Gavin Bieber on his just-completed tour of the Dominican Republic

Travel in the Caribbean conjures up images of white sand beaches, palm trees and perhaps mai tais.  The Dominican Republic has all those in spades, but surprisingly also offers large saline and freshwater lakes, cactus thorn scrub, humid montane forests and pine forests laden with huge agaves and lichens.  Our trip this year took in all 31 of the DR's endemic birds (although two were heard only). Palmchats, the sole member of the family Dulidae, were common throughout the trip, building their giant communal stick nests, and todies, dressed in their emerald and pink finery  were daily companions. We had especially good views of the critically endangered Ridgway's Hawk and the globally rare West Indian Whistling-Duck and a day roosting Northern Potoo was noteworthy as well.  We capped the trip with a brief but interesting visit to caves in Los Haitises, where the views of the forest outside were other-worldly.

Palmchat

Broad-billed Tody

Ridgeay's Hawk

West Indian Whistling Ducks

Northern Potoo

Inside the caves at Los Haitises