An Epidemic of Endemics

By now the staff here at the La Playita Hotel seem have got the gist of me and left this 'lifer' close to the toaster this morning before I left - I'll be back!

Again the other tourists were hard at it

early morning,

and luckily so was a lone
ROYAL TERN

Breakfast over, it was time to go but not before once again hearing the story of this little brown bird which occasionally visits the restaurant and happily feeds from the hand. The descriptions had been very precise but I had already eliminated the obvious before, down it came, manifesting itself as our very own

 
HOUSE SPARROW
 

It is 40 minutes by road to the El Yunque Rain Forest National Reserve where a hotel, the very welcoming and comfortable La Yunque Mar, had already been booked for me

 
 by my guide for the day, the extremely competent
HILDA MORALES
Owner of
 http://adventourspr.com/who.html
Tele:- (787) 530-8311
 An excellent 'birder' and naturalist Hilda wasted no time at all
getting us to the
 
and what a place, wall to wall 'Virgin Forest'.

Within a matter of seconds Hilda was reporting 'calling' from a

PUERTO RICAN TODY

which paid us such a brief visit this was the best I could do

to secure my own image.

 On the strength of that, we once again lead on Wiki to show you
the true beauty of this tiny gem. Next, and equally briefly, came

PUERTO RICAN SQUIRREL-CUCKOO
and again a visit to Wiki, but that was 2 'endemics'
in as many minutes, Hilda was going to have to 'buck up'
or I'd be looking for a rebate!

Only a GIANT MILLIPEDE wielding
RED-LEGGED THRUSH
got between us and the next 'goodie' a potential 'split'
to 'endemic' status

 
BLACK-COWLED ORIOLE
which will lie dormant until the 'arm-chair tick'!

During the day we saw no fewer than c5
PUERTO RICAN WOODPECKERs,

which was a 'lifer' yesterday, but none hanging about. Wiki again. It should be said that best efforts will be made to redress the lack of self shot images?

Now, if you consider this a 'photograph' then we are making some head-way already

but perched in 'the gods' we never were going to secure 

a decent shot of the next 'endemic'  

GREEN MANGO (Hummingbird)

As a kamikaze SCALY-NECKED PIGEON tried to distract us

we busily strived to get at least one decent shot of one 'endemic'.

This PUERTO RICAN SPINDALIS
(lately PR Striped-headed Tanager)
 
was more than obliging, just one of several seen.

Much more mobile, consequently no easier to photograph,

 
PUERTO RICAN EMERALD
soon joined the World List as did

PUERTO RICAN BULLFINCH
we had now been in La Yunque 2 and a half hours!

COCONUT BLOSSOM

SKIPPER Sp

then another 'endemic'
PUERTO RICAN TANAGER
a little more obliging for Hilda than me.

FOREST SNAILs
were everywhere and by then so were more

 
PUERTO RICAN EMERALD

The TOWER is just what it says 'on the tin'.

BLACK-WHISKERED VIREO
were everywhere, but this was the only one seen,
all others were recorded as a consequence of their very
distinctive song.

The final 'endemic' of the day wasn't a bird at all but this
PUERTO RICAN RINGLET

 
RED-LEGGED THRUSH

another BUTTERFLY

and more

Black-cowled Orioles.

Your daily LIZARD

and this Green Barked Eucalyptus

which the image doesn't show off at all well.
A MASSIVE THANK YOU to Hilda
for her great skill, field-craft and wonderful
personality. CHEERS!

Rio Grande - Trad. Sea Shanty

O say was you ever in Rio Grande?
Way, you Rio
It's there that the river runs down golden sand
For we're bound to the Rio Grande

And away, boys, away
Way, you Rio
Sing fare you well my pretty young girls
For we're bound to the Rio Grande

As can be seen from the Puerto Rican flag flying, atop the hotel,
it was a little 'fresh' this morning with more than a 'chance' of rain.

The River Grande is no more than a 30 minute walk from the hotel,
so with prospects of a few things en route it was off for another adventure.

Long before the foreshore, on the football pitch in fact this
GREEN IGUANA
had decided to dig a nest hole.

Talking of such things, the Turtles (5 species) are also arriving for their annual 'sand excavation' but thus far all I've managed is the occasional 'bill' peeking from the surf.

One of the local OSPREY had already secured its breakfast,

but unfortunately the Caribbean Martins were flying a much greater

altitude so no photos. A little patience should have them in the bag

before too long?

At the beach/river estuary there were a good number of Waders in evidence, about 200 at a first guess, mostly SEMIPALMATED PLOVER. These would need much closer inspection.

SEMIPALMATED PLOVER

ah, and something else.

One of c3

SANDERLING

Then there were half a dozen, unusually, none too trusting

TURNSTONE

Just a single
SNOWY EGRET

before things got decidedly better!

 

 

WILSON'S PLOVER

 

More and closer
SEMIPALMATED PLOVER (again)

WILSON'S PLOVER (lest we forget)

and then, from nowhere, a PEEP arrived.

mingling with the Semi-P's

LEAST SANDPIPER

OK, not a massive amount of action, but certainly a site

that will stand another visit.

On the way back the CARIBBEAN MARTINs

were getting a little closer to earth, I'll keep my eye on them.

In the meantime the MOON is riding high.

SUPPER'S READY!