[mou] MRVAC meeting this Thursday

[Michael Engh]

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I'd like to add a personal note to the notice Steve sent yesterday about =
the program at the MRVAC meeting on the 28th (tomorrow!). My wife and I =
spent 3 days in the Miraflor in March while traveling in Nicaragua with =
our daughter who is studying in Central America. We spent a day with =
Francisco Mu=F1oz, the Miraflor chief birder and guide, who showed us =
many of the wonderful birds (and orchids) of the area. He is one of the =
speakers at Thursday's MRVAC meeting and will be giving a presentation =
about the birds of the Miraflor.
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There are many species of MN birds that overwinter in or migrate through =
Nicaragua so preservation of areas like the Miraflor is crucial for =
their long term survival.=20
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Here's a website if you want to know more.
http://www.miraflor-uca.com/
click on the British flag for English
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Se=F1or Mu=F1oz is mentioned in fhe following excerpt from the Moon =
Handbook on Nicaragua. =20
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Birding in Miraflor Nature Preserve=20
Excerpted from
Moon Handbooks Nicaragua=20
by Joshua Berman & Randy Wood=20
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It is difficult to find words to describe the experience at Miraflor, =
mostly because there is not much with which to compare it. Perhaps this =
is what Costa Rica's Monteverde was like 40 years ago when residents =
first conceived the idea of inviting visitors to come and experience the =
natural beauty of their home. Miraflor was declared a protected natural =
reserve by the government in 1990 and in 1999 its denizens began =
developing the basic infrastructure to host curious guests. The results, =
while still in progress, are enchanting.=20

Miraflor president and chief birder, Francisco "Chico Per=EDco" Mu=F1oz, =
has identified 236 bird species so far (60 of which are migratory, =
traveling south between October and April), belonging to 46 different =
families. If Chico's data are correct, then 37 percent of the identified =
bird species in all of Nicaragua are observable in the 206 square =
kilometers of Miraflor! This includes four species of the elusive =
quetzal (Pharomachrus mocinno), toucans, the ranchero (Procnias =
tricaruntulata) with its three dangling chins, and the Nicaraguan =
national bird, the guardabarranco.=20

Mike Engh