Observando Aves en Salinas de Baní / Bird Watching in Salinas, Baní, Dominican Republic

This is a good day trip from Santo Domingo. Take a spotting scope, a bathing suit, a towel and lots of sunscreen.

About an hour west of Santo Domingo is the city of Baní. At the entrance to the city, just over the bridge, there is a left turn, marked for Salinas. Follow this route, take the right turn indicated, and keep going until you reach the Navy Base. Stop along the mudflats to scan for waders and shorebirds(Wimbrels, Black-Bellied Plovers, Glossy Ibis, Yellow-crowned Night-Herons, etc). After that, go left and stop at the first curve: there are Burrowing Owl nesting sites around there. Then continue KM or so and look for a place to pull over, near the mangroves on the right. This is ideal for the endemic Yellow Warbler subspecies, also known as the Hispaniolan Golden (or Mangrove) Warbler.

(photo by Eladio Fernandez).

Then continue and scan the pools to the left and right: lots of waders possible.

Then continue through the town of Salinas, then to the left just before the salt ponds. Go to the end of this road and park, then walk across the dike, straight through the dunes to the beach. All along are good birding spots. Then at the beach go left, all the way down to the point. There is very nice cove for swimming. Be careful about the sun, there is very little shade. Over the ocean, Brown Boobies, Magnificent Frigatebirds and various terns can be seen.

Returning to the car, head back into town then left to go to the main point. Park at the restaurant, look in the salt flats all along. There is sandy track along the west end of the salt flats: always very productive for shorebirds. Snowy Plovers, Wilson's Plovers, Black-necked Stilts, etc. Also more Hisp. Golden Warblers.

In town, there are some small grocery stores for supplies, and a nice restaurant on the bay side on the way out of town.

In addition, there are various salt lagoons, mangrove swamps, and mud flats all over, both on the bay and on the beach sides. Just explore around, but excersize caution in the wilderness areas, esp. the sand dunes: they are fragile and are protected by law. No motor vehicles are allowed on the dunes.

(See the list below)

Another spot to hit would be Matadero de Baní: as you head out of Salinas back towards Baní, turn left on the dirt road just before the Zona Franca. It comes out at the main highway; cross the highway, straight over to the dirt road heading north towards the mountains. About a 30 minute drive and you are at the end of the road. This is a mid-elevation site fairly dry forest somewhat disturbed but still enough habitat for Antillean Piculets, Antillean Euphonias, Antillean Nightjars, nesting Yellow-billed Cuckoos, Red-legged Thrushes, Gr. Antillean Bullfinches, etc. (See the list for Matadero de Baní on the page so marked).

Lista de Aves para Salinas de Bani / List of Birds for Salinas de Bani