Puerto Rico

Puerto Rico, a truly delightful island, has a marvelous array of different habitats, from sandy beaches and mangroves to dry arid scrub forest and surprisingly lush and verdant tropical montane forests. Puerto Rico has its fair share of endemics, ranging from the delightful and exquisite Puerto Rican Tody to the highly endangered and very local Puerto Rican Parrot. Some endemics such as Puerto Rican Bullfinch and Puerto Rican Woodpecker are widespread, while others are decidedly local, such as Elfin Woods Warbler, first discovered in 1971, Puerto Rican Nightjar, thought to be extinct before its rediscovery in 1961, and the endangered Yellow-shouldered Blackbird.

Highlights

• Great birding in a surprisingly interesting Caribbean Island
• Lots of endemics, including Puerto Rican Tody and Elfin Woods Warbler
• Experienced and excellent guides



 

Itinerary

Day 1: Arrival in Puerto Rico
Plan to arrive in San Juan, the capital city of Puerto Rico, in the early afternoon. Once in Puerto Rico we head east to Luquillo at the base of the Sierra de Luquillo (the Caribbean National Forest) where we stay for the night. Night near Luquillo.

Day 2: Sierra de Luquillo and Humacao
We will have an optional pre-breakfast birding outing around the beautiful grounds of our hotel this morning. After breakfast we visit the Caribbean National Forest and El Yunque, an area of beautiful scenery, and where we should find Scaly-naped Pigeon, Puerto Rican Woodpecker, Loggerhead Kingbird, Red-legged Thrush and Puerto Rican Tanager. This area is our only chance, albeit exceedingly remote, of finding the Puerto Rican Parrot.

Leaving the forests, we continue south to the Humacao Nature Reserve where we look for Antillean Crested Hummingbird, Green-throated Carib, White-cheeked Pintail, Caribbean Coot, and several herons, egrets and other wetland birds. Night in Guanica.

Day 3: Maricao National Forest
In the morning, we leave early and drive north to Maricao National Forest, at the western end of the Cordilleran Central. At this higher altitude, lush forest covers the montane slopes, and a wide variety of the islands endemics can be found. Our main target bird here is the Elfin Woods Warbler, a secretive and fast-moving warbler discovered as recently as 1971, and we spend quite a bit of time searching for this species. Whilst doing so, we should find Green Mango, Puerto Rican Emerald, Puerto Rican Tody, Puerto Rican Pewee, and Antillean Euphonia.
In the afternoon, we head back to our hotel for a break so that we are well rested for an evening excursion to search for the endangered Puerto Rican Nightjar. Night in Guanica.

Day 4: Guanica National Forest
This day we visit the Guanica National Forest spending time searching for species not yet found in the montane forests. In the dry scrub forest of Guanica we will see Pearly-eyed Thrasher, Puerto Rican Vireo, Black-whiskered Vireo, Puerto Rican Bullfinch, Adelaide’s Warbler, as well as the amazing Puerto Rican Lizard-Cuckoo. We also visit the coastal mangroves and sand spits along the coast, looking for shorebirds, Mangrove Cuckoo, Caribbean Eleania, and perhaps Troupial.

Later, we drive along the coastal highway to the southwest part of the island where we should see the endangered Yellow-shouldered Blackbird. Population numbers of the blackbird appear to be on the increase, owing in part to a control program aimed at cowbirds. Night in Guanica.

Day 5: Departure
We depart in the early morning for the drive back to San Juan airport to catch our international flights home. Flights home should be arranged for the late afternoon or evening to allow for time delays.
 

Featured Birds:

• Puerto Rican Tody
• Yellow-shouldered Blackbird
• Elfin Woods Warbler
• Adelaide’s Warbler
• Puerto Rican Screech-Owl
• Puerto Rican Nightjar
• Puerto Rican Spindalis
• Puerto Rican Woodpecker
• Puerto Rican Lizard-Cuckoo
• Puerto Rican Bullfinch
• Puerto Rican Tanager
 

Date: February 17 - 21, 2013 (dates are approximate)

Duration: 5 days

Limit: 12 people

Price: TBD, 2011 price was $1,275 USD, $1,375 CAD; single supplement $175 USD, $190 CAD.

Tour Starts & Ends: San Juan, Puerto Rico

*Combine with our Dominican Republic tour February 12-20, 2011 or/ and our Jamaica tour February 28-7 March, 2011 

What to Expect

• Moderate walking and hiking
• Some long days
• Mostly hot in the day, warm at night, rain is possible
• Good quality hotels throughout
• 6-12 participants with two leaders

Puerto Rico provides some surprisingly exciting birding. Most of the endemics are fairly easy to find, and we make determined efforts to find those that can prove elusive, such as Elfin Woods Warbler. We have some early morning starts and pre-breakfast journeys to maximize our time in the field. Roads are generally very good throughout our tour. On some days, we make evening excursions to search for nocturnal species. Usually, hiking will be easy to moderate. On most days we have a picnic lunch at a site or call in at a local restaurant.
The weather should be warm and sunny, and rain is possible. A light, waterproof jacket is, therefore, advised, as are stout walking shoes or boots. Generally, we stay in good hotels. In the evenings, we eat at our hotel or a nearby restaurant, where we spend a relaxing evening to review the day’s bird list and discuss the itinerary for the next day
 

Previous checklists from our Puerto Rico tours:

2007 DR/PR species list (pdf)
2005 DR/PR species list (pdf)
2003 DR/PR species list (pdf)