Hi,
I’m the person who posted that enthusiastic recommendation of birding Nicaragua that John Eaton referred to earlier. Sorry that I couldn’t respond earlier, but I’ve been out of town and heading out again tomorrow (to Chiapas), so I haven’t had time to answer you, much less to finish my trip report on Nicaragua that I promised. Sorry this reply is so long; I don’t have time to edit it any more, but will try to get my web-site up before too much longer. I agree with Tom Jenner: Your approach to enjoying birding in a new country means you'll have a great trip, no matter what.
I do think that Nicaragua is fantastic for birding, and I’m planning another (hopefully longer) trip there next Spring. The last trip was just a long (9-day) week over Spring Break, so we did most of our birding in two locations (the Miraflor and Selva Negra – both in the northern mountains and both locations where shade-grown coffee is a primary agricultural product), supplemented by short stops between Managua and Estelí to bird the rice fields and a river-bend. Most of our travel was by public bus, so we didn't have the freedom to stop whenever we wanted.
Most of my sightings were at the Miraflor (where I had very good birding guides 3 of the 5 days we were there) – over 110 different species, of which more than 50 were life birds for me. Highlights included some of the regional endemics, like the Green-breasted Mountain-gem, Bushy-crested Jay, and Three-wattled Bellbird. My personal favorites included Collared Trogan, Slate-colored Solitaire (what a song!), Blue-Crowned Motmot, Emerald Toucanet, Elegant Euphonia, and Blue-Crowned Chlorophonia. Because North American migratory birds were still there in mid-March, about 1/3 of my trip list were species I’d seen in the U.S. or Canada, but it is truly extraordinary seeing them all together in a colorful mixed-feeding flock – for example, Hepatic and Summer Tanagers, along with Crimson-collared, Flame-colored and White-winged Tanagers. The warblers and orioles, too, were fabulous. Also, I have to remind myself not to be blasé about birds seen in Nicaragua that I’ve seen pretty often here in South Texas, but would be life birds for most North American birders – like the Groove-billed Ani, Bronzed Cowbird, White-winged Dove, and Clay-colored Robin. I didn’t go on the day of birding the dry scrub area of the Reserve, but a friend who did go saw some thirty additional and very different species in the Miraflor that day.
Below I’ve pasted comments on four cloudforest/montane sites that you might consider birding; so far, I’ve birded only two, but know people who’ve visited another and recommend it highly – hope to get there next Spring.
Although the mountain forests are of particular interest to me (and much more comfortable, most of the year than the lowlands), I believe that there are good birding opportunities in other parts of the country. I hope to get a chance to see the Rio San Juan (I'm considering Hotel Refugio Bartola, but don't know enough about it yet -- the Refugio Bartola is adjacent to the huge Maiz Indio Biological Reserve), the Isle of Ometepe (check out Finca Magdalena), and another (smaller) Reserve environmental and community development project called Domitila (located in dry tropical forest) . The rainforest on the Atlantic side is almost certainly worth seeing, too, but it is not so easy to reach or get around as in Costa Rica or Honduras. If I go some day, I will probably try to arrange to visit the farming community that is served by Sustainable Harvest International; because of their environmentally sensitive farming methods, they should have a healthy bird population and welcome birders, but they don't have any developed accommodations (I believe), so it won't be easy to arrange the trip. For your trip-planning, a useful resource might be the Center for Global Education (headquartered at Augsburg College, MN) which has organized several 2-week-long birding/environmentalist tours of Nicaragua; it was through them that I heard of the Miraflor.
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The following is a slightly-edited version of my response (last Spring) to a query on the Lonely Planet forum, by a European asking about which of four specific places might be good to visit (with a 4x4 vehicle) for experiencing cloudforests in Nicaragua:
The upper reaches of the mountains of Estelí, Jinotega, and Matagalpa are likely to be as close as you'll get to cloudforest in Nicaragua. As #1 points out, you will probably be disappointed if you expect huge forest preserves, like the one at Monteverde, Costa Rica. All of the forests of Central America are under enormous pressure, due to the desperate need of small farmers to sustain their families and the unfortunate decisions of large landowners to engage in mono-cropping with extensive use of pesticides and chemical fertilizers. Throughout Central America, these forests have been sustained -- but not in their pristine condition -- by the use of agricultural methods that are compatible with much of the plant and animal life. Shade-grown coffee was the main crop that sustained the farmers in the forest regions, but due to unfairly low coffee prices to the growers, some of that land is being turned into mono-crop agriculture (e.g., in Costa Rica, many hectares have been turned into pineapple plantations.) The deforestation throughout Nicaragua has been serious, leading to water shortages in the cities of the forest watershed, erosion, and flooding in many places. That said, it is all the more important for visitors to patronize the places that are still trying to preserve the forests, even though they live and grow crops within them. All 4 of the places you are considering fit that description. [And all are in comfortably cool mountains -- enjoy!]
The Miraflor -- Note that the website has changed: for info and booking rooms and guides:
http://www.miraflor.org. We LOVED the Miraflor and plan to go back next Spring. The Reserve is run by a cooperative, rather than a corporation. It's main business is the various agricultural enterprises -- coffee, organic vegetables, organic pesticides and fertilizers, etc. The kind of outside support the cooperative is getting nowadays is somewhat like the support Finca Esperanza Verde gets -- bringing small groups of tourists, not only to enjoy the hospitality and bring in income, but also so visitors will understand the importance of protecting what is left of the environment in such places. Because it is a cooperative, the income from tourists is also spread as widely as possible among all families of the community -- for example, subsidizing schooling, busses, and public health measures.
There are several small hospedajes, cabinas, and homestay rooms spread throughout the huge reserve. The Miraflor includes at least three different eco-systems, so there is enough birding and other nature-viewing to fill your whole stay. Our cabin was beside a small shade-grown coffee plantation in the cloud-forest area, pretty high up the mountain. We were in the clouds all but one morning (which is how the cloud forest gets most of its water), and we enjoyed walking for about 2 hours on the marked trails in the undisturbed forest adjacent (not very large but full of interesting birds and plants). We spent 5 days at a posada run by Doña Corina Picado in the area called El Cebollal, reachable by (a high quality) bus from Estelí. The food and bed there were better than any others we had in Nicaragua -- much better than at Selva Negra, and the price was outstanding (under $20 per person for room and 3 meals a day). The only drawbacks were outdoor eco-toilets, no electricity, and cold showers. The posada where we stayed accommodated 19 persons, so there was one largish group of 9 or 10 Canadian students and teachers on a service trip, and another time a German couple came with two young kids for a long weekend, but the booking office tries to spread visitors out among various communities, so it never felt crowded or touristy. Everyone we met was very friendly and helpful. Sometimes we took our noon meals at other accommodation locations, so we could spend the whole day birding in diverse parts of the Reserve.
The birding was outstanding, and there are well-trained local birding guides, who have learned enough English to give i.d.s in English and to explain the local flora and fauna pretty well. I was trying to improve my Spanish, especially the birding- and nature-relevant terms, so the guides were very helpful and patient explaining things in Spanish, at my request. There were also hiking and horseback riding guided trips, but there are plenty of good hikes along the farm roads (most of which were not made for vehicular traffic). Expect to pay all of $20/day for birding or other guides. Unfortunately for us birders, the very best birder at the Miraflor is now its director, Chico Muñoz, so he’s got his hands full just running the cooperative. Chico has personally identified more than 250 species in the Reserve, and he has visited several other communities in the northern mountains to encourage them about conservation and birding. So far, Chico hasn’t put his Bird list on their website, but I’m sending him a copy of this Forum response with hopes that he can put it up soon.
Finca Esperanza Verde: It is not at all touristic, either in the facilities or in the relationship to the local community. The North Carolina support group (that helped arrange the building of the lovely facilities) encourages small North American tour groups, because the place is very difficult to reach by public transport and because a lot of people lack the confidence in their Spanish-speaking to go far off the “beaten track” on their own. In order to make sure there's enough business for the community project, the support group tries to bring in a vanload of people 5 or 6 times a year. That's why you should try to book in advance, but don't be put off by the possibility of being there at the same time, because there may be opportunities for you to join in some of the extra activities these groups organize. In fact, check the website of the Finca, because I’m pretty sure that there’s at least one group that will be doing mist-netting and documenting new species for the area. That trip will be led by two professionals who have birded (and set up mist-nets) at the Finca many times before. For that reason, the bird list on the website of the Finca Esperanza Verde is very accurate and reasonably up-to-date.
El Jaguar: I would love to hear from someone who's been there, because I'd like to support this kind of private eco-tourism project. Because it's a family operation, you'll probably get lots of personal attention. There are likely to be comparable numbers and types of birds, orchids, etc., in Jinotega state as in Estelí and Matagalpa. Do note on their (good) maps: (a) the Reserve is a relatively small forest parcel, surrounded by a lot of cleared farmlands, and (b) it is comparatively remote. I haven't been to Jinotega, but I heard that the road was in terrible condition (as well as winding and mountainous). If you go, please post some information on El Jaguar.
Selva Negra: We stayed there for two days and hiked many of the trails. The forest is beautiful and the trails well-marked (although one was very muddy, steep and slippery, so in rainy season it might not be passable. We saw far fewer birds and other animals than at the Miraflor, except for howler monkeys which were abundant at Selva Negra. But that may be due, not only to the darkness of the lower parts of the forest, but also to the fact that we didn't have a birding guide. Selva Negra is pretty, but far more touristy than the other 3 you are considering. I doubt that tour busses could make it up the road from Matagalpa, but they were preparing a huge banquet hall for a wedding, with seating for well over 100. We stayed in a motel unit, because the cottages were all booked, and we would not recommend it -- terrible bed and the roof leaked. [on the other hand, the hot water was nice]. The food was decent, but not exceptional, and it seemed overpriced compared to what we paid at hotels in Estelí and Managua. To be fair, though, I realize that they have to provide a lot of utilities for themselves and the cost of transport must be a further disadvantage, so all that adds to the cost. The owners have done a nice job with the grounds and greenhouses, too. The bird-list on their website is clearly just a compendium of whatever visitors wrote in a book at the desk; since many common birds are repeated often, and since we don’t know how accurate the i.d.s are, it’s good to take the list as suggestive.
