During the last few days of the trip I only added 2 new species, House Sparrows at another part of the resort, and Rock Pigeons on a building as I was going to the airport. I also kept a close eye on the Antillean Palm Swift nest. When I saw the swift's eyes, they looked so big compared to the rest of its head, As I was looking at it at one point, another swift flew out of its nest and brushed past me! Close encounters like this sometimes happen in birding, usually when a bird is unaware you are there. The surrounding weren't very visible from the nest, so I know why that happened. Anyway, I also saw several small bats one evening flying around just around sunset. The night before we left, I was walking by the pool when I saw a dove sized creature swoop in and drink from the pool. I explained to a few people what I saw before saying "There it is!", and it was clear that this was a very large bat, much bigger than the swift-sized ones I had seen earlier.I guess the weirdest things seen happen at the most unexpected times! A swift was my last bird in the Dominican Republic, seen from the plane as we were taxiing. A House Sparrow was my first bird back in New York Tuesday evening, seen while we were going through minor customs (they get in the building, no time to explain). Overall, the trip was really fascinating. Although I saw no migrants, it was still fun to see what the Caribbean species are like and comparing them to ours. Greater Antillean Grackles are a bit like starlings, hanging out around trash getting a bite to eat. Unlike starlings, they make loud calls to alert other birds about it before eating. This is just one example of the interesting behaviors and characteristics of the birds here. My best bird of the trip was probably Magnificent Frigatebird (forgot to say this was a female/immature). These birds usually stay out at sea, and they are usually seen as that one little black speck in the Caribbean sky. It was quite a surprise to see it. Hispaniolan Amazon was also nice to see. I can now say I can identify the flight style of parrots (not sure about parakeets, though). This trip was really fun. But year birds are calling, and I have to get birding!
P.S. I also saw many Northern Mockingbirds and Mourning Doves. I was surprised that they didn't have the Eurasian Collared Doves there too, as they were the only dove besides Rock and White-Crowned Pigeons, that I saw in the Bahamas.
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