Author Archives: Tara

Puerto Rican Tody (Todus mexicanus)

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The Puerto Rican Tody (Todus mexicanus) is a bird native to the island of Puerto Rico. Despite its scientific name, the Puerto Rican Tody is endemic to the island and is locally known as “San Pedrito” (“Little Saint Peter”).

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Puerto Rican Todies are endemic to the island of Puerto Rico.  I saw this little cutie at El Yunque National Forest.

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LEARN MORE ABOUT PUERTO RICAN TODIES

Wikipedia

Birdlife

Neotropical Birds

VIDEOS

A group of birders found this one at El Yunque.

Although the narration is in Spanish there is some excellent footage of the bird eating bugs and feeding his young.

Misadventures In El Yunque Rainforest

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The El Yunque National Forest is one of Puerto Rico’s biggest drawcards for both birders and normal tourists alike.  At one time, it was the only place to find the Puerto Rican Amazon but they have now been expanded to Rio Abajo Forest as well.  It’s an easy 45 minute drive from the Intercontinental Hotel where we stayed the night and also to the airport.  This would be our last excursion before flying to Orlando.

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A few scenes on the way

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Beautiful Puerto Rican Parrot statue!DSCN4568

Wait, what’s that?DSCN4572

A beautiful parrot mural!  That sign is very ill-placed though.DSCN4573

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So now we have entered the park and trying to decide where to go first.  Another tourist we passed said there was a nice lookout just up the road so decided to take their advice.DSCN4575 DSCN4576 DSCN4577 DSCN4578 DSCN4580

Still heading towards the lookout, there were some shops I thought we would check out on the way back.DSCN4582 DSCN4583 DSCN4584

Now we are parked at the lookout and almost immediately I was hearing birdsong.DSCN4587

And found this cute little Puerto Rican Tody!DSCN4588

After the tody flew off, we wandered around looking for more birds.DSCN4589

Another tourist called my attention to the banged up hubcap and ding above it.DSCN4591 DSCN4592

This was NOT good!  I started freaking out, even though we had paid for the full CDW insurance.  I have no idea when and where that happened.DSCN4593 DSCN4594

I was worried there might be dramas so we decided to leave El Yunque early and head back to return the car.  I showed it to the returns officer and also showed my rental agreement with the CDW included.  Thankfully, he said it was OK and covered by he insurance!  So lesson learned – always make sure your rental car is insured!

Sadly this meant our trip to El Yunque was cut short…………..maybe a reason to go back someday?

IHG Pointbreaks List Through 30 April

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For the eco-tourist, there are a few good options in Central America but otherwise not a terrible inspiring list.  Loyalty Traveler has the whole list and Points with a Crew has a map of the properties.  The ones that jump out at me are as follows:

Intercontinental Maracaibo – I know Venezuela is not in a good position now for tourism but this hotel is in an area close to good birding and I am dying to go there.  But make sure they have toilet paper!

Crowne Plaza San Jose Corobici – Good for an early flight out but PLEASE don’t spend your whole time in Costa Rica in the city just because there’s a good deal.  Costa Rica has so much more to offer!

Intercontinental Santo Domingo – Lots of good birding in the Dominican Republic and this looks like a really nice hotel.  Just need to get up early and drive out to the birding hotspots.

Holiday Inn Panama Canal – Well positioned north of the city on the road towards Soberania National Park, an easy morning drive.

Hotel Review: Intercontinental San Juan

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This would be our last night in the Caribbean after the most amazing birding adventure ever, the next day we would be off to mainland USA to see family.  I wanted something special, preferably free on hotel points – and I got exactly what I wanted.  Intercontinental San Juan was a spectacular finale to our epic trip and even came with some surprise birding but you’ll have to read the whole review first.

It was raining as we finally arrived at the hotel after a long and busy day so I wasn’t thrilled with the self-parking being across the street.

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The lobby is beautiful and elegant and the check in staff were very friendly and helpful.DSCN4516 DSCN4517

The room was large and very clean with nice amenities in the bathroom.  The wifi worked brilliantly as well.DSCN4518 DSCN4519

Maybe the carpet is old-fashioned but the beds were very comfortable.DSCN4520

And the view was awesome of the pool and the sea just beyond.DSCN4521 DSCN4522 DSCN4523 DSCN4524

Speaking of the pool, I knew where we were heading to relax and rejuvenate!  The small pool in front is a jacuzzi and some of the jets were very good back massagers!DSCN4525 DSCN4526

There are several restaurants, this one overlooks the beach.DSCN4528 DSCN4529 DSCN4530 DSCN4531 DSCN4532 DSCN4538

After sunset, we could see the city lights down the road.DSCN4539 DSCN4540

As I was walking back to the hotel, I could hear the distinctive and iconic Coqui frogs.  I searched in vain, never got to see one, even enlisted a few hotel staff but they couldn’t find one either.  This is what they look and sound like.

The next morning, I went back to the beach area and heard a familiar sounding squawk.  I looked up in the palm trees and lo and behold – a family of Quaker Parrots in a huge nest!DSCN4550 DSCN4551 DSCN4553 DSCN4552 DSCN4561

The perfect way to say goodbye to our Caribbean adventure!

These rooms usually go for $160-200 or 50,000 IHG Rewards but I used my annual Chase certificate so for a $49 annual fee, I got an amazing deal and we loved the hotel and would go back anytime we were in Puerto Rico.

Old San Juan For Tired & Lazy Birders

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I’m going to preface this with the fact that we had the right to be tired and lazy since we got maybe 2 hours of sleep the night before due to late Liat and an early morning start to see Puerto Rican Amazon parrots.

IMG_8386So by the time we left Rio Abajo we were starving and stopped at the first shopping centre we found for the food court and also to try to find a prepaid SIM card that would work in the mainland USA as well.  This mall did the trick and we ended up hanging around until T-24 to do online check-in for Southwest and got A46 and A48 boarding positions.

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We were fading fast and decided just to drive around the old town and see as much of the fort and local area as possible from the car.  So fasten your seatbelts and enjoy the ride with us!  Don’t mind that I got lost until spotting a sign for old San Juan!DSCN4428 DSCN4430 DSCN4431

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The old town has some lovely old Spanish style buildings.DSCN4439 DSCN4441 DSCN4443 DSCN4444 DSCN4445 DSCN4446

The traffic was pretty bad and everyone was jockeying for parking so we had to circle around Castillo San Felipe del Morro a few times with angry motorists honking behind us.  I was trying to shoot photos out the window as much as possible.DSCN4448 DSCN4449 DSCN4450 DSCN4451 DSCN4452 DSCN4453 DSCN4455 DSCN4457 DSCN4458 DSCN4460 DSCN4462

I got closer on the second try.DSCN4470

Where did these people park?DSCN4464 DSCN4465 DSCN4466 DSCN4467

One last try.DSCN4468 DSCN4469

Cute trolley.DSCN4471 DSCN4472 DSCN4473 DSCN4474 DSCN4475

 

OK I give up, let’s just drive around the shopping area.  It was pretty crowded, might have been a cruise ship in town.  Maybe that’s how those people got there, shuttles from the ships.DSCN4479 DSCN4481 DSCN4482

The shopping area was pretty cool – cobblestone streets, interesting artwork and colourful buildings.DSCN4483 DSCN4487 DSCN4488 DSCN4489 DSCN4490 DSCN4491 DSCN4492 DSCN4493 DSCN4494 DSCN4498 DSCN4499

I do love a pina colada!DSCN4500 DSCN4503 DSCN4504 DSCN4505Wait, parrots have their own club?  We would have stopped in if we could find parking. DSCN4506 DSCN4507 DSCN4508 DSCN4509 DSCN4510 DSCN4511 DSCN4512

So that’s it, by this time we realized we were not going to find parking and were exhausted so time to go to the Intercontinental and relax!

 

Puerto Rican Amazon (Amazona vittata)

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The Puerto Rican Amazon (Amazona vittata), also known as the Puerto Rican Parrot or Iguaca, is the only bird endemic to the archipelago of Puerto Rico belonging to the Neotropical genus Amazona.

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Although they once could be found throughout Puerto Rico, they are now confined to two main areas – Rio Abajo Forest and El Yunque (green highlights).  I saw these parrots just outside the gate of Rio Abajo Aviary (I was there because I had an appointment).  With less than 100 in the wild (not including breeding population), I was especially honoured to see them!

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LEARN MORE ABOUT PUERTO RICAN PARROTS

Wikipedia

World Parrot Trust

Birdlife

Parrots International

Parrots Daily News

VIDEOS

These are very informative about the breeding projects to save this critically endangered bird and repopulate the species.

 

Rio Abajo Forest, Puerto Rico

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Rio Abajo Forest is one of the Caribbean’s top birding hotspots due to the Puerto Rican Parrots.  It’s a huge forest with many hiking trails and if you had the time and energy you could spend a day or two here.  But I was not only limited by time, I was exhausted and running on empty due to lack of sleep, so all I wanted to so was find the parrots.  I had been in contact with Ricardo Valentin prior to our visit and he was going to show us around the aviary and breeding project but when we arrived at the gate, we couldn’t find anyone around.

Road leading to Rio Abajo.

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First gate, we just went through as we had an appointment.  There was no one around anyway.DSCN4417

This is the 2nd gate which is outside the breeding project.  We parked here and waited for someone to approach us.  We were early so thought maybe they didn’t show up until 9am which was when our appointment was.DSCN4409 DSCN4412

I tried the call box but no one answered.

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Signage about the aviary.DSCN4410 DSCN4411

A jogger did eventually show up and said his brother worked there.  He called out to his brother but no one answered so he left.  We waited while the trees cam alive around us.DSCN4413

They blend in quite well but this time (as opposed to other islands we had visited) we were close enough to see the parrots frolicking in the trees.IMG_8352 IMG_8355 IMG_8356 IMG_8362 IMG_8369 IMG_8377 IMG_8380 IMG_8382 IMG_8386 IMG_8392 IMG_8394 IMG_8402 IMG_8405 IMG_8406 IMG_8413 IMG_8415 IMG_8420 IMG_8457 IMG_8468

We actually had a good quality visit with the parrots as they hung around the area for awhile foraging in the branches.  They took off around 10am.  No humans ever showed up so at that point, we were starving and left to go forage for ourselves.  I later found out via email that Mr Valentin had taken ill and didn’t work that day.

Hotel Review: San Miguel Plaza, Puerto Rico

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This may hold the record for the shortest (legit) hotel stay ever!  Due to Liat’s late arrival, then the formalities of entering the USA at SJU, getting the rental car, then trying to navigate to the prepaid hotel.  Of course I got lost a few times and had to stop for directions a few times so it was around 2am when we finally checked in to the San Miguel Plaza Hotel in Bayamon, Puerto Rico.  Why did I choose this out of the way place?  Mostly because we needed to get to Rio Abajo early to see the Puerto Rican Parrots and I wanted to avoid driving in traffic.

There’s secure parking under the building.  I always like a red rental car as they are easier to spot in parking lots.

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The room was fine, typical budget room, fine for a night but not for a whole holiday.DSCN4402

View from the room.DSCN4405

Breakfast is included.DSCN4406

Here is the location, which is why I chose this place (out of all the hotels that I could use my Expedia goodwill voucher on).  The yellow blob on the right is San Juan – old city and beach area.  The hotel is indicated in the middle.  The pink circle on the left is where we needed to go to see the parrots at Rio Abajo.  This put us well out of incoming city traffic the next morning.

San Miguel Plaza

We were up very early, I think I got 2 hours of sleep that night but I wasn’t expecting Liat to be THAT late!  Thank God it was the last time we had to fly them!  The hotel was fine for the location but on a future visit, I think we would choose to be near the beach just to the north of Rio Abajo.

World Parrot Trust Announces 2017 Parrot Lovers Cruise

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This year, the annual Parrot Lovers Cruise will be on the beautful Princess ship “Caribbean Princess” departing from Fort Lauderdale and cruising to Princess Cay, Cartagena Colombia, partial transit of the Panama Canal with stop in Colon; Limon, Costa Rica and Georgetown, Cayman Islands!

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They have some wonderful excursions planned including a special trip to the Ara Project site in Manzanillo, Costa Rica!

There are some discounts going on through the end of Feb.

Please Note:

  • Prices are subject to change and availability.
  • Prices are valid while availability lasts.
  • Prices are per person based on double occupancy. Single and 3rd person in room rates are listed above.
  • Prices quoted include a donation to World Parrot Trust
  • Bookings must be made through Carol Cipriano in order for passengers to be able to participate in the Parrot Lovers Cruise group activities and seminars

Carol Cipriano

Carols Travel Time

carolstraveltime@gmail.com

510-200-5665

  • Other accommodations are available such as Junior Suites, Suites, or Obstructed View Staterooms. Call Carol for availability.
  • Transfers are available for $19 per way per person from airport to cruiseport and back 
  • Paid gratuities and travel insurance can be added to your booking. Call Carol for details

 

Birding The Lesser Antilles

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Before I move on to the final chapter of the Caribbean birding adventure, let’s have a look at the Lesser Antilles from the perspective of an organized birding tour that went to 9 islands.  Rigdon Currie has a wonderful channel on Youtube for birders and I always enjoy seeing how other people experience the same birding locations.  You get a better perspective of the parrot outlooks and how difficult it is to spot the parrots as they zoom past.

Last but not least, Puerto Rico coming up next!