Birding Tour Dominican Republic: Complete Dominican Republic

The island of Hispaniola, and in particular the Dominican Republic, which encompasses the eastern side of the island, is host to much more than the many beach-lined resorts that dot its coastline. Combined with the country’s rich culture and steep traditions, it has some of the most exiting birding in the Caribbean.

The monotypic Palmchat should be encountered on this tour.

Being the second-largest country in the Caribbean, after Cuba, the habitat found throughout the country is diverse and varies from dry scrub to high-altitudinal forest (recalling the cloudforests of the Neotropics) to humid lowland forest, with many wetlands and marshes present in between. This results in a wealth of birdlife, and 30 species are endemic and confined to the island of Hispaniola, and all but one are readily accessible in the Dominican Republic, with only a single Hispaniolan endemic species being confined to Haiti, which makes up the rest of Hispaniola and is located on the western side of the island. Besides the 30 Hispaniolan endemics, many more species occurring here are found solely in the Greater Antilles, and yet more widespread species are only readily accessible within the Dominican Republic, making this a crucial must-visit destination for any world birder.

<img class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-62556 entered exited" src="data:;base64,” alt=”Dominican republic birding tours” width=”899″ height=”562″ data-lazy-srcset=”https://www.birdingecotours.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/02/Hispaniolan-Amazaon.jpg 899w, https://www.birdingecotours.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/02/Hispaniolan-Amazaon-300×188.jpg 300w, https://www.birdingecotours.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/02/Hispaniolan-Amazaon-768×480.jpg 768w, https://www.birdingecotours.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/02/Hispaniolan-Amazaon-540×338.jpg 540w” data-lazy-sizes=”(max-width: 899px) 100vw, 899px” data-lazy-src=”https://www.birdingecotours.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/02/Hispaniolan-Amazaon.jpg” />Hispaniolan Amazon is one of the targets on this tour.

Perhaps the island’s greatest success story on the avian side concerns the Critically Endangered (IUCN) Ridgway’s Hawk. Previously an endemic on the verge of extinction, an intensive monitoring campaign, coupled with relocations and reintroductions by the Peregrine Fund, has brought this species back from the verge of extinction, and, while the fight is still not over, much progress has been made, and this species is now more accessible than ever! Besides Ridgway’s Hawk, which is arguably one of the country’s most iconic birds, other notable species found within the Dominican Republic include the likes of White-fronted Quail-Dove, the rare Bay-breasted Cuckoo, Ashy-faced Owl, the charismatic Hispaniolan Trogon, Broad-billed and Narrow-billed Todies, Antillean Piculet, Hispaniolan Amazon, Hispaniolan Parakeet, Flat-billed Vireo, the declining Golden Swallow, Rufous-throated Solitaire, the rare and highly prized La Selle Thrush, Hispaniolan Crossbill, Antillean Euphonia, both Western and Eastern Chat-Tanagers, and the taxonomically odd Green-tailed and White-winged Warblers, along with Hispaniolan Spindalis and Hispaniolan Oriole. The national bird of the country, Palmchat, resides in a family of its own and is another true icon and one of our main targets, fortunately easily seen throughout the country.

The attractive Hispaniolan Spindalis.