2010 Tour Narrative
In Brief: This year’s WINGS tour to the Dominican Republic’s remarkable diversity of habitats was full of birds. We managed to encounter 29 of the endemic species while traveling through upland pine forest, humid tropical forest, dry thornscrub, cactus fields, sugar cane plantations, inland salt lakes, and beautiful sandy beaches. The Caribbean may not hold the same diversity of species as a trip to the mainland tropics, but what these islands lack in number of species they more than make up for in quality. And this year we managed fine views of some stunning and unique birds. Palmchats, the sole member of the family Dulidae, were common, and we had repeated fine views of two species of the exquisite todies, another endemic family in the Caribbean. From Hispaniolan Trogon to three species of quail-doves, Ridgway’s Hawk to Ashy-faced Owl, from one of the most attractive Melenerpes woodpeckers to the odd Antillean Piculet and elegant La Selle Thrush, and from charismatic cuckoos like Hispaniolan Lizard-Cuckoo and Bay-breasted Cuckoo to the real skulkers such as Eastern and Western Chat-Tanagers, this tour offered us a wide range of bird species and an impressive degree of endemism (about a quarter of the species encountered can be found no where else on earth!).
Our 2012 tour adds another night in Barahona to allow for repeated visits to certain areas and a night at the end of the tour in Santo Domingo to further explore Los Haitises National Park.
In Detail: Our first evening in the Dominican Republic started with a bang, as we enjoyed lengthy views of swarms of the endemic Hispaniolan Parakeet coming into a roost site in Santo Domingo. The next day we ventured to the beautiful botanical gardens in northern Santo Domingo, where the lush plantings and surprisingly wild streamsides allowed us to quickly become acquainted with some of the more common birds in the country. Palmchats, the only member of the family Dulidae, were seemingly everywhere. We were also treated to fine views of the incredible Hispaniolan Woodpecker, replete in gold, black, and red, which was also remarkably abundant. Hispaniolan Lizard-Cuckoos lurked in mistletoe clumps but were also seen in the open, once even with a freshly caught lizard! A nice pair of Black-crowned Palm-Tanagers and fantastic views of the large, surprisingly colorful, and globally rare West Indian Whistling-Duck provided an excellent distraction as well. Tiny Vervain Hummingbirds occupied song perches at several locations along our walk, looking positively miniscule on the exposed stalks of Royal Palm trees. The colorful and much larger Antillean Mangos were also in evidence foraging in some of the ornamental flowers and hawking for insects over the trail. After lunch and some grocery shopping, we made the three-and-a-half-hour drive to Barahona in the southwest corner of the country, our base for the next four days of the tour.
On the second day, we drove inland from Barahona along the Enriquillo Valley and uphill to the small farming community of Puerto Escondido. On the drive up we stopped and found a responsive Flat-billed Vireo and several stunning Greater Antillean Bullfinches. We then spent an enjoyable morning walking along a humid creek surrounded by large fruiting trees and dense scrub over a limestone karst understory. Here we had repeated views of both Broad-billed and Narrow-billed Todies, surely two of the cutest species of birds on the planet. Other foothill species encountered included a pair of the poorly named Green-tailed Warbler (likely not a warbler at all), dapper Antillean Euphonias, a couple of Olive-throated Parakeets, and White-necked Crows. A calling Key West Quail-Dove and several vocalizing Antillean Piculets played with us from the underbrush, and we had a quick view of a foraging Hispaniola Emerald. After a picnic lunch, we descended to bird Lago Enriquillo, which at almost 70 miles long and about 150 feet below sea level is the largest lake in the West Indies. Due to recent rains the lake was larger than usual, with much evidence of flooding. Along the lakeshore in the afternoon we found a flock of Palm Crows (a possible split from the Cuban population), a few Caribbean Coots, and a handsome female Rhinoceros Iguana. Pulling ourselves away from the lake, we drove back to our hotel for an hour’s rest and a delicious dinner.
A very early start on Day Three enabled us to reach the highlands of the Sierra de Barahuco before dawn. During the slow and rough ride up, we were treated to several Burrowing Owl and a few calling Greater Antillean (Hispaniolan) Nightjars. We then had a pre-dawn picnic breakfast near the remnant cloud forest patches along the Hatian border, putting us in place to greet the first singing Western Chat-Tanagers and Rufous-throated Solitaires, whose eerie call somewhat resembles rubbing a finger on a wet crystal glass. Hampered slightly by the intermittent rain, the occasionally dense fog, and a flat tire, we managed only poor views of La Selle Thrush this year, but the walk along the forested ridgeline was filled with interesting birds. A nice surprise was a new forest service cabin near the remnant patch of broadleaf forest, a sign perhaps that the Dominican Republic government is becoming more serious about protecting this irreplaceable site. Fine views of Hispaniolan Trogon, Scaly-naped Pigeons, Hispaniola Pewee, Greater Antillean Elaenia, and many Hispaniolan Spindalis and White-winged Warblers kept us amply entertained until lunchtime. On the way back down, we briefly walked across the border into Haiti and picked up a nice tally of five species in as many minutes. Farther downslope, we finally had good views of the large and quite atypical Antillean Piculet and a brief vocal response from a Bay-breasted Cuckoo. The contrast between the cloud forests—laden with ferns, cycads, native fuchsias and begonias, and lush epiphytic growth—and the xeric scrub around the lake was startling, and really helped to drive home the diversity of habitats that the island of Hispaniola has to offer.
The next day we set off for the southern peninsula, only to be stopped by an unexpectedly closed road due to a local power outage. We stopped at a small jewelry shop to buy a few souvenir larimar pieces (a Caribbean-blue stone mined near Barahona and endemic to the Dominican Republic) and also admired a flock of White-collared Swifts. We then decided to return to the high Sierra, where instead of fog and rain we were blessed with sunshine and a light breeze. During a great afternoon, we managed to catch up to several more of the island’s endemic bird species, with two pairs of Western Chat-Tanagers, a female Antillean Siskin, three pairs of Golden Swallows (now extinct in Jamaica), and no less than three gorgeous White-fronted Quail-Doves. In addition, we had another vocal response from a Bay-breasted Cuckoo, and above Zapoten, near the summit of the Loma de Toro, we heard a pair of Hispaniola Crossbills. The open pine forests at the top of the sierra seemed reminiscent of the southeastern US pine forests, except that the pines were littered with bromeliads and the ground covered in mosses and ferns. In addition to the calling crossbills, we enjoyed sweeping views of the Haiti-Dominican Republic border, along with several individuals of the resident subspecies of Pine Warbler. As we headed back to the hotel, we stopped several times after dusk to enjoy views of “Hispaniola” Greater Antillean Nightjar and Least Parauque, as well as several Burrowing Owls. Although the day had started off with some unforeseen complications, it turned into a really fantastic day in the field, and our dinner and beer certainly provided a welcome celebration.
After a nice breakfast at the hotel, we drove back to Santo Domingo in time for lunch at a seaside café, where the passionfruit-orange-lime juice was deemed sinfully good by all, and then on to our hotel near Parque Nacional de Los Haitises. The drive over to the hotel involved traversing a dramatically different and more tropical feeling countryside, with sugarcane fields, meandering streams, riparian hardwood forests, and lush roadside vegetation. Our hotel itself, perched on the eastern edge of the large national park, resembled a 10-year-old’s fantasy treehouse, complete with lots of rockwork, leaves cemented into the plaster, tall ceilings with wooden beams, loft beds, indoor balconies, and winding stairs, all with a stream running through the bottom floor! In addition to the small flock of friendly and well cared-for dogs and two somewhat ornery domestic geese, the lodge has taken in a pair of young White-necked Crows, which proceed to parade around the restaurant building looking for handouts, making ridiculous noises and generally getting into trouble.
After dinner we met up with a local park ranger for a nocturnal prowl for Ashy-faced Owl. Although it took a while before we heard our first response, it didn’t take too long to track down a lovely pair of this locally common species. The tawny plumage and well-defined gray facial disk, combined with a distinctly different stance and shape, readily set this enigmatic species apart from the more widespread Barn Owl. Flush with success, we headed back to our crazy fortress of a hotel for a good night’s rest.
On our final morning in the Dominican Republic, we walked from the hotel into the Haitises National Park in search of the endangered and endemic Ridgway’s Hawk. Haitises is the last remaining stronghold for the species on the island, and it is estimated that in the park’s nearly 400 square miles there are roughly 140 pairs remaining. We heard a distant bird calling within a half-mile of the hotel, and as soon as we’d hiked over the first ridge we had truly stupendous views of this rare and attractively patterned raptor. There has been large-scale clearing for agriculture in this area for a decade, and the park guards are vigorously trying to educate the farmers and protect the valuable nest trees that remain.
After an elated celebration, we elected to continue along the trail for a few more minutes and were rewarded with views of a pair of Ruddy Quail-Doves walking up the slope in the understory and two pairs of Greater Antillean Orioles, soon to be split as Hispaniola Oriole, giving the Dominican Republic an impressive 31 species of endemics. We then made our way back to Santo Domingo.
- Gavin Bieber
Updated: March 2010