Gavin Bieber on his just-completed tour, Puerto Rico
Puerto Rico is a gem of an island, known for its excellent weather, perfect Caribbean beaches, and fine local seafood. it's also an excellent island for the visiting naturalist and over the course of our five days we encountered 16 of the 17 island endemics (plus two more that will surely be split soon) including the dazzling Puerto Rican Woodpecker, jewel-like Puerto Rican Tody ("bird of the trip" for the 8th straight year) and the perky little Adelaide’s Warbler. Our attention also wandered to the admittedly more drab Caribbean Elaenia, showy species of butterflies like the splendid Malachite, and to several species of sprightly lizards. The long-staying lone American Flamingo, dubbed “Mr. Pinky” showed well for us again this year, and we found some truly scarce species such as Masked Duck, Limpkin and American Avocet among some 126 species overall.
The striking Puerto Rican Woodpecker
Puerto Rican Tody, everyone's favorite
One of Puerto Rico's two endemic warblers, the Adelaides's
Caribbean Elania
The brilliant Malachite
Lonely "Mr Pinky"