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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
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 (www.montibelli.com)
Day 3: Birding in Tisma Lagoon and 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 species 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. Optional nocturnal hike looking for Owls.
Overnight: Jaguar Private Wildlife Reserve (www.jaguarreserve.org)
Day 4: Birding at El Jaguar´s Cloud Forest
We´ll spend the morning looking for regional endemics like Green-breasted Mountain-gem,
Bushy-creasted Jay, as well as some cloud forest specialties like Slate-colored Solitaire, Highland
Guan, Emerald-chinned Hummingbird. Some trails will lead us to deeper in 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. After lunch we´ll go to the rural community of El Gobiado in the
Datanlí-El Diablo Nature Reserve.
Overnight: El Gobiado
Day 5: Birding at El Gobiado
Once the sun rises we should start hearing the wonderful songs of a specie listed as vulnerable on
the IUCN red list: the Three-wattled Bellbird. After watching the incredible bellbirds,
we´ll go on the trails looking for some beatiful birds like the Violet Saberwing,
Yellow-winged Tanager and Emerald Toucanet, and then we´ll go deeper in the forest, where
the Resplendent Quetzal awaits. In the afternoon we will be transferred to the nearby Santa Maura
coffee hacienda.
Overnight: Hacienda Santa Maura
Day 6: Birding at Hacienda Santa Maura and transfer to Managua
At Santa Maura we will have another taste of the cloud forest bird species of the
Datanlí-El Diablo Nature Reserve: Collared Trogon, Nightingale-wren, Crimson-collared
Tanager and Bay-headed Tanager are just some of the common species here. Then we will start our way
back to Managua, stoping at the Selva Negra mountain lodge in Matagalpa to have lunch.
Overnight: Best Western Las Mercedes, Managua
Day 7: Flight to Río San Juan
We´ll take the 50 minutes flight to San Carlos, on Río San Juan, on the south
eastern side of Nicaragua. Then we take a boat to the Solentiname Archipelago, place filled with
beautiful scenery, balsa wood handcrafts and primitive paintings. After lunch we´ll go
around the Zapote Island, also known as “the birds island” because it is the
nesting site for several thousand birds, with species like Black-crowned Night-heron, Bare-throated
Tiger-heron, White Ibis, Woodstork and others. Then we´ll go east on the San Juan River to
Sabalos Lodge.
Overnight: Sabalos Lodge Private Wildlife Reserve (www.sabaloslodge.com)
Day 8: Birding at Indio Maíz Rainforest
We´ll leave early to the Indio Maiz Biological Reserve, a huge rainforest that hosts over
400 species of birds, including Great Green Macaw, Ocellated and Spotted Antbirds, Keel-billed and
Chesnut Mandible Toucans, Red-capped Manakin, White-ringed Flycatcher, Strong billed Woodcreeper and
others. Lunch is going to be in El Castillo, town where an old Spanish fortress was built on 1673 to
stop the pirates from getting from the Caribbean, across the lake to Granada.
Overnight: Sabalos Lodge Private Wildlife Reserve (www.sabaloslodge.com)
Day 9: Birding at Poco Sol and Sabalos Lodge
We´ll have another hike on the rainforest looking for more birds of this highly diverse
area. Green Ibis, White Hawk, Bay Wren, Red-legged Honey-creeper, Golden Hooded Tanager are some of
the ones that we could add to the trip list.
Overnight: Sabalos Lodge Private Wildlife Reserve (www.sabaloslodge.com)
Day 10: Return to Managua
We´ll go upriver, back to San Carlos, keep your eyes opened for various species of
kingfishers, egrets, herons, ducks, even the regional threatened Jabiru! Once in San Carlos,
we´ll take the airplane back to Managua. At night we will meet to have the farewell
dinner.
Overnight: Hotel Los Robles (www.hotellosrobles.com)
Day 11: Departure
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