Bird of the month: Ovenbird

The Ovenbird (Seiurus atricapilla) is a ground-loving warbler that breeds in Canada and eastern United States, migrating then to Florida, Central America, the Caribbean and northern South America for the winter. Panama represents the southernmost part of its usual wintering range, where it is frequently encountered in the western part of the country, becoming increasingly rarer farther east, including around the former Panama Canal zone in central Panama, and with only two record from our easternmost province, Darien. It can be seasonally very common in selected sites. We were just dating when I took Gloriela to her first real birding trip to the exotic, remote and tiny Escudo de Veraguas island off the coast of Bocas del Toro (western Caribbean slope, check the map at the end of the posts of this blog). It was october's second week and the island turned out to be a migrant trap... Gloriela got the wrong idea that the Ovenbird was simply the MOST common bird of Panama, considering the number of tame individuals that we saw, sometimes walking just inches from our feet (she called them the "pollitos"). In fact, I took the first photo with a point-and-shoot camera with an optic zoom of 3X (notice the sandy soil of the island)! The orange crown bordered in black and the white eye-ring separates this species from the similar-looking waterthrushes, sharing with them the ground-dwelling habits and the streaked underparts. But despite the general similiar appearance, these birds are not closely related, as demonstrated recently by Lovette and Hochachka. In fact, the Ovenbird seems to be basal to all the others warblers, a rather surprising relationship for this migrant. Well, for these and many others reasons is why we choose the Ovenbird as our bird of the month!

You can check this week's most interesting posts at Bird Photography Weekly # 136.

Literature consulted:

1. Ridgely RS, Gwynne J. A guide to the birds of Panama. First spanish edition 1993.

2. Angehr GR, Dean R. The birds of Panama. A field guide. First edition 2010.

3. Lovette IJ, Hochachka WM. Ecology 2006; 87:S14-S28

A faithful Ovenbird

Last weekend, the participants of the Panama Audubon Society (PAS) beginners' walk in the Metropolitan Natural Park (Panama City) were lucky enough to find an Ovenbird, a scarce migrant to central Panama (specially in the Pacific side). The information appeared in the PAS' facebook page with detailed instructions to find it along El Roble trail. So, I got my binoculars and my camera and went to the park, after work hours, last tuesday... but the day was clouded, dark and it was raining. Anyway, I entered the trail and in the way back I found the Ovenbird right where I was expecting it! Too dark for photos, so I delighted myself watching the little creature walking deliberately in the forest floor without making any noise. The park was about to close so I left the trail after 10 minutes watching the bird.

Two days ago, the afternoon was sunny and warm, perfect for another visit to the park in order to relocate the Ovenbird and, who knows, maybe get some pictures. For my surprise (I have to admit it), the bird was EXACTLY where I left it two days before! The site was dark anyway, despite the bright sun, so my efforts to photograph it resulted in poor pictures that, at least, show the essential field marks to recognize the bird (first photo).

Then, I went this morning for another try. This time, Osvaldo Quintero was waiting for me at the Ovenbird's spot. When I reached him, the bird was standing in the ground right in front of him... and he still had not noticed it! I pointed the bird to him and, eventually, we both got better pictures.

The bird simply continued doing its things practically ignoring us, faithful to its patch of forest floor but never totally exposed or in the open. Sometimes it was frustating trying to get a picture of the bird because it seldom stopped and was always behind a tangle, a leaf or a stick; but at least we managed to capture decent pics. Another warbler for this season's collection!

This post was submitted to Bird Photography Weekly # 134. Make sure to visit all the links!