Humacao Nature Reserve

The Punta Santiago reserve protects around three thousand acres of lagoon, mangrove, marsh and beach on the east coast, land that was once sugar cane and flooded when the drainage was allowed to fail. What grew back is the most productive bird habitat on the island that anyone can simply walk into: something over a hundred and eighty species have been recorded, including the endangered yellow-shouldered blackbird and West Indian whistling duck, with herons, gallinules and migrants filling the lagoons through the winter. Flat trails and a boardwalk run between the water bodies, an observation tower gives the overview, and kayaks can be taken through the mangrove channels, where manatees are seen regularly.

History

The 3,000-acre reserve was established in 1986, as the Humacao Wildlife Refuge, to protect the remaining Pterocarpus forest and its surroundings; the land was long tied to the sugar industry, and an old pump and other remains of that time still stand in it (Wikipedia, Humacao Nature Reserve).

Highlights

• The lagoons - herons, ducks and migrants across open water.
• The observation tower - the overview across the whole wetland.
• Manatees - regularly seen in the channels and near the river mouth.
• The mangrove kayak channels - flat paddling through the reserve.

When to go

November to April is the peak for birds, when northern migrants are present and the weather is drier. Early morning is by far the best time. Mosquitoes are heavy at dawn and dusk, so cover up.

Things to know

It is flat, hot and shadeless on the main trails, and midday visits see very little. Mosquitoes are severe. The reserve took serious hurricane damage and some trails and facilities have been slow to reopen. Manatee sightings are luck, not a certainty.

Nearby

Palmas del Mar is next door; Fajardo and the ferries are 45 minutes north.

Key facts