Jamaica

I was a technician on a long-term project studying migratory warblers wintering in Jamaica for the Smithsonian Migratory Bird Center.

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This is a transition zone between the two main habitat types: Mangrove and Logwood scrub	The mangrove habitat in the early part of the season.	Ephiphitic bromeliads and orchids were very common in the transition and scrub habitats	The balcony at our first field house.
Greater Antillean Bullfinch. They can do some damage with that bill, and they are flexible enough to bite from almost any position.	"Golden" Yellow Warbler. This subspecies was a common year-round resident in the mangrove habitat.	The crew sits around the temporary banding station.	White-crowned Pigeon, or as they are known in Jamaica, "Bald-pate".
Two of the study sites were about a 15 minute walk down the beach.	The Font Hill beach on a cloudy afternoon.	Walking down the beach to the "lower" plots in the morning. This was one of the great perks to the job!	Gathering around while an interesting bird is banded.
Common Yellowthroat. Not particularly common in our study sites.	The roots of Red Mangrove form these impenetrable "cages" over the water.	Red Mangrove. Of the three mangrove species this is the one that grows best in year-round water.	This was where the crocodiles spend most of their time, so we were quite wary of deep water.
Whatever wasn't flooded in the mangrove habitat was incredible muddy.	A Ruddy Quail-dove.	Geared up for a day in the mangrove.	Returning home across the beach after work.
"The Tree"	Jamaican Woodpecker.	The Black River Morass, the largest wetland system in Jamaica.	Birding in the Black Morass.
There were a couple very large trees in the Font Hill sites that were draped in Spanish Moss.	Rural Jamaica, on the way to Treasure Beach.	One of many roadside fruit stands.	A Jamaican residence.
One of many roadside restaurant/bars	Y.S. Falls	The crew swimming at Y.S Falls	The Font Hill Beach.
The Font Hill Beach.	The Font Hill Beach.	Bananaquit, a very common bird throughout Jamaica.	The town of Black River
A small house along a dry section of the southern shore.	Driving into Treasure Beach, where we often went to eat and swim.	Birding near Treasure Beach.	Early morning at Font Hill.
A storm building up in the afternoon.	Our temporary field house from the front.	Sunset at Whitehouse.	The house at Marshall's Pen near Mandeville.
The cabin where we stayed at Marshall's Pen.	A high point on a survey trail in Spice Grove, near Marshall's Pen.	Ashley crossing a pasture in Spice Grove.	A Male Orangequit, an endemic Jamaican species.
A small abandoned house in Spice Grove, becoming quickly overrun by vegetation.	A common, and colourful, species of Milkweed at Marshall's Pen.	A pasture at Marshall's Pen	Cattle pen at Marshall's Pen
Climbing around on Red Mangrove roots.	Danielle and I took a trip to Treasure Beach.	Danielle at Treasure Beach.	A group of fishing boats in a cove at Treasure Beach.
The view from our field house toward the nearby town of Whitehouse.	Danielle and I decided to do the touristy thing for a day or two, and stay at a small "resort-styled" guesthouse in Treasure Beach.	Treasure Beach	The Golden Sands Beach Resort in Treasure Beach.
Sunset at Whitehouse.	A large storm moving in at Whitehouse	The view from our front yard.	We had a set of point count surveys in a dry savanna habitat near the long term plots in Font Hill.
This was the house where we spent most of our time while at Copse.	An early morning view of the surrounding hills from a pasture near Copse.	The road leading into Marshall's Pen	One of a couple Prothonotary Warblers caught at Font Hill.
A lagoon at Font Hill	The view from the balcony at the Kew Park House	A misty morning doing a survey at a nearby coffee plantation.	In the Great River valley, it often took until late morning before the sun could burn off the fog.
The fog begins to lift	The Kew Park house, where we stayed for a few nights.	Early morning in the "banana coffee" site	Sunset at Kew Park
The balcony at Kew Park.	Red-billed Streamertail.	A Jamaican Giant Green Anole.	The Jamaican Tody
The Kew Park cottage.	With this cottage as the main office, they run a small coffee farm on the nearby hills, which they sell online at www.kewpark.com	Misty sunrise at Copse	Arrowhead Warbler, one of the endemic Jamaican birds found in the hills and mountains.
Kew Park Cottage	Rufous-tailed Flycatcher.	Banding at Font Hill	Portland Ridge bunkhouse
The flowering stalk of a large Agave	The habitat at Portland Ridge	There was very little soil in most places, and the vegetation was dominated by short palms, cactus, and two highly caustic species.	Ashley and I walking one of the trails to set up our survey locations for the following day.
Portland Ridge	The lighthouse on Portland Ridge	Along the edge of the ocean and the ridge is a strip of mangrove and salt flats.	An agave in full bloom
Portland Ridge bunkhouse.	An extensive and recently flooded section near the mangrove.	A Jamaican Elaenia, a small type of flycatcher endemic to the island.	White-eyed Thrush
A Jamaican Tody awaits extraction from the mist net	Almost every afternoon a large storm would roll in and drop a flood of rain on us.	The study site on Copse Mountain was the most thickly vegetated habitat we worked in.	Black-faced Grassquit, an endemic finch-like bird.
Worm-eating Warbler	An early morning view from the back porch at Copse.	Vines and lianas were a major component of the forest	One of our cut survey trails in the Copse Mountain plot.
After an afternoon storm at Copse	One of our survey sites was an extensive citrus plantation.	Morning in the citrus plantation.	Blackpoll Warbler, with fresh breeding plumage after spending the winter in South America.
Sunset back in Whitehouse, looking past the fishing boats at our beach and toward the town.	I got to take a few days off near the end of the season to visit the Blue Mountains	The weather in the Blue Mountains is considerably colder than the lowlands	There were a few breaks in the weather throughout the day
	I hiked to the Blue Mountain Peak (7400ft). The majority of the hike up was under a steady rain, but it was still incredible scenery.	The walk back down from Blue Mountain Peak.