Caribbean Birding Trail

Know the Caribbean, Bird by Bird

Donate
  • About the CBT
    • Interpretive Guide Training
  • Countries
    • Countries A-I
      • Anguilla
        • Cove Pond
        • Dog Island
        • East End Pond
        • Forest Bay Pond
        • Katouche Canyon
        • Long Pond
        • Meads Bay Pond
        • Merrywing Pond System
        • Prickly Pear Cays
        • Road Salt Pond
        • Scrub Island
        • Sombrero
        • West End By-the-Sea Ponds
        • West End Pond
      • Antigua and Barbuda
        • Bethesda Dam
        • Christian Valley
        • Codrington Lagoon
        • McKinnon’s Salt Pond
        • Two Foot Bay National Park
      • Aruba
        • Spaans Lagoon
      • Bahamas
        • Abaco
        • Andros
        • Cat Island
        • Crooked Island and Acklins
        • Eleuthera
        • Exumas
        • Grand Bahama
        • Great Inagua
        • Long Island
        • Mayaguana
        • New Providence
        • San Salvador
      • Barbados
      • Bonaire
        • Dos Pos IBA
        • Gotomeer
      • British Virgin Islands
        • Josiahs Bay Salt Pond
        • Sandy Cay
      • Cuba
        • Guanahacabibes
        • Humboldt National Park
        • Mensura-Piloto National Park
        • Viñales
        • Zapata Swamp
      • Curaçao
        • Christoffel National Park
        • Salt Pans of Jan Thiel
      • Dominica
      • Dominican Republic
        • Central Mountain Range
          • Constanza and Valle Nuevo
          • Ebano Verde Reserve
          • Hatillo
          • Jarabacoa with Armando Bermúdez and José del Carmen Ramírez National Parks
          • La Joya de San Francisco
          • Loma Quita Espuela
          • Pico Diego de Ocampo, Santiago
        • Southeast
          • Bávaro
          • Cumayasa
          • Del Este National Park
            • Del Este National Park: Boca de Yuma
            • Del Este National Park: Guaraguao
            • Del Este National Park: Padre Nuestro Trail
            • Del Este National Park: Saona Island
          • Ecological Foundation Trail, Punta Cana
          • Limón Lagoon
          • Los Haitises National Park
            • Los Haitises National Park: Caño Hondo
            • Los Haitises National Park: Los Limones
          • Monte Plata
        • Southwest
          • Aguacate and Zapotén
          • Cabo Rojo and Pedernales
          • Cabral Lagoon
          • Cachote, Eastern Bahoruco
          • Jimaní
          • Lake Enriquillo
          • Loma Charco Azul
          • Oviedo Lagoon, Jaragua National Park
          • Puerto Alejandro and Tortuguero
          • Rabo de Gato and Puerto Escondido
          • Sierra de Bahoruco National Park
            • Los Arroyos, Sierra de Bahoruco National Park
        • North Coast
          • Cayos Siete Hermanos
          • El Choco National Park, Cabarete
          • El Limón, Samaná
          • Estero Hondo
          • Loma Guaconejo
          • Loma Isabel de Torres, Puerto Plata
          • Monte Cristi and Saladilla
          • Nalga de Maco National Park, Río Limpio
          • Samaná
        • Around Santo Domingo
          • Las Salinas de Baní
          • Mirador del Norte Park
          • National Botanical Garden
          • Ozama Wetlands
      • Grenada
        • Antoine Lake
        • Beausejour/Grenville Vale
        • Diamond Rock
        • Grand Etang National Park
        • Levera National Park
        • Mt. Hartman National Park
        • Telescope Pond
        • Woburn Bay MPA
      • Guadeloupe
        • Mountain Road
        • Pointe des Chateaux
    • Countries J-Z
      • Jamaica
        • Ahhh…Ras Natango Gallery and Garden
        • Barbecue Bottom Road
        • Black River Great Morass
        • Cockpit Country
        • Ecclesdown Road
        • Flagstaff
        • Green Hills Field Station
        • Hardwar Gap
        • Hope Gardens
        • Portland Bight Protected Area
        • Stewart Town
      • Martinique
        • Rocher du Diamant
      • Montserrat
      • Puerto Rico
        • Camuy Coastal Area
        • Culebra National Wildlife Refuge
        • Laguna Cartagena National Wildlife Refuge
      • Sint Eustatius
        • Pilot Hill
        • Quill/Boven National Park
        • Zeelandia Beach
      • St. Lucia
      • Sint Maarten
        • Great Salt Pond
        • Little Bay Pond
      • St. Martin
        • Amuseum Naturalis at The Old House
        • Étang Cimetière de Grand Case
        • Étang de la Barrière
        • Pic Paradis
      • St. Vincent and the Grenadines
        • Grenadines
          • Bird Sanctuary
          • Mustique Lagoon
          • Mustique Ponds Walk
        • Saint Vincent
          • Richmond Beach
      • Trinidad and Tobago
        • Tobago
          • Kilgwyn Swamp
          • Little Tobago
        • Trinidad
          • Asa Wright Nature Centre
          • Brasso Seco Paria Village
      • Turks and Caicos
        • Grand Turk
        • Middle Caicos
        • North Caicos
        • Providenciales
        • Salt Cay
        • South Caicos
  • Tours
  • Guides
  • Get Involved
  • Contact Us

You are here: Home / Cuba / Guanahacabibes

Guanahacabibes

  • About Guanahacabibes
  • The Birds
  • How to Get There
  • Where to Stay
  • Tour Operators and Guides

The Peninsula de Guanahacabibes, located at the far western end of Cuba, is a Biosphere Reserve of nearly 120,000 hectares in size, 40,000 of which are designated a National Park. Its secluded location and impressive size makes Guanahacabibes a perfect destination for birders looking to enjoy the island’s birds in a quiet, remote setting.

The Guanahacabibes National Park is separated from the rest of the island by white-sand plains where one of Cuba’s largest lakeside areas lies. It is believed that 4 of the 7 species of marine turtles living on the planet have survived in the Guanahacabibes Peninsula, and the coastline there is known for preserved coral reefs, bottlenose dolphins, spiny lobsters, and red snapper fishing grounds.

The terrestrial portion of the park is largely made up by a forested, flat limestone plain, with cliffsides over 20 meters in height along the periphery. Limestone formations and caves are scattered throughout the landscape. The Endangered (and endemic) frog Eleutherodactylus guanahacabibes occurs here, as do other endemic reptiles including Anolis quadriocellifer and Antillophis andreai peninsulae. Guanahacabibes also boasts a number of endemic rodents and bats, as well as 14 plant species.

This Important Bird Area (IBA) supports 190 bird species (31 of which are biome-restricted species), including 11 Cuban endemics and 9 globally threatened species of which the Blue-headed Quail Dove (Starnoenas cyanocephala), Giant Kingbird (Tyrannus cubensis), and Gundlach’s Hawk (Accipiter gundlachi) are all Endangered. The restricted-range Yellow-headed Warbler (Teretistris fernandinae) and Red-shouldered Blackbird (Agelaius assimilis) can both be found here.

Guanahacabibes forms part of the migratory corridor of the Mississippi flyway, and is a bottleneck site during fall migration. Bird capture rates during migration mist-netting studies have been higher in this IBA than anywhere else in Cuba. Cerulean Warblers have also been observed here in the fall months.

Reaching Guanahacabibes requires a 270 km drive from the capital city, Habana. Aim for the small town of Sandino.

There are a few hotels to consider:

  1. Hotel operated by La Gaviota: Maria La Gorda; this hotel is located on the eastern peninsula of Guanahacabibes and is a notorious center for scuba diving in crystal clear waters.
  2. Hotel operated by La Gaviota: Villa Cabo de San Antonio, located at the most extreme western edge of Cuba, is located near a bird banding station.
  3. Bed and Breakfast: managed by Jorge Luis Garriga (known locally as “El Pollo”) located seaside in the town of La Bajada.

The offices for the Parque Nacional Guanahacabibes are located In the town of La Bajada. Here you can find guides to take you birdwatching including Roberto Varela, Jose Alberto Camejo, Osmani Borrego, and Abel Sosa.

Guanahacabibes

Cuba Sites

  • Guanahacabibes
  • Humboldt National Park
  • Mensura-Piloto National Park
  • Viñales
  • Zapata Swamp


Cuba Tour Operators

  • Ernesto Reyes Bird Photography & Tours
  • Birding in Cuba Tours
  • Wildside Nature Tours

Recommended Field Guides

Endemic Birds of Cuba: A Comprehensive Field Guide by Nils Navarro

Birds of the West Indies by Herbert Raffaele, James Wiley, Orlando Garrido, Allan Keith, and Janis Raffaele

Want to know how you can be involved?

Do you know of a place that should be part of the Caribbean Birding Trail? Are you the owner of a lodge or hotel and want to attract eco-tourists? Are you a guide interested in the birdwatching market? Then, get involved with our project!

Get Involved

The Latest from BirdsCaribbean.org

Twitter
Birds Caribbean
Birds Caribbean
@BirdsCaribbean

Let's make it the #BiggestHourForEarth 🌎 In 60 minutes you can do something positive for your environment 🙌🏽 #Educate yourself ℹ️jco.birdscaribbean.o… ▶️youtube.com/@BirdsCa… Try #birding after dark for 🌌 #owls 🦉, potoos, #nightjars & more! #EarthHour #MyHourForEarth pic.twitter.com/kqjx…

reply retweet favorite
2:01 pm · March 25, 2023
Twitter
Birds Caribbean
Birds Caribbean
@BirdsCaribbean

Just published in the #JournalOfCaribbeanOrnithology 🗞 (JCO) - understanding susceptibility to 🔬 #avian #malaria in Bananaquits. Learn more about this fascinating study here: bit.ly/JCO-Bananaqui… 📸 Carlos H Almeida #peerreview #openaccess #scicomm #Caribbean pic.twitter.com/BUBT…

reply retweet favorite
5:02 pm · March 24, 2023
Twitter
Birds Caribbean
Birds Caribbean
@BirdsCaribbean

The Smooth-billed #Ani is a bizarre looking #bird 🤨, with its oversized, strangely shaped bill and long tail! Anis are almost always seen in groups and do almost everything together, even incubating #eggs and raising offspring. 📸Russell Campbell ℹ️bit.ly/PhotoContest2… pic.twitter.com/zcdD…

reply retweet favorite
6:01 pm · March 23, 2023
Twitter
Birds Caribbean
Birds Caribbean
@BirdsCaribbean

Happy #WorldWaterDay💧 Just like us #birds need water. Sadly, many of their sources are #threatened by #development #pollution & #climatechange But together we can #BeTheChange we want to see & make water conservation a part of everyday life. ✨ ➡️ bit.ly/JA-Backyard-B… pic.twitter.com/xqM2…

reply retweet favorite
3:12 pm · March 22, 2023
Twitter
Birds Caribbean
Birds Caribbean
@BirdsCaribbean

Happy #InternationalDayOfForests 🌳 We're celebrating 🎉 by featuring the Bicknell’s Thrush 🤎 —a shy, subtle #bird that depends on #forests year-round. Both in the US, where they breed, & in the #Caribbean 🏝 where they migrate to for the winter. ℹ️ birdscaribbean.org/2… pic.twitter.com/eN6N…

reply retweet favorite
4:30 pm · March 21, 2023

Our Site

  • Home
  • About the CBT
  • Countries
  • Tours
  • Guides
  • Get Involved
  • Contact

Search

Follow

Sign up for our Mailing List

Copyright © 2011–2023 Caribbean Birding Trail. A project of BirdsCaribbean.