Here is a video of me hand feeding the Red Billed Streamertail Hummingbird which is better known in Jamaica as the Doctor Bird at the Rocklands Bird Sanctuary outside of Montego Bay. We stopped in for a feeding session in the late afternoon and were blessed to catch the birds at a feeding peak. There seemed to be hundreds of birds in the trees surrounding us and we even noticed a heavier concentration of birds leading up to the park in the outlying neighborhoods.
The park is located in the mountain village of Anchovy in hills of St James Parish and was founded by Lisa Salmon in 1958. Miss Lisa Salmon or “Miss Lis” as she was known was born in Kingston Jamaica and a lifelong advocate for the protection of birds and an avid birdwatcher. She began working for bird protection in 1952 when she took to writing articles against bird hunting. In 1959, primarily as a result of her efforts, the bird hunting season was reduced from 6 months to 6 weeks. Miss Salmon passed away in 2000 at the ripe old age of 96 leaving the Rocklands Bird Feeding Station as it is also known to many in the control of trusted associates who still run the park today. I think it’s become a bit more commercial and the keeper was offended when I offered him $500 JA as a tip when I did not even take a tour. All I really did was sit and take some pictures with the family. I coughed up another $500 for a total of $1,000 Jamaican Dollars or about $15 US to spend a half an hour with the birds. In the same time I watched him collect the same figure from two other couples and it seemed he had been at it for some time. I think the new caretaker is making more money from this than Miss Salmon ever did.
The park lies about 3.5 miles outside of Montego Bay down the A1 highway which runs to Negril through Lucea. You will make a turn South at Reading which leads to Anchovy about 1.5 miles up a pretty steep and poorly maintained road. When we visited we drove in from the Ocho Rios side of Mobay and actually grabbed the B2 highway all the way over to Sav La Mar and on to Negril. We passed a number of other natural attractions such as Animal Farm and Nature Village which I understand are must see Jamaica attractions as well.
This is my wife Elise hand feeding the Doctor Birds. There where so many birds at Rocklands that it was distracting and difficult to get any really good pictures because they kept in motion. I was able to grab some decent video clips and we plan a return trip soon for better video. I would like to go a bit earlier and see if we can’t get a sunny day with better lighting so we can really bring you the variety of colors in the birds here.
An afternoon at Rocklands Bird Sanctuary makes a wonderful Day Trip from Negril or just about any city on the island. It’s a little over an hour from Negril on a decent enough road with other places to visit along the way. Pack a lunch if you’re picky about foods as there are few commercial eateries in the area other than an occasional jerk barrel, fruit stand or convenience store.
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Tags: Birdwatching, Jamaica, Jamaica Adventures, Jamaica Flora, Jamaica Travel, Jamaica Wildlife
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