ITINERARY

PRACTICALITIES

GETTING THERE & GETTING AROUND

We booked a TUI flight back and forth to the Dominican Republic. JetBlue took us to and from Puerto Rico back to the Dominican Republic. This turned out to be the cheaper option and fairly easy (see the health section).

We rented a car in Puerto Rico through Nu Car Rental (via rentalcars.com) and in the Dominican Republic through Alamo. Both cars were standard passenger cars, prices were OK and they were in fine condition - no hassle here. Renting a 4WD seems to be a bit more tricky and definitely more expensive as stated by others. When not camping out in the forest, the main reasons to have one might be to visit Zapotén and Cochote. We visited Loma De Hoz instead of Cochote (for the Eastern Chat Tanager) where we could hike uphill. In Zapotén we hired a 4WD + driver (see below) which is actually pretty convenient.

ACCOMMODATION & FOOD

Both islands are very touristic which made it easy to find accommodation and food. Most of them were found with a simple search on the internet and often we could make last minute reservations. When tourism is flourishing again like before Covid, it might be more difficult. Hotels and B&B's were found in a wide price range, but especially Puerto Rico wasn't too cheap.

For some sites, it is advisable to arrange accommodation beforehand:

Villa Barrancoli (Zapotén +/ Rabo de Gato). The most efficient site to be based as it is located right at the beginning of the Rabo de Gato Track. Many target species can be seen, exploring the area by foot. The place itself is rather basic and outdated, but still pleasant. Prices were rather high for what you get. Kate (the owner) can arrange a 4WD for Zapotén and/or Cachote. Unfortunately, prices were very steep in our opinion. Due to miscommunication, a supplemental guide was arranged, which we did not want (too expensive). A cheaper alternative might be to stay in the nearby village of Puerto Escondido where a few hotels might be found.

Paraiso Caño Hondo or Altos de Caño Hondo (Los Haitises). Ridgway's Hawk, the main target bird here, is present next to these hotels. Birding can be done on foot from here. Both hotels have a rather special architecture and setting and both are expensive. One could also stay in Sabana de la Mar and make a day visit.

HEALTH & SAFETY

We encountered no issues at all. On both islands Covid restrictions were still active, but there was little hassle. To enter the Dominican Republic, no tests/vaccination certificates were needed. One only had to fill in an online health form, both upon arrival and departure. For Puerto Rico, we needed a negative Covid test (max 24 hrs before embarking) plus an online health form. To be on the safe side, we decided to do our test in the Dominican Republic and spent one night there, which turned out to be a wise decision afterwards. Covid restrictions are changing constantly (or might be non-existent in the future), so make sure to check the latest situation...

VISA

For Puerto Rico, an American online visa (ESTA) was required. For the Dominican Republic, one can easily get a tourist visa upon arrival. For both islands, we did need to fill in some online Covid related forms: Puerto Rico Travel Declaration and Dominican Republic E-ticket.

MONEY

On both islands ATM's were widespread. Credit cards were accepted widely.

SITE INFO - PUERTO RICO

RIO ABAJO (PR)

At present, this State Forest Reserve is the best site to look for the critically endangered Puerto Rican Parrot that lives in the protected forest on the limestone hills. The parrots are said to roost nearby the captive-breeding facilities and can be encountered mainly early morning and late afternoon.

To reach the site, drive up all the way until you reach a yellow gate (18.330693,-66.706667). We parked our car here and walked further along the road for about 2 km. There, you will see another gate which you cannot pass (18.332138,-66.717666). Just a couple of hundred meters before the second gate, there is a broad dirt track going left at 18.331555,-66.717666. Along this side track, we had good numbers of the Puerto Rican Parrots and we encountered our only 2 (Puerto Rican) Lesser Antillean Pewees and (Caribbean) Broad-winged Hawk.

Most of our birding time was along the side track, but also along the main entrance road, where we had Puerto Rican Owl (1 heard), many Puerto Rican Vireos and good numbers of Puerto Rican Bullfinch. We recorded the highest numbers for the trip of Adelaide's Warbler here.

Close to the first gate where we parked our car, we explored an abandoned recreational area (18.3309,-66.7068) where we connected with a pair of (Puerto Rican) Loggerhead Kingbirds.

EL MERENDERO DE GUAJATACA (PR)

We made a detour from Rio Abajo to Sabana Grande taking the coastal route, which allowed us to make a quick roadside stop at this site. It is a pleasant break of the journey as the cliffs here (18.490745,-66.950767) have a colony of (Atlantic) White-tailed Tropicbirds.

BOSQUE ESTETAL DE GUANICA (PR)

This park is located along the southern coast and consists of dry deciduous forest. The major target here is the Puerto Rican Nightjar, once believed to be extinct. We parked our car along the main coastal road next to the gate at 17.958620,-66.861860. At dusk, several birds were vocally active and good views were obtained along the Camino La Ballena.

Later on we moved to a more wooded area to try for the Puerto Rican Owl which is known to be reliable here. We parked near the gate at 17.979550,-66.881088 and walked a couple of hundred meters along the Camino Las Coubanas and several of these owls were heard. The vegetation is rather dense here, which makes it difficult to get decent views.

MARICAO STATE FOREST (PR)

Within the Cordillera Central, this reserve is the best site to look for some of the more localized (higher altitude) endemics. We came from Sabana Grande in the South, which is probably the easiest option. There are several spots that can be birded.

We started high up at KM 16.2 (18.152643,-66.993592) where we easily found Elfin Woods Warbler and Puerto Rican Tanager, as well as Puerto Rican Oriole. Several Puerto Rican Owls were heard in the morning. Later on in the evening we headed back to this site and saw several of them.

Next site was a bit lower down (back) again, near the Monte del Estado resort (18.140978,-66.973618). We lingered around in the parking lot and had some (Puerto Rican) Loggerhead Kingbirds and more Puerto Rican Orioles.

We contined up again with a quick stop near KM 16.8 (18.156708,-66.997749) where we found Elfin Woods Warbler and Puerto Rican Tanager, some Puerto Rican Vireos, as well as another Puerto Rican Oriole. The highest numbers of Puerto Rican Bullfinch were noted in this section.

A short break at the Hacienda Juanita (18.178549,-66.993560) did not result in the needed Euphonia, but some excellent coffees were more than welcome!

A random stop (18.171371,-66.993838) along the road to the Montoso Gardens, finally resulted in finding our last target bird: a pair of nest building (Puerto Rican) Antillean Euphonias. We also recorded some more Elfin Woods Warblers, Puerto Rican Spindalis and Puerto Rican Orioles here.

LA PARGUERA AREA (PR)

The best known stake-out site for the endemic Yellow-shouldered Blackbird is the coastal town of La Parguera. These birds can be easily found within the town, especially near the famous hardware store (17.974164,-67.056584). Our visit was no exception and we rapidly found some flocks flying overhead and eventually visiting the feeders next to the store. Apart from the blackbirds, there wasn't much to see here...

LAGUNA CARTAGENA (PR)

We had some time to do some more general birding and thus we paid a visit to this freshwater lake. We took the turnoff at 18.029255,-67.109163, drove South from here and parked our car at 18.010196,-67.108938 and walked the track until the observation tower (18.010983,-67.102849). Many ducks and other water birds can be seen from here, including the West Indian Whistling Ducks. Puerto Rican Flycatcher was commonly seen here.

CABO ROJO (PR)

At the southwestern side of the island, the Cabo Rojo peninsula can be productive for birding. There were no hard targets for us, as we already saw the Yellow-shouldered Blackbird (see above). We did not encounter them on our visit. Most time was spent birding the salt pans (17.95205,-67.1958833) and tidal mudflats (17.943593,-67.19188), and the nearby mangroves and scrub. Apart from a nice selection of waders, we saw some (Caribbean) Clapper Rails, (Puerto Rican) Antillean Mango and good numbers of Caribbean Elaenia.

PUNTA POZUELO (PR)

After having seen the Puerto Rican targets, we planned to catch up with two Caribbean hummingbird species. The classical spots are in the very West of the island, but a quick look at eBird taught us we could get them much closer by, almost on the way back to San José. On the Punta Pozuelo peninsula, we checked all the flowering trees in the gardens. Eventually, both the Green-throated Carib and (Lesser Antilles) Antillean Crested Hummingbird were seen at 17.9365,-66.1981.

BOSQUE INSULAR CARITE (PR)

We had an extra day and opted to spend it in some montane area on the way to San José. Based on some ebird sightings, we choose this site to bird some morning hours. We did some roadside birding at 18.122704,-66.079974 and along the Charco Azul swimming hole trail (18.090618,-66.033095). At the latter site we had 2 Puerto Rican Tanagers, but in general, birding wasn't spectacular...

BORINQUEN (PR)

With some extra time on our hands, we made a small detour on our way to San José and to look for Plain Pigeon near Borinquen. We found out that there was some kind of a stakeout for this sparsely distributed species on Puerto Rico. Soon we were greeted by locals who knew exactly what we were after, not so much later, by the birds themselves. They appeared to be breeding next to the bridge (18.167271,-66.043318).

SITE INFO - DOMINICAN REPUBLIC

SANTO DOMINGO BOTANICAL GARDEN (DO)

Both on our first and last day of the trip, we spent some time in the botanical garden of the capital. The gates (18.490538,-69.958774) only open at 9:00, but the guards can let you in earlier and you pay when getting out of the park. It attracts a lot of people (mainly jogging), but the quieter parts can be very birdy. The stream at the back side is a reliable spot for the West Indian Whistling Ducks, which were seen on both visits. Hispaniolan Parakeets were easily seen here as well.

CANO HONDO (DO)

Next to the Los Haitises NP, two lodges (Paraiso Caño Hondo and Altos de Caño Hondo) provide convenient access to bird the area. There is not a real trail system (unfortunately), but the real targets can be found in the near vicinity of the lodges and along the main road.

The main target here is Ridgway's Hawk, a critically endangered species. A pair is having their territory close to the lodge. This year, their nest was in a clearing on the other side of the stream at 19.0549,-69.4580. It took some time finding out how to get there, but we finally managed to cross the stream (close to Paraiso Caño Hondo Hotel) and follow a small footpath that led us to the site.

Night birding is very convenient here, as it can be done driving and stopping along the main entrance road. After some stops, we had a responsive Ashy-faced Owl (19.0488,-69.4365) that flew in calling loudly. It perched above our head in one of the roadside palms giving walkaway views.

Near the lodge some noisy White-necked Crows were stating their presence.

ALCOA ROAD (DO)

This famous road leads to (abandoned?) ALCOA mines and therefore is a broad and easy to access gateway to some higher altitude forest of Sierra de Bahoruco. Most species can be seen in Zapotén as well, but some might be slightly easier here. We decided to bird here first and mainly get the swallow and crow, so we could focus on the harder targets in Zapotén. Especially given the fact that we would only bird Zapotén for one day as this requires both a long and expensive drive.

First (early morning) stop was in the sharp bend at 18.112740,-71.611982, where we found Western Chat Tanager and Hispaniolan Trogon. In the same are good numbers of Hispaniolan Spindalis were recorded. On a night trip, a cooperative Stygian Owl was heard and seen at 18.116008,-71.61615.

Higher up, we had a quick stop near La Charca (18.120926,-71.597536), but birding was disappointing here.

We quickly continued higher up and parked the car at the picnic table and shelter (18.127712,-71.552761) where we were welcomed by a nice flock of noisy (Hispaniolan) Palm Crows. They were clearly hoping to get an easy snack from the day visitors. From there we explored the general area on foot. Golden Swallows regularly flew overhead, and so did a single (Caribbean) Sharp-shinned Hawk. In the pine forest further along the track, we eventually tracked down a pair of Hispaniolan Crossbills (18.1445,-71.5454). Greater Antillean Bullfinch was nowhere common on the island, but most were seen along the ALCOA road.

LOMA DE HOZ (DO)

While preparing this trip, we found out that this site is an alternative for the well known site at Cachote (Monumento Natural Miguel Domingo Fuerte). The Cachote trip requires a decent 4WD to get to the top which is very expensive when booked via Tody Tours. For this site, one 'only' needs to park along the main road (18.169404,-71.255079) and make a pretty steep 4-5km hike uphill. The hike is technically not difficult, but nevertheless is tiring when racing against the clock - tip: start early!

The main target clearly was Eastern Chat Tanager, which was easily found once we reached some altitude, starting from 18.180055,-71.274114. Higher up, several more birds were recorded. The birds were very vocal and responsive to tape. Flat-billed Vireos were fairly common here.

RABO DE GATO (DO)

This well known trail/track is located right next to Villa Barrancoli and must be the easiest accessible site to bird the lower parts of the Sierra De Bahoruco. It basically starts as a dirt track and continues as a trail through the gallery forest.

At the time of our visit, it had been extremely dry for several months, resulting in a dry streambed and very few recent records of the White-fronted Quail Dove. Luckily for us, it turned out that a leaking water pipeline at the edge of the forest (18.313602,-71.589098) did attract loads of birds, including a White-fronted Quail Dove with up to 5 Key West Quail Doves.

Along the same stretch of the track, we encountered a rather vocal and showy pair of Bay-breasted Cuckoo (18.312623,-71.585925).

Along this trail, we found a single (Caribbean) Sharp-shinned Hawk, some Hispaniolan Orioles (in a fruiting tree next to the lodge) and White-necked Crow.

ZAPOTÉN (DO)

Zapotén is the higher part of the Sierra De Bahoruco. Right at the border with Haiti, this is the site to connect with some highly localized species, like La Selle Thrush. The road up can be in very poor condition depending on recent weather/flooding. A high clearance 4WD is a must. On our trip, this was the only site where we needed one, so we opted to arrange a guide + car via Kate. Although expensive, this still was cheaper/easier than renting one ourselves for the whole trip.

As the thrush tends to hop on the tracks at first light, one should leave very early. The best birding is done along the main track, starting about 500m past the ranger station. Several La Selle Thrushes and a single Bicknell's Thrush (18.30881,-71.709014) were present on the track. The former was regularly encountered throughout the first birding hours. In the same area, we also had several White-winged Warblers, Western Chat Tanager, loud Rufous-throated Solitaires and overhead Golden Swallows. An unexpected bonus bird was a single White-fronted Quail Dove (18.307973,-71.704179). Other birds of notice included Hispaniolan Trogon.<

We slowly birded until we reached some pine forest. A pair of Hispaniolan Crossbills with their chicks were found readily at 18.308362,-71.698142.

On the way down, we made a few stops in the lower parts hoping to find a (Hispaniolan) Loggerhead Kingbird. Eventually, we found some at 18.3224383,-71.6783467. Surprisingly, our only(!) Antillean Siskin of the trip was seen in these middle elevations. In a way, this might have been our hardest bird to find...

Along the road to Zapotén, in an area referred to as El Naranjo, we twice did some night birding. We stopped right at the junction (18.353788,-71.617555) and explored the general area from there. The wind made it more difficult, but eventually we encountered several Least Pauraques, 2 (Hispaniolan) Greater Antillean Nightjars (in the plantations, at 18.348662,-71.603431), and a (Caribbean) Northern Potoo (perched on a stick at 18.353228,-71.613689).

CABO ROJO (DO)

Having seen all of our targets, we tried to connect with Black-capped Petrels. It turned out to be very hard to get them at their breeding grounds. Hence, we focussed on seawatching. En route, we spent several evenings scanning the sea with no luck. We felt that the better site was the Cabo Rojo area (17.891183,-71.658837). Several marine species were observed (like (Atlantic) White-tailed Tropicbird), as well as some far arcing petrel-like birds. Unfortunately, we were unable to ID them. ALong the track some wader species were found in the ponds.

PEDERNALES AREA (DO)

With time on our hands, we used the last morning to explore the area above Pedernales. Eventually, this is the road that winds up all the way to Zapotén. In the lower parts, habitat wasn't too promising. Eventually, we birded the stretch along the wooded gully at 18.124833,-71.729386. We only saw some regular species here.

CABI AREA (DO)

On our way back to Santo Domingo, we made a quick stop to the saltpans (18.214448,-70.556013) and mangroves (18.21413,-70.534475) near Cabi, which added some waders and gulls to the trip list, nothing more.