Nicaragua IV

Tricolored Heron 02-25-2016-2830Springlike weather is still far enough away for me to feel like I can put myself back in Nicaragua with a few more pictures. But it’s getting harder and harder to go backward! One more of these posts and I’m going to have to move on to spring migration.

The bird above and in the pictures below is a Tri-Colored Heron. We took a boat ride around Lake Nicaragua and managed to see some really nice birds. And despite the rocking of the boat I managed to get some pictures.

I feel like this trip cemented the difference between Snowy Egrets (below) and Great Egrets in my brain so I don’t have to think about it anymore.

Below, Southern Lapwings.

Green Herons…

Caspian Terns…

We pulled up to an island in the lake that has been devoted to a habitat for monkeys. Below are pictures of one Howler Monkey, a Spider Monkey and a Capuchin Monkey.

Sadly we discovered that people were feeding these monkeys bad things like the lollipop the Spider Monkey on the left below is clutching in his hand. I couldn’t tell exactly what one woman was offering to the Capuchin but it appeared to be something like a potato chip.

Back out on the lake, among perched birds were an Osprey and a Black Vulture.

Below, a Northern Jacana.

We came upon a colony of nesting Montezuma’s Oropendolas. Their nests alone are fascinating.

Below is a Little Blue Heron.

Little Blue Heron 2-25-15-2996I will be back with one more post from Nicaragua. I hope soon!

Back from Nicaragua III

Mombacho 02-23-2016-4339We left Reserva Montibelli for Granada, and paid a visit to the Volcan Mombacho, with a view of the cloud forest. There is an extensive canopy tour at the top, which we did not do, but there was plenty to look at on a trail closer to the bottom.

Four views of a Yellow Warbler foraging about in a beautiful tree. Unfortunately my brain is only big enough to handle a few bird species but I want to start paying more attention to the botanical elements, even if it’s in my next life…

Also in this beautiful tree were two Black-Headed Saltators.

Continuing with the magical atmosphere of the cloud forest…

It’s perhaps a good thing that the weather back home has been raw and rainy. Nothing (except maybe Bernie) is distracting me from paying attention to Nicaragua in my head.

I don’t seem to have many bird pictures from this day. Earlier in the morning before we left Montibelli, I guess I took pictures of a Melodious Blackbird bathing.

Melodious Blackbird 02-23-2016-4315

I’ll be back again with another short post. I have two more days’ worth of photographs to choose and then it will be time to pay attention to spring here.Plant 02-22-2016-1640One more photograph of the Yellow Warbler. YEWA 02-23-2016-4301

Return from Nicaragua

Turquoise-Browed Motmot 2-21-15-2433

Turquoise-Browed Motmot

I got back home late Sunday night, almost Monday morning, so I did not go to work on Monday but spent most of my day cleaning, buying groceries, doing laundry, catching up on the domestic situation that always changes when you live in an aviary.

It will take me a few days to go through all the photographs, but I wanted to share a few in the interim, before the snow melts and I get distracted by spring migration.

Rufous=and-white Wren 2-21-15-3328

Rufous-and-White Wren

Our Operation Rubythroat group in Nicaragua, which now has been named “NicaNetters ’16,” met at the airport in Managua on Saturday afternoon, and we loaded up into the bus with our gracious and capable driver Carlos and superb local guide Alejandro Cesar Lee to the Montibelli Private Natural Reserve which is outside of Ticuantepe.

The original plan for the trip was to band Ruby-Throated Hummingbirds and other neotropical migrants, but before we left the States we had to accept an unforeseen change of itinerary, which meant that we would not be setting up nets in the usual fashion. But our surprise upon arrival was finding out that we would indeed be setting up mist nets at least for the three days we had at Montibelli: Alejandro had banding experience and it was worth a try. I was particularly happy for the participants who had not been on one of these expeditions before, so that they would have the experience of what it is like to do this sort of thing.

Of course whenever we set up mist nets we catch some of the local resident species too. Below is the Turquoise-Browed Motmot in the hand.

Now whenever I see a dove I am reminded of my Diamond Doves at home. We’ll get back to them in a later post. This is an Inca Dove.

Inca Dove 2-21-15-2394Our first day we caught the beautiful Rufous-Capped Warbler below.

And we also had one or two Cinnamon Hummingbirds, which are probably the most common hummingbird species in this region. Below is one I managed to capture out of the hand. I hope to find a better picture as I go through them.

Cinnamon Hummingbird 2-21-15-2455

Cinnamon Hummingbird

After our first morning of setting up nets and monitoring in the field, my roommate Kathy and I got back to our room after lunch for a short break from the midday heat. Not long after we were ready to relax, there was a knock on the door. Our next-door neighbor had the beautiful bird below right outside his window. This is a Black-Headed Trogon.

Black-Headed Trogon 2-21-15-3615I spent much of the trip trying to get a picture of the bird below that was not in the hand, but the species eluded me until the last couple days when a good number of them were hanging out at the hotel where we were staying. I will return to continue the story more chronologically as I go through more pictures. But I just could not resist sharing this White-Fronted Magpie-Jay with you. The tail goes on forever.White-Fronted Magpie Jay 2-26-15-4625It’s good to be back, and thanks for stopping by!