At the roof of Panama

The Chiriqui province, in the Pacific slope of western Panama, offers the most accessible sites to birdwatch the Talamanca highlands and all its array of endemic species, and thus, is a popular destination for national and international organized birding tours.  However, few people ventures to its highest peak, the Baru volcano, with its 3.475 meters above sea level, in order to find the specialties restricted to the highest slopes. 

Paramo near the summit of Baru volcano

The high elevation vegetation and the paramo at the summit of the volcano are unique in Panama, and is protected by the Volcan Barú National Park.  Other similar habitats are essentially unaccessible in our country.  The seriously deteriorated, pot-holed and irregular road to the summit start at the charming town of Boquete, but only highly modified vehicles  can make it to the top... it is a bumpy ride, but is better than walk the 14 km-long road to the top (if you start at the rangers station).  But apart of witnessing awesome landscapes and to experience the sight of both the Pacific and Atlantic Ocean from the top, why else do you want to climb that high?  For the birds of course!  Some exciting findings at the upper slopes of the volcano came to light in the last months by the growing community of Boquete birders, including Rafael Velasquez and Jason Lara. That's why we contacted them to arrange a trip up there some weeks ago... and by "we" I mean Osvaldo Quintero, Rafael Luck, Euclides "Kilo" Campos, Darién Montañez and your host of course.

male Volcano -Heliotrope-throated- Hummingbird

We left Boquete aboard two huge trucks and started the ride around 2:00 pm.  I can swear that it felt like the vehicle was climbing a ladder!  Our first birding stop on route was at the crater known as Potrero Mulato, just above the 3.000 meters.  The birds up there where distinctively different to those found in lower slopes: Large-footed Finch, Sooty-capped Chlorospingus, Black-capped Flycatcher, Fiery-throated  and, aptly named, Volcano Hummingbirds started to be common sights... even a Costa Rican Pygmy-Owl responded to our tapes in the distance; however, these were not the birds we were looking for... so we kept climbing.

Black-capped Flycatcher

Eventually we reached Los Fogones campsite, at 3.260 meters. The vegetation looked pretty much like the paramo in the first photo, but with taller trees.  It was Volcano Hummingbirds' heaven... we even found a female on a nest. and several males displaying.  We fail to locate one of our "secondary" targets: Volcano Junco.  Although disappointed, it did not hurt as much because the species would not be lifer for me.  More than ten years ago, I climbed the volcano with a group of friends following the path in the opposite side of the mountain.  It was strenuous, rained all day and we almost froze at night while camping near the summit... but in the bright side, a flock of Volcano Juncos (and some Sooty Thrushes) decided to feed mere six feet from me while I was still trying to warm myself in front of an improvised campfire with the first rays of the sun.  I was alone in the campsite... and I clearly remember that while I was seeing the juncos, the phrase "with birds I'll share this lonely view" rumbled in my head... mountain sickness?  Hypothermia?  Who knows... I just remember the birds in the paramo.  In conclusion: not, it would not be a lifer for me.  But the bird that Jason was attracting with a recorded tape would... soon, a Timberline Wren started to sing around us, keeping low in the bushes and allowing some nice, but short glimpses.

Timberline Wren

What a bird!  Beautiful, smart, sonorous, range and habitat restricted... and a lifer!  So far so good!  However, it was not our main target (believe it or not).  Near sunset, we reached the summit of the sleeping volcano.  We like to think in Panama that our highest peak is extinct; but is not, although it last eruption was in the 16th century and the lava flow and debris avalanche reached as far as the Pacific Ocean (ten times the area covered by the Mount St. Helens debris avalanche in 1980!).  Back then, the lateral eruption melted the perpetual snows that covered the summit, collapsing it.  Now there is no snow left... but for this sun-lover of Panama City, the 8º Celsius temperature up there was freezing cold!

Sunset at the summit of Baru volcano

Well, the Rufous-collared Sparrows and the Sooty Thrushes seemed well adapted to the dropping temperatures at the summit.  In fact, both species were quite common and active... I just was thinking on keep warm.  The birds even were actively feeding at dark after sunset... those small silhouettes in the dark hoping around felt weird.

Sooty Thrush

We took dinner after sunset and started to descend in complete darkness.  The skills of our drivers were impressive... dodging huge boulders and tilting the car almost 45 degrees from side to side to fit into narrow corridors... it was scary and exciting at the same time.  Around 3.130 meters, Raul made us to stop in the road.  It was about 7:20 pm and completely dark due to the waning crescent moon... but the clear skies let us watch the stars, a rare sight up there.  He carefully chose a patch of forest with open windows (areas free of foliage) hoping to attract our main target into to one of them in order to have unobstructive views.    We took our positions behind Raul, with spotlights and cameras ready... he then played the tape at full volume once... a response was heard almost immediately!  He then played the tape at very low volume and waited... an UNSPOTTED SAW-WHET OWL started to call very close to us!

Unspotted Saw-whet Owl

We realized that the bird was below eye-level... but it quickly flew to a higher perch (right to one of those "windows") where we managed to spotlight it... and I was able to take the photos of this post.  What a sublime experience! That is a species considered extremely rare... probably it just passed unnoticed all this time due to its high elevation habitat... thanks to the fluorishing community of Boquete birders now we know a little bit more about this rare owl. The first photos from Panama were taken just this year by Raul and Miguel Siu, and the bird was re-discovered just three years ago when Jason Fidorra and Lena Ware managed to record and see a bird close to Los Fogones campsite.

Unspotted Saw-whet Owl

At the end, we heard at least three different individuals.  There were lots of high-fives and hurrays! Mission accomplished!  A little after the birds left the site, it began to rain, and we continued our descent to Boquete, where we celebrated with a round of cold beers.  Those were many emotions for a single day ... and the owl's calls were still in my head at bedtime... but I still had one day left in Boquete and did not think about wasting it... so I fell asleep to recharge batteries with the vivid memory of the rarest and cutest owl without spots!  Tomorrow would be another day... and other story, so stay tuned!

A mix of widespread and endemic birds

Western Panamá highlands form part of the Talamanca range, a well-recognized endemic bird area shared with Costa Rica, and a birding trip to this part of Panamá always is full of a great diversity of both Talamanca endemics and more widespread species.  During our last incursion to the highlands, Osvaldo Quintero, Rafael Luck, your blogger host and our guide, Ito Santamaría,  experienced this diversity.  We visited the Bajo Frío area, above Cerro Punta, looking primarily for quetzals (and we eventually saw and photographed them) and finding tons of birds in the way, starting with some common, widespread species.

See what I mean?  Who can't recognize an Acorn Woodpecker?  This clown-faced birds are quite noisy and conspicuous, a common sight in this part of the country.  And talking about common sights, nothing is more common in the highlands than Mountain Elaenias.  This species is found from northern Central America to northern South America.

While looking for quetzals, a covey of Spotted Wood-Quails started to sing close to us.  Ito attracted them with a recorded tape.  Eventually, we got amazing looks of several individuals, but capturing a photo is another theme.  These wood-quails are found from southern Mexico to western Panama; in fact, I have seen this species in Costa Rica as well.

As we moved to higher slopes, along the road to El Respingo, the avifauna changed, and we started to find Talamanca's endemics birds..., like this cooperative Black-cheeked Warbler, part of a flock with five or six birds foraging low in the understore.  This one was taking a sunbath!

There are too MANY endemic birds in those mountains, so I'm only showing a few... in this post of course.  However, we found the next two endemics high at El Respingo, in spite of the weird sign (as I said before, "beware of dog" is not enough in Chiriquí):

"No trespassing, tiger running free"

The Fiery-throated Hummingbird is a specialty of these high altitudes.  The "fiery" throat is hard to see (and this bird liked to stay in dark places), but the tiny white post-ocular spot and the blue tail are good marks.

Also endemic, the Volcano Hummingbird is a tiny gem.  This male was making impressive aerial displays.  The pointed throat usually looks dark, but in the right angle, it glows in an splendid purple tone!

Stay tuned for more highland specialties in the next posts!

More species than supposed !

I have just attended a VERY interesting lecture by Matthew Miller (of the Bermingham lab at the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute's -STRI- Naos Laboratory) during the Panama Audubon Society's monthly meeting in Panama City.  His first words stated that we are probably underestimating 30% of the avian diversity of our country !!!  

Many different forms of lowland birds (and surely highlands too) in Panama may represent new, sometimes cryptic, species under the biological species concept.  Birds like White-whiskered Puffbird, Ochre-bellied Flycatcher and White-breasted Wood-Wren are probably represented by more than one species within Panama... amazing!  Just check Matthew's chart on White-breasted Wood-Wren populations that exhibit almost no introgression among them (suggesting THREE different species!).

There are different ways for divergence among the new species... with some groups forming distinct, new separable species in a relatively short time by exhibiting habits and behaviors that reinforce the breeding barriers among them, as in the case of the Selasphorus Scintillant and Volcano Hummingbirds.

Volcano Hummingbird, genetically very similar to the Scintillant Hummingbird

But others  than the Selasphorus hummingbirds were the main attraction of the lecture.  First of all, he showed to us the distinctiveness, both physical and genotypically, of the Escudo Hummingbird, Amazilia handleyi.  Actually recognized as part of the widespread Rufous-tailed Hummingbird, A. tzacatl, the recognition of handleyi as a distinct, VERY range-restricted, full species would raise the conservation of tiny Escudo de Veraguas island as of high priority (the island is unprotected right now, and could hold more species new to science).

Two Amazilia handleyi at the extreme right.  Notice the larger size and general darker coloration in comparison with Amazilia tzacatl to the left

And what everybody was waiting for.... Matthew confirmed the discovery of a completely new hummingbird species for science.  In july 2011, STRI personnel collected a Lampornis hummingbird from southern Azuero Peninsula (Cerro Hoya), superficially similar to the Purple-throated Mountain-Gem (Lampornis calolaemus) of Nicaragua to central Panama.  It differs in both crown and vent coloration, you can see the difference in vent color in the next two photos of prepared skins (Venicio "Beny" Wilson's photo shows the difference in crown color here).

Lampornis sp. nov. at extreme left (two skins)

From left to righ: Lampornis sp. nov., Lampornis calolaemus and Lampornis castaneoventris

The Purple-throated Mountain-Gem distribution is interrupted by that of the White-throated Mountain-Gem (Lampornis castaneoventris) in Costa Rica and western Panama, with two separable form: cinereicauda (so far restricted to Costa Rica) and nominal castaneoventris (extreme eastern Costa Rica and western Panama)... but in the next photo of one of Matthew's slides, you can also see how genetically different are the Cerro Hoya birds from all the others members of the complex (notice that the pectoralis population of Nicaragua and northwestern Costa Rica is also very distinct from the homogenes - and calolaemus - birds from southwestern Costa Rica/Panama and northern/central Costa Rica respectively, but physically very similar).

Notice how distinct the Cerro Hoya birds are (enlarge the picture and follow the lines)

Congratulations Matthew, and we are eager to see the formal description of the new species (as in plural) published soon!

Weekend at the highlands. Part I

Yeap! We saw the chance, and we took it. After attending an appointment in Penonome last friday, we decided to drive farther west to the Chiriqui highlands (western Panama) to see what we can get. After a very early start, and after a quick breakfast at Santiago, we reached the Concepcion - Volcan road around 8:00 am. As usual, I decided to stop at Cuesta de Piedra to have a look at the Macho de Monte river. The day was very cloudy and the light awful for photography, but anyway Gloriela and I managed to find some interesting species, including a new year-bird for me and some lifers for her. Probably the most interesting sight was the ocurrence of all the four resident river-dwellers in the same general area: a Black Phoebe (photo of a previous trip), two Buff-rumped Warblers, four (two pairs) Torrent Tyrannulets and an American Dipper. Not only that, we also found a Northern Waterthrush and a Spotted Sandpiper working at the same rivers... making the place very productive. We saw other species as well, including my year Yellow-bellied Flycatcher (lifer for Gloriela) and a Blue-crowned Motmot of the ssp lessoni. This is the first time I see this form since its recognition as a valid species by the AOU's South America Classification Committee (SACC) under the name of Blue-diademed Motmot... a change not yet recognized by the North America Committee (neither by the Panama Audubon Society -PAS). Anyway, this motmot was very shy. We checked all the distinctive field marks (including its general greener coloration, specially to the underparts) except its vocalization. When I fot closer in order to take a picture, the motmot concealed itself behind the leaves! Well, we left the place and headed to Volcan, where we got a room in town. For the afternoon, we decided to walk the road to El Respingo, above Cerro Punta. The weather did not improve, so we were accompanied by a light rain almost all the way up. By the entrance we found a mixed flock with Sooty-capped Bush-Tanagers, Black-cheecked Warblers and my year Philadelphia Vireo (plus Yellow-winged and Brown-capped Vireos too). Next to them, a Long-tailed Silky-Flycatcher was eating some berries, not paying attention to us. Higher on the road, another mixed flock brought to us a cooperative pair of Collared Whitestarts, a Slate-throated Whitestart as well, two Ruddy Treerunners, an Spot-crowned Woodcreeper, a Yellowish Flycatcher, more Black-cheeked Warblers and a beautiful Flame-throated Warbler. Not far from us, at the edge of a big clearing, a handsome Black-capped Flycatcher was quietly perched on some bushes. It was a lifer for Gloriela and only my second time ever (so, it was a year-bird for me). For an Empidonax flycatcher, it is very distinctive! After 1.5 hours climbing, we finally reached the Respingo rangers' station, at 2500 meters above sea level. The smiley park ranger welcomed us and showed us the place, which have all the facilities for staying during a night or more. After paying the entrance fee, we walked a little around the station finding Yellow-thighed Finches, Black-and-yellow Silky-Flycatchers, tons of Band-tailed Pigeons, a flock of Sulphur-winged Parakeets perched (lifer for Gloriela) and a pair of Volcano Hummingbirds doing exhibition flights... amazing how fast and high these little birds get during these flights! After enjoying the magnificent view of the Cerro Punta valley from El Respingo, we went down to Volcan to enjoy a well deserved dinner at the hotel. We scheduled a visit to the Volcan lakes for the next morning, so stay tuned!

Western Hummingbirds Gallery II

What can I say about hummingbirds?.. I just love them. In order to complement my previous western hummingbirds gallery, I'm posting some photos captured during my last trip to the western highlands. Despite the fact that not all the hummingbirds pictured are restricted to the western highlands, they are for sure more easily seen there than in any other place (though some of them are not so easy to find). Enjoy!

UPDATE: new pics added (male Magnificent, female Sabrewing, female Ruby-throated). Another replaced (male Mountain-Gem).