Ducks at the Marina

After the exciting news of rare migrant ducks in the Chagres river posted by my friend Jose Tejada in the media networks, I went with my friend Rafael Luck to the Gamboa Rainforest Resort's Marina to check them out.  Early in the morning, we inspected the river close to the docks and quickly found some of the species plus two resident ones (Black-bellied Whistling-Ducks and Muscovy Ducks); however, the restaurant, with its balcony overviewing the river (supposedly the best site for spotting the birds), was closed. This young American Crocodile right at the ramp was a nice surprise.

American Crocodile

After recording some common species, we met Rafael Lau and José Soto.  I know José from a while now, he is a chief guide at the resort, and he was planning to see to ducks as well.  He kindly invited us aboard a small boat to explore the shores of the river, in a mini birding-by-boat tour (recommended).  These Mangrove Swallows greeted us while we were leaving.

Mangrove Swallows

And soon we relocate some of the species we already had seen earlier.  Close to the dock, three Blue-winged Teals were accompanied by a Northern Shoveler.  The teals are very common in Panama during the winter (in fact, we saw many more later); however, the shoveler is a rarity down here.

Northern Shoveler and Blue-winged Teals

Northern Shoveler and Blue-winged Teals 

After some photographs, we navigated upriver, dodging the islands of floating vegetation and seeing some common inhabitants of this habitat.  Some aquatic species are specially adapted to walk in this vegetation without sinking.  They have specialized long toes to better distribute their weights.

Wattled Jacana

Purple Gallinule

The Wattled Jacana and the Purple Gallinule are very common there.  Notice the long toes of the gallinule... those of the jacana are even longer!  Notice also de frontal shield these birds exhibit protruding from the base to the upper bill.  Since these birds forage through dense vegetation, this shields may protect their heads and eyes; however, the shape, size and color of these shields are hormone-dependent, so involved in courtship display and territorial defense.  These were not the only birds with frontal shields in the river.  The most common aquatic bird was the Common Gallinule, but we also found some migrant American Coots as well, both species exhibiting frontal shields.

Common Gallinules and an American Coot

American Coots

The American Coot is regular in these waters, sometimes in amazing numbers.  In the rest of Panama is an uncommon winter resident.  However, we were looking for some rarer migrants.  José headed back to the dock, this time we checked the area in front of the restaurant's balcony, which was open and full of birders as well... and for a good reason... three American Wigeons (two hens and a drake) were swimming in front of them!

American Wigeons

Eventually, they flew away.  I managed some flight shots showing the wing pattern, important for the identification of members of this family.

American Wigeon

American Wigeon

Although rare, the American Wigeon has proven to be regular in some sites (usually in small numbers) in recent winters.  However, the next species is both a rare and irregular winter visitor to our country.

Ring-necked Ducks

Ring-necked Duck

Yes, three Ring-necked Ducks were also present, allowing great views and some nice photos.  In these birds notice the peaked head, dark crown, white eye-ring (with faint pale line behind it), pale neck collar and pale ring to the bill.  Other shots showed the pale vertical mark on side of chest.  All these features separate this species from the similar Lesser Scaup hen (we saw a drake Lesser Scaup earlier).  What a nice day!  Seven (7) duck species in a single spot in Panama.  Even though I did not break my personal record of eight species in a single spot for one day (check this post), it remains an extraordinary number for Panama

Gamboa Rainforest Resort

I want to thank José and the Gamboa Rainforest Resort staff for their kindness and availability to show these species in a comfortable way.   In just a couple of hours, we saw and hear 60 species of birds (eBird list here).  Do not miss the opportunity to see these rare species in Panama!   

A tiny heron

For some reason, both my wife and I had a free afternoon today.  After reading some interesting reports from Gamboa (in central Panama), we decided to visit the quiet town at the banks of the mighty Chagres river, trying to relocate the Least Bittern that my friends Venicio "Beny" Wilson and Osvaldo Quintero saw (and photographed) earlier in the day.  We left Panama City at 3:00 pm, with clear skies; however, Gamboa is 40 minutes away crossing the Continental Divide well into the Caribbean slope, so the weather is unpredictable... and the picture was not good.

A heavy rain hit us part of the way.  Thanks God the weather was cloudy in town (dark, with no rain at all), so we stopped at the Ammo Dump ponds, where the bird has been seen for some time.  The Least Bittern is a shy resident in this part of the country.  When I asked Gloriela if she wanted to go after it, the first thing she asked me was "it is rare? (Gloriela is kind of a twitcher)",  my response was YES.  It is seldom seen and reported... and is a bird that I had never personally seen in Panama (yes, I'm kind of a lister).  The usual suspects (Wattled Jacanas) swarmed everywhere.  We just sit and waited.

Wattle Jacana.  File photo

While waiting, other residents of these ponds showed up, like Black-bellied Whistling-Ducks, an Anhinga and a Ringed Kingfisher.  After 10 minutes, a tiny bird with conspicuous buff wing patches approached from the other side of the pond, landing just out of sight... a Least Bittern!  we decided to sneak into another lookout, with a better angle of view.  After a while, the bird came out of hiding, probably after feeding the chicks according to Beny, and perched atop some low bushes.  It turned out to be a beautiful male.

Least Bittern.  Actual photo

For some seconds I forgot I had my camera handy, we were amazed watching the tiny creature with our binoculars.  Eventually, I grabbed my camera and took the above shot... just for record, nothing to do with the excellent photos of this very same individual previously taken.  It was a life bird for Gloriela and a nice addition to my Panama list.  The bird stayed only for one minute or so... after that, it flew to some reeds where it disappeared.  We waited 30 minutes and nothing... we only add a Purple Gallinule to our list.

Purple Gallinule.  File photo

Then, it started to rain... a huge thunder storm was approaching!  We decided it was enough and returned to the city under some spectacular lightnings.  What a great way to end a twitch!

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?  

Birding by the mall (and the airstrip)

When my mother-in-law told me that she needed to do some shopping at the mall, I immediately offered myself to give her a ride. She wanted to go to the transport terminal's mall next to the Panama City's domestic airport, where Ken Allaire reported a flock of Killdeers some days ago. I grabbed my camera and my binoculars, left her at the mall and started to search the surroundings. The first thing I noticed was a big flock of Laughing Gulls having a bath in a rain pond at the parking lot. They have become common in the transport terminal during the last years, surely feeding on the drivers' lunches leftovers (as in other sites, the Western Gulls at the L.A. airport comes to my mind). I drove the "Marginal Este" Avenue that runs along the fence of the airstrip, checking the grasslands and finding some common birds at the tiny marsh. Several Great Egrets and a Little Blue Heron where feeding there, plus some Wattled Jacanas. The adults and youngs might not be more different! The black birds with red frontal shields and wattles, and yellow bills are adults... the white-&-brown birds with white eyebrows are immatures. Both have contrasting yellow flight feathers and long toes to walk over the floating vegetation... and both are noisy. These birds are also known by their peculiar familiar dynamics: a female lay the eggs in several nests where the males incubate them. The females are quite aggresive and will not tolerate another female in their territory. I also saw at least four different Southern Lapwings working the short grass. These birds are regular there, usually detected by their loud calls and showy flight pattern. After a while, a rainstorm prevented me from continuing checking the airstrip, so I waited for my mother-in-law inside the car. By the time I picked her, the rain stopped and I did a last check to the airstrip... hearing the Killdeers! They were in a track of mud recently created by the construction works at the airstrip. At first it was frustating... we heard them everywhere, but we were not able to see them. Surely they were alarmed by the Crested Caracara that landed in the track. After a while, I started to detect them far away... close to the Caracara. First one, then two more, and more.... finally I counted no less than eight individuals! I tried to photograph them, but the photos were not good enough due to the distance. Anyway, you can identify them by their characteristic double breast band and general jizz. Notice that there are two of them in the photo with the flying Caracara (OK, you may need to enlarge ALL the photos, please ignore the noise). What a great bird to find within the city. It is kind of curious that I have already seen two different flocks of Killdeers this month, considering that I didn't see a single one last year. Thank you Ken for the info, another proof that you can get surprises almost anywhere in Panama!