Jamaica

January 1997 -- A Trip to Jamaica, Colombia, Panama and Costa Rica

In mid-January Doug and I embarked on a journey which would take us to Jamaica, Colombia, Panama and Costa Rica. This was primarily a vacation which would also turn out to be quite an enjoyable birding adventure.

Part 1

Jamaica, January 14-15: We sailed the Caribbean on a cruise ship which left from the Bahamas on January 12. Our first port of call was the island of Jamaica. We had done some research and were armed with notes of other birders who had visited the island. Because of our short stay here we knew we would not be able to see all that we wanted but tried to make the best of the two days we had. We decided to rent a car and explore the area around Montego Bay where our ship was docked. Renting the car was easy but the actual driving was not. Jamaican cars are right-hand drive owing to the fact that their driving lanes are reversed. This took some getting used to but it was not the main problem. While maps are available, roads are generally not marked and we often had no idea where we were going. The roads are also not in the best shape being narrow with no shoulders and traffic in and near the city was heavy. Nevertheless we had no particular problems and found most of the places that we wanted to visit.

The book that we had brought with us, Bond's Birds of the West Indies proved to be more frustrating than helpful as it covered such a large area and had too few drawings, many of which were in useless black and white. A Greater Antillean Grackle became our first life bird of the trip--one that we would see over and over again (they are the kind of birds that hang around Burger King and snatch dropped food, not exactly the exotic wonders that we were looking for!). In a natural area just outside the cruise ship dock we began seeing much more interesting birds. One of the Jamaican endemic hummingbirds, the Jamaican Mango, worked the flowers of an orchid tree (Bauhinia variegata), while on a power line the easily identified Loggerhead Kingbird watched for a meal. We saw some old friends: Snowy and Great Egrets, American Kestrel, Black-throated Blue and Prairie Warblers as well as many Northern Mockingbirds. Turkey Vultures and Cattle Egrets were abundant.

Heading out along the west coast just looking at the sights and the azure waters of Montego Bay, we came to a gated golf course community named Tryall which looked very promising for birds so we decided to ask at the gate if we could enter and do some birding. They were very nice and welcomed us in. Besides the beautiful course and fantastic plantation homes, there was a lot of land that ran up the hillsides that was not disturbed and had dirt roads running through it. Much of this was future lots but for now was still naturally vegetated. We drove to the most remote area we could find and began hiking around. We saw many Loggerhead Kingbirds here and identified a new member of the flycatcher family, the Stolid Flycatcher. Ruddy Ground Doves, a Common Yellowthroat and a Ruby-throated Hummingbird poked through the scrub. As we were photographing a picturesque old tree, we heard the unmistakable squeak of a hummingbird and finally found it perched at the tip of one of the branches. It turned out to be a Vervain Hummingbird, only 2.5" long and extremely vocal for its size. It sings noisily while it flies and it put on quite a show for us. We heard the loud squeaking long before we found it and were amazed at its small size. Another treat was finding a flock of Smooth-billed Anis in the bushes, a bird we had unsuccessfully tried to find in south Florida. Before we left this scenic spot we found a Jamaican Vireo in one of the treetops.

We now headed for Rocklands Bird Sanctuary. We had read about this place in a tour book about Jamaica and also on a birding report on the Internet. What a find! It is only about 7 kilometers outside of Montego Bay in a small town called Anchovy. Incredibly there were signs to it as we entered the town. A left turn off the main road then a few zigs and zags up a steep, twisty two-way dirt road wide enough for only one car and we had arrived at the unassuming home which housed the sanctuary. As we approached the house we became aware of the birds sounds and activity that was all around us.

In 1954 Lisa Salmon, a Jamaican woman from Kingston, purchased the property in Anchovy. She started feeding the local birds and soon became known as "The Bird Lady." At 93 she still lives in her home at the sanctuary. In 1962 she decided to open Rocklands to the public. Since then thousands of people from all over the world have visited this wonderful place. After we met several of her helpers, we were told to sit in the chairs on the covered patio and were given small bottles of sugar water to hold. Within seconds the two Jamaican endemic hummingbirds were fighing for the privilege of perching on our fingers to partake of the sweet nectar. Both hummingbirds are large, the Jamaican Mango being a dark purplish/greenish blend and the Streamertail a most spectacular iridescent green, red bill and two 8" long streaming feathers comprising its tail. Pure delight. The activity around us was fast and furious. The patio was also full of small seeding eating birds--Black-faced and Yellow-faced Grassquits, Saffron Finches, White-chinned Thrushes and an Ovenbird all went about their business as we fed the hummingbirds. I was given two handfuls of millet seed and soon had most of these birds landing on and eating out of my hands. Fritz, the guide, offered to take us on a walk around some of the property and we somewhat reluctantly gave up our seats to go with him.

Walking the trails with Fritz was a delight. He really knew his birds both by sight and by sound. He also brought along a much better guide to Jamaican birds: "Birds of Jamaica; A Photographic Guide" by Robert Sutton and Audrey Downer. Among the birds we found were Olive-throated Parakeets, Euphonia, Jamaican Vireo, Sad Flycatcher, Bananaquit and Jamaican Woodpecker. As darkness approached, Fritz invited us to return the next morning for a longer walk on the trails. We could not refuse his offer.

Next day as we approached the sanctuary we found a Rufous-tailed Flycatcher in the bushes near the road--another Jamaican endemic and a good start to our day. As we walked the trails, birds were everywhere. One of the most exciting finds was a tree that held two endemics, the colorful Jamaican Tody as well as the Arrowheaded Warbler. The warbler was so engrossed in catching a large bug that it didn't even seem to notice us. All of a sudden it dropped its prey at our feet and flew right down in front of us to pick it up! We froze in delight. Another highlight of the walk was finding the nest of a Vervain Hummingbird. Along the trails we also picked up Greater Antillean Bullfinch, Orangequit, Jamaican Lizard Cuckoo, Rufous-tailed Flycatcher, Jamaican Becard and Stripe-headed Tanager. The weather was warm and pleasant, bugs were not a problem and a nice breeze kept us refreshed. We thanked Fritz for taking us birding and promised him and ourselves that we would one day return. We were pleased to find that in this short time we had seen 15 of the 25 Jamaican endemic species and added a total of 26 birds to our life list.

As the sun set on the mountains overlooking Montego Bay we began to think of what adventures we would find at our next stop -- Cartagena, Colombia.

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