Trystan
Well-known member
I entered 2019 with no definite holiday plans and limited windows of opportunity at work. After looking into a few options I finally settled on Jamaica.
I really wanted something warm and fairly relaxed while offering a decent number of species.
Jamaica has 28 extant endemic species which are all realistically gettable in one trip, plus a number of other Caribbean endemics. Having read through a few reports by birders who have done this by booking a number of different hotels and rented a car, I decided that for a little more cost, it could be done more hassle free and opted to stay at Green Castle Estate which has extensive grounds with a good number of endemic species readily available plus offers guided excursions to other key birding spots.
Due to the last minute decision to book, flights were a little awkward. I ended up flying from Manchester to Montego Bay via Atlanta (I still had a valid ESTA from last year). The reverse flight was Montego Bay to Gatwick. I found a cheap train ticket home dependant on the flight arriving in on time and decided to risk it. Worst case scenario would be an expensive commute home from London.
Green Castle arranged my transfers to and from the airport, which are quite expensive for a solo traveller, better to go in a group if you can. The same goes for the day excursions, my plan was to hook up with other people staying at the hotel to cut costs.
No issues with the flights and connections, apart from European starling and Feral Pigeon, Atlanta was devoid of life. I arrived in Montego bay around 9pm local time and quickly cleared customs. I had booked a hotel for the night very close by through booking.com. The tropical court hotel which I decided I could easily walk to from the airport.
This turned out to be the case although quite heavy going with 20kg luggage.
Despite the low cost of the hotel I found it very good, small room but clean with air con, wifi and even a little fridge. Even better, as I found out the next day, the view from my room overlooked some distant pools at the back of the airport.
So the birding begins on day 2, the 3rd February. My pick up was scheduled for 11am which gave me plenty of time for some reconnaissance around the area. I had noticed that there were pools behind and to the west of the airport on my map.
I use Maps.me to download offline maps whenever I travel.
The rear pools looked a long way round to walk so I headed west first. Outside the airport a large landscaped roundabout with fruiting and flowering trees offered my first opportunity to collect some species.
First up were the regular Loggerhead kingbird, and Northern mockingbirds, easily identifiable in the first light.
White crowned pigeon was also prevalent throughout but not often perched as they were here in the fruiting tree. My first endemic for the trip was a single White chinned thrush in the same tree which did not stick around.
As the light grew, the birds became more vocal. Despite being on a big roundabout outside an airport, there wasn't much traffic passing but there was some distant drilling which was a bit annoying. A flock of Greater Antillean grackles moved around the trees and the first of many Jamaican woodpeckers put in an appearance.
New world warblers were represented by the very common American redstart and slightly less so, Northern parula and I was able to watch several male Red billed streamertails at very close range in the flowering bushes.
Antillean palm swifts were present above the airport building and I found another endemic, this time Jamaican euphonia in another tree on the roundabout.
There didn't seem to be much else in the area but more of the same species, although flyover White winged dove, Cattle egret and then Glossy ibis. The latter reminded me I should think of moving on to try and find the pool I'd seen on the map.
Walking on the road round the airport should drop me to the seafront, then round the rear of the pool but unfortunately it was all part of the airport grounds, fully fenced off with no viewing possible. Still along the way I had Prairie warbler, Zenaida dove, American kestrel and Mourning dove in the habitat along the roads edge. This actually turned out to be the only place I saw Mourning dove, it didn't appear to have a presence near my main hotel or in the mountains.
Along the seafront itself, several Royal terns, Magnificent frigatebird, my only Laughing gulls of the trip and a small party of Ruddy turnstones. There were more people around now and it seemed about one in three of them wanted to sell me weed and about one in ten coke! They weren't pushy when I didn't show any interest, non-the-less I'm glad I wasn't staying in Montego bay for the whole trip or this could have gotten tedious.
I figured out I couldn't get access to the pool so I retraced my steps. Nothing much new at the roundabout but Bananaquits were active and there were a couple of Common ground doves. A few European starlings also flew over.
I decided to head back to the hotel and check around the gardens there and it was now with the light available that I realised I could see across to the rear pools from my window. Although distant, setting the scope up I could identify most birds. It looks possible to get closer to the pools by travelling East and circumnavigating the airport. Although closer, I have no idea if there would be enough elevation to see in.
Anyway, there were a decent number of herons and waders around amongst other things. Great white egret, Snowy egret, Little blue heron, Great blue heron, Smooth billed ani, Grey plover and Greater yellowlegs. This was also the only place I came across Tricoloured heron, Willet and Saffron finch. I saw some smaller peeps which I suspect were Least sandpipers but I let them go unidentified.
After this I waited around the small hotel garden for my transfer. A few more Red billed streamertails were present and an American kestrel sat on a telegraph post nearby but the only new bird for the trip was a pair of Yellow faced grassquits.
The driver turned up slightly late, then proceeded to try making up for lost time. From Montego bay it take about 2.5 hours to Green Castle depending on traffic and how psycho your driver is. Feral pigeon and Brown Pelican blurred past while Turkey vultures became ever present. Nothing else of note during the drive.
I really wanted something warm and fairly relaxed while offering a decent number of species.
Jamaica has 28 extant endemic species which are all realistically gettable in one trip, plus a number of other Caribbean endemics. Having read through a few reports by birders who have done this by booking a number of different hotels and rented a car, I decided that for a little more cost, it could be done more hassle free and opted to stay at Green Castle Estate which has extensive grounds with a good number of endemic species readily available plus offers guided excursions to other key birding spots.
Due to the last minute decision to book, flights were a little awkward. I ended up flying from Manchester to Montego Bay via Atlanta (I still had a valid ESTA from last year). The reverse flight was Montego Bay to Gatwick. I found a cheap train ticket home dependant on the flight arriving in on time and decided to risk it. Worst case scenario would be an expensive commute home from London.
Green Castle arranged my transfers to and from the airport, which are quite expensive for a solo traveller, better to go in a group if you can. The same goes for the day excursions, my plan was to hook up with other people staying at the hotel to cut costs.
No issues with the flights and connections, apart from European starling and Feral Pigeon, Atlanta was devoid of life. I arrived in Montego bay around 9pm local time and quickly cleared customs. I had booked a hotel for the night very close by through booking.com. The tropical court hotel which I decided I could easily walk to from the airport.
This turned out to be the case although quite heavy going with 20kg luggage.
Despite the low cost of the hotel I found it very good, small room but clean with air con, wifi and even a little fridge. Even better, as I found out the next day, the view from my room overlooked some distant pools at the back of the airport.
So the birding begins on day 2, the 3rd February. My pick up was scheduled for 11am which gave me plenty of time for some reconnaissance around the area. I had noticed that there were pools behind and to the west of the airport on my map.
I use Maps.me to download offline maps whenever I travel.
The rear pools looked a long way round to walk so I headed west first. Outside the airport a large landscaped roundabout with fruiting and flowering trees offered my first opportunity to collect some species.
First up were the regular Loggerhead kingbird, and Northern mockingbirds, easily identifiable in the first light.
White crowned pigeon was also prevalent throughout but not often perched as they were here in the fruiting tree. My first endemic for the trip was a single White chinned thrush in the same tree which did not stick around.
As the light grew, the birds became more vocal. Despite being on a big roundabout outside an airport, there wasn't much traffic passing but there was some distant drilling which was a bit annoying. A flock of Greater Antillean grackles moved around the trees and the first of many Jamaican woodpeckers put in an appearance.
New world warblers were represented by the very common American redstart and slightly less so, Northern parula and I was able to watch several male Red billed streamertails at very close range in the flowering bushes.
Antillean palm swifts were present above the airport building and I found another endemic, this time Jamaican euphonia in another tree on the roundabout.
There didn't seem to be much else in the area but more of the same species, although flyover White winged dove, Cattle egret and then Glossy ibis. The latter reminded me I should think of moving on to try and find the pool I'd seen on the map.
Walking on the road round the airport should drop me to the seafront, then round the rear of the pool but unfortunately it was all part of the airport grounds, fully fenced off with no viewing possible. Still along the way I had Prairie warbler, Zenaida dove, American kestrel and Mourning dove in the habitat along the roads edge. This actually turned out to be the only place I saw Mourning dove, it didn't appear to have a presence near my main hotel or in the mountains.
Along the seafront itself, several Royal terns, Magnificent frigatebird, my only Laughing gulls of the trip and a small party of Ruddy turnstones. There were more people around now and it seemed about one in three of them wanted to sell me weed and about one in ten coke! They weren't pushy when I didn't show any interest, non-the-less I'm glad I wasn't staying in Montego bay for the whole trip or this could have gotten tedious.
I figured out I couldn't get access to the pool so I retraced my steps. Nothing much new at the roundabout but Bananaquits were active and there were a couple of Common ground doves. A few European starlings also flew over.
I decided to head back to the hotel and check around the gardens there and it was now with the light available that I realised I could see across to the rear pools from my window. Although distant, setting the scope up I could identify most birds. It looks possible to get closer to the pools by travelling East and circumnavigating the airport. Although closer, I have no idea if there would be enough elevation to see in.
Anyway, there were a decent number of herons and waders around amongst other things. Great white egret, Snowy egret, Little blue heron, Great blue heron, Smooth billed ani, Grey plover and Greater yellowlegs. This was also the only place I came across Tricoloured heron, Willet and Saffron finch. I saw some smaller peeps which I suspect were Least sandpipers but I let them go unidentified.
After this I waited around the small hotel garden for my transfer. A few more Red billed streamertails were present and an American kestrel sat on a telegraph post nearby but the only new bird for the trip was a pair of Yellow faced grassquits.
The driver turned up slightly late, then proceeded to try making up for lost time. From Montego bay it take about 2.5 hours to Green Castle depending on traffic and how psycho your driver is. Feral pigeon and Brown Pelican blurred past while Turkey vultures became ever present. Nothing else of note during the drive.
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