Sites visited

1. Volcan Cosiguina, near Potosi 9th January, 2005

Potosi was reached in an arduous 3 and a half hour bus ride from the town of Chinandega in north-west Nicaragua. The first bus left at 8am arriving at 11:30, too late for serious birding. My bird finding book said no accommodation was available in Potosi. This is true but a few kms before the town, there was an obvious sign for the Hostal Hacienda Cosiguina. This would make a good base for an earlier assent of the volcano. A trail led up from the bus stop in Potosi. It had several branches but I kept to the main one leading up hill. which took me up to about 250m altitude. A bus went back at 3pm giving me only 3 hours birding in the middle of the day. Inspite of this I saw a good range of species but not the Scarlet Macaw which supposedly has a remnant population here. During my walk on the lower slopes a man on horseback passed me carrying an air rifle and looked to be hunting, showing that there is no actual protection in this protected area. A morning here climbing to better quality forest should produce many more species. I saw 39 species including 3 lifers

Thicket Tinamou	Crypturellus cinnamomeus
Cattle Egret	Bubulcus ibis
Black Vulture	Coragyps atratus
Turkey Vulture	Cathartes aura
Roadside Hawk	Buteo magnirostris
Crested Bobwhite	Colinus cristatus
Rock Dove	Columba livia	Introduced species
Red-billed Pigeon	Patagioenas flavirostris
White-winged Dove	Zenaida asiatica
Ruddy Ground-Dove	Columbina talpacoti
Inca Dove	Columbina inca
White-tipped Dove	Leptotila verreauxi
Orange-fronted Parakeet	Aratinga canicularis
Groove-billed Ani	Crotophaga sulcirostris
Cinnamon Hummingbird	Amazilia rutila
Salvin's Emerald	Chlorostilbon salvini
Black-headed Trogon	Trogon melanocephalus
Hoffmann's Woodpecker	Melanerpes hoffmannii
Least Flycatcher ?	Empidonax minimus
Nutting's Flycatcher ?	Myiarchus nuttingi
Brown-crested Flycatcher	Myiarchus tyrannulus
Great Kiskadee	Pitangus sulphuratus
Social Flycatcher	Myiozetetes similis
Western Kingbird	Tyrannus verticalis
Scissor-tailed Flycatcher	Tyrannus forficatus
Barn Swallow	Hirundo rustica
Rufous-naped Wren	Campylorhynchus rufinucha
Banded Wren	Thryothorus pleurostictus
White-lored Gnatcatcher	Polioptila albiloris
White-throated Magpie-Jay	Calocitta formosa
Tennessee Warbler	Vermivora peregrina
Yellow Warbler	Dendroica petechia
Stripe-headed Sparrow	Aimophila ruficauda
Great-tailed Grackle	Quiscalus mexicanus
Altamira Oriole	Icterus gularis
Streak-backed Oriole	Icterus pustulatus
Baltimore Oriole	Icterus galbula
House Sparrow	Passer domesticus	Introduced species

2. Salinas Grandes, near Leon 11th January, 2005

The city of Leon was used as a base to visit the Salinas Grandes area. There was apparently a direct bus but this seemingly left at 4pm. I took one of the frequent buses to Managua (ordinario) at 7am and got off at the turning for Salinas Grandes. This was about 20km from Leon and from the turning it was a further 11km on a bumpy road. I hitched this easily as it seems do most of the locals. There are extensive saltpans in between the village on Salinas Grandes (on high ground) and another settlement with houses by the coast. South from here were some lakes with a few waders including a Long-billed Curlew, which is not included in my list of birds found in Nicaragua. Salinas Grandes has been known for new records in the past, including Peregrine Falcon and Tropical Mockingbird (first seen in 1994) the latter of which I saw. There was also a good ditch between the lakes and the coast which was good for egrets and waders. From here I walked north along the coast to an estuary and the start of Isla Venado. This also had many water birds and there seemed to be good areas of mangroves although they maybe a little more difficult to reach. This site would be much better during Spring and Autumn migrations. I saw 50 species.

Brown Pelican	Pelecanus occidentalis
Magnificent Frigatebird	Fregata magnificens
Great Blue Heron	Ardea herodias
Great Egret	Ardea alba
Tricolored Heron	Egretta tricolor
Little Blue Heron	Egretta caerulea
Snowy Egret	Egretta thula
Cattle Egret	Bubulcus ibis
Green Heron	Butorides virescens
Black Vulture	Coragyps atratus
Turkey Vulture	Cathartes aura
Osprey	Pandion haliaetus
Crested Caracara	Caracara cheriway
Black-necked Stilt	Himantopus mexicanus
Black-bellied Plover	Pluvialis squatarola
Whimbrel	Numenius phaeopus
Long-billed Curlew	Numenius americanus
Greater Yellowlegs	Tringa melanoleuca
Spotted Sandpiper	Actitis macularia
Willet	Catoptrophorus semipalmatus
Least Sandpiper	Calidris minutilla
Laughing Gull	Larus atricilla
Franklin's Gull	Larus pipixcan
Gull-billed Tern	Sterna nilotica
Caspian Tern	Sterna caspia
Royal Tern	Sterna maxima
Rock Dove	Columba livia	Introduced species
Mourning Dove	Zenaida macroura
White-winged Dove	Zenaida asiatica
Common Ground-Dove	Columbina passerina
Ruddy Ground-Dove	Columbina talpacoti
Inca Dove	Columbina inca
Groove-billed Ani	Crotophaga sulcirostris
Cinnamon Hummingbird	Amazilia rutila
Great Kiskadee	Pitangus sulphuratus
Social Flycatcher	Myiozetetes similis	Seen in Leon
Tropical Kingbird	Tyrannus melancholicus
Scissor-tailed Flycatcher	Tyrannus forficatus
Gray-breasted Martin	Progne chalybea	Seen in Leon
Mangrove Swallow	Tachycineta albilinea
Barn Swallow	Hirundo rustica
Rufous-naped Wren	Campylorhynchus rufinucha
Tropical Mockingbird	Mimus gilvus
Clay-colored Robin	Turdus grayi	Seen in Leon
White-throated Magpie-Jay	Calocitta formosa
Tennessee Warbler	Vermivora peregrina	Seen in Leon
Yellow Warbler	Dendroica petechia
Blue-gray Tanager	Thraupis episcopus
Stripe-headed Sparrow	Aimophila ruficauda
Great-tailed Grackle	Quiscalus mexicanus
Streak-backed Oriole	Icterus pustulatus
House Sparrow	Passer domesticus	Introduced species

3. Volcan Concepcion & Altagracia, Ometepe Island (in Lake Nicaragua) 14-15th January, 2005

Altagracia was reached by a 4 hour (twice weekly ferry) from Granada. A few birds were seen from the ferry. There are also daily ferries from San Jorge near Rivas. From Altagracia I climbed Volcan Concepcion which reaches over 1600m. It is a fairly recent volcano with little vegetation higher up. It was also very windy and misty which was not good for birding. On reflection it would have been better to climb Volcan Maderas (on the other side of the island) which has better forest. The Volcano is accessed from the small settlement of La Sabana, 2km South of Altagracia. The road between Altagracia La Sabana had quite a few birds as did the farmland on the lower slopes of the volcano. I saw 30 species including 2 lifers.

Neotropic Cormorant	Phalacrocorax brasilianus
Magnificent Frigatebird	Fregata magnificens
Cattle Egret	Bubulcus ibis
Black-bellied Whistling-Duck	Dendrocygna autumnalis
Black Vulture	Coragyps atratus
Turkey Vulture	Cathartes aura
Laughing Gull	Larus atricilla
Rock Dove	Columba livia	Introduced species
Red-billed Pigeon	Patagioenas flavirostris
Inca Dove	Columbina inca
White-tipped Dove	Leptotila verreauxi
Pacific Parakeet	Aratinga strenua
Red-lored Parrot	Amazona autumnalis
Yellow-naped Parrot ?	Amazona auropalliata
White-eared Hummingbird	Hylocharis leucotis
Cinnamon Hummingbird	Amazilia rutila
Salvin's Emerald	Chlorostilbon salvini
Black-headed Trogon	Trogon melanocephalus
Golden-fronted Woodpecker	Melanerpes aurifrons
Brown-crested Flycatcher	Myiarchus tyrannulus
Great Kiskadee	Pitangus sulphuratus
Social Flycatcher	Myiozetetes similis
Tropical Kingbird	Tyrannus melancholicus
Gray-collared Becard ?	Pachyramphus major
Masked Tityra	Tityra semifasciata
Banded Wren	Thryothorus pleurostictus
House Wren	Troglodytes aedon
White-throated Magpie-Jay	Calocitta formosa
Yellow Warbler	Dendroica petechia
Great-tailed Grackle	Quiscalus mexicanus

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