Next adventures
on George Hamilton (Jamaica), 21/Jul/2010 13:17, 34 days ago
OK, now that we've circumnavigated Jamaica, our next plan is to explore the island in more detail.Jamaica is home to over 200 species of birds, 28 of them found only here! We've seen lots of doctorbirds, so that's an excellent start. Now I really want to find a parakeet living naturally. I've seen them in captivity but that doesn't count. As well I desperately want to find one of the little Jamaican Tody's below, the one with the little red chin.Even though Jamaica is a very small island of 11,100 sq meters, spotting birds is extremely difficult. You can hear them everywhere but you can't see them. I think it's because there are so many beautiful fruits and flowers growing in the trees that birds are well camouflaged. Plus everything is so lush; it's really difficult to see anything hidden in the foliage.These pictures were all taken by a professional birder with a camera that on first glance looked like a rifle, but it's actually a huge lens and a tripod combination. His site also describes where he found all the 28 species native to Jamaica so I know where to start. I've bookmarked his site.To see where I found these pictures and the guy's camera, go to:http://www.travellingbirder.com/tripreports/view_birding_tripreport.php?id=498