Stragglers and confusing

This last weekend I decided to visit the mudflats of Panama Viejo in Panama City to check the over-summering shorebirds there.  Most of the shorebirds and gulls present in that site already migrated back to their breeding grounds in the north, but a substantial number spent the summer in these beaches, enjoying the tropical sun... usually immatures and non-breeding individuals (thus contrasting with our resident species that are busy with their nesting activities or feeding young).  For my surprise, I found some stragglers still hanging around the place.  The first one was this Franklin's Gull:

Franklin's Gull

Franklin's Gull

This bird is in full alternate plumage... a real beauty!  The wing pattern, stocky shape, short bill and legs and prominent white eye-crescents separate it from the superficially similar Laughing Gulls, which are abundant even at this time of the year.  The bulk of the population migrates through Central America earlier this month, with some extraordinaire movements noticed (check this post for example).  As I mentioned, most of the over-summering birds are immatures or in non-breeding plumage, which is the case of most of the Laughing Gulls staying in Panama, like the birds in the next picture:

Elegant Tern and Laughing Gulls

All of them are Laughing Gulls, except for the lonely Elegant Tern in the center of the photo.  It is also a straggler, but this one is in basic plumage... who knows if is planning to stay longer here.  It was first reported during the Global Big Day one week ago... and is still present there.

Other birds are present just shortly during their passage to the breeding grounds.  That's the case of the White-rumped Sandpiper.  Considered very rare in Panama, it seems regular only for a week or two in mid-May at this site.  I only saw one, but the peeps were too far away to see if more were around.

White-rumped Sandpiper

Now the confusing.  I noticed this weird warbler behind me working the mid-level of the ornamental Ficus tree at the parking lot of the Visitors Center in Panama Viejo.  I have to admit that the first thing that came to my mind was some sort of Parula... but the shape/size and some features of the plumage were wrong.

Young Yellow "Mangrove" Warbler

Then, a female Yellow "Mangrove" Warbler came and started to feed the bird... problem solved!  No matters how weird it looks, think first in a common bird with atypical features than a vagrant with typical features (this is adapted from an old medical saying).   Happy birding!

Next stop: endemic island!

I finally managed to escape Panama City for two and a half days in order to accept the great opportunity my friend Kees Groenendijk (of Hotel Heliconia Bed & Breakfast) offered time ago... a quick visit to famed Coiba Island (off-shore central Panama) in order to clean-up the endemics and specialties it has to offer.  Isolated from mainland some 12,000 to 18,000 years ago, many of its inhabitants had diverged since then into distinctive subspecies and even completely new species restricted to this island, the largest of Central America's Pacific coast.

I joined a couple of visiting Dutch birders in this journey.  With Kees as guide, we boarded our boat at the Palo Seco beach in western Azuero (close to the town of Malena where the hotel is) and headed directly to Los Pozos trail in Coiba Island.  As soon as we landed, the birds started to show up.  A mixed flock included Scrub Greenlet, Blue-gray and Crimson-backed Tanagers, Streaked Saltator, House Wren and a pair of Tropical Gnatcatchers.  All these species are represented by endemic subspecies restricted to Coiba and adjacent islands.  Most of them look very similar to the mainland congeners, except by the greenlet and the gnatcatchers.  The endemic subspecies cinericia of Tropical Gnatcatcher is distinctively darker below than other subspecies, as you can see in this male.

male Tropical Gnatcatcher (ssp. cinericia)

Los Pozos trail is flat and easy to bird.  Along it we found more Coiba's endemic subspecies, including tons of Barred Antshrikes, some Tropical Pewees, a smart Rufous-capped Warbler, a Southern Beardless-Tyrannulet and several Red-crowned Woodpeckers.  We also saw a pair of Yellow-bellied Elaenia and a Red-rumped Woodpecker.  The subspecies subpagana of Yellow-bellied Elaenia is not endemic... but is the only site in Panama where it is found; while the woodpecker is VERY rare (essentially absent) from western Panama.  Then, Kees noticed a call he recognized immediately... it was our main target... the endemic Coiba Spinetail!  The little bird crawled along some tangled vines carrying some nesting materials... and then it entered a nest.

Coiba Spinetail's nest

I can't show you a photo of the Coiba Spinetail... but I can show you its nest, a globular mass with a lateral entrance.  There is nothing like the Coiba Spinetail in the adjacent mainland of Panama... and the most similar species, the Rusty-backed Spinetail, lives in a different habitat at the other side of the Andes in South America!  It was a huge lifer for me!  I promise you some photos next time.

Mangroves along the San Juan river, Coiba Island 

Around noon, we left Los Pozos trail and headed to a different habitat; this time navigating through the San Juan river, admiring the impressive mangrove forest along its banks.  Many waders, herons, Yellow -Mangrove- Warblers and Great-tailed Grackles call this forest their home, but Kees was looking after a special resident for the area... a species extirpated from adjacent mainland Panama: Scarlet Macaw.

Scarlet Macaws

Coiba Island is a reserve of macaws and the only wild and viable population in Panama of this striking species.  After a couple of minutes, Kees was able to localize a pair resting under the canopy following their raucous  calls (photo above).  In spite of their size and plumage, they can be difficult to detect sometimes.  We were lucky to have this pair close enough for photos.  They were new birds for me as well.... a very colorful lifer!  After leaving the mangroves, we stopped by the former penitentiary... hundreds of Sandwich and Royal Terns were resting at the remains of the old pier, with some Black and Elegant Terns mixed in (including an anomalous Elegant Tern with red legs).

Black Tern

Elegant, Royal and Sandwich Terns 

Elegant, Royal and Sandwich Terns

We also visited Los Monos trail in order to find another endemic subspecies for Coiba.  Taxonomically talking, the situation of the next species is not clear.  Most authorities consider the Gray-headed Dove as a polytypic species spreading from SE Mexico to western Colombia; however, the form present in the Pacific slope of central Panama (essentially Azuero Peninsula and off-shore islands) is isolated from other populations, have a brighter plumage, apparently is vocally different too and probably deserves species status as Brown-backed Dove, an endemic species for Panama and represented in Coiba Island by its own endemic subspecies nominate battyi).  Well, after walking for a while, Kees located a pair of these doves on the ground.  It was dark and tangled, and my poor photos barely shows how bright this bird looks in the field.

Brown-backed Dove 

Brown-backed Dove

It is almost pale blue in the crown (instead of gray) and bright rufous in the back, with pinkish breast... simply beautiful.  By far this was my best experience with this species... not a lifer, but I only got glimpses of it during my last visit to Coiba Island many years ago.  We saw many more birds in that trail, including Lance-tailed Manakins, Tropical Parulas and White-throated Thrushes... but it was getting late and Kees had another surprise in store for us.  Our boat took us to some rocky islets to the north of the main island.  After some searching, we found three stock shorebirds with yellow legs and long bill.

Wandering Tattler

They were Wandering Tattlers, elsewhere a VERY rare migrant to Panama, but in these islets seems to be regular and even present year-round!  It was my third lifer for the day, something hard to say for me in Panama.  I want to thank Kees for this very quick trip to Coiba... I have to return someday to take better photographs!

Gulls and Terns by the Beltway

Coastal Beltway

Panama City's waterfront, with its manicured gardens, wide sidewalks and cycleways, sport fields and courts and several other facilities, is a very popular site to spent some time during the weekends.  Today, like every sunday, four lanes of the Coastal Beltway became a huge cycleway (38 kilometers long!) throughout the morning.  I don't bike, but took advantage of the empty sidewalks to take some pictures of the gulls and terns (and other birds) along the route.  The inshore waters were full of pelicans, cormorants and frigatebirds.  I checked a tiny beach close to the Yatch Club, where several gulls and terns (and feral Rock Pigeons) were resting.

Laughing Gull

As you can see, some Laughing Gulls are in complete alternate plumage... it is seen just for a short period of time in Panama... the same applies for alternate Sandwich Terns.

Sandwich Tern

Both species are common year-round in Panamanian coasts, but during the passage period, they become locally abundant.  I really like the light pink tones to the breast of these two species when they are in high breeding plumage... which is seldom seen in Panama of course.  After a while, I noticed another tern species mixed in with the Sandwich Terns.  Structurally very similar, both in shape and size, this individual had a yellow-orange bill:

Sandwich and Elegant Terns

An Elegant Tern!  Notice how similar it is to the Sandwich Tern next to it (thus, quite different to the Royal Tern, also present in the site).  The Elegant Tern is an uncommon and irregular passage migrant in the Pacific coasts of central Panama, with no peak of abundance... but I'm pretty sure that by this time, most of them are farther north on route to their breeding grounds... finding one of them during such a short walk along Panama City's waterfront made my day!

Elegant Tern

Last days of migration

At least in Panama, the migration season is almost done.  Most of the migratory species are already in their breeding grounds in the north, or passing swiftly through Panama.  As mentioned in my previous post, I went to Panama Viejo searching for migrants (although I ended photographing herons instead).  By far, the most common migrant were the Laughing Gulls.  This is the most common gull in Panama, but it does not breeds here.  However, big flocks of this species (mainly immatures) can be seen during the summer.  By this time is not rare to see beautiful adults in alternate plumage among the immatures and basic-plumaged adult birds!

Laughing Gulls

In the other hand, the Franklin's Gulls are only passage migrants in Panama, with only few spending the winter in our coasts.

Franklin's Gull

Notice the dark half-hood and broad eye crescents.  Also notice the black-and-white tips on primaries.  The Franklin's Gulls are also smaller and stockier than the Laughings, field marks that helped me to identify the few Franklins among the hundreds Laughings resting in the sand.  And the thin, long and orange bills of these two terns helped me to identify them as Elegant Terns.

Elegant Terns

Like the Franklin's Gulls, the Elegant Tern is an uncommon passage migrant through Panama... and only in the Pacific coast.  As you can see, the bright orange bill added some color to the monotonous shades of white and gray typical of the gulls and terns.  But if we talk about color, then another migrant win the prize:

Ruddy Turnstones

Yes!  This pair of Ruddy Turnstones almost acquired its full alternate plumage... so colorful!  They are always fun to watch.  So what are you waiting for... there is still some time to catch some late migrants!

Back in Panamá!

After a productive trip to Córdoba, Argentina, I'm back in Panamá... and still on vacations.  The true is that I'm spending most of the time in home with my baby girl Gabrielle... occasionally seeing some birds from the balcony.  That's why, when we traveled this last weekend to Penonomé (central Panamá), I took advantage to visit some places that, usually, are great for birding.

It has been a while since my last visit to the road to El Gago... and many things have changed.  I went with Gloriela and Gabrielle last saturday's afternoon and were impressed by the sight of the tall windmills in the savanna.  These are part of an important government project to produce green energy.  It was a little bit late as you can see in the photos... so we only saw some very common savanna birds, like many Eastern Meadowlarks, singing from exposed perches.

Or this Roadside Hawk inspecting us curiously.

The next day, I convinced the same crew to accompany me to the Aguadulce Salinas (saltponds), 30 minutes to the west.  It was around noon and hot, but I only wanted to have a quick look at the saltponds, searching for passage migrants.  The first thing we noticed were the big flocks of terns and skimmers over the place.  Check for example the next photo showing many Gull-billed Terns resting with several Elegant Terns.

Or this flock of Black Skimmers in the distance... more than 100 birds were resting in that pond.

I already had seen this numbers in Aguadulce this year.  But other species were new for the year, like the Stilt Sandpipers and Wilson Phalarope.  These are passage migrants (don't winter in Panamá), and this is the only time to see them in Panamá... so mission accomplished!

I saw Red-necked Phalarope in my previous visit, making this year a two-phalaropes year for the site.  We had to return to Panamá City, so we only spend 45 minutes in the pond.  In the way back, I just made a quick stop at a flooded field in Río Grande where a flock of several species of herons were feeding in the mud.  It looked like a great place for migrant shorebirds.

I only saw two Solitary Sandpipers and a Black-necked Stilt among the Cattle, Great and Snowy Egrets, the Southern Lapwings and the lonely White Ibis... but I'm sure this place deserve more visits.

At first light in El Ciruelo

After an exciting previous day at Isla Iguana, my family and friends stayed for the night at a friend's house in El Ciruelo, facing the ocean.  The morning of sunday, january 13th, I woke up, walked to the balcony and saw literally hundreds of pelicans, gulls, terns and other birds frenetically feeding at the beach!

I took my bins and camera and headed to the beach (5 minutes away) with Gloriela (the only one awake that early)... mostly Brown Pelicans and Laughing Gulls were in attendance.

Among the dozens Laughings, I found two (probably more) Franklin's Gulls, and Gloriela was able to compare both species side-by-side.  Shorter legs, smaller bill, more extensive black hood, more prominent eye crescents, etc...

The first tern I saw turned out to be a Royal Tern.  Notice the poor light of the early morning sun, but still enough to pick this species out of the flock, with its large size and orange bill.

But soon we realized that the other orange-billed terns in the flock were not Royals (again in poor light)...

I was listing the differences in comparison to the Royal Tern: smaller, thin bills, obviously crested with solid black crown extending to the eye (no white eyerings)... Elegant Terns!

The Elegant Tern is uncommon in Panama, so seeing four at the same time was great.  The fourth individual also exhibited anomalous red feet.

The last tern in the area was the Sandwich Tern, a lonely individual flew over the flock several times before disappearing in the sea.

Nice way to start the day, with two lifers for Gloriela and not one, or two, nor three, but four Elegant Terns allowing photos... and all before breakfast!  

A bit of colour at the beach

It is a fact that most shorebirds and coastal species in Panama are dull-coloured birds. That is because almost all the species dress its basic plumage (the non-breeding one) most of the time they spend in our country. That is why many panamanian birders simply don't like shorebirds, despite they are so close and easy to see. But some species exhibit an unusual bright or contrasting pattern in their bodies. I saw that this morning in the west bank of the Panama Canal. I went to Veracruz beach taking advantage of the early high tide. The day was cloudy and fresh, but the light was not the best for photography. Anyway, I put on my rubber boots and started to walk in the sand, finding almost immediately an amazing amount of birds. A flock of Brown Pelicans was fishing close to shore. The adults were showing an attractive pattern in white, yellow and blue in the head. In the mouth of the river at the easternmost end of the beach was a huge flock of resting shorebirds and waders. The most common were the Willets and the Whimbrels, with more or less 60 individuals in total. As usual, the plovers were well-represented: Black-bellied, Semipalmated, Wilson's and Collared Plovers all over the place. This site is the only one so far near the city where the Wilson's and Collared Plovers outnumber the migratory Semipalmated Plover. The waders were also well-represented, with Snowy and Great Egrets, Little Blue, Great Blue and Tricolored Herons and Yellow-crowned Night-Herons too (did you notice the Collared Plover at the Great Egret pic?). So far no peeps, which are patterned mostly in white and gray, but colourful plovers (specially those Collareds'). To add more colour, a single Elegant Tern joined the flock awhile, showing its orange bill and even a pale rose tone to the chest (which sadly is not apparent in the photo). I'm posting also a photo of a Royal Tern (that I found later) for comparison.Can you separate them? The Elegant Tern have a proportionally longer and thinner bill, which also is more downcurved. Also have more black around the eye (the eye is surrounded by white feathers in the Royal Tern). The Elegant Tern is pretty uncommon in Panama, so this was a very nice finding. And if we are talking about colourful shorebirds, then some pics of Ruddy Turnstones are mandatory! Despite they are wearing its basic plumage, they still are one of the most colourful birds in the beach.But this is not all. I left Veracruz and stopped at Farfan, closer to the city. Following an advice that I received in situ, I decided to walk along the beach to inspect the vast mudflats and the rocky shore exposed during the low tide (thanks Líder). After awhile, I saw a pair of strongly-patterned shorebirds flying low in the distance: a pair of American Oystercatchers! I slowly approached them until I got close enough to start shooting.This must be the most colourful shorebird in Panama! The oystercatchers are quite rare in Panama City, but Farfan have proved to be a regular site for this handsome shorebird. What a great way to end the day!