiles in the United States, and we were really fortunate to see 2 of them. They are finally rebounded after nearly being extirpated in the 1970s. On the other side of the bay we got to see at least 10 West Indian Manatees frolicking in the water.

Wilson's Plovers

I could hardly sleep that night, as Sunday brought the search for the most sought after bird: Snail Kite. Another locally threatened species, Snail Kites are found throughout central and southern Florida. Finding them can be a bit of a challenge, as they depend on water levels to find their main source of food, the Apple Snail. Finding one would be hard, as you can't actually see them in the park. The best place is along Hwy 41 on the Miccosukee Reservation just across the street from Shark Valley. Your best bet is to just drive the highway and hope you see one above the tall grass. My four eyes were a real advantage in this situation, and within 5 minutes a black raptor was spotted. I slammed on the brakes and pulled over, and sure enough it was a Snail Kite! 

Frolicking Manatees, a highlight animal of the trip

I wish I had a romantic story about how amazing it was to watch this bird for 10 minutes, but the Florida humidity had other plans. Everything from my glasses, to camera, to binoculars fogged up once we got out of the car, just in time for the bird to decide that hanging around a guy who couldn't contain his excitement was too lame for him. He took off and flew out of site, but honestly I didn't care. I got my Snail Kite. We finished the morning with a 15 mile bike ride around Shark Valley, which offered incredible views and was probably my part of the park. Birding wise it was pretty uneventful. We had tons of Palm Warbler, which I always get excited for, and 2 Yellow-billed Cuckoos.

We woke up on Monday morning after going shark diving with a pretty flexible schedule. We decided to head to John Pennekamp Coral Reef State Park on Key Largo to potentially get some last birds. On our drive down we had tons of Bald Eagles and Osprey. The park is as small as it is impressive, and it's really small. It feels way more tropical than it did in the Everglades, which makes sense given how much farther south it is. There are a few short trails, and all appeared pretty birdy. The best bird was a Short-tailed Hawk flying overhead, but we also had White-crowned Pigeon and lifer Cape May Warbler right outside of the visitor center. We finished the trip out by kayaking through mangroves, which unfortunately meant I didn't have my camera on me when 3 Magnificent Frigatebirds circled overhead. It was stunning, these massive birds look even better in person, and it was great to finally soak in views of a nemesis bird.

Anhinga

Miami is an excellent birding destination, even though we didn't go at the best time of year. I'd really suggest February, as it is likely drier so you'll get more waders in the Everglades, while still getting good winter birds with the off chance of a wandering Caribbean vagrant. Our shark diving took up a ton of time which kept us from getting Florida Scrub Jay and likely a few others, but obviously that's something you have to do. Next stop: Puerto Rico!