Bird Watching in Nicaragua at La Mariposa

A personal account by Paulette
As someone  completely new to the art of recognising which bird is which and understanding their “lifestyles”, I have just had the stunning realisation that this is a great time of year to simply sit on the balcony on the Mariposa and watch what flies past or, better still, hangs out for a while in the bunch of trees we have planted here. It is after all the migration season when, on top of all of the beautiful resident birds we have here all year, we can see those birds flying south for the (northern) winter. A few stay here but most just drop by to feed and rest and then on they go. In the past few days I have spotted the blue grey tanagers, the grey-headed tanager (there are over 200 different types of tanager), very pretty medium sized birds with an amazing variation of colour between them. I am very fond of the blue greys who nest here and are constant companions. Their subtle colour stands out against the lush greens of the vegetation. The photo you see below (taken by Ann Tagawa, as are they all) shows how they love to eat the bananas that we put out to help all the Mariposa wildlife survive the dry season.

The blue greys are resident here but the bright red summer tanager and the lovely grey-headed seem to be just passing through though I wish I could find a way of enticing them to stay!

And it is a very exciting day when the family of 3 collared arircaris drop by!! They too go for the bananas though they also like to perch in our tallest tree, a guachipilin (a variety of tree becoming very rare in this area. The aricaris have bills shaped very much like those of toucans (though less brightly coloured) and, having seen them use these bills to eat, it is not at all clear why Mother Nature endowed them with such extravagancies! To eat a banana, they kind of have to bend almost the entire body sideways and it is quite tricky, even with the saw edge, for them to cut off a manageable portion of fruit. Nonetheless most of the theories I have read explain these beaks in terms of eating value!!

Other newcomers have included a Swainsons thrush which has unbelievably travelled all the way here from the northern USA which I watched for several hours jumping up and down on the same branch, I guess catching small insects.  And of course the amazingly vibrant coloured Boston Oriole, known here as a chichiltote (an indigenous Nahuatl name).  I am also very proud of being able to identify a pair of rose breasted grosbeaks…particularly proud of the identification of the female as she does not have   a rose breast. She does, however, have the large thick bill!


Also enlivening my afternoons is a group of half a dozen or so euphonias. The males of this species are small, bright yellow and dark blue. Just gorgeous and becoming quite rare because of persecution for the trade in caged birds. So it is really incredible to see them feeding from the trees we have planted, they are especially fond of the seeds of the capulin tree. I just need someone to help me identify which of several euphonias these are ( thick billed, spotted crowned….I think they have yellow throats so that would, I imagine, make them yellow throated euphomnias???? but not sure….oh, help!!!) and to get some good photos. The names of some of the birds are extraordinary……..how did such a little fellow get such a pretentious name as euphonia? I am sure someone must know the answer….
And a couple more of our stalwarts…the guardabarranco (the Nicaraguan national bird) and the woodpeckers.  I should mention the doves, of which we have 4 different varieties sharing the chicken food and avoiding themselves becoming cat food! . And even the vultures…so important in helping to keep the place clean. And how could I almost forget to mention our 3 varieties of hummingbird?? I have learned a few things about these birds too….for example, the cinnamon one is the largest of the three and quite surprisingly aggressive, chasing off any other species. They also use threads of spider web to bind together their nests!!!


So if you want to see some birdlife whilst learning Spanish, La Mariposa is your place!!
PS We also have, thanks to Dr Hilary Ernler, a guide to butterflies at the Mariposa.