2009 Tour Narrative
In Brief: “Oh, look—there’s a gorgeous male Orangequit in the Allspice tree!” That’s a phrase one might hear in Jamaica and no where else in the world. And hear it we did, coming across such a sight time and again. Other experiences that can be nailed down to Jamaica, since the birds occur nowhere else in the world, were a Crested Quail-Dove in a Blue Mahoe tree, Jamaican Blackbird probing bromeliads, White-eyed Thrush singing in the West Indian Cedar, and Jamaican Tody feeding in the Tree Celandine. By mid-morning of our sixth day in the field, we had seen all the endemic species—many of them in endemic plants—and all but two of the endemic subspecies. This allowed us a final day and a half to get more and better views of some birds we’d seen only once, such as Blue Mountain Vireo and Jamaican Crow, and to add several species to the trip list, such as Black Swift, Sanderling, and White-tailed Tropicbird. We also enjoyed a wide variety of delicious Jamaican foods, from traditional Jerk barbecue to the fine home cooking at two of our hotels.
In Detail: We began the tour not with endemics but with some fun waterbirds in Montego Bay. Near the airport, a white Reddish Egret (not an oxymoron, thanks to the capitalization of bird species names) turned out to be the first of several during the tour, and at the sewage ponds there were swarms of Barn Swallows (we usually see just a few), many additional herons, Spotted Sandpipers, and a distant cormorant that was a super rarity for the island, whichever species it was.
By lunchtime we were already well-versed in several endemics, such as Jamaican Oriole, Orangequit, Jamaican Woodpecker, Red-billed Streamertail, and Jamaican Mango during our visit to the Rockland’s Bird Sanctuary. Thoroughly entranced by the spectacle, we stumbled away and moved on to the southern coast, where we had a picnic lunch while being serenaded by a Caribbean Dove. A quick roadside stop to check a pond resulted in three female Masked Ducks, an amazing cluster of Common Moorhens, a Purple Gallinule, and several Green Herons. After arriving at Marshall’s Pen, we took a leisurely stroll, adding Jamaican Tody, Jamaican Spindalis, Sad Flycatcher, and Chestnut-bellied Cuckoo to the list of endemics seen.
The first hours of our full morning at Marshall’s Pen yielded surprisingly easy Jamaican Lizard-Cuckoo, Mangrove Cuckoo, and Arrowhead Warbler, all of them birds we often have to work for. White-eyed Thrushes were feeding in the fruiting cherry-fig just down from the house, and there was almost always a pair of Jamaican Euphonias just above eye level in the same tree. And just a bit farther down the trail was a Northern Potoo on a roost, exactly at eye level and at arm’s length from the trail. We paused at a distance to marvel at its huge mouth and cryptic plumage, then, amazingly, it let us pass by without flinching, returning to roost there for the next two days.
Other highlights from Marshall’s Pen were the Vervain Hummingbird building a nest in a low shrub, a very cooperative Jamaican Pewee, a female Ruddy Quail-Dove walking on the trail, Caribbean Dove waltzing in the open under the feeders, and a Jamaican Owl down the trail, where we were guided by the two kinds of fireflies: blinkies and peeniewallies. Butterflies were more common than usual, with the endemic Jamaican Mestra and Cuban Crescent being the more attractive ones. The biggest highlight for many was learning about the history of the ranch, including its days of growing coffee, the origin of the name, and the residents and owners of the great house.
We had a productive afternoon on the south coast, beginning with a single Caribbean Coot and finishing with dozens of West Indian Whistling-Ducks. Limpkins, Purple Gallinules, Least Bittern, Sora, and a calling American Bittern were additional highlights. The morning spent in the Cockpit Country was productive, and we had the best views ever of Ring-tailed Pigeons perched right next to the road; most birds would have flushed at that distance, but one stayed and posed for photos. Parrots were also seen well, as was Rufous-tailed Flycatcher and many Jamaican Todies. The most memorable encounter was a parade of birds feeding from a single Clusia fruit that had apparently opened just that morning. Jamaican Woodpecker, Jamaican Oriole, Loggerhead Kingbird, and several others took their turn sampling the dark red, pulp-coated seeds.
After Marshall’s Pen, we endured the heat of the Portland Ridge area long enough to get excellent views of a Tropical Mockingbird so wrapped up in his singing that he never left the tree next to the road, even when we clambered out of the van. A Clapper Rail in the open, “Golden” Yellow Warbler, and a very curious Stolid Flycatcher (flying in some 50 yards as if just to inspect us) were worth the experience. But the cool weather just a couple of hours away up in the Port Royal Mountains was certainly a welcome change.
It was clearly the seasonal peak of Crested Quail-Dove singing in the wet, dense forest at the upper elevations, and we were rewarded with amazing views of two different birds, with several others heard. Both of the birds we saw were perched quite high in the trees, the second one completely in the open in a tree below the road, where it was being dive-bombed by a White-chinned Thrush that must have had a nest nearby. The Jamaican Blackbird, spotted by the same eagle-eyed birder, was perched on an open branch, and it remained there long enough for photographs. One doesn’t always see either of these rare species so well.
Blue Mountain Vireo was doing exactly as one expects, that is, appearing unexpectedly right in front of us and continuing to forage slowly and deliberately. We were able to study at leisure the pink legs, thick bill, and nearly complete lack of field marks on this curious endemic. A Swainson’s Warbler and a Louisiana Waterthrush, both somewhat late, weren’t quite as confiding, preferring to call from the dense thickets or simply disappear up a rushing rivulet; nevertheless, both species were new for this tour’s all-time list. And once we’d finally connected with a pair of the astonishingly lovely Rufous-throated Solitaire (most were uttering their ethereal whistles high in the mist-shrouded forest), we were free to descend the mountains for our final days of cleaning up in the endemic-rich eastern end of the island.
The only endemic remaining for us after all this was the Black-tailed Streamertail, a very distinctive subspecies (by current AOU treatment), but one that has so far failed to prove its conspecific status with Red-billed Streamertail, despite having plenty of time to do so. And while they weren’t abundant this year, we did have good views of a few on the Ecclesdown Road, and spent the rest of our time getting more and better views of some of the endemics we had seen only briefly and not for a couple days. At one point, a striking male Arrowhead Warbler foraged on the roadside, as did a pair of Yellow-shouldered Grassquits. Jamaican Todies were probably nesting in the road banks, considering how confiding and common they were.
One of the best sightings of the tour was of a pair of Jamaican Blackbirds lingering in one area, allowing us to witness both their unique foraging behavior and the amazing flight song. We also had more and better views of Yellow-billed and Black-billed Parrots, our only Green-rumped Parrotlets, a couple of brief Worm-eating Warblers, another pair of Blue Mountain Vireos, and a small flock of Nutmeg Mannikins. An introduced species, but apparently not invasive as some, the Mannikin was new for the all-time checklist.
Away from the Ecclesdown area, we saw several White-tailed Tropicbirds, both at their traditional nesting area near Happy Grove and near Boston Bay, where we enjoyed a smorgasbord of grilled food in the birthplace of the famous jerk recipes. And on our hotel grounds we were treated to the rare spectacle of dozens of Black Swifts, some right overhead and many flying over the water below us as we stood on the cliffs behind our rooms. We also had great views of a Jamaican Owl here, with the begging owlet nearby. Our bird list was wrapped up near our Port Royal hotel, padded with Semipalmated Sandpiper, Sanderling, and Sandwich Tern, bringing the total to a near-record 134 species.
More than just birds, this year’s tour offered more butterflies than usual, such as the endemic subspecies of Apricot Sulphur, Dina Yellow and Zebra Heliconian, a gorgeous Caribbean Scrub-Hairstreak, several endemic Jamaican Flashers and Jamaican Broken-Dashes, and a few swallowtail species. The lizards were fun too, such as in the Cockpit Country where we watched one Jamaican Turquoise Anole turn from brown to green and back to brown, always keeping a little blue in the tail. The Jamaican Laughing Frogs in the bromeliads were a treat to see, and the sounds of several frogs completed the atmosphere in each locality.
- Rich Hoyer
Updated: May 2009