By Eloise Barker
Eloise Barker has been writing about nature and travel since 2016 and has written for Euronews, The Independent, and The Mirror. She is a travel writer for Responsible Travel, which runs a number of birdwatching holidays.
Cuba holds an unusually rich birdlife for its size: roughly 400 recorded species, including 28 that occur nowhere else. Among them are some of the Caribbean’s most sought-after specialties —the Bee Hummingbird, the world’s smallest bird, plus species like the Cuban Tody, Cuban Trogon, Cuban Solitaire, and the Zapata Wren. For birders, it is a destination where many exciting endemics are possible, but also where many of those same endemics are under severe threat.
Cuban Tody
Several endemic species — the Giant Kingbird, Gundlach’s Hawk, Blue-headed Quail-dove, Cuban Palm Crow, and Fernandina’s Flicker — are listed as endangered by the IUCN. The Cuban Kite is critically endangered, the Zapata Rail is rarely seen, and the Cuban Ivory-billed Woodpecker, last confirmed in 1987, is almost certainly extinct. Habitat loss, hunting, and wildfires continue to erode populations. Cuba’s economic and political isolation has led to economic problems, a lack of outside funding, and less knowledge sharing for its conservation community.
Blue-headed Quail-dove
Despite the pressures, Cuba is a rewarding birding destination. Winter migrants from across North America converge on the island. “They are more concentrated than in their usual range,” explains Yuri Napoles, a Cuban guide, working since 2004. “You can see five, six, seven species that you’d have to travel far across the US to see, all in the same tree.”
Cuban Trogon
To encourage tourism and protect the island’s birds, Napoles has set out to strengthen the foundation of Cuban birding tourism: the guides themselves. “There’s no school or training course or national training course for local guides – most of them learn by doing,” says Yuri, who worked as a scientist and environmental researcher before guiding. Lack of formal training can lead to practices that, while satisfying to tourists, risk long-term harm to the birds. Approaching nests too closely, disturbing nocturnal roosts, or relying heavily on playback may all have negative consequences.
Bee Hummingbird
In 2024, with support from travel company Cuban Adventures, Napoles developed a free training program for Cuban birding guides. The first course, held in the Sierra del Rosario Biosphere Reserve over two days, combined classroom sessions with fieldwork. Eight guides attended, learning not only principles of ethical guiding but also how to interact with guests.
Cuban Green Woodpecker
Napoles stresses careful use of playback, “In very specific situations where it’s really necessary, and not in heavily birded areas where it could affect the behavior of local birds.” He discourages spotlighting of nocturnal species, pointing out that powerful modern lights can damage birds’ vision. And he emphasizes setting realistic expectations: that Cuba’s endemics cannot all be seen in one visit, and that nocturnal species, like the Cuban Nightjar or Bare-legged Owl, are best left undisturbed in their roosts.
Black-throated Blue Warbler
For all the expectation-setting, birding always offers surprises. In October 2023, while birding the Zapata Peninsula with a group, Napoles spotted what at first looked like a Northern Waterthrush along a causeway. Closer views and photographs revealed it to be a Hermit Thrush – a very uncommon winter resident, which has only been sighted a handful of times on the island. “We informed the ornithologist and made the report right away,” he recalls. Such moments highlight the unpredictability of birding on the island.
Northern Parula
Napoles hopes to expand his training initiative to more guides across Cuba’s national parks, using the low tourism season for workshops. In the high season, he remains fully engaged in leading tours — where, as he notes, the learning never stops. “I’ve found that nature lovers are open-minded and very positive people. I love to work with people like that: it’s a great education. And I’m still learning – it’s a never-ending learning process.”
Western Spindalis
All photos courtesy of Cuban Adventures.
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