Birding in Southern Haiti: Emphasis on Gray-crowned Palm-Tanager
2-4 April 2014
Rick Schaefer
Nacogdoches, Texas, USA
[email protected]
Prior to our time in Haiti, three of us birded the Dominican Republic (DR) with local guide Miguel
Landestoy for four days (29 March – 1 April, 2014). This was our third trip to the DR and we were
seeking seven remaining island endemics plus Double-striped Thick-knee. Needless to say, several
of these were among the more difficult endemics to locate. However, Miguel did a fantastic job of
getting us excellent looks at all eight species we sought. Additionally, we saw all of the other
Hispaniolan endemics found in the DR except for the palm-crow, and that was simply for lack of
trying since we had seen the crow on a previous trip. I highly recommend Miguel. As I have read in
a least one other trip report, patience is required when communicating with Miguel via email. He is
not always quick to reply since he does not have internet capabilities when in the field, and he
spends a lot of time in the field. We also had to remind him several times that we were targeting
eight particular species, and what those species were. Once we met up with Miguel in Santo
Domingo everything went very smoothly and we were extremely pleased with his services. Miguel
knows DR birds extremely well, including vocalizations, and usually knows of multiple territories
for each species. Miguel’s daily fee for the three of us, for four days, was $315.00(US). This
included a 4x4 vehicle and his guide fee. All other expenses including fuel, Miguel’s meals and
lodging, park entrance fees, etc., were in addition to the daily fee. Miguel can be contacted at
[email protected].
After four days with Miguel, we still had four full days left and no real plans on how to use them.
When planning this trip, we had allowed for several extra days in case we missed any of our target
species while with Miguel, but that was no longer an issue. Miguel suggested we go after the Graycrowned Palm-Tanager in Haiti, the last Hispaniolan endemic we needed. He has been there to see it
and knew of a guide and some locations for the bird. After some discussion, two of us decided to go
for the palm-tanager. Miguel graciously made all of the arrangements for us. He secured the same
English-speaking Haitian guide he used and made flight reservations for us.
We spent the night in Santo Domingo at Hostal Plaza Yu (contact info below). I do not recall
exactly what we paid for a room with two beds, but I believe it was $40-45(US). The 30-minute cab
ride from the hotel to the domestic airport cost $30.00(US) or 1,300 pesos. We flew a Haitian airline
named Sunrise Airways from the domestic airport in Santo Domingo, DR to Port-au-Prince, Haiti.
One round-trip ticket cost $335.00(US). The airport in Santo Domingo opened at 6am and the
Sunrise Airways desk opened at 6:30am. Our 50-minute flight to Port-au-Prince was scheduled to
leave at 7:30am but did not depart until 8:20am, so expect flight delays. Our return flight was only
ten minutes late in departing.
Hostal Plaza Yu – address: Calle Pasteu 208, Gazcue, Santo Domingo, Dom. Rep. 12345
Phone: 809-686-7322
Email: [email protected]
Website: www.hostalyu.com
Initially, we were apprehensive about visiting Haiti due to the country’s reputation over the years as
a dangerous destination. A reasonable concern given the country’s violent political history,
corruption, and intense poverty. In addition, a devastating earthquake in 2010 caused significant
damage and loss of life, especially in the capitol city of Port-au-Prince. However, we had not heard
any terrible news coming out of Haiti for the past few years with regard to safety. In fact, as soon as
we met up with our Haitian guide outside of the airport at Port-au-Prince we felt completely as ease.
This is not to say there are no dangers, but we had no problems at all during our three days in the
country. We received many curious looks from locals simply because they do not see many tourists,
but everyone was friendly.
The name of our Haitian guide is André Paultre (contact info below), and he speaks very good
English. André’s fee was $250.00(US) per day. This fee included 4x4 vehicle, fuel, and guide
service. It did not include his meals and lodging. André did not know the birds, but we did, so that
was not a problem for us. What we needed was a guide who knew the routes, places to stay, and
could translate the language. André was an absolute pleasure to travel with and I highly recommend
him. He was very enthusiastic and taught us a lot about Haiti. He even gave us a four-hour tour of
Port-au-Prince on our final day in Haiti prior to our departure.
André Paultre (Haitian guide)
Port-au-Prince, Haiti
Phone: (509) 3443-3067
Email: [email protected] or [email protected]
We were in Haiti three days (2-4 April, 2014). Our entire time was spent on the southern peninsula
between Port-au-Prince and Camp Perrin. After leaving Port-au-Prince we began watching for
potential Gray-crowned Palm-Tanager habitat. Our field guide, A Guide to the Birds of the West
Indies, by Raffaele et al., describes the tanager’s habitat as, “Forested areas, from sea level to highest
mountains, including pine and broadleaf forests. Also open areas and gardens.” Well, that
description gave us the impression the palm-tanager could be found just about anywhere as long as
there were some trees.
Gray-crowned Palm-Tanager sites:
Site 1 – At 1:40pm we stopped at a likely looking place along Highway 2 between the communities
of Fonds des Negres and Masellian (a short distance east of the latter). GPS coordinates for this
location are 18° 20.055N, 73° 16.101W. The habitat included a small patch of secondary dry forest
and scrub on the south side of the road, and a house with small crops and garden-like surroundings
on the north side of the road. This appeared to be private property but Andres assured us it was okay
to look around. Furthermore, the woman at the house did not seem to mind us being there. There
had just been a rain shower, cloud cover kept the temperature mild, and birds were active. We
walked to the edge of a line of trees near the house and within a few minutes spotted a Graycrowned Palm-Tanager in one of the trees. Shortly thereafter a second one appeared. We figured
the species must at least be fairly common since the habitat we found these birds in was abundant.
We were at this location for only 15 minutes. Other birds seen here were Palmchat, Black-andWhite Warbler, and several Scaly-naped Pigeons perched in trees across the road.
Site 2 – Since Site 1 appears to be on private property, anyone searching for the palm-tanager may
wish to continue driving west on Highway 2 to Site 2. This is a hotel named Jardins Sur Mer,
located not far west of the town of Aquin. The habitat along the entrance road and on the hotel
grounds looked very good for the palm-tanager, so we chose to stay here for the night. Again, I do
not recall the exact price, but a room with two beds was $80-85 per night (contact info below). After
checking in, it did not take long to locate a Gray-crowned Palm-Tanager on the hotel grounds.
During our time here (2 April, 2pm – 3 April, noon), we saw a least five individuals including a
fledgling being fed by an adult. Five is a conservative number because we may have been seeing the
same individuals repeatedly. One palm-tanager was seen landing in a small tree as I enjoyed a beer
at the outdoor bar. Another (or perhaps the same bird) was seen from our room window. They were
very easy to observe on the grounds of Jardins Sur Mer.
Jardins Sur Mer
Route nationale #2, Zanglais, Haiti
Phone: (509) 3668-6147
Email: [email protected]
Manager’s name is Robert Anglade
On the morning of 3 April we walked to a patch of woods located a short distance west of Jardins
Sur Mer and across the highway. We walked through an area where cutting had taken place for
small-scale charcoal production. A concrete wall separated this property from one with taller trees
that have been left alone. We walked a little farther uphill and found that there was no wall on the
uphill side of the better wood lot. This allowed us access to look for birds. We stayed for one hour
and saw a number of birds including yet another pair of Gray-crowned Palm-Tanagers.
Species (# of individuals) seen or heard at Site 2 (including Jardins Sur Mer, adjacent bay, and the
nearby patch of woods):
Yellow-crowned Night-Heron (2)
Western Cattle Egret (1)
Little Blue Heron (1)
Turkey Vulture (4)
Red-tailed Hawk (1)
American Kestrel (3)
Black-bellied [Gray] Plover (1)
Willet (4)
Spotted Sandpiper (3)
Laughing Gull (4)
Royal Tern (5)
Sandwich [Cabot’s] Tern (1)
Scaly-naped Pigeon (2)
Mourning Dove (1)
White-winged Dove (3)
Common Ground Dove (6)
Smooth-billed Ani (9)
Hispaniolan Lizard-Cuckoo (5)
Antillean Palm-Swift (3)
Antillean Mango (3)
Vervain Hummingbird (5)
Broad-billed Tody (5)
Hispaniolan Woodpecker (7)
Gray Kingbird (5)
Stolid Flycatcher (1)
Black-whiskered Vireo (3)
White-necked Crow (11)
Northern Mockingbird (2)
Village Weaver (5)
Scaly-breasted Munia (1)
Black-and-White Warbler (2)
Cape May Warbler (10)
Northern Parula (2)
Palm Warbler (1)
Bananaquit (12)
Yellow-faced Grassquit (3)
Greater Antillean Bullfinch (1)
Gray-crowned Palm-Tanager (7)
Site 3 – From the town of Les Cayes we drove north on Highway 7 to a town named Camp Perrin.
We drove through town and continued to a nearby waterfall named Saut Mathurine. There was a fair
amount of secondary riverine forest here. We arrived at the waterfall at 6pm and stayed only 45
minutes. André has brought people here before and was familiar with the area. He knew at least a
couple of the people at the entrance gate to the waterfall site. A group of around five young men and
an older fellow walked with us as we made our way to the waterfall. I guess they found us curious
and had nothing better to do. André explained to them that we were birdwatchers and that we were
particularly interested in the Gray-crowned Palm-Tanager. The locals know the tanager as “quatreyeux” (four-eyes) because of the white spots above, below, and in front of each eye. After about
twenty minutes at the waterfall, we returned and walked past the entrance gate to a different road
that headed to the river. Before heading down that road one of the young men pointed to a bird in
the canopy. I looked at it with my binoculars and saw that it was a Gray-crowned Palm-Tanager.
The guy must know the birds of the area pretty well to be able to identify this well-hidden tanager
without the aid of binoculars. I was impressed. GPS coordinates for this site are 18° 22.125'N, 73°
50.829'W.
We drove to the nearby town of Camp-Perrin and checked into a hotel named Le Recul Hotel. André
has stayed here before and highly recommended it. The price for a room with two beds was $8085(US). The hotel has a restaurant which was quite good.
Species (# of individuals) seen or heard during 45 minutes (6-6:45pm) at Site 3:
Mourning Dove (1)
Hispaniolan Lizard-Cuckoo (1)
White-collared Swift (10)
Antillean Mango (2)
Hispaniolan Woodpecker (1)
Gray Kingbird (1)
Loggerhead Kingbird (1)
Black-whiskered Vireo (1)
American Redstart (1)
Cape May Warbler (1)
Northern Parula (1)
Bananaquit (1)
Greater Antillean Bullfinch (1)
Gray-crowned Palm-Tanager (2)
Other Haitian birding sites (Gray-crowned Palm-Tanager not
observed at the following sites):
Site 4 – After finding the palm-tanager, we were interested in locating a wetland site for waterbirds.
From Jardins Sur Mer we drove west on Highway 2. We had not driven very far before turning
south on a dirt road that soon passed some rice paddies with a good number of birds. We stopped
here at noon and stayed for an hour or so. A couple of people were working in the paddy but the
birds were not bothered. Afterward we continued south on the dirt road to a mangrove wetland. The
road continues along the east side of a bay named Baie du Mesle. The road was dry and 4x4 was not
necessary. This may not be the case after a rain. I do not have GPS coordinates for this site, but
locate Baie du Mesle on Google Maps and the dirt road can be seen following the east side of the
bay.
Species (# of individuals) seen at Site 4:
Glossy Ibis (9)
Least Bittern (1)
Green Heron (3)
Western Cattle Egret (12)
Great Egret (3)
Tricolored Heron (2)
Little Blue Heron (1)
Snowy Egret (4)
Turkey Vulture (1)
Common Gallinule (11)
Black-necked Stilt (10)
Killdeer (1)
Northern Jacana (3)
Greater Yellowlegs (2)
Lesser Yellowlegs (4)
Solitary Sandpiper (3)
Spotted Sandpiper (2)
Royal Tern (2)
Sandwich [Cabot’s] Tern (1)
Mourning Dove (13)
Common Ground Dove (6)
Antillean Palm-Swift (2)
Hispaniolan Woodpecker (3)
Gray Kingbird (8)
White-necked Crow (2)
Tricolored Munia (20)
Northern Waterthrush (1)
Common Yellowthroat (3)
Greater Antillean Grackle (6)
Bananaquit (2)
Yellow-faced Grassquit (8)
Site 5 – We visited Jardin Botanique des Cayes located a short distance north of the town of Les
Cayes on Highway 2. For the site location on Google Maps search for Jardin Botanique Cayes, HT2, Haiti. We arrived at 3pm and stayed until 4:30pm. These are nice botanical gardens with a
mixture of habitats including scattered trees, small patches of woods, scrub, grassy areas, manicured
gardens, and a river. We seemed to be the only people here other than garden caretakers. An
overcast sky and recent rain showers must have increased bird activity because we saw a good
number of birds despite the time of day. Looked good for the palm-tanager but we did not find it
here.
Species (# of individuals) seen at Site 5:
Western Cattle Egret (4)
Great Egret (2)
Turkey Vulture (2)
American Kestrel (1)
Killdeer (2)
Solitary Sandpiper (1)
Mourning Dove (10)
White-winged Dove (3)
Common Ground Dove (4)
Smooth-billed Ani (12)
Hispaniolan Lizard-Cuckoo (3)
White-collared Swift (20)
Antillean Mango (2)
Vervain Hummingbird (5)
Broad-billed Tody (2)
Hispaniolan Woodpecker (6)
Gray Kingbird (8)
Black-whiskered Vireo (2)
White-necked Crow (2)
Palmchat (8)
Northern Mockingbird (1)
Village Weaver (7)
Black-and-White Warbler (1)
American Redstart (5)
Cape May Warbler (3)
Northern Parula (2)
Black-throated Blue Warbler (2)
Prairie Warbler (1)
Bananaquit (10)
Yellow-faced Grassquit (3)
Site 6 – We found a wetland site near Camp-Perrin, located in a valley next to the new highway
being constructed. We arrived at 6:40am on 4 April and stayed for nearly two hours. This turned
out to be a very good site for waterbirds. There was a lot of aquatic vegetation as well as pockets of
open water, and scrubby vegetation on the slope between the road and the wetland. Unfortunately
we only had binoculars. A spotting scope would have been a tremendous help at this site. GPS
coordinates for this site are 18° 18.539'N, 73° 50.988'W.
Species (# of individuals) seen at Site 6:
West Indian Whistling Duck (31)
American Wigeon (2)
Blue-winged Teal (60)
Northern Shoveler (2)
White-cheeked Pintail (3)
Ruddy Duck (8)
Green Heron (3)
Western Cattle Egret (50)
Great Blue Heron (3)
Great Egret (10)
Tricolored Heron (3)
Little Blue Heron (1)
Snowy Egret (2)
Western Osprey (1)
Purple Gallinule (3)
Common Gallinule (30)
Caribbean Coot (4)
Black-necked Stilt (1)
Killdeer (2)
Spotted Sandpiper (3)
Mourning Dove (4)
Common Ground Dove (3)
Gray Kingbird (6)
White-necked Crow (3)
Palmchat (1)
Northern Mockingbird (1)
Village Weaver (2)
Common Yellowthroat (2)
Cape May Warbler (2)
Palm Warbler (1)
Prairie Warbler (2)
Greater Antillean Grackle (8)
Yellow-faced Grassquit (8)