DOMINICAN REPUBLIC – Cano Hondo in Los Haities NP

Day 7 / Feb 11 – Our final day in the Dominican Republic was the only one it rained.  Torrential downpours, the first in 2 weeks, did not dampen our determination to tick the final endemic species of our trip, the critically-endangered Ridgway’s Hawk, found only in the mountain ranges of Los Haities National Park.

Cano Hondo, Los Haities NP

Michael, the local guide for this specialty bird, met up with us at the appointed time, but we waited a while for the weather to clear, having time for breakfast before heading out.  Skies still looked ominous when we opted to go for it.  Wrapped in waterproof ponchos and umbrellas, we crossed fingers that rain would let-up enough for us to see the hawk.  The good news was that there was a nest in a palm tree very close to our lodge, and a pair seems to be interested in using it for a second year.

We climbed the steep path behind the lodge grounds, then down through a gated field.  A Limpkin was seen flying across a lower field. Luck was with us as the rain let-up a bit, and Michael found a female Ridgway’s Hawk sitting on a favorite perch.   She flew across a field and landed in a cecropia tree, then returned back to her original position.  Then the male flew in, calling as he approached her. They sound very similar to Red-shouldered Hawks and even look a bit like them. I thought they were going to mate, but not this time. The skies darkened and we got back to the lodge before the rain turned torrential.

We were delighted to have seen this extremely rare and endangered raptor with relative ease (rain aside), the last of 32 avian endemics found during our week-long birding trip in the country.  We look forward to guiding visitors on a new Wildside Nature Tours Endemics Tour of the Dominican Republic.

all photos © adrian binns