Herons at the bay

Some days ago, I stopped at the Panama Viejo mudflats to check the migrant shorebirds and gulls that spent the winter in the site.  However, I was impressed by the number of resident birds present in the area... particularly herons.  The most common were Great and Snowy Egrets.

Great Egret

Snowy Egret

Both species breed in Panama... in fact, notice the bright colors of the bare parts and the elongated plumes in the back of the Snowy Egret pictured above.  However, there are relatively few nesting colonies identified in Panama (heronries).  Another species that breeds in Panama is the Tricolored Heron.

Tricolored Heron (immature)

This individual is an immature due to the rufous tones in its plumage.  I usually see only few individuals of this species in these mudflats.  In the other hand, the Little Blue Heron was very common, both immature and adult birds.

Little Blue Heron (immature) 

Little Blue Heron (adult) 

Curiously, this species is considered a rare breeder in Panama; however, as mentioned earlier, this species is very common and present year-round in our country.  Also present in the mudflats were both Yellow-crowned and Black-crowned Night-Herons.

Yellow-crowned Night-Heron

Black-crowned Night-Heron (subadult)

These birds are more active at night, when those specialized eyes are really useful, but they seemed to be comfortable during daylight as well.  Nice collection of species... add the Green Heron present at the river and the other resident waterbirds like pelicans, cormorants and White Ibises and you get a colorful collage for the site.

White Ibis

In the adequate season, you can also see Cocoi and Great Blue Herons in these mudflats.  In fact, I took the next photo some months ago.

Great Blue Heron

Two or three Cocoi Herons were feeding close to this Great Blue Heron that day.  So, in a good day, you can get nine different species of herons in this site... and you only need to move farther east to get up to four more species (Cattle Egrets, Capped and Striated Heron plus Bare-throated Tiger-Herons are present in the marshes around Tocumen for example)... hmmm, sounds like a challenge!

Night outing to Costa del Este

I received an e-mail from Osvaldo Quintero with an attached photo showing a beautiful Barn Owl perched on a wall in Costa del Este, Panama City. He took the picture few nights ago (thanks to Venicio "Beny" Wilson) and nicely offered to show me the exact place this night. So, I went with Gloriela to his house, picked him and then we headed to Costa del Este more or less at 8:00 PM with a silver half moon over our heads. Despite the late hour, the place was crowded with joggers, people on bikes, or with their dogs. Osvaldo suggested me to leave the helm in order to be able to handle the camera, using the car as a hide because the birds (at least two present) were pretty shy. So, with Gloriela as the driver, Osvaldo as the guide and I as the spotter and shooter, we crossed in circles a huge walled lot which had a street closed to traffic crossing it right by the middle. The first bird we saw was a cooperative Yellow-crowned Night-Heron walking atop the perimeter wall. We used it to practice and for setting our cameras in the proper mode, making it clear that I was needing a stronger flash, so Osvaldo gave me his invoking that he already had good photos of the owls. My photos came out better then. After the first round, I finally spotted a Barn Owl perched in the wall, looking fixedly to the grass, but it flew as soon as we tried to approach. This happened several times until we found a bird nicely perched close to the street (in the meanwhile we saw a Lesser Nighthawk and another Night-Heron, this time a juvenile). I took some pictures from the car, but still was too far, so I decided to approach it by foot, using the furtive technique that Osvaldo had just taught me: very quiet I walked towards the bird putting a palm tree (that the owl had nearby) directly between ourselves. At the palm tree, I quickly appeared aside, took a photo and returned to my position behind the palm tree surprising the bird. And it worked!!! You can see the palm tree in my second photo. Of course, Osvaldo's photos are much better, but I'm very happy with my own photos because are quite good despite the light conditions (thanks Osvaldo for the flash). This owl is beautiful, with an unique heart-shaped face and those soft buff-and-brown tones to the upperparts. We even heard its sharp cry breaking the silence of the dark field and witnessed its stealth flight in pursuit of a prey (surely some unfortunate rodent). What a great experience, my first photo of such a creature and a lifer for Gloriela! Thanks Beny and Osvaldo for sharing this!

Riverine birds at Costa del Este

When I go to Costa del Este (Panama City), usually is to check the mudflats and the beach along the "Paseo del Mar" to then move to the grasslands next to this avenue. But last sunday morning, the "Paseo del Mar" was closed to traffic due to a marathon. So, I went directly to the grasslands, finding one Pectoral Sandpiper (more on it in my next post) and two Black-bellied Whistling-Ducks that flew away. Then, I stopped by the bridge over the Matías Hernandez river at the Main Avenue (next to the Police Station). Huge numbers of resident Neotropical Cormorants congregate here to rest at the trees or to feed by diving in these waters. One of them inspected me with its bright-green eyes... I need a closer picture of it.
Also, there was a flock of Black-necked Stilts feeding at a muddy bank... but one of them came closer, allowing photos. This population appears to reside here year-round, but it is not clear if they breed here... yet.

The place is very good for herons too. Several species roost here, like this subadult (and lazy) Yellow-crowned Night-Heron that was trying to hide from me, find some shade, or just was stretching... I guess.

After leaving Costa del Este, I paid a visit to the Panama Viejo Visitors Center where I photographed a Black-crowned Night-Heron (flying again!, but this time closer) and enjoyed the flocks of migrating raptors over the place.

Waders and more waders

How many different herons species can you find in a morning. If you visit specific sites at the Upper Bay of Panama, then the answer is MAAANY! Yesterday, I went with Osvaldo Quintero to the Juan Díaz mangroves, Costa del Este and the Panama Viejo mudflats in a quick succession, twitching the recently reported American Avocet (which we did not find by the way). So, from east to west we got: Great and Snowy Egrets, Tricolored, Little Blue and Green Herons and Wood Stork (not a heron, but a wader too) in Juan Díaz.Cattle Egrets (same birds seen before) and Yellow-crowned Night-Heron in Costa del Este and Cocoi Heron, a Little Blue Heron molting into adult plumage and a Black-crowned Night-Heron (yes, the flying-away bird with the black back) at Panama Viejo (behind the new Visitors Center).Nine species in just two hours. Now, consider that three other species can be expected (Capped, Great Blue and Striated Herons) and you get herons' heaven.

Bonus Long-billed Curlew at the Panama Viejo's Visitors Center, a life bird for Osvaldo (which was a nice surprise for me!).

An unexpected passenger

While leaving Veracruz beach last sunday, we stopped by the Farfan area just to check the mouth of the river, looking for waders and shorebirds. The tide was very low at this point, so the birds were scattered along the estuary and the mudflats. We saw Great and Snowy Egrets, plus many herons, including Tricolored, Great & Little Blue, and a lone Yellow-crowned Night-Heron that allowed us to take some pictures. When we were ready to leave the place, we were surprised by an injured White Ibis close to the car (and we were pretty sure that it was not there when we left the car, only a couple of minutes before). It seemed to have a scapular lesion and maybe a broken wing, making it unable to fly... so I grabbed it with a plastic bag and did what any sensible being would have done: to take it to a wildlife rehabilitation center. We had an uneventful drive to the Metropolitan Natural Park (in Panama City), where a representative of the wildlife rescue section received the injured bird, promising that they will take care of it. Well, maybe we interfered with the natural course of the world, but at least that ibis will live a bit more to discover the cure of the cancer :)