Jamaica

I have to admit, I was really excited about going to Jamaica and leading a couple of tours there last fall.  It was a country I hadn't been to before (and I'm all about seeing new places) and the small Caribbean nation hosts a number of endemics, species that aren't found anywhere else.

Over the course of 2-3 weeks, I got to know the birds pretty quickly, tallied ~120 species, and got to meet some really nice folks.  In fact, I'll be headed back there in 2021.

Anyway, here are some photos.

BLUE MOUNTAIN VIREO, found only in Jamaica:

"Golden" subspecies of YELLOW WARBLER:

JAMAICAN BLACKBIRD, endemic to Jamaica:

STREAMERTAIL, endemic to Jamaica:

JAMAICAN SPINDALIS, found only in Jamaica:

RUFOUS-TAILED FLYCATCHER, a Jamaican endemic:

JAMAICAN OWL, a tough-to-see Jamaican endemic:

WHITE-EYED THRUSH, one of my favorite Jamaican endemics:

JAMAICAN TODY, another endemic and a colorful little ball of energy:

ORANGEQUIT, found only in Jamaica:

Roadside birding:

Some of the morning views along the coast were quite tranquil:

Our lodge has this old Spanish-built stone tower on the grounds; it was really neat to explore!

Sunrise from our lodge.  Such a hardship, I know.

As always, you can read more about the tours by looking at the triplists I put together including this one from the first tour and this one from the second.