The Pearl Islands experience! Part II

The second day of our trip to the Pearl Islands (Gulf of Panama), Joris, Francis and your blogger host hired a boat to visit some nearby islands to Contadora; however, Joris and I decided to watch birds in the island interior during the first hours of light.  It was too early for most of the migrants... instead, we found many resident birds around the pond.  This Panama Flycatcher was particularly cooperative:

Panama Flycatcher

At the pond, several pairs of Least Grebes were quite active making display calls and exhibitions and building floating nests.  We managed some close views and photos of these birds.

Least Grebe

It was time to aboard our boat, the captain was waiting for us at Galeon beach and soon we were heading to Pacheca Island, just to the north of Contadora.  This private owned island holds one of the most important breeding colony of Magnificent Frigatebirds in the Panamanian Pacific... a fact that quickly became obvious... hundreds of frigatebirds flying and resting at the trees of the island... impressive!

Immature Magnificent Frigatebirds

However, both Pacheca and Pachequilla islands were covered in Blue-footed Boobies... hundreds of them!  Pachequilla was literally covered with them.  These amazing numbers of Blue-footed Boobies are not usual... they are easily seen from shore at the continent in several beaches, and hundreds of them rest in islets close to Panama City as well.

Blue-footed Boobies

Blue-footed Boobies

In the other hand, the Brown Boobies were not more than 10... and all of them at Pachequilla island.  In fact, we saw some more in the open sea during the ferry trip from Panama City.  I have to mention that this seems to be a recent shift in the boobies population in these nesting sites.  According to Angehr & Kushlan (Waterbirds 2007; 30: 335-57), the "Brown Boobies nested in similar sites as Blue-footed Boobies but were more widely distributed", and that "although commonly seen roosting in the outer islands of the Pearls, Blue-footed Boobies are relatively rare, scattered, and perhaps irregular as breeders".

Brown Boobies

However, the biggest surprise was a small group of Peruvian Boobies resting at Pachequilla island!  They were easily identified due to their contrasting white head and necks, smaller size and checkered upperparts (and, of course, none of these had blue feet).

Peruvian (and three Blue-footed) Boobies in Pachequilla island 

Peruvian and Blue-footed Boobies in Pachequilla island

We are experiencing an invasion of Peruvian Boobies in Panamanian waters, probably displaced by warmer conditions in their usual range in South America.  Until that day, they were only reported from Panama City and a nearby islet.  We were quite excited about this... but know that these are not exactly good news for the birds.  The last birds we saw while circumnavigating Pacheca island were these two American Oystercatchers... always a nice sight!

American Oystercatchers

We really had fun and enjoyed every second of this flash trip to the Pearl Islands.  Hope you enjoyed it as well!

Isleta island

The Pearl Islands experience! Part I

Originally a Panama Audubon Society's (PAS) trip, it was cancelled due to lack of quorum; however, there is something about the Pearl Islands in the Gulf of Panama (yes, where one season of Survivors was filmed)... sun, white sands in beautiful beaches, tasty food and plenty of wildlife to enjoy.  So, instead of changing my ferry ticket to Contadora island, I decided to embark and enjoy a weekend in the archipelago.  Surprisingly, Joris and his wife Francis (two PAS members as well) were in the ferry with the same thought.     It is a 2-hours journey to the islands from Panama City, and we saw the first species from the ferry's deck.

Wedge-rumped Storm-Petrel

All the storm-petrel that we managed to ID were Wedge-rumped Storm-Petrels as you can see in my marginal photo.  Of course some other more common species were noticed; however, the storm-petrels were the most interesting!  Once in Contadora, I contacted our captain (thanks to Venicio "Beny" Wilson for the contacts).  After checking at our hotels, we departed to Pedro Gonzalez Island to the south of Contadora (more or less 50 minutes away).  In the way, we saw huge flocks of Black Terns, with most of them wearing patches of alternate plumage.

Black Tern.  Notice the black patches in the underparts

Black Terns

But the most impressive beasts were two Humpback Whales (mom and calf) close enough to see every detail!  Notice in the photo how close we were to Pedro Gonzalez Island (in the background).  These whales gives birth in these waters... the calf increases rapidly in size and weight by taking the fat-rich milk from his mother while she fasts throughout the season.

Humpback Whale (and Pedro Gonzalez island in the background)

Once in Pedro Gonzalez, we checked at the naval station (as usual) and crossed the town quickly.  Pedro Gonzalez is the third largest island of the archipelago, and home of our main target: White-fringed Antwren.  There are other endemic subspecies in this archipelago, but none of this is as distinctive as the alticincta form of White-fringed Antwren.  First of all, there are no White-fringed Antwrens in continental Panama.  Second, the closest population in South America is distinctively different.

We went directly to a little creek just out of town and soon were seeing our first pair of White-fringed Antwrens, lifer for both Joris and Francis.  Just like my last time, the place was too dark for photos.  The male allowed some great views, but didn't stay long enough for photos.  The female was more cooperative.

White-fringed Antwren, female

White-fringed Antwren, female

Yes, I think these photos are better than my previous ones.  A whitish throat and yellow underparts with orangish breast is evident.  More important, she had no streaks at all in the underparts.  Many authorities place this form within the "Northern White-fringed Antwren" group, geographically logical considering its proximity; however, the lack of streaks in the underparts of the female is inconsistent.  More work is needed in this complex for sure.  We don't stayed long.  We only saw few other species in the island, but highlights were Pale-bellied Hermit and a Blackpoll Warbler working close to some antwrens in the way to the soccer field.

Central American Agouti

It was a nice first day in the Pearl Islands.  Back in Contadora I enjoyed the beautiful Playa Larga beach and saw some Central American Agouties in the hostal's backyard.  We planned with our captain to visit some sea birds colonies in nearby islands the next morning, so check it later!

Birding the Pearl Islands: seabird colonies and huge beasts!

After a successful first day finding our main target, the White-fringed Antwren, in the Pearl Islands, the itinerary for the second day included to visit some other islands with colonies of common seabirds and, in the way, to look for whales and other cetaceans.  In that aspect I was optimistic because the previous day we saw both Pantropical Spotted and Bottlenose Dolphins from the ferry to Contadora and even a Humpback Whale very close to the first island we were suppose to visit this time, Paquecha.

Bottlenose Dolphins (file photo)

We first did a short walk in Contadora before breakfast, finding more migrants than resident species (by the way, if you know how to ID the empid pictured below, that did not vocalize, let me know).  Purple Martin and Pied-billed Grebe were nice surprises for me... and new year birds too.

At 9:00 am, we boarded the boat in Executive beach and headed to Pacheca and Pachequita Islands, passing first by Saboga Island and its 300 years-old church, the oldest in the archipelago.

Saboga

The first thing we noticed was the huge number of Magnificent Frigatebirds swarming over the two islands.  Pacheca holds the second biggest colony of this species in Panama (only Isla Iguana has a bigger colony of frigatebirds in Panama), and we saw hundreds of them, including immature birds perched in low bushes and trees.

Other species also nest on these islands, including Neotropic Cormorant, Brown and Blue-footed Boobies, Brown Pelican, and so on...  These diversity reminded me a previous trip to the islands of the Upper Bay of Panama, also with Beny as a guide.

The Virgen Del Valle protects those who ventures to these waters... and it seems that also protects these birds!

After inspecting Pacheca and Pachequita Islands, we landed in Bartolome Island to watch the colony of Brown Pelicans.  While I was trying to photograph the resident Yellow "Mangrove" Warblers, Gabrielle was having a great time enjoying the island's white sands.

Gabrielle in the sands of Bartolome Island

Then, something catched Beny's attention out in the sea passing Contadora, so we headed that way immediately.  After some minutes in the boat, what caught his attention became evident... it was... it was... well, see by yourself:

OH YES!  A huge Humpback Whale with calf!  As I said before, the Pearl Islands have become a major site for whale watching in Panama.  These whales travel all the way from the southern seas to give birth to their young in these warm waters.

And they are pretty picky with temperature selection, choosing only waters around 24.8º Celsius.  We followed them for a while from a safe distant... what an amazing experience.  I'm glad that my family could marvel at this spectacle of nature.

In the way back to Contadora, we found this American Oystercatcher resting in some rocks... always a beauty.  Curiously, this and the Spotted Sandpipers were the only waders we saw in the islands.

After all these emotions and nature marvels, we still had time to enjoy Executive beach in Contadora before heading back to Panama City in the ferry.  Thank you Beny for this great trip and to all the participants who joined us to this corner of Panama!

Gloriela and Gabrielle in Executive beach, Contadora

Birding the Pearl Islands: in search of the White-fringed Antwren

The Pearl Islands is a group of more than 200 islands in the Gulf of Panama, known for their beautiful beaches, luxurious resorts and, more recently, the opportunity to see whales and other cetaceans in the proper season.  All this is great, but my interest in the islands was focused on other subject: birds (of course).  The islands are home to many endemic subspecies and some are huge nesting colonies of common seabirds, so the idea of a birding trip combined with whale watching and enough time to relax in a paradise beach seemed feasible, specially to include Gloriela and Gabrielle, in a sort of mini-vacations.

Contadora, as seen from Bartolome island

Venicio "Beny" Wilson (www.benywilson.com) was the perfect person to organize the trip... he is an experienced bird and whale watching guide, has lot of experience with the endemic forms of the islands and in how to find them and, most important, he is a great friend of us since many years ago.  Accompanying us were Rafael Luck, Celeste Paiva, Jennifer Wolcott and Dan Heinrichs, who also liked the attractive itinerary.  We took the first ferry to Contadora Island from Panama City, and after one and a half hours, we reached the touristic island.  We didn't stay longer, only enough to unload our luggage and board the boat that would take us to our destination one hour farther south: the town of El Cocal in Pedro Gonzalez Island.

After an uneventful trip, we reached Pedro Gonzalez and met our local guide who conducted us through the town into a trail going to the water reserve, passing by second growths and tall trees... but also having spectacular views of the island and the pristine beaches.

Quickly became evident that the islands act as migrant trap.  The impressive number of empids and pewees all over the island was proof of it... in Panama they usually don't vocalize, so they can be very difficult to identify.  Most of them seemed to be Eastern Wood-Pewees.

The migrants mingled with the residents species, and we saw in quick succession more and more empids, wood-warblers, Summer Tanagers, Red-eyed Vireos and so on... Of the resident species, one of the most common was the Northern Scrub-Flycatcher.

A nice surprise for me was the pair of Hook-billed Kites that Beny recognized immediately due to his experience with this raptor in the Lesser Antilles.  Is my first sighting for the year of this species.  One of the birds was carrying a snail in the beak.

However, we still needed to find the main objective of our trip.  The largest islands of the group hold an extraordinarily isolated population of White-fringed Antwrens, and according to Beny, Pedro Gonzalez Island is the most reliable site to find them.  This species is not found in mainland Panama, and the closest population inhabits the Caribbean slope of Colombia.  This species was on top of my wish list since I have not seen the species during my travels in South America and this isolated race (alticincta) could well be considered a full species in the future!  It was midday and the lunch was about to be ready: a recently caught Mahi-mahi with plantains.  In the meanwhile, most of us decided to check a nearby gallery forest along a creek... Gloriela and Gabrielle decided to wait for lunch in a hammock provided by Beny... he thought in everything!

It was pretty hot and quiet inside the forest, but then Beny saw a dark little bird working the tangles some meters away: a male White-fringed Antwren!  These are active birds hard to photograph, so I took my time to appreciate it through my binoculars, noticing its long white eyebrow and the black face and underparts.  When I finally decided to try with my camera, the only photo that came up was the next one:

Definitively only a record shot, but you can see the field marks I mentioned before plus the white marks in the undertail (and in the wing).  What a life bird!  We had lunch (EXQUISITE!) and returned to the same spot for another shot, this time Gloriela was able to see a female... and I managed another blurry shot.

At least the bird is recognizable, but more important, you can see the pale underparts with buffy chest and no streaks at all, placing this form within the southern group of White-fringed Antwrens... more studies are needed to determine how many species form this complex... two seems probable (Northern and Southern White-fringed Antwren)... but who knows.  This form only shows little curiosity to tape recordings of (Southern) White-fringed Antwren from South America, but certainly do not respond to these tapes. Also, Beny states that this form only emits a short series of contact calls, quite liquid in quality ("tu-ik, tu-ik, tu-ik"), and never the long "chip" song... probably they have been isolated for enough time to develop vocal differences?  I propose the name Pearl Islands Antwren!  Eventually, we saw many more individuals, including another male that Gloriela was able to spy.  In the way back, one of the last birds we saw in Pedro Gonzalez was the resident Bran-colored Flycatcher, which was a new year-bird for me.

This was a GREAT day, and ended with a nice dinner in Contadora.  The next day the itinerary included a visit to some seabirds colonies, whale-watching and so on... so don't miss my next post!