On our third day in the Dominican Republic, we went on a private birding tour with Explora Ecotour.
Bob was a birder when I met him thirty-six years ago, but in an act of charitable solidarity, he chucked his life list and started over with a joint list for the two of us. No bird gets added until we both see it. In some cases, we’ll settle for both hearing the bird, as in the Yellow Cuckoo, a migrant we hear in our woods every summer but will probably never see.
We had 480 birds on our combined life list when we boarded our flight for Punta Cana, excited to add a few more. It’s worth mentioning here that there are about 10,000 species of birds worldwide, and that avid birders have lists in the thousands.
Explora Ecotour sent a driver to fetch us at 7:00 AM to take us an hour west of Punta Cana to Cotubanamá National Park on the Caribbean side. His name was Eduardo, and he pointed out sights along the way, including his neighborhood where he grew up and still lives.
Eduardo told us that when he was younger, Punta Cana was called Punta Borracho, which is Spanish for Drunk Point, but they changed it for obvious reasons. It would be fun to see if tourism revenue spiked after Punta Borracho became Punta Cana.
The only thing I want to say about Doña Pula is that when you see a giant woman in an apron, you have to stick your camera out the window and take her picture. We did not stop there to eat.
Our guide, Manny, spoke American English, had schooled in Florida, and started Explora Ecotour with his wife eighteen years ago. Manny was a delight and, we soon learned, politically aligned with us as all educated people tend to be. Funny how that is.
We met Manny at the end of the road on the east side of the resort and walked down a service road on the Parque Nacional Cotubanama side of the Cadaques Caribe Resort and Villas, turning at the beach and continuing south, a total of 1 1/2 miles.
The clouds had been threatening rain, but didn’t open up until we reached the beach, where we happily took cover in a maintenance shed. After the brief shower passed, we continued hiking south along a forest trail with views of the beach.
One of the first birds Manny picked out was the Vervain Hummingbird, which, at less than two and a half inches long including its bill, is the second-smallest bird in the world.
The Hispaniolan Mango hummingbird has a curved bill and is twice the size of the Vervain.
Palmchat (Dulus dominicus)
This cute little lizard’s for you, Steph.
Manny helped us add sixteen new birds to our life list, the most colorful being the Tody, a tiny bird related to the kingfisher with a bright green back, yellow underparts, a red chin, and pink flanks that it fluffs in warning. As in “Don’t come any closer, or I’ll cute you to death!”
It was at least an hour before Manny could lure the Tody into lens range. I wondered why he was trying so hard, telling myself, No big deal; we saw plenty of other birds, underappreciating his determination, until I saw it. Seriously, the Tody was the highlight of my day!
We saw Hispaniolan Woodpeckers during our walk with Manny, but Bob snapped this photo during morning coffee on our penthouse terrace.
No trip to the Caribbean is complete without a glimpse of the Magnificent Frigatebird, even if they are pirates. So are Bald Eagles and Brown Pelicans.
The skies were still moody on our drive back to Punta Cana, and we noticed several rock walls that resembled bulldozed rubble.
On the way home, Eduardo pulled over so that I could get a picture of a resort with a fanciful name. I asked Eduardo and Bob, if they had to choose, would they choose Secrets or Dreams? For me, I’d choose Secrets because secrets are usually juicier, with a more intelligible storyline. Which one would you prefer?
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