Since 2009, the Grupo Puntacana Foundation and the Peregrine Fund have been working together to save the endangered Ridgway’s hawk, which is native to Hispaniola. The population numbered around 350 in 2000 but is now up to about 550, with 19 breeding pairs nesting in the Punta Cana area. If you want to catch a glimpse of these magnificent birds, sign up for one of Grupo Puntacana’s bird-watching tours, which take place on Thursdays and Fridays from 7 a.m. to 10 a.m. in the Indigenous Eyes Ecological Park and Reserve. Guided by a conservation expert, you’ll walk along the Hawk Trail and climb a four-story tower, from which you’ll be able to see the wooden nesting boxes where baby hawks, rescued from their nests between March and July, spend up to ten days before taking their first flight. Typically, only 70 percent survive to adulthood.
Peregrine Fund
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Become a Hawk Tracker
The Indigenous Eyes Ecological Park and Reserve’s Ridgway’s hawk restoration program is one of the great Dominican Republic conservation success stories: Since the program’s introduction, conservationists have reintroduced numerous Ridgway’s hawks into the wild (eight since 2009) and maintain a monitoring program to keep tabs on one of the world’s most critically endangered birds. It’s not uncommon to spot one of these hawks flying over Punta Cana today. Only a few short years ago these incredible birds were on the brink of extinction due to loss of habitat and farmers who shot them, erroneously believing they consume a disproportionate number of baby chickens. Today you can visit the preserve to learn more about this program. You can spend time with one of the conservation experts, who are happy to take you out with them on a tracking session. And yes, the contraption in the photo is your hawk hunting wand, and it works great.
