Private Birding Trips
From 1 up to 10 days
Cúa Tour – Pinchita Trips – Cibao Tour
Welcome to Cúa Birding
Guiding birders in the Dominican Republic since 2011
About us
This birding and bird photography tour company was created by Tour Leader Iván Mota, born from his passion for adventure, nature, photography, bird conservation, and his native country, the Dominican Republic (DR).
Cúa is the local name of the Hispaniolan endemic Bay-breasted Cuckoo (Coccyzus rufigularis). An enigmatic and graceful species, with declining population and restricted distribution.
Iván has worked with this species and implemented a monitoring program for a local population during his time at DR’s Ministry of Environment and Natural Resources.
Cúa Birding offers specialized birding and bird Photography trips from 1 up to 10 days in length all year round, designed to cover the most beautiful regions of the island. The varied terrain of Hispaniola has given it a complex assemblage of habitats ranging from sea level to 2,250m with an incredibly rich biodiversity. As a result, the island has the highest number of avian endemics of any Caribbean island, 34, as well as also having among the highest number of bird species overall – roughly 321.
Come with us and let’s find together those Hispaniolan endemics as well as many other Caribbean specialties!
We lead trips for Kate Wallace’s Tody Tours. Cúa Birding is proudly featured on Caribbean Birding Trail and collaborate with BirdsCaribbean.
Iván Mota
Tour Leader
A trained artist, Iván is the birding expert of the team. He has a degree in Fine Arts from the International Fine Arts College of Miami, Florida, and spent several years as a graphic designer in the advertising industry in the Dominican Republic before deciding to purse another lifelong passion: biology. After rediscovering his childhood love of birdwatching, he never looked back. Since 2009, Iván has served as the lead guide for many birding tour companies serving the Dominican Republic today; this lead him to start his own guiding company and Cúa Birding was born.
He has collaborated locally with the Vermont Center for Eco-Studies in conservation projects, and is an active collaborator with BirdsCaribbean. In 2011, he was elected to participate in “Project Puffin Sea Bird Restoration Program” in the state of Maine. In his work for the Ministry of Environment and Natural Resources in the Dominican Republic, Iván lead several conservation projects for endemic species of the island, including a monitoring program for the Cúa | Bay-breasted Cuckoo. Iván has spent over 8 years between the States of Colorado and California, USA, where he works as seasonal Wildlife Biologist for consulting companies to help clients comply with the Migratory Bird Treaty Act (MBTA) and the Bald and Golden Eagle Protection Act.
From his years of fieldwork, Iván knows the Dominican Republic intimately. He has a clear understanding of the bird species found on the island, their habitat preference, and seasonality. Additionally, he has vast knowledge of bird calls through his bioacoustics recording studies and long hours spent on the field, allowing for fast localization and identification of targeted species before visually seeing them.