Ladies and Gents, I was in Cuba last week for a workshop on the conservation biology of the Cuban crocodile. It was great, except for a 7-hour nighttime ordeal in an open boat, during heavy rain (2 inches/hour; I threw away my shoes, socks, jeans, and wallet afterward), in a futile attempt to find crocs by spotlight on Laguna del Tesoro, during which time I learned what it's like to have mosquito bites on one's lips.
Anyway - I did some birding. Several of us in the workshop really wanted to see a bee hummingbird. One of the local croc biologists knew of a place where they regularly occurred at a certain time, so for the cost of a bottle of rum, he took us there. We never saw a bee hummingbird. But, he took us to a particular dead tree he knew about and scratched on the bark. A Cuban screech-owl peered out with a "what the [expletive] do you want?" look on its face. Endemic #1. He then took us to another tree with which he was obviously familiar. He pointed up, and right there was a Cuban pygmy-owl, giving us a similar look of indignation. Endemic #2. On the way back to the truck, he pointed into a bush where a gray-headed quail-dove was trying its best to be invisible. (It was doing a very good job of it, too.) Endemic #3. A total of 8 minutes had elapsed. Even the Cuban biologist was surprised to find a Fernandina's flicker perched on a fence post near the truck. Endemic #4. That we never saw the bee hummingbird didn't bother us in the least. (At least not much.) There were several Cuban emeralds flying around, and they're quite beautiful. And, it gives me another reason (beyond the continuing Cuban croc project) to go back. And the rum isn't bad, either. chris --- Please contribute your sightings to our list; it is only as good as members make it! --- Birding channel recommendation for FRS/GMRS radio use: Primary selection; channel 5/0 , alternate selection; channel 6/0 --- This mailing list is sponsored by the Iowa Ornithologists' Union. Membership available on-line at http://www.iowabirds.org/iou/membership.asp. ----- You are currently subscribed to ia-bird as: [email protected]
