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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Hamhed" data-source="post: 3582192" data-attributes="member: 70825">12-19  Having set aside just one day to reach and go kayaking and snorkeling at Culebra, an island 90 minutes by ferry east of the mainland, we let Kayaking Puerto Rico handle the details.  Travel on the ferry, the Cayo Blanco, was a bit disappointing as we were not allowed on deck and the boat splash on the plastic windows made viewing from inside difficult.   It was rougher than expected; attendants were busy handing out numerous bags for those who were losing their breakfast.  Once at Flamenco Beach on Culebra, our time snorkeling with green sea turtles and tropical fish was very relaxing and well orchestrated by our guides.  Although we had brought our bins, the focus was maximizing our time in the water.  At one point, after our late lunch, I did a quick search from the water’s edge for anything resembling a Tropicbird but did not even find a Pelican or Gull.   Back in Las Croabas, tired from the day above and in the water, we hung out on the upper deck (the restaurant, in good weather), enjoying the view.  As the occasional Osprey or Great Egret would drift past, a pair of American Kestrels watched from a nearby wind-blown palm.  Gray Kingbirds and Greater Antillean Grackles were common sights.12-20   Put off by reports of the south entrance to El Yunque National Forest being closed due to road repair, we chose to “attack” from the main entrance in the north.  Arriving before 7am at the gated entrance to the Visitor Center or “El Portal”,  we first birded the entrance area then walked along the unopened entrance road.  Our best find here was a calling Puerto Rican Screech Owl, heard from the parking lot.  Given this species “persecution” by playback, we satisfied ourselves with listening to the soft trill., so similar to our own Eastern Screech-Owl.  We heard a Ruddy Quail-Dove here and found one Puerto Rican Woodpecker.  Staking out a large bed of assorted tropical flowers, we failed to see any hummingbirds, their general absence was a constant surprise to us.  We continued driving up the road well before the official opening time of 9 am.A stop at El Yunque Tower did not produce much, though five Scaly-naped Pigeons was the most we’d seen in one location.   Though birds were also scarce in the forest on the Big Tree trail, which we hiked to La Mina Falls, other visitors were not.  Several large groups, arriving by tour bus, swamped the viewing area at the falls.  More hiking on the Bano de Oro, Caimitillo and El Yunque trails with more bussed-in people.  Clearly, this was a very popular park, even on a Tuesday.Not too awed by the birdlife in the forested area, we returned to the now open El Portal in the afternoon, a bit of a visual shock seeing this complex architectural structure surrounded by tropical rainforest.  Nevertheless, there were educational displays and gardens with waterfalls to enjoy before we left for the day. Two minor birding destinations left that day: the Fajardo Inn, the planted grounds of which were said to attract numerous hummingbirds and the Las Croabas police station, for a pair of flowering trees where, you guessed it, hummers abounded.  Walking the entire well-planted grounds of the Inn and standing suspiciously outside the police station with binoculars produced neither hummingbirds nor questioning officials.  Feeling somewhat defeated by these smallest of birds, we returned to Las Vistas and packed our bags for the noon flight on the following day.</blockquote>

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