El Salvador Birding Trip Report
May 16 – May 23, 2005

Trip Report By:

Jesse F. Fagan
1561 Ocean Neighbors Blvd.
Charleston, SC
(843) 406-0229, FaganCj@aol.com

Daily Summary:

Day 1, Monday 5/16/2005: I had a 9:30 AM flight with Continental from Houston Bush Intercontinental airport to San Salvador. We landed in San Salvador under humid, partly cloudy weather. Much of the countryside was green; a nice experience as many of my trips have been during the dry season. A common tree “flor de fuego” was in full bloom. This gave the only color to the otherwise green landscape. Due to car trouble, Carlos was about 1.5 hours late in picking me up from the airport. We made it back to the SalvaNATURA offices in San Salvador where I met Carmen and Ian (?) and had quick lunch. Enrique, park manager at El Imposible, drove me to the park around 2:30 PM. We arrived under heavy clouds and thickening fog. The fog settled in for the night.

That afternoon I walked one of the mirador trails. There were a number of birds singing late in the afternoon. Later, I met Paco, one of the park guards staying with me that evening. Darkness came early.

Day 2: It rained all night. It was fairly intense at times. I awoke around 5:15 AM and ate a quick bowl of cereal. I had packed my bag the night before so I only needed to grab a few things and head out the door. Beto was right on time. Beto was my guide for several days during my visit. He is a very kind man (always smiling) and knows many of the common vocalizations in the forest. The dawn chorus was impressive. With Beto’s help and a little time I came to quickly recognize most of the song in the forest. We birded this morning on the eastern side of the park walking to the Mirador Madre Cacao and down to the petroglyphs along the river, Piedra Sellada. As you descend from the mirador down a steep slope with many switchbacks, the habitat becomes more stunted and mesic. Along some of the slopes was a tall species of cacti. The rugged terrain in the park means that many slopes experience different levels of moisture, sun, and wind. I encountered Lesser Ground-Cuckoo and Barred Antshrike at this location. Once at the bottom the habitat is much wetter with tall deciduous trees many with large buttresses. The river is the Rio Guayapa. After Piedra Sellada, we walked to Los Enganches where another river, the Venado, comes in to join the Guayapa.

The hike back up to the mirador is torture. I had to make several stops as we ascended. The most easily detected bird in the park was the Yellow-green Vireo. I began to think that their abundance rivaled Red-eyed Vireo in the bottomland forests of East Texas. Wrens were also conspicuous in the forest. Probably the most vocal was the Rufous-and-white Wren. Beto and I returned to the visitor’s center around 12:30 PM. This just before a large rainshower dumped hard rain for several hours. It really cooled things off, however.

Day 3: Beto met me again at 5:45 AM. This morning we were walking up to Cerro Leon.
Another active morning with lots of song. Weather was very cloudy with fog sitting in the lower areas. To get to Cerro Leon you have to climb a long ridge with two large backs. About 1 KM from the top we encountered an area of heavy seeding bamboo (there appeared to be several species in the forest). Here we found a pair of Blue Seedeaters and a White-eared Ground-Sparrow. In a moist canyon near the top, we found a pair of juvenile Mottled Owls. I made a quick sketch of one of the young birds. At Cerro Leon, we had several medium-sized dark swifts. From their electric-like chatter I determined they must be Chestnut-collared Swifts. We spent about 6 hours on the trail and returned around noon just as a soft rainshower moved into the area.

Day 4: Hurricane Adrian! The night before we had heard reports that schools and government jobs were being let out on Thursday and Friday. The reason according to Casa de Hilda was “rain days.” A rain day in the rainy season?! Must be a lot of rain. When I came back to the visitor’s center that evening and as I began to lay down for bed, I could hear the television in the other room where the guard was staying the night. I could understand enough to know that the president of El Salvador was talking about a national emergency. I quickly joined the guard at the television. Come to find out, this rain delay was actually a Category I Hurricane. Hurricanes are rare in this part of the Pacific. I quickly ran down to Casa de Hilda to tell my gringo friends (Aisha from Michigan and Jason from California) about the storm. I made a few phone calls via cellular phone to Claudia in Texas. She didn’t know any more about the storm than we did. It was a long night thinking about what the next day would bring.

Aisha and Jason met me at the visitor’s center around 6 AM. We watched a little more solar-powered television and determined that the hurricane was scheduled to make landfall between 2 and 4 PM. We decided the safest place to be was in the visitor’s center, which is made of strong, heavy wood with a cement foundation. The tin roof made me a little nervous. Aisha, a peace and conflict major, was very concerned for the town and quickly went into action. She tried to convince Hilda and her family, as well as anyone else that would listen, to come to the visitor’s center. She wasn’t very successful and all of them would have been totally unprepared for a stronger hurricane. They really knew nothing of the situation and put their fate in god, “Dios Mios.” The wind and rain began to pick up around 2 PM. At this time, the hurricane had stalled offshore. We hoped that it was not gaining strength. The eye-wall had sustained winds of 140 km/h or 85 mph. I might add that El Imposible is only 16 miles from the coast and we had a clear view of it from the visitor’s center tower. Aisha and I hung out most of the afternoon at the visitor’s center watching the weather deteriorate. Jason decided to stay back at Casa de Hilda. Luckily, we had solar power at the center so we got almost hourly updates from the news broadcast. The rest of the town was without power. As it got dark, the rain intensified and the winds picked up. We could hear a portion of the roof lift and collapse with each gust of wind. All through the night we waited for the big surge of viento. It arrived around midnight with eerily no rain, but constant wind for about 30 minutes. It all died down by 1 AM. We slept little that night.

Day 5: Awoke around 5:15 AM to a Spectacled Owl calling from outside my room. The dawn chorus was again very good. There was little obvious damage from the hurricane. I hung around the visitor’s center for a few hours because the winds were still up and I was not able to record. I went down to Casa de Hilda’s to have lunch around 11:30 AM. I talked a little with Jason and Aisha, saying good-bye to Aisha who was leaving that afternoon. I also got in touch with Claudia (the phone lines were back up). I had arranged to meet Beto around 12:30 PM. We went on a walk to campground #3 and Mirador Madre Cacao for about 2 hours. We had a nice soaring Black Hawk-Eagle above the mirador.

I met Tom Jenner this afternoon. I met him out on the road at Casa de Hilda about 5:30 PM. We enjoyed a few beers and dinner at the hostal before heading to bed.

Day 6: Tom and I awoke at 5:15 AM, grabbed a quick breakfast, and headed up to the visitor’s center where we met our guide. Tom, the guide, and I walked the loop from the visitor’s center to Cerro Leon and back down via the west side, crossing the Rio Izcanal, and up to the park entrance. The last 1 KM was very strenuous. We found a few birds that I had not yet seen in the park this trip: Crested Guan, Bronzed Cowbird, Black-headed Trogon (heard), Pale-billed Woodpecker (a single double-rap), Paltry Tyrannulet (a pair nest building), Bright-rumped Attila (heard), and Stripe-headed Sparrow. We looked hard for the Blue Seedeaters in the bamboo. This is a species that Tom has not seen in the park yet.

That afternoon I helped show Tom how to record birds with my loaner recorder for his trip to Moskitia in July. Jason also stayed with us that evening at the hostal.

Day 7: Jason, Tom, and I left early for San Salvador. We arrived at Tom’s place around 11 AM. That evening we had dinner at Pizza Hut with Oliver, Lorena, and Yvonne Komar, Carmen, Maite and David De La Cruz, Tom and Veronica Jenner, Jason, and myself. We had a wonderful time.

Day 8: Oliver picked me up this morning around 7 AM. My flight was not until noon so we headed to the mouth of Rio Jiboa for a few hours of shorebirding. There were lots of fisherman working the shallow pools for fish and crabs. There were also a good number of birds around. They seemed to move around a lot. We birded here for about 1.5 hours before Oliver took me to the airport.

Trip Key:

EI = El Imposible Parque Nacional
RJ = Rio Jiboa

h = heard only
* = breeding detected e.g. nest building or young present

Species List: The nomenclature and taxonomic order follows the A.O.U. Check-list of North American Birds (January 1, 2005). The species common and scientific names are given followed by location, # seen, and possibly a brief note. If the species was seen in El Imposible, then I also include the number of days detected out of 5 total days of birding (minus the day lost to the hurricane). Species in bold are trip highlights and/or uncommon for the park.

1) Thicket Tinamou Crypturellus cinnamomeus (EI, 15+, 5 / 5, heard often and seen only once)
2) White-bellied Chachalaca Ortalis leucogastra (EI, several heard down below Mirador Madre Cacao, 1 / 5)
3) Crested Guan Penelope purpurascens (EI, 3+, 2 / 5)
4) Singing Quail Dactylortyx thoracicus (EI, 2 [m,f], 1 / 5)
5) Brown Pelican Pelecanus occidentalis (RJ, 4)
6) Snowy Egret Egretta thula (RJ, 25)
7) Little Blue Heron Egretta caerulea (RJ, 1 second-year calico individual)
8) Tricolored Heron Egretta tricolor (RJ, 2 including one immature)
9) Cattle Egret Bubulcus ibis (20 along roadside west of San Salvador on 5/16)
10) Yellow-crowned Night-Heron Nyctanassa violacea (1, RJ)
11) Black Vulture Coragyps atratus (21)
12) King Vulture Sarcoramphus papa (EI, 4* [2a,2i], 1 / 5)
13) Gray Hawk Asturina nitida (EI, 2*, 2 / 5)
14) Black Hawk-Eagle Spizaetus tyrannus (EI, 2, 2 / 5)
15) Laughing Falcon Herpetotheres cachinnans (EI, 3h, 3 / 5)
16) Collared Plover Charadrius collaris (RJ, 1)
17) Semipalmated Plover Charadrius semipalmatus (RJ, 1)
18) Willet Catoptrophorus semipalmatus (RJ, 1)
19) Whimbrel Numenius phaeopus (RJ, 1)
20) Sanderling Calidris alba (RJ, 2)
21) Laughing Gull Larus atricilla (RJ, 25 and most appeared to be immatures)
22) Franklin’s Gull Larus pipixcan (RJ, 29 mostly adults in breeding plumage with several showing pink underparts.)
23) Gull-billed Tern Sterna nilotica (RJ, 1)
24) Caspian Tern Sterna caspia (RJ, 1)
25) Royal Tern Sterna maxima (RJ, 15)
26) Elegant Tern Sterna elegans (RJ, 3 including one adult in breeding plumage)
27) Sandwich Tern Sterna sandvicensis (RJ, 1)
28) Common Tern Sterna hirundo (RJ, 10 all in immature/basic plumage)
29) Least Tern Sterna antillarum (RJ, 4 all appeared to be immatures)
30) Black Skimmer Rynchops niger (RJ, 5)
31) Red-billed Pigeon Patagioenas flavirostris (EI, 3, 2 / 5)
32) White-winged Dove Zenaida asiatica (EI, 5, 4 / 5)
33) Inca Dove Columbina inca (EI, 2, 1 / 5)
34) White-tipped Dove Leptotila verreauxi (EI, 23+, 4 / 5)
35) Orange-fronted Parakeet Aratinga canicularis (EI, 2, 1 / 5)
36) Lesser Ground-Cuckoo Morococcyx erythropygus (EI, 1, 1 / 5)
37) Groove-billed Ani Crotophaga sulcirostris (RJ, several in mangroves around mouth of river)
38) Spectacled Owl Pulsatrix perspicillata (EI, 1h, 1 / 5)
39) Mottled Owl Ciccaba virgata (EI, 3*, 3 / 5, including two juveniles seen in moist canyon about 1 KM below Cerro Leon on 5/18 at about 8:45 AM. I drew a sketch of one of the young birds. They sat very still the entire time Beto and I observed them. From my sketch: underparts buff or tawny unicolor w/ no bars or streaks, face whitish/gray, bill gray w/ a little yellow, height 12 – 18 inches. This description seems to fit very well with Howell and Webb (1995) and picture on pg. 356.)
40) Chestnut-collared Swift Streptoprocne rutila (EI, 5, 1 / 5, several medium-sized swifts observed in cloudy skies at Cerro Leon on 5/18. I could make out little detail; I was never able to make out the chestnut-collar. However, the birds called occasionally and I was able to make a few poor recordings and notes. I would describe the call as short and rapid with an electric quality. These calls seem distinct for this species and rule out other possibilities.)
41) Vaux’s Swift Chaetura vauxi (EI, 10, 3 / 5)
42) Violet Sabrewing Campylopterus hemileucurus (EI, 1, 1 / 5)
43) Canivet’s Emerald Chlorostilbon canivetii (EI, 2, 2 / 5)
44) Berylline Hummingbird Amazilia beryllina (EI, 3, 3 / 5, these being A. b. devillei )
45) Cinnamon Hummingbird Amazilia rutila (EI, 2, 2 / 5)
46) Black-headed Trogon Trogon melanocephalus (EI, 1h, 1 / 5)
47) Violaceous Trogan Trogon violaceus (EI, 1+h, 1 / 5)
48) Elegant Trogon Trogon elegans (EI, 30+, 5 / 5)
49) Blue-crowned Motmot Momotus momota (EI, 20+, 5 / 5)
50) Turquoise-browed Motmot Eumomota superciliosa (EI, 5+, 3 / 5)
51) Green Kingfisher Chloroceryle americana (EI, 1, 1 / 5)
52) Emerald Toucanet Aulacorhynchus prasinus (EI, 2h, 2 / 5)
53) Collared Aracari Pteroglossus torquatus (EI, 1, 1 / 5)
54) Golden-fronted Woodpecker Melanerpes aurifrons (EI, 5, 5 / 5)
55) Pale-billed Woodpecker Campephilus guatemalensis (EI, 1h, 1 / 5)
56) Ivory-billed Woodcreeper Xiphorhynchus flavigaster (EI, 5+, 4 / 5)
57) Streak-headed Woodcreeper Lepidocolaptes souleyetii (EI, 3+ h, 2 / 5)
58) Barred Antshrike Thamnophilus doliatus (EI, 3, 2 / 5)
59) Northern Beardless-Tyrannulet Camptostoma imberbe (EI, 2h, 2 / 5)
60) Paltry Tyrannulet Zimmerius vilissimus (EI, 2*, 1 / 5, Tom and I watched a pair nest building well above the Rio Ixcanal on 5/21. The female(?) would bring smaller bits of moss/lichen to a dead Cecropia leaf that was hanging from a tree-fern. The Cecropia leaf had withered into a spherical shape and the tyrannulet was building the nest within the shelter of the larger leaf. The male(?) would stay nearby as if standing guard. The male would only occasionally call, a higher-pitched disyllabic “doo-weeet.” Infrequently, it also gave a single note of similar quality.)
61) Northern Bentbill Oncostoma cinereigulare (EI, 7, 3 / 5)
62) Tropical Pewee Contopus cinereus (EI, 3, 2 / 5, including one at the visitor’s center that I studied very well from the tower. I recall noting that this was not an Empidonax flycatcher as the bird was grayish overall, wings did not contrast with upperparts, no eye-ring present on grayish face, bird had a typical pewee crest, and bill was wide-based with an orange lower mandible. However, I could clearly make out the short primary projections, which is not a characteristic of Western or Eastern Wood-Pewees. The bird did not vocalize.)
63) Empidonax sp. (EI, 2, 1 / 5, two empids, one of which I studied well. Both were seen in the same general area in scrubby growth below visitor’s center tower on 5/17. From my notes taken that evening: gray-olive upperparts, dark [black] wings contrasted heavily with upperparts, buffy wing-bars, whitish throat, and white eye-ring (complete with slight tear dropping). Unfortunately, from my angle I could not make out the primary projections nor was I able to clearly see the complete size of the bill and the lower mandible. Neither bird vocalized. The other bird appeared similar to the bird described in my notes. I feel strongly that the bird I observed (and the notes taken on) was a Hammond’s Flycatcher Empidonax hammondii. Empids listed for the park include Yellow-bellied, Willow, White-throated, Least, Hammond’s, and Yellowish. I feel I can rule out Yellow-bellied, Willow, and Yellowish based on my description. I did not observe ochre flanks and the presence of a distinct eye-ring seems to eliminate White-throated. I have lots of experience with Least Flycatcher and I never felt this to be a Least. The color of the upperparts was not right and the eyering did not fit Least.)
64) Bright-rumped Attila Attila spadiceus (EI, 1h, 1 / 5)
65) Dusky-capped Flycatcher Myiarchus tuberculifer (EI, 5+, 4 / 5)
66) Great Kiskadee Pitangus sulphuratus (RJ, 1)
67) Boat-billed Flycatcher Megarynchus pitangua (EI, 1h, 1 / 5)
68) Social Flycatcher Myiozetetes similes (EI, 2, 3 / 5)
69) Sulphur-bellied Flycatcher Myodynastes luteiventris (EI, 2, 1 / 5)
70) Tropical Kingbird Tyrannus melancholicus (common in open areas, along roads and powerlines)
71) Long-tailed Manakin Chiroxiphia linearis (EI, 40+, 5 / 5)
72) Yellow-green Vireo Vireo flavoviridis (EI, 70+, 4 / 5, it appeared this was the most common passerine in the park)
73) Lesser Greenlet Hylophilus decurtatus (EI, 3, 2 / 5)
74) Green Shrike-Vireo Vireolanius pulchellus (EI, 1h, 1 / 5)
75) White-throated Magpie Jay Calocitta formosa (EI, 2, 1 / 5)
76) Bushy-crested Jay Cyanocorax melanocyaneus (EI, 15, 2 / 5)
77) Gray-breasted Martin Progne chalybea (several around the airport terminal when I arrived)
78) Mangrove Swallow Tachycineta albilinea (RJ, 1)
79) Rufous-naped Wren Campylorhynchus rufinucha (EI, 2*, 5 / 5, a pair had a nest in an avocado tree just outside the visitor’s center. From my notes: This evening around 5:00 PM I observed a pair of Rufous-naped Wrens preening each other. The two birds were likely a pair as they were often seen foraging together closely. Both wrens sat close to each other while preening themselves. They were using the tips of their bills to preen breast and upperpart feathers. At some point, one bird turned its back to the other. The other bird then began to preen on its back. This behavior was then reversed. The whole interaction lasted about 1 minute. A few days later, I observed this behavior once again by the same pair. Tom Jenner also has a Rufous-naped Wren visiting his backyard in San Salvador.)
80) Spot-breasted Wren Thryothorus maculipectus (EI, 10, 5 / 5)
81) Rufous-and-white Wren Thryothorus rufalbus (EI, 25+, 5 / 5)
82) Banded Wren Thryothorus pleurostictus (EI, 4*, 3 / 5, Beto and I found a Banded Wren nest just above the Mirador Madre Cacao. It was a softball size clump of dried grasses about 10 feet off the ground. The nest was hanging on a horizontal limb about 4 feet from the trunk. We watched the bird enter the nest from the bottom.)
83) Plain Wren Thryothrous modestus (EI, 5, 3 / 5)
84) Orange-billed Nightingale-Thrush Catharus aurantilrostris (EI, 6h, 2 / 5)
85) Swainson’s Thrush Catharus ustulatus (EI, 2-3 h, 2 / 5, I was really surprised to hear Catharus thrushes singing at this time of year. Individuals were heard singing in a moist canyon below Cerro Leon on 5/18 and 5/21. This seems really late to me. I am not sure which race winters in ES. It would be interesting to know where these birds are headed and the timing of their movements.)
86) Clay-colored Robin Turdus grayi (EI and San Salvador, 5, 4 / 5)
87) Tropical Mockingbird Mimus gilvus (RJ, 5)
88) Fan-tailed Warbler Euthlypis lachrymosa (EI, 21+, 5 / 5)
89) Rufous-capped Warbler Basileuterus rufifrons (EI, 15+, 4 / 5)
90) Yellow-winged Tanager Thraupis abbas (EI, 1, 1 / 5)
91) Red-legged Honeycreeper Cyanerpes cyaneus (EI, 14*, 3 / 5, Tom and I on 5/21 observed several adults feeding what we presumed to be young birds. The birds were making begging calls with mouths open and lots of wing flapping. They were plumaged similar to an adult female. The adult male on one occasion called to them.)
92) White-collared Seedeater Sporophila torqueola (1 in San Salvador at Tom’s house)
93) Ruddy-breasted Seedeater Sporophila minuta (RJ, 3)
94) Blue Seedeater Amaurospiza concolor (EI, 2 [m,f], 1 / 5, below Cerro Leon in an area of heavy seeding bamboo. Beto and I had nice studies of this rare and local species.)
95) White-eared Ground-Sparrow Melozone leucotis (EI, 1, 1 / 5, seen below Cerro Leon in area of heavy seeding bamboo. Same area where I observed the Blue Seedeaters.)
96) Stripe-headed Sparrow Aimophila ruficauda (EI, 3, 2 / 5)
97) Black-faced Saltator Caryothraustes poliogaster (EI, 2, 1 / 5)
98) Blue Bunting Cyanocompsa parellina (EI, 15, 4 / 5)
99) Blue Grosbeak Passerina caerula (EI, 2 [m,f], 2 / 5)
100) Red-winged Blackbird Agelaius phoeniceus (RJ, 3)
101) Eastern Meadowlark Sturnella magna (several flying across road near Rio Jiboa on 5/23)
102) Great-tailed Grackle Quiscalus mexicanus (common around airport and in San Salvador)
103) Melodious Blackbird Dives dives (EI 3, RJ 6, 2 / 5)
104) Bronzed Cowbird Molothrus aeneus (EI, 1, 1 / 5)
105) Streak-backed Oriole Icterus pustulatus (EI, 3, 2 / 5)
106) Altamira Oriole Icterus gularis (EI, 3, 2 / 5)
107) Scrub Euphonia Euphonia affinis (EI, 5, 4 / 5)
108) Yellow-throated Euphonia Euphonia hirundinacea (EI, 5, 3 / 5)

Mammal List for El Imposible:

1) Variegated Squirrel Sciurus variegatoides
2) Central American Agouti Dasyprocta punctata
3) White-nosed Coati Nasua narica

Reptile and Amphibian List for El Imposible:

1) Yellow Toad Bufo luetkenii
2) Leaf-litter Rain Frog Eleutherodactylus loki
3) Leaf-toed Gecko Phyllodactylus tuberculosus
4) Black Spiny-tailed Iguana Ctenosaura similes
5) Pacific Giant Skink Mesoscincus managuae