At the mouth of the Pacora river

The upper Bay of Panama comprises 48,919 ha of sandy beaches, mudflats and mangrove forests along our central Pacific coast.  The western end of this area is under great pressure by urbanization and the expansion of Panama City and, until recently, its protected status was threatened by particular and economic interests.  Iconic sites (for shorebirds watching) included in the Upper Bay are Panama Viejo, Costa del Este and Juan Díaz (although the first two are out of the protected area); however, I just visited a new site at the mouth of the Pacora river where the Panama Audubon Society (PAS) has conducted shorebirds surveys since some years now in association with others NGOs, like the National Audubon Society and the Center for Conservation Biology, among others.

That's me in Panama Viejo.  Notice the peeps in the background (photo by Osvaldo Quintero)

Getting there ain't easy... the muddy road from the Panamerican highway is slippery and rough in some sites... and it is at least a 1-hour long drive to the beach.  However, this road crosses open habitats, shrubs, gallery forests, rice fields and some wetlands that are highly diverse in terms of avian species.  We did several stops along the way to watch some interesting species... I was driving, so I did'n take so many photos in this part of the trip.  Once in the beach, we started to work..., yes, to work.  This was not an usual birding trip.  With us was a grad student in Marine Biology of the Universidad Internacional Marítima de Panamá, Stephany Carty, some volunteers, an academic advisor from the Universidad de Panama and PAS' resident biologist, Michele Caballero.

Stephany and a volunteer sampling at the study site

Stephany is doing her thesis in these mudflats, characterizing benthic organisms associated with resting and feeding areas for resident and migratory shorebirds (benthic refers to the collection of organisms living on or in sea or lakes bottom -thanks Michele for the explanation).  This and other studies have the aim to begin a process of documentation of this critical habitat with hemispheric importance for shorebirds, and the PAS is supporting these studies while at the same time makes an important work of environmental education in communities adjacent to the protected area.

Western and Least Sandpipers at the beach

In the other hand, PAS' Executive Director, Rosabel Miró, and others PAS members (including me) were searching banded shorebirds.  Last season, some sandpipers were fitted with coded leg flags allowing individual identification.  Those flags assigned for Panama were gray with black characters (as you can see in the "Pluma Fina" section of this PAS' bulletin).  We saw some huge flocks of peeps, including Semipalmated, Western and Least Sandpipers as you can see in the picture above.  We scoped them, but none of these were banded.  We also saw Black-necked Stilts, Marbled Godwits, Willets, Whimbrels, Short-billed Dowitchers and my favorite shorebird: Red Knots.

Black Skimmers, Short-billed Dowitchers and Red Knots

These birds were easily identified by their pale red underparts, reminiscent of their alternate plumages.  This is an uncommon species in Panama and it seems to have declined in the last years.  In fact, this species is object of intense research because the populations wintering in South America dropped over 50% from the mid-1980s to 2003 (article in pdf here).  Not only waders, we also saw hundreds of other species, like resident Brown Pelicans and Neotropic Cormorants plus an amazing number of terns species... the most common were the Elegant Terns, but at the end we recorded six different terns species, including some uncommon Caspian Terns.

Caspian Terns

Notice the red, heavy-looking bill and the dark underside of the outer primaries in flight.  The highlight were three Common Terns seen flying first and then resting in the sand.  They are not common at all in Panama, as its name may suggest.

Common Terns, Willets and Semipalmated Plovers

In the picture above you can see the Common Terns resting close to a flock of Willets and two Semipalmated Plovers (we saw five plovers species in total).  The slender profile and black carpal bar is characteristic.  However, the most abundant (and intriguing) tern-like species was the Black Skimmer.  A huge flock of these elegant birds were resting in the beach (as you can see in the picture above with Red Knots).  But I noticed something strange when they took off... watch these photos:

Black Skimmers

Black Skimmers

Notice the gray underside of the wings (this can depend on light and angle, but compare the color with the white underparts), the thin (rather than broad) white trailing edge to the secondaries and, more important, the gray tail (instead of white).  All these marks are characteristics of the cinerascens subspecies from South America.

Black Skimmers and Marbled Godwits

The relative abundance of this subspecies with respect to the North American migrants is unknown.  Now I wonder if I have ever seen the North American subspecies niger in Panama (during my first years of birdwatching I didn't notice those details).  As you can see, you can have fun while contributing to scientific knowledge!

Waders at El Agallito

Last saturday, I went with my family and my mother-in-law to Chitré (Herrera province, central Panama) in order to make some shopping... but I took advantage to check the mangroves and mudflats of El Agallito beach, just 5 minutes away of town.  We arrived at low tide, watching the extensive mudflats with some shorebirds and the Cocle province's coastline in the background.

The shorebirds were too far away to identify... mostly peeps, Semipalmated and Black-bellied Plovers, plus White Ibis and some herons, so I tried the lagoons at the mangroves around the former Alexander  Humboldt Ecological Station.

For my surpise, the small lagoon close to the station was full with resting shorebirds!

As you can see, most of them were Short-billed Dowitchers, but also you can see Willets, three Marbled Godwits (uncommon in this part of Panama), Greater Yellowlegs and Whimbrels.

Good numbers of Lesser Yellowlegs and Black-necked Stilts were present as well.

Sometimes, the whole flock was taking off if any large bird was flying nearby, like this fierce-looking Crested Caracara, but only to return exactly to the same place after a couple of seconds.

Well, nice way to start a shopping journey!

An elegant bird

I spend this afternoon with my family in Costa del Este, Panama City.  Of course I was looking for the American Avocets that have been wandering around and that I saw some days after my arrival from my trip to northern South America in march (also with my family).  Even from the highway connecting directly Panama City with Costa del Este (the South Corridor), it was evident that the tide was perfect, with waters rich in nutrients, considering the hundreds of gulls, pelicans, frigatebirds and cormorants that were feeding (those ships are waiting to enter the Panama Canal).

I knew in advance (thanks to Osvaldo, Rafael and Itzel) that the Avocets have been seen recently in the opposite side of the river that we usually bird, close to the mangroves, so I inspected the site with my binoculars... the place was full of shorebirds and gulls!

The most common shorebird was the Willet, followed by the Whimbrel.  Others shorebirds present in good numbers were Short-billed Dowitcher, several unidentified peeps (surely more than one species), Black-bellied Plovers and Spotted Sandpipers (actually wearing spots!).  The only gull was the Laughing Gull (as expected).

There was also a nice flock of beautiful Marbled Godwits... but they were shy and flew as soon as I tried to approach them (can you identify the others shorebirds flying with them?).

I did found an avocet.  A lonely adult was standing in the surf, away of the others shorebirds.  Despite my search, I was unable to find the others avocets (usually six or seven are seen).  I have to admit that this is a serious gorgeous bird... so elegant... and a MEGA rarity in Panama.

This excursion represent the highest number of avocets seen at the same time in Panama, and by far, the birds that have stayed the longest... even exhibiting their breeding plumages here in the tropics (for the first time in Panama).  One wonders if they will stay all the summer?

Tight together by the tide

Last friday 16-feet tide was high enough to push all the shorebirds of Panama Viejo to a tiny piece of beach close to the road. When I got to the place, it was raining so I started to watch them with my binoculars, waiting for the rain to stop. I noticed a plump-shaped shorebird accompanying the flock of peeps, evidently larger than them and looking quite similar to a dowitcher, except for its short bill... it also behaved different. A closer look revealed it to be a basic-plumaged Red Knot, which is not often found there. The rain stopped so I left the car and started to approach the birds. The knot did not stay, but all the others shorebirds did, including the flock of Short-billed Dowitchers. I usually don't have these close encounters with the dowitchers, so I took all the photos I could, including the molting individual that still was exhibiting some juvenal feathers at the coverts and the tail (the third photo).But definitively, the main show was protagonized by the three peeps species. I have to say that in Panama, these birds show their alternate plumage just for a brief period of time. The Least Sandpiper is, perhaps, the most easily identified, with its yellow legs, the thin bill and darker back. The size per se is not a good field mark as you can see in the next photo. Also, they usually like to wander close to the grassy coast and to the mangroves, instead at the extensive tidal flats like the other two species.In basic plumage the Western and Semipalmated Sandpipers are very difficult to distinguish. The main field marks are bill lenght and shape. Other field marks, like body shape, grade of facial contrast and vocalizations are not easy to determine under usual viewing conditions. Even with close and careful observations, many sandpipers will be left unidentified. I can id for sure the extremes... that is, long-billed females Westerns' (almost always with an evident dropped tip of the bill) and short, straight-billed males Semipalmateds'. For example, the next three photos are Western Sandpipers (the last two photos of a juvenile molting into basic-plumaged adult?).And the next ones are of a Semipalmated Sandpiper.Bear in mind that both species can show the rufous tinge to the scapulars, so it is not a good field mark in Panama. That day, it seemed that most of the peeps present were Western Sandpipers.
The peeps were all tight together in the same flock, with the dowitchers and some plovers, specially Wilson's and Semipalmated Plovers, with few basic-plumaged Black-bellied Plovers among the multitudes.

In general, the big shorebirds were apart of the peeps. The exception were the Willets... they looked immense compared to the peeps surrounding them.

But my favorites were the Marbled Godwits. That bubblegum-pink bill is unreal.

Well, a typical day at the Panama Viejo's mudflats!

Kelp Gull still at Costa del Este

A quick visit to Costa del Este at yesterday's noon produced a distant Kelp Gull that, as far as I can see, is an adult. The bird was at the tideline at the mouth of the Matías Hernández river, close to a flock of cormorants and pelicans, plus tons of Royal Terns. Probably is the same bird that has been around for a while.

Also, in the place were lots of Western and Least Sandpipers, few Black Skimmers, only two or three Franklin's Gulls, White Ibises and Marbled Godwits among other common species.

Gulling after work in Costa del Este

And who can resist to stop after having this sight? I passed by Costa del Este this evening in order to check the flock of gulls (and shorebirds) that rest at the mouth of the Matías Hernández river with the high tide. I wanted to have a closer look despite my completely inappropriate office shoes and the clouds of chiggers in the beach. As usual, it was mostly composed by hundreds of Laughing Gulls, but a more careful scrutiny revealed a few Franklin's Gulls of different ages and at least two Black Skimmers . A decidedly smaller and slimmer gull catched my attention. It was easy to find among the hundreds of Laughings by size alone. It was browner above and whiter below than any juvenile plumaged bird around, with a thinner bill and a general more delicate shape. Unfortunately, it didn't show the wings or the tail. I'm still guessing its identity (maybe a juvenile Franklin's or simply a little aberrant Laughing?). Take a look and share your thoughts.

There were also a good number of shorebirds, in the form of Marbled Godwits, Willets, Short-billed Dowitchers, Whimbrels and few Black-necked Stilts. It was notable the abscence of sandpipers, like it has seen during all the season, with only Spotted Sandpipers along the shore. A group of noisy Southern Lapwings distracted me for a while, whereas a dark cloud in the distance turned out to be a flock of Black-bellied Plovers in synchronized flight that settled too far away for my camera. And thus the sun started to fall down over the horizon, indicating in that way that it was time to go away... away of the chiggers.