Trip
Information
Date: February
13 - 24, 2009
Duration: 12
days
Leader: Paul
Prior & local guides
Limit: 12
people
Cost: $3375
USD, $3650 CDN, single supplement $375 USD, $395 CDN
From: Santo
Domingo, DR,
tour ends in San Juan, PR
Highlights:
• Great
birding in two very interesting and very different Caribbean Islands
• Lots
of endemics, including three species of the superb todies
Featured Birds:
• Broad-billed
Tody
• Hispaniolan
Trogon
• Palm
Chat
• Hispaniolan
Crossbill
• Ashy-faced
Owl
• Bay-breasted
Cuckoo
• Elfin
Woods Warbler
• Puerto
Rican Tody
• La
Selle Thrush
• White-winged
Warbler
• Rufous-throated
Solitaire
Trip Summary:
• Moderate
walking and hiking
• Some
long days of driving on poor roads in the Dominican Republic
• Mostly
hot in the day, cooler at high altitudes, rain is possible
• Good
quality hotels throughout, except basic at Pedernales
• 6-12
participants with two leaders
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The
Dominican Republic, half of the island of Hispaniola, offers a truly
incredible variety of habitats and birds. This is an ideal
time to visit, with the local birds breeding and some of the northern
migrants still present. Endemics include the Palm-Chat (the only
member of its family and the
national bird), Hispaniolan Woodpecker, Hispaniolan
Tody, Hispaniolan Trogon (a superb bird!), Hispaniolan Parakeet and
many more. This tour focuses on the Southwestern part of the country
where all the endemic species can be found.
Puerto Rico, a truly delightful island, has a marvelous array of different
habitats, from sandy beaches and mangroves to dry arid scrub forest to
surprisingly lush and verdant tropical montane forests. Puerto Rico has
its fair share of endemics, ranging from the delightful and exquisite
Puerto Rican Tody to the highly endangered and very local Puerto Rican
Parrot. Some endemics are widespread such as Puerto Rican Bullfinch and
Puerto Rican Woodpecker, while others are decidedly local, such as Elfin
Woods Warbler, first discovered in 1971, Puerto Rican Nightjar, thought
to be extinct before its rediscovery in 1961, and the endangered Yellow-shouldered
Blackbird.
See detailed
itinerary below.
Click
here to download a list of birds from out 2007 DR/PR tour.
Click here to download a list of birds from out 2005 DR/PR tour.
Click
here to download a list of birds from our 2003 DR/PR tour.
To download a registration
form click here
Photos: Broad-billed
Tody and Hispaniolan Trogon by Rob Williams |
Itinerary
Day
1 -
Arrival in Santo Domingo
We will begin our tour with a meeting after dinner. Night in Santo Domingo.
Day
2 - Santo Domingo to Barahona
Before breakfast we drive to the Villa Isabella Ponds in Santo Domingo
to search for the endangered West Indian Whistling-Duck. After a picnic
breakfast, we head to the Botanical Gardens. Here we look for some
of the country’s more common lowland endemics such as Hispaniolan
Woodpecker and Black-crowned Palm-Tanager, plus other species such
as Greater Antillean Grackle and Antillean Palm Swift. We should also
see
the Palmchat with its large colonial nests; this curious bird is endemic
to Hispaniola and the only member of its family. From the Botanical
Gardens we begin a long drive to Barahona in the southwest corner of
the country
where we base ourselves for the next two nights at Casa Bonita, a charming
little resort near the town of Barahona. In the evening, we head out
to search for Ruddy Quail-Dove and Ashy-faced Owl. Night at Casa Bonita.
Day
3 – Tarzan’s Road, Jimani and Lago Enriquillo
After a casual breakfast at Casa Bonita, in the morning we bird the
areas nearby (e.g. "Tarzan's Road). After lunch, we visit Jimani
and Lago Enriquillo to target primarily Palm Crow, Greater Flamingo,
Caribbean
Coot, and White-cheeked Pintail. We then take a picnic dinner and
drive to Puerto Escondido for evening/nightfall, where we look and
listen for
Least Poorwill and Greater Antillean Nightjar. Night at Casa Bonita.
Day 4 – Puerto Escondido
After an early breakfast at Casa Bonita, we head back to Puerto Escondido,
where we explore the arid deciduous forest and look for specialties
such as Bay-breasted Cuckoo, Flat-billed Vireo, Vervain Hummingbird,
Plain
Pigeon, and Greater Antillean Oriole, among other, easier to get
species. After a picnic lunch, we will explore the agricultural area
around
Puerto Escondido where we should see the threatened White-necked
Crow, and then
back for an early evening
Night in Pedernales.
Day
5 - Exploring the Thorn Scrub and Pine Forests of the Sierra de Bahoruco
We have an early start and head to El Aceitillar Road. We visit a
variety of habitats on the southern slope of the Sierra from arid
scrub at
sea level through thorn forest and eventually into pine forest.
Many of the
Hispaniolan endemic species as well as West Indian specialties
occur in the area. The lower altitude thorn scrub will be searched
for
Stolid Flycatcher, Green-tailed Ground-Warbler and Broad-billed
Tody. In the
pine forests we search for Hispaniolan Emerald, Hispaniolan Crossbill,
Antillean Siskin and Golden Swallow. We also visit the Visitor
Centre that has recently been built within the Sierra de Bahoruco.
The centre
is situated overlooking a beautiful valley called Hoyo del Pelempito–the
view is nothing short of breathtaking! In the afternoon, on our
way back to Pedernales, we stop at a location near Laguna Oviedo
for Antillean
Piculet. Night in Pedernales.
Day
6 - Exploring the Higher Altitudes of the Sierra de Bahoruco
This morning, we make an early start to reach the high altitude
forest at Los Arroyos in time to search for the elusive La Selle
Thrush,
Western Chat-Tanager, White-winged Warbler, Narrow-billed Tody
and the stunning
Rufous-throated Solitaire. The roads are very rough here and
travel will be slow going. The forest is cool and moist, often
shrouded
in cloud,
and is characterized by large trees with a dense understorey
of tree ferns and hanging moss. We then drive back to Casa Bonita
for the
night.
Day
7 - Back to Santo Domingo
Today, following a casual breakfast at Casa Bonita, we depart
the southwestern part of the country and make the long drive
back towards
Santo Domingo.
On route, we make a stop or two to stretch our legs and do
some birding. Night in Santo Domingo.
Day
8 – On to Puerto Rico
In the morning we will do some birding around Santo Domingo,
spending some time on the ocean looking for White-tailed
Tropicbird. We
then head to the airport in order to catch our short flight
to San Juan,
Puerto
Rico. Once in Puerto Rico we head east to Luquillo at the
base of the Sierra de Luquillo (the Caribbean
National Forest)
where we stay for the night. Night near Luquillo.
Day
9 - Sierra de Luquillo and Humacao
We will have an optional pre-breakfast birding outing around the beautiful
grounds of our hotel this morning. After breakfast
we visit the Caribbean
National
Forest and El Yunque, an area of beautiful scenery, and
where we should
find Scaly-naped Pigeon, Puerto Rican Woodpecker, Loggerhead
Kingbird, Red-legged
Thrush and Puerto Rican Tanager. This area is our only
chance, albeit exceedingly remote, of finding the Puerto Rican Parrot.
Leaving
the forests, we continue south to the Humacao Nature Reserve where
we look for Antillean Crested Hummingbird,
Green-throated Carib, White-cheeked Pintail, Caribbean
Coot, and several herons,
egrets
and other wetland birds. Night in Guanica.
Day
10 - Maricao National Forest
In the morning, we leave early and drive north to Maricao
National Forest, at the western end of the Cordilleran
Central. At this
higher altitude,
lush forest covers the montane slopes, and a wide variety
of the islands endemics can be found. Our main target
bird here
is the
Elfin Woods
Warbler, a secretive and fast-moving warbler discovered
as recently as 1971, and
we spend quite a bit of time searching for this species.
Whilst doing so, we should find Green Mango, Puerto
Rican Emerald,
Puerto Rican
Tody, Puerto Rican Pewee, and Antillean Euphonia.
In the afternoon, we head back to our hotel for a break
so that we are well rested for an evening excursion
to search
for the
endangered Puerto
Rican Nightjar. Night in Guanica.
Day
11 -Guanica National Forest
This day we visit the Guanica National Forest spending
time searching for species not yet found in the montane
forests.
In the dry
scrub forest of Guanica we will see Pearly-eyed Thrasher,
Puerto Rican
Vireo, Black-whiskered
Vireo, Puerto Rican Bullfinch, Adelaide’s Warbler,
as well as the amazing Puerto Rican Lizard-Cuckoo.
We also visit the coastal mangroves
and sand spits along the coast, looking for shorebirds,
Mangrove Cuckoo, Caribbean Eleania, and perhaps Troupial.
Later,
we drive along the coastal highway to the southwest part of the island
where we should see
the endangered
Yellow-shouldered Blackbird.
Population numbers of the blackbird appear to be
on the increase, owing in part to a control program
aimed
at
cowbirds. Night
in
Guanica.
Day
12 - Departure
We depart in the early morning for the drive back
to San Juan airport to catch our international
flights home. Flights
home
should be
arranged for the late afternoon or evening to
allow for travel time from Guanica
to San Juan.
What to expect
Hispaniola and Puerto
Rico provide some of the most exciting birding in the Caribbean, with
many endemics (Hispaniola has the second highest
number of any Caribbean Island). Most of the endemics are fairly easy
to find, and for those that can prove elusive, such as Elfin Woods Warbler,
we make determined efforts to find. To maximize our time in the field,
we have some very early morning starts and pre-breakfast journeys. We
will encounter some rough roads and long drives between sites in the
Dominican Republic. In Puerto Rico, roads are better. On some days,
we will make evening excursions to search for nocturnal species. In
the
mountains,
we reach
a height
of approximately 3000 meters on some days; hiking will be easy to moderate.
On most days we have a picnic lunch at a site or call in at a local restaurant.
The weather should
be warm and sunny but, particularly at night in the mountains, it can
be cool. Rain is possible but unlikely. Some warm clothing
and a light, waterproof jacket are, therefore, advised, as are stout
walking shoes or boots. Generally, we stay in good hotels, while in
Pedernales the accommodation will be somewhat basic but clean. In the
evenings,
we eat at our hotel or a nearby restaurant, where we spend a relaxing
evening to review the days bird list and discuss the itinerary for
the next day.
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