Jamaica:
Nature, Birds and Beach
December 3-14, 2014
Led by Mark Smith and Ann Sutton
Leadership
Mark Smith has led numerous field trips for The Nature Conservancy, Audubon and the Oregon Museum. Since his studies at Oregon State University, he has been working as a researcher and educator for a variety of organizations including the National Science Foundation, Portland Public Schools and the National Marine Fisheries Service. Mark leads tours all over the world for his own tour company. In recent years he has led 10 tours to the Caribbean, with special emphasis on Jamaica.
Ann Haynes-Sutton is Jamaica’s foremost expert in
ecology, conservation and natural history and is owner/manager of Marshall’s Pen, a private nature reserve and cattle property. Her Ph.D. focused on seabird conservation in Jamaica. She has been leading bird tours in Jamaica for more than 20 years and in 2009 published the field guide, “A Photographic Guide to the Birds of Jamaica”, which is by far the best book for birds of the island. Ann will co-lead during three days of the tour.
Accommodations and Transport
Our comfortable hotels, guest houses, and villas are chosen for their proximity to good natural areas and all have attached bathrooms. All meals are included. Transport is by 25-passenger coaster bus, unless the group is seven or less, in which case we will have a 15-passenger van.
Cancellations and Refunds
Any cancellation for which a suitable replacement is found receives a full refund. Other cancellations are subject to the following: forfeit of $600 of ground costs if cancellation is received between 90 and 30 days prior to departure and forfeit of 60% of ground costs for cancellation received within 29 days of departure. Participants are encouraged to consider trip cancellation insurance available through Willamette International Travel.
Group Size A maximum of 8, but 3-6 persons is usual.
Cost and Reservations
A deposit of $500 will hold a space on this tour.
Initial reservation deposit $500
Final Payment, due October 3, 2014 $2,385
Ground Fare Total $2,885
The single supplement is $575.
Please make the $500 deposit and final payments payable to Mark Smith Nature Tours, and send to:
Mark Smith
PO Box 3831
Portland, OR 97208
If you have questions, call or email Mark Smith at 503-224-0180, (evenings 360-566-0458), , or Pam Davis of Willamette International Travel, who will be handling air reservations and questions when Mark is out of town. Pam Davis: 1-800-821-0401;
503-224-0180. E-mail: .
Daily Activities
Drives will be four hours or less, with frequent stops. The high mountains at 5000 ft. may be cool (50°) in the morning, and rain and mud may be encountered, although usually not. Walks will be relaxed and not over three miles. High temperatures may range to the mid-80s, but we typically have a mid-day break.
Itinerary
Day 1 & 2 December 3 & 4 Montego Bay to Negril
We arrive at Montego Bay in northwestern Jamaica in early afternoon and proceed by van half an hour to a lush estate where feeders host Red-billed Streamertail, Jamaican Mango, Jamaican Euphonia, Orangequit, Jamaican Oriole and many others. Chestnut-bellied Cuckoo, Stripe-headed Tanager and Jamaican Tody are often found on the grounds. We continue to the west coast and settle into our beach hotel at Negril, where we stay for two nights. Here we can unwind on the beach, snorkel, and enjoy some good seafood. Just inland is the Royal Palm Preserve in The Great Morass, with a network of boardwalks that access ponds and wetlands with West Indian Whistling Ducks, Clapper Rail, Purple Gallinule, and Antillean Palm Swift. By the beach are pelicans, Magnificent Frigatebirds, and several terns.
Day 3 December 5 Negril to Treasure Beach
We continue southwest to Treasure Beach where we stay two nights in two large beach houses. En route we’ll visit Parottee Pond, Jamaica’s richest habitat for wintering shorebirds. Nearby, a small lake may reveal Least Bittern, Least Grebe, Northern Jacana, the rare West Indian Whistling Duck and even Masked Duck.
Day 4 December 6 Alligator Hole and Pond
We depart early for Alligator Hole, where a stream springs from the limestone escarpment nurturing wetlands and mangroves hosting manatees, and perhaps American crocodiles (“alligators”). The surrounding forests are a good area to find endemic Chestnut-Bellied and Lizard Cuckoos, and migrant warblers. We return to Treasure Beach via the fishing village of Alligator Pond, where we have a seafood lunch on the beach and observe and photograph the colorful boats and fish sellers. Next we stop at Lover’s Leap, a grand vista over the Caribbean. In the evening we scan Great Pedro Pond, where northern shorebirds and waterfowl winter.
Day 5 December 7 Black River Morass and Marshall’s Pen
We depart early for wetlands of the Black River Morass, where limpkins and other waterbirds may be found. We reach Marshall’s Pen, a private reserve, by lunch time and settle into rooms for two nights in the 200-year-old coffee plantation house (Great House). Meals are sumptuous and traditional, and the tropical gardens and native forest host many of Jamaica’s endemics, including Jamaican Owl, Becard and Woodpecker, as well as North American wintering warblers. Owner of the house is our co-leader, naturalist Ann Sutton, who has conducted numerous studies on Jamaican biology, often for the government, and has consulted on films and books and written the definitive book on Jamaica birds.
Day 6 December 8 The Cockpit Country
We rise early for a drive up to the wet limestone forest of the rugged Cockpit Country, where we hope to see the endemic Yellow-billed and Black-billed parrots, Jamaican Crow and Jamaican Lizard Cuckoo. The flora of palms, cacti and orchids is largely endemic, as are many of the butterflies. Due to the extreme natural erosion and collapse of the limestone, the area appears as a mosaic of deep bowls like the cockfighting pits of old. We return to Marshall’s Pen.
Day 7 December 9 Portland Ridge to the Blue Mountains
Early departure for the arid limestone scrub of Portland Ridge, the cactus-studded southernmost peninsula of Jamaica, where we hope to see the Bahama Mockingbird, Jamaican Vireo and Stolid Flycatcher. Then we continue east through Kingston, viewing some historic neighborhoods, and up into the cool Blue Mountains for two nights in a quiet guest house. We’ll enjoy an evening walk with grand views over the coffee plantation of the rugged Blue Mountains.
Day 8 December 10 The Blue Mountains
Up early to search out the difficult high-mountain specialties, like Jamaican Blackbird, Blue Mountain Vireo, Crested Quail Dove, Arrow-headed Warbler and Rufous-throated Solitaire. The weather is unpredictable, and clouds often cling to the 5000 foot slopes of montane forest. Ferns, orchids and bromeliads festoon the branches, and there are many waterfalls. Worm-eating and Swainson’s warblers and Louisiana Waterthrush winter here.
Day 9, 10 & 11 December 11, 12 & 13 The Blue Mountains to the Port of Antonio area
A final morning of cool walks before we descend an hour down to the rugged northeast coast, the Port Antonio area, where for three days we settle into beautiful villas overlooking the beach and Caribbean at Frenchman’s Cove. These are relaxed days with swimming and snorkeling, and options to explore the nearby Rio Grande Valley and the John Crow Mountains National Park in search of scenery and species we may have missed. One day we have the option to drive east to Hector’s River and scan for White-tailed Tropicbirds that nest on the headland.
Day 14 December 14 Port Antonio, fly Montego Bay, then to the U.S.
We depart mid-morning to take a short domestic flight to Montego Bay, where we connect with mid-day flights to the U.S., arriving on the east and west coasts this same evening.