Jamaica / Special Interests / Birdwatching

Jamaica has extremely varied terrain in its 4250 or so square miles and a bird-life that is just as diverse. In the Blue Mountains, some of the highest in the Caribbean, where there is rainforest and cloudforest, there are solitaires and vireos at high elevations and parrots and tanagers lower down. There are wet and dry limestone forests and cultivated areas where you can see cuckoos and flycatchers, kingfishers darting along the rivers and four of the Caribbean’s 16 hummingbirds. Down on the plains and wetlands (know locally as morasses) there are different species again, jacanas, ducks and gallinules and on coastal stretches yet more, such as sandpipers that twitter along the sandy beaches and offshore raiders such as boobies and pelicans.

There are well over 250 species to be found on Jamaica, of which 28 species and 21 sub-species are endemic. During the winter, from December to May, the number of species is supplemented by many migratory species. As with anywhere in the Caribbean, the best time to spot birds is early morning or late afternoon. Look out for the most spectacular of Jamaican birds, the red-billed streamer-tail (also the national bird). Known locally as the doctorbird, it is a striking, emerald coloured humming bird, and the male sports a double black ribbon-like tail-feather several times the length of its body. Of course there are many others that you are bound to see, including at the breakfast table, where the bananaquit is likely to fly in to steal the sugar. Overhead you are bound to see the John Crow (actually a black vulture), which soars on the thermals on the hillsides.

The most famous habitats in Jamaica are the Blue Mountains, where there are a couple of nature reserves and also a number of lodges that specialise in birding and hiking. There are also areas just outside Kingston at the Mona Reservoir and woods. In the North East are the John Crow Mountains, which is the lushest and probably the prettiest area of the island. There are many good birding areas in Portland. In the central west, the Cockpit Country (wet limestone forest), is another haven for bird life, if hard to access. All but one of the island’s endemic species found there. If you cannot get into the forest itself, then there are good areas to the North (around Windsor), and to the South, near Mandeville. Also in the west, on the south coast, is the Black River Morass, which is excellent for wetland birds. You might even be staying in Negril without knowing that close by is another wetland, the Great Morass, which also has excellent bird-life.

Accommodation that can help you arrange bird-watching tours include Forres Park in the Blue Mountains and Mocking Bird Hill, Port Antonio.