Jamaica Ramsar wetland
Black River
147 bird species recorded; the most from February to March.
CEphoto, Uwe Aranas · CC BY-SA 3.0
This month here
103 species in January.118 species in February.125 species in March.100 species in April.67 species in May.50 species in June.65 species in July.71 species in August.68 species in September.68 species in October.86 species in November.81 species in December.
The birds you are most likely to see in the month you choose, those that come for the season first. It opens on today's month.
VU
NT
VU
VU
VU
NTVU
NT
NT
NTVU
NTNT
NT
NT
NTVU
NT
VU
NT
VU
NT
NTVUNT
NT
NTVUNT- Resident all year
- Summer visitor comes to breed
- Winter visitor comes for the winter
- Passage migrant in spring and autumn
In numbers
147 species, counted.
Our own rating, from the records only: species (50 points), threatened species (20), migrants (20) and protected status — Ramsar, IBA, SPA, observatory (10).
- 147Speciesrecorded more than once
- 62Migrantssummer, winter or passage visitors
- 5ThreatenedVulnerable, Endangered or Critically Endangered (IUCN)
- 10,795Recordsopen records within 6 km
- 6Raptors
- 1Owls
- 23Waders
- 13Gulls & seabirds
- 9Ducks & geese
- 16Herons, ibises & grebes
- 1Flamingos
- 47Songbirds
- 31Other birds
From open records (eBird and others, through GBIF, licensed for any use). More birdwatchers mean more records: a quiet place may have more birds than it shows.
The checklist
All 147 species.
By group, with the year in twelve cells: the darker the cell, the more often the bird is recorded that month.
Raptors6 species
JFMAMJJASOND
- Turkey VultureCathartes aura
- OspreyPandion haliaetus
- Falco sparveriusFalco sparverius
- Red-tailed HawkButeo jamaicensis
- MerlinFalco columbarius
- Peregrine FalconFalco peregrinus
Owls1 species
JFMAMJJASOND
- American Barn OwlTyto furcata
Waders23 species
JFMAMJJASOND
- Black-necked StiltHimantopus mexicanus
- Grey PloverPluvialis squatarolaVU
- WilletTringa semipalmata
- Lesser yellowlegsTringa flavipesVU
- Greater YellowlegsTringa melanoleucaNT
- Least SandpiperCalidris minutillaNT
- Semipalmated PloverCharadrius semipalmatus
- Spotted SandpiperActitis macularius
- SanderlingCalidris alba
- Ruddy TurnstoneArenaria interpresNT
- Northern JacanaJacana spinosa
- KilldeerCharadrius vociferusNT
- Semipalmated SandpiperCalidris pusillaNT
- Short-billed DowitcherLimnodromus griseusVU
- Western SandpiperCalidris mauri
- Stilt SandpiperCalidris himantopusNT
- Solitary SandpiperTringa solitaria
- White-rumped SandpiperCalidris fuscicollisVU
- American AvocetRecurvirostra americana
- Wilson's SnipeGallinago delicata
- Pectoral SandpiperCalidris melanotos
- Wilson's PhalaropePhalaropus tricolor
- Red KnotCalidris canutusNT
Gulls & seabirds13 species
JFMAMJJASOND
- Magnificent FrigatebirdFregata magnificens
- Laughing GullLeucophaeus atricilla
- Royal TernThalasseus maximus
- Sandwich TernThalasseus sandvicensis
- Least TernSternula antillarum
- Forster's TernSterna forsteri
- Common TernSterna hirundo
- Black TernChlidonias niger
- Gull-billed TernGelochelidon nilotica
- Caspian TernHydroprogne caspia
- American Herring GullLarus smithsonianus
- Brown BoobySula leucogaster
- Lesser Black-backed GullLarus fuscus
Ducks & geese9 species
JFMAMJJASOND
- Blue-winged TealSpatula discors
- American WigeonMareca americana
- West Indian Whistling DuckDendrocygna arboreaNT
- Lesser ScaupAythya affinis
- Northern ShovelerSpatula clypeata
- Ring-necked DuckAythya collaris
- Masked DuckNomonyx dominicus
- Northern PintailAnas acuta
- Ruddy DuckOxyura jamaicensis
Herons, ibises & grebes16 species
JFMAMJJASOND
- Snowy EgretEgretta thula
- Great White EgretArdea alba
- Brown PelicanPelecanus occidentalis
- Western Cattle EgretBubulcus ibis
- Little Blue HeronEgretta caerulea
- Tricolored HeronEgretta tricolor
- Great Blue HeronArdea herodias
- Black-crowned Night-HeronNycticorax nycticorax
- Green HeronButorides virescens
- Reddish EgretEgretta rufescensNT
- Glossy IbisPlegadis falcinellus
- Yellow-crowned Night-HeronNyctanassa violacea
- Pied-billed GrebePodilymbus podiceps
- White IbisEudocimus albus
- Least GrebeTachybaptus dominicus
- Double-crested CormorantPhalacrocorax auritus
Flamingos1 species
JFMAMJJASOND
- Caribbean FlamingoPhoenicopterus ruber
Songbirds47 species
JFMAMJJASOND
- Northern MockingbirdMimus polyglottos
- Mangrove WarblerSetophaga petechia
- Tyrannus caudifasciatusTyrannus caudifasciatus
- Greater Antillean GrackleQuiscalus niger
- American RedstartSetophaga ruticilla
- BananaquitCoereba flaveola
- Gray KingbirdTyrannus dominicensis
- Yellow-faced GrassquitTiaris olivaceus
- Prairie WarblerSetophaga discolor
- Northern WaterthrushParkesia noveboracensis
- Barn swallowHirundo rustica
- Sad FlycatcherMyiarchus barbirostris
- Jamaican EuphoniaEuphonia jamaica
- Cave SwallowPetrochelidon fulva
- Black-whiskered VireoVireo altiloquus
- Common YellowthroatGeothlypis trichas
- Palm WarblerSetophaga palmarum
- Caribbean MartinProgne dominicensis
- Northern ParulaSetophaga americana
- Common StarlingSturnus vulgaris
- Black-and-white WarblerMniotilta varia
- Jamaican OrioleIcterus leucopteryx
- Black-throated Blue WarblerSetophaga caerulescens
- Jamaican VireoVireo modestus
- Stolid FlycatcherMyiarchus stolidus
- Black-faced GrassquitMelanospiza bicolor
- OvenbirdSeiurus aurocapilla
- Greater Antillean BullfinchMelopyrrha violacea
- Northern Rough-winged SwallowStelgidopteryx serripennis
- Cape May WarblerSetophaga tigrina
- Rufous-tailed FlycatcherMyiarchus validus
- Tree SwallowTachycineta bicolor
- Saffron FinchSicalis flaveola
- Jamaican BecardPachyramphus niger
- Louisiana WaterthrushParkesia motacilla
- Jamaican SpindalisSpindalis nigricephala
- Chestnut MuniaLonchura atricapilla
- Yellow-throated WarblerSetophaga dominica
- Jamaican CrowCorvus jamaicensisNT
- Worm-eating WarblerHelmitheros vermivorum
- Yellow-shouldered GrassquitLoxipasser anoxanthus
- OrangequitEuneornis campestris
- Spice FinchLonchura punctulata
- Magnolia WarblerSetophaga magnolia
- Jamaican ElaeniaMyiopagis cotta
- White-chinned ThrushTurdus aurantius
- Myrtle WarblerSetophaga coronata
Other birds31 species
JFMAMJJASOND
- Antillean Palm-swiftTachornis phoenicobia
- Common Ground-DoveColumbina passerina
- White-winged DoveZenaida asiatica
- Common MoorhenGallinula chloropus
- Belted KingfisherMegaceryle alcyon
- Smooth-billed AniCrotophaga ani
- White-crowned PigeonPatagioenas leucocephalaNT
- Vervain HummingbirdMellisuga minima
- Purple GallinulePorphyrio martinica
- American CootFulica americana
- Jamaican WoodpeckerMelanerpes radiolatus
- Zenaida DoveZenaida aurita
- Jamaican MangoAnthracothorax mango
- Rock DoveColumba livia
- Red-billed StreamertailTrochilus polytmus
- Aztec ParakeetAratinga nana
- Caribbean DoveLeptotila jamaicensis
- White-collared SwiftStreptoprocne zonaris
- LimpkinAramus guarauna
- Mangrove CuckooCoccyzus minor
- Mourning DoveZenaida macroura
- SoraPorzana carolina
- Clapper RailRallus crepitans
- Jamaican TodyTodus todus
- Green-rumped ParrotletForpus passerinus
- Yellow-breasted CrakePorzana flaviventer
- Antillean NighthawkChordeiles gundlachii
- Spotted RailPardirallus maculatus
- Common PotooNyctibius jamaicensis
- American Black SwiftCypseloides nigerVU
- Ruddy Quail-DoveGeotrygon montana
Monthly presence relative to all bird records that month, so a busy month does not inflate every species.
When to go
The most species from February to March.
Species recorded in each month, with the usual temperature and rain.
- Jan28°/25°48 mm
- Feb28°/25°24 mm
- Mar29°/26°37 mm
- Apr30°/26°56 mm
- May30°/27°141 mm
- Jun30°/27°102 mm
- Jul31°/28°76 mm
- Aug31°/28°100 mm
- Sep30°/28°141 mm
- Oct30°/28°171 mm
- Nov29°/27°102 mm
- Dec29°/26°50 mm
- Bar: species recorded that month.
- Temperature: average maximum / minimum (NASA, 1991–2020).
- Rain: monthly total.
The place
Black River.
River in Jamaica
Black River is a wetland of international importance (Ramsar) in Jamaica.
147 bird species have been recorded here more than once, in 10,795 open records.
The most recorded are the Snowy Egret, the Great White Egret and the Magnificent Frigatebird.
19 species come for the summer, 42 for the winter and 1 only pass through.
5 are threatened worldwide, including Grey Plover, Lesser yellowlegs and Short-billed Dowitcher.
The most species are recorded from February to March.
Get there and watch
- South Shoreplace to stay · 1.3 km · 4 within 10 km
- Black Rivernearest town · 0.6 km in a straight line
- Sangster International Airport (MBJ)nearest airport with scheduled flights · 54 km in a straight lineCar hire at MBJ airport (Montego Bay)Discover Cars · sponsored link↗
Plan the visit
A guided walk, a bed nearby, a car.
Some links above are affiliate links: if you book through them we may earn a commission, at no extra cost to you. It never changes what the data on this page says.
From above
The place and its surroundings.
The satellite image of the 6 × 6 km around the place, with the bird hides, towers and trails that OpenStreetMap shows.
Around, in OpenStreetMap
- 6car parks within 3 km
- 10restaurants and cafés within 3 km
- 4places to stay within 10 kmSouth Shore, Port of Call Hotel, Southern comfort and 1 more
- bird hides within 6 km
- observation towers within 6 km
- marked trails within 4 km
- visitor centres within 6 km
- viewpoints within 5 km
- campsites within 10 km
Counted in OpenStreetMap, the map anyone can edit. A low number may just mean nobody has mapped it yet.
In our other atlases
Around Black River.
The lakes, beaches, islands, rivers and mountains around this place, and its night sky, in the family's atlases.
Peakyas1 mountains within 25 kmBuddles Mountain · 25 km
Figures from the sister sites' databases (Wikidata, HydroATLAS, GeoNames, OpenStreetMap). Links open when each site is online.
Photographs
The place, as people saw it.
Where these figures come from
| Name and type | Wikidata (Q880496) · CC0 |
|---|---|
| Birds | 10,795 open bird records within 6 km (GBIF, CC0 and CC BY 4.0 only; mostly eBird, Cornell Lab of Ornithology) |
| See these records | gbif.org |
| Species | GBIF Backbone Taxonomy · CC BY 4.0; Wikidata (CC0); Wikimedia Commons |
| Altitude | Copernicus DEM GLO-30 · © DLR e.V., © Airbus Defence and Space GmbH, Copernicus/ESA |
| Temperature and rain | NASA POWER (CERES SYN1deg, 2001–2020; MERRA-2) |
| What is around | © OpenStreetMap contributors · ODbL |
| Images | EOX Sentinel-2 cloudless 2016 · CC BY 4.0; Wikimedia Commons |
| Sister atlases | Peakyas, Islandyas, Riveryas |
Every figure is an average, an estimate or a count from a public dataset. Licences and methods: data sources.
The family
Do you prefer beaches, lakes, mountains, waterfalls, islands, rivers, canyons, caves, dark skies, viewpoints, birdwatching or forests?
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viewpoints
Every viewpoint with its real 360° panorama: the peaks you can name, how far you see and where the sun sets.Coming soonVisit 
birdwatching
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