Day 7 Tuesday, January 15: Soroa

	Bird of the Day: Bee Hummingbird

casa particular in Soroa


The sun rose quietly over the Bay of Pigs. Cuban blackbirds gathered in a tree in front of El Chino's.



We returned to the farm where several spectacular "Canadian" birds greeted us. This spring they will be back at home with us.

We referenced our bird book for woodpeckers’ ID.



We were pleased to see a large Great Lizard Cuckoo.



Before lunch we returned to the backyard with the hummingbirds. Today was the day we would have good sightings of both the male and female Bee Hummingbird. The male is the smallest bird in the world. Bill got an interesting shot of a Cuban Emerald attacking a Bee Hummingbird. We reflected that in other countries hummingbird feeders attract these sprightly little birds, but in Cuba we had to find them in their natural environment.



We thanked the family for welcoming us into their backyard with children playing, laundry drying, pigs nosing around and plants all about.



We went for a windy swim - nice cool water.



Today Pedro made a delicious vegetable soup to accompany our ham and cheese sandwiches. We bid farewell to El Chino's brothers.



After lunch’ a magnificent Common Black Hawk flew over as we were packing into El Chino's car for our next adventure - a trip to Soroa. We made a quick stop at El Chino's daughter’s home (mother of Lisa). We passed the local school.



Our second hawk of the day flew over, a Red-tailed Hawk. We made a few birding stops during our trip.



A long drive took us past Havana and up into the hills at Sorora. We quickly settled into our casa on a hill. The garden flowers were stunning.



Soon it was supper time. For dinner, Hilda and Barbara wore the Cuban necklaces El Chino had given them. We enjoyed a fine dinner with local red wine in a beautiful location.

Birds seen January 15, 2013
*new birds bolded

Bird of the Day: Bee Hummingbird

1. Zenaida Dove
2. American Kestrel
3. Great Lizard Cuckoo
4. Northern Parula
5. Cuban Bullfinch
6. Blue-gray Gnatcatcher
7. Northern Mockingbird
8. Loggerhead Kingbird
9. Yellow-faced Grassquit
10. West Indian Woodpecker
11. Fernandina's Flicker - lifer#40
12. Cuban Blackbird
13. Cuban Parrot
14. Turkey Vulture
15. Cattle Egret
16. Palm Warbler
17. Greater Antillean Grackle
18. Tawny-shouldered Blackbird
19. Cuban Trogon
20. Cuban Pewee
21. Black and White Warbler
22. Yellow-headed Warbler - lifer#41
23. Prairie Warbler
24. Cuban Vireo
25. La Sagra’s Flycatcher
26. Gray Catbird
27. Common Ground Dove
28. Great Egret
29. Green Heron
30. Northern Jacana
31. Purple Gallinule
32. Common Moorhen
33. Killdeer
34. Little Blue Heron
35. Smooth-billed Ani
36. Cuban Emerald
37. Bee Hummingbird
38. American Redstart
39. Black-throated Blue Warbler
40. Common Black Hawk
41. Red-tailed Hawk
42. Cape May Warbler
43. Tennessee Warbler
44. Yellow-bellied Sapsucker
45. Mourning Dove
46. Snail Kite
47. Lesser Scaup

Trip Total: 115