CUBA Days 3-4 (31Dec-01Jan2017)

After San Diego de los Banos our destination was Playa Larga and the Bay of Pigs.  Yes that is the very same location of the botched US backed invasion by Cuban exiles.  However, first we had a day of travel which comprised of a stop at a roadside reservoir outside Habana which I would have been fine to skip (no masked ducks and we only picked up Least Grebe which was a mile away) and a long drive interrupted by a blown fuel pump in the tour van.  We knew the prognosis was bad when Raul the driver pulled over and took his shirt off.  After tinkering around under the hood he seemed to think it was a blown gasket and called the Mercedes auto repair guy to bring a spare part.  We ended up sitting under that highway overpass for more than 3 hours waiting for the part to come and then finally for the guy to install them which actually ended up being a new fuel pump and filter.  During those 3 hours we tried hard to scan the skies for passing Gundlach's Hawks but it was not a great location to be stuck with a lack of any good habitat.  For the uninitiated, Gundlach's Hawk is a Cuban endemic that resembles a Cooper's Hawk on steroids and can show up almost anywhere in Cuba but is very rare.  It's so rare that the Wikipedia entry is a sketch!  On the Wiki entry they say the total population is estimated to be 400.

Sketch courtesy of Wikipedia:

Although we never saw the Gundlach's at our underpass, we did spot many old cars from the 40's-50's which was the boom time right before the revolution.  Apparently the Cuban middle and upper classes were very affluent before the revolution and many had TVs and Cars.  Of course the lower class got screwed which is why the revolution was started.  However, to this day the Cuban people have been amazing at keeping these old cars running and looking great.  On average about 50% of cars on the roads were vintage cars that would be coveted in the US.

Wish I knew the makes and models but I don't.

I got bored of looking at cars go by so I tried to get some pics of butterflies on the roadside.

Cuban Calisto!  What luck a Cuban species.

Finally after three hours of looking at vintage cars go by the van was fixed and Raul put his shirt back on and we drove a short way for a roadside lunch.

Keith said this was his car growing up.  Strange because Keith only looks to be in his 40s.

Our next stop, a special little home in a town called Palpite just north of our hostel for the next couple days in Playa Larga.  La Casa de la Zunzuncito (the house of the Cuban Bee Hummingbird) is the home of Bernabe Hernandez Ulloa and Juana Martos Gomez.  They have a couple Firebush trees in their yard that attracts the smallest hummingbird in the world and they open it to the public for donations.  Of course we arrived just in time for New Year's Eve festivities and Bernabe was blasting music and was already pretty saucy when we arrived just before sunset. However, in true Cuban style he welcomed us into the back yard and we quickly found our quarry.

Female Cuban Bee Hummingbird.  Only slightly larger than a thimble.

Male Zunzuncito.

Tons of wintering warblers also were loving the Firebush.

We bid our farewell to Bernabe and headed to our hostel at Daniel's and Alexi's in Playa Larga.
On the way to Playa Larga we drove down a boulevard that had memorials for all the slain Cuban martyrs from the failed Bay of Pigs Invasion (failed for USA but success for Cuba).  More on this later....

Daniel hosted some of us in his home, and Alexi hosted some of the others.  A few of us also stayed in a home down the street but I never saw it.  Daniel and Alexi were basically just neighbors that were allowed by the Cuban Government to open a Bed and Breakfast style hostel from their homes.  They were very modest homes but comfortable and the two families were very gracious.  That night Daniel's wife made us a feast which I personally thought was the best meal we had in Cuba.  The Sopa Cubano (Cuban Soup) was amazing!  They basically use leftovers to make a delicious soup with all kinds of ingredients but pork was a common theme in almost all courses.  The pork for the main course was so tender it fell apart when I stabbed it with my fork.  A cabbage salad was a common dish as well as manioc.  Best of all was Daniel's special Mojitos!  Best mojitos in Cuba.

A Thunbergia grandiflora vine draped over our dinner nook.  Kent's hand, Linda, John, Jill, Derb, James, Chandra, Keith, Len and Ginger in the picture and Caroline must have been just out of the picture to the left.  A great group of people.  I was a little reticent about taking a planned tour with a group of birders but I really enjoyed everyone's company and would do it again.  The only down side is you feel like you are cheating a bit by having other people find the birds for you.

That night there was celebrations outside but I was oblivious with my ear plugs firmly lodged in my ear canals.  Apparently they burn effigies out in the streets that represent the old year.  Basically forgetting all the troubles of the old year and resetting for the new.  I was spreading a rumor that the effigies represented the CIA operatives caught during the Bay of Pigs but no one fell for it.

The next morning we got up bright and early and noticed a large group of Cave Swallows feeding above our accommodations.

Unfortunately the Cuban Martin is not around in December-January.  No one quite knows where they go but it is assumed South America.  Derb was talking about trying to get a transmitter on one of the Martins to see once and for all where they go.

Our first and main stop for the morning was Soplillar forest.  Our guide was one of the famous Martinez brothers - Angel.  I thought he was really cool.  Super quiet and all business.  He was determined to get us all our endemics and then some.

Cuban Trogon

Cuban Parakeets

Cuban Screech Owl - also known as Bare-legged Owl.  Angel knew exactly where this bird was roosting.  He had us all get ready then tapped the side of the tree and out he popped.

I always feel a bit weird waking up a nocturnal species, like embarrassed.

Cuban Pygmy Owls on the other hand were everywhere and diurnal.

It took a while but Angel got us on both endemic quail-doves: Gray-fronted and Blue-headed.

The Blue-headed was a real treat and we thought the looks were amazing until later when we realized we could see them within 5-6 feet of us.  I got better pictures of Gray-fronted the next day so I am sparing you the bad ones.

Northern Waterthrush

Cuban Green Woodpecker

Cuban Vireo

Cuban Emerald

In the afternoon we had lunch on the beach and found a group of Cuban Crows.  Do yourself a favor and listen to the calls of the Cuban Crow on Xeno Canto: http://www.xeno-canto.org/species/Corvus-nasicus - specifically listen to the Cuban ones from Playa Larga.
Very cool.

Note the visible nostrils.  Later in the trip we would also be looking for the Cuban Palm Crow which sounds more like our crows in North Carolina.  The Cuban Palm Crow does not have visible nostrils because the nasal bristles cover them.  It also is the only one that will regularly perch and forage on the ground.  However, in Playa Larga they only have the Cuban Crow so that makes it easy.

Its a good thing I read the guide books because normally seeing a crow in a palm would lead me to believe this was the Palm Crow.

The light morph of the Cuban subspecies of American Kestrel.

What a great way to kick off the New Year!  Don't worry my avid readers, I will have more installments of my Cuban adventures coming soon.