Goldfinch: Bond’s birding adventures

Birdwatching in Jamaica is a great way to see another side of an island "often written off for its gaudy resorts and high urban crime rate", says Tom Chesshyre in the Times. You shouldn't set out without the "Caribbean birdwatcher's bible", however – the Field Guide to the Birds of the West Indies by the American ornithologist James Bond. (Legend has it Ian Fleming had a copy kicking about his villa on the country's north coast around the time he was dreaming up his most famous character.) Jamaica boasts roughly 300 species of birds, and chances are you'll identify quite a few of them if you stick the book in your backpack and head out with a local guide into the lush and "wonderfully peaceful" rainforest on the island's Bluefields Mountain. Reliable Adventures Jamaica offers half-day birding tours from £45. ·