Todys, here a Jamaican Tody, are perhaps the most distinctive Caribbean landbird. Photo: Rich Hoyer
With at least 27 endemic bird species—more than any other Caribbean nation—as well as a host of Antillean and neotropical specialties, Jamaica offers some of the most exciting birdwatching in the West Indies. It is also the only island where one has a very good chance of seeing every endemic in less than a week.
A unique part of our short tour is the opportunity to stay at delightful Marshall’s Pen, the 300-year-old working ranch, nature reserve, and home of biologist and conservationist Ann Sutton. In these idyllic surroundings, we expect to see many of the island’s endemic birds as well as abundant butterflies, anole lizards, and tink frogs. We’ll also visit the desert-like southern peninsula and spend three full days exploring the more lush and mountainous eastern end of the island, with ample opportunity not only to see every endemic species, but to get to know most of them well through multiple observations at a relaxed pace.
Delicious local foods (such as ackee, callaloo, bammy, and the famous jerk recipes) and a look at Jamaica’s fascinating history and culture round out a very special experience. Ann has recently coauthored A Photographic Guide to the Birds of Jamaica, and we look forward to being among the first to put this book to use.
Day 1: The trip begins this evening in Port Royal. Night in Port Royal.
Day 2: The birds right around our hotel might include the endemic subspecies of Vervain Hummingbird and Bananquit. This is also our best chance for some of the scarcer North American wood-warblers, as well as a few species of seabirds, including various terns and Magnificent Frigatebird. But even more exciting birding awaits us, so after breakfast, we’ll visit a series of pools just behind the airport and then work our way eastward along the southern coast, stopping at the beaches of the Palisadoes and Yallah’s Salt Pond, where Wilson’s Plover, Black-necked Stilt, and a variety of other shorebirds and herons may be present. We’ll also make a stop before lunch to see whether the spectacular White-tailed Tropicbirds are visiting their nesting cavities in the cliff. All along the roadsides we’ll see the endemic subspecies of Loggerhead Kingbird, as well as Gray Kingbirds recently arrived from their South American wintering grounds. We’ll also notice the habitat changing from a low, dry, cactus-mesquite woodland to humid tropical forest.
After lunch we’ll do some relaxing birding on our hotel grounds west of Port Antonio. The endemic Jamaican Woodpecker, White-chinned Thrush, Orangequit (a curious bird, the only member of the genus Euneornis), and Jamaican Euphonia are some of the birds we might find here. Weather permitting, we’ll also make an attempt for Jamaican Owl on our hotel grounds. Night in San San.
Day 3: Today we’ll bird at a slow pace along Ecclesdown Road in the Drivers River Valley. At the base of the John Crow Mountains, this is the wettest forest on the island—and the single most endemic-rich spot in the entire Caribbean. We’ll concentrate our search images on the difficult Crested Quail-Dove and the scarce Jamaican Blackbird above all else, though the birding in general is great fun. Crested Quail-Doves may be found walking on the roads at dawn (and sometimes later in the day as well), and their haunting songs should be heard from the dense woods, a sound that has earned them the local name “mountain witch.” The blackbird, in its own genus Nesopsar, doesn’t appear to be closely related to any other blackbird. Pairs sing short duets, males perform display flights in the canopy, and they search bromeliad and vine tangles more like a foliage-gleaner than any icterid. The blackbirds require mature wet forest, a habitat much reduced in Jamaica, and this is one of the best places for them. Blue Mountain Vireo is also found here, sometimes appearing quietly and unexpectedly only a few feet away. The cheeky Rufous-tailed Flycatcher, noisy Jamaican Woodpecker, and delightful Jamaican Tody are more examples of the fabulous birds we should see here. By day’s end, we’re likely to have well over half of the island’s endemics under our belt. Night in San San.
“The Jamaica tour was excellent and Rich Hoyer was a fantastic leader. I ended up seeing all 41 possible life birds! Again, thanks, and I’m already looking into WINGS trips for the next several years.”
Jerry Theis, Peoria, AZ
Day 4: We’ll have this morning to either return to the Drivers River Valley or bird the grounds of our hotel, depending on our success with the quail-dove and blackbird. We’ll also need to make sure that we’ve seen the smaller, darker, and proportionately longer-tailed “Black-billed” Streamertail, which occurs only at this end of the island; it’s quite possibly that we’ll find it on our hotel grounds. Though the AOU currently considers both forms to be members of a single species, it’s virtually certain that the Red-billed form found throughout the rest of the island is a distinct species from this one. After lunch we’ll make the drive into the Port Royal Mountains to our hotel, perched on a mountain slope overlooking coffee fields at the junction with the Blue Mountains. Night in Silver Hill Gap.
Day 5: We’ll spend the morning high in the Port Royal Mountains, where as much as 100 inches of rain a year supports luxurious and fascinating vegetation—highland trees such as the Blue Mahoe and a heavy growth of mosses, lichens, and bromeliads. The often elusive Crested Quail-Dove and Jamaican Blackbird are also possible here, and this will likely be our only chance at the lovely Rufous-throated Solitaire, an endemic subspecies that should probably be consider specifically distinct from the Hispaniolan form. We may also see Greater Antillean Elaenia, and Arrowhead Warbler seems to be most common in these mountains. Orangequits can be quite abundant in this area, and Chestnut-bellied Cuckoo, the “old man bird,” is often on our hotel grounds.
We’ll depart just before lunch for the radically different habitats of Portland Ridge. Here the arid acacia scrub resembles eastern Africa more than it does other parts of the island; it is home to the endemic subspecies of Bahama Mockingbird, Vervain Hummingbird, and Stolid Flycatcher. Caribbean Martin may also be found nearby, and searching for waterbirds in the mangrove lagoons and for northern migrants in the surrounding scrub will add to the day’s interest. We’ll work our way to our home for the next three nights, Marshall’s Pen on the outskirts of Mandeville.
Days 6-7: We’re fortunate to be among the few birdwatching tours that get to stay at Marshall’s Pen, a 300-acre estate and private nature reserve. Birds are numerous and easily seen here, both in the gardens around the Great House and on the extensive trail system. The Marshall’s Pen experience starts even before we rise, with the glorious song of the endemic White-eyed Thrush, and by lunchtime we may have seen almost 20 of Jamaica’s endemic birds and several additional Caribbean specialties, including Jamaican Tody, Jamaican Elaenia, Chestnut-bellied and Jamaican Lizard-Cuckoos, Jamaican Spindalis, and Sad Flycatcher.
In the afternoon we’ll drive to the lowlands to the southwest, where we’ll scan ponds, lakes, and marshes for additional species. If we’re lucky, we might see Masked Duck, Yellow-breasted Crake, Caribbean Coot, West Indian Whistling-Duck, or perhaps a crocodile waiting expectantly under the heron roost. One of the best parts of the day at Marshall’s Pen is the evening meal on the veranda, the table full of delicious Jamaican food and the diners surrounded by the sounds of the Jamaican night—the voices of Jamaican Owl, Northern Potoo, and myriad amphibians.
On one of our mornings we’ll rise early and drive into the Cockpit Country, home to several birds not always easily seen elsewhere on the island. We’ll arrive in time to see the mist lift from the “egg-box” hills that give the area its name, and more importantly, to view the early morning flights of Yellow-billed and Black-billed Parrots; with luck, we’ll also see them perched. The rugged karst formations here have been an effective deterrent to forest clearing, making the Cockpit Country some of the most pristine habitat in Jamaica. We’ll look especially for Ring-tailed Pigeon, Rufous-tailed Flycatcher, and Jamaican Crow. We’ll return to Marshall’s Pen in mid-afternoon. Nights at Marshall’s Pen.
Day 8: Our final day should allow a relaxed morning to enjoy the beautiful and birdy grounds, where we’ll get our last looks at species such as Jamaican Oriole, Jamaican Becard, or Jamaican Euphonia. After lunch, we’ll pay a visit to the Rocklands Bird Sanctuary, where Red-billed Streamertails and Jamaican Mangos perch on your fingers and Black-faced and Yellow-faced Grassquits and wintering Black-throated Blue Warblers visit feeders at arm’s length. Night in Montego Bay.
Day 9: The tour concludes this morning in Montego Bay.
Updated: 05 January 2010
Prices
- 2010 price about $3,590
- Single Occupancy Supplement $340
- 2011 price not yet available
Notes
This tour is limited to six participants with one leader and 12 with two leaders.