Cuba Birding Program 7 Days

Day 1. Arrive at Havana airport. Transport by taxi (20 minutes) to old, historical section of Havana, where participants will be lodged in a hotel or in a comfortable private house (“casa Particular”), depending on the client’s preference and group size.

La Havana was founded in 1514 named after the daughter of a famous Taíno chief. Close your eyes for a moment and imagine you are there. Waves crashing against a mildewed see wall, a young couple cavorting in the dark, dilapidated alley, guitar and voices harmonizing over a syncopated drum rhythm.

No one could have invented Havana. It’s too audacious, too contradictory, and despite 50 years of withering neglect to damned beautiful.

Don’t come here looking for answers. Just arrive with an open mind and prepare yourself for a long and slow seduction. (LP60)

Old Havana and the Fortification System was Declared a World Heritage Site by UNSCO on 1982.

Day 2. After breakfast, depart for Viñales, Pinar del Rio province, birding along the way (Las Terrazas, La Guira). Lunch in Viñales. Overnight in Viñales in one of the local hotels (or casa Particular) of the region.

About 93 miles (150 km) west of Havana, is situated in Sierra de los Organos and is a delightful small town in a beautiful valley with a distinctive landscape of steep-sided limestone “mogotes,”. About 100 bird species have been reported from the area. Target species: Cuban Grassquit, Cuban Solitaire, Olive-capped warbler, and other endemics.

Day 3. After breakfast, depart to Zapata Peninsula. Lunch on the way. Dinner in Zapata. Overnight in the nicest house in Zapata, “Casa Luis,” In the afternoon, birding at Soplillar. Target species: endemic quail-doves and owls; also we will be looking for Nearctic migrants.

Zapata Peninsula is, undoubtedly, the best bird watching area in Cuba, and possibly the entire Caribbean region. It supports all but three of Cuba’s 23 avian endemics, as well as many other native species, both winter residents and transients, along with several summer and spring visitors (which breed in Cuba but return south in fall). Over 270 species have been reported in the area.

Day 4. Breakfast at 6:30 am, then Depart to Bermeja (a fauna refuge with National Significance), an open area with royal and cabbage palms, brush, and shrubbery, 7 miles (12 km) north of Playa Girón. This is the place to look for Fernandina’s Flicker. Cuba’s two endemic owls (Cuban Pygmy-Owl  and Bare-legged Owl), Cuban Nightjar, Bee Hummingbird, Cuban Parakeet, Cuban Trogon, Cuban Tody, and all four quail-dove species (the two rarest species are frequently encountered) can also be seen here, as well as many Nearctic warblers. Lunch in the resort or house select for overnighting. Resume birding in the afternoon in Bermeja area. Birding at night as well.

Day 5. Breakfast at 5:30 am. Depart for La Turba. This is a marsh habitat, where we will be looking for Zapata Wren, Zapata Sparrow, and Red-shouldered Blackbird. Lunch at Caleta Buena (optional), or our lodging place after 4:00 pm. La Salina in Zapata. This area has ideal feeding conditions for many waterbirds (flamingos, egrets, ducks, shorebirds), which come to feast on the fishes, crustaceans, and other invertebrates.

Day 6. After breakfast birding in the area, and after lunch drive back to Havana. where participants will be lodged in a hotel or in a comfortable private house (“casa Particular”), depending on the client’s preference.

Day 7. Departure and transfer to the airport.