Wildlife Conservation Dominican Republic Project #5526

Conserving the Ridgway's Hawk in Punta Cana, DR

by Fundacion Grupo Puntacana

Project Report | Aug 30, 2012
August 2012 Report

By Jake Kheel | Environmental Director PCEF

3 of the 2012 hawks courtesy of Thomas Hayes

The 2012 reintroduced hawks have passed the most delicate phase of their reintroduction and are beginning to define their territories in the Punta Cana area. Of the final two birds reintroduced on May 22^nd only one of them still occasionally returns to the hack box for an afternoon meal. All of the rest are now independently hunting and dispersing throughout the area. Carlos Cruz, a conservationist from Mexico, is currently in charge of tracking the hawks daily to monitor their development and train interested volunteers how to track the hawks.

The Peregrine Fund, the Hispaniola Ornithological Society and the Puntacana Ecological Foundation have finalized the educational brochure and will be distributing them to local residents in both the Punta Cana release site as well as in the communities of Los Haitises. Educating the local population who live alongside this endemic species about its importance to the island’s ecosystem and engaging them as active participants in the program is of the utmost importance to the survival of the species and the sustainability of the program.

The Puntacana Ecological Foundation has also made a significant investment to outfit the power lines in select areas of the property with extra structures, called “perches”, which would prevent the hawks from being electrocuted. Electrocution has become a serious concern as the hawks and other raptors like to perch on top of the power line poles and stretch out their wings to dry themselves off. We are currently investigating various apparatuses that could be effectively implemented throughout the Punta Cana property to block the sources of electricity that could harm the hawks.

Finally, in order to better prepare for the 2013 tourism season we have posted signs to help guide interested birders to the hack site and observation deck so that they can potentially see the hawks and also engage with the scientists working on the reintroduction program.

Ridgeway on new perch. Courtesy of Thomas Hayes

safety perch. Courtesy of Thomas Hayes

2012 reintroductee AW. Courtesy of Thomas Hayes

2012 reintroductee ND. Courtesy of Thomas Hayes

Cornell Students volunteering. By Thomas Hayes

Permalink

Jun 1, 2012
2012 Reintroduction

By Jake Kheel | Environmental Director PCEF

Newly reintroduced hawk NX

Since the last report written in January 2012, significant improvement was made to the hacking site. Invasive overgrowth was cleared between the observation deck and the hack box, simultaneously allowing for better viewing and providing a safer habitat for the newly released birds. The viewing deck was also improved so visiting scientists and interested birding enthusiasts alike can be more comfortable and less conspicuous when observing the hawks.

The reintroductions officially began on April 26^th when three young (two females and one male) birds were brought from Los Haitises National Park to the hack box in Punta Cana where they became accustomed to their new surroundings until they were released on May 2^nd. On May 11^th two more birds (one male and one female) were placed in the hack box and released on May 22^nd. All birds successfully made their first flights and returned to the hack box to feed. This behavior of returning to the release site for food will continue for about three months after their release during which time they will slowly learn to hunt on their own, becoming more and more independent until their eventual dispersal.

Scientists from the Peregrine Fund continue to monitor late nesting hawks in Los Haitises National Park to possibly identify high-risk chicks that might be acceptable candidates for reintroduction. Simultaneously the Peregrine Fund, the Hispaniola Ornithological Society and the Puntacana Ecological Foundation are working on the text and design of an educational brochure, which will be available in English and Spanish. These brochures will highlight the importance of raptors, specifically the Ridgeway’s Hawk and our work to conserve them. Educational activities are planned for Los Haitises and the release sites in Punta Cana later in the year.

Recently upgraded hack box

Adult hawks in Los Haitises National Park

Chick in its nest in Los Haitises

Peregrine Fund conservationists tracking hawks

Ridgeway's Hawk in Los Haitises

Permalink

Mar 5, 2012
2012 First Project Report

By Jake Kheel | Director of the PUNTACANA Ecological Foundation

Cornell students observing birds in the PC Resort

The new year of 2012 has been an especially busy one
for the previously reintroduced Ridgeway’s Hawks to Punta Cana. Immediately
after Christmas through the New Year an unprecedented number of birding
tourists came to the PuntaCana Resort & Club to partake in free birding
tours with renowned tropical ornithologist Dr. Andre Dhondt and his wife Keila.
During these tours several lucky birders had the opportunity to observe one of
the world’s rarest hawks in the comfortable resort setting around the PC Ecological
Foundation. Besides helping to push a nascent but growing birding tourism
industry in the area these amateur observations also help employees of the
Hispaniola Ornithological Society and the Punta Cana Ecological Foundation keep
tabs on the birds.

After the holidays Dr. Andre Dhondt stayed in the area to teach his annual
tropical ornithology course to visiting students from Cornell University. In
addition to providing a great learning experience for Cornell students of all
academic disciplines, their daily logs of birds seen help provide valuable
information regarding species diversity and density in the area. Over the past
several years we have been able to observe important trends in the increase of
some species and the relative decrease of others.

Since mid-January, Virginia Tech students studying abroad for the 2012 Spring
Semester at the PC Ecological Foundation have been volunteering their time to
track the previously reintroduced hawks and are now pairing this experience
with their Tropical Ornithology course. This week the VT students also had the
opportunity to observe and assist visiting researchers from the Peregrine Fund
and the Hispaniola Ornithological Society to trap and re-outfit previously
introduced females with new back packs for continued radio tracking.

The next reintroduction is programed to begin in April, 2012, for which we will
be renovating the hack site complete with a new spotting scope and tripod to make viewing the hawks more accessible for visiting researchers and birders alike. The PuntaCana Ecological Foundation has recruited a birding
tourism guide, supported in part by the PuntaCana Resort & Club, who in
addition to offering general birding tours will also offer tours specifically
focusing on the Ridgeway’s program. As we enter the fourth year of the
reintroduction program raising awareness about the hawk and the combined
efforts of the Hispaniola Ornithological Society, the Peregrine Fund, and the
Punta Cana Ecological Foundation to ensure the survival of the species
continues to be one of the primary focuses of the program.

Dr. Andre Dhondt with his 2012 students

Permalink

‹ 1 ... 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 ›

About Project Reports

Project reports on GlobalGiving are posted directly to globalgiving.org by Project Leaders as they are completed, generally every 3-4 months. To protect the integrity of these documents, GlobalGiving does not alter them; therefore you may find some language or formatting issues.

If you donate to this project or have donated to this project, you can receive an email when this project posts a report. You can also subscribe for reports without donating.