Research Associate

Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic

I began birdwatching many years ago when one of the pioneer birdwatchers in my country, Annabelle Dod, led weekend birdwatching trips. As a biologist, I learned to band birds and began to work in field studies in the early-1990’s in studies of over-wintering migratory birds in the Sierra de Bahoruco. I received additional training as a student intern for several years in the Missouri Ozark Forest Ecosystem Project, at PRBO Conservation Science in California, and through the National Aviary and Powdermill Avian Research Center in Pennsylvania.

I have worked with other ornithologists in studying the ecology of the critically endangered Bay-breasted Cuckoo and the endangered Bicknell’s Thrush, and the parasites of birds in Puerto Rico. I was the field coordinator for studies of the reproductive success of nesting birds in the Sierra de Bahoruco, and the use of early-successional habitats by resident and migratory birds in the Dominican Republic.

I am currently collaborating with Steven Latta in his studies of factors affecting survival and population size of the Louisiana Waterthrush on breeding grounds in Pennsylvania, and at over-wintering sites in the Dominican Republic. My professional goals are to continue to gain knowledge of bird ecology, and to inspire more young Dominicans to embrace conservation because they represent our future.