SMAP - Caribe edition

Another free theme for this wee's SMAP, which is always a good thing since it allows more opportunities to join in on the fun! And with that in mind... time to revisit el caribe!

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Time travel to Cuba, in the heart of the caribbean! I've seen a ton of interesting species while discovering the country with a group of friends and enjoying a little too much alcohol. But for the sake of this post, will focus on one specific family:

Herons! Or, more correctly, the Ardeidae family.

There are a few species in my home country, but there's a whole different setting when we can see them basking in the sunlight, in crystal clear waters! For what I've researched, there are 11 species from this family in the island and islets all around. And if some of them exist in Portugal as well, as the great egret...

Others I was probably seeing for the first time, as this beauty over here:

This looks like the great blue heron for me (Ardea herodias), but since she is kind of similar to the grey heron and it seems the latter can visit the island as well, I'll refrain from leaving my usual identifications this time: just some caribe heron photos, without the geek scientific part! :)

Most of these were taken while doing a catamaran ride near a mangroove area; given that some alcoholic beverages were taken, I'm surprised most of the photos actually turned out ok!

Given the difference in size, I've probably captured the little blue heron in the photo above, but at this distance I can't be 100% certain... maybe any cuban bird specialist out there can confirm? :)

After a ton of work in these last two months, I'll finally get some help starting next week, so hoping I'll be able to have more free time and finally, FINALLY... be able to travel again!! I will definitely try to get even in 2024 for all the missed travels in 2023, and photograph tons of #featheredfriends in the process!

Have a great weekend!

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