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==Overview== | ==Overview== | ||
Revision as of 14:23, 25 March 2016
Overview
150 kilometres southeast of Havanna lies the famous Zapata Swamp or Ciénaga de Zapata. Zapata Rail and Zapata Wren are only found here and most other Cuban endemics can be found, too. It's also an important wintering site for many North American migrants.
Birds
Notable Species
Two species are endemic to the Zapata Swamp; Zapata Wren and Zapata Rail. You have a good chance to hear the Wren and you may even see it if you're lucky. However, Zapata Rail is very rare and hard to see and its call is still unknown.
Other endemics in the area are Gundlach's Hawk, Cuban Black Hawk, Grey-fronted Quail-Dove, Blue-headed Quail-Dove, Bare-legged Owl, Cuban Pygmy Owl, Cuban Nightjar, Cuban Emerald, Bee Hummingbird, Cuban Trogon, Cuban Tody, Cuban Green Woodpecker, Fernandina's Flicker, Cuban Parakeet, Cuban Amazon, Cuban Vireo, Yellow-headed Warbler, Cuban Oriole, Cuban Blackbird, Red-shouldered Blackbird and Zapata Sparrow.
Additionally several near-endemics and many migrants can be seen.
Check-list
Birds you can see here include:
American Wigeon, Blue-winged Teal, Northern Shoveler, Ring-necked Duck, Lesser Scaup, Pied-billed Grebe,American Flamingo, Wood Stork, American White Ibis, Roseate Spoonbill, Black-crowned Night Heron,Yellow-crowned Night Heron, Green Heron, Western Cattle Egret, Great Blue Heron, Great Egret, Reddish Egret, Tricolored Heron, Little Blue Heron, Snowy Egret, Brown Pelican, American White Pelican, Magnificent Frigatebird, Neotropic Cormorant, Double-crested Cormorant, Anhinga Turkey Vulture, Western Osprey, Gundlach's Hawk, Northern Harrier, Cuban Black Hawk, Clapper Rail, Spotted Rail, Zapata Rail, Purple Gallinule, Common Gallinule, American Coot, Black-necked Stilt, Grey Plover, Semipalmated Plover, Killdeer, Northern Jacana, Wilson's Snipe, Short-billed Dowitcher, Long-billed Dowitcher, Greater Yellowlegs, Lesser Yellowlegs, Willet, Spotted Sandpiper, Ruddy Turnstone, Red Knot, Sanderling, Stilt Sandpiper, Black Skimmer, Laughing Gull, Caspian Tern, Royal Tern, White-crowned Pigeon, Eurasian Collared Dove, Mourning Dove, Zenaida Dove, White-winged Dove, Common Ground Dove, Grey-fronted Quail-Dove, Key West Quail-Dove, Ruddy Quail-Dove, Blue-headed Quail-Dove, Smooth-billed Ani, Great Lizard Cuckoo, Bare-legged Owl, Cuban Pygmy Owl, Stygian Owl, Cuban Nightjar, Antillean Palm Swift, Cuban Emerald, Bee Hummingbird, Cuban Trogon, Belted Kingfisher, Cuban Tody, West Indian Woodpecker, Yellow-bellied Sapsucker, Cuban Green Woodpecker, Northern Flicker, Fernandina's Flicker, Northern Crested Caracara, American Kestrel, Merlin, Peregrine Falcon, Cuban Parakeet, Cuban Amazon, Cuban Pewee, Loggerhead Kingbird, La Sagra's Flycatcher, Cuban Vireo, Red-eyed Vireo, Cuban Crow, Cedar Waxwing, Northern Rough-winged Swallow, Zapata Wren, Blue-grey Gnatcatcher, Grey Catbird, Northern Mockingbird, Red-legged Thrush, House Sparrow, Ovenbird, Worm-eating Warbler, Northern Waterthrush, Black-and-white Warbler, Common Yellowthroat, American Redstart, Cape May Warbler, Northern Parula, Magnolia Warbler, Black-throated Blue Warbler, Palm Warbler, Myrtle Warbler, Yellow-throated Warbler, Prairie Warbler, Black-throated Green Warbler, Yellow-headed Warbler, Mangrove Warbler, Cuban Oriole, Tawny-shouldered Blackbird, Red-shouldered Blackbird, Shiny Cowbird, Cuban Blackbird, Greater Antillean Grackle, Zapata Sparrow, Cuban Bullfinch, Yellow-faced Grassquit, Western Spindalis, Summer Tanager
Other Wildlife
Site Information
History and Use
Most parts of the Zapata Swamp are protected either as a part of the National Park, a Natural Reserve or Wildlife sancutary. The overall Zapata Biosphere Reserve is with over 6,000 km² the largest protected area in the Caribbean.
Tourism plays an important role in Playa Larga and Playa Giron at the eastern end of the National Park.
