April 4-12, 2026 with Cory Gregory & Marcelo Barreiros
Although Hispaniola is the second-largest island in the Caribbean, it has the most endemics of any of them. Much of that is thanks to the incredible diversity of habitat and elevation that Hispaniola has to offer. The eastern half of the island, the country of the Dominican Republic, is the best place to see these specialties thanks to protection of much of the forests and more sustainable land-use practices. What you end up with is a fantastic place to go birding, one where you can enjoy the warmth, the local food, and, in this case, a group of like-minded birders. Many thanks to all of you for coming along with Denis and for choosing Field Guides for your adventure!
After our arrival into Santo Domingo, our trip got underway, along with our local guide Manny and driver Jose, up to Los Haitises National Park. We enjoyed a boat trip through the mangroves which gave us great looks at West Indian Whistling-Duck, point blank Caribbean Martin, Osprey, herons, kingfishers, and others. And then, as often happens, we had some rain... a lot of it. We found out just how much rain the following morning when it was time to go find the critically endangered Ridgway's Hawk. We sloshed our way through the fields but were rewarded with scope views of this special endemic, the rarest of the Buteos in the world! We also started filling out our list in earnest here adding endemics such as Hispaniolan Lizard-Cuckoo, Broad-billed Tody, Antillean Piculet, Hispaniolan Woodpecker, White-necked Crow, and of course the strange Palmchat. We ended the day back in Santo Domingo, trying to dry out at our familiar and trusted hotel.
The next day we ventured to the west. We started by birding at the Bani salt pans where we found a slew of new trip birds including Gull-billed Tern, Sandwich Tern, Least Tern, Black-necked Stilts, and a wide range of other shorebirds. Of course, the most exciting bird, for the locals at least, was an American Avocet which is a mega rarity for the island. It was fun having Manny there, getting a lifer! On our way out, we also stopped to check out the endangered and endemic Rhinoceros Iguanas. After we said goodbye to Manny, we continued westward. That afternoon we met up with our next local guide, Efrain (and then Raphael), to do some local birding around the town of Duverge. We added Antillean Siskin, Flat-billed Vireo, Hispaniolan Euphonia, Black-crowned Palm-Tanager and others. That evening, after it got dark, we even spent time with three species of nightjars: Least Pauraque, Hispaniolan Nightjar, and Antillean Nighthawk.
We started our birding the next day in the foothills of the Sierra de Baoruco. We spent a lot of time searching for the rare and endemic Bay-breasted Cuckoo which, finally, actually did show itself! Whew. The forest had a great variety though and we added Scaly-naped Pigeon, Key West Quail-Dove (heard), several Hispaniolan Lizard-Cuckoos, Hispaniolan Amazon, Olive-throated Parakeet, Loggerhead Kingbird, Green-tailed Warbler, and Greater Antillean Bullfinch. Later that morning we birded around Lake Enriquillo where we were successful in finding the endemic Hispaniolan Palm-Crow as well as a very cool Burrowing Owl pair. We checked out the shoreline of Lake Enriquillo and added some nice shorebirds and terns but rain eventually pushed us out and back towards town for lunch. After lunch and a siesta back at our apartments, we birded another roadside near Duverge, this time seeing Common Ground Dove, Zenaida Dove, Black Swift, Vervian Hummingbird, Golden Swallow, Hispaniolan Oriole, and even a day-roosting Northern Potoo!
The following morning started pretty early, even by birder's standards. But, it was an important morning and a necessary slow climb up the mountain in 4x4 vehicles. What met us at the top though, at Zapoten, was a glorious, chilly morning, with the songs of the Rufous-throated Solitaires filtering down through the trees around us. A couple key targets were high on our list and it wasn't long before we started seeing them. A La Selle Thrush hopped along the road predawn, a singing Western Chat-Tanager came out for a quick look, a White-winged Warbler showed briefly, Hispaniolan Spindalis were common, and the list goes on. We added Hispaniolan Emerald, Hispaniolan Trogon, Hispaniolan Elaenia, Hispaniolan Pewee, Hispaniolan Crossbill, and, well, you can sense a trend. On our way down the mountain, we stopped briefly so that we could look into Haiti and to add a few birds to our Haiti lists. After lunch back in town, we hit the road, headed down and around toward Pedernales. We stopped at some salt lagoons en route, adding Common Gallinule, Short-billed Dowitcher, Stilt Sandpiper, Gull-billed Tern, and White Ibis. It was a long but good day of birding, ending in Pedernales at our comfortable hotel enjoying drinks on the top veranda.
We drove up the ALCOA Road predawn the next morning and enjoyed hearing Antillean Nighthawks and Hispaniolan Nightjars singing all around us. The highlight, perhaps, was a pair of Stygian Owls including a male that was wing-clapping right above us. Very very cool. Up at the top, at El Aceitillar, we enjoyed a leisurely walk and saw Hispaniolan Amazon, Hispaniolan Palm-Crow, Hispaniolan Elaenia, Hispaniolan Crossbill, several warblers, and even heard a Northern Bobwhite. Later that morning we returned to Cabo Rojo but this time enjoyed seeing 40 White-tailed Tropicbirds offshore! After a lovely lunch at a restaurant (complete with a Scaly-breasted Munia sighting), we spent the afternoon driving to our next hotel, the Hotel El Quemaito. After a nice break, we went owling nearby and finally tracked down the mysterious Ashy-faced Owl!
The final day of birding started early, as we took 4x4s up to Cachote. But, again, the reasoning was good; we had some important endemics to track down. Thankfully the weather was lovely and we had no trouble stirring up an Eastern Chat-Tanager! We also took a hike at the end of the road which eventually led us to a spot where we saw White-fronted Quail-Dove, our final DR endemic! After we thanked our host, and retreated down the path, retreated down the mountain, met up with our driver Jose once more, said goodbye to Efrain, and then drove all the way back to Santo Domingo. We finished with a lovely (and misty) dinner just around the corner of the hotel before we said our goodbyes.
You can see my complete trip report on eBird at this link: https://ebird.org/tripreport/496912
You can download a combined PDF of this page and the eBird report at this link: https://fieldguides.com/triplists/dom26pTRIPLIST.pdf
-- Cory Gregory (Curlew) & Marcelo Barreiros (Cotinga)