Conserving the Ridgway's Hawk in Punta Cana, DR

July marks the tail end of the breeding season in Punta Cana. We had a very productive year with 28 pairs and 29 fledglings!! A close second to our record numbers last year when the pairs fledged 30 young. We continue to monitor the young birds, of which all but one have already flown from the nest. Life for these young birds will now become more challenging. Though they will remain with their parents for the next month or so, they must learn to hunt on their own, avoid dangers, and otherwise learn to survive in the big, wild world on their own. By this time next year, some of these young birds might have found a territory and even a mate of their own. Though these hawks tend to start nesting when they are two years old, some individuals start young - nesting at one year of age!

As for the young bird still in the nest, we banded this nestling on the evening of 15 July. If all goes well, it will be ready to leave the nest in about 2 more weeks!

We continue to work daily with our wonderful Ambassador Hawks.  We currently have 3 Ridgway’s Hawks and two Red-tailed Hawks as part of our Ambassador team. These amazing birds have traveled with us to rural and urban communities and schools, giving people the opportunity to have “nose to beak” encounters with these birds. This helps create a personal connection and inspire them to conserve these raptors in the wild. 

On the other part of the island, in Los Haitises National Park, the hawks are also finishing up their nesting activities. This year, we translocated 28 young birds which were released in Aniana Vargas National Park and our team there continues to monitor these birds that have been in the wild for over one month. They are all starting to hunt on their own and soon they will be dispersing from the release site and searching for their own territories.

An important component of our project is also ensuring the health and safety of our local team members. This season, two representatives from the U.S. Forest Service in Puerto Rico, traveled to the Dominican Republic to lead a 4-day workshop in safe climbing techniques. Two members from each of our teams, 3 members from The Peregrine Fund’s Harpy Eagle project in Panama, and 3 members from The Peregrine Fund’s Sharp-shinned Hawk project in Puerto Rico also participated. The workshop combined both theoretical and practical experience. Participants learned to analyze and evaluate the status of a tree (for safety purposes), how to care for and inspect their climbing gear to ensure it is in good condition for climbing, which gear is essential, which hazards to look out for, and other safety information. They also practiced new climbing and knot-tying techniques, as well as rescue techniques.

This year, we have hired 5 women from different parts of Los Haitises National Park to work as educators, visiting schools and doing door-to-door visits. With their help, we have tripled the number of people we reach each year from about 3,000 to over 9,000.  They work with adults and children around important areas for conservation of the Ridgway’s Hawk. This not only has a positive impact on the project, but also on women from vulnerable communities where job opportunities are very scarce. We remain focused on continuing to restore the population of this highly threatened species, as well as reaching every Dominican through our environmental education program.

With funding from a generous donor, we were also able to hire an intern who is assisting us with our Ambassador Hawk program and environmental education efforts. She will be with us for at least 6 months, gaining experience in raptor handling and learning about birds of prey in general.