Itinerary

Day 1: Arrive in Managua and transfer to Montibelli
You'll be greeted at the Managua airport and transferred to the Montibelli ecolodge settled on the Managua Hills (60 minutes). Late arrivals are not a problem with the new highway from the Managua International Airport. We will have a brief orientation dinner.

Overnight: Montibelli Private Wildlife Reserve (www.montibelli.com)

Day 2: Birding at Montibelli’s Dry Forest
Today we´ll start getting to know Montibelli´s birds. After a quick snack with fresh local coffee we´ll look for dry forest specialties like Long-tailed Manakin, Turquoise-browed Motmot, Lesser-ground Cuckoo, Cinnamon Hummingbird, Pacific Parakeet, Hoffman´s Woodpecker, Black-headed Trogon and others, as well mixed flocks of ant following birds, composed of Northern Barred Woodcreeper, Dusky Antbird, Red-crowned Tanager, Gray-headed Tanager, Lesser Greenlet, Barred Antshrike and others. If you are on winter time you will find mixed flocks of warblers and some endangered migratory birds like the Painted Bunting. In the afternoon we´ll visit the nearby Chocoyero Nature Reserve where hundreds of Pacific Parakeets nest on a cliff next to a waterfall.

Overnight: Montibelli Private Wildlife Reserve

Day 3: Christmas Bird Count in Montibelli
We will be part of the compilers on the 110th Edition of the Christmas Bird Count for the “Sierritas de Managua” count circle (look for previous cbc results in http://audubon2.org/cbchist/count_table.html). One of our goals is to get to 100 species.

Overnight: Montibelli Private Wildlife Reserve

Day 4: Birding Tisma Lagoon & transfer to El Jaguar
Early transfer to Tisma Lagoon, with great wetlands for spotting the Nicaraguan Grackle (a regional endemic), Roseate Spoonbills, Lesser Yellow-headed Vultures, Black Skimmer, Double-striped Thicknee and several other species of shore and wetland birds. Then we will be driven north to the charming city of Jinotega. After lunch we´ll be transferred to El Jaguar Private Wildlife Reserve.

Overnight: El Jaguar Private Wildlife Reserve (www.jaguarreserve.org)

Day 5: Birding at El Jaguar´s Cloud Forest
We´ll spend the day getting used to the birds found in this area. There are regional endemics like Green-breasted Mountain-gem, Bushy-crested Jay, as well as some cloud forest specialties like Slate-colored Solitaire, Highland Guan, Emerald-chinned Hummingbird. Some trails will lead us deeper into the forest on our search for birds like Black-faced Antthrush and Scaled Antpitta, mixed flocks composed by Tawny–crowned Greenlet, Slaty Antwren, Dusky Antbird, Olivaceus Woodcreeper and Golden-crowned Warbler.

Overnight: Jaguar Private Wildlife Reserve

Day 6: Christmas Bird Count in El Jaguar
We will be part of the compilers for this new count circle and we look forward to do a solid first count!

Overnight: Jaguar Private Wildlife Reserve

Day 7: Transfer back to Managua
Our return to Managua starts with the road between Jinotega and Matagalpa, filled with scenic views. Lunch will be at Selva Negra, a German-built resort in the mountains. Then we will continue our way to Managua. At night we will meet to have farewell dinner.

Overnight: Hotel Las Mercedes (www.lasmercedes.com.ni)

Day 8: Departure