|
The Dominican Republic and Puerto Rico
|
|
|
Site of the oldest European city in the New World, the Dominican Republic occupies the eastern two-thirds of Hispaniola, second largest of the Greater Antilles. Dominated by the highest mountains in the Caribbean and ringed by a startlingly beautiful coastline, this varied landscape is home to more than 20 endemic bird species including an endemic family, the Palm-Chats. Our search for the endemics and regional specialities will take us to the cloud forest and thorn scrub of the rugged Sierra de Bahoruco as well as the bizarre cactus forest of the Lago Enriquillo basin. The lake itself is home to flocks of flamingos, herons, waders and waterfowl. Our visit to the Dominican Republic will be enriched by the gracious hospitality of its people and their excellent Spanish-style cuisine. A short flight east takes us to Puerto Rico, once a Spanish colony, now a U.S. territory and popular holiday destination. With an excellent road system giving easy access to its many forest reserves, Puerto Rico offers some of the easiest and most enjoyable tropical birdwatching anywhere. In our quest for the island’s 14 endemics and more than two dozen Caribbean specialities we’ll visit every habitat from the windswept elfin woods of Maricao to the bird-rich thorn scrub of the Guanica Dry Forest. Saturday
16 February to Tuesday 26 February 2008 Please note this tour will not run in 2007. Day 1: The tour begins in London with a flight via Madrid to Santo Domingo, the capital of the Dominican Republic. Night in Santo Domingo. Day 2: Our hotel garden is the location of Santo Domingos main roost of Hispaniolan Parakeets, so we’ll start the day with excellent views of one of the scarcer endemics. We’ll then visit the extensive and beautifully maintained botanical garden, centred on a densely forested canyon. A morning walk here provides a good introduction to the island’s birds. In addition to the ubiquitous Zenaida Dove and Hispaniolan Woodpecker we should find Vervain Hummingbird (one of the world’s smallest birds), Antillean Palm-Swift, the adorable Broad-billed Tody, Red-legged Thrush, Black-crowned Palm-Tanager and Hispaniolan Lizard-Cuckoo. We can also expect to see the bizarre Palm-Chat, in a family unto itself that builds enormous communal nests in palm trees. After lunch we’ll make the long drive to Barahona on the southwestern coast. Night near Barahona. Day 3: We’ll make a very early start to visit the northern slopes of Sierra de Bahoruco National Park. Our main target just after dawn will be the very local La Selle Thrush, which lives in a beautiful but restricted patch of cloud forest. Other highlights we’ll search for include Hispaniolan Emerald, Hispaniolan Parrot, Hispaniolan Trogon, Narrow-billed Tody, Green-tailed Warbler, White-winged Warbler, Western Chat-Tanager, Hispaniolan Stripe-headed Tanager and Greater Antillean Bullfinch. We’ll gradually work our way back downhill into drier forest where we’ll hopefully locate the peculiar Antillean Piculet, the only member of its genus, as well as Flat-billed Vireo. Much of our time in the lower stretches will be spent searching for the rare and endemic Bay-breasted Cuckoo. If time permits we’ll visit Lago Enriquillo in the late afternoon. Lying more than 40 metres below sea level, this intensely saline lake is the remnant of a channel that once divided Hispaniola into two islands. Our main goal here is Hispaniolan Palm Crow but we may also see an interesting assortment of late migrant waders and hopefully Plain Pigeon. In the afternoon we’ll drive back to Barahona for the night. Day 4: Today we’ll focus on the south side of the Sierra de Bahoruco. The extensive pine forest here is home to Golden Swallow, Pine Warbler, Antillean Siskin, and the endemic Hispaniolan Crossbill. Night in Barahona. Day 5: We’ll leave early once again for a second visit to the north slope of Sierra de Bahoruco. Arriving before dawn we’ll try for Greater Antillean Nightjar and other night birds. We’ll then search for any species missed during our previous visit that may include Bay-breasted Cuckoo, White-necked Crow, or Hispaniolan Euphonia, all of which can prove elusive, and we’ll also visit Lago Enriquillo if we did not manage to do so earlier in the week. Night in Barahona. Day 6: A pre-breakfast birding option should allow us to see Least Poorwill as well as Palm-tanager and Broad-billed Tody. After breakfast we’ll drive back to Santo Domingo and for some sightseeing in the Colonial Zone of the oldest ‘European’ city in the New World. We’ll spend the night at an atmospheric hotel in the old city. Night in Santo Domingo. Day 7: This morning we’ll take a short flight to San Juan, Puerto Rico. Puerto Rican Stripe-headed Tanager, Puerto Rican Bullfinch and Puerto-Rican Emerald are a few of the endemics we’ll be searching for during an afternoon visit to Cambalache State Forest and surrounding areas. Night in Hatillo. Days 8-9: A morning stop close to Hatillo will provide close views of White-tailed Tropicbirds and while visiting other coastal areas around Cabo Rojo we’ll seek out the scarce endemic Yellow-shouldered Blackbird as well as migrant waders. Many of Puerto Rico’s endemics are to be found in the Guanica Dry Forest, including Puerto Rican Tody and the stunning and vocal Adelaide’s Warbler. The lush montane Maricao State Forest and other protected areas near our hotel will keep us entertained for hours as we search for Puerto Rican Lizard-Cuckoo; Puerto Rican Emerald; Puerto Rican Vireo; Puerto Rican Flycatcher; Puerto Rican Tanager and Greater Antillean Oriole. The star attraction in the mountain region, however, is the Elfin Woods Warbler, first discovered in 1971. On night-time birding excursions we’ll look for the local Puerto Rican Nightjar and Puerto Rican Screech-Owl as well as Antillean Nighthawk and for those who want to take it easy, birding is always excellent around the grounds of our comfortable hotel. Nights in Maricao. Day 10: We’ll leave early to return to San Juan in time to visit a coastal area to search for Green-throated Carib. In the evening we’ll catch an overnight flight back to London, via Madrid, where the tour ends on Day 11.
Cost £2180 (2006) Single Room Supplement £220 (2006). Maximum group size: 7 with 1 leader; 14 with 2 leaders. The ground arrangements for this tour are organized by our American associates WINGS.
Last updated June 2006. |
Bird List