The highlight of Lynn's early morning swim in the sea was two Magnificent Frigatebird drifting overhead - you can't beat swimming in the tropics.
Just to the east of the Luna y Mares Hotel lies the Paradisus Rio de Oro Hotel, and just to the east of that lies a woodland reserve called the Parque Nacional Bahia de Naranjo. We always spend a bit of time here mainly on the perimeter track although we should probably spend more time exploring the woodland itself as well.
Just to the east of the Luna y Mares Hotel lies the Paradisus Rio de Oro Hotel, and just to the east of that lies a woodland reserve called the Parque Nacional Bahia de Naranjo. We always spend a bit of time here mainly on the perimeter track although we should probably spend more time exploring the woodland itself as well.
The track starts near the Paradisus hotel and runs east. Cicadas are often heard in woodland and scrub and this morning was no exception though they are rarely seen. This morning I saw one fly past me and settle so took the opportunity of getting some pictures. It was large, much larger than any I have seen in Europe, and each wing had three black spots. We also saw several reptiles including this Cuban Brown Anole Anolis sagrei.
The Paradisus hotel uses the south side of this track and others to dump builders rubbish which is a great shame and on this occasion we found they had used the area for dumping all the tree debris after the hurricane. And these were the flowery areas where we have seen some good butterflies in the past - but not today. Further on there are some Varronia globosa bushes that were in flower and I stopped to photograph Florida Duskywing Ephyriades brunnea and Fiery Skipper Hylephila phyleus when a Nymphalid flew past and eventually settled. To my surprise it was a Painted Lady Vanessa cardui. My guess is that this had been swept in on the hurricane winds. Luis R Hernández talks of it being resident on Cuba citing it being seen on the mountain tops at the eastern end of the island but it would be nice to prove breeding by finding larvae. As far as I'm aware no-one has ever done so.
Cuban Kite Swallowtail Eurytides celadon was again in good numbers and it was nice to see the Cuban White Ganyra menciae and the endemic Cuban Snout Libytheana motya. As we entered the wood a Cuban Racer Cubophis cantherigerus about 3ft long crossed the path and slithered into the vegetation. We normally see one or two snakes on every trip and this is certainly the commonest.
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