Notable sightings in San Salvador

Fan-tailed Warbler, January 15, 2011, San Salvador

Roselvy and I went birding this afternoon in the botanical garden La Laguna, in the San Salvador neighborhood of Antiguo Cuscatlán. Easily accessible by bus, we sometimes go there to still get a little birding in when we don't really have time for trips further afield.

We did great! We found a couple of birds normally encountered in more extensive woodland, one bird that winters on the Atlantic Slope and is rare anywhere in El Salvador, and one bird that is normally found at higher elevations.

Fan-tailed Warbler belongs to the first category. A habitat specialist normally found near ravines, where it hops around on the ground looking for ants, its principal food source.

Orange-billed Nightingale-Thrush January 15, 2011, San Salvador

Orange-billed Nightingale-thrush also falls into that first category. We had no idea this bird can be seen in the city of San Salvador.

Hooded Warbler, January 15, 2011, San Salvador

Hooded Warbler is an Atlantic Slope winter visitor to the region that is rare in El Salvador, situated on the Pacific Slope.

Another surprise was Black-throated Green Warbler, a common winter visitor here at higher elevations in pine-oak, but probably irregular in the city.