The Oak at the Gate
Our grandest oak tree, home to our perennial pair of woodpeckers. Most evenings and sometimes late you can hear a woodpecker hammering away at his nest in our oak near the gate. They have been building for almost a year now and can be heard loudly most evenings.
Four oak trees remain on the property. Many many years ago the oaks lined both sides of Waterworks Road all the way to the well at the top of the road. It is a pleasant walk up this road and you should try in early in the morning.
The Woodpeckers at the Gate
A raucous, abundant, and widespread bird, the Jamaican Woodpecker is hard to miss during any outing to wooded areas anywhere in Jamaica. This is fortunate, as the Jamaican Woodpecker is both charismatic and beautiful. The Jamaican Woodpecker has a white face and pale underparts with a yellow wash, a densely barred black-and-white back, a red crown, and a blackish tail. Jamaican Woodpeckers will travel alone or in pairs or small groups, but occasionally more can be seen in an emergent flowering tree. While it is easy enough to see, the Jamaican Woodpecker is very loud and vocal, making an auditory detection perhaps more frequent than a sighting.
The Cornell Lab of Ornithology