Black-billed Streamertail

 

 

 

 

 

This was our fourth trip to Jamaica since about 2002. On our first trips we were not "birders," but we did see this amazing streamer-tailed hummingbird. At first you just can't believe your eyes when you see it (especially if you've already had a welcoming rum punch drink.) We have some blurry pictures from our first trips before we became birders and got a better camera. Even with the new camera, this lively little bird proved to be hard to photograph. The lighting was a challenge and it moves around quickly and often. We enjoyed them every day especially when we weren't trying to get good photos of them.

We actually didn't go to Jamaica to bird watch, but during the last minutes of packing, Mike talked Chris into bringing the big camera and binoculars. We planned on maybe making a one-day excursion to do birding. As it turned out, our cottage at Geejam was perched like a tree house and such amazing birds came to us there that we never had to make a special trip out to see them. We also didn't know that Geejam was in a wildlife and bird sanctuary. We spent less time at the beaches (better for our skin) and more time birding than we thought we would. Traveling as birders this time, we learned that many birds are endemic to Jamaica. This made it very special, and we think others should go to Jamaica to see the birds (in addition to the enjoying the beaches, the food, the climate and the people of Jamaica.)