Puerto Rico: Killing three birds with one stone

My Biggest Year tour to Puerto Rico got off to a rocky start due to my delayed arrival. But the instability caused by the delay was easily handled by the experienced guiding skills of Julio Salgado, one of the premier birding talents on the island of Puerto Rico and owner of the local birding business called Puerto Rico Birding Trips. I had set up a 5-day tour designed to find all 18 of the islands endemic bird species as well as an equal number of Caribbean endemic species. Joining me on the tour were Cliff Hendrick and Dana Hiatt of Colorado, James Nealon of New Hampshire and Howard Youth of Washington DC. While these four all had return flights scheduled for 5 days later, I would stay on the island for an extra week in order to celebrate my 32nd wedding anniversary with my wife (Maribel would arrive Feb 1 at the end of the birding tour) and play in a baseball tournament (Men's Adult Baseball League 45+ division Feb 2-5). Birding and baseball have always been my two biggest hobbies. Birding keeps my brain sharp while baseball keeps me physically fit. 

Because of a mechanical issue on our Frontier Airlines flight from Orlando, Cliff and I missed the pickup at the airport at 1 pm on Jan 28. It was a minor inconvenience and we managed to join the group by nightfall at the Manatí Hyatt Place Hotel by spending about $600 on new flights and a costly hour-long Uber ride from the airport to Manati, PR. Upon our arrival, Julio delivered some great news.  None of the species seen that afternoon, including eight endemics, would be difficult to re-find along the route AND he received word that a pair of vagrant White-winged Terns had been discovered close to our route and had been seen throughout the day. Maybe they would still be present in Mayagüez at the west end of the island when we would be there in two day's time. I began the tour with 306 Biggest Year Birds. 

On Sunday January 29, stepping out the hotel door, we added two endemics, Puerto Rican Mango and Puerto Rican Spindalis, as well as Zenaida Dove, Scaly-naped Pigeon, Gray Kingbird, Red-legged Thrush and Bananaquit.  Our first destination was Cambalache State Forest. Here we added a bunch of endemics - Green Mango, Puerto Rican Lizard Cuckoo, Puerto Rican Owl, Puerto Rican Tody, Puerto Rican Woodpecker, Puerto Rican Flycatcher, Puerto Rican Vireo, Puerto Rican Oriole, Adelaide's Warbler and Puerto Rican Bullfinch- and more Caribbean endemics too - Key West Quail-Dove (heard only).  Before lunch we toured some farm ponds and added West Indian Whistling-Duck, White-cheeked Pintail, Loggerhead Kingbird, Shiny Cowbird, Yellow-faced Grassquit and Black-faced Grassquit. After lunch and a brief siesta, we picked up Sandwich Tern and Magnificent Frigatebird at the Port of Arecibo, A late afternoon visit to Rio Abajo State Forest scored two important endemics- Puerto Rican Emerald and the critically endangered Puerto Rican Parrot. Biggest Year List total = 344.

On Monday, January 30, we returned to Cambalache State Forest for a second unsuccessful attempt to see Key West Quail-Dove. Instead, we added an exotic species, White-winged Parakeet. En route to the west end of the island, we added Glossy Ibis, African Collared-Dove, and White-tailed Tropicbirds displaying at a nesting site. While lunching on empanadas, we added Cave Swallow, Pearly-eyed Thrasher, and Venezuelan Troupial. A quick stop at Mayaguez was sufficient to tick the Palearctic vagrant White-winged Tern. We found endangered Yellow-shouldered Blackbird at the Cabo Rojo National Wildlife Refuge salt flats. A visit to grassland habitat added Northern Red Bishop and Orange-cheeked Waxbill, two naturalized exotic species.  We ended the day with Caribbean Elaenia and another endemic species, Puerto Rican Nightjar, at Parguera, where we would stay for the last two nights of the tour. Biggest Year List total = 358.

On Tuesday, January 31, we visited the hills of southwestern Puerto Rico at the Maricao State Forest where we added our final two endemic species, Puerto Rican Tanager and Elfin-woods Warbler as well as Antillean Euphonia. Back in the coastal lowlands, we visited Boqueron National Wildlife Refuge, adding Limpkin and Lesser Antillean Pewee, We had a Brown Booby at our lunch spot, Alice's Restaurant. After a siesta, a visit to Laguna Cartagena NWR turned up tons of birds, including Least Grebes and Least Bitterns, but only Purple Gallinule was new for the list. Here we missed Masked Duck and Yellow-breasted Crake. Biggest Year List total = 367.

On Wednesday, Feb 1, we added Antillean Crested Hummingbird, Plain Pigeon and Green-throated Carib before ending the tour at the airport ar 11 am. Biggest Year List total = 370.

Over the next week, birding was secondary to baseball and anniversary activities, but I would manage to add several species including Solitary Sandpiper, Blue-and-yellow Macaw, Ruff, Wilson's Plover, Bridled Quail-Dove and Bronze Mannikin. Efforts to add Scarlet Ibis and American Flamingo were unsuccessful. I ended the visit to Puerto Rico on Feb 8. Biggest Year List total = 376.

More details about the birds seen in Puerto Rico, including photos and audio files, may be found at https://ebird.org/tripreport/108325.