I got home at 3 AM this morning after spending 9 days in San Juan del Sur, Rivas, Nicaragua primarily visiting my step-brother Keith with Kay and my daughter Jean. I had a few chances to get out in local areas birding and really had a hard time finding birds. This was in part due to the high winds blowing the whole time we were there, but I think also in part due to the season (no migrants to speak of), that the habitat was largely a dry temperate tropical forest and seashore, and that I really could not find particularly good spots to bird. I was unable to arrange a guide or bird-pal to get out with so was on my own.
Probably the most interesting area I birded was the mouth of the San Juan del Sur River near the north end of town. There were a number of waders, basic plumage black terns that were fun to see, and at least a few different birds to look over. We found one morning a Ferruginous Pygmy Owl calling just outside the appartment with what seemed like two more calling in the area, there were a pair of Rufous-naped wrens outside Keith’s apartment, and WHite-throated Magpie-Jays everywhere. Hoffman’s woodpeckers were in lots of places, really looking like a small red-bellied woodpecker. I saw Orange-fronted parakeets and White-fronted parrots that I could ID and there were parrots/parakeets flying around lots, but none I could ID other than these two.
Next time I go I am going to try to time it around a guided multi-day trip to more birdy spots. Total species list for the trip, a paltry 41 with very few birds I’d not seen elsewhere. A total of just 5 life species in the 9 days. I was pretty surprised at how tough it was to find birds there.