Previous Tour Highlights

from FONT's Birding & Nature Tours
in the Cayman Islands 

Cayman Islands & Jamaica
February/March 2006 

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List of Birds during our Cayman Islands & Jamaica - February/March '06

The following account written by Armas Hill, leader of the tours:

Our 2006 tours in the Caymans (Feb 23-26) and Jamaica (Feb 27-Mar 4), were done either individually or in combination. During those tours, in both the Caymans and Jamaica, there were some fine highlights among the 135 species of birds collectively seen.        

In the Caymans, one beautiful morning as we walked the trails of the botanical garden, there was the rich melodious song of "Sweet Bridget". That's the local name for the Yucatan Vireo, a species that occurs in the Caribbean only on Grand Cayman Island. Other birds that we saw during the walk that morning included the Rose-throated (or Cayman) Parrot, Mangrove Cuckoo, LaSagra's Flycatcher, Loggerhead Kingbird, another Vireo, the Thick-billed, and the attractive Western Spindalis - the last of these was at one time known as the Stripe-headed Tanager. That species has now been "split" into 4 - the Western Spindalis occurs also in the Bahamas, Cuba, and Cozumel Island, off Mexico. All of the nice birds just-mentioned were in addition to others that were common including Bananaquits and various warblers. Most of the warbler species had migrated from the north, but the Vitelline and the Golden Warblers were residents. The Vitelline Warbler only occurs in the Caymans, and one other small Caribbean island - Swan Island, to the south.                     

The Northern Mockingbirds on the Cayman Islands are a resident subspecies, not as "northern" as those in North America. In the Caymans, it's called the "Nightingale". It sings & sings (day & night), and has a repertoire of songs it has learned from other birds.    

Another notable landbird we saw on Grand Cayman Island was the endemic subspecies of the Cuban Bullfinch. Otherwise, that bird occurs in Cuba. 

There's a distinctive, and endemic, race of the Northern Flicker on Grand Cayman Island. And another woodpecker there is also a subspecies endemic to the island, the local race of the West Indian Woodpecker that also resides in Cuba and the Bahamas.

Most places in the Caribbean the West Indian Whistling-Duck is rather rare and a bit hard to find. Not so in the Caymans. On Grand Cayman, we saw them at a few spots. At one, there were well over a hundred. 

A large number of Red-footed Boobies breed on Little Cayman Island. Over a couple thousand are in the colony there, with birds of both color morphs - brown and white. Many Magnificent Frigatebirds also nest in that colony. It was fun watching both species. Many of the male frigatebirds had large inflated red throat-sacs. That colony of Red-footed Boobies, by the way, is the largest, it's said not just in the Caribbean, but also in the Americas. Assuming that to be true, it's either the largest, or one of the largest, in the world.            

As far as islands go, in the world, Little Cayman is far from large. With just a handful of people, that small island is such a pristine place - and a favorite of haunt of wintering warblers, who share the place with resident birds that include Caribbean Elaenia and a rare subspecies of the Greater Antillean Grackle.         

Quite different from Little Cayman Island is another Caribbean island, much larger and often lush and green. I'm referring now to Jamaica, where during our tour following the Caymans, we saw about 120 species of birds, including nearly all of the over 20 endemics.     

Some of our avian highlights of Jamaica were birds not among the endemics, but highlights none the less. There was a fine look at a Yellow-breasted Crake. And there was close-up twosome of male and female Masked Ducks. 
From atop a cliff, we looked down upon White-tailed Tropicbirds gyrating in flight. Not only wre their tails white; they were long. In all, about 20 White-tailed Tropicbirds were flying about by that cliff that morning.

Among the endemic birds of Jamaica, there's a becard (the only species of becard in the Caribbean), and two species of cuckoos (one, the Chestnut-bellied, called the "Old Man Bird"; the other, the Jamaican Lizard-Cuckoo, called the "Old Woman Bird". There are 2 endemic species of thrushes, one the White-eyed, the other the White-chinned. And there are 2 endemic species of parrots, the Yellow-billed and the Black-billed.)

Among the favorite of the endemics, are 2 hummingbirds known locally as "Doctorbirds". They are the Streamertails (the males with very long, black tails). In most of Jamaica, the Red-billed Streamertails reside. Locally, in the lush northeast corner of the island, there's the Black-billed Streamertail. We saw one of the latter sitting on its nest. Some of the former fed from our hands, at a renowned birding locale that's been near Montego Bay over 50 years, a place called "Rocklands". For all those many years, hummingbirds have tamely been feeding there. All one needs to do is sit on a chair, and hold a small tube of sugar water in one hand, as the little feet of the hummingbird perches on a finger of the other hand. Quite a treat!            

Also a treat in that area, was the observation of a roosting Jamaican Potoo during the day. When it yawned, the red inside of its mouth could be seen. Later we saw a potoo when they're more active, after dark. It, too, perched for us, on a roadside post outside our van.   

One of the most enjoyable sounds of our Jamaica stay was heard a couple hours earlier that day - from a bird noted in the book as the Jamaican Crow, but called by the Jamaicans the "Jabbering Crow". Jabber it does.      

And so, again, in 2006, we had good birding, and good times, in the Caribbean, in the Caymans and Jamaica. The tours were the 5th for us in the Caymans, and the 10th in Jamaica. We look forward to going back to both again.   

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