More sunset birds

This is a kind of second part for my previous post about birding the savannas to the south of the town of Penonome (Cocle province, central Panama), along the road to El Gago.  I have to accept that I still have some problems for setting the camera for those light conditions... I hope this will improve soon.  This time I went earlier, so the the light was pretty good when I photographed this Killdeer.

This bird (part of a pair) was very quiet... I never heard the characteristic call this time.  This species is an uncommon migrant to Panama, and once a nesting attempt was documented in this part of the country.  In the other hand, the Eastern Meadowlark is an abundant resident of these savannas.

For some reason, I've always had the impression that these birds await you're near them to start singing!  However, were other singers who caught my attention.  When these birds vocalize, I noticed that they weren't the usual Groove-billed Anis I expected.

In fact, they were a pair of Smooth-billed Anis.  I'm not used to see this species in that road, so now I must be more careful to identify these birds if they are not vocalizing.  Other bird with which I am very careful to identify is the Lesser Yellow-headed Vulture.

In spite of the unmistakable multicolored head, they can be pretty tricky to separate from the Turkey Vulture; although, the Yellow-headed's low flight is characteristic.  Another species that characteristically flies low is the Northern Harrier.

This is also an uncommon migrant to Panama... but seems pretty regular in these fields.  This female was far away, so the above photo is cropped.  Notice the angled wings, long tail and white rump.  By the end of the day, I found the pair of resident Aplomado Falcons perched exactly in the same bare tree.

I swear these photos are different from my previous post.  The size difference indicates these are male and female (the female is the bigger one).  Along the road I saw another pair flying together, but there is no way to know if they were different birds.

After all, that was a nice sunset birding!

Back in Panamá!

After a productive trip to Córdoba, Argentina, I'm back in Panamá... and still on vacations.  The true is that I'm spending most of the time in home with my baby girl Gabrielle... occasionally seeing some birds from the balcony.  That's why, when we traveled this last weekend to Penonomé (central Panamá), I took advantage to visit some places that, usually, are great for birding.

It has been a while since my last visit to the road to El Gago... and many things have changed.  I went with Gloriela and Gabrielle last saturday's afternoon and were impressed by the sight of the tall windmills in the savanna.  These are part of an important government project to produce green energy.  It was a little bit late as you can see in the photos... so we only saw some very common savanna birds, like many Eastern Meadowlarks, singing from exposed perches.

Or this Roadside Hawk inspecting us curiously.

The next day, I convinced the same crew to accompany me to the Aguadulce Salinas (saltponds), 30 minutes to the west.  It was around noon and hot, but I only wanted to have a quick look at the saltponds, searching for passage migrants.  The first thing we noticed were the big flocks of terns and skimmers over the place.  Check for example the next photo showing many Gull-billed Terns resting with several Elegant Terns.

Or this flock of Black Skimmers in the distance... more than 100 birds were resting in that pond.

I already had seen this numbers in Aguadulce this year.  But other species were new for the year, like the Stilt Sandpipers and Wilson Phalarope.  These are passage migrants (don't winter in Panamá), and this is the only time to see them in Panamá... so mission accomplished!

I saw Red-necked Phalarope in my previous visit, making this year a two-phalaropes year for the site.  We had to return to Panamá City, so we only spend 45 minutes in the pond.  In the way back, I just made a quick stop at a flooded field in Río Grande where a flock of several species of herons were feeding in the mud.  It looked like a great place for migrant shorebirds.

I only saw two Solitary Sandpipers and a Black-necked Stilt among the Cattle, Great and Snowy Egrets, the Southern Lapwings and the lonely White Ibis... but I'm sure this place deserve more visits.

2012 first field trip

Last saturday's evening was hot and sunny, typical of a summer day in Penonome (Cocle province, central Panama), I took advantage of the beautiful day and did a scouting trip to some side roads west of town little after 3:30 PM... and it was great! Not only saw my first life bird of the year, at least three Ring-necked Ducks in a large pond, but also re-found the now-famous Grasshopper Sparrow after more than 50 years in Panama! But as I said, that was only the scouting trip. Very early the next morning, I went to the same place before dawn hoping to catch the ducks closer to the shore of the lake. The fresh air in the savanna and the immensity of the place is hard to describe... and the sunrise resembling a scene of "The Lion King" movie was simply unbelievable!

I did saw ducks closer to shore... but it was a group of Lesser Scaups, plus three Blue-winged Teals and three Black-bellied Whistling-Ducks. The three Ring-necked Ducks that I saw the day before were far away in the middle of the lake, and only the male was identified with certainty at that distance.

I began the return journey looking for open habitat specialists, finding surprisingly a Northern Harrier as the first raptor for the day. This is only the second time I see harriers around Penonome (first time here),

and it seems that they are not simply passage migrants, but winter visitors as well. Despite the blurry photo, the shape and white rump is unique among the expected raptors there. After a while, I found a tiny, very shallow pond in the middle of the fields... it was alive with birds. Big waders, in the form of several Great Egrets, a Wood Stork and a Great Blue Heron, were sharing the place with Least and Solitary Sandpipers, two Greater Yellowlegs and three Killdeers which became quite evident thanks to their sweet voices.

The nearby grasslands were full of singing Eastern Meadowlarks, plus some Red-breasted Blackbirds, some of them allowing great pictures and close approaching. They were focused in singing out loud to impress any rival or to attract a mate. It is always nice to see these two species (both called "pastoreros" in spanish) side-by-side. However, the most abundant bird in the savanna was the Fork-tailed Flycatcher. A huge flock of these elegant birds were feeding along the fences and in the ground right in the middle of the dirt road. Easily, they exceeded a hundred of birds!

In the end, I failed to relocate the sparrow, neither I found the Grassland Yellow-Finch reported last year by Ken Allaire... but the bird list for only three hours of birding the savanna was impressive and I can't wait to visit the place again next weekend!

Festivities in Cocle province. Part II

The second day of our stay in Penonome, Cocle province in central Panama (november 4th, our flag's day), Gloriela and I decided to visit the savannas and rice fields just south of town before breakfast, around the road to El Gago. It was harvest time, and the machineries in the fields were followed by hordes of herons looking for an easy meal. Yes, we did see typical species of this kind of habitat, including Plain-breasted Ground-Doves, Mourning Doves, Eastern Meadowlarks and Red-breasted Blackbirds... but the real value of birding the coclesian savannas are the birds of prey. We saw many individuals and many different species! A pair of aptly named Savanna Hawks were standing in the ground with a young bird, while several Yellow-headed Caracaras were yelling at them like saying "GET OUT OF HERE!" I almost miss a raptor perched quietly very low... Gloriela was who told me to drive back a little bit and, after grasping my camera, took some excellent shots of a young Common Black-Hawk from inside the car... it was a VERY cooperative bird, seeing us as curiously as we were seeing him! Others common raptors along the road were the Roadside Hawks (aptly named too) and some White-tailed Kites hovering in a characteristic 45º angle before dropping to the ground after a prey. Strangly, the Crested Caracaras were pretty common too, we saw at least three family groups (two adults birds and a full-grown young one following them). I really like his impressive presence, no doubt at first sight that this is a powerful bird! The caracaras belong to the falcon family despite they look so different of the typical Falco falcons, which are well represented in these savannas too... the turn that day was for an exceptionally gorgeous and uncommon one: the Aplomado Falcon. Is not the first time I see this species in that road, actually, it is one of my best spots for that scarce falcon of open habitats. However, the Aplomado was not the most scarce raptor we saw that day. While inspecting the rice fields, I detected a characteristic flight pattern of a slim raptor with long wings held over the back like a "V", swinging from one side to another, and exhibiting a conspicuous white rump... a Norther Harrier! We saw at least three or four different individuals flying over the fields, all seemed to be female-plumaged birds. It is the first time I see a harrier in these fields... a proof that you ever know what to expect while birding. I will left you with the evocative picture of a harrier over the savanna with the coclesian foothills as backgrounds.

Preening friend

During my last birding walk at the coclesian savannas of Penonome, I found this Eastern Meadowlark perched on a fence post. He did not care much about me since he continued with his daily duties... singing, preening, enjoying the view at the top of his world.

I know they are pretty common... but they are also pretty attractive too and their songs really are THE sounds of these fields.

So, take your time to appreciate these little friends... you can get surprised!

This post was submitted to Bird Photography Weekly #113, check it out!

Savanna birding

Last sunday, I went very early to the savannas just to the south of Penonome (Cocle province). It was quite foggy, but anyway I found most of the typical birds of this habitat, and more. I noticed that many of the rice fields were flooded, attracting many birds, both residents and migrants. I saw (and photographed) most of the birds while seated in my car, using it as a hide. This technique proved very useful because the birds are used to the cars that regularly transit the dirt road that I explored. Without it, this photo of a pair of Crested Bobwhites would have been very hard to get.

Both, Eastern Meadowlarks and Red-breasted Blackbirds shared the same fields. This comparison makes more sense in spanish, since both species are called "pastoreros". You can see the little amount of pink(ish) colour at the throat of the female blackbird in the second photo.

About passerine migrants, I found Yellow and Mourning Warblers, Northern Waterthrushes, a single Swainson's Thrush and a flock of distant Dickcissels (barely evident in my photo). Also, some non-passerines migrants showed up in the form of Soras (I got glimpses of one, but heard MANY more in the rice fields), five Solitary Sandpipers and my personal highlight: several Wilson's Snipes. They were too shy... I only got a photo of a flying-away bird, but at least you can see its striped dorsal pattern and straight bill (OK, you may need to enlarge the photo). Other shorebird in the area, the Southern Lapwing, is definitively resident. I say so because for the first time in my life I saw a little chick accompanied by three adults. No doubt these birds are doing extremely well.

Of course, you may know by now (if you have read my previous posts about this part of Panama) that the place is very good for raptors.

I took all the next photos while seated in my car, except by the migrant Mississippi Kite (an immature) pictured here flying. It was with a huge flock of migrating Turkey Vultures and Broad-winged Hawks.

Both Crested and Yellow-headed Caracaras were very common.

Not so often you find a perched White-tailed Kite so close. WOW, those eyes are expressive!

This Roadside Hawk was, as you guessed it, by the road.

The Aplomado Falcon is an scarce resident of these open lands. I found a pair of these beautiful birds. The male (judging by its smaller size) was eating and unidentified bird.

Others raptors for the area included Osprey, Savanna Hawk, a migrant Peregrine Falcon and a pair of American Kestrels on a wire.

GREAT DAY AT THE SAVANNAS!