2017's Top 10 Birds!

And here we are again!  This year is about to end, and everyone is looking forward to have a new beginning, with new goals and resolutions.  I'm glad to say that my last year's wish came true, to have  more life birds... and some of them, plus other goodies, are now part of this new Top 10 Birds for Panama in 2017.

Large-billed Tern

10. Large-billed Tern: extremely rare and erratic in Panama, this impressive species showed up at the Charges river in Gamboa (central Panama), where I was able to twitch it successfully.... several times!  Curiously, later in the year, a pair appeared in Finca Bayano, where I was able to photograph and audio-record them!

Buff-fronted Quail-Dove

09. Buff-fronted Quail-Dove: this secretive species was a long expected lifer for me.  I include it in this top 10 not because of its rarity or beauty, but for the story surrounding it... a long twitch with my wife Gloriela, a scary drive in the dark through an extremely rough road, and finding it quietly walking the trail in the chilly morning... simply a sublime experience!

Hermit Warbler

08. Hermit Warbler: also a long twitch to the western highlands with my family.  This rare migrant warbler decided to spent some days in Bambito (Chiriqui province).  Thanks for the alert of fellow birders, I was able to catch it during the most important festivity for the Panamanians: the carnival.

Dusky-backed Jacamar

07. Dusky-backed Jacamar: this range-restricted species, found only in eastern Panama and Colombia, used to need a complete expedition to find.  My good friend Nando Quiroz showed it to me, with many more eastern Panama specialties, aboard a little canoe and whistling it in!

Nop, there are no birds in the picture!

06. Gray-capped Cuckoo: another extremely rare and erratic species.  A Gray-capped Cuckoo appeared in Finca Bayano and stayed for three more days (at least).  No photo of this one.  It was probably taking advantage of the caterpillars feeding on the mangroves, as pictured above by my friend Rosabel Miró.  The mangroves suffered... but at least it made some lucky birders very happy!

Little Cuckoo

05. Little Cuckoo: this one appeared while trying to relocate a Dwarf Cuckoo reported in Rio Torti.  I dipped on the Dwarf Cuckoo, but this localized species made my day.  Why?  Because that was the last species missing in my very first "Wish List", which I wrote down more than 20 years ago!  Follow the link and you will see the blank space after the "Cuco Enano" entry!

Maguari Stork

04. Maguari Stork: this huge and elegant vagrant from South America was found by my friend Rolando Jordan in Finca Bayano... just the second sighting for the country.  One day later, short of time and in a hurry, I was able to relocate the bird with some friends.  I was unable to find it the first time it appeared in Panama, and curiously, it was a species that eluded me in South America as well... so it was a huge lifer for me!

Volcano Junco

03. Volcano Junco: this is the only species that was not a Panama-lifer for me in this list.  But seeing it after more than 15 years (and just for the second time) at the highest point of the country (at the summit of the Baru volcano, in the western highlands) with my wife and the fading light of the sunset... priceless!

Carib Grackle

02. Carib Grackle: this smart and adaptable species colonized Panama unnoticed!  The first records for the country are so close to Panama City that it is almost shameful.  After seeing it with a group of fine birders and friends (including Beny Wilson, Rolando Jordan and Natalia Decastro), I realized that this was the species that I saw and photograph some weeks before in Finca Bayano as well!

Russet-throated Puffbird

01. Russet-throated Puffbird: I know you already figured it out... a new species for Panama and North America!  Found yesterday by an organized birding group, I twitched it immediately with my friend Rolando Jordan, sorting traffic jams, pot-holed roads, torrential downpours and bad light conditions... well, that's probably the recipe to success!

OK, I hope you enjoyed this list as much as I did... and now, take your binoculars, go out, sort some obstacles, and lets find some new life birds in the new year!

Northern Central America Endemics birds!

Earlier this year, I visited Antigua, Guatemala, attending a medical congress.  It was not my first time in the picturesque city, an UNESCO World Heritage Site, with its cobbled streets, colonial buildings and dozens of churches... it doesn't matters how many times you visit it, it is always charming and full of culture and history.  However, this time I had a spare day to spent birding.

I arranged a day trip with Cayaya Birding and was not disappointed!  They already knew my target list of species due to the constant communication I had the weeks before with Claudia Avendaño (one of the owners and bird guide), so they planned my day carefully in order to get as many lifers as I can.  Knut Eisermann was my guide for the day.  He picked me up before dawn at my hotel and, after a brief introduction, we headed to our first destination: Cerro Tecpán.  The day started with a tasty breakfast at a restaurant by the entrance of the trails (one of them called "Sendero del Chipe" and featuring a Pink-headed Warbler!), watching White-eared and  -recently split- Rivoli's Hummingbirds at feeders by the windows.  Right by the parking lot we started to watch some goodies: Black-capped Swallows, Hooded Grosbeak and Mountain Trogon.

Mountain Trogon

Once at the trail, the pine-cypress-oak-alder forest was alive with chirps, calls and songs completely unknown to me... I was not in Panama anymore for sure!  Even shared species, like Paltry Tyrannulet, looked and sounded completely different to what I am used... Knut immediately started to point lifers to me: Crescent-chested and Golden-browed Warblers, Amethyst-throated Hummingbird, Cinnamon-bellied Flowerpiercer, Hutton's Vireo, Rufous-browed Wren, Steller's Jay and noisy Blue-throated Motmots that were quite difficult to photograph.

Blue-throated Motmot

Cerro Tecpán wat not a random choice... Claudia and Knut both decided to try this site first since it was the only one within the range of a day-trip where we could have a chance for my main target: Pink-headed Warbler.  Soon, Knut told me to follow him, since he was hearing the warbler further ahead the trail.  We started to search the nearby trees, finding Bushtits, Olive Warblers, Slate-throated Whitestarts (with red bellies) and Tufted Flycatchers... then, I managed to see a flash of crimson and silver... a tireless Pink-headed Warbler was hoping from leave to leave looking gorgeous in the morning light!  What a special little creature.  This species is restricted to Guatemala and the Mexican state of Chiapas, and was very high in my wish list!  We kept birding, reaching the upper part of the trail.  More specialties were to come in the form of Rose-throated Becard, Acorn Woodpecker, Northern -Guatemalan- Flicker, Greater Pewee and Blue-and-White Mockingbird (probably an immature, due to the dark patches in the underparts).

Blue-and-White Mockingbird

Soon it was time to leave.  In order to take advantage of the full day, we went back to Antigua to have lunch, and then, to well-known Finca El Pilar.  I visited the hummingbird feeders and the first part of the trails in my previous visit last year; however, this time Knut took me to the upper ridges of the finca, with several stops along the way that produced several lifers for me (like Cabani's Wren, Red-billed Pigeon, Black-vented Oriole and White-eared Ground-Sparrow) plus some widespread species that we also have in Panama, like Dusky-capped Flycatcher, Orange-billed Nightingale-Wren and White-winged Tanager.  He also found a Mexican Porcupine (also a lifer) sleeping in a high branch partially hidden by some bromeliads.

Dusky-capped Flycatcher, Rivoli's Hummingbird and White-winged Tanager (seconds before, there were also Greater Pewee and Cabani's Wren)

Mexican Porcupine

We reached an open camp with some cabins when it started to rain.   We stayed under a shelter, scanning the surroundings and the forest border around.  The place was alive with several Gray Silky-Flycatchers, Eastern Bluebirds, Buff-breasted Flycatchers, Black-headed Siskins and beautiful Rufous-collared Thrushes.  The view was amazing, with the majestic Agua Volcano, Antigua and the old city at the horizon.  It reminded me a place in Panama (El Respingo)... although the birds were quite different (of course).

Finca El Pilar - cabins

Eastern Bluebird

Black-headed Siskin

In the forest above the cabins we were lucky enough to watch an elusive Scaled Antpitta crossing the trail, plus Northern Emerald Toucanets, Collared Trogons, Bar-winged Oriole (lifer), Collared Forest-Falcon and Highland Guan (both heard in the distance), a family group of Band-backed Wrens and several resident warblers.  It was getting dark, but Knut still had a last surprise for me.  He knew a spot for a special species that wanted to show me.  He played a recorded call few a times and waited. Then, he pointed towards an exposed branch... silently, an owl landed there, inspecting us curiously... a Fulvous Owl!

Fulvous Owl

The Fulvous Owl is restricted to the humid evergreen forests of the highlands of northern Central America and southern Mexico, and certainly I was not expecting it on this trip!  Thanks Knut and Claudia for the excellent day, the lifers and the great company!

At the end of the road

Few months ago (yes... months!), I took advantage of some spare days and went to Darien province in eastern Panama in order to find a bird that has eluded me since I started birding more than 20 years ago.  You may expect that it is a rare and range-restricted species... and until some years ago, only reliable during the expeditions that ventured deep into the jungle of the Darien Gap.

Welcome to Yaviza. Km 12,580 final from Alaska

So I drove all the way to the town of Yaviza, where the Pan-American Highway abruptly ends... the only gap in more than 30,000 km of concrete and asphalt, and where the Darien Gap officially start!  My short stop there produced Bicolored Wren, a recent colonist to eastern Panama (and Central America), but not the target of my trip.  Some forest patches near town produced some eastern Panama specialties, like Black Oropendola, Black Antshrike and the cassini  ssp. of Chestnut-backed Antbird with its distinctive white spots on wings.

male Chestnut-backed Antbird, ssp cassini 

It was late, and I drove back to Metetí, where I spent the night.  The "appointment" with my target would be on the afternoon of the next day, so I planned to spent the next morning birding El Salto road, which requires an early start... as I did.  Early next day, I caught the dawn chorus in the famous road that ends in the mighty Chucunaque river.  El Salto road is a birding hotspot of the Darien lowlands.  Many Darien specialties and range-restricted species are easily seen there... but not the one I was looking for... but it was a nice spot to spent a couple of hours birding.  In quick succession I got some nice birds like Gray-cheeked Nunlet, Double-banded Graytail, Black-tailed Trogon, Choco Sirystes and many more.

El Salto road birding hotspot

Gray-cheeked Nunlet

Time flies when you are having fun, and soon it was time to return to Metetí in order to meet an old friend of mine.  After lunch, I joined  Nando Quiroz, who is an experienced birding guide, specialized in Darien birds.  He was in a private tour with a visiting birder who kindly agreed to accept my company for some hours... so I joined them and went across the Chucunaque river into the Embera-Wounaan region, into mature, old forest.  Before arriving to the local village, Nando stopped the car at the entrance of a narrow trail.  We walked a little bit and then he pointed us a huge Cuipo tree (Cavanillesia sp.)... it had a nest with an eagle on it... a Crested Eagle!

Crested Eagle

The Crested Eagle is a rare, huge raptor of the neotropics and not very often you have the opportunity to watch one on a nest.  It was not a lifer, but just the second time ever I had the chance to experience it!  In the short way out, back to the car, we crossed Red-throated Caracaras, Blue Cotingas, Golden-headed Manakins and a pair of Blue-and-yellow Macaws, detected by their raucous calls... they were lifers for me!  Once at the village, Nando suggested to take a little "panga" at the river to have a better field of view for my target.

That's Nando at back

We were looking for a bird that  inhabits forest edges and clearings... but in Panama it seems to specialize in river banks.  So there we were, aboard a wooden canoe in the middle to the river... Nando was whistling patiently.  Then, a response in the distance... something was answering to Nando's whistling.  After some tense minutes searching the surroundings, Nando pointed out a Cecropia tree.  A small, drab bird with long and pointed bill was flycatching and returning to the same perch... I shakily managed to take some photos.

Dusky-backed Jacamar

DUSKY-BACKED JACAMAR!!!  I know it is not fancy, nor colorful... but this is a quite special bird.  Restricted to a tiny area of eastern Panama and northwestern Colombia, this distinctive species required complete expeditions in the past.  Now, there are some accesible sites along the Chucunaque river that not even need a boat ride to reach!  Of course, you need an experienced guide to take you there... and Nando certainly is one of the best!  Thank you very much!

And the birding continues! Pelagic off western Azuero

And after exciting 16+ hours of pure birding, we ended at the town of Malena, western Azuero, with our friends Kees and Lowes of Heliconia Inn.  We scheduled a pelagic trip for the next day, and the rest of the participants were already there: Mario Ocaña, George Angehr (yes, the author of "The Birds of Panama" field guide), visiting birder Enos Diestre and Kees Groenedijk as our guide.

That's me, George, Mario, Kees, our captain and Enos

As usual, very early the next day (May 14th) we took a quick breakfast and headed to the dock at Rio Negro, close to the town of Mariato.  With the first lights we started to navigate along the western coast of the Azuero Peninsula, in a route now familiar to some of us who were recurrent in this kind of trips.  It soon became clear that this would be a spectacular journey... since hordes of Black Terns, Brown Noddies and Galapagos Shearwaters started to appear... even close to shore!

We found several of these flocks feeding over schools of Bonitos... the show was simply amazing!  Frenzy feeding action both under and above the waves... it was hard to focus in just one bird.  In fact, among the dozens of goodies and Black Terns, there were other terns species, like Common and Sooty Terns for example.

Brown Noddies

Alternate Black Tern

Common Tern

Sooty Tern

But most important, the first tubenoses were also attending the party.  First a few... then, flocks with up to 50 Galapagos Shearwaters resting on the water or swiftly moving around each good spot.  The Galapagos Shearwaters are always present in these pelagic trips; however, it was the first time I saw so many... reminding me those photos of one of my favorite field guides on pelagic birds.  They allowed some close shots by the way!

Galapagos Shearwater

When we reached the Continental Shelf break, some other tubenoses started to appear... up to three Wedge-tailed Shearwaters started to feed among the Galapagos Shearwaters, while some Black and Wedge-rumped  Storm-Petrels also did some quick appearances... but they were quite shy for photos. Trust me, it is not easy to aim and shoot those little guys from a buoying boat in the middle of the ocean!

Wedge-tailed Shearwater

Wedge-tailed and Galapagos Shearwaters

Wedge-rumped Storm-Petrel

We recorded some other species, including Brown and Nazca Boobies, Bridled Terns and Laughing Gulls out there.  We also had some nice non-avian highlights... like several Hammerhead sharks (unknown species... if you have an idea let me know) and at least two different species of sea turtles, including the one pictured here:

Hammerhead Shark sp.

Sea Turtle sp.

As you can see, a successful trip.  Each one of these trips in Panama help us to understand a little bit more our pelagic avifauna... still a lot to do in this aspect of course.  

2017 Global Big Day in Panama

For the third year in a row, the Cornell Lab of Ornithology held the Global Big Day on last May 13th, a day when thousands of eBirders around the world joined forces to record the largest ever seen before number of birds.  Not a global competition, but an event to raise awareness and support global conservation, to work as a team, to set goals and to surpass oneself... that's the magic of this initiative.
In one way or another, many birders worked together to elevate their countries to the highest place in this non-declared "competiton".  Here in Panama, several groups announced their routes and targets.

Of course I did the same.  In what is now a tradition, I went with my wife Gloriela to the foothills of Cocle province (central Panama) and stayed the night before at the cabin of the General de Division Omar Torrijos Herrera National Park above the town of El Cope.  Exactly at 12:00 am, I went out in the dark looking for owls.  The night was chilly and foggy, and only a Mottled Owl was heard in the distance... but that was my first bird of the day!  Later, around 5:00 am, we were ready to listen the dawn chorus.  In quick succession we started to add species by ear: Rufous Motmot, both Clay-colored and Pale-vented Thrushes, Hepatic Tanager and so on...  With the first lights we started to hike La Rica trail, taking then La Rana trail in a kind of loop back to the cabin.  There was another group birding the area, so we did the transect quite quickly, adding some nice species like Stripe-breasted Wren, Spot-crowned Antvireo and Orange-bellied Trogon.

Adult male Orange-bellied Trogon

Soon, it was time to start the descend to the lowlands.  On route we did several stops to check the activity... still above El Cope town we found Black-headed Saltator, Chestnut-headed Oropendolas and Giant Cowbirds, while at town a Lesson's Motmot allowed nice views and photos.  The exact ID of members of the former Blue-crowned Motmot in central Panama is a mystery, but now I think that all of them (both in the foothills and in the lowlands) probably are Lesson´s Motmots.

Black-headed Saltator 

Lesson's Motmot

The heat of the lowlands savanna contrasted with the chilly humid premontane forest that we left behind.  It was suffocating!  Nevertheless, we kept birding.  Typical birds of this habitat were Savanna Hawk, Ruddy, Plain-breasted and Blue Ground-Doves, Brown-thorated Parakeets, Ferruginous Pygmy-Owl and both Golden-fronted and Scrub Greenlets.  At the Aguadulce Salinas, a huge group of Black Skimmers was expected, but the dozens of Wilson's Phalaropes were not!  Nice additions for the day.  At El Salado beach, many waders, including American Oystercatchers, were present, while some nearby fields were good for egrets, meadowlarks and other species.

Wilson's Phalarope (file photo)

Our next stop was Sarigua, were our target was the isolated form of Common Ground-Dove.  An important species for the country since no other group was expected to find it... the ground-dove is extremely localized in Panama, and Sarigua is the best place to find it.  It took us a while, but eventually Gloriela found a pair by the main road in the way out.  With our target in the bag, we ended the day at the town of Chitre, checking some common species and few waders.  We still had a long way to western Azuero... where we stayed that night in order to prepare for the pelagic trip (yes, more about that in my next post).

Globally, the event was a complete success! In Panama, we only managed to achieve one goal (of three): to surpass last year's numbers.  We failed in being the first Central American country in the general table and to enter the world Top Ten...  but certainly next year will be waaay better!

To twitch, or not to twitch

Different birders watch birds in different ways.  Some of them like to spend the afternoon relaxing in the porch, watching the birds at the feeders in the middle of the backyard while others chase all the species possible within a region... some keep watching birds everywhere, anytime while other only birdwatch during the weekend.  I do a little bit of everything, depending on time of course.  However, sometimes a little extra effort is necessary if you want to add new birds to your life list.

Large-billed Tern at Gamboa

This year have been exceptional regarding occurrence of local rarities.  And so far, I have managed to cross the country several times searching for them... successfully!  Alone, with my family or with friends, chasing a rarity is always exciting, specially if you manage to successfully locate the bird you were looking for.  For example, the day after the first report of a vagrant Large-billed Tern in the town of Gamboa (central Panama) I decided to pay a visit in my lunch break... actually it was my only chance because I was about to leave the city later that day and for more than a week.  Gamboa is mere 30 minutes or less from Panama City, so the decision was straightforward.  After 10 minutes of my arrival, the Large-billed Tern circled above the public dock (right where it was reported) showing its spectacular flight pattern and allowing nice photos (above) and even better views.  I probably stayed only 20 minutes... yes, I saw it and that was all... back to work!

Twitching a Dwarf Cuckoo

Time is important... you better try to find your desired birds as soon as you get the news of its occurrence.  Some vagrants stay for long periods of time while others are seen only once or twice.  When the very rare (for Panama) Dwarf Cuckoo appeared in Tortí (one and a half hours to the east of Panama City) one week ago, I lost the chance to chase it... when I finally went to the site four days later, the bird was not there.  The birders that went the next day of the initial report found it by the way.  A Little Cuckoo at the site was a great consolation prize, but having a twitching trip with good friends always worth it... with or without Dwarf Cuckoo!

Little Cuckoo at Torti

But some times you get lucky... when my friend Rafael Lau published the photos of a very rare (for Panama) Hermit Warbler in Bambito (western highlands of Chiriqui province), I was in the middle of a trip with my family, thousands of kilometers away of Panama.  When I finally was able to twitch the bird, I drove more than 700 kms back and forth in the same day with my wife Gloriela and my daughter Gabrielle.  At the site, I started to search for the vagrant warbler.  It took me a while before an adult male Hermit Warbler decided to materialize in front of me, allowing some shots, like the one posted below... amazing!  We were in a rush, and only had time for another specialty of the Chiriqui highlands: strawberries with cream!

Hermit Warbler at Bambito

Strawberries & cream!

And then, just few weeks after my life Hermit Warbler, I went back to the Chiriqui highlands, again in a long twitch from Panama City with my wife.  My objective, a relative common, but secretive, inhabitant of montane forests.  Some friends of mine repeatedly reported a Buff-fronted Quail-Dove in the trails above the town of Guadalupe, within La Amistad International Park.  But a very early drive in the dark through a really bad road was necessary in order to be at the trail on time to watch the bird... and that was exactly what we did.  After spending the night at town (just after watching, for the first time, a Costa Rican Pygmy-Owl), I drove the road in complete darkness.  The road looks like a dry river bed... quite bumpy and scary... but we made it.  At first light, we were at the start of the trail.  Soon, I saw a plump figure walking toward us... I barely trusted my eyes because a Buff-fronted Quail-Dove was in collision trajectory!  When the quail-dove noticed our presence (mere five meters from us), it turned around, walking up-trail.  Then, I remembered that I was carrying my heavy camera and tried some shots... just this came out:

What a great experience!  Finding your desired bird is magical, specially after investing time and effort on it.  The above picture probably doesn't show the quail-dove in all its splendor, but I kind of like it... I can almost feel the chilly air in the morning under the canopy of the montane forest while seeing this photo!  For me, the answer to the question is TO TWITCH!