OR YOU CAN SIT ON MY PORCH AND SEE A HUMMINGBIRD:

My goal for the trip was straightforward: to see every endemic bird species on two islands, one Greater Antillean and one Lesser, in the seven days I had at my disposal. Species endemic (i.e., exclusive) to an island are of special interest to bird-watchers who keep lists of the birds they've seen. Endemics that we miss on a particular island are species that we're likely never to see, because there are so many other places to go bird-watching before we return to that island and because, in the Caribbean, many endemics are in trouble and will become only harder to find in the future. If I'd had two weeks, I could reasonably have expected to see every one of Jamaica's twenty-nine and St. Lucia's four endemics. But to get the job done in a week I would need some good luck.

Although I'm generally not superstitious, I felt as if I'd made a substantial withdrawal from the karma bank by locating my suitcase at JFK, and I do adhere to the superstition that my luck as a bird-watcher is improved by giving generous tips to cab drivers and hotel staff. Unfortunately, after I'd been conveyed from the Kingston airport up into the Blue Mountains, I was too slow on the draw to tip the driver; missing this chance to replenish my karma account did not bode well.

I was staying in a guest cottage at a coffee farm called Lime Tree, managed by Suzie Burbury and her husband, Charlie. After a long ride up a terrible road, Suzie gave me quiche and red sorrel iced tea and then sent me out to look for birds.

Even if you're not a regular bird-watcher, you can take some cheap binoculars and spend a night or two away from Jamaica's coast and easily see many of the country's most spectacular endemics, including the national bird, the Streamertail, a hummingbird whose males have tail streamers longer than the rest of their bodies.

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