This Dominican Republic Endemics Tour was elaborated for the more avid birders. We will have some time to learn about culture, history, and nature in general, but the focus is clearly on seeing all or most of the country endemics (31 in total) and regional endemics.

The trip is not particularly strenuous. The walks are usually short, and even on the longest hikes restricted to about 3h. We will walk on nature trails, but they generally are relatively flat and not difficult to walk. Of course, we also walk slowly, as we will be birding all the time. Anyone in reasonably good health and with a general level of fitness can take the tour. On several occasions, birding will be from the car and we will make stops along the way where we walk only short stretches, looking for particular species or following a flock.

The car rides can be tiring, especially along Zapotén and Cachote road. We will be traveling in a 4WD high-clearance vehicle (the main reason for the limited number of participants on the tour), and you will notice that is absolutely necessary. Roads are sometimes not even roads but rather dry river beds. However, your endurance will be rewarded with some excellent species. Other drives, to get us from A to B can take up to 4h on good roads, although we try to limit the long driving days during the tour.

D1 Arrival Santo Domingo airport & Transfer to Sabana de la Mar

D2 Birding in Los Haitises NP

D3 Birding in Los Haitises NP & Transfer to Santo Domingo

D4 Birding in Botanical Garden & Transfer to Cabo Rojo

D5 Birding in Cabo Rojo & along Alcoa Road

D6 Birding along Cachote Road

D7 Free morning & Transfer to Villa Barrancoli

D8 Birding along Zapotén road

D9 Birding along Rabo de Gato trail & Transfer to Santo Domingo

D10 Departure Santo Domingo airport

The island of Hispaniola is shared by the Dominican Republic in the east and Haiti in the west. With a surface of about 76,000km², it is the second largest island in the Caribbean. The Dominican Republic occupies roughly two thirds of its land mass, and Haiti the remaining third. It is also the most populous island of the Caribbean archipelago, counting over 11mio Haitians and a good 10mio Dominicans. 

When it comes to bird life, Hispaniola benefits from its unique location: It sits on an oceanic archipelago between the Caribbean Sea in the south and the Pacific Ocean in the north, and pretty much in the middle between North and South America. It may not have the high species numbers of other countries in the Americas (though it still counts just over 300 species total), but it has relatively high numbers of endemic and regional endemic species.  In total, Hispaniola boasts 31 strict endemics (that is, species that are not found anywhere else in the world). Only one of those – Grey-crowned Palm-Tanager – has not been seen in the Dominican Republic, since it is restricted to southwestern Haiti. Besides the strict endemics, Hispaniola is also home to about 20 regional endemics, or species only found in the Caribbean. Then we are not talking yet about the nearly 50 resident sub-species. And on top of that, the island is an important wintering or stopover site for hosts of migratory warblers, ducks, and shorebirds that are a lot easier to see here in winter than in North America in summer, simply because they are concentrated in a much smaller area.

Hispaniola also enjoys a wonderfully varied geography and habitats: from lowland swamps and rainforest, to broad savannahs, to arid deserts, to montane rainforest, to highland pine forests. It has several unique geographical features, like Lago Enriquillo, a salt lake 40m below sea level, and Pico Duarte, the highest mountain in the whole Caribbean 3,145m.

Culturally, Quisqueya, as Dominicans affectionately call their home (meaning “mother of all lands”) is also a country of superlatives. This was the first permanent Spanish settlement in the Americas or the “New World,” with the arrival of Christopher Columbus on his first voyage in 1492. Aside from choosing the Dominican Republic as his sole residence in the region­–a land blessed with fertile soil and gold deposits–Columbus and the Spanish Crown used the country as a launching pad for conquests across the Caribbean and United States. Today, the first city of the Americas, Santo Domingo, is the capital of the Dominican Republic, and continues to thrive while preserving its history and original Spanish architecture.

Thanks to its good connections to both the rest of the Americas and to Europe, its good infrastructure, variety and diversity in landscapes, flora, fauna and things to do, its pleasant climate, its laid-back vibe and its delicious gastronomy, the Dominican Republic is bound to conquer a space in any visitor’s heart.

Weather

The climate in the Dominican Republic is best described as a tropical, with sunny days year-round and average annual temperatures hovering just below 80°F (26° C). Variations from that average are determined more by altitude than anything else. Temperatures at higher elevations in the central mountain range, the Cordillera Central, can drop into the 60s F (17°C), and it’s not uncommon to see temperatures above 90°F (32°C) on the coastal plains. Northeast trade winds blow off the Atlantic year-round and are especially welcome on the northern side of the island. The average temperature in the capital, Santo Domingo, is 75°F (24°C) in January and 80°F (27°C) in July.

Changes in seasons in the Dominican Republic means changes in rainfall patterns as opposed to changes in temperature. The rainy season for the north coast runs from November to January; for the rest of the country, rain falls more regularly between May and November. During the rainy season, rains tend to fall in the afternoons in short bursts after which sunshine returns. The mountainous northeast see the heaviest rains, with average annual rainfall of more than 100inches (2,540mm). The western valleys along the Haitian border, as well as the northwestern and southeastern extremes of the country, are relatively arid and usually see only about 20 inches (500mm) of annual rainfall. The humidity can be oppressive during the heat of summer months, but winter brings relief in the form of cooler, dry nights.

Generally, hurricane season in the Dominican Republic is from June to November. Historically the most active month is September, but some of the most severe and destructive storms have come significantly earlier in the year; it’s impossible to predict when the storms will come. While a major storm hits once every quarter-century, the island is affected by at least outer bands of storms more frequently—close to every five years.

Language

The Dominican Republic is mostly Spanish-speaking. English and French are mandatory foreign languages in school,although the quality of foreign languages teaching is poor. Haitian Creole is the largest minority language in the Dominican Republic and is spoken by Haitian immigrants and their descendants. There is a community of a few thousand people whose ancestors spoke Samaná English in the Samaná Peninsula. They are the descendants of formerly enslaved African Americans who arrived in the nineteenth century, but only a few elders speak the language today. Tourism, American pop culture, the influence of Dominican Americans, and the country’s economic ties with the United States motivate other Dominicans to learn English. The Dominican Republic is ranked 2nd in Latin America and 23rd in the World on English proficiency. 

Money

The local currency is the Dominican Peso. The exchange rate varies, but is currently around 50.6 DOP for 1 USD or 57 DOP for 1 EUR. Most There are ATMs in Santo Domingo, which work with Visa and Mastercard. Be careful with money and other valuables. Many areas in the Dominican Republic are poor, and temptation can get the better of some. Try not to display your money, jewelry and other valuables more than necessary.

Health & Hygiene

Consult your doctor timely about vaccinations and medication and inform us of any health issues or dietary requirements, so we can take the best possible care of you.

Tap water in the Dominican Republic is not for drinking. Hotels will provide purified water for drinking, brushing teeth etc. 

Hotels we visit are comfortable to basic. They are clean, have hot water, usually have a fan or A/C (though not always), provide purified water for drinking, and good overall service. Restaurants we select to take our clients have been trained to cater for tourists. They maintain the highest possible hygiene standards and use purified water in all drinks (and ice) and food preparations.

Even when taking all possible precautionary measures, the change of climate, food, activity level etc. sometimes weighs on people, causing nausea or diarrhea, which can ruin a day. Bring the necessary medicine to alleviate symptoms of the most common traveler’s conditions. We also always carry a first aid kit in case you need it.

Recommended bird guide

Birds of the Dominican Republic and Haiti. Steven Latta et al. (2006)

Birds of the West Indies. Princeton Fieldguide. Herbert Raffaele et al. (2003)

What to bring (in addition to your usual packing list)

- Light shirts with long sleeves;

- Light long trousers;

- Raincoat;

- Sun hat or cap;

- Footwear with good grip;

- Repellent;

- Sunscreen;

- Personal medicine and products for personal hygiene);

- Camera;

- Binoculars.

We will be waiting for you at Las Americas international airport in Santo Domingo. As soon as the group is complete, we drive to Sabana de la Mar, on the northern shore of the island. We will likely arrive late, so after our first dinner together we crawl into bed to be fit for our first birding day tomorrow! Or if you still have some energy we could give the Ashy-faced Owl a first go.

Paraiso Caño Hondo is our entrance gate to Los Haitises National Park. The park is famed among birders because it is the stronghold of the endemic Ridgway’s Hawk. The entire population (about 300 individuals) of this rare and unfortunately, critically endangered, raptor lives in Los Haitises. Today, we will hike the land-based part of the park in search of Ridgway’s Hawk and other terrestrial bird species such as White-crowned Pigeon, Plain Pigeon, Hispaniolan Parrot, White-necked Crow, Broad-billed Tody, Greater Antillean Pewee, Stolid Flycatcher, Black-crowned Palm-Tanager, and Hispaniolan Oriole. In the evening, we will also look for the beautiful and endemic Ashy-faced Owl.

On the schedule this morning is a boat trip to add some more species to our list of waterbirds and shorebirds. We will get a full host of boobies, egrets, herons, night-herons, gulls, terns, plovers: Brown and Red-footed Booby, Black- and Yellow-Crowned Night-Heron, Laughing and Ring-billed Gull, Least, Caspian and Royal Tern, Snowy Plover, Brown Pelican, Magnificent Frigatebird and many more.

After lunch, we drive back to Santo Domingo, where we enjoy dinner in the colonial heart of the city.

Early in the morning, we drive to the Botanical Garden. It is the largest one in the Caribbean, with 2000 hectares and over 69,000 plant species (both native and introduced). It was founded in 1943 and named after he first Dominican botanist to write a catalog on the flora of La Española, Dr. Rafael Moscoso. The garden offers a great introduction to many of the more common bird species of the Dominican Republic, including some of the endemics. Targets here are Vervain Hummingbird, Broad-billed Tody, Hispaniolan Woodpecker, Hispaniolan Lizard-Cuckoo, Palmchat, Black-crowned Palm-Tanager, Hispaniolan Parakeet, and the near-threatened West-Indian Whistling Duck. 

Afterwards, we drive to the southwestern side of the Dominican Republic. Our first destination – and base for the next few nights – is Cabo Rojo (“Red Cape”). Along the way, we briefly stop at the wetlands in Baní. Some of the species we are likely to see here are American Flamingo, Brown Booby, Reddish Egret, Yellow-crowned Night-Heron, Merlin, Peregrine Falcon, Clapper Rail, Black-bellied Plover, Snowy Plover, Wilson’s Plover, Semipalmated Plover, Piping Plover, Black-necked Stilt, Greater and Lesser Yellowlegs, Willet, Whimbrel, Red Knot, Sanderling, Semipalmated Sandpiper, Western Sandpiper, Least Sandpiper, Pectoral Sandpiper, Stilt Sandpiper, Short-billed Dowitcher, Herring Gull, Least Tern, Roseate Tern, Royal Tern, Sandwich Tern, and Yellow Warbler.

Today we’ll be dividing our time between Cabo Rojo and Alcoa Road. 

Cabo Rojo is well-known for its enchanting white sandy beaches and the nearby cliffs of the Bahia de las Águilas (“Eagle Bay”). There is also a lagoon where we can find White-cheeked Pintail (a regional endemic), White and Glossy Ibis, Roseate Spoonbill, Black-bellied Plover, Greater and Lesser Yellowlegs, Semipalmated, Western, Least, Pectoral and Stilt Sandpiper, Short-billed Dowitcher, Wilson’s Snipe, Stolid Flycatcher, Yellow Warbler, Village Weaver and Nutmeg Mannikin.

The latter is a good dirt road leading up to the Hoyo de Pelempito entrance on the south side of Sierra de Bahoruco National Park. We make several stops along the road to look for Antillean Euphonia, Antillean Piculet, Antillean Siskin, Hispaniolan Pewee, Hispaniolan Emerald, Hispaniolan Parrot, Hispaniolan Parakeet, Hispaniolan Palm Crown, Hispaniolan Crossbill and Golden Swallow.

Prepare for some rough terrain today. Don't worry too much, we won't have to walk it, but the bumpy ride in the car over steep rocky roads and through river beds will shake you up a little. However, it is worth it, because this is where we will look for some of the harder-to-get endemics. Primarily the Eastern Chat-Tanager, which is pretty much impossible to get anywhere else, and the main reason to even drive up this road. Other target species we can see here include Hispaniolan Parakeet, Hispaniolan Trogon, Hispaniolan Spindalis, Rufous-throated Solitaire and Narrow-billed Tody.

This morning, we have built in some spare time which we can use either to rest or to try and pick up some species we might have missed on this side of Bahoruco NP. Afterwards, we drive around the park (back through Barahona) to the northern slope of the Sierra. Depending on our morning activity and thus our time of arrival, we may still look for Bay-breasted Cuckoo, Flat-billed Vireo, White-fronted Quail Dove, Broad-billed Tody, Narrow-billed Tody, Hispanolian Piculet, Hispaniolan Oriole and Hispanolian Lizard-Cuckoo. After dark, we can go owling and try again to get the Ashy-faced Owl, in case we didn’t see it at Sabana de la Mar or we just can’t get it enough of it.

Another rough drive today, this time along Zapotén road. Though ‘road’ is actually too much credit for what we will be driving on, because most of it is actually a dry river bed. You will understand why we need the 4WD and high clearance car! But again, this is a must-go location, since it is one of the best spots to look for White-necked Crow, White-winged and Green-tailed Warbler, Antillean Siskin, Hispianolian Spindalis, Greater Antillean Elaenia, Western Chat-Tanager and LaSelle’s Thrush.

This morning we go birding along the nearby Rabo de Gato trail. An easy and pleasant walk through a beautiful forest and along a lovely stream. This area is home to Flat-billed Vireo, White-fronted Quail Dove, Key-West Quail-Dove, Broad- and Narrow-billed Tody, Hispaniolan Piculet and Hispaniolan Lizard-Cuckoo, among several others.

In the afternoon, we drive back to Santo Domingo for our farewell dinner.

The Dominican Republic Endemics trip has come to an end. We hope you enjoyed your stay, saw plenty of beautiful birds, and have added some (endemics and others) to your life list. We will bring you back to Las Americas international airport in time for your flight.