Puerto Rico Critical Wildlife Areas - Puerto DRNA - Gobierno de ...

6- Ensenada Comezón and Espíritu Santo River Natural Reserve,
Barrio Zarzal, Río Grande, Puerto Rico
Area Description:
The Espíritu Santo River Natural Reserve covers over 202 ha in size. It has to the north
the Atlantic Ocean, to the south lays Barrio Jimenez and PR Road #3, to the east lays Barrio
Zarzal, Cerro Bravo, Las Coles, Punta Percha y Barrio Mameyes II, to the west lays Ciénaga
Baja and Herrera River. The habitats consist in a river, coastal zone, mangrove forest and
wetlands.
The whole area can be divided in three major areas: Punta Picúas, Espíritu Santo River
and the Coastal-Marine Zone. Ensenada Comezón is an inlet, surrounded by Punta Miquillo to
the west and Punta Picúa to the right. This ecosystem has mangrove forest, wetlands and coastal
dry forest. Espíritu Santo River is born in the mountains of El Yunque and it ends to the west of
Punta Miquillo in the municipality of Río Grande producing an estuary.
The coastal zone has a wide zone of coral reef and Thalassia beds, which is an important
food resource for the Manatee Trichechus manatus, endangered species since 1985 and present
in the area (JP 1995). Also, this CWA continue to support the rare White-crowned pigeon
Patagioenas leucocephala, the endangered Brown pelican Pelecanus occidentalis and the
vulnerable Caribbean Coot Fulica caribaea. Raffaele (1978) reported the endangered West
Indian Whistling duck Dendrocygna arborea to use this CWA. Lately, this species has not been
observed in this area anymore, although this type of habitat can harbor a population of this
endangered species.
Ownership/Protection:
This was the first Natural Reserve made up entirely of private lands (Cardona and Rivera
1988). Actually, the Rio Espíritu Santo Natural Reserve continues to be in private ownerships; a
total of 39 different landowners have properties included within the boundaries of this reserve.
Special Recognition:
The Puerto Rico Planning Board declared the area a Natural Reserve in 1982. In both
CWA previous documents, it was classified as a primary CWA. Today, the natural value of this
ecosystem continues and it still classified as a prime one.
Wildlife:
Birds
Sixty-seven bird species have been reported in the area: Brown pelican Pelecanus
occidentalis, Frigatebird Fregata magnificens, Great blue heron Ardea herodias, Great egret A.
alba, Green heron Butorides virescens, Little blue heron Egretta caerulea, White egret E. thula,
Tricolored heron E. tricolor, Cattle egret Bubulcus ibis, Black-crowned night heron Nycticorax
nycticorax, Red-tailed hawk Buteo jamaicensis, Osprey Pandion haliaetus, American kestrel
Falco sparverius, Clapper rail Rallus longirostris, Common moorhen Gallinula chloropus,
Caribbean Coot Fulica caribaea, Semipalmated plover Charadrius semipalmatus, Piping plover
C. melodus, Wilson’s plover C. wilsonia, Killdeer C. vociferous, Ruddy turnstone Arenaria
interpres, Black-bellied plover Pluvialis squatarola, Whimbrel Numenius phaeopus, Spotted
sandpiper Actitis macularia, Willet Catoptrophorus semipalmatus, Least sandpiper Calidris
minutilla, Semipalmated sandpiper C. pusilla, Common snipe Gallinago gallinago, Royal tern
Sterna maxima, Bridled tern S. anaethetus, Least tern S. antillarum, Fulvous whistling duck
Dendrocygna bicolor, White-crowned pigeon Patagioenas leucocephala, Ground dove
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