All about timing!

At this point, most of you know that I'm doing a Big Year in Panama.  As in any other place, making a big year implies a lot of time and, why not, money (to travel, essentially)!  However, if you have a profound knowledge of your area birds and their natural history (or get advised by the people who has that knowledge), you may save both time and money... specially if you have a regular job that doesn't implies birding or if you are NOT taking a sabbatic year to birdwatch!

My family in front of Eugene Eisenmann's mural in Coronado, Panama (some years ago of course!)

It is all about timing... knowing when some species are most likely to be more conspicuous than usual, when is their peak migration, or when they visit more accesible sites so you don't have to organize a whole expedition to look after them.  A have many examples of how good timing helped me to find rare or unusual species... but I'll write about two recent experiences in this post.  It took me only two days to trackle down two VERY localized species for Panama, both of them represented by endemic forms that, coincidentally, are named eisenmanni, honoring Eugene Eisenmann (1906-1981), a Panamanian ornithologist well-known in the neotropics by his nomenclature arrangements.  The first one was Grassland Yellow-Finch (Sicalis luteola eisenmanni).  As many other grasslands species, this one is declining in our country due to habitat loss.  Even knowing its usual haunts, it is not easy to find this species in Panama... except during its breeding season when adult males are conspicuously singing atop low bushes in the middle of pasture land.

Adult male Grassland Yellow-Finch

Not only that... this species is absent from apparently suitable habitat, even at the SAME location where we use to spot it... El Chirú, Coclé province in central Panama.  These males are not easy to find either.  The very high-pitched song is hard to follow to the source, there are only few territories (and individuals), you need to crawl under barbed wire fences and dodge curious cattle and being expose to ticks and chiggers while trying to approach them (because if you don't lie down they will spot you right away in their preferred open habitat).  All of these is worth the effort... after just 1.5 hours of driving from Panama City to El Chirú, I was able to find this adult male right away.  Try to do the same any other month... you'll spend weeks around without finding even one!

Singing adult male Grassland Yellow-Finch

I enjoyed this male for some minutes until it flew after another adult male.  Then, I left the place and headed southwest, to western Azuero Peninsula in central Panamá. The several stops along the way (to birdwatch, of course) made a 2.5-hours drive from El Chirú to the town of Malena into a 6+ hours trip.  At Malena, I joined my friend Kees and his wife Loes, who run the lovely Heliconia B&B, my home for that night.  During dinner, we planned the next day: an early breakfast before the 1.5-hours drive to the town of Flores, in extreme southern western Azuero peninsula.  Why?  Well, nances and figs.  Yes, fruits!  Our target there inhabits the middle elevations forests of the Cerro Hoya massif,  essentially inaccessible without mounting an expedition or without an strenuous hike (probably more accesible through Río Pavo).

Kees at Río Pavo

However, during the few weeks when the nances and figs are ripe, our target descend from the mountain to feed on them at the border of the forest with cattle pastures.  And we knew a place where that happens regularly: Finca Velásquez.  Since many years now, Juan Velásquez and his lovely family have been watching and reporting the returning of the Azuero Parakeets (Pyrrhura picta eisenmanni) to their property bordering Cerro Hoya National Park.  Over the years, the ripening of the fruit has been more difficult to predict and the flocks that descend are smaller, shyer and stay for shorter time... so the Velásquez family's input is VERY important to travel there and see the parakeets!

Great Green Macaws

Juan waited for us at the entrance of the finca at 7:00 am and guided us through dirt roads to his property. As soon as we got there it was evident that the fruiting trees were attracting birds, including some parakeets and parrots species, but not the Azueros... yet.  Juan invited us to wander around since he usually sees the parakeets around 9:00 to 10:00 am and pointed us the preferred nance trees. Even before we were able to do so, a flock of resident Great Green Macaws revealed its presence with raucous calls while they flew above us to sit on a fig tree by Juan's house.  It is amazing how such huge birds "dissapeared" as soon as they perched on the fig tree!  We then took the trail to Río Pavo, finding nice activity of mixed flocks, including some western Pacific lowlands specialties like Orange-collared Manakin and Black-hooded Antshrike.  The raptors were represented by some nice species, including rare Black-and-White Hawk-Eagles and obliging White Hawk that posed for photos.

White Hawk

At 9:00 am, we were waiting in front of the nance trees pointed before by Juan.  On time, a flock of 12 Azuero Parakeets flew in and perched quietly in one of the trees!  We had excellent views while the birds were eating, but they did not allow photos.  They stayed less than ten minutes and flew away.  One hour later, the same flock arrived again and did the same.  This time I managed to obtain poor photos of an individual feeding on nance.  The Azuero Parakeet is considered part of the Painted Parakeet complex of South America; however, its extraordinaire isolation and differences in plumages respect to other forms merits it specific status according to some authorities, including the Panama Audubon Society.

Poor shot of an Azuero Parakeet feeding on nance

Without the opportune help of the Velásquez family, it would be impossible to see this species and to be back in Panama City by dinner time!  So, there were no need of expeditions nor days off at work (I already runned out of permits for this year)!  There is no doubt that good timing is everything when birding!

Good Friday in Flores

I spend the last Good Friday (april 6th) birding with my buddies Rafael Luck and Venicio "Beny" Wilson in extreme southwestern Azuero Peninsula of central Panamá,  at the slopes of Cerro Hoya near the town of Flores.  This was my second time in Flores, and I already blogged about it, because this spot is certainly the most accessible and easy site for seeing the endemic Azuero Parakeet!

Again, the Velasquez family received us, and Juan guided us through part of his property.  This is not exactly parakeets' season, they spent this part of the year in the higher slopes, coming down by may and june, but we want to have a shot and, who knows, maybe see some others goodies for the area.  The road going down Flores from the town of Mariato is simply spectacular, hilly, with great views of the rushing sea.

It is from close to Flores where you can see the forested slopes of Cerro Hoya... it is like a lost world in the middle of pasture lands... notice the fog and the rain covering the valley.  The humid forest of Cerro Hoya holds some interesting species, some of them only present in this particular mountain range in the world!

Juan took us through a narrow trail that steeply started to raise over the flat terrain surrounding, entering humid forest after crossing a nice creek.  The hike was a little bit exhausting for us, who were carrying photographic equipment.  Eventually we reached a flat spot where Juan had seen before the endemic (for Panama) Brown-backed Dove eating of the fallen fruits of a palm tree... but again, this was not the right time of the year for seeing them.  

However, the place was alive with the sounds of Orange-collared Manakins (only a record shot... shaking hands by the time we saw the manakins), we DID hear a pair of Azuero Parakeets flying-by upslope and heard (and saw) the characteristic double hoop of the local subspecies of Blue-crowned Motmot... which appeared to correspond vocally with lessoni, the Blue-diademed Motmot.

We walked more deeply inside the forest... the feeling of being in the middle of a tall, humid forest in Azuero is simply abstract!  We even saw birds so typical of forest interiors that we barely believed it... as for example, a pair of White-whiskered Puffbirds (photo) and a Royal Flycatcher.

In the way down, we stopped for lunch at the watering place for the cattle, accompanied by a Slaty-tailed Trogon and a young Spectacled Caiman carefully watching at us.  Circling above us were a pair of Short-tailed Hawks and, above them, a Black-and-white Hawk-Eagle that we found later never has been reported for the Azuero Peninsula (I hope Rafael's photos are conclusive).

After the lunch, Juan guided us through the forest border at the lower slope of the hill.  At one stop, we delighted ourselves with a mixed flock including Rufous-browed Peppershrike, two Tropical Gnatcatchers, a Yellow Warbler and a White-winged Becard.  At the same time, a pair of impressive White Hawks were monitoring us, eventually getting tired of us and flying away majestically.

Then, Beny pointed towards some trees, evidently excited: a group of Critically Endangered "Azuero" Spider Monkey was passing by... I don't know how many, probably around 30 individuals, with many young ones, agile and gracefully were moving among the branches, sometimes stopping to have a look at us!  What a great experience... this subspecies of the Central American Spider Monkey complex is severely affected by habitat destruction... and probably only two or three populations persists only in those forests!

In spite of the torrential downpour that struck us ultimately, we spend a VERY good time with Juan... and we hope to return back soon to Flores and Cerro Hoya!

Azuero Parakeets in Flores!

You don't see a panamanian endemic everyday. That is why last sunday was so special. Thanks to an invitation made by Osvaldo Quintero, I went with Gloriela, Rafael Luck and Venicio "Beny" Wilson to the southernmost part of the Veraguas province in the western side of the Azuero Peninsula, to the little town of Flores. Our goal: to relocate the panamanian endemic Azuero Parakeet found for the first time by a birder (that is, not by locals) in that side of the Cerro Hoya mountain range by Beny last april. The only idea of having a chance to watch this bird included mounting an expedition, with lot of hiking and climbing, almost no facilities and really serious logistic headaches (read my journey to Cobachon entry and you'll know what I mean)... until now. We left Panama City during the mid-morning of saturday, june 12th heading west along the Panamerican highway. Osvaldo could not go due to personnal issues, the only negative note about this trip; but under the guiding of Beny we were very confident of our chances (Beny is very modest... he is in fact one of the best guides in Panama). We took the road to Atalaya only a few kilometers before reaching Santiago (Veraguas province's capital city) and then the turn-off to the town of Mariato, which we passed stopping only at the little town of Malena where Beny arranged our rooms and the dinner. Then, we drove to Flores, to the finca of Juan Velásquez, which property includes some forested hills adyacent to the Cerro Hoya National Park. We drove under a heavy rainfall, but somehow we found common species like Great and Cattle Egrets, tons of White Ibises, Red-breasted Blackbirds and Eastern Meadowlarks. A dark bird spotted by Beny turned to be an adult Bare-throated Tiger-Heron. These Tiger-Herons are common along the peninsula's coast, as well in some insular areas (my photo is from El Ciruleo, in the eastern side of the peninsula). The road is very escenic, with impressive beaches and hills. Once at Juan's place, his family welcomed us by saying that the parakeets have been regular during the morning around the house, feeding in fig and nance trees that abound around the property (which have the Playita river and its valley as backyard!). They are present from april to july, the rest of the year they live high in the mountain range according to Juan. The interest of this family in preserving the land for the parakeets (and other wildlife) is admirable. They are constructing a little cabin for the visitors, but until it is finished, Juan is charging $10.00/person for visiting the property, proving to his neighbors that there are others ways to profit that do not involve logging the forest. We spent the night in Malena, after an excellent fish dinner. The next day (sunday, june 13th) we had breakfast at our cabin and started our way to Flores. We drove all the way to the cabin at Juan's property, who accompanied us in our search of the parakeet. The first bird that appeared for photos was a magnificent King Vulture perched atop a tree, having a sunbath. It was a sub-adult because it had some black feathers in the back. That multi-coloured head is something special! We quickly found many birds typical of the pacific slope savanas, like Mouse-colored Tyrannulet, Groove-billed Anis, Bronzed Cowbirds, a pair of Pearl Kites, many Blue Ground-Doves of both sexes and two very special birds: a female Orange-collared Manakin (in a nance tree) and a Black-hooded Antshrike; both of them restricted to the western pacific slope of Panama and southeastern Costa Rica (not exactly in savanas). While admiring the valley of the Playita river and the birds, Juan pointed us a flock of 15 or 16 Azuero Parakeets that flew close to us, passed the car and landed over a fig tree full with fruits (we could have seen the birds from the car!!!). Great! the birds were quietly feeding with the figs, allowing us to take some photos. They stayed for 15 minutes more or less to then fly away inland. We followed Juan while searching the birds, finding them after 15 minutes in a forested area. They were engaged in social activities, as you can see in the short video filmed by Gloriela through Beny's scope with her point-and-shoot camera. Four birds are preening, two of them preening each other intimately! (more and better videos at Beny's YouTube account). We also saw a pair copulating and other ones "kissing" each other.

We enjoyed the birds and its chattering calls, while a Violaceous Trogon was singing nearby. Then, a troop of White-faced Capuchins scared the parakeets, that flew to a nearby nance tree. We relocated again the birds under the vigilance of a Ferruginous Pygmy-Owl that acted as a witness of our joy and happiness. It is always nice to find an owl in the day-time, specially one so cute, don't you think? The parakeets were eating nance this time, very low in the tree an allowing extremely close approaching by us. They were very confident of people, and we got excellent shots of them, both with our DSLR's and by digiscoping (Gloriela is much better than me in that technique because she always does "digimicroscoping" at her work). What a glorious moment, and what a cooperative flock of birds. I don't know if they were as curious as we were. The birds flew to another nance tree in a nearby hill. It is a real spectacle to see a flock of these birds flying with their blue flight feathers and red tails and rumps. They looked like tiny Great Green Macaws, that also occur in the area, but not that day. We reluctantly said good-bye to Juan and his family, finding a different flock of 5 or 6 parakeets close to their house (confirming Juan's statement of the coexistence of several flocks in the area). It was a long way to Panama City, again under a heavy rainfall most of the way. Still we are thrilled by the experience! Thank you Beny for showing us the easy way to see one of Panama's most extraordinary endemics. If you still need that bird, or simply want to see it again, don't hesitate to contact Beny, it is a great experience!

The Journey to Cobachon

After saying good bye to our captain in El Ciruelo, we headed west away from Pedasí. The road is in very good condition all the way to Cambutal, except by the stretch between Cañas and Tonosí. The Mourning Doves were abundant along the road, and even we saw a covey of Crested Bobwhites crossing it. We arrived to Cambutal before noon and parked our car where the asphalt road ends. After asking for some directions and tips, we started to walk the dirt road to Cobachon, a little town in the coast 22 km away. The first 10 km were more or less flat, but then it became hilly and gruelling. The rain accompanied us almost all the way and we had little time because it was getting dark. Anyway, we enjoyed the beauty of the landscapes, the furious sea breaking into the rocky coast, the long and desolate beaches meeting the forested hills full of colourful crabs and the chilly streaming rivers along the way. Despite the hurry, we saw some birds on the way. A Bare-throated Tiger-Heron in the Peña Blanca river and a Black-hooded Antshrike close to the Portobelo river were the highlights. After 6.5 hours (and slightly sad, thinking that we wouldn't make it), we reached an open grassy area with a old sign in its far end, close to the beach. Only after checking it with my binoculars I realize that we reached Cobachon!!, but wait a minute... the place seemed as a ghost town... without sign of life. After 10 long minutes, we saw two kids playing in the beach and soon his smiling dad introduced himself as Daniel Saénz. I immediately recognized the name... he is listed in the book Where to find birds in Panama as THE one can guide you around the place. We were lucky to find him in town. Nicely, he offered us his house and a hot dinner, quickly prepared by his wife. We talked that night about a lot of things, including the Azuero Parakeet. Soon he was telling me about Francisco Delgado, Robert Ridgely, the Englemans and many others that he guided before to Cerro Hoya. He knows many english names of birds and knows very well the behavioral aspects of the parakeet (where and when it occurs, what it eats, its calls, and so on...), and we agree to work out early the following day to look for the parakeet. The Azuero Parakeet was discovered in 1979 by Francisco Delgado and is endemic of the Cerro Hoya and surroundings in the Azuero peninsula. First described as a subspecies of the south american Painted Parakeet, its differences in plumage and its amazing isolation prove to be a different species. Cerro Hoya itself is an unique ecosystem at the Azuero peninsula and is protected by the national park that bears the same name. In the morning of july 21st, we started hiking along the Cobachon river, entering its valley. After an hour, we started climbing the hills looking for the flocks to appear. Soon, Daniel found the first (of many) pair of Great Green Macaws eating quietly the fruits of a nance tree (Byrsonima crassifolia). When they flew across the valley, we admired theirs long and colourful tails and blue flight feathers, contrasting with the green body... amazing! Then, Daniel saw a group of at least 12 Azuero Parakeets perched on a Higueron (Ficus sp.) that flew directly toward us and perched very close...WOW... the Azueros right in front of us and I was so excited watching them that I did not manage to take photos in that moment. What a beautiful bird, hard to describe... and so unique! We found later a different group eating from the fruiting higuerones and guarumos (Cecropia sp.) and I managed to take some blurry photos, but at least the bird is recognizable. The experience revived us since, in spite of our weariness, we descended from the hill, packed our things, say goodbye to the Saénz family and tackled the return, arriving to Cambutal at 7 p.m. That night we got some analgesic and antiinflamatory pills... every single muscle fiber was hurting. I still have a swollen ankle and Gloriela barely moves... but we are happy with the experience. After all, no pain no birds.

Well, are you ready to look for the Azuero Parakeet at Cobachon? Here are some tips:

1. Announce that you are going: Cobachon only has three families, and maybe only Daniel can guide you around, so it is better to count with him. Leave a message with Radio Peninsula (995-4214).

2. Hire a boat in Cambutal: the ride is more or less one hour and they charge you around a hundred dollars the round trip. Ask for the service in the Casa González (where the asphalt road ends).

3. If you want to take the scenic road, then plan it with time: the topography is difficult and the road does not have any sign. The locals will tell you that it can be walked in 5 hours, but they are used to walk long distances and they know shortcuts through the beaches to skip the hills. The road climbs eight hills, the third one being specially demanding. Ask everyone you cross in the way for directions, because you have to turn aside of the road while climbing the sixth hill (be kept to the coast)

4. Read all you can about the road and the place (Where to find birds in Panama, Almanaque Azul -spanish only-, the web, and so on...).

Happy birding!