A Small Nod to the Wild Side

Habitat all around the house is being cleared for new houses. I've tried to take a few steps to keep some native flora around for the birds. One small effort is a strip of lawn left fallow. I hope to see native plants growing there, but for now it's long turf grass. The other day, I heard our first Blue-black Grassquit for the yard (our 92nd species). The bird sang from the fallow patch. I'm sure it was picking grass seeds. We're also growing a cecropia, locally known as guarumo. This characteristic tropical forest tree has open branches that will afford parakeets, doves, woodpeckers, and other birds a clear view of potential predators as they eye our bird baths and feeder.

July 15 Appearance of Recently Hatched Streak-backed Oriole

An earlier post showed an adult Streak-backed Oriole at its hanging nest. July 15 brought the happy surprise of an adult at our banana feeder…accompanied by an immature bird. The young bird lacked the black throat of adults, and begged bits of banana.

Surprise First-time Visit by an Immature Tropical Mockingbird

While common in nearby countryside, the Tropical Mockingbird is scarce in our yard. So a July 14 visit by this young bird was a nice surprise, right outside our front window.

Streak-backed Orioles and Rose-throated Becards: A Tale of Two Nests

Our only tall trees are Rainbow Eucalyptus (Eucalyptus deglupta), a species native to the Philippines, Indonesia, and New Guinea. Many native birds feed in these, seeking out insects, especially when the trees flower. A number of interesting birds nest in them, including the Streak-backed Oriole (Icterus pustulatus). Our resident pair's nest weathered the storm the other day. I took a few photos of the male as he wiggled out of the nest after entering to feed his young. Apparently, it's a tight squeeze. The female, which is more yellowish in color, had just left the nest before him.

Squeaky calls of Rose-throated Becards (Pachyramphus aglaiae) next caught my attention. The squeaky-toy call is a familiar sound here, but calls seemed more enthusiastic and frequent than usual. I suspected the birds were nesting, and found, in another Rainbow Eucalyptus, their large and bulky nest. The slate-gray male and cinnamon-colored female took turns at the top of the nest. Apparently, it's a work in progress. When complete, the nest entrance should be near the bottom. I got a few shots of the female atop their creation.

Social Flycatchers, Motmots, and a Surprise Outside the Bedroom Window!

Last night's rains were gentle compared with the violent evening the night before. The Altamira Oriole (Icterus gularis) nest appears to have failed. The parents visited only til mid afternoon yesterday, and I saw one next to the nest this morning, but it did not enter.

The good news is that other nests survived the storm. The Social Flycatchers (Myiozetetes similis), for example, have two robust nestlings now crowding their domed nest beneath our backyard umbrella. Both parents spend their day shuttling insects to the ravenous young.

Outside our bedroom window, four and a half feet up in a small palm, a skulky pair of Grayish Saltators (Saltator coerulescens) has been nesting, unbeknownst to me. I saw the nest for the first time just an hour ago. I usually keep the window blinds closed, but when they were open, the nest was in view. I snapped a few photos of the brief feeding sessions. At times, a parent rests on the nest. We hear Grayish Saltators every day, but seldom do we see these shade-loving birds.

The Turquoise-browed Motmots (Eumomota superciliosa), meanwhile, continue regular trips to their nest in the wall. Before they swoop down to the nest cavity, they perch on the wires, bronzy insects clamped in their tweezer-like mandibles.

The Skies Open Up and the Oriole Nest Comes Down.

Last night, sustained rains, wind, thunder, and lightning jolted us out of a dry spell. Seems like it rained in windy sheets for hours. Dawn brought surprises. A huge fishtail palm (Caryota urens) fell, crushing part of our fence. And the Altamira Oriole (Icterus gularis) nest crashed down from its tenuous position hanging in overhead vines. At least one live chick remains inside. Using a zip-tie, we lashed the top of the nest to a tall dead snag of tiguilote (clammy cherry or Cordia dentata) we had installed as a bird perch near our feeders. Though much lower than the original nest site, the adults visited the nest. Hopefully, they'll be able to strengthen their chick so it survives. Other birds, including Streak-backed Oriole (their nest still intact in nearby trees), Red-billed Pigeons, and Rose-throated Becards are not in usual spots, favoring places where they can dry out in the stingy bursts of sunlight.

Meet Western Nicaragua's Blue Jay.

Early in the morning, the grating calls of the White-throated Magpie-jay, or urraca, sometimes ring across the gully next door. Tropical Kingbirds and Clay-colored Thrushes often give chase to these dusty blue, long-tailed birds. Urracas have a varied diet, but nestlings of other birds likely feature on the menu this time of year. This beautiful bird, thankfully, is a familiar sight in the dry Pacific lowlands of Nicaragua.

I've yet to photograph an urraca in our yard. My wife took this shot along the coast, near San Juan del Sur. The White-throated Magpie-jay (Calocitta formosa) is found from the west coast of central Mexico to northwestern Costa Rica. I saw my first one years ago in Acapulco.

Nicaragua's Gorgeous National Bird

For my first blog posting I thought I'd open with Nicaragua's gorgeous national bird, the Turquoise-browed Motmot (Eumomota superciliosa). This time of year, they've excavated burrows and are nesting. A pair seems to be on territory in the front yard. I snapped this photo but have some trouble with the camera focus, so it's not sharp. Still, it gets across the beauty of this bird. Nice choice for national bird, Nicaragua! Today, for the first time, I saw this bird perch on the wire with an insect in its bill, then swoop down into a hole in our wall, where it must have young in a nest.

A pair of Altamira Orioles (Icterus gularis) also selected the yard for their hanging nest, weaving it into an epiphytic vine
hanging from a rainbow eucalyptus tree. The Altamira Orioles currently come and go constantly, making feeding sorties.