Finding "El Payaso"

The group of birders conformed by Rafael Cortes, Mauricio Rueda and your blogger host were already taking a well deserved rest at our cabin in Playa Guio (Guaviare department, Colombia), after an intense walk through a variety of habitats in the morning.  I decided to spent the rest of the afternoon birding close to the cabins, along with Mauricio and our guide Luis Fernando ("Lucho") Galindez.  The strategy was to take some chairs of the dinning hall and to wait in a nearby patch of forest.  This turned out to be a good choice since we spied many species of birds just standing quiet and waiting.  Again, a two Black-fronted Nunbirds appeared from nowhere, very close to our feet... I think they had a nest close... but we didn't look for it.

While seeing a flock with antwrens and woodcreepers passing by, we started to hear soft blows against a trunk... surely some kind of woodpecker.  Mauricio moved slowly, trying to find the source of the sound, while Lucho and me stayed watching the flock.  Then, Mauricio desperately tried to gain our attention, whispering our names as loud as a whisper can let you (surely he didn't want to scare whatever he was trying to show us) while taking photos.  We hurried to reach him... and there it was: a glorious Cream-colored Woodpecker above our heads!  First we saw its back... but then the bird turned its head almost 180º, showing its conspicuous red cheeks!

This bird was the main reason why Rafael wanted to visit this place... our main target, the créme de la créme... but wait a second... Rafael was not with us... he was taking a nap at the cabin, some 50 mts away!  I ran to the cabin, crossing a field while yelling his name (certainly I looked like a mad man).  Rafael hurried to dress up and ran to the site I was pointing to him... however, once there, the bird was gone (as usual).  A pair of Purple-throated Fruitcrow was a consolation prize... but you know that feeling of frustration when you see a MEGA bird and your friends do not?

We returned to the cabin, while Lucho returned to San José del Guaviare.  We were seated in the balcony of the cabin when two birds landed on the tree right in front of us... two Cream-colored Woodpeckers!!!  And this time, Rafael was with us... watching, enjoying, photographing the birds!  Both male and female were feeding with fruits... the female (without red in the head) was more confiding, letting us to approach quite close in order to take more photos.

The excitement was so that nobody cared about the Spot-breasted Woodpecker, nor about the male Scarlet-crowned Barbet that were feeding close to the woodpeckers tree.

The male Cream-colored Woodpecker was a little more shy than the female, always staying high, always in the move and in the shade... however, I managed a couple of good shots.  Those red cheeks are the reason why the locals call him "payaso", meaning clown.

I can't imagine a better way to call a day... not only we saw a spectacular bird, but also my frustration became joy because Rafael saw his dreamed bird! 

Free weekend, short trips

This weekend was a really busy one for me. Anyhow, I managed to visit few places close to the city with my camera. Starting yesterday, taking advantage of the not too very high tide in the morning, I stopped at the mouth of the Matías Hernández river in Costa del Este. This site is known by the flocks of gulls and sandpipers that gather there, sometimes with really nice goodies (even a new species for Panama!). Unfortunately, the flock was not close, and it seemed to be composed mainly by Laughing Gulls, plus a lonely Black Skimmer. Resting with the gulls was a group of Marbled Godwits and Black-bellied Plovers too far away for my camera. A group of Semipalmated Plovers with Spotted Sandpipers and Whimbrels was closer, allowing me some shots. Then, I drove to Panama Viejo, checking the mudflats between the tower and the Visitor Center. A Ring-billed Gull was among the Laughings plus tons of Brown Pelicans and Neotropic Cormorants. There were Semipalmated and Western Sandpipers too, and many other common birds (Willets, Yellowlegs, and so on...), but I didn't stayed long because is simply a bad idea if you are alone (specially with binoculars and camera equipments clearly visible). So, I stopped at the Visitor Center where some Gull-billed Terns were delicately picking food of the surface, watching a Ruddy Turnstone (not so ruddy) flying by and Yellow-crowned Night-Herons right in the open in the middle of the day. The little patch of mangroves was full of pelicans, cormorants, egrets and herons, but no storks like other times. The garden and the grass at the Center hold a family group of Saffron Finches, now a common bird in Panama City. It never fails to impress with its bright yellow body. With that in mind, I finished my duties for the day and went to the dance presentation of my 5-years old nephew at his school in the afternoon. Today, I went to Gamboa, with Osvaldo Quintero. As usual, the first stop was in the Ammo Dump, where the resident Tiger-Herons were waiting for us. A female Olivaceous Piculet quickly appeared just for a couple of minutes, while a pair of babies Capybaras were having breakfast very close to us. After a few pictures, we headed to the Rainforest Discovery Center, enjoying a group of Purple-throated Fruticrows right in the installations, building a nest. Males and females were bringing nesting material, announcing its arrival noisily. We walked some trails with no luck, just to find a huge mixed flock right in the parking lot. The birds cooperated, allowing us nice views. Cinnamon and White-winged Becards, White-shouldered, Plain-colored and Golden-hooded Tanagers, Shining and Green Honeycreepers, Forest Elaenias, Brown-capped Tyrannulet, Yellow Warbler, Long-billed Gnatwren, just to mention a few. A beautiful male Purple-crowned Fairy was visiting the nearby Heliconias, just stopping for a second or so. My blurry picture does not do justice to it, but at least you can have a glance of the explosion of colours it gave to us when facing the sun. Every five minutes or so we added a new species to the flock... there is a Golden-collared Manakin and a Fasciated Antshrike... oh my lord look at that male Blue-crowned Manakin... is that an Empidonax over there? Wow, the action was intense, so we stayed an hour more or less. Back in the Center, we saw a single Squirrel Cuckoo hunt and eat at least ten big and fat worms in less than 15 minutes... that was a really hungry cuckoo! It was getting hot and late, so we started to return to Panama City, seeing a Ruddy-breasted Seedeater having lunch (a tasty spike) next to our window. Nice mix of birds for a short trip!