Wildlife Photography Hides in Puerto Rico

Guánica – UNESCO Dry Forest

Bosque Estatal de Guánica — a UNESCO World Biosphere Reserve on Puerto Rico's dry south coast — protects the world's finest remaining example of subtropical dry forest, a rare and globally threatened ecosystem, and concentrates more Puerto Rican endemic bird species per hectare than any other accessible site on the island. Seven of Puerto Rico's twelve surviving endemic bird species are reliably encountered within the reserve's 4,000 hectares of thorny scrub, cactus forest, and dry broadleaf woodland: the Puerto Rican Tody, with its emerald-green back and vivid red throat, is among the Caribbean's most photogenic birds and is encountered on virtually every visit; the Puerto Rican Woodpecker drums on the dead cacti visible from the main forest road; and the Puerto Rican Bullfinch sings from the forest interior throughout the morning. The Puerto Rican Nightjar — a species endemic to the dry coastal limestone of southwestern Puerto Rico and classified as Vulnerable — is heard on virtually every evening in the reserve and can be located by spotlight as it sits on the forest road after dark. The Puerto Rican Screech Owl, one of the smallest owls in the Western Hemisphere, is spotlit from the same dry forest roads. The forest trail system opens at 7:30am; the most productive photography is on the system of unpaved tracks in the forest interior, especially the Ballena and Meseta trails. Guánica is 2.5 hours from San Juan by highway on Puerto Rico's south coast.

Ceiba – El Yunque

The Puerto Rican Parrot — Amazona vittata, the only native parrot species to the entire US territory — came within weeks of total extinction in 1975, when just 13 wild birds survived. The US Fish & Wildlife Service's El Yunque recovery programme has brought the wild population back to approximately 300–500 birds through intensive nest monitoring, predator management, and aviary breeding at two sites within El Yunque National Forest: the most successful parrot recovery programme in North American history. For wildlife photographers, the forest's Puerto Rican Parrot aviary viewing area near El Portal allows photography of birds on the wing and at nest boxes during the February–August breeding season, when wild birds also fly over the forest canopy in pairs and small groups — their brilliant green plumage with red forehead and blue wing tips visible at distance. The Puerto Rican Tody — a tiny, jewel-like endemic with vivid green, red, and white plumage, broadly regarded as one of the Caribbean's most charming birds — is abundant at El Yunque and uniquely approachable, hovering below leaf surfaces to examine photographers with apparent curiosity. The Elfin Woods Warbler, Puerto Rico's rarest endemic bird (discovered only in 1968), inhabits the sierra palm and cloud forest above 600 metres — the El Toro trail provides the most reliable access. El Yunque is the only tropical rainforest in the US National Forest system; its cascade of peaks, waterfalls, and cloud forest draped in bromeliads provides one of the Caribbean's most atmospheric photography settings.