New refuge to protect migratory and resident birds in the Dominican Republic

Bay-breasted Cuckoo. Photo by Lance Woolaver.

Rare birds gain protection in the Dominican Republic

October 2009. Leonel Fernández, President of the Dominican Republic, has announced the creation of a new refuge "Reserva Biologica Loma Charco Azul" on the northwestern border of Sierra de Bahoruco National Park, a global biodiversity hotspot.

The decision extends protection in the region by 111 square miles, providing essential habitat protection for the globally threatened Bay-breasted Cuckoo and threatened resident and migratory birds that depend on the Island of Hispaniola.

30 endemic species
"With 30 endemic bird species, Hispaniola ranks high in global importance for bird conservation," said Dr. George Wallace, American Bird Conservancy's Vice President of Oceans and Islands. "With forests in Haiti virtually gone and an accelerated rate of forest loss in the Dominican Republic, many of these species face a bleak future-of the 30 species, 14 are ranked by IUCN as globally threatened. That's why expanding land protected in the vicinity of Sierra de Bahoruco is so important and such a significant accomplishment."

Important for migratory birds
In addition, over 30 species of Neotropical migratory birds have been recorded there; they form an important component of the biodiversity during the northern winter, making up more than 50% of the bird life in some habitats, particularly pine forests.

"Loma Charco Azul contains populations of several threatened endemic birds and migratory species and, until now, was an unprotected portion of the Sierra de Bahoruco Important Bird Area," said Yvonne Arias, President of Grupo Jaragua, which partnered the American Bird Conservancy on the conservation of threatened and migratory birds in the region.. "Key among the endemics there are the Bay-breasted Cuckoo, and a good population of the vulnerable Hispaniolan Parrot. We applaud the action of President Fernández to designate this important new protected area."

Sierra de Bahoruco National Park - Under severe threat
Sierra de Bahoruco National Park, an Alliance for Global Extinction (AZE) site, is the global stronghold for three endangered species-Bay-breasted Cuckoo, La Selle Thrush, and Hispaniolan Crossbill-and five more that are globally vulnerable-Hispaniolan Parrot, Hispaniolan Parakeet, Golden Swallow, Chat Tanager, and White-winged Warbler. Other endangered species such a Bicknell's Thrush and the Black-capped Petrel are also present. Unfortunately, the park and its environs are under severe threat because some of the dry forest, especially important for the Bay-breasted Cuckoo, adjacent to the park boundaries, has been cleared for an avocado/papaya plantation.

Endangered population in decline
The Bay-breasted Cuckoo is declining around Loma Charco Azul, due to the creeping expansion of this plantation which has destroyed habitat for 5-6 pairs since 2002 according to research by Lance Woolaver, a Canadian graduate student doing his thesis on the species. The new protected area will help to safeguard one of the three most important known populations.

The work to create the new protected area was part of a part of a broader effort to improve the management of Sierra de Bahoruco National Park supported by the US Fish and Wildlife Service through the Neotropical Migratory Bird Conservation Act grant program. Other aspects of the project included hiring guards to protect the Park and to establish a monitoring program for migratory, endemic and resident birds. Other important supporters of Grupo Jaragua's efforts to expand protection in the vicinity of Sierra de Baharuco National park include BirdLife International and the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation.

Courtesy of American Bird Conservancy