Just a brief report: last sunday morning I found only one of the two Pectoral Sandpipers that have been reported from the same marshy area in Costa del Este (Panama City) where I photographed my Solitary Sandpiper. This individual proved to be quite curious... just, watch the photos!
When I go to Costa del Este (Panama City), usually is to check the mudflats and the beach along the "Paseo del Mar" to then move to the grasslands next to this avenue. But last sunday morning, the "Paseo del Mar" was closed to traffic due to a marathon. So, I went directly to the grasslands, finding one Pectoral Sandpiper (more on it in my next post) and two Black-bellied Whistling-Ducks that flew away. Then, I stopped by the bridge over the Matías Hernandez river at the Main Avenue (next to the Police Station). Huge numbers of resident Neotropical Cormorants congregate here to rest at the trees or to feed by diving in these waters. One of them inspected me with its bright-green eyes... I need a closer picture of it.
LOOK UP! Hundreds of thousands Turkey Vultures and Broad-winged Hawks are flying over Panama City right now! It all started yesterday, when the preliminary counts revealed more than 650,000 birds migrating only over the Ancon hill (counts by the Panama Audubon Society). Today was amazing... swarms of hawks and vultures all around the city... great (and I thought that thousands of birds were impressive)!!!
Short-tailed Swift- and its pale throat... you may need to enlarge it).
While driving in the Coastal Beltway of Panama City, I was able to see a huge flock of at least 40 Magnificent Frigatebirds flying over the bridge at the mouth of the Mataznillo river, at the easternmost end of the way. I could not resist to stop at a parking lot to inspect the action, just to realize that the frigatebirds were out of control, chasing each other, making all sort of acrobactics, harassing all the other birds at the site (including gulls, herons and pelicans) and repeatedly flying low in order to pick up food from the water with their bills.
group. As you can see in the photo (from Farfan beach, at the west bank of the Panama Canal), the males are all dark-coloured, but they exhibit a spectacular red throat sack inflated during courtship displays at their breeding grounds. These are big birds, unique among the seabirds because they never float in the water, nor swim. They are perfect flying machines, covering great distances effortlessly, and the true pirates of the seas, stealing food from smaller seabirds!
And they are so agile! I witnessed it during my last pelagic trip, when a group of females followed our boat, maneuvering with spectacular agility in order to catch in the air the sardines that we were throwing to them!
extensive grasslands of the area. As soon as we got there, we started to see some medium-sized birds: a flock of Cattle Egrets, at least two Southern Lapwings and a Whimbrel. Of course all these birds got away when we tried to approach them, with only one of the lapwings staying enough for photos. Eventually, I found some activity at the same muddy pool where I previously saw a Solitary Sandpiper. This time, the Solitary Sandpiper was not so solitary since it was with two Pectoral 
Sandpipers. Both species were lifers for Gloriela and the Pectorals were new year-birds for me! These birds were quite photogenic... they preferred to freeze (instead of flying away) when we got closer. At close-range we were able to enjoy the attractive pattern of these bright-coloured individuals... WOW, they proved to be very impressive! We clearly saw all the pertinent field marks for its identification: the densely streaked breast sharply delimited, totally white undertail coverts, yellow legs, pale base of the bill, white eyebrow and its relative size (similar to that of the Solitary Sandpiper).
it is a very common bird, it is always nice to have a good opportunity to photograph them. OK, they are very attractive if seen well, with its bright yellow underparts and the black "V" at the chest, but its dense dorsal pattern makes them very difficult to detect in its environment. We almost stepped on one of them... it flew right from our feet! We counted at least eight of them in the little piece of land that we walked, and we heard others.
So, ready to get your Pectoral Sandpiper and all those nice birds in Panama City?
Can you imagine a group of Terror Birds hunting tiny horses in what we now call central Panama?
The Inca Tern (Larosterna inca) is surely the most beautiful of the terns. An endemic breeder 
of the Humboldt current of South America, this attractive bird rarely wanders out of its usual distribution. Panama is one of the few countries were this bird show up as a vagrant, usually under abnormal conditions. Back in the summer of 1983 - 1984, an unusual severe El Niño phenomenon (which heat up the usually cold Humboldt current) produced an invasion of this tern at our coasts. Back then, probably thousands of those birds visited the Bay of Panama for several months, but eventually died or dispersed.
There is also an unconfirmed record from coastal Herrera province (at El Agallito beach, Azuero Peninsula) during El Niño in 1998 according to Xenornis. Then, an adult Inca Tern was the first bird to accompany us during a pelagic birding trip off Punta Mala, at the tip of the Azuero Peninsula. These birds are readily identified by its all dark plumage, its erratic flight and by the white edge 
to the wings. The ornaments of its head and the red bill is evident with the bird at close range, otherwise are inconspicuous and even absent in immatures birds. I had the opportunity to see this bird in its natural range at coastal Lima, Peru. There, flocks, often with thousands of birds, feed in nearshore waters, sometimes accompanied by other species, like Kelp and Belcher's Gulls (like in my photo from El Callao, Lima). Because of its rarity (in Panama) and beauty (everywhere) is why we choose the Inca Tern as our bird of the month.
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