Jamaica trip (March 9-12)

Jamaican Tody, Blue Mountains NP, Jamaica, Mar 10, 2017

Arrowhead Warbler, Ecclesdown Road, Jamaica, Mar 10, 2017

Just back from a whirlwind trip down to Jamaica to briefly escape the cold and try to see as many of the 27 endemic species there in two full days as I could with a big target being the Arrowhead Warbler (a more detailed look at warblers for the trip at the following link: Jamaica warblers). I flew down to Kingston on Thursday the 9th arriving there after dark and getting picked up by my guide for the next few days, Ricardo Miller. Although we originally were going to do a little late night birding before going to my lodging I was beat from traveling and knew I had a very early wake up call coming the next morning so instead we went right to my lodging. All was not lost as we found a roosting Northern Potoo atop a power pole right next to the inn. The potoo would be the first lifer for the trip but far from the last.

Jamaican Spindalis, Blue Mountains NP, Jamaica, Mar 10, 2017

Jamaican Becard, Blue Mountains NP, Jamaica, Mar 10, 2017

Jamaican Tody, Blue Mountains NP, Jamaica, Mar 10, 2017

Jamaican Euphonia, Blue Mountains NP, Jamaica, Mar 10, 2017

Yellow shouldered Grassquit, Blue Mountains NP, Jamaica, Mar 10, 2017

Rufous throated Solitaire, Blue Mountains NP, Jamaica, Mar 10, 2017

Jamaican Oriole, Blue Mountains NP, Jamaica, Mar 10, 2017

Vervain Hummingbird, Blue Mountains NP, Jamaica, Mar 10, 2017

Jamaican Vireo, Blue Mountains NP, Jamaica, Mar 10, 2017

Blue Mountain Vireo, Blue Mountains NP, Jamaica, Mar 10, 2017

Jamaican Woodpecker, Blue Mountains NP, Jamaica, Mar 10, 2017

Chestnut bellied Cuckoo, Blue Mountains NP, Jamaica, Mar 10, 2017

Orangequit, Blue Mountains NP, Jamaica, Mar 10, 2017

Blue Mountains, Jamaica, Mar 10, 2017

We started our first day with a 5 AM departure from the lodge to head into the Blue Mountains. Our first stop was a spot right along the road where we had our first calling Jamaican Owls but we never got a look at one despite having them calling with their odd barking call from quite close in. This predawn stop also added two additional life birds besides the owl with Jamaican Woodpeckers and White chinned Thrushes calling. The next several hours through midday were spent exploring the Blue Mountains were we had great luck catching up with 21 new species with 17 endemics including one of my main targets, the Arrowhead Warbler.  Some of the other species seen there included the diminutive Jamaican Tody to the red billed variant of the Streamertail to the colorful Jamaican Spindalis to a pair of nest building Jamaican Becard plus many others.

Jamaican Lizard Cuckoo, Ecclesdown Rd, Jamaica, Mar 10, 2017

Streamertail (black billed), Ecclesdown Rd, Jamaica, Mar 10, 2017

Olive throated Parakeet, Ecclesdown Rd, Jamaica, Mar 10, 2017

Looking north toward ocean, Ecclesdown Rd, Jamaica, Mar 10, 2017

After a late lunch we made it up to Ecclesdown Road in the late afternoon where we stayed until sundown. We caught up with many of the species we had seen up in the Blue Mountains as well as four new species including both endemic parrot species (Yellow billed Parrot and Black billed Parrot) plus Caribbean Dove and Rufous tailed Flycatcher (also endemic). We finished our time there with spectacular looks at a Jamaican Owl that flew right in after dusk.  By the end of the first day we had caught up with all but three of the endemic species on the island with the species not yet seen being Sad Flycatcher, Jamaica Mango and Jamaican Crow but we had great confidence we would find them the next day.

Jamaican Mango, Ecclesdown Rd, Jamaica, Mar 11, 2017

Crested Quail Dove, Ecclesdown Rd, Jamaica, Mar 11, 2017

Jamaican Crows, Ecclesdown Rd, Jamaica, Mar 11, 2017

We started out once again before dawn along Ecclesdown Road but were met with a bit of heavy rain which lasted for the first hour we were there but we nevertheless still managed to catch up with one of our three previously unseen endemics with a pair of Sad Flycatchers. We dodged some remaining showers for another hour as we searched various spots for our remaining two endemics. We eventually caught up with a few Jamaican Crows which showed nicely (but distantly) in some bare trees. Our final endemic took a bit more time to get good looks at but we eventually got a Jamaican Mango feeding on some banana flowers. We had now seen all the endemics but we still needed some better looks at the Crested Quail Dove that we had seen flying across the road in the Blue Mountains the previous morning. As we drove down Ecclesdown Road we approached an area that Ricardo mentioned look good for the species but it never produced one before. Within a minute of him saying that he spotted one perched in a tree and we got fantastic looks at it. As we were running ahead of schedule having seen every endemic well by late morning we headed out to make the trip back toward Kingston to look for some other Caribbean species I had not yet seen. On our way there we made a number of stops along the north coast looking for waders and shorebirds and added a few more species to the trip list.

Stolid Flycatcher, Hellshire Hills, Jamaica, Mar 11, 2017

Gray Kingbird, Hellshire Hills, Jamaica, Mar 11, 2017

Bahama Mockingbird, Hellshire Hills, Jamaica, Mar 11, 2017

Hellshire Hills looking toward ocean, Jamaica, Mar 11, 2017

Northern Potoo, Hope Gardens, Jamaica, Mar 11, 2017

Northern Potoo, Hope Gardens, Jamaica, Mar 11, 2017

Cape May Warbler, Hope Gardens, Jamaica, Mar 11, 2017

Bananaquit, Hope Gardens, Jamaica, Mar 11, 2017

We stopped for lunch in Kingston and turned up another new species with Antillean Palm Swifts nesting in the palms right in the parking lot of the restaurant.  Our main destination outside Kingston was the Hellshire Hills west of the city which as the name suggests is a very hot location, especially in the middle of the afternoon. It is a unique habitat looking like Arizona with low scrub, cactus and very dry hot weather but with the ocean providing a backdrop (very unlike Arizona!). Our main targets here included Bahama Mockingbird and Stolid Flycatcher which we managed to find despite the heat and strong winds. We also a few Gray Kingbirds which appeared to have just migrated in for the breeding season. With all the target birds in bag by mid afternoon we decided to make the drive back into Kingston and make a brief stop at Hope Gardens where we had the chance to get some better looks at a few species (mainly Yellow billed Parrots and some roosting Northern Potoo).  Despite lots of people around enjoying the park on the weekend and a loud music festival going on we indeed got good looks at Yellow billed Parrots and Northern Potto as well as other species including a mixed species flock of warblers that contained a few species we had not yet caught up with before on the trip.  If anyone is thinking of taking a trip down there I would highly recommend Ricardo Miller as a guide...very knowledgeable and super friendly.  He can be reached through his website at http://www.arrowheadbirding.com/.

After just two full days in Jamaica I headed to the airport early in the morning on Sunday the 12th for my flight back home. Managed to add a few new species along the causeway to the airport bringing my trip total to 93.  I found a total of 36 life birds for the trip including all 27 Jamaican endemics bringing my life list to 1299.  Additional photos from the trip can be found at the following link to my Flickr album from the trip: https://www.flickr.com/photos/54277284@N05/albums/72157681420551405. Below is a list of the life birds seen on the trip in the order they were seen.  Those with (E) are endemic species to Jamaica and those with an (I) are introduced species.

Northern Potoo
Jamaican Owl (E)
Jamaican Woodpecker (E)
White chinned Thrush (E)
Yellow shouldered Grassquit (E)
Orangequit (E)
Jamaican Becard (E)
Jamaican Spindalis (E)
White eyed Thrush (E)
Arrowhead Warbler (E)
Jamaican Vireo (E)
Ring tailed Pigeon (E)
Jamaican Blackbird (E)
Rufous throated Solitaire
Streamertail (E)
Crested Quail Dove (E)
Jamaican Tody (E)
Jamaican Euphonia (E)
Vervain Hummingbird
Jamaican Oriole
Blue Mountain Vireo (E)
Jamaican Pewee (E)
Jamaican Elaenia (E)
Chestnut bellied Cuckoo  (E)
Jamaican Lizard Cuckoo  (E)
Yellow billed Parrot (E)
Caribbean Dove
Black billed Parrot (E)
Rufous tailed Flycatcher (E)
Sad Flycatcher  (E)
Jamaican Crow  (E)
Jamaican Mango  (E)
Antillean Palm Swift
Stolid Flycatcher
Bahama Mockingbird
Green rumped Parrolet (I)


Unfortunately my return back home coincided with a return to winter like conditions with a blizzard dropping a foot and half of snow on Tuesday and then some cold and windy weather which made it feel more like mid winter then nearly spring time.