Bird Watching

I think vultures really get a bad rap -- striking in both size and appearance, they are interesting to watch as they spread their 6 ft. wingspan in the morning sun.


And, they are EVERYWHERE here -- not sure what it is about Cuba, but apparently vultures really feel at home here.

I believe they are particularly attracted to the hutia (or banana rat) population.

Since Vince and I are nature geeks (we are interested in birds, fish, rocks, shells, trees, etc., so we will be commenting on all of these and more in this blog), we have really enjoyed capturing on film the various species here at GTMO.

Especially the ones that can really only be seen in Cuba or the West Indies.



For example, the Cuban grassquit is below. (Sorry about the screen interference.) These cute little birds with the bright yellow collar are under 5 inches in length. They love to sip at the hummingbird feeder.


And, the Cuban emerald hummingbirds are here year-round. We can watch them at our front window all day long. Even if we go outside right next to the feeder, they aren't too worried about our presence. You can hear the "hum" of their wings very clearly as they swoop around the feeder. One particular species, the bee hummingbird, is native to Cuba and is the smallest bird in the world -- only about 2 inches in length. Haven't seen it yet, but we're keeping our eyes open for that one.



Snowy egrets can be seen just walking along the roadside.



And this West Indian woodpecker loves to attach himself to the front of our villa -- probably because the windows have a reflective coating on them.


Besides the bee hummingbird, I'm on the lookout for: a flamingo, a parrot, and a Cuban tody -- a small, multi-colored bird. I think I'll keep my camera handy!