A Visit to Finca Los Lagos (aka Ibis-Land)

The news spread like fire!  A Bare-faced Ibis returned to the same area where it was seen for the first time in Panama last year.  As you heard it, the Bare-faced Ibis found in Darien province (eastern Panama) by Pepe Castiblanco and Erasmo De Leon was the last addition to our national list of birds, but after the first few sightings, it disappeared... until now.  It reappeared in the same general area last month, and since then, several twitchers have found it with the help of Erasmo.

Finca Los Lagos, Darien

So, last Sunday I decided to try for it.  Erasmo's nephew, Jean, showed me the way through pasture land and dry riverbeds until we reached Finca Los Lagos, property of Erasmo's parents, at first light.  It was evident why it attracted so many birds... the surroundings were extremely dry due to the harsh dry season, but the place holds a lake with marshy vegetation and other wetlands that attracts tons of life.  Also, the property borders an extensive forest too... a nice combination.  We did the first try before breakfast... and I'm going to kill the suspense right away because the very first ibis we saw mere 100 meters from the house was THE ibis!

Bare-faced Ibis with Blue-winged Teals and a Black-bellied Whistling-Duck

The ibis was not a lifer for me to be honest... but it was the first time ever I see one in Panama!  With its growing number in South America, I wonder why this species have not yet "invaded" our country. It was quite shy and I only managed distant shots... but hey, I got my target and I was just starting!  With the ibis in the bag, we decided to bird along the forest border in direction to a nearby wetland.  As you can imagine, we found several other species... but as suggested by the title, I was impressed with the diversity of ibises species.  In quick succession we saw Glossy, Green and White Ibises feeding on the wetlands!

Glossy Ibis

Green Ibises

White Ibises (immatures)

I don't recall any other site in Panama where you can see four different species of ibises at the same time (the Panama list of birds have seven species of ibises, with the other three extremely rare, just as the Bare-faced), indicating the quality of the habitat at the site.  The ibises were not the only one attracted to these wetlands, the ducks were well represented with large numbers of Black-bellied Whistling-Ducks and Blue-winged Teals, plus at least 150 Muscovy Ducks, which are hunted in other sites.  Even a beautiful drake American Wigeon posed for photos!

Black-bellied Whistling-Ducks

Muscovy Ducks

American Wigeon with Blue-winged Teals

We saw hundred of herons, egrets, jacanas and other aquatic birds... but there were other specialties too.  The flycatchers were well represented with several species, including Cattle Tyrant (in spite of its preferred habitat, it is still scarce and erratic in Panama), Pied Water-Tyrant, Rusty-margined Flycatcher, Great and Lesser Kiskadees, Tropical and Gray Kingbirds, Fork-tailed Flycatcher, Long-tailed Tyrant, and many more!  A female Golden-green Woodpecker also showed well, specially considering how difficult to find usually they are, and by the river, the nominate subspecies of Boat-billed Heron (with white-ish- breast and face) was resting in the open.

Cattle Tyrant

Long-tailed Tyrant

Golden-green Woodpecker (female)

Boat-billed Heron

In the way back, Jean took me to a little marsh where he thought the Bare-faced Ibis liked to wander.  Using some bushes as hides, we managed to approach very close to the marsh.  Effectively, the ibis was there... and this time I managed some great shots and even tape-recorded it guttural vocalization, which you can heard from this eBird checklist.

Bare-faced Ibis

What a great way to end a twitch!  My four-and-a-half-hours drive back to Panama City was definitely more bearable with the feeling of mission accomplished!  I greatly recommend contact Erasmo for a visit to this private property in eastern Panama... write him at ecotourdarien@gmail.com or through his page at EcoTourDarien.  Happy Birding!

Looking for lifers in Darien province. Part II

After an exciting morning finding Bicolored Wren and many other eastern Panama specialties at the town of Yaviza (central Darien province), we were on our way to our next destination... the Canopy Camp.  After a short drive from the town of Metetí, we found ourselves at the entrance road to the camp.  Right at the gate, we started to find new species for the trip, like this cooperative Long-tailed Tyrant (member of a pair).

Long-tailed Tyrant

We got early in the afternoon to the Canopy Camp and Abel, part of the staff, showed us the installations and our tent... and WOW!!!, what a tent.  Certainly it was the biggest and most luxurious tent that Gloriela, Gabrielle and I have ever seen.  Every detail was covered, and the terrace overlooking the central main area was excellent.

Gabrielle at our "tent"

While Gloriela and Gabrielle settled in the tent, I started to walk along the property with my camera... but it was hot and the activity low; however, I recorded several common species, plus some eastern Panama specialties... for example, both Sooty-headed Tyrannulets and Yellow-breasted Flycatchers were calling from the main area.

Sooty-headed Tyrannulets 

Yellow-breasted Flycatcher

I know these are not the best shots... but Darien province is the only place where you can see these  species in North America... just like my next objective.  After taking a snap, Abel showed us the exact place where a rarity has been appearing religiously every evening for some time.  Although Abel told us that the bird did not appear until after 5:30 pm, we started to wait before 5:00 pm.  Eventually, my friends Alexis Sánchez and Domiciano Alveo (both professional bird guides of the Canopy Family) showed up too with a group of foreign birders and also started to wait.  The place was full of Verbena bushes (Stachytarpheta sp.) and hummingbirds... in fact, we saw at least six different species visiting the purples flowers... then, Alexis warned us... he just saw THE bird... first, a dark silhouette:

A dark hummer... but what a nice reddish tail!

Then, all the binoculars and scopes pointed the beautiful creature: an adult male Ruby Topaz!!!  Lots of WOWs and AHHs of course!  Eventually, the hummingbird had confidence and began to feed closer to us.  The fading light was a problem... but I got some nice pictures after all.

Ruby Topaz (!) 

Ruby Topaz

Ruby Topaz

What a treat!  We clearly saw its glittering ruby-red crown and golden-yellow throat... and the reddish tail as well.  There are only few records for this species in Panama, most of them females and immature males, so seeing and adult male in all its glory was sublime!  We barely managed to eat our dinner and fall asleep due to the excitement; however, the tranquility of the place, and the calls of Mottled and Crested Owls in the distance helped.  Early the next day, we all gathered at the main area for breakfast.

Canopy Camp main area

The dawn chorus was simply great, and the birding right there was exceptional as well.  We got common species and specialties just hanging around and walking along the trails.  Personally, I recorded 80 species that morning just around the camp and the trails (eBird list here), with some highlights like Red-rumped Woodpecker, Royal Flycatcher, Barred Puffbird, Spot-crowned Barbet and Golden-headed Manakins.

Red-rumped Woodpecker

Golden-headed Manakin

A normal trip to the Canopy Camp includes visits to many other special sites around... but we were short of time.  Reluctantly, we left the camp after lunch and started the long way back to Panama City.  We want to thank all the staff of the Canopy Camp, especially Carlos Bethancourt, who always cared about making our visit as pleasant as possible.  I'm pretty sure this was not our last visit to that magical place nor to Darien province!

Easter Holidays in Darien. Part II

After a great Good Friday birding at the Pirre ranger station in the Darien National Park, the morning of march 3rd was filled with a festive air. The plans for that day included a visit to a nearby forest, known as Uroseca in the morning, and to visit the town of Pinogana and environs during the evening. Again, the bushes in front of Doña Lola's produced a Pale-bellied Hermit in town, while the Black-throated Mangos worked the Inga flowers. We waited for the car to pick up us and eventually we where on route to Uroseca. We dropped from the car close to a water reservoir and started to walk through pastures, finding many open land birds including a noisy flock of Dickcissels, two Gray Hawks, Blue-and-black Grassquits, Red-breasted Blackbirds and flocks of Eastern Kingbirds all over the place. Once in the forest, the things changed: the birding became slower, with scattered birds around. A single Gray-headed Kite soared over our heads while a Rufous-breasted Hermit and a Blue-chested Hummingbird feed in a bunch of Heliconias. A pair of Mealy Amazon were taking advantage of some palm fruits and hundreds of Turkey Vultures plus Broad-winged and Swainson's Hawks were heading north in their migration. We were not seeing any eastern Panama specialty until we reached a clearing in the forest, surrounded by fruiting Cecropias and Melastomas. There, our luck changed. We saw both Masked and Black-crowned Tityras, Long-tailed Tyrants and a Sirystes singing (all of them really nice black and white birds). Then, a big mixed flock appeared with Plain-colored, Golden-hooded, Scarlet, Yellow-backed and Scarlet-browed Tanagers, the last one being a life bird for me. The beautiful black males with those fancy eyebrows and the contrasting yellow rump were simply amazing! We saw also Thick-billed and Yellow-crowned Euphonias, a group of at least 15 Blue Ground-Doves, Streak-crowned Woodcreeper and Black-chested Jays among others. It was hard to leave the place, but we already arranged with the driver to pick up us around noon to have lunch. Back in El Real, almost we all had a well-deserved deserved nap until the time scheduled for our visit to the town of Pinogana (20 minutes away). The town of Pinogana, at the shores of the Tuira river, looked very like El Real, with its narrow street and happy people. We walked a trail beyond the town, to a forest border, finding common birds plus a Sooty-headed Tyrannulet, first noted by its call and then, checking its field marks confirmed the id. Again, the Eastern Kingbirds were everywhere, feeding in some red berries along with Scarlet Tanagers and other migrants. Once in the border, we found a pair of Black-chested Jays attending a nest, an Orange-crowned Oriole and a Red-rumped Woodpecker, which was new for the trip. It was getting late and we started to walk back, along the road to El Real, finding a Laughing Falcon and hearing a Black Antshrike, both new for the trip list. Great birding day, including two life birds for me! I was just wondering what was waiting for us next day.