Jamaica and Grand Cayman Birding 2016
Jamaica and Grand Cayman Birding March 19-26, 2016 Join Tropical Audubon’s Brian Rapoza for this eight-day, seven-night trip to Jamaica and Grand Cayman, beginning and ending in Miami. This tour involves eight full days of birding and is designed for intermediate to advanced birders. In Jamaica, the tour will be led by Tropical Birding’s Sam Woods, with assistance from Brian and a local guide. In Grand Cayman, Brian will lead. Costs: $3,350.00 per person double occupancy, $600.00 single supplement. Cost includes all ground transportation and lodging, guides and all meals while in Jamaica. Not included is airfare to Kingston and Grand Cayman, meals while in Grand Cayman, tips, laundry costs and other incidental expenses. All trip participants are responsible for their own personal travel insurance to cover accidents, medical expenses or loss of personal belongings. Trip cancellation/interruption insurance is strongly recommended. All participants must indicate upon booking any medical conditions that could limit participation in the tour. Reservation Requirements: To reserve your space, a deposit of $500.00 must be received within 30 days of booking. Make out a check to Tropical Audubon Society and mail, along with a completed trip application and agreement, to: Brian Rapoza, TAS Field Trip Coordinator 14525 SW 88 Street, J-207 Miami, FL 33186 Balance of payment must be received by October 31, 2015 to ensure your reservation. No refunds for cancellations after October 31, 2015, unless your slot is filled. Again, trip cancellation/interruption insurance is strongly recommended. Introduction The Caribbean is famed as an endemic hotspot, although, generally, many of these endemics are widely distributed among a large set of islands, making either single trips very complicated, or many trips necessary. However, Jamaica offers an excellent choice for a short trip; it has around 28 endemic species (i.e. only found there), making it one of the most endemic rich Caribbean islands of all. It is also relatively easy to pick up all of the 28 extant endemic species (there are two further species thought to be extinct), in a relatively short period of time. Our trip has been designed with this in mind. While one can never guarantee the performance of nature, the trip has been set up so that we have a good chance at finding all of the endemics while on the island, by spreading our time between a just a few key locations. Jamaica offers not only one of the highest lists of single island endemics in the Caribbean, but also some stellar species within this mix, from the diminutive
Jamaican Tody (which could offer a new bird family for some), to gaudy, Jaffa-cake colored, Jamaican Spindalis, to the spectacular Red-billed Streamertail. It’s an exciting mix of endemic birds, with species from a broad spectrum of families, including two doves, two parrots, two cuckoos, an owl, a tody, three hummingbirds, a woodpecker, four flycatchers, a becard, two thrushes, a crow, a euphonia, a warbler, two vireos, three tanagers, and a blackbird. Additionally, there are a handful of other Caribbean specialties, also found on other islands, which could bolster a list of personal life birds, like White-tailed Tropicbird, Vervain Hummingbird, Bahama Mockingbird, Rufous- throated Solitaire, Jamaican Oriole, Great Antillean Bullfinch, and Black-faced Grassquit. We’ll also likely encounter a few Caribbean birds with breeding ranges extending into south Florida, including White-crowned Pigeon, Mangrove Cuckoo, Antillean Nighthawk, Gray Kingbird, Black-whiskered Vireo and the “golden” race of Yellow Warbler. While Grand Cayman, the largest of the Cayman Islands, has no true endemics, our short visit will easily add a number of Caribbean specialties not found in Jamaica. High on the list of target birds is Vitelline Warbler, a near-endemic species, found otherwise only on the little-visited Swan Islands. Others, like Cuban Parrot, West Indian Woodpecker, Caribbean Elaenia, Thick-billed and Yucatan Vireo, Western Spindalis and Cuban Bullfinch represent subspecies endemic to the Cayman Islands. While West-Indian Whistling-Duck is possible on Jamaica, it’s infinitely easier to find on Grand Cayman. Other species we’re likely to see on both islands include Magnificent Frigatebird, Whitewinged, Zenaida and Caribbean Dove, Smooth-billed Ani, Loggerhead Kingbird, Bananaquit, Yellowfaced Grassquit and Greater Antillean Grackle. Itinerary (Subject to change to due to weather, road conditions, access, and other real world factors. The order of the trips may also change. Should a location become unviable, we will make every effort to visit an equivalent location. Though most bird species are listed for only one or two locations, they may also be seen in proper habitat at other locations.) Day 1: Saturday, March 19: Arrival in Kingston After the group arrives in Jamaica’s capital, Kingston, we’ll be transferred directly to our quiet hotel on the outskirts of the city. While birding on the grounds of the hotel is possible, there is no birding outing planned on this day and the tour will officially start with dinner at 7pm this evening. Meals: Dinner on this night is the first meal of the tour. Night: City View Hotel, Kingston http://www.cityviewja.com/ Day 2: Sunday, March 20: Hellshire Hills & Hope Royal Botanical Gardens to the Blue Mountains We’ll leave the hotel early (5:30am), to take advantage of the cooler temperatures in the early morning, and the correspondingly higher bird activity. Our first port of call will be Hellshire Hills, west of Kingston. The area comprises dry limestone forest, dominated by cacti, birch and thatch. This hot and dry forest is rich in birdlife, and we’ll set about trying to find our first Caribbean specialties like Stolid Flycatcher (which also occurs on the island of Hispaniola), and the scarce Bahama Mockingbird (a species shared with Cuba and the Bahamas), but also our first Jamaican endemics too, including the outrageously beautiful Jamaican Mango, which would be a
spectacular opener to our list of island endemics. This will be the best site of the tour for the mango, and the only location on the tour for the flycatcher and mockingbird. Wherever we find water, we’ll check for Northern Jacana and migrant shorebirds. Once the morning heats up, we’ll visit the Hope Royal Botanical Gardens, an area of lush plant life and immaculately-manicured gardens. The garden, close to the Bob Marley museum in Kingston, provides tranquility and easy birding on the edge of the city. It’s particularly notable for parrots, in particular the endemic Yellow-billed Parrot, for which this site offers our best chance. However, other birds are likely to be found in this idyllic setting, including the national bird of Jamaica, the “Doctor Bird” or Red-billed Streamertail. Other possibilities include Zenaida Dove, Smooth-billed Ani, Antillean Palm-Swift, Vervain Hummingbird, Loggerhead and Gray Kingbird, White-chinned Thrush, Blackfaced Grassquit, Greater Antillean Grackle, Jamaican Euphonia and a number of migrant warblers, including Black-and-white, Prairie, and Black-throated Blue Warblers and Northern Parula. After lunch in a restaurant nearby, where we’ll likely get our first taste of one of Jamaica’s famous spicy Jerk dishes, we we’ll travel east and up into the most endemic-rich core of the island, the Blue Mountains. The drive up into the mountains is along an unpaved road for part of the journey and is expected to take two hours. By late afternoon we should be on site to bird one of the most revered birding sites in Jamaica, Hardwar Gap, at an elevation above 1200m/3950ft and within the Blue and John Crow Mountains National Park, a designated endemic bird area. This site hosts all but four of the endemic bird species in Jamaica, so we’re sure to end the day with a flurry of new and exciting species and really kickstart our endemic bird list. Other species possible here include Black Swift, Rufousthroated Solitaire and Greater Antillean Bullfinch. After checking into our hotel, there should be a chance to go out in search of night birds; namely the endemic Jamaican Owl and Northern Potoo, both of which occur widely across the island. Please note: In the Blue Mountains the weather can be distinctly cooler than the picture postcard image of “hot and sweaty” Jamaica, with frequent, and unpredictable periods of low clouds, rain, and temperatures lower than elsewhere on Jamaica (possibly in the 50s°F, or as low as 10°C). Drive times: City View Hotel to Hellshire Hills – about 30 minutes. Hope Gardens, Kingston to Blue Mountains - about 2 hours. Night: Starlight Chalet, Blue Mountains http://starlightchalet.com/ Day 3: Monday, March 21: The Blue Mountains (Hardwar Gap, Section, Silver Hill Gap & Cascade areas) The entire day will be spent in the Blue Mountains, home to some of the world’s finest coffees, and where the vast bulk of the Jamaican island endemics can be found. Our strategy involves birding along mountain roads and perhaps some short roadside trails. The area comprises a combination of primary forest, secondary forest and attractive gardens around mountain cottages, all great locations for many of our target birds. Red-billed Streamertails are especially abundant in the Blue Mountains, compared with elsewhere in their range, due to the abundance of Blue Mahoe (the national tree of Jamaica) at these high elevations. These trees are also attractive to other nectar-feeding birds like Orangequits and Bananaquits. Twenty-four of the twenty-eight endemic species are possible at this site, including Jamaican Tody, Arrowhead Warbler, Jamaican Woodpecker, Jamaican Spindalis and Chestnut-bellied Cuckoo.
Among the more tricky endemics possible are Jamaican Blackbird, Jamaican Lizard-Cuckoo, and Crested Quail-Dove, for which this is the most likely location of the tour. After an early breakfast at the hotel, we’ll concentrate on one of the many good birding locations in the area such as Silver Hill Gap, Hardwar Gap or Section. Species to look for include Ring-tailed Pigeon, Jamaican Pewee, Jamaican and Greater Antillean Elaenia, Sad and Rufous-tailed Flycatcher, Blue Mountain Vireo, White-eyed Thrush, Shiny Cowbird and Jamaican Oriole. After lunch back at the hotel, we’ll change our focus to another of these locations. The birding today will be on a combination of level road with some uneven, steep sections. While in the mountains (either day 3 or the morning of day 4); there will also be an opportunity during the middle of the day to visit one of the small local coffee farms, to learn more of the production of Blue Mountain coffee, and to purchase direct from local sellers what is often touted as some of the world’s best coffees. There will be another opportunity for “owling”, if required and desired, in the evening. Drive times: All of the birding will be quite local today, with no more than a 40 minute drive from the chalet Meals: Breakfast, lunch and dinner will be at the Starlight Chalet in the Blue Mountains Night: Starlight Chalet, Blue Mountains Day 4: Tuesday, March 22: The Blue Mountains to Port Antonio We’ll have some time during our final morning in the Blue Mountains to chase whatever birds we’re still missing. We’ll then head to Port Antonio on the northern coastline, and the capital of the parish of Portland, taking lunch en-route. There may be some time for some light birding near Port Antonio in the afternoon; species to watch for here include White-crowned Pigeon, Mangrove Cuckoo, Jamaican Vireo and Saffron Finch. We may also check a local roost site for Jamaican Owl if birds are in attendance at the time of our visit. Drive times: A three-hour drive from Starlight Chalet to Port Antonio. Breakfast will be at the Starlight Chalet in the Blue Mountains. Meals: Lunch will be on the road and dinner will be at a local restaurant in Port Antonio. Night: Goblin Hill Villas, Port Antonio http://www.goblinhill.com/ Day 5: Wednesday, March 23: Happy Grove & Ecclesdown Road (Port Antonio area). At dawn, we’ll head east to Happy Grove, a scenic coastal site, where at this season, White-tailed Tropicbirds come ashore to breed. We’ll time our visit for the early morning, when it is said to be best for birds to be in attendance at their breeding cliffs (later in the day, they can be far out at sea). After a short time atop stunning cliffs and gazing out at the Caribbean Sea, we’ll move on to a legendary birding site close by.
Our final major destination of the tour will be Ecclesdown Road, in the foothills of the John Crow Mountains. This 18km/11mi stretch of level road passes through dense secondary forest, open forest and farmlands. It’s especially good for Jamaican Crow, Black-billed Parrot and Black-billed Streamertail, all of which are absent from the Blue Mountains. However, the area holds all the other endemics as well, and so provides a final back-up location for any of these, if still needed. It’s a good site for some of the trickier among these, including Crested Quail-Dove, Jamaican Blackbird, and Yellowbilled Parrot. Among the other species we may see are three species of vireo (Blue Mountain and Jamaican, as well as Blackwhiskered), Jamaican Becard, Vervain Hummingbird, Arrowhead Warbler, Yellow-shouldered Grassquit and the newly split Jamaican Parakeet (until recently, lumped with Olive-throated Parakeet). There should be some time in the hot middle of the day to relax, or even visit a local beach; a return to Ecclesdown Road is planned for our final afternoon in country. Drive times: The birding sites all involve drives of no longer than 45 minutes away from our hotel. Meals: Packed breakfast; lunch and dinner at local restaurants in Port Antonio. Night: Goblin Hill Villas, Port Antonio Day 6: Thursday, March 24: Port Antonio area to Kingston, flight to Grand Cayman. A final short birding session is possible around Port Antonio before we pack up and hit the road, heading back to Kingston in time for our flight to Grand Cayman. Lunch will be taken en-route to the airport. Upon arrival in Grand Cayman, we’ll check into our hotel in George Town, the capital of the Cayman Islands. Drive times: Port Antonio to Kingston airport – about 3 hours. Meals: Breakfast at the hotel/packed breakfast (depending on whether people choose birding or to relax around the hotel this morning); lunch at a restaurant en-route to the airport, dinner in George Town, Grand Cayman. Night: A hotel in George Town, Grand Cayman Day 7: Friday, March 25: Grand Cayman We’ll have a full day to explore Grand Cayman, utilizing their excellent road system. Around George Town, White-winged Doves will be abundant on roadside wires. We’ll head west from George Town, stopping briefly at Governor Gore’s Pond, where we’ll likely see our first West Indian Whistling-Ducks. Least Bittern and Purple Gallinule are also possible here. We’ll also check Pedro Bluff Cliffs for nesting White-tailed Tropicbirds. At Mastic Reserve, near the center of the island, virtually every one of our target species can be found, in particular Vitelline Warbler, Yucatan Vireo and Cuban Bullfinch. Caribbean and Zeneida
Dove, Antillean Nighthawk, Cuban Parrot, West Indian Woodpecker, Northern Flicker (gundlachi subspecies), Caribbean Elaenia, La Sagra’s Flycatcher, Thick-billed Vireo, Bananaquit and Western Spindalis are also present here. We’ll also visit the adjacent Queen Elizabeth II Botanic Park, where we hope to see any species missed at Mastic Reserve. We may also see the endemic (and endangered) Blue Iguana while at the park, possibly including under our parked van! After lunch on the road, we’ll return to our hotel for some mid-day relaxation before heading out again for some late afternoon birding at the Central Mangrove Wetlands, near the island’s north coast. A series of dikes provides access to the wetlands, which attracts large assemblages of wading birds, as well as West Indian Whistling-Duck, Cuban Parrot and Yellow-faced Grassquit. Drive times: About 1 hour each way to the Mastic Reserve/Botanic Park area; 30 minutes to Central Mangrove Wetlands. Meals: Breakfast and dinner in George Town, lunch on the road. Night: A hotel in George Town, Grand Cayman Day 8: Saturday, March 26: Grand Cayman and Departure We’ll spend our final morning in Grand Cayman at Barker’s Peninsula, a national park at the northern tip of Grand Cayman. With a combination of mangrove habitat and coastal beaches, the park attracts a wide variety of wading birds, shorebirds, gulls, terns and migrant songbirds. After lunch in George Town, we’ll head to the airport for our return flight home. Drive times: About 20 minutes each way to Barker’s Peninsula Meals: Breakfast and lunch in George Town. PACE AND DIFFICULTY OF THE TOUR This is an easy-paced, bird-focused tour, concentrating on finding the endemic birds and other Caribbean specialties on each island as the main tour objective. Although there is other wildlife on Jamaica and Grand Cayman, this is very limited, as both are small islands in the animal-poor Caribbean. Therefore, this tour for the most part focuses purely on the birds, unlike some other bird tours to other parts of the world, where there are plentiful other animals too (e.g. Costa Rica, East Africa etc.) In Jamaica, there are some drives on rough roads to get between the birding sites (the main road up to the Blue Mountains from Kingston in particular), with some longer drives involved. However, in general, this is a relatively easy tour, with only easy to moderate walking involved. While there will be some walking on uneven ground, most of the trail walking should be relatively easy, and I foresee few problems for those signed up on this tour. As with any bird tour there are likely to be some early starts (dawn is around 6AM), and, depending on how successful our early owling sessions are there are likely to be some extended days in order to look for the endemic Jamaican Owl, or the Northern Potoo for those who wish to do so. This is a tour classified as easy to moderate, with most of it classified as easy. Please be aware that daylight hours are around 12 hours length at this time of year in Jamaica and Grand Cayman, with sunrise at 6AM, and sunset at 6PM, meaning that there are likely to be some
long days in the field on this tour. However, there will be an opportunity for a midday break on some days of the tour. PHOTOGRAPHY The primary purpose of this tour is to have all the participants see as many birds as possible, and seeing the birds will always take priority over getting photos. We do allow photography on our tours, but the tour leader will not allow photographers to move in front of the group for a photo, or use flash, until everyone has had a good look at the bird or other animal. During our stay in the Blue Mountains, we will be staying at a mountain chalet for two nights with a small set of hummingbird feeders. On previous visits these have attracted Red-billed Streamertails, Orangequit, Bananaquit, Jamaican Oriole, Yellow-faced Grassquit, and even Black-throated Blue and Prairie Warblers! These feeders are however, quite new, and may vary from week to week, so we cannot guarantee what comes in while we are there! During our stay in the parish of Portland we will be staying in a hotel for two nights with a couple of hummingbird feeders too, which can attract small numbers of Black-billed Streamertails, and occasionally Jamaican Mangos too. While these feeders offer the best photo opportunities of the tour, while taping birds in with playback, and walking around birding in general, we may also get to photograph other species like Jamaican Tody or White-chinned Thrush “on the fly.” FINAL TOUR DETAILS – ARRIVAL IN JAMAICA When you arrive in Kingston, an immigration officer will request details regarding where you will be staying in Jamaica. You only need to specify one hotel: City View Hotel, Lot 3 Bellevue, Smokey Vale, St. Andrew The local guide, and our Tropical Birding guide, will be in the airport arrivals area (actually an outside seating area, which you will automatically come into as you depart the small main terminal building) in Kingston Norman Manley International Airport. They will meet us in the airport with a sign stating “TROPICAL AUDUBON”, so that you can recognize them. What’s included: • In Jamaica: 5 nights accommodation from the night of March 19, 2016 through the night of March 23 2016. In Grand Cayman, 2 nights accommodation from the nights of March 24 and March 25, 2016. • Meals from dinner on March 19, 2016 to lunch on March 24, 2016. Some breakfasts may be taken in the field (indicated in the itinerary above), as early breakfast may not be not available. • Plentiful drinking water. The tap water is often considered safe to drink at most sites in Jamaica and everywhere in Grand Cayman. However, as foreigners have different levels of tolerance to this, we advise against this, and bottled drinking water will be provided throughout for drinking, and for use to brush your teeth. We suggest bringing a refillable water bottle from home, which we can then refill from a larger water bottle, in order to avoid unnecessary, extra, plastic waste. If you do not have a refillable water bottle brought from home, a small plastic water bottle will be purchased for you at the start of the tour, which you can then use to refill. Extra drinking water will always be provided while in the field, in case anyone runs out of his or her own personal supply. • Tour leader(s) from the afternoon of March 19, 2016 to the afternoon of March 26, 2016. The tour
leaders will have professional audio gear with all the relevant bird calls, and also carry a good spotting scope for the use of the tour participants. • All necessary ground transport. This will be in the form of a van or bus, depending on what group size we have. This will be a good standard, reliable, modern, vehicle. • One group airport transfer at each end of the Jamaica leg of the tour. • All entry fees to sites mentioned in the itinerary. • Tips to the Jamaican local guide and local drivers. • A bound checklist to keep track of your sightings. This list will be given to you on the first night of the tour, although you are welcome to request an electronic copy in advance of the tour. What’s not included: • Snacks (if you have a favorite snack, you might want to bring some with you from home). • Additional drinks apart from those included, (in short, anything other than drinking water). • Alcoholic beverages. • Excursions or activities not included in the tour itinerary. • Travel insurance. • Extras in hotels such as laundry service, minibar, room service, telephone calls, and personal items. • Excess baggage charges. • Medical and emergency evacuation fees. • Expenses that could arise due to the change, delay, or extension of the trip due to circumstances beyond our control (weather, flight delays/cancellations, lost luggage, road closures, etc.). FLIGHTS Flights to Jamaica should be booked in and out of Jamaica’s capital, Kingston (Norman Manley International Airport, Kingston, IATA airport code KIN). There are frequent direct flights out of Miami to Kingston with airlines like American, Cayman and Caribbean Airlines, and Delta, among others. If you need further help on this, please call and we can help. Please book an incoming flight to arrive in the afternoon of March 19, 2016; the tour starts with dinner that evening, and so incoming flights only need to arrive before the evening. (The travel time from the airport to hotel is around 40 minutes, if there is bad traffic). There is one group transfer included at the start and end of the tour, and therefore it is best if the group arrives and leaves on the same flights, to avoid extra transfer costs. The flight from Kingston to Grand Cayman (Owen Roberts International Airport, George Town, Grand Cayman, IATA airport code GCM) should leave no earlier than mid-afternoon (2:30PM or later) on the afternoon of March 24, 2016, allowing sufficient time to get from Port Antonio to Kingston. The departure flight from Grand Cayman should leave no earlier than mid-afternoon (2:30PM or later) on the afternoon of March 26, 2016. ENTRY REQUIREMENTS A valid passport is required for entry
into Jamaica and the Cayman Islands; this should be valid for at least six months beyond the time of your scheduled return; AND your passport should also have at least one full blank page available. A visa is not required for short-stay tourists from the United States, Canada, and the United Kingdom. However, as situations can change at short notice, please also check this information with the relevant consulate/embassy/immigration office; some are given below: Embassy of Jamaica in Washington, DC (USA): http://www.embassyofjamaica.org/index.htm Jamaican High Commission (UK): http://www.jhcuk.org/ Consulate General of Jamaica in Toronto (Canada): http://www.congenjamaica-toronto.com/html/ Department of Immigration in the Cayman Islands: http://www.immigration.gov.ky/portal/page?_pageid=4121,1&_dad=portal&_schema=PORTAL Those who are visiting, and are coming from an area with Yellow Fever, must show a certificate of vaccination for this, when entering Jamaica, (this should not apply to most people). HEALTH REQUIREMENTS The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recommend all travelers be up to date with routine immunizations including measles-mumps-rubella (MMR) vaccine, diphtheria-tetanus-pertussis vaccine, varicella (chickenpox) vaccine, polio vaccine, and the yearly flu shot. The CDC further recommends Hepatitis A and Typhoid immunizations for visitors to Jamaica. There are ticks in some areas of Jamaica, and these can be annoying for sure, although these are not known to carry diseases. The best strategy is to tuck pant legs into socks, and spray your pants and boots for each hike. Ticks are not known, in general, to be a nuisance, from most of the areas visited on this tour, but as they do occur fairly commonly in Jamaica, this warning needed to be made. There are mosquitoes in Jamaica and the Cayman Island, although are not a serious nuisance; malaria is not known from the islands, according to the latest CDC information. However, protection against mosquito bites is always recommended. Recently (2014), the entire Caribbean region has been affected by the recently arrived Chikungunya Virus. Indeed, it has also now arrived in the United States and other western countries. It is spread by the Aedes aegypti mosquito, which is mostly active from dawn until dusk. The mosquito occurs mostly around built-up areas. The disease is characterized by fever, mild to severe joint pain and rash. This may last from a couple days to over a week. There is no specific treatment but the symptoms are relieved with acetaminophen (Paracetamol and Panadol). Preventative measures include the use of insect repellents containing DEET and protecting yourself from mosquito bites. The outbreak seemed to have peaked in October or November 2014, and new cases now seem infrequent. Thus, the recommendation is to wear insect repellent and long sleeves/pants to avoid being bitten, and carry Paracetamol and Panadol as a precaution, to treat this if you become affected. CURRENCY The currency of Jamaica is the Jamaican Dollar (J$); rates (as of June, 2015) are: $USD1=J$115 The currency of the Cayman Islands is the Cayman Island Dollar (CI$); rates (as of June, 2015) are $USD1=CI$.82 For the latest rates, please check the following website: http://www.xe.com/ We recommend changing money out of an ATM for the entire Jamaican leg of the trip, in Kingston airport, on arrival. Twenty-four hour ATMs are widespread, but it would be best to get all the money you need for this short trip at the start. Credit cards are accepted in some, though not all, places, and
therefore, it is best to get some cash for some of what you feel you will need. US dollars are also readily accepted; and so the best strategy is perhaps to get a limited number of Jamaican Dollars on arrival, and then revert to US Dollars, if needed, later. It is also advisable to carry some $US1 notes for tipping porters. US dollars are readily accepted everywhere in the Cayman Islands, though change is often given in Cayman Island Dollars. It is advisable to carry a credit card to secure against hotel rooms during your stay, in case of any incidentals. Please remember, as you intend to use an ATM, or use your credit card while in Jamaica or Grand Cayman to secure against hotel rooms; to inform your bank that you intend to do so, before leaving for the trip. In this way, you will prevent blocks on overseas use stopping you from being able to pay with this method. Please note: The exchange rates at the changing counters at the airport on arrival are often poor, so using an ATM is usually best to get a better exchange rate. More information on this can be found on the CDC website: http://www.cdc.gov/travel/destinations/list We strongly recommend reviewing the trip itinerary with you personal physician, to check up your personal health needs before leaving on the trip. DEPARTURE/LANDING TAXES In most cases, a J$1,800 (about $US20) Jamaican departure tax and $20.00 Cayman Islands departure tax is included within the price of the flight ticket. This normally applies to all scheduled flights coming in to Jamaica from the United States. Jamaica also charges a $US20 “landing fee” or “Tourism Enhancement Fee”, although, again, this is usually already included within the price of your flight ticket. Therefore, in most cases, there should be no need to pay either of these fees on arrival or departure from Jamaica or the Cayman Islands, as they should have been included within your flight ticket price. If in doubt, please consult your personal airline for confirmation. TIPPING The tour fee includes tips to the Jamaican local guide and Jamaican driver used on this tour, although DOES NOT INCLUDE optional tips to the Tropical Birding tour leader, or to any hotel porters used on the tour, so please budget for this. If you need a recommendation for this, then porters should be tipped in the order of $US1 per bag; and for the tour leader they can be tipped anything upwards of $US10 per person, per day. CLIMATE AND ALTITUDE Most of the trip is expected to warm and humid, with summer clothing suitable, and temperatures in the 80s °F/26°C+ (i.e. Kingston, Hellshire Hills and around Port Antonio). For three days of the tour (days 2, 3 and 4), we will be visiting sites in the Blue Mountains where low clouds, rain, and lower temperatures are more likely (down to 50s°F/10°C+ on occasion), so rain gear is required, as well as cooler weather clothing for the unpredictable weather in Jamaica’s mountains. In short, the weather is quite unpredictable in the mountains, where much of the Jamaican leg of the tour will be spent, so, although the general climate offers temperatures in the 80s°F (c.26°C), with low chance of rainfall,
our visit to the mountains may feature much cooler weather and rain at times. We will be birding areas from near sea level (Kingston, Hellshire Hills, Port Antonio, all of Grand Cayman), up to around 1500m/4950ft (Blue Mountains). For your information, there are around 12 hours of daylight at this time of year in Jamaica and the Cayman Islands, with sunrise around 6AM, and sunset around 6PM. TRANSPORT A good standard, modern, clean van or bus will be provided for the Jamaican leg of our tour, depending on the final group size. A Van will be used for the Grand Cayman leg of the tour. If further details of the exact type to be used are needed, once the final group size has been determined, this information can be provided. LUGGAGE If at all possible, try to fit all of your luggage into one carry-on and one checked bag and try and keep these as small as possible. If possible, please use soft-sided luggage, as these can be generally easier to pack within vehicles and make the best use of space. The carry-on should include essential items such as medications, all your money, passport and tickets, binoculars and camera, bathroom kit, and one change of clothes. By taking these precautions, it won’t be such a major difficulty if your bag is delayed. All luggage, including carry-on, should have identification, on both the outside and the inside. CLOTHING Dress casually and pack lightly. Bring clothing for the cooler mornings in the Blue Mountains (temperatures could drop to as low as in the 50s°F/10°C). Mostly, areas will be quite hot and humid (over 80°F/26°C), so warm weather clothing is a must. In general, lightweight, fast-drying clothing is preferable. Rain gear should be carried during most outings, as the weather in Jamaica is famously unpredictable, especially in the mountains. At the minimum this should be a raincoat or poncho, but a mini-umbrella is also a good item to carry too. Clothing List • Several long sleeved light-weight "travel-style" shirts. • T-shirts. • Lightweight "travel-style" trousers for most situations. Shorts may be nice for relaxing around the lodge, but should be avoided while birding due to sharp vegetation and annoying insects. • For the mountains, a pair of heavier trousers/pants or jeans. • Lightweight rain gear. • Sun hat with a wide brim. • Sunglasses and sun cream to safeguard against the hot, tropical sun. • Good shoes/boots used for walking, (with ankle support can be useful in general).
• A pair of sandals or light shoes, and shorts, to change into in the evenings. • Plenty of socks, and of course, undergarments. • A jacket/heavy sweater/fleece for the cooler mornings in the mountains. • Swimwear – there is a beautiful local beach, which may be visited while we in Port Antonio. OTHER ESSENTIAL ITEMS • Binoculars • Insect Repellent – note that ticks and mosquitoes inhabit some areas; the ticks are not known to carry diseases; the mosquitoes do not carry Malaria, but some are known to transmit the Chikungunya Virus. • Sunscreen (SPF 30 is recommended) and lip balm with sunscreen. • Field guide (see reading list below). • Small knapsack or waist pack. • Small flashlight with spare batteries. Please note: room lighting may sometimes be inadequate for reading, and so if you intend to read at night, it is good to bring something like a head lamp that can act as a reading light if needed. • Alarm clock with an alarm. All of the hotels and lodges in Jamaica do not offer a wake-up service. • Personal first aid kit with Band-Aids, aspirin, blister pads, anti-itch cream, motion sickness pills, etc. • Over-the counter remedies and prescription medications in their original containers packed in your carry-on bag. Take along a copy of the prescription in your suitcase in case you lose your medication and need to replace it. • An extra pair of glasses or contact lenses if you are dependent on them. • Reading and writing materials. • A photocopy of your passport. • Money pouch – to carry your passport and money with you at all times; we recommend against leaving these in the hotel room, while we are out in the field. • Earplugs – with roosters, car alarms, and the general high level of noise in Jamaica it can be useful to have a pair of these handy. (On this tour though, the lodges have been selected for their peace and tranquility, so this is not expected to be a problem!) • Refillable water bottle; so that you can refill this as you go along.
Optional • Spotting scope; (the tour leader will have a good scope for group use, so this is not necessary, but can be useful in some areas). • Spare pair of binoculars. If your binoculars break, there is no easy way to replace them. • Camera: Red-billed Streamertails make good subjects at feeders in the Blue Mountains, as do the Black- billed Streamertails in Port Antonio. • A shock-resistant walking stick is recommended as we may take some short hikes on uneven trails, or along uneven stretches of dirt road. This is unlikely to be needed for many as the tour rarely goes anywhere challenging, but some people, if they feel they usually need one should bring one along. • Universal plug/rubber sink stopper; the rooms, like in many parts of the non-Western World, often lack a sink plug, and so carrying a universal plug (http://www.amazon.com/Universal-TravelStopper-Walkabout-Gear/dp/B00GQM78L0/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1424118671&sr=82&keywords=universal+sink+plug ), can be a very handy, and lightweight item, which makes life much more comfortable! • Washcloth: This item is frequently not available in hotels, and some people can miss them. Therefore, if this is a must have item, please bring one from home, as they may not be available everywhere in Jamaica. • Laundry soap; if you intend to wash your own clothes please bring this with you from home. ELECTRIC CURRENT The current in Jamaica and the Cayman Islands is 110-120 volts AC, 50 cycles (almost the same as in the US) with US style plugs. Thus, for US travelers, you will not need a plug adapter, as it is the same type. Electricity is available everywhere. Plug types are US style. Please note though, that many modern appliances (including many laptops), having a third grounding pin, and therefore require a plug type like that below; these are often NOT available in Jamaica, so please bring an adapter to ensure, if you have a 3pin plug on some electrical items, you will still be able to charge/use it. The adapters are NOT easy to find in Jamaica, so please bring these from home. TIME Jamaica and the Cayman Islands are in the same time zone as Eastern Standard Time in the United States, and therefore is on the same time as Miami. FOOD AND DRINK While in general, the tap water is considered safe to drink in Jamaica and the Cayman Islands, we recommend against this, as everyone has different levels of tolerance, and it would be a shame to discover your intolerance on a short trip of this nature. Therefore, bottled water will be provided throughout. We suggest bringing a refillable bottle from home, which we can then refill from a
larger bottle on site, and in this way minimize unnecessary plastic waste. If you do not have a water bottle with you to bring, one will be provided at the start of the tour, from which to refill. There is a range of famous Jamaican cuisine that we should have the chance to sample; among them could be jerk sauce (a hot rub, used on meats and fish), ackee (a breakfast item that resembles scrambled eggs and vegetables), callaloo (a spinach-like vegetable), and brown stew (rather like a tangy sweet and savory sauce, and less hot than some traditional dishes), and goat curry. In general, traditional Jamaican food is fairly hot, although finding milder food is generally not a problem, or finding more widespread western foods either, in this island with a long history of tourism. Coffee is a major drink both within Jamaica and for export, with Jamaican Blue Mountain Coffee regarded as one of the finest coffees in the world. Other famous Jamaican drinks are rum and Red Stripe beer. ACCOMMODATIONS All accommodations on this tour are of a good standard, with 24-hour electricity, hot water, and ensuite facilities. All have Internet services, (City View Hotel, Starlight Chalet, and Goblin Hill Villas). VALUABLES You are encouraged to leave your jewelry at home. Such valuables as you will need - cash, passports, watches, etc., should not be left in the lodge rooms during the day while you are in the field. LAUNDRY SERVICE This is a short, 8-day trip, so we advise bringing enough clothing with you for the entire trip. Laundry services are unlikely to be available in Jamaica during this trip, as we are usually staying too short a time for this to be used. COMMUNICATION If you have a cell phone, you should consider activating it for international roaming. While roaming is very expensive, calls from hotels and airport payphones are also often very expensive, and in case of emergency (e.g. flight delays) it can be incredible useful. There is Internet (Wi-Fi) available at all of the lodges in Jamaica (City View Hotel, Starlight Chalet, and Goblin Hill Villas) and Grand Cayman. Please note: Sometimes Internet is not available within rooms, but only in specific communal areas. SUGGESTED READING LIST Birds of the West Indies. By Herbert Raffaele, James Wiley, Orlando Garrido, Allan Keith, and Janis Raffaele. (2003). Princeton University Press. An excellent choice, highly recommended if also planning to cover some of the other West Indian islands at some point, as it covers them all with great plates and text. A Photographic Guide to the Birds of Jamaica. By Ann HaynesSutton, Audrey Downer, Robert Sutton & Jacques Rey-Millet. (2009). Princeton University Press. A photographic guide, covering all the birds of Jamaica, including vagrants. Provides more detailed text on Jamaican birds than Birds of the West Indies and includes a brief but useful section on birding locations in
Jamaica. Sam Woods carries this book as his principal guide for birding in Jamaica. A Photographic Guide to the Birds of the Cayman Islands. By Patricia E. Bradley & Jacques Rey-Millet. (2009). Princeton University Press. A photographic guide in the same format as above, covering all the birds of Cayman Islands, including vagrants. Provides more detailed text on Cayman birds than Birds of the West Indies and includes a brief but useful section on birding locations in the Cayman Islands. Brian Rapoza carries this book as his principal guide for birding in Grand Cayman.
Wildlife of the Caribbean (Princeton Pocket Guide). By Herbert Raffaele and James Wiley. (2014). Princeton University Press. A good all round natural history guide to the wider region, with photos, covering over 450 species of birds, mammals, plants, fish, seashells and more. A good companion guide, if you are also interested in other creatures beyond the birds.
Butterflies of Jamaica (Macmillan Caribbean Natural History). By Eric Garraway and Audette Bailey. (2005). Macmillan Caribbean Natural History. A great choice if interested in the butterflies of Jamaica, covering both common and rare species.
AUDIO RECORDINGS The tour leaders will have all necessary sound recordings for the region. Should you wish to listen to some beforehand, you can download bird recordings for free from the website http://www.xenocanto.org/. There is also an excellent set of recordings for Jamaica available on DVD and easily copied to I-Pods and other digital playback devices: Bird Songs in Jamaica by George Reynard and Robert Sutton Covers 119 species of the country, including most of the endemic birds. Available from Buteo Books. CONTACT DETAILS FOR THE TOUR The dialing code for Jamaica is 876, with the prefix 1 before it (i.e. dial 1-876, then the Jamaican number). The dialing code for the Cayman Islands is 345, with the prefix 1 before it (i.e. dial 1-345, then the Cayman number). A FULL CONTACT LIST OF EMERGENCY NUMBERS, TOUR LEADER CONTACT DETAILS, AND HOTEL NUMBERS WIL BE SPENT IN THE FINAL MONTH BEFORE THE TOUR, TO ENSURE YOU HAVE AN UP TO DATE LIST. IF, FOR SOME REASON, THIS HAS NOT BEEN RECEIVED BY THREE WEEKS BEFORE THE TOUR, PLEASE LET US KNOW AND WE CAN SEND THEM AGAIN.
Jamaican Tody (which could offer a new bird family for some), to gaudy, Jaffa-cake colored, Jamaican Spindalis, to the spectacular Red-billed Streamertail. It’s an exciting mix of endemic birds, with species from a broad spectrum of families, including two doves, two parrots, two cuckoos, an owl, a tody, three hummingbirds, a woodpecker, four flycatchers, a becard, two thrushes, a crow, a euphonia, a warbler, two vireos, three tanagers, and a blackbird. Additionally, there are a handful of other Caribbean specialties, also found on other islands, which could bolster a list of personal life birds, like White-tailed Tropicbird, Vervain Hummingbird, Bahama Mockingbird, Rufous- throated Solitaire, Jamaican Oriole, Great Antillean Bullfinch, and Black-faced Grassquit. We’ll also likely encounter a few Caribbean birds with breeding ranges extending into south Florida, including White-crowned Pigeon, Mangrove Cuckoo, Antillean Nighthawk, Gray Kingbird, Black-whiskered Vireo and the “golden” race of Yellow Warbler. While Grand Cayman, the largest of the Cayman Islands, has no true endemics, our short visit will easily add a number of Caribbean specialties not found in Jamaica. High on the list of target birds is Vitelline Warbler, a near-endemic species, found otherwise only on the little-visited Swan Islands. Others, like Cuban Parrot, West Indian Woodpecker, Caribbean Elaenia, Thick-billed and Yucatan Vireo, Western Spindalis and Cuban Bullfinch represent subspecies endemic to the Cayman Islands. While West-Indian Whistling-Duck is possible on Jamaica, it’s infinitely easier to find on Grand Cayman. Other species we’re likely to see on both islands include Magnificent Frigatebird, Whitewinged, Zenaida and Caribbean Dove, Smooth-billed Ani, Loggerhead Kingbird, Bananaquit, Yellowfaced Grassquit and Greater Antillean Grackle. Itinerary (Subject to change to due to weather, road conditions, access, and other real world factors. The order of the trips may also change. Should a location become unviable, we will make every effort to visit an equivalent location. Though most bird species are listed for only one or two locations, they may also be seen in proper habitat at other locations.) Day 1: Saturday, March 19: Arrival in Kingston After the group arrives in Jamaica’s capital, Kingston, we’ll be transferred directly to our quiet hotel on the outskirts of the city. While birding on the grounds of the hotel is possible, there is no birding outing planned on this day and the tour will officially start with dinner at 7pm this evening. Meals: Dinner on this night is the first meal of the tour. Night: City View Hotel, Kingston http://www.cityviewja.com/ Day 2: Sunday, March 20: Hellshire Hills & Hope Royal Botanical Gardens to the Blue Mountains We’ll leave the hotel early (5:30am), to take advantage of the cooler temperatures in the early morning, and the correspondingly higher bird activity. Our first port of call will be Hellshire Hills, west of Kingston. The area comprises dry limestone forest, dominated by cacti, birch and thatch. This hot and dry forest is rich in birdlife, and we’ll set about trying to find our first Caribbean specialties like Stolid Flycatcher (which also occurs on the island of Hispaniola), and the scarce Bahama Mockingbird (a species shared with Cuba and the Bahamas), but also our first Jamaican endemics too, including the outrageously beautiful Jamaican Mango, which would be a
spectacular opener to our list of island endemics. This will be the best site of the tour for the mango, and the only location on the tour for the flycatcher and mockingbird. Wherever we find water, we’ll check for Northern Jacana and migrant shorebirds. Once the morning heats up, we’ll visit the Hope Royal Botanical Gardens, an area of lush plant life and immaculately-manicured gardens. The garden, close to the Bob Marley museum in Kingston, provides tranquility and easy birding on the edge of the city. It’s particularly notable for parrots, in particular the endemic Yellow-billed Parrot, for which this site offers our best chance. However, other birds are likely to be found in this idyllic setting, including the national bird of Jamaica, the “Doctor Bird” or Red-billed Streamertail. Other possibilities include Zenaida Dove, Smooth-billed Ani, Antillean Palm-Swift, Vervain Hummingbird, Loggerhead and Gray Kingbird, White-chinned Thrush, Blackfaced Grassquit, Greater Antillean Grackle, Jamaican Euphonia and a number of migrant warblers, including Black-and-white, Prairie, and Black-throated Blue Warblers and Northern Parula. After lunch in a restaurant nearby, where we’ll likely get our first taste of one of Jamaica’s famous spicy Jerk dishes, we we’ll travel east and up into the most endemic-rich core of the island, the Blue Mountains. The drive up into the mountains is along an unpaved road for part of the journey and is expected to take two hours. By late afternoon we should be on site to bird one of the most revered birding sites in Jamaica, Hardwar Gap, at an elevation above 1200m/3950ft and within the Blue and John Crow Mountains National Park, a designated endemic bird area. This site hosts all but four of the endemic bird species in Jamaica, so we’re sure to end the day with a flurry of new and exciting species and really kickstart our endemic bird list. Other species possible here include Black Swift, Rufousthroated Solitaire and Greater Antillean Bullfinch. After checking into our hotel, there should be a chance to go out in search of night birds; namely the endemic Jamaican Owl and Northern Potoo, both of which occur widely across the island. Please note: In the Blue Mountains the weather can be distinctly cooler than the picture postcard image of “hot and sweaty” Jamaica, with frequent, and unpredictable periods of low clouds, rain, and temperatures lower than elsewhere on Jamaica (possibly in the 50s°F, or as low as 10°C). Drive times: City View Hotel to Hellshire Hills – about 30 minutes. Hope Gardens, Kingston to Blue Mountains - about 2 hours. Night: Starlight Chalet, Blue Mountains http://starlightchalet.com/ Day 3: Monday, March 21: The Blue Mountains (Hardwar Gap, Section, Silver Hill Gap & Cascade areas) The entire day will be spent in the Blue Mountains, home to some of the world’s finest coffees, and where the vast bulk of the Jamaican island endemics can be found. Our strategy involves birding along mountain roads and perhaps some short roadside trails. The area comprises a combination of primary forest, secondary forest and attractive gardens around mountain cottages, all great locations for many of our target birds. Red-billed Streamertails are especially abundant in the Blue Mountains, compared with elsewhere in their range, due to the abundance of Blue Mahoe (the national tree of Jamaica) at these high elevations. These trees are also attractive to other nectar-feeding birds like Orangequits and Bananaquits. Twenty-four of the twenty-eight endemic species are possible at this site, including Jamaican Tody, Arrowhead Warbler, Jamaican Woodpecker, Jamaican Spindalis and Chestnut-bellied Cuckoo.
Among the more tricky endemics possible are Jamaican Blackbird, Jamaican Lizard-Cuckoo, and Crested Quail-Dove, for which this is the most likely location of the tour. After an early breakfast at the hotel, we’ll concentrate on one of the many good birding locations in the area such as Silver Hill Gap, Hardwar Gap or Section. Species to look for include Ring-tailed Pigeon, Jamaican Pewee, Jamaican and Greater Antillean Elaenia, Sad and Rufous-tailed Flycatcher, Blue Mountain Vireo, White-eyed Thrush, Shiny Cowbird and Jamaican Oriole. After lunch back at the hotel, we’ll change our focus to another of these locations. The birding today will be on a combination of level road with some uneven, steep sections. While in the mountains (either day 3 or the morning of day 4); there will also be an opportunity during the middle of the day to visit one of the small local coffee farms, to learn more of the production of Blue Mountain coffee, and to purchase direct from local sellers what is often touted as some of the world’s best coffees. There will be another opportunity for “owling”, if required and desired, in the evening. Drive times: All of the birding will be quite local today, with no more than a 40 minute drive from the chalet Meals: Breakfast, lunch and dinner will be at the Starlight Chalet in the Blue Mountains Night: Starlight Chalet, Blue Mountains Day 4: Tuesday, March 22: The Blue Mountains to Port Antonio We’ll have some time during our final morning in the Blue Mountains to chase whatever birds we’re still missing. We’ll then head to Port Antonio on the northern coastline, and the capital of the parish of Portland, taking lunch en-route. There may be some time for some light birding near Port Antonio in the afternoon; species to watch for here include White-crowned Pigeon, Mangrove Cuckoo, Jamaican Vireo and Saffron Finch. We may also check a local roost site for Jamaican Owl if birds are in attendance at the time of our visit. Drive times: A three-hour drive from Starlight Chalet to Port Antonio. Breakfast will be at the Starlight Chalet in the Blue Mountains. Meals: Lunch will be on the road and dinner will be at a local restaurant in Port Antonio. Night: Goblin Hill Villas, Port Antonio http://www.goblinhill.com/ Day 5: Wednesday, March 23: Happy Grove & Ecclesdown Road (Port Antonio area). At dawn, we’ll head east to Happy Grove, a scenic coastal site, where at this season, White-tailed Tropicbirds come ashore to breed. We’ll time our visit for the early morning, when it is said to be best for birds to be in attendance at their breeding cliffs (later in the day, they can be far out at sea). After a short time atop stunning cliffs and gazing out at the Caribbean Sea, we’ll move on to a legendary birding site close by.
Our final major destination of the tour will be Ecclesdown Road, in the foothills of the John Crow Mountains. This 18km/11mi stretch of level road passes through dense secondary forest, open forest and farmlands. It’s especially good for Jamaican Crow, Black-billed Parrot and Black-billed Streamertail, all of which are absent from the Blue Mountains. However, the area holds all the other endemics as well, and so provides a final back-up location for any of these, if still needed. It’s a good site for some of the trickier among these, including Crested Quail-Dove, Jamaican Blackbird, and Yellowbilled Parrot. Among the other species we may see are three species of vireo (Blue Mountain and Jamaican, as well as Blackwhiskered), Jamaican Becard, Vervain Hummingbird, Arrowhead Warbler, Yellow-shouldered Grassquit and the newly split Jamaican Parakeet (until recently, lumped with Olive-throated Parakeet). There should be some time in the hot middle of the day to relax, or even visit a local beach; a return to Ecclesdown Road is planned for our final afternoon in country. Drive times: The birding sites all involve drives of no longer than 45 minutes away from our hotel. Meals: Packed breakfast; lunch and dinner at local restaurants in Port Antonio. Night: Goblin Hill Villas, Port Antonio Day 6: Thursday, March 24: Port Antonio area to Kingston, flight to Grand Cayman. A final short birding session is possible around Port Antonio before we pack up and hit the road, heading back to Kingston in time for our flight to Grand Cayman. Lunch will be taken en-route to the airport. Upon arrival in Grand Cayman, we’ll check into our hotel in George Town, the capital of the Cayman Islands. Drive times: Port Antonio to Kingston airport – about 3 hours. Meals: Breakfast at the hotel/packed breakfast (depending on whether people choose birding or to relax around the hotel this morning); lunch at a restaurant en-route to the airport, dinner in George Town, Grand Cayman. Night: A hotel in George Town, Grand Cayman Day 7: Friday, March 25: Grand Cayman We’ll have a full day to explore Grand Cayman, utilizing their excellent road system. Around George Town, White-winged Doves will be abundant on roadside wires. We’ll head west from George Town, stopping briefly at Governor Gore’s Pond, where we’ll likely see our first West Indian Whistling-Ducks. Least Bittern and Purple Gallinule are also possible here. We’ll also check Pedro Bluff Cliffs for nesting White-tailed Tropicbirds. At Mastic Reserve, near the center of the island, virtually every one of our target species can be found, in particular Vitelline Warbler, Yucatan Vireo and Cuban Bullfinch. Caribbean and Zeneida
Dove, Antillean Nighthawk, Cuban Parrot, West Indian Woodpecker, Northern Flicker (gundlachi subspecies), Caribbean Elaenia, La Sagra’s Flycatcher, Thick-billed Vireo, Bananaquit and Western Spindalis are also present here. We’ll also visit the adjacent Queen Elizabeth II Botanic Park, where we hope to see any species missed at Mastic Reserve. We may also see the endemic (and endangered) Blue Iguana while at the park, possibly including under our parked van! After lunch on the road, we’ll return to our hotel for some mid-day relaxation before heading out again for some late afternoon birding at the Central Mangrove Wetlands, near the island’s north coast. A series of dikes provides access to the wetlands, which attracts large assemblages of wading birds, as well as West Indian Whistling-Duck, Cuban Parrot and Yellow-faced Grassquit. Drive times: About 1 hour each way to the Mastic Reserve/Botanic Park area; 30 minutes to Central Mangrove Wetlands. Meals: Breakfast and dinner in George Town, lunch on the road. Night: A hotel in George Town, Grand Cayman Day 8: Saturday, March 26: Grand Cayman and Departure We’ll spend our final morning in Grand Cayman at Barker’s Peninsula, a national park at the northern tip of Grand Cayman. With a combination of mangrove habitat and coastal beaches, the park attracts a wide variety of wading birds, shorebirds, gulls, terns and migrant songbirds. After lunch in George Town, we’ll head to the airport for our return flight home. Drive times: About 20 minutes each way to Barker’s Peninsula Meals: Breakfast and lunch in George Town. PACE AND DIFFICULTY OF THE TOUR This is an easy-paced, bird-focused tour, concentrating on finding the endemic birds and other Caribbean specialties on each island as the main tour objective. Although there is other wildlife on Jamaica and Grand Cayman, this is very limited, as both are small islands in the animal-poor Caribbean. Therefore, this tour for the most part focuses purely on the birds, unlike some other bird tours to other parts of the world, where there are plentiful other animals too (e.g. Costa Rica, East Africa etc.) In Jamaica, there are some drives on rough roads to get between the birding sites (the main road up to the Blue Mountains from Kingston in particular), with some longer drives involved. However, in general, this is a relatively easy tour, with only easy to moderate walking involved. While there will be some walking on uneven ground, most of the trail walking should be relatively easy, and I foresee few problems for those signed up on this tour. As with any bird tour there are likely to be some early starts (dawn is around 6AM), and, depending on how successful our early owling sessions are there are likely to be some extended days in order to look for the endemic Jamaican Owl, or the Northern Potoo for those who wish to do so. This is a tour classified as easy to moderate, with most of it classified as easy. Please be aware that daylight hours are around 12 hours length at this time of year in Jamaica and Grand Cayman, with sunrise at 6AM, and sunset at 6PM, meaning that there are likely to be some
long days in the field on this tour. However, there will be an opportunity for a midday break on some days of the tour. PHOTOGRAPHY The primary purpose of this tour is to have all the participants see as many birds as possible, and seeing the birds will always take priority over getting photos. We do allow photography on our tours, but the tour leader will not allow photographers to move in front of the group for a photo, or use flash, until everyone has had a good look at the bird or other animal. During our stay in the Blue Mountains, we will be staying at a mountain chalet for two nights with a small set of hummingbird feeders. On previous visits these have attracted Red-billed Streamertails, Orangequit, Bananaquit, Jamaican Oriole, Yellow-faced Grassquit, and even Black-throated Blue and Prairie Warblers! These feeders are however, quite new, and may vary from week to week, so we cannot guarantee what comes in while we are there! During our stay in the parish of Portland we will be staying in a hotel for two nights with a couple of hummingbird feeders too, which can attract small numbers of Black-billed Streamertails, and occasionally Jamaican Mangos too. While these feeders offer the best photo opportunities of the tour, while taping birds in with playback, and walking around birding in general, we may also get to photograph other species like Jamaican Tody or White-chinned Thrush “on the fly.” FINAL TOUR DETAILS – ARRIVAL IN JAMAICA When you arrive in Kingston, an immigration officer will request details regarding where you will be staying in Jamaica. You only need to specify one hotel: City View Hotel, Lot 3 Bellevue, Smokey Vale, St. Andrew The local guide, and our Tropical Birding guide, will be in the airport arrivals area (actually an outside seating area, which you will automatically come into as you depart the small main terminal building) in Kingston Norman Manley International Airport. They will meet us in the airport with a sign stating “TROPICAL AUDUBON”, so that you can recognize them. What’s included: • In Jamaica: 5 nights accommodation from the night of March 19, 2016 through the night of March 23 2016. In Grand Cayman, 2 nights accommodation from the nights of March 24 and March 25, 2016. • Meals from dinner on March 19, 2016 to lunch on March 24, 2016. Some breakfasts may be taken in the field (indicated in the itinerary above), as early breakfast may not be not available. • Plentiful drinking water. The tap water is often considered safe to drink at most sites in Jamaica and everywhere in Grand Cayman. However, as foreigners have different levels of tolerance to this, we advise against this, and bottled drinking water will be provided throughout for drinking, and for use to brush your teeth. We suggest bringing a refillable water bottle from home, which we can then refill from a larger water bottle, in order to avoid unnecessary, extra, plastic waste. If you do not have a refillable water bottle brought from home, a small plastic water bottle will be purchased for you at the start of the tour, which you can then use to refill. Extra drinking water will always be provided while in the field, in case anyone runs out of his or her own personal supply. • Tour leader(s) from the afternoon of March 19, 2016 to the afternoon of March 26, 2016. The tour
leaders will have professional audio gear with all the relevant bird calls, and also carry a good spotting scope for the use of the tour participants. • All necessary ground transport. This will be in the form of a van or bus, depending on what group size we have. This will be a good standard, reliable, modern, vehicle. • One group airport transfer at each end of the Jamaica leg of the tour. • All entry fees to sites mentioned in the itinerary. • Tips to the Jamaican local guide and local drivers. • A bound checklist to keep track of your sightings. This list will be given to you on the first night of the tour, although you are welcome to request an electronic copy in advance of the tour. What’s not included: • Snacks (if you have a favorite snack, you might want to bring some with you from home). • Additional drinks apart from those included, (in short, anything other than drinking water). • Alcoholic beverages. • Excursions or activities not included in the tour itinerary. • Travel insurance. • Extras in hotels such as laundry service, minibar, room service, telephone calls, and personal items. • Excess baggage charges. • Medical and emergency evacuation fees. • Expenses that could arise due to the change, delay, or extension of the trip due to circumstances beyond our control (weather, flight delays/cancellations, lost luggage, road closures, etc.). FLIGHTS Flights to Jamaica should be booked in and out of Jamaica’s capital, Kingston (Norman Manley International Airport, Kingston, IATA airport code KIN). There are frequent direct flights out of Miami to Kingston with airlines like American, Cayman and Caribbean Airlines, and Delta, among others. If you need further help on this, please call and we can help. Please book an incoming flight to arrive in the afternoon of March 19, 2016; the tour starts with dinner that evening, and so incoming flights only need to arrive before the evening. (The travel time from the airport to hotel is around 40 minutes, if there is bad traffic). There is one group transfer included at the start and end of the tour, and therefore it is best if the group arrives and leaves on the same flights, to avoid extra transfer costs. The flight from Kingston to Grand Cayman (Owen Roberts International Airport, George Town, Grand Cayman, IATA airport code GCM) should leave no earlier than mid-afternoon (2:30PM or later) on the afternoon of March 24, 2016, allowing sufficient time to get from Port Antonio to Kingston. The departure flight from Grand Cayman should leave no earlier than mid-afternoon (2:30PM or later) on the afternoon of March 26, 2016. ENTRY REQUIREMENTS A valid passport is required for entry
into Jamaica and the Cayman Islands; this should be valid for at least six months beyond the time of your scheduled return; AND your passport should also have at least one full blank page available. A visa is not required for short-stay tourists from the United States, Canada, and the United Kingdom. However, as situations can change at short notice, please also check this information with the relevant consulate/embassy/immigration office; some are given below: Embassy of Jamaica in Washington, DC (USA): http://www.embassyofjamaica.org/index.htm Jamaican High Commission (UK): http://www.jhcuk.org/ Consulate General of Jamaica in Toronto (Canada): http://www.congenjamaica-toronto.com/html/ Department of Immigration in the Cayman Islands: http://www.immigration.gov.ky/portal/page?_pageid=4121,1&_dad=portal&_schema=PORTAL Those who are visiting, and are coming from an area with Yellow Fever, must show a certificate of vaccination for this, when entering Jamaica, (this should not apply to most people). HEALTH REQUIREMENTS The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recommend all travelers be up to date with routine immunizations including measles-mumps-rubella (MMR) vaccine, diphtheria-tetanus-pertussis vaccine, varicella (chickenpox) vaccine, polio vaccine, and the yearly flu shot. The CDC further recommends Hepatitis A and Typhoid immunizations for visitors to Jamaica. There are ticks in some areas of Jamaica, and these can be annoying for sure, although these are not known to carry diseases. The best strategy is to tuck pant legs into socks, and spray your pants and boots for each hike. Ticks are not known, in general, to be a nuisance, from most of the areas visited on this tour, but as they do occur fairly commonly in Jamaica, this warning needed to be made. There are mosquitoes in Jamaica and the Cayman Island, although are not a serious nuisance; malaria is not known from the islands, according to the latest CDC information. However, protection against mosquito bites is always recommended. Recently (2014), the entire Caribbean region has been affected by the recently arrived Chikungunya Virus. Indeed, it has also now arrived in the United States and other western countries. It is spread by the Aedes aegypti mosquito, which is mostly active from dawn until dusk. The mosquito occurs mostly around built-up areas. The disease is characterized by fever, mild to severe joint pain and rash. This may last from a couple days to over a week. There is no specific treatment but the symptoms are relieved with acetaminophen (Paracetamol and Panadol). Preventative measures include the use of insect repellents containing DEET and protecting yourself from mosquito bites. The outbreak seemed to have peaked in October or November 2014, and new cases now seem infrequent. Thus, the recommendation is to wear insect repellent and long sleeves/pants to avoid being bitten, and carry Paracetamol and Panadol as a precaution, to treat this if you become affected. CURRENCY The currency of Jamaica is the Jamaican Dollar (J$); rates (as of June, 2015) are: $USD1=J$115 The currency of the Cayman Islands is the Cayman Island Dollar (CI$); rates (as of June, 2015) are $USD1=CI$.82 For the latest rates, please check the following website: http://www.xe.com/ We recommend changing money out of an ATM for the entire Jamaican leg of the trip, in Kingston airport, on arrival. Twenty-four hour ATMs are widespread, but it would be best to get all the money you need for this short trip at the start. Credit cards are accepted in some, though not all, places, and
therefore, it is best to get some cash for some of what you feel you will need. US dollars are also readily accepted; and so the best strategy is perhaps to get a limited number of Jamaican Dollars on arrival, and then revert to US Dollars, if needed, later. It is also advisable to carry some $US1 notes for tipping porters. US dollars are readily accepted everywhere in the Cayman Islands, though change is often given in Cayman Island Dollars. It is advisable to carry a credit card to secure against hotel rooms during your stay, in case of any incidentals. Please remember, as you intend to use an ATM, or use your credit card while in Jamaica or Grand Cayman to secure against hotel rooms; to inform your bank that you intend to do so, before leaving for the trip. In this way, you will prevent blocks on overseas use stopping you from being able to pay with this method. Please note: The exchange rates at the changing counters at the airport on arrival are often poor, so using an ATM is usually best to get a better exchange rate. More information on this can be found on the CDC website: http://www.cdc.gov/travel/destinations/list We strongly recommend reviewing the trip itinerary with you personal physician, to check up your personal health needs before leaving on the trip. DEPARTURE/LANDING TAXES In most cases, a J$1,800 (about $US20) Jamaican departure tax and $20.00 Cayman Islands departure tax is included within the price of the flight ticket. This normally applies to all scheduled flights coming in to Jamaica from the United States. Jamaica also charges a $US20 “landing fee” or “Tourism Enhancement Fee”, although, again, this is usually already included within the price of your flight ticket. Therefore, in most cases, there should be no need to pay either of these fees on arrival or departure from Jamaica or the Cayman Islands, as they should have been included within your flight ticket price. If in doubt, please consult your personal airline for confirmation. TIPPING The tour fee includes tips to the Jamaican local guide and Jamaican driver used on this tour, although DOES NOT INCLUDE optional tips to the Tropical Birding tour leader, or to any hotel porters used on the tour, so please budget for this. If you need a recommendation for this, then porters should be tipped in the order of $US1 per bag; and for the tour leader they can be tipped anything upwards of $US10 per person, per day. CLIMATE AND ALTITUDE Most of the trip is expected to warm and humid, with summer clothing suitable, and temperatures in the 80s °F/26°C+ (i.e. Kingston, Hellshire Hills and around Port Antonio). For three days of the tour (days 2, 3 and 4), we will be visiting sites in the Blue Mountains where low clouds, rain, and lower temperatures are more likely (down to 50s°F/10°C+ on occasion), so rain gear is required, as well as cooler weather clothing for the unpredictable weather in Jamaica’s mountains. In short, the weather is quite unpredictable in the mountains, where much of the Jamaican leg of the tour will be spent, so, although the general climate offers temperatures in the 80s°F (c.26°C), with low chance of rainfall,
our visit to the mountains may feature much cooler weather and rain at times. We will be birding areas from near sea level (Kingston, Hellshire Hills, Port Antonio, all of Grand Cayman), up to around 1500m/4950ft (Blue Mountains). For your information, there are around 12 hours of daylight at this time of year in Jamaica and the Cayman Islands, with sunrise around 6AM, and sunset around 6PM. TRANSPORT A good standard, modern, clean van or bus will be provided for the Jamaican leg of our tour, depending on the final group size. A Van will be used for the Grand Cayman leg of the tour. If further details of the exact type to be used are needed, once the final group size has been determined, this information can be provided. LUGGAGE If at all possible, try to fit all of your luggage into one carry-on and one checked bag and try and keep these as small as possible. If possible, please use soft-sided luggage, as these can be generally easier to pack within vehicles and make the best use of space. The carry-on should include essential items such as medications, all your money, passport and tickets, binoculars and camera, bathroom kit, and one change of clothes. By taking these precautions, it won’t be such a major difficulty if your bag is delayed. All luggage, including carry-on, should have identification, on both the outside and the inside. CLOTHING Dress casually and pack lightly. Bring clothing for the cooler mornings in the Blue Mountains (temperatures could drop to as low as in the 50s°F/10°C). Mostly, areas will be quite hot and humid (over 80°F/26°C), so warm weather clothing is a must. In general, lightweight, fast-drying clothing is preferable. Rain gear should be carried during most outings, as the weather in Jamaica is famously unpredictable, especially in the mountains. At the minimum this should be a raincoat or poncho, but a mini-umbrella is also a good item to carry too. Clothing List • Several long sleeved light-weight "travel-style" shirts. • T-shirts. • Lightweight "travel-style" trousers for most situations. Shorts may be nice for relaxing around the lodge, but should be avoided while birding due to sharp vegetation and annoying insects. • For the mountains, a pair of heavier trousers/pants or jeans. • Lightweight rain gear. • Sun hat with a wide brim. • Sunglasses and sun cream to safeguard against the hot, tropical sun. • Good shoes/boots used for walking, (with ankle support can be useful in general).
• A pair of sandals or light shoes, and shorts, to change into in the evenings. • Plenty of socks, and of course, undergarments. • A jacket/heavy sweater/fleece for the cooler mornings in the mountains. • Swimwear – there is a beautiful local beach, which may be visited while we in Port Antonio. OTHER ESSENTIAL ITEMS • Binoculars • Insect Repellent – note that ticks and mosquitoes inhabit some areas; the ticks are not known to carry diseases; the mosquitoes do not carry Malaria, but some are known to transmit the Chikungunya Virus. • Sunscreen (SPF 30 is recommended) and lip balm with sunscreen. • Field guide (see reading list below). • Small knapsack or waist pack. • Small flashlight with spare batteries. Please note: room lighting may sometimes be inadequate for reading, and so if you intend to read at night, it is good to bring something like a head lamp that can act as a reading light if needed. • Alarm clock with an alarm. All of the hotels and lodges in Jamaica do not offer a wake-up service. • Personal first aid kit with Band-Aids, aspirin, blister pads, anti-itch cream, motion sickness pills, etc. • Over-the counter remedies and prescription medications in their original containers packed in your carry-on bag. Take along a copy of the prescription in your suitcase in case you lose your medication and need to replace it. • An extra pair of glasses or contact lenses if you are dependent on them. • Reading and writing materials. • A photocopy of your passport. • Money pouch – to carry your passport and money with you at all times; we recommend against leaving these in the hotel room, while we are out in the field. • Earplugs – with roosters, car alarms, and the general high level of noise in Jamaica it can be useful to have a pair of these handy. (On this tour though, the lodges have been selected for their peace and tranquility, so this is not expected to be a problem!) • Refillable water bottle; so that you can refill this as you go along.
Optional • Spotting scope; (the tour leader will have a good scope for group use, so this is not necessary, but can be useful in some areas). • Spare pair of binoculars. If your binoculars break, there is no easy way to replace them. • Camera: Red-billed Streamertails make good subjects at feeders in the Blue Mountains, as do the Black- billed Streamertails in Port Antonio. • A shock-resistant walking stick is recommended as we may take some short hikes on uneven trails, or along uneven stretches of dirt road. This is unlikely to be needed for many as the tour rarely goes anywhere challenging, but some people, if they feel they usually need one should bring one along. • Universal plug/rubber sink stopper; the rooms, like in many parts of the non-Western World, often lack a sink plug, and so carrying a universal plug (http://www.amazon.com/Universal-TravelStopper-Walkabout-Gear/dp/B00GQM78L0/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1424118671&sr=82&keywords=universal+sink+plug ), can be a very handy, and lightweight item, which makes life much more comfortable! • Washcloth: This item is frequently not available in hotels, and some people can miss them. Therefore, if this is a must have item, please bring one from home, as they may not be available everywhere in Jamaica. • Laundry soap; if you intend to wash your own clothes please bring this with you from home. ELECTRIC CURRENT The current in Jamaica and the Cayman Islands is 110-120 volts AC, 50 cycles (almost the same as in the US) with US style plugs. Thus, for US travelers, you will not need a plug adapter, as it is the same type. Electricity is available everywhere. Plug types are US style. Please note though, that many modern appliances (including many laptops), having a third grounding pin, and therefore require a plug type like that below; these are often NOT available in Jamaica, so please bring an adapter to ensure, if you have a 3pin plug on some electrical items, you will still be able to charge/use it. The adapters are NOT easy to find in Jamaica, so please bring these from home. TIME Jamaica and the Cayman Islands are in the same time zone as Eastern Standard Time in the United States, and therefore is on the same time as Miami. FOOD AND DRINK While in general, the tap water is considered safe to drink in Jamaica and the Cayman Islands, we recommend against this, as everyone has different levels of tolerance, and it would be a shame to discover your intolerance on a short trip of this nature. Therefore, bottled water will be provided throughout. We suggest bringing a refillable bottle from home, which we can then refill from a
larger bottle on site, and in this way minimize unnecessary plastic waste. If you do not have a water bottle with you to bring, one will be provided at the start of the tour, from which to refill. There is a range of famous Jamaican cuisine that we should have the chance to sample; among them could be jerk sauce (a hot rub, used on meats and fish), ackee (a breakfast item that resembles scrambled eggs and vegetables), callaloo (a spinach-like vegetable), and brown stew (rather like a tangy sweet and savory sauce, and less hot than some traditional dishes), and goat curry. In general, traditional Jamaican food is fairly hot, although finding milder food is generally not a problem, or finding more widespread western foods either, in this island with a long history of tourism. Coffee is a major drink both within Jamaica and for export, with Jamaican Blue Mountain Coffee regarded as one of the finest coffees in the world. Other famous Jamaican drinks are rum and Red Stripe beer. ACCOMMODATIONS All accommodations on this tour are of a good standard, with 24-hour electricity, hot water, and ensuite facilities. All have Internet services, (City View Hotel, Starlight Chalet, and Goblin Hill Villas). VALUABLES You are encouraged to leave your jewelry at home. Such valuables as you will need - cash, passports, watches, etc., should not be left in the lodge rooms during the day while you are in the field. LAUNDRY SERVICE This is a short, 8-day trip, so we advise bringing enough clothing with you for the entire trip. Laundry services are unlikely to be available in Jamaica during this trip, as we are usually staying too short a time for this to be used. COMMUNICATION If you have a cell phone, you should consider activating it for international roaming. While roaming is very expensive, calls from hotels and airport payphones are also often very expensive, and in case of emergency (e.g. flight delays) it can be incredible useful. There is Internet (Wi-Fi) available at all of the lodges in Jamaica (City View Hotel, Starlight Chalet, and Goblin Hill Villas) and Grand Cayman. Please note: Sometimes Internet is not available within rooms, but only in specific communal areas. SUGGESTED READING LIST Birds of the West Indies. By Herbert Raffaele, James Wiley, Orlando Garrido, Allan Keith, and Janis Raffaele. (2003). Princeton University Press. An excellent choice, highly recommended if also planning to cover some of the other West Indian islands at some point, as it covers them all with great plates and text. A Photographic Guide to the Birds of Jamaica. By Ann HaynesSutton, Audrey Downer, Robert Sutton & Jacques Rey-Millet. (2009). Princeton University Press. A photographic guide, covering all the birds of Jamaica, including vagrants. Provides more detailed text on Jamaican birds than Birds of the West Indies and includes a brief but useful section on birding locations in
Jamaica. Sam Woods carries this book as his principal guide for birding in Jamaica. A Photographic Guide to the Birds of the Cayman Islands. By Patricia E. Bradley & Jacques Rey-Millet. (2009). Princeton University Press. A photographic guide in the same format as above, covering all the birds of Cayman Islands, including vagrants. Provides more detailed text on Cayman birds than Birds of the West Indies and includes a brief but useful section on birding locations in the Cayman Islands. Brian Rapoza carries this book as his principal guide for birding in Grand Cayman.
Wildlife of the Caribbean (Princeton Pocket Guide). By Herbert Raffaele and James Wiley. (2014). Princeton University Press. A good all round natural history guide to the wider region, with photos, covering over 450 species of birds, mammals, plants, fish, seashells and more. A good companion guide, if you are also interested in other creatures beyond the birds.
Butterflies of Jamaica (Macmillan Caribbean Natural History). By Eric Garraway and Audette Bailey. (2005). Macmillan Caribbean Natural History. A great choice if interested in the butterflies of Jamaica, covering both common and rare species.
AUDIO RECORDINGS The tour leaders will have all necessary sound recordings for the region. Should you wish to listen to some beforehand, you can download bird recordings for free from the website http://www.xenocanto.org/. There is also an excellent set of recordings for Jamaica available on DVD and easily copied to I-Pods and other digital playback devices: Bird Songs in Jamaica by George Reynard and Robert Sutton Covers 119 species of the country, including most of the endemic birds. Available from Buteo Books. CONTACT DETAILS FOR THE TOUR The dialing code for Jamaica is 876, with the prefix 1 before it (i.e. dial 1-876, then the Jamaican number). The dialing code for the Cayman Islands is 345, with the prefix 1 before it (i.e. dial 1-345, then the Cayman number). A FULL CONTACT LIST OF EMERGENCY NUMBERS, TOUR LEADER CONTACT DETAILS, AND HOTEL NUMBERS WIL BE SPENT IN THE FINAL MONTH BEFORE THE TOUR, TO ENSURE YOU HAVE AN UP TO DATE LIST. IF, FOR SOME REASON, THIS HAS NOT BEEN RECEIVED BY THREE WEEKS BEFORE THE TOUR, PLEASE LET US KNOW AND WE CAN SEND THEM AGAIN.
