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!

One of our resident Setophaga warblers

Setophaga is a genus of wood-warblers that includes most of the former Dendroica warblers with which we are very familiar... these colorful and lively little birds that spend much of their lives in our land.  This because most of the Setophaga warblers breeds in North America and the Caribbean, and are present in our country as winter residents... in fact, most of these are commoner in winter than most of our resident wood-warblers (mainly Basileuterus warblers).  However, two Setophaga warblers do breed in Panama.  One is the Tropical Parula.

Tropical Parula

Despite being Setophaga (genetically), it is still hard for me to consider it next to the former Dendroica warblers.  Is something about its smaller size and chunky shape (and the fact that it is still known as parula).  However, the other resident Setophaga is quite distinct: the Yellow Warbler.

Yellow "Mangrove" Warbler (immature male)

Well, for many people, the above photo shows something different to the usual Yellow Warbler.  Broadly defined, the Yellow Warbler is the most widely distributed Setophaga warbler, ranging from Canada and Alaska to northern South America; however, the groups breeding in Central and South America and in the Caribbean are sometimes considered a full species, the Mangrove Warbler.  At least in Panama, this is an aptly name, because it is restricted in the mainland to mangroves.  In fact, this species is the symbol of the Panama Audubon Society and other NGOs in their campaign to save this critical habitat in the Panama Bay.

Yellow "Mangrove" Warbler in a sticker to save Panama Bay's mangroves

Evidently, the amount of chestnut in the head and breast is different to the northern populations (the aestiva group).  The males of the group present in Panama (erithachorides) have entirely chestnut heads, while the petechia group (the Golden Warbler, mainly in the West Indies) have little chestnut in the crown.  I took the next photo of an adult male Yellow "Mangrove" Warbler in Panama Viejo, close to home.

Yellow "Mangrove" Warbler (adult male)

This bird was singing.  In fact, it sounds exactly the same as the northern populations.  Certainly they are closely related, and the debate will continue for sure.  For now, I'm glad to have such a beauty so close to home... our own resident Setophaga warbler!

Savanna and mangroves

The morning of last saturday, january 28th; Penonome (Cocle province, central Panama) received the visit of an important delegation of birdwatchers from Panama City, prepared to repeat past weekend finding of a Grasshopper Sparrow in Panama after more than 50 years! I joined Rafael Luck, Osvaldo Quintero and Venicio "Beny" Wilson early that morning and departed to the exact site where I saw the bird.

We didn't see it immediately, but certainly our hearts started pumping when we saw a very unusual flycatcher-type bird. Similar in shape and behavior to a Fork-tailed Flycatcher, it seemed to be a partially albino immature because of its relatively short tail. Shortly after this, we were joined by Darien and Camilo Montañez and Marlene (a guest), and started searching. Soon, we had several sightings of a single bird, all brief, but definitives. You can read more about these encounters at Darien's site, Xenornis.

After spending a couple of hours at the site, we went to the Aguadulce Salinas (saltponds), 25 minutes to the west. However, the former saltponds were completely dry, and we decided to go directly to the coast, were some mangrove still persist... and it turned to be a good idea!

In a little pond surrounded by mangroves, we found this flock of sandpipers. As you can see, most of these birds are Lesser Yellowlegs ( straight, relatively short bills, white eye rings, spotted flight feathers) plus some Greater Yellowlegs (similar to the Lesser Yellowlegs, but bigger, with two-toned upturned bills) and Short-billed Dowitchers (chunky shape, long & straight bills) There are at least two Stilt Sandpipers too (slightly downcurved bills). The pond also hosted a single Red Knot and many Black-necked Stilts which refused to stay for the photos. After seeing the obligate Yellow "Mangrove" Warblers, we had lunch at a local restaurant (we ordered an excellent fried fish) and returned to Penonome where we had more encounters with the sparrow before we had to return to our normal lives. It is always nice to scape from the monotony and to engage in the search of a lost bird.

Waders and more in El Agallito

A quick visit to El Agallito beach in coastal Chitré (Azuero Peninsula in central Panamá) last saturday produced some sleepy, overwintering Whimbrels at the mudflats, and Willets in the shallow ponds by the mangroves. Other birds at the ponds were the elegant Black-necked Stilts, five or more White Ibises, a Greater Yellowlegs and a breeding Tricolored Heron that left the place as soon as it detected me. I simply love the reflection of the birds in the water or, in the case of the first Stilt pictured in this post, the reflection of the water in the birds!

The waders were not the only birds seen during my visit. I heard, and then saw, a flying-by White-winged Dove (then, I saw an individual perched in the telephone wires by the Carretera Nacional at the town of La Arena). The Yellow "Mangrove" Warblers were singing in the mangroves, allowing some pictures. It is always difficult to photograph a warbler. Note that it not only differ in its head color from its northern (and migratory) cousins, but also in its brighter back and wings. Well, it is always nice to photograph birds!