Archive for the 'Birding in Jamaica' Category

Green Castle Estate guests visited Ecclesdown Road in Portland Parish on December 29, three weeks after other birding guests made the same trip. Results were delightfully similar:  16 endemics were seen along the enchantingly quiet, paved track through lush, bromeliad-laden forest. Jamaican Crows were much in evidence, both Jamaican Lizard-Cuckoo and Chestnut-bellied Cuckoo afforded great looks, and Black-billed and Yellow-billed Parrots were impossible to miss. In fact, one of the highlights was an eye-level close look at 4 parrots perched on a branch within 6 feet of one another: a Black-billed, 2 Yellow-billed, and another Black-billed! Arrowhead Warblers also put on a good show, with 6 seen. Perhaps the oddest sighting was of a partially albino Turkey Vulture—a very strange bird, indeed. If you’re coming to Green Castle Estate and want to add to your endemics list, a trip to Ecclesdown Road is highly recommended.

Mingo Falls at Green Castle

Two Estate guests from Wisconsin reported having had a bird-filled walk along the Waterfall Trail Sunday, December 27. The father-daughter duo was hoping to see some Jamaican endemics and weren’t disappointed. They were thoroughly enchanted by intimate encounters with 8 Jamaican Todies and repeated sightings and vocalizations of multiple female Jamaican Becards. Joining the noisy Jamaican Woodpeckers was an unusual immature Yellow-bellied Sapsucker plus Jamaican Vireos, Elaenias, Euphonias, Spindalis and Mangos; Streamertails, and White-Chinned Thrushes. Orangequits were seen bathing in the bromeliads of a giant guango tree. Although American Redstarts were the most abundant warbler of the day, 5 other North American warblers were found flitting among the trees. At trail’s end, the birders took in the beauty of Mingo Falls. All in all, they recorded 13 endemics during their morning outing.

Epilogue: The following day, they had a pair of Jamaican Lizard-Cuckoos on this same trail and saw Northern Potoo at dusk along the road!

The Green Castle Estate Bird List is now at 119!

Greencastle Bird Checklist

http//www.gcjamica.com

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.

Publication of a new field guide to a country’s birds is always a significant event and even more so if the book adds substantially to the general knowledge of an area’s birdlife. Such is the case with the new A Photographic Guide to the Birds of Jamaica (2009, Christopher Helm) by Dr. Ann Haynes-Sutton et al. This 300 page, pocket-sized guide is well printed and contains truly excellent color photos on almost every page.

Technically, the new guide is an update to Sutton and Downer’s 1990 Jamaica book, but what an update! The text and photos are entirely new and there are now range maps to accompany each of the species. Endemics are allotted more detailed textual treatment and often 3 or 4 excellent photos.

The opening chapters provide valuable information about Jamaica’s habitats, conservation challenges, origins of the Jamaican avifauna, and a history of Jamaican ornithology. That all of this information could be contained in a book sized for easy use in the field, and one so beautifully produced, is a real marvel. Of course, many birders prefer painted bird plates to photographs, as painted plates facilitate side-by-side comparison of similar species. Although that’s generally true, users will find that the quality and quantity of photos in this book are more than sufficient for identification of Jamaica’s birds. This is a must-have guide for birders visiting our island.

As we spend more time birding Green Castle Estate, our recognition of its importance as a birding destination grows. Certainly the fact that 118 species have been identified on the grounds is impressive—we know of no other property in Jamaica that can approach this total. Naturally, an extensive checklist is bound to include many species that are only rarely recorded.

So realistically, what could you hope to see? Here, too, Green Castle Estate shines. Though too low for some Jamaican mountain specialties, Green Castle’s varied habitats and extensive woods shelter most of the lowland endemics.

Case in point: On Sunday morning, December 6, two visitors birded a portion of the Waterfall Trail. This was no early dawn walk—they didn’t start down the trail from the Estate House until 8 a.m.  In 40 minutes, they saw15 endemics: Jamaican Woodpecker, Tody, Euphonia, Becard, Lizard-cuckoo, Mango, Elaenia, Vireo, and Spindalis, White-chinned Thrush, Orangequit, Yellow-shouldered Grassquit, Sad and Rufous-tailed flycatchers, and Streamertail. They also had 3 Caribbean endemics and 5 species of warblers.

To see so many of Jamaica’s specialty birds with so little effort is quite remarkable. Of course, every birding experience is different, so there are no guarantees that all guests will have such good fortune. But it illustrates that the birds are here and waiting to be found!

http://gcjamaica.com

Of all the neotropical migrants, none is more conspicuous or common than the American Redstart, known locally as the “Butterfly Bird.”  It’s not difficult to understand why Jamaicans call them this as Redstarts habitually flare wing and tail feathers while foraging, briefly giving the appearance of large, colorful butterflies.

This tiny, hyperactive warbler is difficult to overlook as it moves among pimento and palms, gleaning insects from beneath leaves or snatching them in midair. Adult males are jet black, stark white, with brilliant orange accents. Females and first year males sport more muted tones of brown and yellow.

Our northern neighbors think of Redstarts and other warblers as “their” birds, American species that just happen to spend a bit of time vacationing in the tropics. We Jamaicans know the truth, though—these are our birds! It’s just as valid to think of American Redstarts and their relatives as tropical species that travel for a few short months—less than half the year—to northern climes before returning home. We at Green Castle Estate are happy to welcome the Butterfly Bird and other migrants back home again.

Fall on the north coast of Jamaica brings relief from summer’s heat and the onset of welcome rains. It also signals the beginning of the most exciting time for birding on Green Castle Estate, the time when North American migrants arrive. Suddenly, out of the doldrums of summer, birding is exciting again. Any bush or tree or patch of grass or marsh could hold a surprise.

This fall has been no exception. An American Redstart seen September 12^th signaled the beginning of the rush. Then, in order of appearance, came: Palm, Prairie, Cape May, Black-and-white, and Northern Parula warblers, Ovenbird, Northern Waterthrush, Black-throated Blue and Worm-eating warblers, and Common Yellowthroat.

It wasn’t until November 9^th that the best warbler of the fall appeared–a Blackpoll Warbler, a rare transient on the island, found near Fisherman’s Beach. The Blackpoll was Green Castle Estate’s 12^th migrant warbler species of the fall.

However, the best bird of the year, so far, has been an immature Blue Grosbeak seen near Jack’s Bay Beach October 11. This was the first sighting of Blue Grosbeak in Jamaica for 3 years, an indication of the rarity of this vagrant.

Shorebirds and raptors also visit the Estate on their journeys south. A Merlin and a Peregrine Falcon put in an appearance, as did Solitary, Least, and Semipalmated sandpipers and a Lesser Yellowlegs.

Fall is a fascinating season here at Green Castle Estate, and a birder is irresistibly drawn afield early in the morning. The question that lures us is always the same: what’s the next surprise?

Early Saturday morning, November 21, a small party of GTSC members walked the 2 mile Waterfall Trail for a few hours of birding. This has been an exceptionally warm and dry year, so the cascade at Mingo Falls is quiet now, and the streambed has just a few remnant pools of water.

Waterfall Trail

But the birding more than compensated. In less than 3 hours, the group saw or heard 12 Jamaican endemics and 4 migrant warblers in addition to the usual assortment of Jamaican resident species. The best birds of the day were a pair of Jamaican Becards, not an easy species to find. Also seen were Loggerhead Kingbirds, Sad Flycatchers, a Rufous-tailed Flycatcher, and two Jamaican Elaenias—it was a pretty good morning for flycatchers!

The other endemics included Jamaican Vireo, Woodpecker, Euphonia, and Tody in addition to White-chinned Thrush and Orangequit.

Back at the Estate House the hummingbird show was in full swing, with Jamaican Mangos madly chasing Streamertails around the feeders. It was a pleasure to relax on the veranda with a cool drink, watch the hummingbirds, and contemplate a successful morning of birding.