Experiencing "Un Poco del Chocó": Las Tolas Road

This is the third of a series of entries relating the experience both Rafael Luck and I had in the private reserve "Un Poco del Chocó" in northwestern Ecuador in mid-December of 2014 (you can read the second entry here).  For the last day of our stay, our host Wilo gave us a ride along the main road to the nearest town, Las Tolas.  This road reach an elevation of 2000 meters above sea level, thus offering a broader variety of birds species.  Wilo left us in a section known for mixed flocks and we waited for a while.

Las Tolas Road

The morning was chilly and foggy... we started to see shadows and movements through the folliage, but it was not until after a few minutes that the place was cleared enough to identify some species; however, we heard some key species in the mist: Toucan Barbet, Golden-headed Quetzal and Smoke-colored Pewee (we saw it later).

Smoke-colored Pewee

After a while, we started to see some mixed flocks of tanagers... but first a surprise for us.  Rafael found a pair of big woodpeckers downhill.  The expected species at that elevation was Powerful Woodpecker; however, a quick glimpse proved them to be a pair of Crimson-bellied Woodpeckers!  I don't know how, but Rafael got a single shot of his nemesis!

Crimson-bellied Woodpecker

I was relieved. The previous day I observed a pair of this species while walking the trails of the station with our guide Christian... Rafael stayed at the cabin.  That's an unofficial rule of birding: DO NOT quit the group while birding... your nemesis WILL show up!  I guess some good birding karma was with us.  Since then, everything was a bonus... colorful ones!

Golden Tanager

Flame-faced Tanager 

Rufous-throated Tanager

As you can see, we saw Golden, Flame-faced and Rufous-throated Tanagers feeding in some fruits, plus Glistening-green, Beryl-spangled, Golden-naped, Silver-throated, Blue-gray, Palm, White-shouldered and Flame-rumped Tanagers, Blue-winged and Black-chinned Mountain-Tanagers, Tricolored Brush-Finch, Montane Woodcreepers and this male Black-and-white Becard.

Black-and-white Becard

We also saw some bigger species, like Maroon-tailed (Chocó) Parakeet, Chocó and Black-madibled Toucans and Pale-mandibled Aracari.  The last one is considered a subspecies of the widespread Collared Aracari; however, you can see the differences:

Collared (Pale-madibled) Aracari

We spent two and a half terrific days at "Un Poco del Chocó" and are more than pleased with the staff, Nicole, Wilo and Christian, for all the attention they had with us.  We are looking forward for our next visit to "Un Poco del Chocó".

Pearly-breasted Cuckoo update

After our quick trip to the Peñón de San José, some of us (Rafael, Beny and me) decided to look after another potential lifer... the pair Pearly-breasted Cuckoos that was found nesting in eastern Panama province, specifically at the Rio Mono bridge.  In the way, we stopped near Chepo before lunch to try for the Whistling Heron reported elsewhere; however, it was raining and dark... and we didn't find the heron.  This Pearl Kite (taking advantage of the rain to took a bath) was a nice consolation prize.

Pearl Kite

After having lunch at the Coquira port under a heavy rain, we departed to Rio Mono.  It was dark by the time we reached the bridge, not good for photos.  As expected, a Pearly-breasted Cuckoo was at its nest.  We digiscoped it from the far side of the road to not disturb it.  Remember, the light was awful for photos.

Pearly-breasted Cuckoo

After a couple of minutes we decided to bird around the bridge, because the cuckoo was not moving.  We saw/heard some species not found farther west, like Rufous-winged Antwren and White-eared Conebill.  A group of three Collared Aracaris feeding in some Cecropia fruits allowed some photos.

Collared Aracari

Then, we heard the cuckoo calling.  I was able to see the second Pearly-breasted Cuckoo approaching through the shrubs into the nest.  This time, I noticed the lack of any rufous in the primaries (just in case).  While one of the parents was perched aside the nest (showing perfectly its undertail pattern and white underparts), the other fed two hungry chicks!  Yes, now they are four (4) cuckoos in Bayano!  These are good news!  

Remember, if you are going to see this rarity, try not to disturb the family (do not play recorded calls nor approach to closely).  Happy birding!

Time to pay attention to the bamboo?

Today I spent the morning searching for birds with Osvaldo Quintero in the Old Gamboa road (aka Summit Ponds road). This is an easy walk, with many birds due to the variety of habitats and close to the city... it is perfect for those seeking a long list in few hours or if you want to have prolonged views of emblematic neotropical birds like toucans, caciques, trogons, kingfishers and so on... We started at the ponds itself, where we saw Amazon and Green Kingfishers waiting over the surface for a victim, and a Collared Aracari that deigned in giving a glimpse over its shoulder. A pair of Great Kiskadees were on a wire, paying attention to all our movements. Soon we realized that the commonest birds now were the migrants, with Northern Waterthrushes and Eastern Wood-Pewees in almost every corner. Others migrants recorded were Prothonotary, Chestnut-sided and Yellow Warblers plus a lonely Great Crested Flycatcher. That activity was low, but constant, with common birds comming to us like Blue-and-gray, Crimson-backed and Gray-headed Tanagers, a pair of Orange-chinned Parakeets excavating a nest, Clay-colored Thrush and others. A quick search of the skies produced migrating flocks of swallows plus some unidentified Chaetura swifts. Also, we got a migrating flock of Swainson's and Broad-winged Hawks accompanying a greater group of Turkey Vultures (more on them in another post, I promise). I must say that not everything is good in paradise... part of the trail has been widened and cleared in order to improve an access road to some installations of the ACP (Panama Canal Authority), but we still managed to find some specialties of the area, including a Jet Antbird (although only heard). A bit discouraged by the scene, we reached the group of bamboo close to the half way, most of it now lying on the floor. For our surprise (and I mean BIG surprise), we heard the characteristic loud and buzzy thrill of a Slate-colored Seedeater right above us in the bamboo!! We played a tape and then a second male with a female appeared, allowing us to take some shots. We stayed for 15 minutes or so, appreciating these nomadic seedeaters. Very happy with the finding, we decided to go to the Metropolitan Natural Park, just to see if we can catch up the migrating flock of raptors over the city. One hour later we were in the lookout, but with no luck this time (no raptors). We started to return through "La Cienegüita" trail. Few minutes later, I heard what I thought first was an auditive hallucination caused by the dehydration: a loud and buzzy thrill over a bunch of bamboo!! And guess what... for the second time in the day we were watching two males Slate-colored Seedeaters singing with all their forces. Well, I imagine that it is time to pay more attention to the bamboo. Considering that all those bamboo-associated birds are quite rare and nomadic (at least in Panama), and that this particular month of october has produced some reports of these birds (Barred Parakeet, Peg-billed and Slaty Finches here; Slate-colored Seedeater here) is logical to think that maybe IT IS HAPPENING... the flowering of the bamboo... or maybe I'm just overreacting and all these are coincidences? It is supposed to be one of the rarest sight in the botanical world, an event that occurs every 10 to 120 years and when it occurs; well, all the bamboo plants of that species flower at the same time and then die at the same time too... is not amazing? I'm not going to take any risk and I will organize a birding trip to the western highlands, searching for those bamboo-specialists that I still need. Want to join me?