Birding in Jamaica – A Birding Day Trip from Green Castle

On December 9, BirdLife Jamaica president John Fletcher guided 3 Green Castle Estate visitors to Ecclesdown Road in Portland Parish’s John Crow Mountains. The excursion, arranged by Green Castle Estate manager Angie Dickson, was designed to see some of the higher-altitude Jamaican endemics, birds not usually found on the Estate.

Only a 2-hour drive from Green Castle on Jamaica’s coastal highway, Ecclesdown Road winds high above Long Bay. Here, along a single lane little-traveled road, is lush habitat that marks the eastern edge of Blue Mountains-John Crow Mountains National Park. It’s a spot where Rufous-throated Solitaire was conspicuous by its distinctive call, the whirring hum of Black-billed Streamertail tail feathers were ubiquitous, and the raucous squawking of Black-billed and Yellow-billed Parrots flying across the valley below sometimes drowned out both of the above. Other mountain specialties found that day were Ring-tailed Pigeon, Jamaican Crow, Blue Mountain Vireo, and Jamaican Pewee. Although, Jamaican Blackbird and Crested Quail-Dove remained elusive, the excursion has to be counted a success–15 Jamaican and 3 Caribbean endemics.

Portland Parish makes for an excellent day trip from Green Castle. Later in the day when the birding slows down, you could stop by scenic Reach Falls near Manchioneal or have a leisurely lunch along the beachfront at Long Bay. The crafts market in Port Antonio may also be worth a stop on your way back to Green Castle Estate.

This entry was posted on Monday, December 21st, 2009 at 6:15 pm and is filed under Birding in Jamaica, Vacationing in Jamaica. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.