Caribbean Birding Trail

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You are here: Home / Jamaica / Black River Great Morass

Black River Great Morass

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The Black River Great Morass is an Important Bird Area in southwestern Jamaica. This IBA is the island’s largest freshwater wetland and lies on the coastal flood plain of the Black River. According to BirdLife International’s Important Bird Areas in the Caribbean: it consists of low marshland with limestone islands and is significant as a stronghold for the Vulnerable West Indian Whistling-Duck and for important numbers of the Near Threatened Caribbean Coot and White-crowned Pigeon. It also supports populations of 15 (of the 36) Jamaica Endemic Bird Area restricted range species. In addition, large numbers of Pied-billed Grebes have been recoded and regionally important populations of gulls and terns are found on the coast.

Ponds at Black River Upper Morass
Ponds at Black River Upper Morass

This site consists of a lower morass and an upper morass. The lower morass comprises the 5,700 hectare Ramsar site, designated in 1997. The upper morass encompasses an area of 1,762 ha and is a freshwater wetland with many tributaries and streams, and is generally bounded within the road network linking Lacovia, Santa Cruz, Braes River, Elim and Newton.

The Black River Upper Morass was a rice production area in 1950’s and 60’s but this activity ceased in the 1970’s. This form of agriculture shaped much of the landscape, which now includes shallow ponds and a dyke system. The area currently contains a commercial fish farm (tilapia), which is a major attraction to birds. Apart from this, the area is still used for cultivation of sugar cane and grazing of livestock. The area is owned by the Government of Jamaica and the Petroleum Corporation of Jamaica with some areas of private agricultural and residential ownership on the periphery.

Spotted Rail at Black River Upper Morass
Spotted Rail at Black River Upper Morass

It is possible to drive out on the dyke road and bird the various ponds and fringe wetlands. The Caribbean Birding Trail project team visited the Black River Upper Morass in July of 2012 and observed several species, including the Spotted Rail Pardirallus maculates.

Black River Great Morass

Jamaica Sites

  • Ahhh…Ras Natango Gallery and Garden
  • Barbecue Bottom Road
  • Black River Great Morass
  • Cockpit Country
  • Ecclesdown Road
  • Flagstaff
  • Green Hills Field Station
  • Hardwar Gap
  • Hope Gardens
  • Portland Bight Protected Area
  • Stewart Town

Jamaica Partners

  • Caribbean Coastal Area Management Foundation
  • Southern Trelawny Environmental Agency


Jamaica Tour Operators

  • Ann Sutton, Independent Guide
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  • Wildside Nature Tours

Bird Checklists

Click here for a pamphlet-sized checklist of the birds of Jamaica.

Recommended Field Guides

A Photographic Guide to the Birds of Jamaica by Ann Haynes-Sutton, Audrey Downer, and Robert Sutton

Birds of the West Indies by Herbert Raffaele, James Wiley, Orlando Garrido, Allan Keith, and Janis Raffaele

Want to know how you can be involved?

Do you know of a place that should be part of the Caribbean Birding Trail? Are you the owner of a lodge or hotel and want to attract eco-tourists? Are you a guide interested in the birdwatching market? Then, get involved with our project!

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