Stragglers and confusing

This last weekend I decided to visit the mudflats of Panama Viejo in Panama City to check the over-summering shorebirds there.  Most of the shorebirds and gulls present in that site already migrated back to their breeding grounds in the north, but a substantial number spent the summer in these beaches, enjoying the tropical sun... usually immatures and non-breeding individuals (thus contrasting with our resident species that are busy with their nesting activities or feeding young).  For my surprise, I found some stragglers still hanging around the place.  The first one was this Franklin's Gull:

Franklin's Gull

Franklin's Gull

This bird is in full alternate plumage... a real beauty!  The wing pattern, stocky shape, short bill and legs and prominent white eye-crescents separate it from the superficially similar Laughing Gulls, which are abundant even at this time of the year.  The bulk of the population migrates through Central America earlier this month, with some extraordinaire movements noticed (check this post for example).  As I mentioned, most of the over-summering birds are immatures or in non-breeding plumage, which is the case of most of the Laughing Gulls staying in Panama, like the birds in the next picture:

Elegant Tern and Laughing Gulls

All of them are Laughing Gulls, except for the lonely Elegant Tern in the center of the photo.  It is also a straggler, but this one is in basic plumage... who knows if is planning to stay longer here.  It was first reported during the Global Big Day one week ago... and is still present there.

Other birds are present just shortly during their passage to the breeding grounds.  That's the case of the White-rumped Sandpiper.  Considered very rare in Panama, it seems regular only for a week or two in mid-May at this site.  I only saw one, but the peeps were too far away to see if more were around.

White-rumped Sandpiper

Now the confusing.  I noticed this weird warbler behind me working the mid-level of the ornamental Ficus tree at the parking lot of the Visitors Center in Panama Viejo.  I have to admit that the first thing that came to my mind was some sort of Parula... but the shape/size and some features of the plumage were wrong.

Young Yellow "Mangrove" Warbler

Then, a female Yellow "Mangrove" Warbler came and started to feed the bird... problem solved!  No matters how weird it looks, think first in a common bird with atypical features than a vagrant with typical features (this is adapted from an old medical saying).   Happy birding!

Some gulls overhead

It is that time of the year when most of our wintering gulls depart to their breeding grounds in North America... and is not rare to see some species in unusual sites or in massive numbers gathering together to start (or continue) the long journey.  For example, some days ago I went to one of the huge malls in Panama City for some last minute shopping; however, something caught my attention at the parking lot:

Laughing and Ring-billed Gulls

It is not rare to see the common Laughing Gulls at the mall and at the nearby bus terminal, but this time I saw a nice Ring-billed Gull among them.  This is not the first time this species had been reported there, but certainly was the first one for me.  The Ring-billed Gulls are regular along the coast in Panama City... but this place is not in the coast.

Ring-billed Gull

I then moved to Panama Viejo, where the extensive mudflats attracts hundreds of Laughing Gulls... but this time, they were outnumbered by Franklin's Gulls.  Of course, both species are regular in Panama... but is only during migration when you can see these numbers.

Laughing and Franklin's Gulls

Not only that, most of the Franklin's Gulls were in alternate plumage, with a very nice rose color to the breast and conspicuous wing patterns and black hoods.  They were easily ID at flight as you can see in the next photos:

Franklin's Gulls 

Franklin's Gulls

There are been several reports of Franklin's Gulls flocks in northern Central America as well... so it is time to grab your binoculars to watch out these gulls passing through!

More birds this 2016!

It is not a secret that I'm an avid birder... but during the last years my birding activities have dropped a little bit due to "lack of time".  The truth is that you don't need to organize a one-week expedition to exotic forests or mountaintops to watch birds... you can bird everywhere, anywhere!  One of my new year resolutions is to "watch" more birds... more accurately, to record more birds.  So far, I'm recording everyday the birds that I see from my home and from the office... and I have even taken the time to go to hotspots within Panama City, like Costa del Este and Panama Viejo.  In fact, today was the third day in a row visiting the mudflats and mangroves of Panama Viejo (at Panama City's waterfront).

Ruins, skyscrapers and birds mix in Panama Viejo

How can I ignore that?  This place holds a bird list of more than 270 species, with some rarities regularly recorded.  These last days, the place was filled with tons of Laughing Gulls and some shorebirds (godwits, willets, whimbrels, dowitchers and black-bellied plovers, among others).  A closer to look to the flock revealed some Franklin's Gulls too... and a Ring-billed Gull too!

Franklin's Gull

Ring-billed and Laughing Gulls

As I have mentioned on other occasions, you can expect only one gull species in Panama: Laughing Gull... so, three species is not bad at all.  But after checking eBird, I knew that at least two other species have been reported from the same site recently.  The next two days produced both of them... a first-year Herring Gull flying away and an adult Lesser Black-backed Gull today.

Herring Gull

Lesser Black-backed and Laughing Gulls

Rare species so close to home... priceless.  Of course, more widespread species were present too, like cormorants, pelicans, frigatebirds, lapwings and many more... ah, and don't forget the American White Pelican that continues wandering around!

American White Pelican

So, this year I hope to watch more birds, use more eBird, get some lifers and add some new species to the Panama list this year... ambitious?   I don't think so!

Five gulls species in Panama Viejo!

If you already read my last entry about gulling in Panama Viejo, then this entry will remind it a lot... except for one thing: yesterday, I saw five (5) instead of four different gulls species in Panama Viejo!  Yes, I went to Panama Viejo after receiving reports of a huge flock of Sandwich Terns resting in the area.  As soon as I get there, I noticed the huge flock... simply amazing.

Most of these birds were Sandwich Terns and Laughing Gulls in many different ages of course.  There were some Royal and Gull-billed Terns mixed in as well.  The Gull-billed Terns are very elegant... picking up food from the water surface... not plunge-diving as many other terns species.

Laughing Gull... any guess about its age?

Gull-billed Tern

Soon I found some Franklin's Gulls among the Laughings... only three of them... all were first-winter birds recognized by its smaller size, stocky look, half black hood with prominent broad eye crescents and white outer tail feathers (conspicuous at flight).

Franklin's Gull, 1st-winter

The third and fourth species were a first-winter Herring Gull and an adult Lesser Black-backed Gull... both continuing birds in these mudflats.  Both were far away for good photos... these are only record shots.  Notice the pale inner primaries of the Herring Gull and the bright yellow legs of the sleeping Lesser Black-backed Gull.

Herring Gull, 1st-winter

Lesser Black-backed Gull, adult

At this point, I was happy with my four gulls... certainly, I was not expecting another species.  So, when I saw this gull among the Laughing by the creek I got excited:

Ring-billed Gull, 1st-winter

Ring-billed Gull, 1st-winter

The Ring-billed Gull is regular in low (very low) numbers along central Panama's coasts, specially in the Pacific side.  Panama Viejo is a regular site, but my last bird there was many years ago.  Five gulls for the day!  Trust me or not, that was not the only highlight of my visit to Panama Viejo... the other was to meet Kevin Zimmer who was leading a VENT tour at the place.  I know him as a member of the South American Classification Committee (SACC), which I follow avidly, but who has not heard about this celebrity of the Neotropical birding?  Even with his experience birding in our country, that day Kevin got a new species for his Panama list: the American White Pelican that decided to winter  on our shores this season!  Great day in Panama Viejo!

American White Pelican

More rarities showing up in Panama Viejo!

The mudflats and mangroves of Panama Viejo (Panama City) are exceptionally good for shorebirds and other water birds.  The list of specialties and rarities found in this site is quite extensive... and this season, many have been reported so far.  After seeing several reports of rare gulls in the social media, I did a quick visit some days ago.  As soon as I get to the site, I checked the huge flock of Laughing Gulls resting in the mud behind the Museum and Visitor center... and this guy immediately caught my attention!

Herring Gull (1st winter) with Laughing Gulls

The immense size and brownish plumage of this first-winter Herring Gull made it very conspicuous among the Laughings.  It moved occasionally to preen, paying little attention to the surrounding gulls.

Laughing and Herring Gulls (1st winter)

Except for one.  I noticed that this Herring Gull started to walk towards a sleepy gull in the middle of the flock... I thought it was a random gull, but a closer look revealed its yellow legs and bill.

Laughing, Lesser Black-backed and Herring Gulls (and two Sandwich Terns)

Yes, an adult Lesser Black-backed Gull was hanging around too!  Both species are rare, but regular, winter visitors to Panama, an any of each can make your day... but both of them in the same frame?  Simply great!  The Lesser Black-backed Gull was not comfortable with the closeness of the gull, so it walked away from it ... approaching me and allowing some nice shots.

Lesser Black-backed Gull

Three gulls species was not bad... so I started to search the flock looking for another different species.  Eventually, I saw a distant adult Franklin's Gull flying by the mangrove island.  I took some record shots.

Franklin's Gull (winter adult)

Four species in a single spot in Panama... that is remarkable.  However, my personal record is SIX species in Costa del Este some years ago (all these plus Kelp and Ring-billed Gulls).  I don't know if more species have been seen the same day in a single site for Panama, but both Costa del Este and Panama Viejo seems to be very special places for this to happen, specially if you consider that other species have been reported in these sites (Black-legged Kittiwake, Belcher's, Gray, Gray-hooded, Bonaparte's and Sabine's Gulls).  So... want to break this record?  Check the mudflats at Panama Viejo!

Brown and American White Pelicans

P.D.: Bonus American White Pelican still at the rocks behind the mangrove island!

Brown and American White Pelican

My last Year Bird!

You must know by now that I like to make bird lists: Life List, Country/Region Lists, Balcony Lists and, of course, Year Lists. Panama is a great country when you talk about birds, personally, my year lists exceed 500 species every year (without too much effort), and up to 800 species can be seen if you try hard... and certainly many more are possible (922 bird species have been seen this year in Panama according to eBird)!  My country Year List was in 509, so I went yesterday to Panama Viejo in search of my last year-bird... a vagrant to our coast that had been reported recently by several observers (reports in Xenornis).  I succeed, but the bird was so far that I tried it again today.  This time, many local and visiting birders were after the bird... for Panamanian standards, the place was crowded!

The tide was retiring, exposing the mudflats... and many common species were scattered all along the place... but our main objective was not among them.  I went to the small mangrove island behind the museum with some other birders, including Ovidio Jaramillo and Juan Pablo Ríos.

In the way, a single Franklin's Gull and a Gull-billed Tern showed well.  Notice the white bar separating the black wing-tips from the rest of the wing in the Franklin's Gull and the general paleness of the Gull-billed Tern, which is the whiter tern of those regularly occurring in Panama.

Franklin's Gull.  Adult in basic plumage

Gull-billed Tern

Soon, Ovidio spotted our objective from the mangroves.  An American White Pelican was standing on the rocks behind the island.  The huge size, white plumage with black primaries and pink bill were clearly noticed.  The two pillars in the background belong to the expressway to the airport (the "South Corridor").

American White Pelican

After a while, the bird flew away and landed in the same rocks where I saw it yesterday, with a big flock of Brown Pelicans.  There is where it has been seen the last four days in a row!

American White Pelican

The American White Pelican is just a vagrant to Panama, with just a handful of records, including my life pair in Punta Chame some years ago.  It is so rare that it was a lifer for Juan Pablo and for my friend Justo Camargo, both experienced birders in Panama.  What a great way to end the year... my year bird # 510!  If you still need it, try for it now before is gone!

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!