Bulletin 209 - Dominican Republic #2 - warblers, and parrots

I am interested all all aspects of the areas and countries I visit, history, geography, geology, birds, mammals, plants, reptiles etc and I try to read up before I go, so I can get the most out of the visit. In the last bulletin I talked briefly about the geography and geology of Hispaniola.

I found the early history to be fascinating as well. Columbus found Hispaniola on his first voyage in December 1492. He landed, met the Taino Indian inhabitants and on leaving on Dec 25, his flagship, the Santa Maria, struck a reef and was ruined. They salvaged much of the timber from the ship and built the first European shelters on what is now the north coast of Haiti. As he couldn't get all the men on the remaining two ships, 39 Spaniards were left at that place, which he called La Navidad.

The Taino Indians called the island Haiti (Mountainous Land). Columbus called it Spanish Island (La Isla Espanola). Peter Martyr of Angleria was an Italian historian in the Spanish court who produced detailed chronicles (1511 - 1526) of the Spanish exploration from letters and interviews with the explorers. The works were written in Latin and he translated the name as Hispaniola. His works were soon translated into English and French, and the name 'Hispaniola' became the term for the island in English-speaking countries.

When Columbus returned the next year with 17 ships and 1500 people, he found the shelters burned down and all 39 had been killed by the Indians, or succumbed to disease. Several more settlements were established along the coast and Hispaniola was to be the Spanish base in the New World with Columbus as governor as in his contract with the king.

His brother, Bartholomew Columbus, founded Neuva Isabela (named for Queen Isabella of Spain) on the south coast on the east bank at the mouth of the Ozama River in 1496. The settlement was destroyed by a hurricane 2 years later and he moved across to the west bank and founded Santo Domingo on August 5, 1498. It is the oldest permanent European settlement in the New World. It became known as the 'Gateway to the Caribbean'. Ponce de Leon's colonization of Puerto Rico, Velaquez's colonization of Cuba, Cortes' conquest of Mexico and Balboa's expedition across Panama and the first sighting of the Pacific Ocean were all launched from Santo Domingo.

In a letter dated March 20, 1503, King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella decreed the building of the first hospital in the new world in Santo Domingo to look after the 'Christian poor and Indians'. This hospital was called Saint Nicholas. As a physician, I found this history of the hospital fascinating and looking further on the Internet found an article of the whole history of this hospital. Later in this bulletin you will see why I mentioned the hospital.

A number of other New World firsts occurred in Santo Domingo. In 1505, due to raiding by pirates, the first military fort was begun (Fortelaza Ozama). In 1510 a palace was constructed by Diego Columbus, Christopher's eldest son who was appointed as the Governor of the Indies in 1509. The first cathedral was begun in 1523 and the first university in 1538.

Unfortunately as elsewhere subsequently in the New World, the native population was decimated by European diseases for which they had no natural resistance. It was estimated that in 1492, there were 400,000 Taino Indians on Hispaniola. By 1512, the native population had shrunk to 60,000 primarly due to smallpox and measles. By 1542, it was just a remnant of 5,000.

There was some gold found and the natives were enslaved to mine it for the Spanish. As the local population collapsed, the first African slaves were brought to the New World in 1502, launching the Atlantic slave trade.

Eventually, Santo Domingo was surpassed in importance by San Juan, Puerto Rico (founded 1509) and Havana, Cuba (founded 1514)

In 1586, Sir Francis Drake raided and burned Santo Domingo and an earthquake 5 years later left the city ruined. The gold had been exhausted and with Cortez conquering the Aztecs in  Mexico (1521) and all their silver, and Pisarro conquering the Incas in Peru (1535) with their gold, Hispaniola became just became of minor importance. By the late 1600's Hispaniola was unprofitable for Spain, and a treaty allowed the French to settle in the western region which they named Saint-Dominge (now Haiti).

I saw a number of wintering warblers in the Dominican Republic. Not surprisingly, they were the ones from eastern North America that migrate through Florida to the Caribbean Islands.

The first was the Northern Parula (Setophaga americana). The gray with green back, white eye arcs, wing bars and yellow breast are the ID marks.

Northern Parula

I saw the Black-and-white Warbler (Mniotilta varia) on several occasions. He has a large worm in his mouth

Black-and-white Warbler

The Palm Warbler (Setophaga palmarum) is a wintering resident in Hispaniola. As you know, he is IDed by the brown streaky coloration and reddish cap. He has yellow on his rump and undertail. He bobs his tail continuously.



Palm Warbler

The Mangrove Warbler (Setophaga petechia) is a split from Yellow Warbler. These birds are non-migratory residents of South Florida, Central America, Caribbean Islands and northern South America. This is the Hispaniloan endemic subspecies albicollis. The head is redder and the crown yellower than the Yellow Warblers of North America. Some of the birds even have completely reddish-brown heads in Central America. This of course is a male with the reddish streaking on the breast.

Mangrove Warbler - Hispaniola subspecies

The next 3 birds are very uncommon in Texas as they migrate almost exclusively through Florida to the Caribbean.

The male Black-throated Blue Warbler (Setophaga caerulescens) is beautiful and looks just the same, summer or winter. He has a blue back, white wing patch and black throat. I have seen the bird about 4-5 times in 25 years in Texas. I had to go to Michigan last summer to get a photo. I saw at least half a dozen on this trip.

Black-throated Blue Warbler - male

The female is drab olive and beige with a grayish face. The large white wing spot helps the ID. I think this was only my second time to see a female, and my first photo.

Black-throated Blue Warbler - female

The Cape May Warbler (Setophaga tigrina) is another eastern bird, but it is a little more commonly found in Texas. I have seen it about 10 times in 25 years. I have not seen it since starting photography in 2006 and again had to get a photo on the Michigan trip. The male is bright yellow with streaking on the breast and reddish cheek patches.

Cape May Warbler - male

The female is very drab, but the streaky breast helps the ID. I think this may be the first female I have ever seen, and we saw several on the trip.

Cape May Warbler - female

The Prairie Warbler (Setophaga discolor) is olive above, yellow below with black streaking along the flanks and 2 black lines across the face. The sexes are similar with female duller. I have seen this bird only 3 times in 25 years before the trip, but did photo him on 2 of the 3 occasions. On this trip I saw it almost every day.

Prairie Warbler

There is a resident endemic subspecies of the Pine Warbler (Setophaga pinus) on Hispaniola. It inhabits the pine forests in the mountains. These pines are also endemic, the Hispaniolan Pine.

Pine Warbler - Hispaniola subspecies

These next two birds are both Hispaniola endemics. They were initially thought to be warblers, but recent studies suggest that they may be more related to tanagers. Consequently, they have been removed from the Parulidae family and are in the uncertain class along with 2 warblers from Cuba and the Yellow-breasted Chat, until they can figure out where they belong.

The Green-tailed Warbler (Microligea palustris) is olive above, and gray below. The adult has a red eye, but the juvenile here has a dark eye.



Green-tailed Warbler - juvenile

The White-winged Warbler (Xenoligea montana) has an olive back, dark gray head and tail, light gray underparts and a white wing line.

White-winged Warbler

Other warblers seen were Ovenbird, Northern Waterthrush and American Redstart.

There are 3 parrots on Hispaniola, 2 of which are endemic and the other introduced. The Hispaniolan Parakeet (Psittacara chloroptera) is endangered. There is a population of the birds breeding in the ruins of the Saint Nicholas Hospital in colonial Santo Domingo. That is where I got these photos. The birds nest in holes in the between the bricks where the second floor timbers had been. I think that it is fitting that an old hospital is still working to save the lives of an endangered bird species. The red shoulders are the ID mark as well as the long parakeet tail.

Hispaniolan Parakeet

And here is a pair at the nest.

Hispaniolan Parakeet

I saw fly overs of the endemic Hispanolan Parrot, and one time a pair landed in a nearby tree. However, they are devilish to find in the leaves and despite 3 of us looking, we never located them to photograph, before they flew away 5 minutes later.

Happy birding and photography,

David McDonald dkmmdpa@gmail.com

Lisa Kelly-McDonald lisajanekelly67@yahoo.com

photos copyright 2006 - 2014 David McDonald

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Bulletin 170 - early migrants

With the arrival of April, spring migration here is officially underway. However, some early migrants come in March and us hard core birders seek them out.

The Myrtle Warblers are getting yellow crown spots, This was the first time I recall noticing these crown patches.

Myrtle Warbler

Speaking of crown patches, the Orange-crowned Warbler keeps his patch hidden and the only time I have seen it was when one was bathing. I have never seen it otherwise and most birders will tell you it is never seen. Well this bird broke the rule. He kept his orange crown visible as he came to the drip at LaFitte's Cove Galveston last Friday.

Orange-crowned Warbler

Even this Nashville Warbler got in the act and showed the red feathers in his crown patch.

Nashville Warbler

A male Northern Parula came to the drip and posed nicely for a photo.

Northern Parula

A surprise bird was this Audubon's Warbler is almost full breeding plumage. This is the western form of Yellow-rumped Warbler and differs from the Myrtle Warbler above by having the yellow throat.



Audubon's Warbler

A couple of early Black-throated Green Warblers were found as well.

Black-throated Green Warbler

I was very pleased to find one of my nemesis birds, the Yellow-throated Warbler. This is only the third time in my life to see this common bird.

Yellow-throated Warbler

The Black-and-white Warbler is a favorite of mine. They work the trunks and larger limbs of trees in a style like a nuthatch.

Black-and-white Warbler

The Louisiana Waterthrush is the earlier of the waterthrushes to arrive. It is IDed by the long eye stripe going down the back of the neck as well as pink legs and buffy flanks.

Louisiana Waterthrush

An unusual find was a Calliope Hummingbird at LaFitte's Cove the last few weeks. This bird at 3.25" in length is the smallest North American bird. This was a juvenile male. My first photo on March 23, shows a few red throat feathers on the right side.

Calliope Hummingbird - juvenile male

By the next week, he had sprouted almost a full throat of feathers.

Calliope Hummingbird - juvenile male

I am looking forward to many more migrants coming through over the next month. I hope everyone can get out to see some of these birds as they pass through.

Happy birding and photography,

David McDonald
dkmmdpa@gmail.com

photos copyright 2013 David McDonald

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Bulletin #138 - migration #4 - warblers

David McDonald Photography
Friendswood TX
5-4-11

(Click on image to see larger photo)

The Common Yellowthroat  (Geothlypis trichas) is a very widespread warbler in North America. It lives in marshy areas. I noted how brown the breast and belly were, so looked in Sibley. The eastern form is like this, but western birds are more yellow - white on the breast and belly. Also, the shape of the black mask and white line above varies. There are many subspecies in North America (about 13).

This male Bay-breasted Warbler (Dendroica castanea) was very cooperative by staying in a dead leafless tree for about 1 hour and allowing everyone to get good looks and photos.

The male Yellow Warbler (Dendroica petechia) is another widespread species in North America. This was my first opportunity to get a photo of this bird at the drip. It is IDed by being all yellow, and the male has the reddish breast streaking.

American Redstarts (Setophaga ruticilla) were everywhere the last few days. The male is black with orange wing and tail patches and orange flanks.

The female is gray with yellow patches. These birds are perhaps the most active warblers when foraging, so the best way to get a photo is at the drip. They fan their tails constantly flashing the colorful patches, as shown here.

There were also many Magnolia Warblers (Dendroica magnolia) recently. This bird is IDed by the yellow underparts with black streaks, gray head and back and white wing and tail patches. Here are 2 photos, with the second showing the white on the tail.

In an earlier bulletin, I showed the male Kentucky Warbler (Oporornis formosus). Here is the female. Notice that the black 'mustache' doesn't extend onto the breast.

The first year female Northern Parula (Parula americana) lacks the breast bands.

Lastly, I obtained my best photos of an Ovenbird (Seiurus aurocapillus). This terrestrial warbler walks along the forest floor, foraging in the leaf litter. Thus it is drab brown above. It has a streaked breast, bright white eye-ring and orange stripe on top of its head. The sexes are similar. This photos shows the profile of the bird.

This photo of its head shows the breast streaking and orange crown stripe.

Happy birding and photography,

David McDonald

davidkmcdmd@yahoo.com

photos copyright 2011 David McDonald

To have these trip reports sent to your email, please email me at the above address and ask for subscribe.