Scenery Shots from Juan Venado Refuge

The Island of Venado is a strip of land running close to the mainland near Leon.
Much of the island and the channel of water between it and mainland is
Mangrove Forests which is good for birds, other nature, crabs, fishing, etc.
We got our boat in this little bay.

When you pay for a private float trip you get to sit in the front of the boat!
🙂   Here near end of trip we approach the rookery or nursery in earlier post.

Even when working, young people have fun on the water!

This is one of the government nature reserves.
I think there may be more private reserves than public right now.

It is currently legal for locals to collect firewood in the reserve as long as
it is already dead wood. In Nicaragua most people still cook on wood fires.

Non-commercial Fishing is allowed in the reserve.

and “Nature Tourism” is growing here!

My guide Freddy had new hiking shoes he did not
want to get wet, so boatman carries him across stream.
I got my old shoes wet – no big deal anymore!  🙂
And why didn’t he take them off and go barefoot?
Good question! The boatman is barefoot!

Where we got our boat was a little “Comedor” which is the same as a
“Soda” in Costa Rica, a small Mom & Pop restaurant for cheap local food.
We did not eat here but got sandwiches at a little local bakery.  

And don’t miss my Nicaragua Birds photo gallery for 98 different species!

And remember that both my trips to Nicaragua were provided by Tours Nicaragua!  Check out what they offer! I’m happy with them!


Other Animals on this Nicaragua Trip

Raccoon
Juan Venado Wildlife Refuge, Nicaragua

Mexican Porcupine
Juan Venado Wildlife Refuge, Nicaragua

Green Iguana
Juan Venado Wildlife Refuge, Nicaragua

Golden Orb Spider
Juan Venado Wildlife Refuge, Nicaragua

Paper Wasp Nest
Juan Venado Wildlife Refuge, Nicaragua
Monarch Butterfly
Lost Canyon Nature Preserve, Nicaragua

Gray Cracker Butterfly
Lost Canyon Nature Preserve, Nicaragua

Adelpha Iphiclus Butterfly
Lost Canyon Nature Preserve, Nicaragua

Well, I’m not posting as often and haven’t even finished telling about my second trip to Nicaragua! Just been too busy and too tired late at night. I’ve also spent a lot of time trying to all my paperwork correct, in Spanish, for the Caja application interview tomorrow. Actually, I’m on standby for a no-show or vacant time slot tomorrow with my firm appointment the following Friday, the 15th. Be glad to get that behind me. And to be insured again!

And don’t miss my Nicaragua Birds photo gallery for 98 different species!

And remember that both my trips to Nicaragua were provided by Tours Nicaragua!  Check out what they offer! I’m happy with them!

More Birds from Juan Venado Wildlife Refuge

Beyond the nursery birds shown yesterday I photographed 17 other species at Juan Venado!

Black-headed Trogon
Juan Venado Wildlife Refuge, Nicaragua
Black Vulture
Juan Venado Wildlife Refuge, Nicaragua

Great Egret
Juan Venado Wildlife Refuge, Nicaragua
(See yesterday’s post for egrets in the nursery)
Great-tailed Grackle
Juan Venado Wildlife Refuge, Nicaragua

Green Heron
Juan Venado Wildlife Refuge, Nicaragua

Groove-billed Ani
Juan Venado Wildlife Refuge, Nicaragua
Hoffman’s Woodpecker
Juan Venado Wildlife Refuge, Nicaragua

Little Blue Heron
Juan Venado Wildlife Refuge, Nicaragua
Magnificent Frigate Bird Juvenile
Juan Venado Wildlife Refuge, Nicaragua

Mangrove Swallow
Juan Venado Wildlife Refuge, Nicaragua

Nicaraguan Grackle
Juan Venado Wildlife Refuge, Nicaragua
Oriole Nest
Juan Venado Wildlife Refuge, Nicaragua

Osprey
Juan Venado Wildlife Refuge, Nicaragua
Whimbrel
Juan Venado Wildlife Refuge, Nicaragua
White Ibis
Juan Venado Wildlife Refuge, Nicaragua

Wilson’s Plover male
Juan Venado Wildlife Refuge, Nicaragua
Yellow Warbler, Resident Male
Juan Venado Wildlife Refuge, Nicaragua
(The brown hood makes him a resident. Migrants are all yellow.)


And don’t miss my Nicaragua Birds photo gallery for 98 different species!

And remember that both my trips to Nicaragua were provided by Tours Nicaragua!  Check out what they offer! I’m very happy with them!

Visiting a BIRD NURSERY

Now I truly begin my report on the two day visit to Nicaragua in two nature reserves.  In Juan Venado Refuge my boat tip included visiting what we called a “Rookery” in South Florida, a collection of tree islands where hundreds if not thousands of birds build nests, lay eggs, and raise their young until they can fly. Ohhhhhhhhhhhhh! He looks just like daddy!   🙂

Little Blue Heron chick
Juan Venado Wildlife Refuge, Leon, Nicaragua

Little Blue Heron Momma near the above nest
Juan Venado Wildlife Refuge, Leon, Nicaragua
Great Egret Nests on one of the mangrove islands
Juan Venado Wildlife Refuge, Leon, Nicaragua
The majority of the nests were Great Egrets, but other birds mixed with them.

Great Egret Nests are very close together! 
Juan Venado Wildlife Refuge, Leon, Nicaragua

Great Egret mother and chicks
Juan Venado Wildlife Refuge, Leon, Nicaragua

Great Egret Chicks (the closeup you wanted to see)
Juan Venado Wildlife Refuge, Leon, Nicaragua
Boat-billed Heron & Chick
Juan Venado Wildlife Refuge, Leon, Nicaragua

Boat-billed Heron Juvenile Learning to Fly
Juan Venado Wildlife Refuge, Leon, Nicaragua

Tiger Heron Chick
Juan Venado Wildlife Refuge, Leon, Nicaragua

Anhinga Chick  (we saw Momma nearby, the only Anhingas seen)
Juan Venado Wildlife Refuge, Leon, Nicaragua

Wow! I’m having fun! There are so many neat places like this for short and brief trips and this is just the beginning of bird photos from these two days. There will be many more the next few days and some other animals and interesting sights too! So much to see!

Eyes that see do not grow old.
~Nicaraguan Proverb


And don’t miss my Nicaragua Birds photo gallery for 98 different species!

And remember that both my trips to Nicaragua were provided by Tours Nicaragua!  Check out what they offer! I’m happy with them!

Resident Male Yellow Warbler

Resident Male Yellow Warbler
Juan Venado Wildlife Refuge, Nicaragua
The one that migrates north has a yellow head, only the resident has red-brown.

My computer has no more space for me to download more photos from my camera. So I have a problem to solve before I post more. 🙂