Cute and colorful migrant!

At this point, most of you are aware of the vagrant Painted Bunting that showed up in Brooklyn, NY and all the media frenzy it has generated... but you know that the same is happening down here in central Panama?  The report of several Painted Buntings, including a stunning male, at the Summit Ponds passed unnoticed for some days... after all, it is not the first time the species is reported for the place and usually are seen only once.  But then, the colorful male was reported repeatedly from the same spot several days in a row... and some awesome pictures by my friend Rafael Lau simply attracted attention to the rare migrant (see this eBird checklist and you'll see what I'm talking about).

"Just for tourists"

So, I went to the Summit Ponds in order to find the little bird.  The "Just for tourists" sign didn't intimidate me and I jumped the fence to reach the exact place where it has been hanging around (just joking... the sign is at the entrance of the Summit Ponds trail, but it refers to a portable bathroom that is long gone and the place is open to the general public).  The Summit Ponds are a favorite birding hotspot, so I started to find some nice species... including the local Jet Antbird, a specialty for this place.

This is how you usually see Jet Antbirds

My friends Osvaldo (Code Name: Green Kingfisher), Rafael Luck (CN: Crested Caracara) and Itzel (CN: Green Heron) where already waiting for the bird (just in case you're wondering, my code name is Cinnamon Woodpecker).  It was close to 3:00 pm and I decided to walk a little more into the trail, since the bird had been religiously seen around 4:00 pm.  I found several common residents and it was quite entertaining... a male Purple-crowned Fairy and three different species of euphonias were the highlights... but it soon was time to check for the bunting.

Purple-crowned Fairy

A little bit before 4:00 pm, I noticed a little bird flying low behind my pals.  A quick glimpse with my binoculars confirmed my suspicion: the expected male Painted Bunting!  I hurried to call my friends who were able to watch the shy bird... it was a life bird for all of them.

Painted Bunting 

Painted Bunting

My pictures are just for record purposes, of course... the bird was a little far for my lenses and didn't allow us to approach (it was very shy as I mentioned before), so we decided to left him alone.  What a magnificent little bird... so deliberately colored!  We didn't see the females reported before, but I'm sure there were at least two adult males because the next day I was able to see them just seconds apart.

Painted Bunting

It was not a lifer for me... but trust me that this is a species don't you want to miss in Panama if you got the chance!

Owls, wine and cheese night

Every year, the Panama Audubon Society organizes the "Owls, wine and cheese night" for its members (and non-members as well) with the intention of spending a pleasant time with friends and, incidentally, find some owls.  The 16th annual meeting was held last saturday in the facilities of the Parque Municipal Summit, on the Gaillard road in the way to Gamboa.  For those who arrived early, the event started birding the Summit Ponds, that are very close to the park.  We saw several common species (personally recorded 37 different species); however, this American Crocodile was a highlight (at least for me).

American Crocodile

This was the second "Owls, wine and cheese night" for Gloriela and me.... and the first one for Gabrielle.  As usual, we started with the wine and cheese part of the event.  Ten persons attended the meeting, and we enjoyed a nice selection of cheeses, desserts and ceviche... as well as some fine wines (coke for the drivers like me).

After a while, we went out in search of some owls.  Rosabel Miró and Karl Kaufmann took the lead handling the spotlight and the recorded calls to attract the birds.  Edgar Arauz, park director and with whom we are very grateful for all the support offered, joined us while we drove slowly the paved circuit crossing clearings, shrubs, forest patches and borders.  The first night creature to appear was a Four-eyed Opossum for some of the group, but we missed it; however, we had another nice marsupial in the spotlight: a handsome Central American Woolly Opossum (Caluromys derbianus - also known as Derby's Woolly Opossum) that allowed some photos!

Central American Woolly Opossum

It was a lifer for me and for most of the participants... simply great!  And what about the owls?  Well, the only species to respond to our recorded calls was the Mottled Owl; however, while looking for the responsive owl, incidentally one of the participants found a young Spectacled Owl high in a tree!

Spectacled Owl

Why so excited?  Because my highly edited photo shows an owl that we actually SAW during the "Owls, wine and cheese night".  Traditionally no owls are seen in these events (although many are heard).  Gloriela thinks this is due to our "wine first, owls later" methodology... I think it is just luck.  In any case, it is not easy to see owls in Panama... most of them are forest dwellers that, although attracted by our recordings, usually remain just out of sight.  Even Gabrielle was excited by seeing this owl!

I also saw a Pauraque to complete the bird list for the night.  I hope to see you in the next Panama Audubon Society's "Owls, wine and cheese night"!

Back to the ponds!

I returned this afternoon to the Summit Ponds (central Panama), after visiting the place last monday, this time accompanying Rosabel Miró who wanted to see the White-eyed Vireo reported there. The place was crowded with two groups of birders, one of them guided by Carlos Bethancourt himself (who reported the rare migrant in the first place, he is at the far left). They were more interested in the residents Lance-tailed Manakins, so we focused on finding the rare vireo (for Panama). Not even 10 minutes after our arrival, we found the White-eyed Vireo exactly in the same tangles where I left it last monday! In the meanwhile, both groups departed to the ponds. Since a year ago, the Autoridad del Canal de Panama (ACP) prohibited the entry to the ponds and we lost a nice birding area, but Carlos got a permission so he was able to visit the ponds and the old Gamboa road that passes through them... so I infiltrate the group! Before reaching the ponds, a male Gartered Trogon welcomed us by perching over the road and vocalizing for the delight of all the birders... specially those with photographic equipment. The yellow underparts and eye ring are enough to recognize this species in Panama. My photo is a little overexposed, but still you can have an idea of the beautiful color pattern that this creature have. At the ponds, everyone was busy watching the birds that live there. This is one of the most reliable sites to find Boat-billed Herons, and of course we found two of them quietly resting on a branch over the water... I barely saw one individual last year because I was unable to visit these ponds. Others birds, regular in the area, were Lesser Kiskadee, Amazon and Green Kingfishers and Prothonotary Warbler. Then, Carlos spotted a heron perched quietly close to the road. The excitement was evident when he revealed that he got an immature Agami Heron. Despite its youth, it exhibited the long and thin bill plus the very long neck characteristic of the species. The heron also exhibited some blue feathers, specially in the wings, and a contrasting light blue crown... simply amazing! You know is still a young bird because of its mostly brown plumage, with white throat and underparts. This is just my third Agami Heron, and my first in the Summit Ponds where it have been reported before. Carlos called Rosabel, who was still at the vireo spot showing it to her husband Karl who arrived later, and then he continue his way deep inside the road. We stayed admiring the heron, watching it fishing and moving along the fallen trunk. What a great experience. After a while, Rosabel received another phone call from Carlos. He and his group saw an adult Rufous Nightjar on a nest. He gave us the directions, and we eventually reached the place... Carlos was kind enough to come back in order to show us the bird, which was magnificently camouflaged with its surrounding, as you can see in the photo. What a great manner to end the day. Carlos, thank you again for all the pretty birds!

Short stroll after the work

So far, this has been a GREAT season for migratory birds in Panama. Some days ago, Carlos Bethancourt, the famous guide of the Canopy Tower, reported in the social network a White-eyed Vireo at the entrance of the Summit Ponds (central Panama). Two days ago, Osvaldo Quintero and Euclides "Kilo" Campos went to the site and found that the bird was still in the same place. So I went yesterday after finishing my work at the hospital, chasing the rare bird. The White-eyed Vireo is a vagrant migrant to Panama, with only few reports, mostly from sites near the Caribbean coast. I reached the place around 3:30 PM and the first bird I saw from the window of my car was a Yellow-throated Vireo working high in the trees. False alarm... or a sign of the good things to come? The place was very quiet, surely due to the heat, but anyway, I saw many migrants in the surrounding trees. Representing the warblers, present were Bay-breasted, Chestnut-sided and Yellow Warblers, plus a Northern Waterthrush. A fruiting tree had no less than three males Rose-breasted Grosbeak and a Great Crested Flycatcher. I even saw another Yellow-throated Vireo and several Summer Tanagers too. Around 4:00 PM, I detected a movement in a tangle. I saw with my binoculars the white underparts, two white wing bars, yellow spectacles... THE White-eyed Vireo!!!! WOW, just like that, it materialized in front of me! The bird did not vocalize, and it moved actively always in the tangled parts of the trees. Like Osvaldo stated, it was not easy to photograph, and my marginal photos only show the neccesary to have a positive ID. I'm very impressed with the conspicuous white eye... just look at the picture (you may need to enlarge it). A HUGE lifer, and I'm very grateful with Carlos for sharing it! After a while, I detected another bird skulking in the same tangles. About the same size of the vireo, I recognized it immediately as a warbler because it was moving even more actively than the vireo. After a while I got decent views, confirming it was a Magnolia Warbler, an immature considering its gray breast band. Curiously, this is the sixth species of warbler that I see this year and that I missed last year. Both birds foraged very close to each other, without noticing a single interaction between them. I stayed for 30 more minutes, and the birds stayed in the same general area. Again, only marginal photos of the warbler, but I'm very happy with them (at least the bird is recognizable). Well, as I said: GREAT season for migrants!

Time to pay attention to the bamboo?

Today I spent the morning searching for birds with Osvaldo Quintero in the Old Gamboa road (aka Summit Ponds road). This is an easy walk, with many birds due to the variety of habitats and close to the city... it is perfect for those seeking a long list in few hours or if you want to have prolonged views of emblematic neotropical birds like toucans, caciques, trogons, kingfishers and so on... We started at the ponds itself, where we saw Amazon and Green Kingfishers waiting over the surface for a victim, and a Collared Aracari that deigned in giving a glimpse over its shoulder. A pair of Great Kiskadees were on a wire, paying attention to all our movements. Soon we realized that the commonest birds now were the migrants, with Northern Waterthrushes and Eastern Wood-Pewees in almost every corner. Others migrants recorded were Prothonotary, Chestnut-sided and Yellow Warblers plus a lonely Great Crested Flycatcher. That activity was low, but constant, with common birds comming to us like Blue-and-gray, Crimson-backed and Gray-headed Tanagers, a pair of Orange-chinned Parakeets excavating a nest, Clay-colored Thrush and others. A quick search of the skies produced migrating flocks of swallows plus some unidentified Chaetura swifts. Also, we got a migrating flock of Swainson's and Broad-winged Hawks accompanying a greater group of Turkey Vultures (more on them in another post, I promise). I must say that not everything is good in paradise... part of the trail has been widened and cleared in order to improve an access road to some installations of the ACP (Panama Canal Authority), but we still managed to find some specialties of the area, including a Jet Antbird (although only heard). A bit discouraged by the scene, we reached the group of bamboo close to the half way, most of it now lying on the floor. For our surprise (and I mean BIG surprise), we heard the characteristic loud and buzzy thrill of a Slate-colored Seedeater right above us in the bamboo!! We played a tape and then a second male with a female appeared, allowing us to take some shots. We stayed for 15 minutes or so, appreciating these nomadic seedeaters. Very happy with the finding, we decided to go to the Metropolitan Natural Park, just to see if we can catch up the migrating flock of raptors over the city. One hour later we were in the lookout, but with no luck this time (no raptors). We started to return through "La Cienegüita" trail. Few minutes later, I heard what I thought first was an auditive hallucination caused by the dehydration: a loud and buzzy thrill over a bunch of bamboo!! And guess what... for the second time in the day we were watching two males Slate-colored Seedeaters singing with all their forces. Well, I imagine that it is time to pay more attention to the bamboo. Considering that all those bamboo-associated birds are quite rare and nomadic (at least in Panama), and that this particular month of october has produced some reports of these birds (Barred Parakeet, Peg-billed and Slaty Finches here; Slate-colored Seedeater here) is logical to think that maybe IT IS HAPPENING... the flowering of the bamboo... or maybe I'm just overreacting and all these are coincidences? It is supposed to be one of the rarest sight in the botanical world, an event that occurs every 10 to 120 years and when it occurs; well, all the bamboo plants of that species flower at the same time and then die at the same time too... is not amazing? I'm not going to take any risk and I will organize a birding trip to the western highlands, searching for those bamboo-specialists that I still need. Want to join me?