Birding in Colombia!

Colombia is the country that holds the longest bird list in the world, due to its megadiversity of habitats and its location in the tropics near the equator. I finally accepted the invitation offered long time ago by Rafael Cortés and his son, Luis Francisco (you don't remember them?... the guys of the Banded Ground-Cuckoo!!), to join them in a birding trip last weekend to one of the premium birding sites in Colombia: Cerro Montezuma in Tatamá National Park. One of the rainiest areas of the world, the site is within the Risaralda department, which is next to El Choco and, of course, it holds many of those Choco endemics that we all dreamed about... so the list of targets was long, and my expectatives were high. After an eight-hours drive through great andean landscapes with just some short stops along the way (that highway was too much for this used-to-flat-terrain panamanian!) we arrived to Pereira to rest around midnight. Four hours later we were ready and heading to Pueblo Rico (Risaralda), stopping first to pick up two great birders that were going with us: Jaime Suárez and Sergio Ocampo. I was delighted with the landscapes along the route, specially when we finally spotted the majestic Cerro Tatamá in the distance. By then, I already saw my very first life bird of the trip: a Highland Motmot decidedly more uniform green but not as bigger than its lowlands cousins as I was expecting. In Pueblo Rico we were received by our host for the next two nights. Leopoldina (Pola) runs the Finca Montezuma, a nicely arranged place to accomodate birders and visitors of the park, close to the Vereda Montebello by the park limits. After having a "tinto" (black coffee) or an "agua aromática" (tea) we started to load a powerful jeep with our things. I added more birds to my growing list at the main plaza in Pueblo Rico, including Cattle Tyrant, Yellow-bellied Siskin and other lifer, my first Golden-faced Tyrannulet of the day. The bumpy one-hour drive from Pueblo Rico to Finca Montezuma produced, among others, a female Andean Cock-of-the-Rock. After picking up our rooms, we were ready to take advantage of the morning by walking the main road to the Cerro Montezuma, entering the National Park. Birds were everywhere and the weather was great for soaring raptors, including Barred and Roadside Hawks, Swallow-tailed Kites and both White-collared and Chestnut-collared Swifts. A Golden-crowned Flycatcher was hunting close to the town, catching a butterfly in front of us. There is a common bird... back in Panama you need to join an expedition to Alturas de Nique (Pirre, in Darien) to watch it. A Bar-crested Antshrike started to call and we finally saw an attractive female of this Near-Endemic species to Colombia. We quickly found a huge mixed flock by the road, attended by Emerald, Golden, Blue-necked, Golden-hooded, Rufous-throated, Scrub, Blue-gray and Palm Tanagers, Black-winged Saltator, White-winged Becard, Scaly-throated Foliage-gleaner, Yellow-throated and Tricolored Brush-Finches, Black-billed and Pale-eyed Thrushes, a beautiful Ornate Flycatcher and a pair of Red-faced Spinetails carrying nesting material. From there, we found a more or less regular activity in the form of mixed flocks. Farther in the road we found other flock, this time with a pair of Red-headed Barbets, more Rufous-throated Tanagers, a male Masked Trogon singing, Tropical Parula, Scale-crested Pygmy-Tyrant and Streaked Xenops. And farther ahead, other mixed flock kept us busy with Dusky-faced Tanagers, Dusky Bush-Tanagers with its bright yellow eyes and a shiny male Purple-bibbed Whitetip that perfomed a wonderful show to us. We saw its deep purple bib and even the white dot in the upper side of the tail that give the bird its name. Sergio and myself were the first to reach the bridge over the first river, where he immediately recognized the calls of a Crested Ant-Tanager, an ENDEMIC bird to Colombia! Rapidly we started searching for it, finding the cardinal-like bird after a few seconds... really handsome. My poor pic of the bird is for recording purposes only... after all it is an endemic don't you think? Right by the bridge, a White-tailed Hillstar was inspecting its domains and a Black Phoebe flying close to the rocks down in the river. We started to ascend while hearing Choco Tapaculo, Yellow-breasted Antpitta and Rufous-breasted Antthrush. During a break, admiring a butterfly that took residency on our guide and on Rafael, I got my life Andean Solitaire and a Buff-fronted Foliage-gleaner. Then, while immerse within another mixed flock, our guide pointed out a bird, calling it a Chlorochrysa. I found the bird and when I focused my bins on it.. WOW, I was shocked: a male Multicoloured Tanager!!! What a gorgeous bird!, an ENDEMIC not expected by me at all. It just stayed for ten seconds, enough to see it very well and to have an adrenaline rush! A little after that, personnel of the finca brought us our lunch, which tasted like heaven after all those fascinating birds. We were approximately at 1500 meters above sea level, still low for most of the specialties we were looking for. In any case we planned to get all those the next day. Until then, we started to descend to the finca, finding Lemon-browed Flycatcher, Plumbeous Pigeon, Chestnut-headed Oropendola and Black-chested Jays among others birds previously recorded. Back in Finca Montezuma we took a deserved bath and Pola prepared us a gourmet dinner, accompanied with agua de panela + hierba buena + limoncillo... an exquisite kind of infusion or tea. With the darkness appeared a great variety of moths attracted by the dinning room light while we were making the day list and while discussing the plans for the next day. The list ended up with 101 species for the day, and I ended with 26 lifers, plus tons of life moths, including the wicked "Darth Vader" Moth (ta ta ta TA-tata TA-tata). Nothing bad for the first day don't you think?

New year-birds in Metro Park

A very short visit to the Metropolitan Natural Park, in Panama City, recently produced some new year-birds for me. As usual, I started in the Mono Tití trail up to El Mirador (where I got the view pictured above... it is incredible how a park so close to a cosmopolitan city still holds such species like tinamues, forest-falcons, antbirds, manakins, monkeys, and so on...), and then completing the circuit through La Cieneguita trail. Most of the migrants are gone by now, so the activity was slow. In the other hand, the first rains of the season probably explain the hungry mosquitoes that I found during my walk... specially in La Cieneguita trail. I found a big mixed flock by the entrance of the trail, close to "The Castle", attended mostly by Red-throated Ant-Tanagers and lots of flycatchers, including Yellow-olive and Panama Flycatchers, Yellow-bellied and Greenish Elaenias, Southern Bentbill and Beardless-Tyrannulets and a pair of Common Tody-Flycatchers. Also, a lonely Rufous-breasted Wren accompanied the flock while singing, followed by a Yellow-green Tyrannulet. This active, smart and gnatcatcher-like tyrannulet is a national endemic for Panama, and Metro Park is a reliable site to find it, specially if you know its call. Close to the flock, but not exactly with it, was a pair of Blue-crowned (Whooping) Motmots flycatching. After the flock passed, the things turned quiet... only finding a handsome Orange-billed Sparrow skulking in some bushes. My photo shows the bird just like you usually find it in the field... with tons of tangles and branches in front of it! With patience it is possibly to attract them by "pishing", as I did. In my experience, the only birds that are usually attracted by my "pishing", apart of some warblers, are the Ant-Tanagers. They rapidly approach scolding me and that day was not the exception. The common one in most of Panama is the Red-throated Ant-Tanager, but in Metro Park you have great chances to find the Red-crowned Ant-Tanager as well... just like I did! I found a pair close to a flock of Red-throateds that responded to my "pishing" (I usually don't "pish", nor use play-luring techniques... I only tried this time to get a picture of the sparrow... instinctively it came out from my mouth while holding the camera!). The males differ in its more uniform brick-red coloration, while the female are safely told apart by its yellow crown (both species have red or yellow throats, both males have red crowns). In the way back I found some interesting mammals, including a Central American Agouti, a White-nosed Coati and a group of Geoffroy's Tamarins (the monos titíes), detected by its bird-like calls. A short walk after all, I only stayed for a couple of hours, but found great birds and wildlife!

Back to the tropics

After my trip to Toronto, Canada, I have been a little busy. I ended my residency in Internal Medicine (I published a photo album of my graduation in facebook) and I'm finishing the final report of my research, waiting to present it next may 19th. In the meanwhile, I got lot of free time to spend... you guess: birding. I tried a classic spot to start: the Rainforest Discovery Center at the Pipeline Road (central Panama). There have been reports of some species I have missed this year (nop, not the Ground-Cuckoo) and I wanted to say hello to all the personnel that works there. After leaving Gloriela at her hospital, I drove to Gamboa, stopping first at the Ammo Dump. The place was alive with all the Yellow-rumped Caciques that are nesting in the area and all the flycatchers on the trees surrounding the ponds. A Panama Flycatcher was quiet, inspecting some branches close to the gate; contrasting with the pair of Rusty-margined Flycatchers that were very noisy, flying from one spot to another following each other. The yellow crown patch was visible, something that often happens. Others flycatchers present were Social, Boat-billed and Dusky-capped Flycatchers, plus both Kiskadees. A look into the ponds revealed Green Heron, Wattled Jacana, White-throated Crake (only heard), and a female Pygmy Kingfisher that was a new year-bird for me (I missed it in Galeta during the Atlantic CBC in january). Nice introduction for the day! I moved to the Center where I took the trail to the Calamito lake, an arm of the Gatun lake where Sungrebes and Least Grebes have been reported recently. Of course I spent few minutes admiring the excellent show performed by all those thirsty hummingbirds at the feeders and said hello to Julia and Margelys who were ready to attend the visitors. On route I heard, and saw, a Green Shrike-Vireo, and heard a Pheasant Cuckoo, both new year-birds for me. The activity in the lake was slow. I walked a little bit along the shore just to spied the other side of the lake that is not visible from the observation deck... disturbingly followed by a huge American Crocodile! Then I waited... and waited... Eventually the Lesser Kiskadees and the Wattled Jacanas trusted them (and me) enough to get very close, since I already looked like part of the deck, waiting for the grebes to appear. According to Osvaldo, they usually show up by 8:00 AM, but it was 9:00 AM and nothing yet. A Cinnammon Woodpecker started to call just a few feet over my head and a Snail Kite was flying around its territory. By the way, I saw a good number of raptors flying by, including a Zone-tailed Hawk, a Merlin and a Bat Falcon. A pair of Common Moorhens (Gallinules) gave me a false alarm and a flock of Black-bellied Whistling-Ducks took off from some branches where they were hidden. Half-hour later I was about to return when suddenly a little white dot in the distance started to move, crossing the lake. A quick glimpse with my bins showed a distant Sungrebe swimming fast to the other side of the lake. I grabbed my camera and took a few shots just to realize that it was VERY far away... but a Sungrebe anyway! With faith you will see him in the center of the photo (OK, you may need to enlarge it!). I did not wait more for the Least Grebes so I returned to the Center, this time to say good-bye. A quick stop by the Juan Grande creek in Pipeline Road only produced a Western Slaty Antshrike and a Pheasant Cuckoo who crossed the road in front of me... RUNNING! It started to rain, so I headed back to the city, with lots of new year-birds!

Toronto's waterfront

As expected, my last day in Toronto, april 25th, was a rainy and chilly one, contrasting to our previous day at the Niagara Falls, which was sunny. I was suppose to be at the airport by noon so I decided to walk along the Toronto's waterfront. There was other reason why I wanted to visit that place: the report of several Long-tailed Ducks still in the Harborfront, maybe the last ones of the season. There is something about these ducks. They just looked beautiful in the plates of the North American Field Guides that I studied during the adolescence and, by other hand, they are really tundra birds... very very far away of Panama... and even far away for the average north-american birder. Other thing was the excellent post about this species in the 10000 Birds blog, by Charlie. Since I read it, I was wondering when it would be my turn to see and write about them. Guess what... now it is my turn! When I first saw them, it was a pair not so close to shore... then they sumerged in the waters of the Ontario Lake just to re-emerge only few feet from me! Soon, they were accompanied by several individuals, both males and females. I don't know how many different plumages does this duck have (I read that the male is unique among the waterfowls by having three different plumages in a year), but these were molting, and two patterns were identificable: winter and early summer plumages. I really liked the winter-plumaged birds (first photo, a male)... they were simply beautiful (please don't bear in mind the quality of my photos, these don't make justice to them). Other thing about these birds... they don't know how to use their feet as brakes when landing (as noticed by Charlie). They simply drop their bellies into the water with a big splash! That was very funny to see. After a while, they began to call... and I swear it sounds like old-squaw, old-squaw! After all, a great experience... a dreamed bird that simply materialized in front of me. In the meanwhile, the rain stopped me from taking more pictures, but anyway I managed to shot some common birds. These species were around every single day I spent in Toronto... some are abundant like the Ring-billed Gulls. I saw a couple screaming loud to each other, not taking care of my presence. Just thinking that this species is the highlight of any birdwatching trip to Costa del Este or Panama Viejo back in home makes me smile. They are much more interesting when they are rare! Other abundant bird was the Mallard. In Panama, it is a mega-vagrant, with only few females reported in this and the last century or so. Here, well... here is the common duck. But a beautiful one. The drakes are simply gorgeus with its contrasting pattern and green head. They were all around, not only in the lake, but in the gardens and the streets. Others omnipresent birds were the House Sparrows and the European Starling, plus an absurd number of Double-crested Cormorants in the lake and flying by. I even saw the double crest... two curled feathers in each side of the head. It was getting late, so I took the subway in the Union Station to my hotel. Within a couple of hours we were at the airport, finishing our visit to that beautiful country. I will return for sure!

P.D.: if you missed the rest of the account about my visit to Toronto, Canada, you can read Jan Axel's Blog becomes international and then just follow the linked text at the end of each entry. Enjoy!

The Niagara Falls

A visit to the Niagara Falls is a must for every traveller to Toronto or Canada in general. After an excellent birding day in Toronto's High Park, I went along with Erika, Carlos, Ana Belén and Gaspar last april 24th to the world-famous falls in a rented car. It was an easy task considering the well-marked highways and Ana´s GPS helping us. On route we crossed the Ontario lake close to its western end (tons of gulls and an American Kestrel by the way) and after an hour or so we reached the city of Niagara Falls in the canadian side. I admit that I was not expecting such a big and modern city so close to the falls, with all its fancy hotels, casinos and its tower... simply amazing. We had a tasty breakfast before heading to the falls while hearing a mockingbird that I was unable to locate. After some circling around town, we finally found our way to the falls... WOW those were really huge falls... they struck us abreast!!! By far, the canadian side is better for looking the falls. You can see both of them from the avenue without obstructions... gorgeous! It was too early for the exhibitions or for the Maid of the Mist trip so we walked around for a while, feeling the mist of the canadian falls and enjoying the sunny day. I even found some nice birds. The well-maintened gardens were full of American Robins looking for earthworms, while the American Crows patroled the area with its deep and slow wingbeats. Those are huge passerines... I wonder how a raven would looks like? The Red-winged Blackbirds were, again, abundant and noisy. Some individuals were so tame that allowed great pictures from very close... specially the female that was so cooperative. You can see its dark-red shoulders in the photo. Both Tree and Northern Rough-winged Swallows were around too. And also, the Eastern Gray Squirrels were everywhere, specially the dark phase (just like in the High Park). After a while, we were ready to board the world-famous Maid of the Mist on its journey to the heart of the Niagara Falls. It was simply amazing, you have to feel it to believe it! Despite all my search, the only gulls I saw were the abundant Ring-billeds and the occasional Herrings. Following the advices some friends gave me, I decided to walk upriver for a while. Almost immediately things changed. A lonely male Greater Scaup (the little white & black dot at the picture of the river - I took it with a point-and-shoot camera) was swimming close to shore by the power plant, while in the rocks in the middle of the river were resting thousands of Ring-billed Gulls plus many first-year Herrings (I didn't saw any "white-winged gull" among them) and one adult Lesser Black-backed Gull. A little farther, tons of Common Tern were accompanying a flock of Bonaparte´s Gulls in all sort of plumages, but mainly breeding adults. Last, but not less important, a pair of Blue Jays appeared calling from some trees close to me... a really handsome bird, and one I was expecting so much (of course!). It was a great day at the falls, a day I will never forget for sure. Back in Toronto, we spent the afternoon visiting some tourist attractions like Casa Loma, China town, and many museums, including the impressive Royal Ontario Museum (where I took the picture of my own reflection). It was our last full-day in Toronto so we spend it well. The forecast for the next day was of a rainy and chilly morning. I was suppose to be at the airport by noon, so I decided to spent the morning walking the Toronto's waterfront.

Birding Toronto's High Park

Toronto's High Park is located a little to the west of downtown Toronto and is a very nice and reachable place to have a walk while watching birds. I found this place, last april 23th (one day after my first day in Toronto), thanks to all the advices I received last week (specially from you Alfred!). It consists of 400 acres of partially manicured parkland with a variety of habitats ranging from wetlands to black oak savannah. I reached it by subway, stopping by the station in front of the park and walking a little to the west to start my journey counter-clockwise at Wendigo Ravine. Despite the hour (around 7:00 AM), there were a lot of people jogging and walking in the trails. Of course, the first birds I saw were common ones, including my life Black-capped Chickadee and an American Robin (also life bird!). The chickadee was a very smart and tame little bird... I really liked it. The robin reminded me the Clay-colored Thrush (Robin) back at home... including its persistent song. Of course, its northern cousin is much prettier and handsome with those bright colors. Soon I reached the northern end of the Grenadier Pond, finding lots of waterfowls. The waterfowls are not well represented in Panama, so I was very excited by the chances of seeing many new species during this trip... and I was not dissapointed. The first birds I saw was a group of colourful Wood Ducks. Several males and females, along with a drake Mallard, were resting very close to shore, allowing close approaching. I guess they are used to the visitors. The liquid song everywhere was produced by the Red-winged Blackbirds, VERY common all over the place. Once in the Grenadier Ponds, things got better. The open waters were patroled by a beautiful Mute Swan, guarding his female on the nest. Some of the waterfowls being mobbed by the swan were the Canada Geese, that were abundant in the pond... and all over Toronto I guess. Then, a more familiar duck (for me) appeared: a male Northern Shoveler with its bright yellow eyes over the blue-green head and chestnut sides. A pair of Gadwalls were feeding alone, just like the pair of Buffleheads a little farther. No gulls nor terns at the pond. I crossed a birder in the way who told me that he saw nothing of interest... I think he was talking about the migrants because we were a little early for them. In any case I thought his words were curious considering that for me even the Mallard and the balckbirds were a life birds! I kept walking to the south (passing by the enormous maple leaf), and then, after crossing a little hill, I found the Coulborne Lodge. There I found an Hermit Thrush readily identified by its contrasting rufous tail. Also, my first Downy Woodpecker of the day appeared, along with a more cooperative Black-capped Chickadee. Eventually, I found the Duck Ponds by the southern and eastern end of the park. Again, more of the waterfowls already recorded were present. A little activity by the surrounding trees resulted on a pair of Ruby-crowned Kinglets, both males, displaying its colourful crests and chasing each other. I decided to walk towards the Allocated Gardens, through the Spring Street. Once there, I found the only warbler I saw in Toronto: a beautiful male Yellow-rumped Warbler. Despite it is not a life bird, it was nice to see it with its breeding plumage... a first one for me. Then, a pair of Blue-gray Gnatcatchers showed up, reminding me the Tropical Gnatcatchers back in Panama (of course, I was not in the tropics any more). Soon, I was at the Grenadier restaurant (where I ordered one of its famous $2.99 breakfast). Some birds around where a pair of noisy Northern Flickers and a not-less-noisy Chipping Sparrow. A Cooper's Hawk fly by slowly while a male Yellow-bellied Sapsucker was attending a branch. The starlings were everywhere. Despite its commoness, they really are striking with its irridiscense and yellow feet and bill. Walking to the entrance I found apair of Northern Cardinals close to the ground, feeding in some bushes and a male American Goldfinch singing loud at the top of a tree. The last bird (life bird) I saw before leaving the place was a smart White-breasted Nuthatch working the main trunk of a nearby tree. It was my best day in Toronto regarding birds watched... I ended the day with a list of 32 birds, including 20 life birds. A great place for birdwatching! The plan for the next day included a visit to the world-famous Niagara falls.