Birding in Cuba - February, 2024 - Part 6
Travels With Birds
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1d ago
 23 February, 2024 Playa Larga - Bermejas - Cienfuegos - Laguna Guanaroca - Río Caonao - Trinidad      I awoke at 05h:00 after a good night's sleep, showered and finished my final packing.      Breakfast was at 06h:00 and we left at 07h:00, not before bidding a sorrowful farewell to Jose and Damita and all my friends at Hostal Melody. There is always a touch of sadness in leaving; this time especially so, since I don't know whether I will be back again.       Whatever happens in life, I will never forget these wonderful people, of that you man ..read more
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Book Review - Plankton: A Worldwide Guide - Princeton University Press
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3d ago
      I suspect that I am not unlike many others when I confess that I "knew" what plankton are - sort of- but didn't really know much about them at all, and gave them less thought than I should. I understood their role in oceanic trophic levels, but I was certainly ignorant of their stunning diversity, and the inter-relationship between small and large organisms in this amazing cast of characters.      One of the greatest pleasures of all for me is to expand my knowledge of nature and to understand the synergistic character of the phenology of life, wh ..read more
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Book Review - Field Guide to North American Flycatchers - Kingbirds and Myiarchus - Princeton University Press
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5d ago
            I would stand no risk of being accused of hyperbole were I to state that birders have been waiting for this book for a very long time. Following on the heels of their earlier work on Empidonax flycatchers and Contopus pewees, Cin-Ty Lee and Andrew Birch continue to provide identification tips for birds that are among the most difficult to identify, especially where the ranges of similar species overlap. It is not without courage that such a challenge has been accepted by this author and this artist.      Birch's artwork is superb ..read more
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Birding in Cuba - February, 2024 - Part 5
Travels With Birds
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1w ago
 22 February, 2024 Las Salinas - Casa Ana Birding "Nature in the wildlands is the birthright of everyone on Earth." E.O. Wilson      There is always a sense of excitement and anticipation when going to Las Salinas, an expanse of saltwater lagoons where bird life may be experienced in something like the diversity and sheer numbers that might have been experienced before the hand of man changed everything.      One has the impression of entering a long tunnel on the way to the lagoons through coastal scrub.      Coastal mangroves are lar ..read more
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Book Review - The Little Book of Butterflies - Princeton University Press
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1w ago
       I am approaching my second review of a book in this series with the same level of enthusiasm as the first. They really are quite an achievement in my estimation.      Butterflies are doubtless more appealing to many people than spiders (the subject of the last review) but they are both, of course, essential elements of a healthy ecosystem and merit our admiration and respect - in the case of butterflies we can add affection that verges on universal.      The Monarch, with its ability to sequester poisons, and its epic migration, is one ..read more
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Birding in Cuba - February, 2024 - Part 4
Travels With Birds
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1w ago
 "How long have we been enchanted by birds? Forever it seems." Graeme Gibson 21 February, 2024 Santo Tomas - Rancho Los Pintines - Los Hondones       One of the great highlights of a visit to Cuba in search of birds is a foray into the bowels of the legendary Zapata Swamp. It was with considerable excitement that we left Playa Larga for Santo Tomas to board our boats, to be ferried deep into this world of wonder.      We walked down a muddy path for half a kilometre or so, with a broken-down boardwalk almost rendered useless. Funds are lacking for ..read more
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Book Review - The Little Book of Spiders - Princeton University Press
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1w ago
       Princeton University Press has recently introduced a series of little books like the one shown above. Having now received four of them, I can tell you that I am mightily impressed. I have read this volume thoroughly and have glanced at the others. Reviews of those works will follow in due course when I have read them.      These books are pocket-sized, yet contain a veritable wealth of information, making them ideal to keep in the car as a ready source of reference. It is really quite astounding just how much can be compressed into a small work of ..read more
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Birding in Cuba - February, 2024 - Part 3
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2w ago
 20 February, 2024 Los Hondones - Casa Ana Birding (Playa Larga)      I was awake early after a good night's sleep, and went down to chat with Jose and Damita et al; they really are wonderful people. It was not long before Tania strolled over to join us. It's no exaggeration to say that it's like having a Cuban family, and a close family at that. They take care of me like a pampered child!      Take a look if you will at Damita's immaculate kitchen.       The amazing thing is that it never seems to look any different; always spotless ..read more
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Birding in Cuba - February 2024 - Part 2
Travels With Birds
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2w ago
19 February, 2024 Viñales - Presa Herradura - Los Palacios - Autopista Viñales - Soroa (Botanical Gardens) - Las Terrazas (Hotel Molha) - Vaquería (Santa Rosalia) - Playa Larga      We had breakfast and bid farewell to our Viñales hosts to embark on the long drive to Playa Larga, with various stops along the way to stretch our legs, have lunch and most importantly of all do some birding!      One of our early stops was at a wetland alongside the main highway from Pinar del Río to Havana, normally a very productive area for us, but the water level was high and a w ..read more
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Book Review - Wasps of the World: A Guide to Every Family - Princeton University Press
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2w ago
       There are many avenues of satisfaction from Princeton University Press, and one of them is the familiar format of books in a series of titles. This is true with the Of the World series. Each new title brings a surge of pleasure and I look forward to a detailed examination of another of nature's wonders.      So it is with the latest book, Wasps of the World: A Guide to Every Family. I am confident, before even opening the book that I am about to be treated to a learned exposition of the Hymenoptera, with an accurate, informed text, written by ex ..read more
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