The Dominican Republic Apr 18—26, 2009
Posted by David Ascanio
David Ascanio
David Ascanio, a Venezuelan birder and naturalist, has spent the last 25 years guiding birding tours throughout his native country, Trinidad and Tobago, Suriname, Guyana,&n...Related Trips
The green-blue waters of the Caribbean Sea host many islands, some small and others large. The Greater Antilles—Cuba, Jamaica, Hispaniola (Dominican Republic and Haiti), and Puerto Rico—are certainly the most diverse and bird-rich in this region.
Our Dominican Republic tour started in Santo Domingo where the Palmchat, the Black-crowned Palm-Tanager, the Hispaniolan Parakeet, and the Hispaniolan Lizard-Cuckoo welcomed tour participants to a trip with low bird diversity, but rich in endemism. Out of the 109 birds reported for the trip, 28 were endemic species, representing an impressive 26% of all the birds we saw!
Our journey continued in Sierra de Bahoruco on a road along the international boundary with Haiti, where many of the endemic bird species occur. Unfortunately, this region is showing severe deforestation which is threatening the future of the unique wildlife that occurs here. In this protected area we saw the almost extinct solenodon (a mammal), while in the patches of remaining cloud forest we enjoyed many of the hard-to-see endemic bird species. When I started leading Dominican Republic tours, I could draw a line along the international boundary, with basically bare soil in Haiti and forest on the Dominican Republic side. Nowadays this line is heterogeneous, and large patches of forest have disappeared on the Dominican Republic side.
Despite the heavy habitat loss, we were able to locate a good area where at dawn we enjoyed the songs of the Rufous-throated Solitaire and La Selle Thrush, obtaining astonishing views of both of these secretive species. The day continued with scope views of Hispaniolan Trogon, Hispaniolan Spindalis, and Western Chat-Tanager, among other endemic bird species.
The next day, in another corner of the park, we were able to observe Eastern Chat-Tanager and the Hispaniolan Trogon again. Other areas visited nearby were the Alcoa road, Cabo Rojo marsh, and the Jimaní salt lake. In all these areas we searched for endemic birds or those of restricted distribution, and although many were fairly easy, we had to push a bit further for others. All these areas together gave us a good sampling of the avifauna of the Hispaniola, but our grand finale was about to come.
From Barahona we moved north to Los Haitises National Park. Our targets were two additional endemic species: the Ashy-faced Owl and Ridgway's Hawk. During our first night walk we heard two owls, and after a while we were able to scope them. On the day after, during our walk along the park trail, one Ridgway's Hawk landed in an exposed branch near us and called for many minutes. What a view! That was the last of the endemic species for the trip, and our farewell to an island that is screaming for international support and local political commitment to conserve its unique and fragile ecosystems.
We ended the week with an afternoon walk in the colonial zone guided by an expert on the history of Hispaniola, and a visit to the Amber museum. The Dominican Republic is a small country, but as an island, it hosts unique natural resources and an impressive history. This makes it a must to preserve for the future.
A big thank you goes to our driver, to the staff of El Quemaito, and especially to Miguel Angel Landestoy, our local guide, who contributed to our success in Sierra de Bahoruco National Park.
If you would like to learn more about island biogeography, I strongly recommend The Song of the Dodo, by David Quammen. If you are interested in contemporary history during the last dictatorship of the country, I recommend The Feast of the Goat, by Mario Vargas Llosa—a must for understanding the culture of many Caribbean countries.
I hope to see you again on one of our Relaxed & Easy Casa Maria & Hato Piñero tours, or on our more demanding but equally rich in endemic species Eastern Venezuela tour.