Birdwatching in Cuba
Cuba Birdwatching Tour for February 2008 - 15 days/14 nights escorted (Please enquire for other dates)
Minimum 6 people - prices available on request.
Included in the trip :
- All transport in a private air-conditioned bus.
- An Ornithology specialist from the Science Museum of Cuba as a Specialized Tour guide
- An English speaking tour guide accompanies the group.
- All the birdwatching journeys described in the programme
- City Tour in Trinidad and Havana City
- All meals described in the programme
- A tour of the sugar cane plantation in Cardenas and ride in a steam locomotive
TOUR ITINERARY
Day 1. Thursday February 22 Soroa Hotel *** HB
Meet on arrival at Havana airport with the English-speaking tour guide. Drive to Soroa hotel set in the Rosario hills, declared a Biosphere Reserve by UNESCO, due to the hard work locals have done regarding reforestation and nature conservation. Forests, rural communities and crystalline streams are the most common landscapes in this region. Accommodation at hotel. Dinner.
Day 2. Friday February 23, Soroa Hotel *** HB
Breakfast at the hotel. Guided birding walk of the area. Soroa is a privileged spot for bird-watching and is a natural habitat for forest birds, both migratory and resident. Also we can see some of the most charismatic species, including several endemics such as the Cuban Trogon (Priotelus temnurus), Cuban Tody (Todus multicolor), Cuban Green Woodpecker (Xiphidiopicus percussus), Cuban Blackbird (Dives atroviolacea) and many others. Time to visit the Orchid Garden, with one of the largest collection of orchids (up to 500 species), as well as the beautiful waterfall near the hotel. Return to the hotel for lunch. Afternoon at leisure. Dinner at the hotel. After dinner walk in the surroundings looking for nocturnal birds including endemics Cuban Screech-owl (Otus lawrencii) and Cuban Pygmy-owl (Glaucidium siju).
Day 3. Saturday February 24, Rancho San Vicente Hotel *** HB
Breakfast at the hotel. Drive to Vinales valley early in the morning. Vinales is a beautiful region nature’s magic has created an outstanding scenery of mountains and vertical walls rising up to the sky. The rural communities settled here to grow the best tobacco in the world. Birding walk within this valley, declared by UNESCO World Patrimony. Opportunity to see 3 of our endemic birds: the Cuban Solitaire (Myadestes elisabeth), whose metallic trine is heard all over the valley, the Cuban Grassquit (Tiaris canora) and the Cuban Vireo (Vireo gundlachii). Lunch at the restaurant right next to the Mural of Prehistory. In the afternoon we’ll walk around the small village. Dinner at Rancho San Vicente Hotel.
Day 4. Sunday February 25, Rancho San Vicente Hotel *** HB
Breakfast at the hotel. Birding in the surroundings before leaving to Guanahacabibes Biosphere Reserve in the westernmost end of Cuba. The perfect mix of cliff coastlines with forests and lagoons will be the environment you’ll enjoy today. During the excursion we stop a few times to be delighted with both waterfowls and forest birds. Probably today we’ll have the chance to see the smallest bird in the world - the endemic Bee Hummingbird (Mellisuga helenae), as well as the Cuban Parrot (Amazona Leucocephala), Cuban Crow (Corvus nasicus) and many others. Picnic lunch in the area. In the afternoon return to the hotel. Dinner at the hotel.
Day 5. Monday February 26, Mirador de San Diego Hotel *** HB
Breakfast at the hotel. Early in the morning we visit La Guira National Park. Birding in the area among the ancient ruins of Cortina hacienda. Here are particularly abundant endemic species like the Cuban Trogon (Priotelus temnurus), Cuban Bullfinch (Melopyrrhe nigra) and Cuban Vireo (Vireo gundlachii), as well as the migratory birds such as Red-Legged Honey Creeper (Cyanerpes cyaneus), Painted Bunting (Passerina ciris), Indigo Bunting (Passerina cyanea) and many warblers and other passerines. Picnic Lunch at Cuevas de los Portales, where Che Guevara set up his headquarters during the Missiles Crisis in 1962. Accommodation and dinner at Mirador de San Diego Hotel
Day 6. Tuesday February 27, Batey Don Pedro ** HB or Playa Larga ** HB
Breakfast at the hotel. Drive to the Enterprise Jose A. Echevarria in Matanzas. Visit to a sugar cane factory museum and a cane field. Specialized travel and a descriptions about the sugar cane factory and its history. Visit to the locomotive workshop and ride in one of the steam locomotive to Cardenas City.
We continue the journey to Zapata Swamp Biosphere Reserve, the largest marshland in Cuba, in the southern coast of Matanzas Province. It was precisely here where the US invasion took place to overthrow the new Cuban Revolution in 1961. This passage of the history is known as the Invasion of the Bay of Pigs. This is one of the best birding spots in the island, treasuring several endemic species (including 3 local endemics) and it’s also an important natural refuge for migratory birds. Lunch at the Fiesta Campesina and after drive to Hatiguanico River.. We take a boat along the Hatiguanico river surrounded by the lush vegetation of this reserve. Here it’s possible to see the Double-crested Cormorant (Phalacrocorax auritus), Northern Jacana (Jacana spinosa), Snowy Egret (Egretta thula), American Bittern (Botaurus lentiginosus), Snail Kite (Rostrhamus sociabilis) and many others. Dinner at hotel.
Day 7 Wednesday February 28, Batey Don Pedro *** HB or Playa Larga HB
Breakfast at the hotel. Birding at Santo Tomas. Opportunity to try to find some of the 3 local endemics:
1- Zapata Rail (Cyanolimnas cerverai). For a long time, ornithologists thought this species was extinct and some years ago a scientist expedition found some individuals and realized that its population had started a growing stage. This is hard-to-see species.
2- Zapata Wren (Ferminia cerverai) is easier to spot due to its strident call.
3- Zapata Sparrow (Torrearnis inespectata) is a vulnerable and rare endemic. It was considered a local endemic to Zapata Swamp for long time until ornithologists found two new populations within Cuba. Lunch. Afternoon birding at Soplillar looking for the Bee Hummingbird (Mellisuga helenae) and others like the Red-Shouldered Blackbird (Agelaius assimilis). Return to the hotel and dinner.
Day 8. Thursday March 1, Batey Don Pedro *** HB or Playa Larga HB
Breakfast at the hotel. Birding at Bermejas. The most frequently sighted species are the Cuban Green Woodpecker (Xiphidiopicus percussus), Fernandina’s Flicker (Colaptes fernandinae), West Indian Woodpecker (Melanerpes superciliaris), Cuban Parrot (Amazona Leucocephala) and Cuban Parakeet (Aratinga euops). All are endemic species or sub-species. Lunch at Caleta Buena by the sea. Time at leisure at the beach. Return to the hotel and dinner. Night birding in the surroundings of the hotel.
Day 9. Friday March 2, Villa Ma Dolores *** HB
Breakfast at the hotel. Birding at Las Salinas Fauna Sanctuary, natural settlement for thousands of native and migratory birds and waterfowls. Here we can be delighted with huge colonies of flamingos, spoonbills, herons, plovers, ospreys and many other species, such as, Anhinga (Anhinga anhinga) Double-crested Cormorant (Phalacrocorax auritus), Reddish Egret (Egretta rufescens), Tricolored Heron (Egretta tricolor), Greater Flamingo (Phoenicopterus ruber), Plovers (Pluvialis sp.), Sandpipers (Calidris sp.) and Terns (Sterna sp.). Lunch and drive to Trinidad Village, a stunning World Heritage Site. Stop en route at Cienfuegos City, founded in the 19th Century right in front of the Caribbean Sea. Accommodation and dinner at the hotel.
Day 10. Saturday March 3, Los Helechos Hotel ***HB
Breakfast at the hotel. City sightseeing of Trinidad that seems to be stopped in an 18th Century time warp. Cobbled streets, palaces and colonial houses with large windows and red tiles make Trinidad a Museum Village. Lunch at local restaurant. Then drive to Topes de Collantes, at 900 meters the summit of the mountains, in the heart of the Escambray Ridge, surrounded by lots of waterfalls, pine forests and arborescent ferns. Accommodation and dinner at hotel.
Day 11. Sunday March 4, Las Brujas Hotel *** HB
Breakfast at the hotel. Truck transfer to La Codina, an enchanting place in the forest, surrounded by lush vegetation and many birds. Hike the trail discovering the local flora and fauna, among them beautiful orchids and ferns. Also there is a small cave and a lookout point with a breathtaking view of the mountain range, Trinidad and the Caribbean Sea. The most charismatic birds here are Cuban Trogon (Priotelus temnurus), Cuban Parakeet (Aratinga euops), Cuban Emerald (Chlorostilbon ricordii), Cuban Green Woodpecker (Xiphidiopicus percussus), Northern Flicker (Colaptes auratus), Cuban Pewee (Contopus caribaeus), Great Lizard Cuckoo (Saurothera merlini) and many Warblers (Dendroica sp). Typical Cuban lunch. Drive to Santa Clara City to visit the Che Memorial. Then we continue to Cayo Las Brujas, a beautiful island off the north coast, accessible by an amazing road over the sea. Accommodation and dinner at Las Brujas Hotel.
Day 12. Monday March 5, Las Brujas Hotel *** HB
Breakfast at the hotel. Excursion to Guayabera Swamp to be delighted with colonies of cranes and many other birds. The most common species here are Sandhill Crane (Grus canadensis), Egrets (Ardeas sp.), Greater Flamingo (Phoenicopterus rubber), Roseate Spoonbill (Ajaija ajaja), Magnificent Frigatebird (Fregata magnificens). This swamp, as well as Las Brujas Cay, Cayo Santa Maria and many other small islands and cays of Jardines del Rey Archipelago are known as the Buena Vista Biosphere Reserve, a UNESCO site. Picnic lunch. Return to the hotel. Afternoon at leisure by the beach. Dinner at the hotel.
Day 13. Tuesday March 6, Hotel Tejadillo *** HB
Breakfast at the hotel. Birding walk in the morning in the surroundings of Cayo Las Brujas and Cayo Santa Maria. These cays are natural habitats for both waterfowls and forest birds, such as Striped-headed Tanager (Spindalis zena), Cuban Bullfinch (Melopyrrha nigra), Greater Antillean Grackle (Qiscalus niger), Terns (Sterna sp.), Gulls (Larus sp.), Plovers (Charadrius sp.), etc. Return to the hotel. Lunch. Afternoon Drive to Havana. Arrive to Hotel Tejadillo. Check in. Dinner and rest
Day 14. Wednesday March 7, Hotel Tejadillo *** BB
Breakfast at the hotel. Walking Tour in Old Havana, declared a World Heritage Site by Unesco, to admire its main squares full of life and colours, such as the Arms Square and the Cathedral Square. Visit the Rum Factory Museum and the City Museum. Lunch in a local restaurant and after lunch visit a Cigar Factory. Return to the Hotel. Evening visit Morro Cabaña Park and participating in Cannon Ceremony. Dinner at the Divina Pastora or El Bodegon restaurant). Return to the Hotel and rest.
Day 15. Thursday March 8, Departure Day
Breakfast. Time to explore the store near the Hotel. Check out and transfer to Havana airport for flight home.
