Day 80: White-tailed Tropicbird

At the beginning of our trip, on the way from San Juan to Rincon in the west, we stopped at some cliffs along the northwest coast of Puerto Rico to look for White-tailed Tropicbirds. The cliffs offered a beautiful view of the ocean and tons of White-tailed Tropicbirds soaring back and forth (I also later saw a Humpback Whale in the distance). These beautiful white seabirds have a long tail that was evident even from afar. They were so graceful to watch that we stopped again on our way back to the airport at the end of our trip.

 

White-tailed Tropicbirds breed on Puerto Rico and other tropical islands by laying a single egg on a cliff ledge. We weren't able to see any nests, but did see many birds flying back and forth between the cliffs and the ocean.

Day 79: White-cheeked Pintail

White-cheeked Pintails are dabbling ducks found in the Caribbean, South America, and the Galapagos Islands. Though they are common in other areas, its estimated that there are only 1,000 birds in Puerto Rico. Jared and I saw several White-cheeked Pintails on our trip and were fortunate to see two up close, which was very cool.

White-cheeked Pintails are brown with bright white cheeks, which are unmistakable. They feed on seeds, algae leaves, and other aquatic plants.

Day 78: Puerto Rican Tody

Today's bird, the Puerto Rican Tody, is one of the cutest birds I have ever seen! This tiny bird is endemic to the island of Puerto Rico, so we were really excited to see it (though it was pretty plentiful).

The Puerto Rican Tody has bright green feathers with a white belly and red throat. It's only 11 cm in length and weighs 5 or 6 grams. Evidently, males and females can be distinguished by the coloration of their eyes; males have gray eyes and females have white eyes.

When we were out hiking, these little birds were fairly hard to spot (they blended in well with the surrounding green), but we always knew when one was around by its loud nasal chirp. They are insectivores and will eat a number of kinds of insects, as well as spiders and lizards.

Day 77: Venezuelan Troupial

The Venezuelan Troupial is a beautiful type of oriole that can be found in Puerto Rico. Jared and I both really wanted to see one, and were lucky to see many throughout the duration of our trip. Often we would see several flying around together, making a racket.

It's hard not to notice the Venezuelan Troupial, with its striking orange and black plumage. They are fairly large birds and their eyes are bright yellow with a patch of blue skin surrounding each one.
The Venezuelan Troupial can be found throughout South America and several Caribbean islands.

Day 76: Greater Antillean Grackle

The Greater Antillean Grackle is a plentiful bird in Puerto Rico; we probably saw more grackles than anything else. These glossy black birds are smaller than species of grackles in the U.S., so we thought they were pretty cute.

The Greater Antillean Grackle is found throughout the Greater Antilles, the Cayman Islands, and other islands in the Caribbean, including Puerto Rico. There are seven subspecies, each restricted to one island or island group.

Day 75: American Flamingo

Well, we're back from Puerto Rico, and I have to say, it was really wonderful! I took so many photos and can't wait to show you the beautiful birds. The next few weeks I'll mostly be covering birds that we saw on the trip.

On our way to the airport in San Juan yesterday, we made one last stop to look for a bird that Jared was really hoping to see: an American Flamingo. American Flamingos are known to breed in the Galapagos islands, parts of South and Central America, and certain islands in the Caribbean. They don't breed in Puerto Rico, however, and any flamingos spotted there wandered from other islands.

Jared knew that there had been an American Flamingo spotted in Puerto Rico back in February, so we decided to look for it. To our great excitement, we found it easily and were able to get some good photos! It seemed to be taking a nap and mostly had its head down, but it did peak up once or twice.

Day 74: American Coot

Hello from Puerto Rico, day 5! We're headed back today, so I should be posting more starting tomorrow.

Today's bird is the American Coot.