Caribbean Birding Trail

Know the Caribbean, Bird by Bird

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You are here: Home / Puerto Rico / Laguna Cartagena National Wildlife Refuge

Laguna Cartagena National Wildlife Refuge

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

The Laguna Cartagena National Wildlife Refuge is a federal refuge that offers unique scenery that mixes wetland with dry forest and one of the oldest geological formations in the Caribbean. The bird diversity here is sure to entertain even the non-birders in the bunch.

Once you enter the dirt road that signals the way to the refuge you enter a mosaic of habitats, where you get a feeling of going to someplace special. First some hay and cattle farms, were you can find a myriad of open land bird species like doves, swallows, grassquits and some established exotic finches. In the background you will see Sierra Bermeja, where some of the oldest geology has been found and is home to the endangered Puerto Rican Nightjar and a very unique flora with high endemism. The contrast of open land and suddenly a forested area, and then a big expanse of water. The first thing you will hear is the squeaks, grunts and all sorts of sounds waterbirds make.

There is a dike were you can walk and have a good view of the surrounding wetland. All you need is a good pair of binoculars since waterbirds are all around you. There is a small blind, that will afford you close views of several birds if you have the patience to wait inside it.

At the fourth metal gate there is a dirt road that goes by a successional dry forest where you can find land birds and then you will find an observation tower that overlooks the whole lagoon.

Breeding  birds include White-cheeked Pintail, West Indian Whistling Duck, Ruddy Duck, Masked Duck, Common Gallinule, Purple Gallinule, Caribbean Coot, Black-necked Stilt. Endemic species that can be found here include Puerto Rican Woodpecker, Puerto Rican Tody, Puerto Rican Vireo, Adelaide’s Warbler. Migrants that utilize the site include Blue-winged Teal, Lesser Scaup, American Widgeon, Lesser Yellowlegs, Stilt Sandpiper, Solitary Sandpiper, Spotted Sandpiper, Pectoral Sandpiper, Prairie Warbler, and Northern Parula.

From the town road PR-2 get the exit to road PR-100 all the way to the town of Boqueron at Cabo Rojo, then get to road PR-101 (to the east). Continue until you see a wooden sign that says Cartagena Lagoon National Wildlife Refuge to your right and continue on dirt road.

Alcides Morales-Perez of Island Birdwatchers guides tours to this site.

Laguna Cartagena National Wildlife Refuge

Puerto Rico Sites

  • Camuy Coastal Area
  • Culebra National Wildlife Refuge
  • Jobos Bay National Estuarine Research Reserve
  • Laguna Cartagena National Wildlife Refuge

Puerto Rico Partners

  • Sociedad Ornitológica Puertorriqueña, Inc. (SOPI)


Puerto Rico Tour Operators

  • Island Birdwatchers
  • Puerto Rico Birding Trips
  • Wildside Nature Tours

Recommended Field Guides

Puerto Rico’s Birds in Photographs: An Illustrated Guide Including the Virgin Islands by Mark Oberle

Birds of Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands by Herbert Raffaele, Clive Petrovic, Sergio Colón López, Lisa Yntema, and José Salguero Faria

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!

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Richard Hall
Richard Hall
@richhallecology

Presenting the 2nd smallest bird in the world, the Vervain Hummingbird. Weighing in at 2g & 6cm long (including that dinky, 1cm bill), this is one of the cutest birds I have ever seen. Found only in Jamaica, Haiti & the Dominican Republic. So smol! 😍 pic.twitter.com/9TsT…

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3:28 am · February 6, 2023 ·
Retweeted by Birds Caribbean
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Richard Hall
Richard Hall
@richhallecology

A shockingly beautiful Jamaican endemic hummingbird, the Jamaican Mango transforms from looking all-black when backlit to glowing hot pink and purple with a turn of its head. The magic of hummingbird feather iridescence! pic.twitter.com/BDzl…

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3:27 am · February 6, 2023 ·
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Richard Hall
Richard Hall
@richhallecology

The enormous endemic Chestnut-bellied Cuckoo is almost twice as long as its Yellow-billed cousin, and uses its robust bill to hunt lizards in forest. In the arid shrublands of Hellshire we encountered groups of insectivorous Smooth-billed Anis with even more gigantic bills (2/2) pic.twitter.com/icHb…

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3:27 am · February 6, 2023 ·
Retweeted by Birds Caribbean
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Richard Hall
Richard Hall
@richhallecology

I went cuckoo for cuckoos in Jamaica. One of two endemic species, this Jamaican Lizard Cuckoo gave us a show fanning its tail and giving territorial calls. (1/2) pic.twitter.com/tBbT…

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3:27 am · February 6, 2023 ·
Retweeted by Birds Caribbean
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josmar Esteban M. 🏳️‍🌈 🇻🇪 🐤🏖🏜🏝
josmar Esteban M. 🏳️‍🌈 🇻🇪 🐤🏖🏜🏝
@Esteban_birds

1/6 #ISTC20 I’m @Esteban_birds, a naturalist studying birds & integrating local communities to foster conservation strategies in Venezuela. I lead @Ave_zona & along w/ @goajiroblanco & the support of @BirdsCaribbean we're studying the importance of Coche Island for SNPL #Sesh4 pic.twitter.com/mua9…

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3:26 am · February 6, 2023 ·
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