Hispaniola Bird Conservation Projects

RECENT NEWS
Chris Rimmer returned from a February field trip to Haiti and the Dominican Republic with optimism. From training Dominican park guards to exploring habitat conservation opportunities in Haiti's remote Macaya Biosphere Reserve, the trip made conservation progress despite the looming threats facing the region. Read Chris's informal account about this eye opening trip.

"In Search of Haiti's Birds" offers a look at the status of Haiti's forests and the birds that rely on them. Author Jason Townsend, graduate student at SUNY-ESF studying Bicknell's Thrush, emphasizes the need to protect the last remnant patches of habitat that make this one of the most biologically diverse areas in the West Indies. This article was published in the Spring 2007 issue of Living Bird.

Hispaniola Parrots, Black-capped Petrels, and Bicknell's Thrush were the highlights of the 2006 expedition to the endangered Macaya Biosphere Reserve in Haiti. One captured Bicknell's Thrush was an individual that had been captured and banded at the same location in 2004! Read the Technical Report or Chris Rimmer's account of the trip in the fall issue of Field Notes. The 2004 report was published in the journal Ornitologia Neotropical that reports on bird diversity, abundance and conservation status in the endangered Macaya Biosphere Reserve of Haiti.

Read about Chris Rimmer's 2005 expedition to search for Bicknell's Thrush, Black-capped Petrel, and other high elevation birds in La Visite National Park, Haiti (informal account; technical report)

Specific Initiatives

• Establishment of a national bird monitoring program
• Studies of breeding biology of resident birds in Sierra de Bahoruco and Loma la Canela
• Investigation of overwinter demographics and ecology in Bicknell's Thrush
• Investigation of winter mercury burdens in Bicknell's Thrush and other species
• Development of a sustainable conservation plan for Macaya Biosphere Reserve
• Ornithological surveys of Parc National Pic Macaya in Haiti (PDF, 1.2MB)
• Ornithological surveys of Parc National La Visite in Haiti (PDF, 1.2MB)
• Investigation of avian habitat use in regenerating agricultural pastures
• Production of a bilingual field guide to the birds of Hispaniola
• Field training of Dominican biologists and amateur birders
• Development and implementation of Hispaniola eBird