Random stops along Panama City coast

The modern and busy Panama City offers more than lush and cheap shopping, it offers the chance to watch thousands of waders and other aquatic species without much effort.  Some days ago, I visited several sites along the coast just to see what can I find.  My first stop was at the west bank of the Panama Canal, at Farfan.  This site is opposite to the Amador Causeway, where the Biomuseo is now an iconic symbol (designed by Frank Gehry).

Biomuseo

There is a huge pond just next to the beach, surrounded by a dike with overgrown vegetation.  I was able to walk along this dike for some sections.  There were many shorebirds species, including this Lesser Yellowlegs (that was not shy at all).

Lesser Yellowlegs

I was interested in the ducks, since this site produced in the past some very rare species and this season some rare ones were reported too.  I saw several groups of Blue-winged Teals, which is the commonest wintering duck in Panama.  There were some individuals far away in the other side of the pond that I was unable to ID, but certainly they were teals too.

Blue-winged Teals

Blue-winged Teals

One of these groups of teals included seven Lesser Scaups as well... can you separate them?

Blue-winged Teals and Lesser Scaups

I also saw a weird concentration of Franklin's Gulls resting in this pond.  The Franklin's Gull is a common passage migrant, but quite uncommon as winter resident.  I counted no less than 35 individuals, including this first-winter individual.  Notice the white outer tail feathers, broad eye crescents, white underparts and pale inner primaries.

Franklin's Gull, 1st-winter

Then I moved to Panama Viejo.  The number of Laughing Gulls was impressive... and there were also some Franklin's Gulls with them.  Notice the difference in wing patterns and general shape/size of the two flying adults in basic plumage.

Laughing and Franklin's Gulls in basic plumage 

Franklin's Gull in basic plumage

I also saw a very distant Lesser Black-backed Gull among the Laughings and several terns species... too distant for photos.  But several other species were close enough to appreciate well, like this Wood Stork.  Panama Viejo is a regular spot for them in the city and, as you can see, they can be effective as pest control. What major city in the world has no rat problem?

Wood Stork (having lunch)

Nearby, a flock of elegant Black-necked Stilts was feeding in the exposed mudflats.  They are found year-round in this site and are beautifully patterned in black and white with long, pink legs.  They are even more elegant when flying.

Black-necked Stilt

But nothing compares to the elegance of the American Avocet... and a pair seems to be wintering right there in Panama Viejo!  One individual literally materialized in front of me, close enough for some shots.  It was feeding in the water.  When it flew again, I noticed something rarely seen... its curious pink toes.

American Avocet

Nice collection of birds along our coast!

Bird of the Month: American Avocet

The American Avocet (Recurvirostra americana) is an elegant wading bird beautifully patterned in black and white that breeds in North America and winters principally in western North America, Mexico and the Caribbean.  In Panama, it is considered a vagrant... recorded only in few winters.  It has an unmistakable profile, with its long legs and upturned bill.

American Avocet in almost full alternate plumage

During the breeding season, they get a cinnamon color to the neck and head.  As fas as I know, this plumage has been seen only once in Panama, back in 2012 when a group of these birds stayed long enough to molt into it right here (the photo above was taken in Costa del Este, Panama City in May 2012).  However, the basic plumaged birds are quite attractive too.

American Avocet in basic plumage

The American Avocet belongs to the Recurvirostridae family, which consists of three genera and only seven to nine species depending on how many Stilts do you recognize as full species.  Avocets and stilts share the same elegant profile of slim bodies and long legs and are found often together exploiting the same habitat in spite of the different shape of their beaks.

American Avocet and Black-necked Stilt

This season, a pair of these delicate birds is wintering in Panama Viejo (Panama City), and I invite anyone still needing it for its life or country life list to visit them.  For these, and many other reasons is why we chose the American Avocet as our Bird of the Month!

American Avocet

Literature consulted:

1.  Angehr G, Dean R. The Birds of Panama. A Field Guide. Zona Tropical 2010.

2.  Family Recurvirostridae. In: del Hoyo J, Elliot A, Sargatal J, Christie DA & de Juana E (eds.) (2014). Handbook of the Birds of the World Alive. Lynx Editions, Barcelona (retrieved from http://www.hbw.com/ on 01/12/2014. 

Twitching Avocets!

Just a quick note.  I don't know how, but I roamed furiously through Panama City's traffic jam in peak hour, reaching Panama Viejo around 4:30 pm, just with enough sunlight to capture some images.  My intention: to see the vagrant American Avocet, re-located in this site two days ago (again, notified by my friend José Tejada).  I say re-located because another friend of mine, Carlos Bethancourt, told me about this species in early October.  This time, two birds were seen... and some astonishing photographs were posted in the social networks.  As soon as I got there, I saw my friend Alexis Guevara searching the mudflats with his lovely family.  They just saw the avocet, and his little daughter, Querula, described the elegant bird in detail... a lifer for her.  Soon, he showed me the bird... a single American Avocet was feeding actively in the surf... pretty far away.  I manage some -VERY- distant shots.

American Avocet and Black-necked Stilts

American Avocet and Brown Pelicans

In spite of the distance, this bird is unmistakable!  The bird flew close to a flock of Black-necked Stilts and then started to walk towards us... still quite distant, but we got some terrific scoped views anyway.  I tried to digiscope it with my phone camera; however, my digiscoping skills are close to zero, so I will not hurt your eyesight showing those pictures here... instead, more cropped (and highly edited) pictures.

American Avocet

American Avocet

There are only a handful of records for American Avocets in Panama, including a group that spend some months in nearby Costa del Este (less than 1 mile away) back in 2012 (my own experience here) and a single individual in Juan Díaz (also nearby), back in september 2010 (report here).  If you still need this beautiful vagrant for your Panama List (or Life List), go to Panama Viejo's Visitor Center, walk across the parking lot towards the sea and then check the little creek to the right... don't miss this opportunity! 

Now they're everywhere?

I have said before that the main reason for my many visits to the Aguadulce Salinas (Coclé province in central Panamá) was to find a vagrant American Avocet.  It seemed to be logical... it was the site with more reports until a group of avocets was found in Costa del Este (Panama City) last march.  I was fortunate enough to watch this group (here, with my daughter Gabrielle) more than 20 days after they were first reported and then I found a lonely individual in full breeding plumage in the same site (you can read more about it here... the next photo is of that day).

So yesterday was the first time that I was going to the saltponds NOT thinking on finding an avocet.  I left Penonome with Gloriela and Gabrielle and 30 minutes later we were at a restaurant having breakfast by the main plaza.  I took my time to cross the town in order to reach the saltponds... it was sunny and hot, and, since Gabrielle is only 8 months-old, I decided to drive with the air conditioner on, stopping the car and watching from my window if any interesting stuff was appearing.  That's how I got these (and many other) photos of a nice Pearl Kite preening on a telephone cable by the access road.

We found more raptors, including a vibrant Aplomado Falcon perched nicely on a telephone cable too, and a Common (Mangrove) Black-Hawk, which I think is probably the same bird that I photograph each time I visit the saltponds (it seems to like exactly the same telephone pole).

Eventually, we started to see scattered flocks of shorebirds and waders along both side of the road crossing the ponds.  The highlight was a pair of Wilson's Phalaropes swimming in a pool very close to the road.  A huge flock of more than 30 Least Terns was also noteworthy; however, they were too far away for photos.

While checking one of these flocks, I noticed a bird standing alone in the background.  I quickly recognized its white-and-black pattern and even the upturned bill characteristic of a non-breeding American Avocet!!!  The bird flew a few meters, just to land farther away of us.  Once my nemesis bird; now, it is the third time I found this species this year (and curiously, all those times I was with my family... lucky amulets?).

Great way to confirm that the Aguadulce Saltponds are still a vagrant magnet!

An elegant bird

I spend this afternoon with my family in Costa del Este, Panama City.  Of course I was looking for the American Avocets that have been wandering around and that I saw some days after my arrival from my trip to northern South America in march (also with my family).  Even from the highway connecting directly Panama City with Costa del Este (the South Corridor), it was evident that the tide was perfect, with waters rich in nutrients, considering the hundreds of gulls, pelicans, frigatebirds and cormorants that were feeding (those ships are waiting to enter the Panama Canal).

I knew in advance (thanks to Osvaldo, Rafael and Itzel) that the Avocets have been seen recently in the opposite side of the river that we usually bird, close to the mangroves, so I inspected the site with my binoculars... the place was full of shorebirds and gulls!

The most common shorebird was the Willet, followed by the Whimbrel.  Others shorebirds present in good numbers were Short-billed Dowitcher, several unidentified peeps (surely more than one species), Black-bellied Plovers and Spotted Sandpipers (actually wearing spots!).  The only gull was the Laughing Gull (as expected).

There was also a nice flock of beautiful Marbled Godwits... but they were shy and flew as soon as I tried to approach them (can you identify the others shorebirds flying with them?).

I did found an avocet.  A lonely adult was standing in the surf, away of the others shorebirds.  Despite my search, I was unable to find the others avocets (usually six or seven are seen).  I have to admit that this is a serious gorgeous bird... so elegant... and a MEGA rarity in Panama.

This excursion represent the highest number of avocets seen at the same time in Panama, and by far, the birds that have stayed the longest... even exhibiting their breeding plumages here in the tropics (for the first time in Panama).  One wonders if they will stay all the summer?

A bonus life bird!!!

The very same day that I left Panama in order to begin my birding trip to northern South America, I received a phone call from my friend Osvaldo Quintero (I was already in Colombia).  During a routine visit to Costa del Este (Panama City), he watched at least four American Avocets at the mouth of the Matías Hernández river.  Can you imagine?  The target bird of ALL those field trips to the Aguadulce saltponds (Cocle province) and now it was merely 10 minutes from my apartment in Panama... but I was in Colombia!!  OK, after my arrival to Panama (18 days later), I took a day to catch up with Gloriela and my daughter Gabrielle... but the next day I took all my family to a quick visit to Costa del Este.  I tried first the river itself, watching a big flock of Black-necked Stilts, but alas, no avocets (bonus Lesser Yellowlegs in the photo).

Most of the previous records for Panama describe one bird accompanying a flock of stilts... but it seems that this was not the case in Costa del Este (more than one bird and definitively NOT with the stilts).  I moved to the mouth of the river... watching first a group of Southern Lapwings yelling at me.

By the bridge, I saw two foreign birders inspecting the beach.  I introduced myself and started the search of the avocets with my binoculars.  With surprise, I found a group of seven American Avocets resting quite far away... so I called Gloriela (with Gabrielle) to see the birds as well.  Steve and Jackson (the foreign birders) already saw the avocets... but they were more interested in the Southern Lapwings (they don't have these plovers in New Jersey), completely unaware of the genuine rarity of this bird in Panama.

They kindly left Gloriela and me to use their scope... the views were excellent and the excitement very hard to describe.  Well, after a mega trip with so many lifers, an extra lifer at your front yard is more than welcomed!

Daddy, I want to see too!