YES, we are still in Panamá!

Birding takes you to amazing places.  Even if you're birding close to home, you may feel that  you are hundreds of miles away.  Well, I recently had that feeling.  Alfred Raab, an old friend of mine winter-resident of Altos del María (AdM), an exclusive development in the foothills of western Panama province, invited me to bird his domains. He wanted to show me some new year-birds for my Big Year quest and I was not going to refuse it.  So, accompanied by Rolando Jordan, we left Panama City around 5:00 am and spent the next 1.5 hours driving along the dry and hot Pacific lowlands while chatting about the probabilities for the day.  Soon we met Alfred at the entrance of AdM.

Altos del María at 8:40 am

AdM development includes several private neighborhoods with paved roads and all the facilities, well-maintained trails and exuberant green areas.  It spreads from about 350 to up to 1100 meters above sea level, with habitats that includes shrubs and pasture lands, secondary dry forests and primary cloud forest as well.  The latter, being above the 1000 meters mark and near (or at) the Continental Divide, are extremely wet, almost always covered in mist and quite chilly... sure it makes you wonder if you are still in Panama!  Well, of course we headed that way!

Red-faced Spinetail (immature)

The weather is not the only thing making you feel away of your usual birding spot... the birds as well!  Those forests represent the extreme eastern end of the range of several species of the western highlands, like Black Guan, Snowcap, Purple-throated Mountain-Gem, White-tailed Emerald, Black-faced Grosbeak and Elegant Euphonia... but also are home to some other more widely distributed highlands specialties that are nearly impossible to find in other central foothills (like Cerro Campana or Cerro Azul), like Scaled Antpitta, Red-faced Spinetail, Rufous-browed Tyrannulet, Sooty-faced Finch and others.  Some species are extremely difficult to find although, but still the list of possibilities is impressive considering how close to the big city it is and how developed it had become!

Common Chlorospingus ssp. punctulatus

Well, we were amazed by the activity up there... the dawn chorus was in its splendor, including five (5) different wrens species just yards away (Song, Scaly-breasted, Isthmian, Rufous-breasted, Rufous-and-White, White and Gray-breasted Wood-Wrens)!  We even got a new bird for AdM for Alfred (Gray-chested Dove).  However, the mist and rain made us move to a lower section, finding blue skies mere 10 minutes away!  Soon, we started to see flocks of Common Chlorospingus, one of the most conspicuous species in mixed flocks in AdM and represented there by the ssp. punctulatus, once considered a full species ("Dotted Chlorospingus").  The taxonomy of actual Common Chlorospingus is certainly a mess... with several different forms meriting specific status for sure!  Anyway, AdM is probable the best place to watch this form.  Other common foothills/highlands species seen or heard were Green-crowned Brilliant, Green Thorntail, Brown Violetear (lifer for Rolando), Tawny-crested Tanagers, Northern Emerald-Toucanets, White-throated Spadebill (one of my targets) and many more!

Brown Violetear

Northern Emerald-Toucanet

One of the most entertaining areas is Valle Bonito, with its trail to the Continental Divide.  It starts at an artificial lagoon with more open habitat that holds some aquatic species as well.  It is an exclusive area... even AdM residents like Alfred need a written permit in advance to enter the area.  Glad Alfred had it!  It was impressive how different the weather was: sunny and calmed... The walk into the forest produced few species (like Bicolored Antbird and Bronze-tailed Plumeleteers), while the walk around the lagoon produced a handsome Bran-colored Flycatcher showing exactly how bran color looks like!

Bronze-tailed Plumeleteer

Bran-colored Flycatcher

We decided to go back to first site... perhaps it was already clear and sunny as well and we had some targets only found at the wettest parts of the forest.  To our surprise, the place was still foggy and chilly!  We walked some trails adding few new species to our list.  One of these trails get you to a lookout that is good for soaring raptors... but we knew the chances of seeing them were very few due to weather.  Anyway, the sight of the cloud forest from the lookout was impressive.  Moss-covered trees dominated the landscape up there... it looked like another world!

Monte Azul lookout at 2:10 pm

It was a too short day at AdM with Alfred and Rolando.  We ended with more than 90 species in spite of the weather.  To celebrate, we had a quick lunch at a local restaurant accompanying our sancocho (typical chicken soup) with an excellent papaya milkshake.  It was time to go back to the city and to say good-bye to Alfred, not without promising that we will go back after those -few- species that we missed that day.  Happy birding guys!

Alfred, Jan and Rolando.  AdM

Birding the Volcan Lakes

After a successful day in the lush montane forest above Cerro Punta with my friend Ito Santamaría, he and his father accompanied me to lunch in the town.  It was around midday and, surprisingly, the day was clear and hot... like a summer day in the lowlands!  Only the abundant Tío Chicho (Rufous-collared Sparrow) was heard behind the restaurant windows.  Just the previous day (as well like the entire week), the highlands were being hit by a cold front and heavy rain!

After lunch we drove to the town of Volcan, in the slopes of the Baru volcano.  This potentially active volcano is the highest peak in Panama, and bears its own national park.  From a lookout close to our destination (the Volcan Lakes) you can recognize the ancient lava flow where the town is located.

Baru volcano and the town of Volcan

By the time we reached the Volcan Lakes, it was hot and quiet.  The birding was pretty slow... however, we found an interesting mixed flock with many of the most common inhabitants of these forests: Slaty Antwrens, Plain Antvireos, Silver-throated, Bay-headed and Golden-hooded Tanagers, Smoky-brown Woodpecker and a pair of Red-faced Spinetails.

However, the most conspicuous members of the flock were the warblers, with the migrants Black-and-white, Golden-winged, Blackburnian and Black-throated Green Warblers along with the residents Golden-crowned and Rufous-capped Warblers... also with the smart Slate-throated Whitestart.

The lake itself had less birds than in previous occasions, but we saw most of the usual species, including three Lesser Scaups.  We followed a road in the car, stopping after noticing some activity in the shrubs.  For the first time I experienced the phenomena of an antswarm in these foothills.  The ants swiftly covered the road... and behind them we saw a familiar ant-follower for me (in the lowlands): Gray-headed Tanagers (file photo).

Other birds were following the ants, like Rufous-capped Warbler, White-naped Brush-Finch and a Yellow-bellied Flycatcher.  It was a great day in the western highlands... and I'll look forward to come back!