Puerto Rico - Saturday 17th September, La Parguera

The hotel itself is brightly coloured and well maintained:



The combination of the colours leads to some interesting effects in the room, through the slatted windows:



Saturday had dawned bright and sunny. Our first destination, just under 10 miles from the hotel, was Guanica Dry Forest. Thankfully for once the sat nav issue helped us. Although we were steered to a dead-end it turned out to be a very productive road so we ended up dallying there to spot and photograph the local birds.

All along the shore here are a series of tidal pools, and it must have been high tide. The pools were full of water and the combination of mud and water had attracted numerous waders, the first is a Willet, stretching in the morning sun:

Western Sandpiper:

Short-billed Dowitcher:

Joined by a Semipalmated Sandpiper:

Our next sighting was completely unexpected, a Limpkin:

Unexpected because the field guide published in 1989 suspected that the species had been locally extirpated by hunters and therefore we had no expectation of seeing this species in Puerto Rico. Not only that but they are crepuscular and typically only active at night!

Imagine our surprise then when we spotted therefore a fledgling Limkpin too:

Another surprise was seeing a Clapper Rail out in the 'open':

Further along, Black-necked Stilts:

As well as the waders a number of other birds were in the bushes and trees along the road, including a Yellow Warbler:

What I believe to be a juvenile Grey Kingbird:

The tiny Common Ground Dove:

A female Antillean Mango:

And nearby a male of the same species:

For me though the bird of the morning was the Adelaide's Warbler we followed:

It's another endemic species to Puerto Rico and a delight to see and indeed to photograph:

We headed back to the hotel, out of La Parguera using the route we'd entered via the previous evening, reset the sat nav and headed to Guanica.