White Ibis

 

So, in the afternoon, if there is no wind for the Hobiecats, I like to hike along the Cayo Coco beach about 3km to a deserted area I love to bird at low tide called Las Coloracas. On this particular day I observed a Spoonbill standing on a log amongst the mangroves. I immediately started shooting. The bird eventually lifted and flew behind some mangroves. I was intent on getting some flight shots of a Spoonbill and was intently shooting as it came out the other side from behind the mangroves. As I was glued to the viewfinder it took me a minute to realize that I was now shooting a White Ibis. The Spoonbill had perched behind the mangrove but flushed an Ibis. All totalled there were 6 White Ibis amongst the mangroves that afternoon.

We have been able to observe 6 type of Ibis, White, White-faced, Glossy, Sacred, Scarlet, and Hadada. However there are 29 species of Ibis!

White Ibises gather in groups in shallow wetlands and estuaries in the southeastern United States. At each step, their bright red legs move through the water and their curved red bill probes the muddy surface below. As adults, these striking wading birds are all white save for their black wingtips. White Ibises nest in colonies in trees and shrubs along the water's edge, changing locations nearly every year.

Male White Ibises are super protective. They guard the nest and their female to prevent other ibises from stealing sticks from the nest and from advances of other males during nest building and egg laying.

When baby White Ibises hatch their bills are straight. Their bills don't start to curve downward until they are 14 days old.

Female White Ibises are smaller than males, weighing nearly 10 ounces less on average with a smaller bill and shorter wings.

The oldest recorded White Ibis was at least 16 years, 4 months old when it was found in Florida in 1972. It was banded in Alabama in 1956. Cornell All About Birds

Greater Antillean Grackle

 

Although we have observed Greater Antillean Grackle throughout the Greater Antilles before I have actually very seldom photographed them. I guess just because they seem everywhere.

A gregarious, noisy inhabitant of many habitats, the Greater Antillean Grackle is often near human habitation. Adults are clothed in glossy black, have a white eye, very long keel-shaped tail; youngsters are dull brownish in plumage, darker eyed and have a shorter tail. Only the Smooth-billed Ani is similar in color, size, and proportions, but its beak is much heftier than that of the Greater Antillean Grackle. Cuban Blackbird shares color and size, but has a shorter tail without a keel, and a dark eye. eBird

Smooth-billed Ani

 

The Smooth-billed Ani is a glossy black cuckoo with an oversized bill. Almost always seen in groups, these birds traipse through tangled, shrubby habitats in the tropics of South America and the Caribbean. They eat insects and lizards as well as fruit, especially during the dry season. Groups do almost everything together, with females laying all their eggs in a single communal nest tended by all group members.

In their Caribbean and Central/South American range, Smooth-billed Anis are relatively common in wet, shrubby or thorny habitat. Look for them early in the morning, when they are most conspicuous and vocal.

Smooth-billed Anis look rather like large songbirds, but they are in a different taxonomic order. They are related to cuckoos and roadrunners. One distinguishing feature of this group is their feet, which are "zygodactyl"—with two toes pointing forward and two pointing backward.

Smooth-billed Anis often forage in vine tangles, thorn trees, bamboo, and reeds, using their outsized upper mandible to knock leaves out of the way as they keep their eyes trained on their prey. Cornell All About Birds

West Indian Whistling Duck

 

The West Indian Whistling Duck can be found on most small lagoons and at the sewage lagoons on Cayo Coco. It is crazy cool to hear them calling in the early hours. They are a distinctive large waterbird between the size of a large duck and a goose.

They are nocturnal and roost during day in mangroves, wooded ponds and marshes and feeds primarily at night. Generally scarce and typically somewhat secretive. eBird

The West Indian Whistling Duck is a whistling duck that breeds in the Caribbean. Alternative names are Black-billed Whistling Duck and Cuban Whistling Duck.

Tri-coloured Heron

 

The Tri-coloured Heron is a colorful heron with a mix of blue-gray, lavender, and white. Unlike other dark herons, they have a white belly. Breeding birds have small white plumes extending from the back of the head, a bright blue patch of skin around the bill, and pink legs. Nonbreeding birds lack the flourishes of breeding birds and have yellowish legs. Juveniles have a rusty neck and rusty edged feathers.

These herons could be observed at low tide along the coast of Cuba.

Tri-coloured Herons are found in coastal estuaries, saltmarshes, mangroves, and lagoons during the breeding season. Outside of the breeding season they use coastal areas as well as freshwater marshes, lake edges, canals, and ditches. Cornell All About Birds

White-cheeked Pintail

 

The White-cheeked Pintail is a very distinctive duck with its white cheeks, throat, and tail contrasting with its brown body. The bill is dark with red sides at the base. In flight shows pale brown and green patches on the wings. Both sexes similar. Found in both fresh and saline wetlands. eBird

We had observed White-cheeked Pintail on other Caribbean Islands however our guide was extremely excited this year as they seemed to be everywhere in Cuba. He described it as the absolutely best year ever for White-cheeked Pintail.

Red-legged Thrush

 

The Red-legged Thrush is a ground-dwelling species that occurs in a wide variety of habitats from brush and gardens to dense woods. Appearance is highly variable across its range but throughout is unique in its blue-tinged gray plumage combined with bright orange-red legs and eyering.

The Red-legged Thrush feeds on ground insects and fruits on trees.

Although it is a very common bird to observe almost anywhere on Cuba and is a regular on most ebird checklists I still find it an attractive bird in the early morning light.

Giant Kingbird

 

The Giant Kingbird is a large flycatcher typically found singly or in pairs hunting from upper branches in wooded areas. It is grayish above and whitish below with a blackish crown and face. It also has a massive bill with a distinct hooked tip.

The Giant Kingbird is an endemic species to Cuba that feeds on large insects, lizards, and small nesting birds.

Cuban Emerald

 

Of the three 3 hummingbird species that have been seen in Cuba, two are native. They are the Cuban Emerald and the Bee Hummingbird, both of which we have been fortunate to observe and photograph. Of these two, the Cuban Emerald is the most abundant and widespread. The Cuban Emerald is easily found all around the resort areas, usually visiting the flowering trees and shrubs.

The above image is a female Cuban Emerald. Green above with gray underparts.

The male Cuban Emerald is an entirely vibrant green with bronze and dark blue iridescence.

The third species is the Ruby-throated Hummingbird, a bird we have also observed in Cuba. They are a migrant, that nests throughout the eastern areas of the North American continent.

Crested Caracara

 

The local sewage lagoons on Cayo Coco provide excellent opportunities to observe and photograph Least Grebes, Whistling Ducks, Black-Necked Stilts and an assortment of other shorebirds. However, on this day as I was busy trying to get images of American Avocets, a Crested Caracara came flying across the lagoon.

Crested Caracara are fairly common on Cuba and I have photographed many perched or on the ground, however this was the first time I have been able to get an image of one in flight.