The Hunter - Free

My arrival back among the Caribbean Islands was full of thoughts and hopeful expectations of returning migrant birds to the United States and Canada. On the previous visits, aboard the MV Voyager, to several Islands a fair number of these birds were encountered but most in fairly dowdy, transitional and varying stages of plumage, are we going to encounter the 'real McCoy' this time? With solid reassurances of safety from Ernso I have now explored some of the nearby

 

FOREST TRAILS

 

meeting some new mates

(The BIRD HUNTERS

who assure me they eat all they kill and so much reminded me of myself

during those uninformed years. Who am I to judge?)

and a few familiar ones, recorded on the last visit to the Island of Hispaniola,

which you may remember was 

Santa Domingo, Dominican Republic

on the second day of the year.

Similar to that occassion the first on view was an 'endemic'

HISPANIOLAN WOODPECKER

but given the 'hunting' situation it felt unlikely that any 'lifers' would be seen?

I did have it in mind that 'one' would be nice but not very hopeful.
Otherwise, as you will see, the prospects look good.

Next up and from the verandah of the house through pouring rain

a tiny Raptor which was approached as close as it would allow

and found to be a bedraggled

MERLIN

It wasn't long before the sun came out (along with some birds)

and the search could begin in earnest

with this fine looking fella,

perched on the wrought iron gate,

a male YELLOW-FACED GRASSQUIT

and not far away in the vegetation below was

MOTHER

DRAGONFLIES abound in the somewhat damaged forest,

but what remains is dense, full of fruiting trees and

Wot's That U There?

Surely the first of the 'YANKS'

and what a way to 'kick-off'

a pristine male

BLACK-THROATED BLUE WARBLER

seen many times before throughout the US,
but never in such close proximity.

Lots of these bright and very delicate

BUTTERFLY

preceded the next on parade, an equally obliging

male

COMMON YELLOWTHROAT

The 'pissssshing' was Working Wonders.
 A cacophony of loud bird chattering had me back-tracking
to find this

COMMUNAL NEST

of a COLONY of

another previously seen Hispaniolan 'endemic'

PALMCHAT

The National Bird of the Dominican Republic, it is of the family

Dulidae of which it is the only member. The 'manual' notes,

"probably more related to the Waxwings than any other Passerine 

being arboreal, noisy and gregarious to the point of

'communal nesting".

Plenty of LIZARDs, of a number of species, were seen before this

female

COMMON YELLOWTHROAT put in an appearance

along with what I have dubbed

'EMERALD' DRAGONFLY,

SMOOTH-BILLED ANI

A LIZARD seemingly with 'more ambition

and the next Warbler.

Far more numerous than any other of the 'family' group

in all it was estimated that easily 30

NORTHERN PARULA

were recorded.

Then another group of foraging

PALMCHAT

obviously keeping their young well supplied with the

abundance of fruit.

and finally, the LOCAL GOAT/SHEEPHERD (center)
who I now see on a daily basis and despite the
language difficulties seem to get along with very well.
Gratis 'Goat's Head Soup' in the future maybe?