PAS Fieldtrip to El Chorogo. Part III.

In my previous entries, I posted photos of the specialties found in the forests of El Chorogo (western Panama, Burica Peninsula).  This post will include more widespread species, but also some non-bird inhabitants of these forests.  Two and a half days is probably not enough to discover all what this place has to offer, but we (William Adsett, Antonio Domínguez and your host) were very lucky.  For example, we saw White-crested Coquettes every single day of the expedition, including two gorgeous males feeding in white flowers at the canopy of a tree along the Costa Rica-Panama border trail (in both sides of the trail!).

male White-crested Coquette

That was my first adult male for that species.  I usually see females in the foothills.  Not a common species anywhere!  We did well with the hummingbirds, probably because we found many flowering trees, including many Inga and Salvia sp., attracting Charming, Snowy-bellied and Rufous-tailed Hummingbirds, Long-billed Starthroat, Blue-throated Goldentail, Stripe-throated and Long-billed Hermits, and tons of Crowned Woodnymphs (abundant inside the forest!).  However, our biggest surprise was this White-tipped Sicklebill that hovered in front of me for some seconds!

White-tipped Sicklebill

Although not unexpected, this is probably the first record for El Chorogo.  Always an impressive hummer to watch!  Another impressive sighting were the Great Tinamous' eggs.  Why?  Because they are of a bright turquoise color!

Great Tinamou's nest with four brightly colored eggs

This is weird because most of the neotropical ground-dwelling bird lay cryptic eggs.  Egg color is probably an intra-specific signal for others tinamous; thus, attracting several females to lay its eggs together because a large clutch is less prone to predation than a small, single female-layed clutch, according to a theory.  We found this nest after flushing the male.  We also flushed another ground-dwelling bird during one of our walks:

Marbled Wood-Quail

Yes!  A Marbled Wood-Quail, this individual decided to froze in a branch, looking at us.  It was a member of a small covey that stayed undercover.  They are frequently heard, but rarely seen this well!  Close to campsite, a boreal migrant became one of my almost-lifers: a Louisiana Waterthrush.  One individual was walking along the waterhole deep inside the forest.

My poor photo is due to the light conditions inside the forest... very dark in fact.  In spite of this, you can see the broad, white eyebrow and the buffy flank of this bird.  I also noticed the snowy white throat (with no streaks) and the chip notes that sounded slightly different to the widespread Northern Waterthrush (that we saw outside the forest).  Also close to campsite, we saw some Spot-crowned Euphonias.

male Spot-crowned Euphonia

In the above photo you can see the "spots", invisible under normal field conditions.  This was the only euphonia found inside the forest, and is restricted to western Panama... specifically to Chiriqui province.  Another Chiriqui-restricted species in Panama, although not a bird, is the Central American Squirrel Monkey.

Central American Squirrel Monkey

Central American Squirrel Monkey

In fact, this species is restricted mostly to the Burica Peninsula in Panama (see the comment section for details) due to habitat loss in its formal range (more widespread in Costa Rica).  We found several troops, some with more than 30 individuals and with many females carrying youngsters. They are very agile, roaming the treetops with grace and skill.  Of course, we were careful as we watched the canopy. The reason? The inhabitants of the forest floor, like this harmless snake about 5 feet long.

After some research by Bill, we think this was a Pseustes poecilonotus, known by many common names (like Neotropical Bird Snake, Dos Cocorites, and so on...) and highly variable.  We have no idea of the name of this species when we saw it... but had no doubts when we saw the next one:

Fer-de-lance!  This is a pit viper, the main cause of snake envenomation in Panama, where is widespread and well-known by the locals as "Equis" (meaning "X") because of the dorsal pattern resembling the letter X.  Thank God no one stepped on!  

We added more species in the way out the last day of our expedition, like Gray-crowned Yellowthroat and Great Antshrikes, and had great looks of some raptors nicely perched, like this Laughing Falcon atop a towering tree in the middle of pasture lands.

Laughing Falcon

Or this majestic King Vulture that you usually see flying high overhead.  What a great way to end a terrific trip!

King Vulture

The wildlife found in El Chorogo is the most threatened in Panama due to the destruction of all its formal extension, and we have to support the efforts of Panama Audubon Society and some other ONGs (as well as some particulars) to protect it!

To the highlands!

After a year without visiting Panamá's westernmost province, Chiriquí, I was finally on my way last month, accompanied by Osvaldo Quintero.  We left Panamá City late in the morning, so we were expecting to reach the highlands late that afternoon (a 6-hours drive).  We were supposed to meet Rafael Luck and Ito Santamaría above Cerro Punta, in the town of Guadalupe, but realizing that we were not going to make it until dark, we decided to stop at the Macho de Monte Canyon, to take advantage of the last lights.  The "beware of dog" sign is simply not enough for the Chiricans.

"WARNING: possible presence of snakes"

The main reason why I like to visit this spot in march is the flowering Inga tree by the gate of the hydro plant.  The first hummingbird species I noted was a Brown Violetear, first time I see that species outside central Panamá (and erratic everywhere in our country).  Another new for this site (for me) was the Charming Hummingbird.  Several individuals were trying to feed, harassed by the abundant Snowy-bellied Hummingbirds.

You'll have to trust me on this one.  Notice the straight, long bill with reddish base to the lower mandible, dark tail with square tip and greenish rump.  However, I was expecting to find the star of the western hummingbirds: the White-crested Coquette... and like other times, a female appeared to take advantage of the flowering tree.  She stayed in the canopy... to far away for photos... so, again, you'll have to trust me!

The hummingbirds are not the only highlight at this site.  We saw a pair of Buff-rumped Warblers feeding at a small short-grass field.  These smarts birds are very active, always fanning the tails, showing the conspicuous buff coloration.  They were a life photo for both of us.

Almost by the time we were leaving, I heard the characteristic call of a regional endemic.  After a while, we located a pair of Spot-crowned Euphonias working the moss-covered trees.

As you can see, the spots of the male's crown are very inconspicuous... the female is similar to the extralimital Tawny-crowned Euphonia.

Almost at dark, we left the site, heading to Guadalupe and joining Rafael and Ito at Los Quetzales lodge to plan the next day.  It was a heavy itinerary... but you'll see that in my next post!

In the way to Cerro Punta

After birding the previous day in Batipa, we woke early the morning of monday, march 15th in order to leave David city (the capital of Chiriqui province in western Panama) towards the highlands, this time to the western side of the Baru volcano, to the town of Cerro Punta. Despite our original plan was to spent most of the morning searching for an adult male Resplendant Quetzal in Cerro Punta, we decided to make some stops along the way after the town of Concepción. Now, there are only few scattered patches of disturbed forest remaining along this road, but sometimes those patches can have surprises. Our first stop was at the town of San Vicente. We took the road towards the town of Escobal, but drive only few meters until reaching a bridge over a shaded creek. Almost immediately we heard the distinctive noise of a Manacus manakin and, after a little searching, we found a pair of Orange-collared Manakins. This species is a regional endemic (southeastern Costa Rica - western Panama), a really handsome one, but there are still some taxonomic issues about its relationships. Anyway, the male was very cooperative (the female dissapeared quickly), allowing many photos in full view. We only recorded common species in the area, including Chestnut-sided Warbler, Yellow-crowned Euphonia (I checked it well, it wasn't a Spot-crowned) and Piratic Flycatcher (calling everywhere). We spent about half hour in that place and then moved on. The next stop was at the Macho de Monte river, entering through the Cuesta de Piedra town. We had been quite lucky in this site before, but that day there were heavy construction works at the bridge, with lot of noise, so we were sceptical. A quick glimpse revealed common birds like Blue-and-gray, Cherrie's and Golden-hooded Tanagers plus a Buff-rumped Warbler. I also noticed a flowering Inga tree, so I decided to check it out. The first hummingbird I saw was a Snowy-bellied Hummingbird, but then, a tiny bee-like hummer appeared. Mostly rufous, with white throat and white rump band: a female White-crested Coquette!!! I took a couple of (bad) photos and then ran to warn Gloriela who was still in the car. Soon we relocate the bird, perched nicely on a bare twig, allowing more photos. We stayed for an hour or so, while the coquette remained in the surroundings. This is a very rare hummingbird (at least in Panama), with recent reports from this same place and from El Chorogo (at the border with Costa Rica in the Burica peninsula). My only other sighting was of a female too many years ago precisely in El Chorogo... I suppose that I will have to return in order to see an adult male! Eventually, we reached Cerro Punta, but it was a little bit late for birding... anyway, we looked for an adult male Quetzal in several spots before finding one in Las Nubes (more details in the next post). After that, we descended again, this time we took the road to Santa Clara and found a bunch of fruiting Cecropias by a coffee plantation. Highlights were Speckled and White-lined Tanagers, Scarlet-thighed Dacnis (all of them year-birds), Masked Tityra and a pair of Fiery-billed Aracaris feeding on the Cecropias. Great collection of birds below Cerro Punta, don't you think?