Bird Watching at La Mariposa
The stunning aracari, known here as felices (happy birds!)
It seems our efforts over the past few years to protect and enhance our environment are beginning to show results! We have worked hard to look after existing trees, especially in the Nature Reserve, a piece of land purchased with the help of loans and donations from generous Mariposa students in mid-2014. There we built a huge retaining wall of quarried stone and volcanic rock to protect the roots of some large trees, including a beautiful Genizero (Samanea saman) and a Guanacaste (Enterolobium ciclocarpum). A native tree, the Guanacaste is now almost extinct locally as its wood is very popular in furniture making and the demand for “rustic” furniture has exploded with increased tourism. An indigenous word, it means “tree of ears” referring to the shape of the seed. Making the best of the last weeks of the rainy season we planted 2000 seedlings of a wide variety of trees but focusing on rare, native species and what will work to attract and help feed birds, butterflies, other pollinating insects, bats and the few reptiles and mammals who live with us. So as well as planting species such as the Guanacaste, Pochote (Pachira quinata), a tree pollinated by bats, and the magnificent Ceiba (Ceiba pentandra) – also known as the cotton tree as its fluffy white fruit fibers were once used to stuff pillows and mattresses (kapok) and whose flowers provide food for birds, bees, beetles and squirrels, we also included lots of fruit trees and other food producing species such as Tempisque (Sideroxylon capirii), super popular with parakeets. Sadly, I will not be alive to see these trees reach their full height but I hope others enjoy them and they continue to sustain lots of wildlife!
One of the genizero trees at the reserve, covered in orchids and bromeliads
The madero tree, its pink flowers are food for birds and iguana
At the vegetable farm (where I have my small straw house) we have a very small piece of land but even so we have made it a haven for the local birdlife. Planting a Capulin (Muntingia calabura) tree which seems to produce small red seeds almost year round was a major success, the one just outside my patio is constantly full of Saltadors, Blue-grey Tanagers , Hoffmans Woodpeckers, Rose-Breasted Grosbeaks, Motmots (known here as the Guardabarranco, it is the national bird and is so named as it builds its nests in banks – barrancos – of earth) and Orioles, both migrant Orchard and Northern Orioles and our own resident Spot-Breasted family. All munching away on the copious harvest of the Capulin!
The beautiful blue grey tanager, one of our breeding residents
Another common Mariposa resident
The glorious rose breasted grosbeak, loves to feed on the capulin. A welcome migrant.
Also present in large numbers are the Clay-Coloured Robins; a plain looking bird but, a member of the thrush family, a delightful songster especially at the end of the dry season. Nicaraguans will tell you they sing to call in the rains. The local name is Zinzontle which is Nahuatl and means “bird of many songs”. Furthermore, our Capulin tree is festooned with bunches of bananas, a feeding tray for seeds and fruit and an ingeniously designed drinking bowl. Carlos and Noel scramble up the tree every day to replenish supplies!! We also provide feeding points on our other three pieces of land and do not forget to put some lower down for ground feeding birds and animals (careful of course to avoid potential harm from our rescued cats).
Food and water
The planting of flowers, as well as just being pretty, also help to bring in insects, including many varieties of butterfly. Mostly just through observation, we are learning which flowers are good for butterflies (some species will go to a variety of flowers but others are more fussy) and whenever we spot anything on sale at the viveros in Catarina, stop and buy whatever we can. We also ask students to bring us in seeds – the Butterfly Weed (Viborana) for example is not at all common here but is important for the going extinct monarch butterfly as well as others. It has been hard to persuade the gardeners at La Mariposa that “weeds” such as the wild zinnia (Tithonia rotundifolia) provide flowers which attract butterflies and seeds which feed birds. Many gardeners here, just as in the US, want to see blocks of strong color (bougainvillea) and fancy flowers (double and triple zinnia) which do not do much for butterflies or hummingbirds! One of my favorite pleasures is to watch, early in the morning, Blue-Black Grassquits and a Painted Bunting hopping about amongst the zinnias and daisies and then in the sun of midday, butterflies making the most of the same plants!
A Painted Peacock in the garden
On 2nd January 2015 we did our first ever bird count (thanks to Sally Gladstone for persuading us and telling us how to go about it and of course to our intrepid bird guide, Alejandro – more of him later) and the outcome was quite astonishing to me at least (please do not forget I knew nothing about trees or birds or anything much really….learning on the job!!). We counted, spending roughly 2 hours in each location, 30 species at the nature reserve, 25 at the farm and 38 at La Mariposa itself. Sally checked the list and gave me some interesting information. The Red Legged Honeycreeper, of which we have a family group at the farm (they just love the bananas!) were not seen at any of the other 5 locations where the count was carried out. We have three different kinds of Hawk, one of which, the Red-tailed, is quite rare. I have a real soft spot for the Roadside Hawk in the Mariposa grounds as we released one here some years ago and it is almost certainly the same one or maybe a descendent; I saw 3 together a couple of years ago. I am so happy they survive because their habit of eating young chickens does not make them too popular!! Also unusual is the Golden Winged Warbler; the little fellow from Tennessee is, on the other hand, very abundant. Another of my personal favorites is the groups of Parakeets (both Pacific and Orange-Fronted) who arrive in groups of 10 or so to feed at the reserve. It is not that easy now to see them in the wild as opposed to in small cages….actually, I love them all and am so glad that we still have birds to feed and preserve. See below for the full list.
Friends…
Inevitably it is not all good news! Our neighbors at La Mariposa are busy, as I write, hacking vegetation to bits in order to plant citric trees.
Loss of habitat next door
This means, specifically, loss of habitat for a group of Long Tailed Manakins who used to live amongst their coffee bushes and is a threat to the nests of the guatusas (long legged guinea pigs who live here in spite of sharing their territory with 12 dogs!!). The fact that the land is now much more open also makes them more vulnerable to being hunted. The birds we are helping by leaving more of our land untouched and putting out extra food. We are investigating the possibilities of capturing the guatusas and taking them down to the reserve where there is far more space for them to hopefully live safely.
Night shot of gustusas feedeing on bananas
La Mariposa, together with Alejandro who is a recognsed bird expert here in Nicaragua, are now incorporating bird watching walks into our monthly program. Alejandro will also offer tours further afield though these will be at additional cost to our package prices. And in the summer of 2015 we will have an eco built cabin in the reserve so bird fans can stay on location to see some of the best and rarest! His facebook is https://www.facebook.com/pages/Birding-Nicaragua-Travels/525230747587641
Thanks to John Kraijenbrink for the butterfly and some bird photos, Ann Tagawa for bird photos and Phil Careless for the nighttime guatusa! Also thanks to sally and Alejandro for getting me interetsde in birds. And to Ismael for getting the trees planted!!
| LA RESERVA – LA MARIPOSA | |
| Gray Hawk | 1 |
| Red-tailed Hawk | 1 |
| Red-billed Pigeon | 8 |
| White-winged Dove | 2 |
| Orange-fronted Parakeet | 9 |
| Pacific Parakeet | 10 |
| Squirrel Cuckoo | 1 |
| Cinnamon Hummingbird | 2 |
| Ruby-throated Hummingbird | 2 |
| Canivet’s Emerald | 1 |
| Hoffmann’s Woodpecker | 5 |
| Great Kiskadee | 2 |
| Boat-billed Flycatcher | 1 |
| Yellow Warbler | 4 |
| Tennessee Warbler | 1 |
| Blue-gray Tanager | 1 |
| White-throated Magpie-Jay | 1 |
| Rufous-naped Wren | 3 |
| Plain Wren | 2 |
| Clay-colored Robin | 5 |
| Blue-black Grassquit | 4 |
| Olive Sparrow | 1 |
| Black-headed Saltator | 2 |
| Greyish Saltator | 3 |
| Western Tanager | 1 |
| Great-tailed Grackle | 4 |
| Spot-breasted Oriole | 2 |
| Orchard Oriole | 1 |
| Northern Oriole | 1 |
| LA FINCA | |
| Turkey Vulture | 1 |
| Red-Billed Pigeon | 1 |
| White-winged Dove | 5 |
| Inca Dove | 1 |
| Cinnamon Hummingbird | 1 |
| Ruby-throated Hummingbird | 1 |
| Turqoise-browed Motmot | 1 |
| Hoffmann’s Woodpecker | 2 |
| Barred Antshrike | 1 |
| Tropical Kingbird | 1 |
| Yellow Warbler | 3 |
| Tennessee Warbler | 6 |
| Blue-gray Tanager | 4 |
| Red-legged Honeycreeper | 1 |
| Black-headed Saltator | 1 |
| Grayish Saltator | 3 |
| Buff-throated Saltator | 2 |
| Rose-breasted Grosbeak | 4 |
| Painted Bunting | 1 |
| Western Tanager | 1 |
| Spot-breasted Oriole | 2 |
| Northern Oriole | 3 |
| Melodious Blackbird | 1 |
| Rufous-naped Wren | 4 |
| Clay-colored Robin | 4 |
| LA MARIPOSA | |
| Turkey Vulture | 6 |
| Roadside Hawk | 1 |
| Red-billed Pigeon | 2 |
| White-tipped Dove | 2 |
| Ruddy Ground-Dove | 2 |
| Squirrel Cuckoo | 1 |
| Cinnamon Hummingbird | 3 |
| Steely-vented Hummingbird | 1 |
| Ruby-throated Hummingbird | 1 |
| Canivet’s Emerald | 1 |
| Plain-capped Starthroat | 1 |
| Turquoise-browed Motmot | 3 |
| Hoffmann’s Woodpecker | 2 |
| Yellow-bellied Elaenia | 1 |
| Dusky-capped Flycatcher | 1 |
| Great Crested Flycatcher | 1 |
| Great Kiskadee | 1 |
| Social Flycatcher | 1 |
| Scissor-tailed Flycatcher | 1 |
| Long-tailed Manakin | 1 |
| Yellow Warbler | 3 |
| Chesnut-sided Warbler | 1 |
| Magnolia Warbler | 1 |
| American Redstart | 3 |
| Rufous-capped Warbler | 1 |
| Tennessee Warbler | 20 |
| Golden-winged Warbler | 1 |
| Blue-gray Tanager | 6 |
| Rufous-and-White Wren | 1 |
| Plain Wren | 2 |
| Clay-colored Robin | 9 |
| Blue-black Grassquit | 1 |
| Grayish Saltator | 1 |
| Rose-breasted Grosbeak | 4 |
| Western Tanager | 1 |
| Spot-breasted Oriole | 1 |
| Orchard Oriole | 5 |
| Northern Oriole | 2 |
Outstanding! You guys are really doing valuable on the ground work. Thank you as this benefits us here up north who get yo borrow your birds for the summer.
I always wish the birds did not leave us…but at least you get to see them!!