Nicaragua - Aves 1

We spent 4 nights at Los Guatuzos Wildlife Refuge (Spanish: Refugio de Vida Silvestre Los Guatuzos) has an area of 437.5 km2 (168.9 sq mi) and is located south of Lake Nicaragua and west of the San Juan River in Nicaragua. It borders Northern Costa Rica. Map http://www.xn--cabaascaimanlosguatuzos-vhc.com/paginas/ubicacion.html. Los Guatuzos is a protected area consisting of tropical wetlands, rainforest, and wildlife refuge, it is the only internationally registered tropical wetland area in Nicaragua. Los Guatuzos is rich in flora and fauna. The number of recorded species of birds living in the wildlife refuge is recorded at over 389, which doesn't include the thousands of migratory birds that frequently visit the refuge. With regards to other fauna, 81 species of Amphibians, 136 species of reptile and 42 species of mammals are found in the park. Of course there are also numerous species of plants. Los Guatuzos Wildlife Reserve receives only about 1000 day trippers per year and only about 100 overnight visitors. There are only 2 lodging options, Cabanas Caiman and Centro Ecológico Los Guatuzos. We chose to stay at Cabanas Caiman, the accommodation is rustic but functional and the owners Aillen and Armando are wonderful. Armando has lived in Los Guatuzos all his life and is an extraordinary wildlife guide. The couple also have an onsite restaurant which serves simple but tasting local fare. Los Guatuzos is the most bird intense area I have traveled to. We stayed for 4 nights and would recommend this a a minimum, however even a couple of nights will still yield many excellent photo opportunities. We also spent time in Granada and took some of the photo's at Las Isleta's which are a group of 300+ small islets near the Granada waterfront. Also a morning at Laguna De Apoya which is about 30 minutes from downtown Granada.