Where are the seagulls?

good question...maybe they have been eaten lol
I am from the north coast of England and miss the pesky things waking me up at 3am every morning

They tend to like landfills.

I don't see nearly as many varieties of birds in the DR as in rural NY. Until about ten years ago, I had never seen a pigeon on the North Coast. Lots of egrets, hawks, hummingbirds and woodpeckers though. I can't remember seeing a gull either. Maybe at the airport?

Chicken tastes better.

I've often wondered that myself. I have never seen one in the Punta Cana area where I live. But a few weeks back I saw a single lone sea gull as I was dinning on the coast of Boca De Yuma.

PeterInBrat said:

They tend to like landfills.

I don't see nearly as many varieties of birds in the DR as in rural NY. Until about ten years ago, I had never seen a pigeon on the North Coast. Lots of egrets, hawks, hummingbirds and woodpeckers though. I can't remember seeing a gull either. Maybe at the airport?

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hahaha.....waiting for a flight home no doubt....see the seagulls have emigrated:bunny:

lately there has been a string of robberies and assaults. seagulls are very worried and they try not to be visible: they are white and foreign, easy target of any violence. they are also concerned about the falling peso, unemployment and corruption. they pensions are not enough anymore to lazily stroll on on the beach and sip mojitos.

“Don’t believe what your eyes are telling you. All they show is limitation. Look with your understanding. Find out what you already know and you will see the way to fly.” ― Richard Bach, Jonathan Livingston Seagull

I had family coming down to visit me in the Bavaro area back in 1989.
My sister's boyfriend, who was a birdwatcher, asked me about the "bird" situation.
I hadn't noticed a lot of birds and told him he might well be disappointed.
LOL..............
As he stepped down from the plane at PUJ, he immediately began to notice multiple varieties.
He actually said that the area was like a goldmine for serious birdwatchers.
Who knew?

I know, I know they weren't seagulls.

Every day at about 17:00, a couple of seagulls would fly parallel to the beach in Bavaro heading in a Southwestern direction. Were they the same two gulls every day?
I often wondered where they were coming from and where they were going.

Xavier_Onassis said:

I am thinking there never have been seagulls in Hispaniola. Are there seagulls in Puerto Rico?

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Anecdotic history says that when Columbus was approaching La Hispaniola, lots of seagulls flew over the ship and he knew he was nearing a big patch of land, more similar to Cuba than to San Salvador (Bahamas)....

There are in fact 24 or 28 species of birds found here that are found no where else. I started feeded them on my balcony and had six different species. OK no gulls.. On the weekends it got very quiet. I assumed that they all went out to Boca Chica and would ride back late on the tops of the gua quas..

We have parrots on the tops of the tallest trees. They do not come near the apartment buildings because, I think, one of the neighbors had a captured parrot who used to scream out at them to stay away.

Anyway, the birds .. after about six generations of great living togehter.. they used to bring the young ones over from the trees next door for early feedings and first flight school.. (It is the father birds who do all the feeding of the young ones, did you know that? I used to raise love birds? Only humans seem to be out of order).. The birds started getting pretty agressive if their feeders were empty. If I left the balcony door open they would just fly in and be sitting on the back of the couch waiting for me to get up.

Pretty scary before coffee.

But if you live in the campo and put up feeders, they will come to you. There are some gorgeous one.

I took great pleasure in them.


As for the gulls. Well, we do have Pelicans, egrets and herons.. does that make up for it?

I moved to the ground floor. No balcony.

Castle said:

Anecdotic history says that when Columbus was approaching La Hispaniola, lots of seagulls flew over the ship and he knew he was nearing a big patch of land, more similar to Cuba than to San Salvador (Bahamas)....

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That sure is anecdotal because he approached Hispaniola the first time from the eastern tip of Cuba, and having done that a bit I can tell you Hispaniola is visible not long after you sail from Cuba. Furthermore, seagulls can be seen here occasionally, but they're basically lost. They're not a native seabird on all coasts due to the sharp drop off and the marine life. Frigate birds can be found, but not common.

There's a great guide book "Birds of the DR (or perhaps Hisp.)" that shows the huge variety of birds on the island, some because its a flyway as well. E.g., Estero Balza in Manzanillo is a major waystop for hundreds of pink Flamingos from Florida enroute to Golfo de Cariaco, Venezuela. The book is packed away deeply, so I can't cite it.

BTW, San Salvador most likely was not his first stop. Samana Cay is current thinking, though . . .

Come to think of it I also have never seen a gull.

Birds of the DR
Birds of the Dominican Republic

Tons and tons of pink flamingos in and around Lago Enriquillo....

mountainannie said:

We have parrots on the tops of the tallest trees. They do not come near the apartment buildings because, I think, one of the neighbors had a captured parrot who used to scream out at them to stay away.

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It was my dream to see these birds wild and free before I left the D.R. It never happened.
There were always rumours that there were some around certain areas of Bavaro, but I never did see them.
Can you actually see them up there in those trees or is it just heresay?

Yes I could see them from my balcomy in the summer evenings coming home at night.

I think that the birds go away when there is a lot of construction around. I noticed that there are hardly any birdsongs in LT. There are more here in SD where my apartment has old trees right next door.

It might be the same in Bavaro. They were probably there before the construction but have had no reason to return.

If I lived there I would put up feeders.

They like the millet grain which is sold in the super market for 30 pesos.

It is remarkable how few birds are seen in the Cabarete area. Mocking birds, pigeons, a hawk or two, some black birds with yellow eyes, and the occasional stork.