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Kate Wallace, one of the few bird experts that are currently based in the Dominican Republic, visited Casa de Campo from the Bahoruco Mountains (in the south of the Dominican Republic) to show to a group of 18 campers at the of the Altos de Chavón Regional Museum of Archeology the birds that fly around Altos de Chavón. The first thing Kate did was to teach to the children all about the endemic birds of the Dominican Republic. Then she helped the campers to create their own cardboard binoculars with the help of anthropologist Lenin Paulino (tio Lenin) the camp guide, his assistant Dahiana Mercedes and Yanet Castillo, the museum coordinator for education, so that they would be ready to spot the birds out and about in Altos de Chavón. kate wallace Surprisingly, Altos de Chavón is a wonderful bird sanctuary  within Casa de Campo, thanks to the large variety of trees found in the area, which they use to make their nests, while they also eat their fruits. The palmchat bird, Doves, northern mockingbird, black-whiskered vireo, hispaniolan woodpecker and many others, can be seen frequently in the area. As well as the Turkey Vultures, who live in the cliffs towering above the river – particularly in the area surrounding Altos de Chavón. In a future post we’ll be publishing more details and information about all these birds and how to spot them.

Bird-watching: out and about in Altos de Chavón 

To observe birds (of all types) it is preferably to do it in the early hours of the morning and in absolute silence, something which proved impossible for our group of enthusiastic campers, whose excitement and desire to spot birds, only served to scare the birds away! At the end of the day, Kate Wallace taught the children how to draw birds and encouraged them to draw their own.

Drawing birds in the gardens of Altos de Chavón 

Kate Wallace arrived to the Dominican Republic 19 years ago as a Peace Corps volunteer, and decided to stay because she was amazed by the great diversity of birds that exist in the country.

She has written extensively about Dominican birds and has given talks about them in many parts of the country. One of her most recent talks took place on May 9th at the hotel Dominicus Palace in Bayahíbe, following which she led a bird-walk around the Guaraguao protection center located in the Parque Nacional del Este (National Park of the East). The following pictures were taken during the “bird-walk” at the summer camp of the Altos de Chavón Regional Museum of Archeology 2013: