<< Day 1

December 9

The bird I wanted to see most in Puerto Rico (besides the parrot, of course, which wasn’t going to happen) was the Elfin-woods Warbler. This little sprite of the high altitude forests wasn’t even discovered until 1968. That should tell you that it’s not the easiest bird to find. The best place to see it is around the Forest Service compound in the Maricao State Forest, so that’s were we headed on our first full day in Puerto Rico.

It took about an hour to get there from Parguera. I had read on other trip reports that it can be tough to find the road from Sabana Grande that goes up to Maricao. I can attest to that – we had a map on my iPhone, and still missed it! That road is very steep and winding, so you can’t drive any faster than the posted speed limit of 25 mph. So allow plenty of time to get there.

We pulled in about 9:30, a little later than I’d have liked. But it probably wouldn’t have mattered if we had gotten there any earlier; the weather was not cooperating. It was a little foggy, with a constant, strong wind. The wind made it almost impossible to see or hear anything. We took the trail up past the gate at the electric station thing. It probably took over 15 minutes to even see the first bird. It was a quick-moving thing that could have been a Puerto Rican Vireo, but I’m not sure. A pair of Puerto Rican Spindalis were much more cooperative. The male was so much more vivid and pretty than I had been expecting. There was also a Cape May Warbler and Gray Kingbird.

Before leaving, I tried birding the area around the forest service buildings. I kept hearing birds in the trees above, but was only able to catch quick glimpses. After what seemed like forever, I determined they were Puerto Rican Tanagers. That was my second lifer of the day, but only the fourth species overall. In two and a half hours. I can’t recall a more frustrating birding experience. The wind was that bad.

We then drove north toward Maricao to get some lunch. Afterward, I thought we’d check out the grounds of Hacienda Juanita, a bed-and-breakfast type place that is known for having some good birds. When we pulled in, we didn’t see a single person or car there. It was a little odd, but I walked around the parking area and down a little trail. In addition to the ubiquitous Gray Kingbird and Bananaquit, I finally got decent looks at the two endemic hummingbirds – Puerto Rican Emerald and Green Mango. It was a good thing, too, I wouldn’t see either again.

Hoping the wind had died down, we gave Maricao one more try. It was indeed less windy, and I very quickly came upon some tanagers that were much more obliging.

But even better was this beauty that was accompanying them.

The Puerto Rican Woodpecker is one of the most striking birds, not to mention woodpeckers, that I’ve ever seen. For my money, they come pretty close to rivaling the Red-headed Woodpecker.

Further down the trail, I got decent looks, but not photos, of Puerto Rican Tody and Puerto Rican Bullfinch. But it was still fairly quiet. At least it was until I was almost back to the car. Just past the gate is a clearing with the ruins of an old house. When I got back there I could hear tanagers. I’ve read that PR Tanagers are often the nucleus of mixed-species flocks, and that was certainly the case here. In addition to the tanagers I spied another tody and woodpecker, along with several Bananaquits. I got another endemic lifer when I spotted a Puerto Rican Vireo amongst them. But I was really hoping this flock would contain an Elfin-woods Warbler. A Black-and-white Warbler got my hopes up for a second, being the same colors as the Elfin. At one point, I did see a very likely candidate, but I did not see the face or streaking underneath. But even with extensive pishing, I never got more than a single, quick glance.

But even without the warbler, this was a much more productive visit. It seems that the key is to bird here when there’s little wind. And to run into a mixed flock.

I also wanted to try for the nightjar at Guanica State Forest again. But this time, we got to the gate at the end of PR 334 before dark, around 5:30. It was locked, as expected, so I parked and walked up the road for a ways, birding while it was still light enough to do so. I heard a Puerto Rican Lizard-cuckoo, but couldn’t entice it out where I could see it. I had much better luck with Adelaide’s Warbler. I wish every bird was this responsive to pishing!

When it was getting dark, I stationed myself at a bend in the road, about a quarter mile from the gate. I was hoping this was a good spot to listen for Puerto Rican Nightjars and Screech-owls. At 6:21 I heard a single Puerto Rican Nightjar, but it sounded fairly distant. But I never saw one, and didn’t even hear an owl, despite using some playback (I did not play a call of the nightjar, a critically endangered species).

On the plus side, mosquitoes weren’t an issue. They would have been, however, without my patent-pending Personal Mosquito Deterrent System, commonly known as bats. Once it got dark, I could hear them flying around me and see them pass through the beam of my flashlight. I was very grateful for their services and hope they were well compensated.

I wish every warbler were as easy to see and photograph as Puerto Rico's endemic Adelaide's Warbler

Day 3

As I write this it’s snowing. On Christmas. In Georgia. It doesn’t seem right that just two and a half weeks ago my wife and I were in warm and sunny Puerto Rico. Thinking back on 80 degree temperatures and all those Caribbean birds feels nice right now.

I had originally planned to be in Peru during the first part of December, but those plans fell through. That left me with a lot of vacation days to be used. My wife and I had been considering taking a Caribbean cruise next spring, so we just decided to move that up a bit. It seemed to meet all the requirements: warm, birds, non-bird stuff, and warm. We decided on a seven day southern Caribbean cruise originating out of San Juan, Puerto Rico that had stops on St. Thomas, St. Croix, Antigua, Dominica, and Grenada. We would fly to Puerto Rico early so that we’d have three nights there before the cruise started.

December 8

It was with a good measure of sadness that we left our daughter in the capable hands of her grandparents while my dad drove us to the airport. It was below freezing in pre-dawn Atlanta when we arrived at the airport. Six or seven hours later, sunshine and humid air in the low 80’s greeted us as we stepped outside in San Juan. As we waited for the van to take us to the rental car, I spotted the first birds of the trip: Rock Pigeons and House Sparrows. Of course. Some Greater Antillean Grackles, although not a lifer for me, were much more welcome.

The plan was to get the car and make the relatively long drive to the southwestern corner of the island where we would stay the next three nights. Puerto Rico has 17 endemic birds, and all but one can be found in that part of the island. The lone exception, the Puerto Rican Parrot, is critically endangered and almost impossible to find in its eastern mountain haunts. I’d love to try for it, but put it off until I have more time to devote to it.

Unfortunately, most of the day was spent driving, so the only birds seen were from the car. The ubiquitous Gray Kingbird was the bird most often seen, but did see a few American Kestrels, a single group of Smooth-billed Ani, and many Cattle Egrets along the road.

After checking in to our hotel in Parguera, I had hoped there would be time to get to the Guanica State Forest before nightfall to try for the Puerto Rican Nightjar. From my research, it seemed like the best way to see this secretive bird is to walk in from the gate, which would be closed at that time. But it was dark before we could get there, so I decided to drive along PR 333, which skirts the southern edge of the dry forest. I hoped to hear a nightjar or even see one on the road. But it was a total bust. I heard nothing, and even if I had, the high traffic and lack of places to pull off the road would have kept me from doing anything about it. I’d have to try again later, after scouting out the area in the daylight.

With very few birds seen, and no lifers yet, I looked forward to a full day in Puerto Rico.

Day 2

Sorry for the lack of posts lately. I’ve been away for almost two weeks, and did not have (affordable) internet access for most of that time. So where was I? Let’s see if anyone can figure it out first.

Here are four pictures taken during the trip, none of them from the same location. Believe it or not, I think it would be possible to tell exactly where the first was taken, within a few meters. The second is more generic, but still fairly specific. I think the same could be said about the third, though I’m less sure about that. And the fourth helps reinforce the general area where the trip took place.

Way back in October, the Georgia Ornithological Society (GOS) held its annual fall meeting on the Georgia coast. (Yes, I’m a bit behind!) Jon Dunn gave the keynote address on the topic of gull identification. And, of course, there were field trips. This year, I took the opportunity to go on trips to some places I had never been to before. The first such trip was to Raccoon Key.

The reason I had never birded there was simple – I don’t think any birders knew the place existed before last year. You see, Raccoon Key is a small, privately owned island near Jekyll Island. From what I understand, the owners approached GOS last year about the possibility of offering field trips there. They worked out a deal and offered some trips during last year’s meeting. I wasn’t able to attend that gathering, so I made sure to go this time. And I’m glad I did.

Raccoon Key is about 200 acres of diked-off freshwater marsh (fed from an aquifer), saltwater marsh, beach, and vegetation. The only man-made structures are a boat dock and building, with a generator to supply power for lights and plumbing. After disembarking the boat, we stowed some gear at the lodge and planned our attack of the island. Basically, that just entailed a lot of walking around.

First, we checked out the marsh around the boat dock. Common Yellowthroats on the path were joined by a relatively cooperative Seaside Sparrow. While most of the group was trying to pish up the Seaside for better views and pictures, I turned around to check out the other side of the path. If there is a group of birders all looking in one direction, I like to look elsewhere to see what else is around (unless that group is actively looking for a particular bird I really want to see). The strategy paid off when I spotted a sharp-tailed sparrow perched up on some reeds. But which one? I got my scope on it as quickly as I could and found it to be a beautiful Nelson’s Sparrow. Finally! This was a long-overdue lifer for me. They are fairly common winter residents on the Georgia coast, and I’ve looked for them often, but just haven’t had any luck. But this one cooperated nicely, and even flew close enough that I was able to get a picture.

As we continued on, we found the expected shorebirds, such as Killdeer, Semi-palmated Plover, both Yellowlegs, and Least Sandpiper. A Whimbrel flew over, and we later found three of them alongside three Marbled Godwits. A good number of wading birds adorned the trees like ornaments, including both Night-herons, Roseate Spoonbills, and Wood Storks.

We also thoroughly checked the trees for smaller birds. This was the middle of fall migration, so we were expecting to find some migrants about. We had a decent, but not spectacular, count of eight warbler species. But those that we did see, we had great views of. Someone literally almost stepped on a Black-throated Green Warbler! Unfortunately, the great views didn’t translate into great photos. One of the best I managed to get was this gorgeous male Black-throated Blue Warbler.

Raccoon Key certainly has a lot of potential as a birding spot. We had a great day, though not as good as the trip the day after ours. They seemed to see all of the birds we had, plus many more, including one of the best birds of the weekend, a Red-necked Phalarope. Below is the list of 64 species that I, personally, had.

• Blue-winged Teal
• Ruddy Duck
• Pied-billed Grebe
• Double-crested Cormorant
• Great Blue Heron
• Great Egret
• Snowy Egret
• Tricolored Heron
• Black-crowned Night-Heron
• Yellow-crowned Night-Heron
• White Ibis
• Glossy Ibis
• Roseate Spoonbill
• Wood Stork
• Turkey Vulture
• Osprey
• Bald Eagle
• Northern Harrier
• American Kestrel
• Clapper Rail
• Sora
• Common Moorhen
• American Coot
• Black-bellied Plover
• Semipalmated Plover
• Killdeer
• Spotted Sandpiper
• Greater Yellowlegs
• Willet
• Lesser Yellowlegs
• Whimbrel
• Marbled Godwit
• Ruddy Turnstone
• Western Sandpiper
• Least Sandpiper
• Dunlin
• dowitcher species
• Laughing Gull
• Forster’s Tern
• Royal Tern
• Belted Kingfisher
• Eastern Phoebe
• White-eyed Vireo
• Tree Swallow
• Barn Swallow
• House Wren
• Marsh Wren
• Blue-gray Gnatcatcher
• Gray Catbird
• Northern Mockingbird
• Tennessee Warbler
• Northern Parula
• Yellow Warbler
• Black-throated Blue Warbler
• Black-throated Green Warbler
• Palm Warbler
• American Redstart
• Common Yellowthroat
• Savannah Sparrow
• Nelson’s Sparrow
• Seaside Sparrow
• Northern Cardinal
• Red-winged Blackbird
• Boat-tailed Grackle

When I bird my “local patch” – my neighborhood’s preserve – I rarely have a specific target in mind. You just never know what’s going to be there. But today was different. I really wanted to see a Philadelphia Vireo.

I just love that adorable, little bird. That admission may cost me some birder points, or some such, but I stand by it. And I don’t get to see them very often. They come through Georgia, or at least my little part, the last ten or so days each September. I’ve seen at least one here each of the last four years, with the exception of the last (I was a little distracted by the birth of my first child, but that’s ok, she’s even more adorable than Philly Vireos).

So it wasn’t much of a stretch to wish for a Philly today. But it didn’t start out very promising. Most of my vireo sightings have been in the clearing around a small observation deck in the middle of the preserve. (I have no idea why it’s there; it’s not really overlooking anything. But I see a lot of birds from it, so I’m not complaining.) But when I got to the deck this morning, there was nothing around except for a couple of Ruby-throated Hummingbirds that have been fighting over a patch of jewelweed. So I waited. Eventually, a Red-eyed Vireo popped up, but that was about it.

I was just about to leave when I thought, “I just want to see a Philadelphia Vireo”. The exact moment after that plea went through my mind, I spotted this little guy.

Two Philadelphia Vireos had materialized in the willows. They foraged around the clearing for a couple of minutes, and then disappeared as suddenly as they appeared.

You can choose to believe that this was just a case of a birder knowing exactly when and where a particular species was likely to show up. But me? I’m wondering if this isn’t some sort of latent birding superpower. I guess I’ll find out tomorrow – I’m going to be thinking about how much I want to see a Mourning Warbler.

You summoned?