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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Hamhed" data-source="post: 3582179" data-attributes="member: 70825">12-16   Our new Airbnb location in San Herman was not in the charming, quiet town we had imagined.  We got up sleepily after another noisy, traffic-filled night and left quickly for Maricao State Forest.  Passing through Sabana Grande, a portal town to the mountains, the drive to the ranger station was straightforward enough, though we paused briefly to admire the view from La Torre de Piedra, a stone tower built in the 1930’s by the Civilian Conservation Corp.  By 8 am, we were birding the short entrance road and small picnic area of the ranger station.  Though the action was not overwhelming, we did find a very nice Sharp-shinned Hawk, perched in the morning light, probably making all the other birds we wanted to see very nervous.  More color in the face and less in the chest than our stateside version.  Close by, a Puerto Rican Woodpecker landed on a light pole.  We skipped the photo op, wanting a  more natural setting.  In hindsight, it was our best view of this colorful species.   Back towards the entrance, we had a brief look at our first hummingbird, a Mango.  Though it was a male, the identification was confusing since, depending on the light, the throat appeared either blue or green.   We tried a backlit photo or two then drove on to the well reported trailhead at KM 16.8.  Many reports state that the Elfin-Woods Warbler is regularly seen right from the parking area.  We were happy to report that was our experience.  It may have not been the first species seen but the bird was there, mid level in a tree just past the gated entrance.  As described, always moving, mostly hidden behind foliage, tough to get a clear photo.  Across the road, we became aware of a small flycatcher, a Lesser Antillean (or Puerto Rican) Pewee.  There were a few more of this species seen but this was to be our best look.  Without moving more than a few steps from the car, we watched a Puerto Rican Vireo foraging  in a thick shrub below waist level and a Red-legged Thrush on the highway edge.  Two choices of trails here - Camino Descanso (left and down) and Camino Alto (right and up).  We set off to the left on the more forested trail, birding this for close to two hours and finding three more Puerto Rican specialties.  We are poor note takers when birding so I can’t say which came first.  Three Puerto Rican Spindalis were seen but never allowed a opportunity for a photo.  Near a fruiting mistletoe hanging low in a smallish tree, we saw several small unknown birds that darted away but a single Antillean Euphonia remained.  Higher up, we got on a Puerto Rican Tanager, a bit dull after the other two but a stocky bird with a white spot on the primaries, making identification immediate.</blockquote>

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