Jamaica Birding Tours

Introduction to Jamaica

Among the Greater Antilles, Jamaica offers some of the best birding, with all its endemics possible on our short but highly rewarding Jamaica birding tours. No other Caribbean island offers as many as 28 endemic species, 19 endemic subspecies, and 18 Caribbean specials in such a short time and without great effort. This makes the island one of the greatest destinations in the West Indies. Jamaica is renowned for its beautiful beaches, all-inclusive resorts, Bob Marley, Rastafarian culture, the world-famous Jamaica Blue Mountains coffee, the early James Bond films, many of which were set or inspired by Jamaica. We invite you to join our Jamaica birding tours where we enjoy some of the region’s top birding in an idyllic tropical paradise.

However, only few birders know that there exists a real bond between the history of avian studies in Jamaica and the Caribbean region and the fictional 007, the legendary British spy James Bond. The real James Bond (1900-1989), after whom the fictional spy was named, was an American ornithologist who conducted a series of ornithological expeditions in South and Central America and spent large periods in Jamaica during the second decade of the 20^th century. As a result he published the first-ever field guide of the region, Birds of the West Indies, first published in 1936. The English writer Ian Fleming, a keen bird watcher living in Jamaica and familiar with Bond’s book, chose the name of its author for the hero of his first novel, Casino Royale, in 1953 – and the rest is history.

Today with the help of new field guides to the birds of the West Indies as a source of information and our expertise and logistics you can easily travel through Jamaica escorted by your friendly Birding Ecotours leader and our professional local guides and enjoy all the gems that this amazing island can offer its visitors.

Jamaica birding highlights

During these seven days we will look for as many endemic bird species as possible, such as  the unique Orangequit, the elusive Crested Quail-Dove, Ring-tailed Pigeon, Jamaican Woodpecker,  Jamaican Spindalis,, Chestnut-bellied Cuckoo, Jamaican Lizard Cuckoo, Black-billed Amazon, Yellow-billed Amazon. Other key species include Jamaican Owl, Jamaican Mango, Jamaican Tody, Jamaican Becard, Sad Flycatcher, Rufous-tailed Flycatcher, Jamaican Elaenia, Jamaican Pewee, Jamaican Crow, White-eyed Thrush, White-chinned Thrush, Jamaican Vireo, Blue Mountain Vireo, Arrowhead Warbler, Jamaican Blackbird, and perhaps the most-wanted species for all hummingbird lovers, the striking Red-billed Streamertail and the rare Black-billed Streamertail.

During our trip we will stay away from large cities, staying in the beautiful countryside at the shores of the pristine waters of the Caribbean Sea by using the charming Green Castle Estate as our base for the six nights of our itinerary. From here we will manage to explore the John Crow and Blue Mountains, Hardwar Gap, and the Ecclesdown Road, the wettest forest on the island, one of the richest endemic spots in the Caribbean, and home of the scarce Jamaican Blackbird. The 17th century English ruins near Green Castle Estate are probably the most reliable spot to find Northern Potoo in the entire Caribbean, while Unfortunately, the Jamaican Poorwill is considered possibly extinct by the IUCN.

Join Birding Ecotours in Jamaica

Jamaica is reached by a 90-minute flight from Miami airport in the United States and direct flights from the United Kingdom, Canada, and Panama. We invite you to join Birding Ecotours Jamaica birding tour and enjoy this short but exciting trip.