Cayo Coco, Cuba

In January 2020, we were fortunate to vacation in Cayo Coco, Cuba. We stayed at the Melia Jardines Del Rey. Beautiful resort, good food, great staff and wonderful beach. It was our first time spending two weeks in one location.

It being our first time birding in Cuba, we decided to hire a local bird guide. We chose to go with Paulino Lopez Delgado. We were not disappointed. Paulino is EXCELLENT! We booked a 1/2 day and a full day. The half day was spent on Cayo Coco, and the full day on the mainland. Paulino picks you up at your hotel in his 1955 Chevy Belair and give you a guided tour. His English is very good and he is very informative about the flora, fauna and Cuban culture.

On most other days, we would explore the resort grounds and surrounding roads. This produced many different species. Met a fellow birder from Quebec Jean-Claude Juillet. Went out a few times with him, and found a Cuban Tody on one visit to the old abandoned airport. Its former runway is incorporated in the road heading west connecting Cayo Coco with Cayo Guillermo, some runway markings and taxiways remain visible. The old airport terminal building is now part of “Parque Natural El Baga” (a national park and protected zone.)

Lise & Red-tailed Hawk

On our first day, a staff member was with his pet Hawk in hand. Made Lise's day. BTW - a couple of days later, it escaped, never to be seen again.

Great Blue Heron

Our guide spotted it, stopped the car, and asked us the type of bird it was. Thinking it was an egret, we were surprised to find out it was a Great Blue Heron - white morph.

Grand Slam

Four different species from the same family. Little Blue Heron, Tricolored Heron, White Ibis and a Roseate Spoonbill. Guess what the fifth bird is.

Cuban Endemics

Of the ~370 different bird species to have been recorded in Cuba, 28 are endemic. That is, these species are unique to Cuba and do not occur naturally anywhere else on the planet. We were fortunate to have seen 11. Here they are.

Birds not normally seen in Niagara

The birds at left are not normally seen in Niagara. Some have been recorded in Niagara or Ontario, some have never been seen in our area.

Birds also on vacation

The species, at left, are often seen in Niagara or Ontario.

Birds that were too fast to photo or just simply camera shy

American Coot
American Redstart
American Wigeon
Anhinga
Antillean Palm-Swift
Black-and-white Warbler
Black-crowned Night-Heron
Cave Swallow
Clapper Rail
Common Tern
Cuban Vireo

Greater Antillean Grackle
Greater Yellowlegs
Green-winged Teal
La Sagra's Flycatcher
Lesser Black-backed Gull
Lesser Yellowlegs
Limpkin
Louisiana Waterthrush
Magnolia Warbler
Mourning Dove
Neotropic Cormorant

Northern Jacana
Northern Parula
Ovenbird
Pied-billed Grebe
Plain Pigeon
Red-breasted Merganser
Ring-billed Gull
Short-billed Dowitcher
Western Spindalis
Yellow-crowned Night-Heron
Yellow-rumped Warbler