This is NOT an April fools!

Certainly NOT!  If you still want to see one of the most elusive bird of Panama, now is when!  The Neomorphus Ground-Cuckoos are the jewels of the crown for the neotropical birders.  Rare, localized and definitively impressive ground-dwelling cuckoos of the interior of humid forests, usually associated with antswarms or following herds of peccaries, having a glimpse of them is like touching gold!

Great Potoo

A pair of Rufous-vented Ground-Cuckoos have been reported at the famous Pipeline Road (north of Gamboa, Colon province, central Panama) since mid-March attending an antswarm.  Pipeline is known for its long list of spectacular bird species, but it happens that the cuckoos (or I may say, the antswarm) have stayed at the same general area since then.  So I took advantage of my break at the office and headed to Pipeline. The staff at the Rainforest Discovery Center were the first to give me the instructions.  I soon find my friend Josanel Sugasti, who had not yet seen the bird today but gave me some tips to find the exact place (after showing to me the roosting Great Potoo over my head!).  The army antswarm is not by the road... you have to walk into the forest some 300 meters along a now-dry creek to find it.  I was not sure of the exact place because I was only hearing Gray-headed Tanagers.  Yes, they DO follow antswarms, but this particular antswarm was supposed to be attracting dozens of other, usually noisy, birds species.

Gray-headed Tanager

Thanks God another friend of mine came to the rescue.  Ismael "Nando" Quiroz (of Tamandúa) was guiding a group of visiting birders.  When I asked if he got THE bird, he said "Yes, only two"... and nope, he was not joking.  Nando pointed me the correct direction.  I followed his detailed instructions and soon started to hear Ocellated, Spotted and Bicolored Antbirds, among others.

Bicolored Antbird

Yes, I was in the middle of a forest at noon, standing on an army antswarm, sweating a lot due to the excitement (and the intense heat and humidity, plus the fact that I was dressed for an air-conditioned office, including shoes, didn't help either).  Just when I started to think that I needed to be on the road back to Panama City in less than an hour, then it happened.  Not one, but two Rufous-vented Ground-Cuckoos were quietly catching preys that were trying to escape the furious army ants.  It doesn't matter if you had seen them before, they are simply magnificent creatures!

Rufous-vented Ground-Cuckoo

I'm very grateful with all the friends that helped me today.  Now you know it.  What are you waiting for to look after them?

Rufous-vented Ground-Cuckoo

An extraordinaire day

The definition of "extraordinaire day" is different for each person.  For some, a day is extraordinaire if everything goes as planned; for others, you need a special event to occur.  For me, ANY day with a GROUND-CUCKOO is an extraordinaire day!  And, after hearing that a family group of Rufous-vented Ground-Cuckoos were attending an antswarm in Pipeline Road (central Panama) allowing nice views for the visitors, I decided to accept the invitation of my friend Osvaldo to bird the area last saturday.

We started at the marina in the town of Gamboa.  We were expecting to find some migratory ducks, but it seems that this is not a good year for them.  The place was full of Common Gallinules as usual, and Wattled Jacanas (like the one pictured above).  After walking along the access road, we found many species of both resident and migrant birds.  My favorite was an adult Rufescent Tiger-Heron hunting quietly behind the access gate.

After a while, we decided to move to the famed Pipeline Road.  The furious activity at the marina deviated us from our main destination, the same happened in the other stops we made before reaching the entrance to Pipeline Road.  For example,  this Crimson-crested Woodpecker entertained us at the Ammo dump.

And a mixed group of warblers, antbirds and antwrens did the same right before entering Pipeline.  There, two species of antshrikes were inspecting a patch of forest close to the ground.  Considering that others birds were in the same area (like Black-bellied and Song Wrens, Dusky Antbirds and Black-faced Antthrush), I suspect that there were some ants or something in the ground.  Notice the heavy bill of this male Fasciated Antshrike.

And the black crown of this aptly named Black-crowned Antshrike.  This is a male, of course.  The female is patterned in brown and buff, with little black.  This species used to be called Western Slaty-Antshrike... but it is not closely related to other Slaty Antshrikes in South America.

A little before 11 am, we finally reached the Pipeline Road.  One kilometer after the entrance, we noticed a foreign birder standing aside the road.  We joined him and immediately heard the Bicolored Antbirds attending an antswarm.  The birder quickly showed us a photo in his bridge camera... a Rufous-vented Ground-Cuckoo appeared in the screen.  We waited for a while and then, the bird materialized above a log more or less 4 meters from us.  What a sight!  The long tail and powerful legs, plus the expressive crest is unmistakable.

File photo

Unfortunately, we could not take pictures.  I took the above photo five years ago almost exactly in the same site!  The Rufous-vented Ground-Cuckoo is a very rare ground-dwelling species that is found almost exclusively around antswarms.  Pipeline Road is, perhaps, the best place to see it, specially during our dry season.  So, now you see why that was an extraordinaire day?  

A day in the PRDC

The Panama Rainforest Discovery Center (PRDC) is located near the world-famous Pipeline Road in central Panama, close to the town of Gamboa. It is a great place to spend half-day or an entire day, specially if you want to have a more intimate contact with nature. I went last saturday with Gloriela, her sister Teresa and her nephew Kevin to this place just to enjoy a little bit of the great diversity it has to offer. First stop at the Gamboa Ammo Dump produced the usual Rufescent Tiger-Heron plus a party of Capybaras in the creek. Soon, we met Osvaldo Quintero, Rafael Luck and Euclides Campos who were heading to the PRDC in order to look for the Sungrebe and the Rufous-crested Coquette that has been reported recently, so after a few minutes we followed them. In the PRDC entrance road I stopped in order to show Tere and Kevin a Rufous Motmot pearched nearby, realizing that we were very close to an antswarm. Still inside the car, Gloriela told me that she saw a bird in the ground. I asked "in the ground or in the lower branches" and she replied "in the ground... it is like a chicken!". A quick look prove it to be a Rufous-vented Ground-Cuckoo!!!, a life bird for Gloriela and the first one this year for me! I ran as fast as I could to the PRDC (50 mts away more or less) to alert Osvaldo, Rafael and Euclides, who came quickly. I managed to relocate the bird, but it was seen only by Euclides and Rafael (and, of course, Gloriela). Despite this was a big antswarm, the birds were very quiet. All the three specialist were attending (Spotted, Bicolored and Ocellated Antbirds), plus Plain-brown and Northern Barred Woodcreepers, Gray-headed Tanagers and the Rufous Motmot. Convinced that the Ground-Cuckoo left the antswarm (I saw it running away from the antswarm), we decided to walk to the section of Gatún lake reacheable from the Center, finding a Great Tinamou but no Sungrebes. Back at the Center, we enjoyed some beverages and the furious hummingbirds everywhere. We waited for the Coquette to appear, but the tiny bird showed up too fast... we only saw its silhouette. In spite of it, we were very entertaining by the resident hummingbirds. Jacobins, hermits, plumeleteers, mangos and all sort of hummingbirds were competing for the best places at the feeders. Specially atractive were the Black-throated Mangos. Both male and female were flying around and perching nearby, for our delight. Before leaving the place, we decided to check again the antswarm... and guess what: we find again the Ground-Cuckoo!!! When I first saw it, it was walking in the middle of the antswarm, but then it froze behind a fallen trunk. It was hard task to point it out to the others, but eventually Rafael got excellents head pictures of the bird before it disappeared. A cooperative Broad-billed Motmot was spying on us at the same time. It was so cooperative that allowed Euclides to take some pictures with his point-and-shoot camera from very close (as you can see in my picture). We also heard in the same place the characteristic buzzy call of the Slate-colored Seedeaters that, according to the Center personnel, are nesting in the area. After all, great birds and good friends made that morning an excellent morning (and any morning with a Ground-Cuckoo MUST be a good morning).

Ground-Cuckoos Gallery

Have you felt jealous ever? I mean, in a good way. Well, right now I'm feeling that way thanks to a very good friend of mine. I received an e-mail from Rafael Cortes, an enthusiastic and full-of-energy mexican birder now resident in Colombia, telling me on his last birding trip to Anchicaya, in the colombian Choco bioregion, along with his son Luis Francisco and two other birders. Back in Panama few years ago, we were birding buddies practising what we liked to call target birding: to list the most rare or beautiful birds and then to organize trips to find each one of the targets. By this method we found great life birds (Agami Heron, Three-wattled Bellbird, Bare-necked Umbrellabird, Yellow-billed Cotinga, Great Jacamar, Harpy Eagle and many more), but somehow we failed to locate our target bird # 1 (Rufous-vented Ground-Cuckoo) despite all our efforts. Some years after he left Panama, I got a glimpse of a Ground-Cuckoo during a Christmas Bird Count in Pipeline road, and more recently, I delighted myself with a cooperative individual, again in Pipeline road (and this was after Rafael's quick visit to Panama last year... we dipped on the bird in Pipeline road during the only chance he got for birding). At this point, maybe you already guessed that Rafael finally achieved his life Ground-Cuckoo, and you are right... then, you may ask why I'm so jealous (in the good way) if I already have seen Ground-Cuckoos twice? Well, because he and his son not only saw, but also photographed and even videotaped a BANDED GROUND-CUCKOO attending an antswarm... one of the rarest birds in the world!!! Compared with it, the Rufous-vented Ground-Cuckoo would look like a rock star, considering all the lucky birders that have seen and photographed it in central Panama (probably the best place of the world to find it). A quick search in Google only produced a trip report and few pics of the bird from northern Ecuador (some are of a netted bird), demonstrating partly its genuine rarity, since it does not cross often with birders or photographers. OK, enough of so many chat and lets go directly to the photos, nicely shared by Rafael and Luis Francisco.

The full account of the trip is so vivid (thanks to Rafael's narrative skills) that I almost felt the excitement of the moment as if I had been with them! The place was so magical that the Ground-Cuckoo was not the only highlight (hard to believe ah?), with Andean Cock-of-the-Rock, Sapphire (perhaps Indigo-capped) Quail-Dove and Long-wattled Umbrellabird also recorded!

CONGRATULATIONS to both of you and thanks for sharing that experience. Rafael, we also miss you here in Panama, I hope to see you soon.

Lucky moments

My encounter with the Green-and-rufous Kingfisher last sunday in Pipeline road made me remind some others lucky moments there. Why lucky? OK, consider this: in more than 15 years birding Pipeline road, this is my first G&RKF there (and only my second one ever). I know the book assures it is rare to uncommon; but, as others birds, it is simply a rare sighting. Perhaps some birds are simply unconspicuous, maybe others are not around anymore (Crimson-bellied Woodpecker, Yellow-eared Toucanet, Black-crowned Antpitta). Anyway, I think is a good excuse to write about some others lucky moments that I have had in this place (and for posting pictures of great birds, though the pics are not so great). Remember that this are just my lucky moments... Pipeline road has a long list of lucky guys seeing absolutely terrific birds (Black-collared Hawk, Uniform Crake, Oilbird, Green Ibis, and so on...).

Agami Heron: this colourful forest rivers denizen was photographed on april 09 in Frijolitos (right by the bridge). Only one other sighting, more than ten years ago in Agua Salud, wading the river, deep inside Pipeline road. Great Curassow: a family group beyond Sirystes, the same day I saw my first Agami, is the only record I got of this species in Pipeline road.

Sungrebe: maybe not an uncommon bird, but definitively a rare sighting without the aid of a boat. My three sightings have been so far in november 08 and january 09 in the stretch of Gatun Lake reachable from the Rainforest Discovery Center. Marbled Wood-Quail: only two coveys by now. The last one between Juan Grande and Frijolitos a couple of months ago.Capped Heron: an individual flying over the Rainforest Discovery Center three months ago is my only sighting from Pipeline road (my photo is from Summit ponds, where it seems to be regular at the end of the dry season). Rufous-crested Coquette: a single male over the Juan Grande bridge 14 years ago is my only sighting... but it has been recorded in the Rainforest Discovery Center more recently.Sunbittern: at least three sightings in Juan Grande and Limbo, but none in several years (I have been luckier with this one in Plantation road and the western highlands where I took this picture). Wing-banded Antbird: two sightings (one week between both) on june 1997 close to "El Alamo", in Limbo.Rufous-vented Ground-Cuckoo: OMG!!!, this magnificent ground dweller is the reason why our hearts want to leave of the chest whenever we find a big antswarm. This january 09's photo gave me 15 minutes of fame... even Robert Ridgely commented on it via e-mail! My only other sighting was many years ago during a Christmas Birds Count in Limbo.

So, are you ready to grab your bins and camera and to expect the unexpected next time in Pipeline road?