My primary goal for the first morning in Merida was the “dawn chorus”—the term for the morning bird songs and calls, a time when it seems every bird wants to have its say. Sunrise in Nicaragua is 5:30 at this time of year; sunset is about the same. There is very little seasonal variation in the rise/set times for the sun. As far as seasons are concerned, Summer, Spring, etc. have no real meaning. There is the wet season and the dry season. But I digress.

Footpath leading from the house into town.

Birds start making sounds by around 4:45 AM (sunrise is about 5:30), so that is when I got up, grabbed my gear and headed outside.

For recording, I have two mics and two recorders with me, one stereo mic and one short shotgun. I mounted the stereo mic on a camera tripod with the plan that I would set it recording and walk away for a while. With the shotgun, I would wander, pausing to record what seemed interesting. I spent about 90 minutes recording, by which time the enthusiastic singing diminished.

Myriad tropical birds, a rooster, cicadas. The low growly barking is by howler monkeys, not dogs.

One person can either record audio or take pictures; there are not enough hands to do both. This morning was all about audio, the amazing sounds of animals around Merida waking up and starting their day. In the clips, one can hear roosters, which are sort of “free range,” dogs, and a carnival of birds.

“Main Street” Merida.

I have no idea what birds made most of these sounds. With the stereo mic on the tripod, one doesn’t know what one recorded until the files are loaded onto the MacBookAir and played.

One common bird is called a White-Breasted Magpie-Jay, or hurraca by the locals (the “H” has a very soft sound in Spanish). It has a Stellar Jay-like raucous call but also a more varied repertoire of songs and calls.

Another bird with an interesting call is the Great-Tailed Grackle.

The house is owned by a woman from the USA. Before my daughter and her spouse moved in they had the owner (who was remodeling it) add screening on all the openings. Insects still find their way in, and there is a gecko that wanders around the rafters and chirps.

The rest of the day was spend trying to stay cool (it got up to 90°F, again) and drinking plenty of water. The lake is always there to help cool off. We took a sunset dip to get ready for dinner.

View back to the house, from in the lake.