Birding Aboard Peregrine

Chagres River Walk

2012-03-15T12:31:00.000-07:00

March 14, 2012

Fellow nature lover and sailor, Glyn, from the South African sailboat, Dignity, and I got a lift to the Chagres today and had a great walk back. Glyn's husband, Dave, is the hard stand manager and arranged the drive for us. It's about 20K round trip and that's a bit much, but it's perfect to be dropped off and walk it one way.

It really isn't only 10k back because Glyn and I take side roads that add a few K. On February 28th we got dropped off at Fort San Lorenzo, but his time, we decided to start just short of the fort at the entrance to the short road that goes down to the fishing dock (pale orange line).

At different times of the year, I'm sure that different paths off the main road could be the best, but today this was our favorite. The first treasure of the day was the baby anteater.

click photo to enlarge

I have only seen one other Southern Tamandua since I've been here. The other one was an adult and about the size of a Beagle, this one was very young and was about the size of a cat. What a treat to see this little guy! To learn a bit more about the anteater, go here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Southern_tamandua

Glyn is into butterflies and this little road offered both of us some good finds. Glyn chased and clicked butterflies and I listened for, sighted and clicked birds. We were not always visible to each other, but occasionally, I would hear a , "Sit!" in the midst of the cheeps, brrts, treeets, tsps of birds and the howls and scoldings of the howler and capuchin monkeys.

On this trail, I got Scarlet-rumped and Yellow-rumped Caciques, White-necked Jacobin and another hummer. The hummers were having a disagreement over who got to feed and I didn't get a good look at both of them before they took off. The second one had a long rufousy brown moustache or eye-line and that was about all I got. They didn't come back while I was there so I didn't get another chance. (I know they were back by the time I got back on San Lorenzo Road.)
Others on this road:
Turkey and Black Vultures, Snowy Egret, Yellow-crowned Night Herons, Southern Rough-winged Swallows, Short-tailed Swifts, Brown Pelican, Green Kingfisher, Tropical Kingbird, Red-eyed Vireo, Crested Oropendola (heard), Slaty Antshrike, Black-chested Jay, Southern Bentbill (heard), Chestnut-sided Warbler, Slaty-tailed Trogan, Common Black Hawk, Olivaceous Flatbill, Dot-winged Antwren, White-flanked Antwren, Plain Xenops, Plain Brown Woodcreeper, Magnificent Frigatebird. ( On February 28, I also saw, Yellow-rumped Warbler (at the Fort), Broad-billed Motmot, Song Wren, Great Blue Heron, Laughing Gull, Spotted Sandpiper and an iguana).

The road to Hidden (Tortuga) Beach is about 1 1/2Ks and gave us some butterflies, but not much else. (Red line on map) A Ruddy-tailed Flycatcher about halfway and a pair of White-shouldered Tanagers were in the trees just before the beach. On February 28, this dirt road and beach also had Ospreys, Northern Waterthrush, Tropical Kingbirds, Great Kiskadees, Broad-billed Motmot, Spotted Sandpiper.

The walk home was quiet and we saw Mealy Parrots, an agouti, White-tailed Trogons, Yellow-headed Caracara, Blue-gray Tanagers, Palm Tanagers, Social Flycatcher, Gray-breasted Martins, Great-tailed Grackles, Tropical Mockingbirds, Mangrove Swallows.

Seed Tick Update

2012-03-04T19:00:00.002-08:00

I found two more ticks on me today and they were definitely feeding. I've got marks where they were. As I removed one, I wondered if the geckos might have ticks on their food list.
I couldn't find any specific mention of geckos eating ticks, but I did find something about a tick feeding on a horned lizard. I hope these things don't hurt my geckos!

They seemed to hate my White Rain, Ocean Mist Body Wash with Sea Kelp and Vitamin E--despite the fancy name, it feels like Joy dish soap and you really get clean. While I was in the shower, I found a tick and it came off easily after I was foamed up. It wasn't moving at all when I pulled it out. Gene is going into town tomorrow and getting some Rid-X or equivalent, if he can find it. I'm sure it's too late and whatever was on me will be off by tomorrow after having dined to fully satiated level on my dissolved flesh, but I will have it. Even if logic prevents me from using it tomorrow, it will be around in case I ever have the misfortune of running into these things again.

I tried to find more on ticks and did, but now I don't know how much of it will do me any good. I thought by the images I found that I had Lone Star Seed Ticks, but it seems that they, Amblyomma americanum, are not in Panama. I tried to find how many species are in Panama, but the best I could find was a study in the Panama City area in which 17 species were found. There are some diseases that can be transmitted, but I think that since these were seed ticks of whatever species, they are probably not too dangerous as they haven't fed off anything else first.

I'm Ticked Out! I will just wait and if I feel flu like symptoms or go comatose, Gene will take me to a doctor. I'm making myself sick with too much information and I'm done for now.

I think this link is pretty close to what my tick is and what I can expect:

http://mdc.mo.gov/discover-nature/avoid-outdoor-pests/ticks

Bye for now, sweet dreams.

Spring Migration and Seed Ticks

2012-03-03T10:24:00.002-08:00

March 3, 2012
For the last week or so I have been seeing some warblers I haven't seen for awhile and figured migration has begun. I am really excited about what I might see and I'm hoping the Empids that were so difficult for me in the fall will come through and give me another crack at identifying them (Willow vs Alder). There is also a lot of nesting and hatching going on. On March 1, I decided to stick very close to home and bird the hard stand area and the old WWI battery site.

I wanted a better photo of the Palm Warbler that has been hanging out in the hard stand area and I wanted to check on the nest building Fulvous-vented Euphonias near the batteries. I got a few shots of the Palm Warbler.

Yellow-rumped Warbler at Fort San Lorenzo on February 28. I saw one here last year as well.

I saw no sign of the Euphonias, but I did run into something new (copied from my The Twitching Sailor blog):

SEED TICKS
It's been over twenty-four hours since I noticed the first speck crawling on my hand. Once it had my attention, I saw two more. WTH??? Then I saw another speck moving on my forearm. Then another, and another. I picked a few off and crushed them between two fingernails Lice? Too small, surely. God, they where so small. I googled 'barely visible mites or lice crawling on my skin', but got everything from delusional bites to spider mites--none were right. The problem was, I really couldn't see them very well. I picked off a couple, put them in a ziplock bag and got out a magnifying glass, but they were still hard to see. I continued to google. When I'm at the nav station on the computer, I always sit sideways in the seat and prop my feet up on the companionway steps. I happened to look over at my legs and saw several of the black spots moving on my legs. OK, forget googling. I was off to the chlorinated pool! I soaked in the pool for about 20 minutes then took a long hot shower and nearly went through a whole bar of soap.

I got back aboard and looked at the bugs in the ziplock again. They looked like tiny ticks, and had six legs. I googled ticks and saw they had eight legs. Hmm. I went back to the mite sites--not mites. They looked like ticks to me, and they walked like ticks. If it looks like a tick and walks like a tick.... I googled 'tiny ticks' and got Seed Ticks. I clicked onto this blog:

http://mayalassiter.com/2009/08/seed-ticks-the-scourge-of-the-earth/

As I was reading this really great blog post and highly entertaining comments about these things, I saw some on my arm. OMG! The pool soaking and the shower had no effect on them! I was really upset at this point and wanted to wake Gene up and tell him to do something. Instead, I got out the hand held mirror and a flashlight (the lighting from our 12 inch, 8 watt fluorescent lightbulb isn't the best) and started to pick off the ticks. I crushed and picked as I googled. The blog I was reading suggested getting tape and pulling them off with that. I tried, but it didn't seem to do the job on most of them, I had to pick them off. There were so many that I found it was best if I picked them off and stuck them to the tape rather than crushing them. I was so enthralled with the comments on this woman's blog that it took me awhile to search for a more scientific posting. When I finally did, the first thing I read was don't pick them off with your fingers, or crush them because the juices could end up being squeezed into your blood or into small cuts and you could get all kinds of diseases! Sh*t!

Everything you ever wanted to know about seed ticks but never asked because you had no idea they existed:
http://mdc.mo.gov/conmag/2005/05/tiny-tenacious-terrible-ticks?page=0,2

It's been over twenty-four hours and I'm waiting for the intense itching. I think I may have gotten all the blood sucking bastards because so far, I'm ok. I already had intense itching last week from something that bit me...maybe them and I never noticed them? I had scabs and bruises where I had scratched (clawed) myself.
If you don't want to go to the links I've posted (but they're good), here is a quick summation:
seed ticks are the larval stage of ticks and have SIX legs
they can cover you in the hundreds if you run into a 'tick bomb'
at this stage, a total body shampoo in Rid (or equivalent) lice shampoo will kill them
use tape or scrape them or tweeze them off
STICK TO THE ROADS AND STAY OFF THE MOORS

Ok, so paradise has a few bugs.

Butterflies of Fort Sherman/San Lorenzo Panama

2012-02-29T01:22:00.000-08:00

All of these butterflies have been seen in the Fort Sherman/San Lorenzo area. If anybody sees errors, or knows what the 'unknowns' are, please leave a comment and educate us. Thanks in advance for any help. Click on photos to enlarge.

Couldn't find an ID for the Hairstreak in the three photos above.

Fritillary. The closest I found was Gulf Fritillary, but it seemed a bit different because the images I found didn't have the wavy black lines next to the black dots with the white spot in them.

Black-banded White

Zebra-striped Hairstreak. It's about the size of a quarter. I saw flashes of electric blue when the wings opened but I'm not sure how extensive the blue was. You can see the color in the last photo where it is barely showing on the back of the butterfly.

A large, fat caterpillar.

Large skipper. This was about 3 inches across.

Sara Longwing

Variable Cracker or Gray Cracker?

Malachite

I have told you about the giant, electric blue Morphos butterflies that 'bounce' around in the forest. I think I told you to google them because I couldn't get an image and had never seen one land. I have seen two of them land since being back in Fort Sherman. Yesterday I was able to get some good shots of one, but only with the wings closed. It landed on the asphalt of the San Lorenzo road where some fruit had fallen and it was eating. It opened it's wing a few times, but every time I tried to catch it with the camera, its wings were already shut! On one of the photos, you can see a sliver of blue and it will give you an idea of their color. There are about six inches across and even though I see them everytime I'm out, I still am amazed at their beauty.
Here is a 14 second video I took of a Blue Morphos Butterfly. The wingspan is 5 to 6 inches. It's big and beautiful:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QC5gJ8D9_pY

Above is another butterfly I found in the dark understory. I think it is a Ringlet Euptychia of some sort.

Little Banner

Veined White-skipper

Tropical Checkered Skipper (above)

I have identified the above as either Euptychia mollis or Euptychia westwoodi. Corrections or discussions would be appreciated so please leave a comment if you can add something.

The best I could do with this one is a Metalmark of the Detritivora species. Apparently there are a lot of ssp. I couldn't find an image exactly like mine.

Urania Swallowtail Moth

White Peacock

Banded Peacock

Monarch

Gray Cracker

Red Passion Flower Butterfly

Heliconius erato

Common Buckeye

Thoas Swallowtail

Don't know yet.

Tiger Longwing

Heliconius hecale melicerta

Another Unidentified

February 18, 2012, Kennedy Loop

2012-02-19T08:19:00.000-08:00

Immature Male Thick-billed Euphonia

No rain last night.
I got a late start at 10:45 a.m. today. It was 82 degrees. 60% cumulus cloud and 40% blue skies.
A breeze of about 10 knots was blowing from the NNE. Kennedy Loop Walk 2 hours

A beautiful day on the Loop. The sky was so blue and the greens were so green, I had to get a photo--but it doesn't do the place justice.

Species List for the Walk:
Brown Pelicans
Black Vultures
Turkey Vultures
Caracaras
Broad-winged Hawk

Heard White-tipped Dove

Orange-chinned Parakeet
Red-lored Parrot

Short-tailed Swifts--4 flying lower than usual and I could hear their twittering

Heard White-tailed Trogon

Red-crowned Woody
Crimson-crested Woody

Cocoa Woodcreeper

Dusky-capped Flycatchers
Common Tody-Flycatcher
Great Kiskadees
Rusty Margined Flycatchers
Social Flycatchers
Streaked Flycatchers
Tropical Kingbirds
Yellow-bellied Elaenia
Yellow-crowned Tyrannulet

Snapping of Manakin wings
Mangrove Swallows
Southern Rough-winged SwallowsBay Wren
Heard House Wren

Clay Colored Thrushes

Tropical Mockingbirds

Red-eyed Vireo

American Redstart
Chestnut-sided Warbler

Blue Dacnis

Red-legged Honeycreeper

Thick-billed Euphonia

Blue-gray Tanagers
Palm Tanagers
Plain Colored Tanagers
Summer Tanagers

Indigo Bunting

Indigo Bunting
Variable Seedeater

Great Tailed Grackles
Yellow-backed Orioles
Yellow-rumped Caciques
Chestnut-headed Oropendola

Mammals:
Agouti
Cappuchin Monkey

Howler Monkey

Coatimundi

Feb. 10 2012 San Lorenzo Road

2012-02-11T11:00:00.000-08:00

It was a gorgeous day today and I decided to walk the San Lorenzo Road. I left at 8:45 and returned at 12:45. It started to rain before I got to the fork in the road to Kennedy Loop or San Lorenzo, so I walked back to the marina and stood in the shelter of the work shop area until the rain stopped. It was a short sprinkle and the 12 knots or so of wind blew the rain clouds in the direction I was walking and left clear blue skies overhead. It was fairly cool by Fort Sherman standards at 79 degrees F/26 C.

As usual, the Gray-Breasted Martins and Black Vultures were the first birds sighted. I heard the Great Kiskadees who have built a nest on Ishmael, but I didn't go check them out. Three Mangrove Swallows flew back and forth between the marina bay and the edge of the forest.
A few images from the road:

The usual suspects were out today, but I did note some Collared Swifts and they are the first I've seen this year. I saw them in the clearing above the road so I don't know exactly how many, but the most I saw at one time was eight.
I will post a February species count at the end of the month

A few fish photos from the 'aquarium' that surrounds my home:

Kiskadee Family Feb.6, 2012

2012-02-06T18:59:00.000-08:00

Strengthening the nest or still building? I think he is just adding because she is already spending a lot of time in the nest. He brought this length of polypropelene line and went to work. I have seen several nests utilizing this human trash. I saw a fledgling Great Kiskadee on Kennedy Loop today and another nest with a female inside. I saw a GK chase a Yellow-headed Caracara that obviously got too close, and as soon as he was finished a Tropical Mockingbird took over.

Great Kiskadee's New Yacht

2012-02-06T08:04:00.000-08:00

February 5, 2012

More nesting going on--very close to home. The Great Kiskadees that nested in our wind vane last year have moved to Ismael, a boat a few down from us on the dock. I heard one of them calling as I walked down the dock and got my bins on him. I saw the yellow on his crown and got some shots because you don't often see the Kisskadees display their 'mohawk'. I took about five shots and wondered what the show was all about. He seemed to have the crown up when I saw him, so I didn't think it was me agitating him. When I put the camera down, I noticed the nest build in Tom's anchor. I guess that was what the head display was all about and maybe he did start the display when he saw me. As I was backing off, I saw the female fly from the nest. I don't know if there are eggs yet. I'll keep an eye on them if I can without bugging them. The owners of the boat have a home at Lake Gatun and come out quite often. They're in for a surprise! The birds should be ok because I don't think Ishmael is going anywhere in the near future.

To be continued.

Spring Is In the Air

2012-02-05T08:14:00.000-08:00

The forest has been alive with the calls of several species of Trogons.

February 4, 2012
There is a lot of procreation stuff going on in the jungle right now. Mating calls, nest building, and very young birds already out. I came upon a pair of mating Violet-bellied Hummingbirds yesterday and felt bad because they flew off still joined. Poor little guy, that must have really hurt!

Young House Wren

I have been watching a small colony of Chestnut-headed Oropendolas. It seemed that one day they were stripping strips off live palm leaves and the next their nests were hanging. Yellow-rumped Caciques hang out with them and provide lots of sound.

Chestnut-headed Oropendolas and nest.

Yellow-headed Gecko

A pair of Yellow-headed geckos (Gonatodes albigularis fuscus) were interacting in this old drainage system tunnel. You can usually find these guys in shady crevasses in rotting trees or in the drainage system tunnels found throughout the Fort Sherman area.

Even the spiders are active. They are suddenly tons of the big Golden Silk spiders about; I guess they are about four inches across. Not a good time to feel a spider web on the face or arm. There is a fellow cruiser here that is an excellent photographer with a good camera and lenses. Her name is Jose, off the sailing vessel, Jedi. She enjoys shooting insects with a macro, so I asked if I could post some of her bug photos. The first link is to one of the spiders I just mentioned and the second link is to her and her husband, Nick's photo page. There are some good shots of lots of things. Enjoy.

http://sv-jedi.smugmug.com/Archive/2012/01/i-gCM6fgc/0/M/5D-5723-M.jpg

http://sv-jedi.smugmug.com/

Even the plants are reproducing.

I added a Long-tailed Hermit to my life list today. It's been two months since I added a lifer to my list and this one was worth the wait. Unfortunately, it was evening and I didn't get a photo.

Western Slaty Antshrikes

2012-01-30T10:36:00.000-08:00

January 27, 2012

click photos to enlarge

I hate to think of the research and re-typing I will have to do when I get home and update my life list. Many of the birds I have listed are now called something else. The Slaty Antshrike will not have to be updated (well, maybe!) because I have just re-written it. What was Slaty Antshrike (Thamnophilus punctatus atrinucha), is now Western Slaty Antshrike (Thamnophilus atrinucha). It has been this way since 1997, but my field guide was published 1989.

I found this bit of knowledge when I went online to learn what I could about Western Slaty Antshrikes. They are common here, but I have never noted which months I see them most often or if I have seen them every month of the year. This is one of the reasons I want to stay another year in this forest, I need to make notes of such things. I see pairs alone, but usually I see them with a mixed flock. They are curious birds quite often come to the edge of the road to check me out.

Most of the time these birds are loud and you can hear their calls and answers echoing in the forest. The first time I heard them, I was reminded of Kookaburra calls; but little, subdued Kookaburra calls. A few days ago, I came across a pair and she was making guinea pig churring sounds. I got my bins on her and saw her throat vibrating as she made the soft churs.

San Lorenzo Road January 17, 2012

2012-01-18T20:11:00.000-08:00

BARRED WOODCREEPER

We had planned to go through the canal this month and finish our circumnavigation this year, but plans change and we have decided to stay in Panama another year. I'm not ready to leave this jungle, and Gene is happy to hang here.
To be able to step from my boat and be in a rainforest like this is too great an opportunity to give up. If we left, I probably would not be back.
I plan to keep a detailed monthly journal on the comings and goings in the Fort Sherman/San Lorenzo area.
Every time I go for a walk, I feel like I am on a treasure hunt and I have been lucky seeing some of the birds I've seen.
I have found two firsts for Panama here: Variegated Flycatcher and Clay-colored Sparrow; three species not listed on the bird list for this area: Pale-vented Thrush, Savannah Hawk, White-throated Thrush, and a few rare or uncommon birds for Panama. This just isn't a place a birder wants to hurry through.

click on photos to enlarge

A pair of Lineated Woodpeckers.

Yesterday we returned to Panama after a spontaneous trip home to Southern California. We were gone a month. I picked up a bug on the way back and feel lousy, but I did get out for a few hours today. I came back to Peregrine physically depleted but emotionally very happy to be back in the forest.

I am not a big fan of spiders; frankly, they give me the creeps. I really hate it when I'm walking on a path and get a spider web in the face and have to wonder what might be crawling in my hair or back. Still, they are part of the natural world and some are interesting. This guy was on the path to Playa Diablo and was a biggy; I put my glasses down to give an idea of size.

On one of the off-the-road trails, I came upon a massive swarm of army ants and found a Barred Woodcreeper and three Gray-headed Tanagers feasting on the bugs which fled the ants. I saw a very large beetle-thing scrambling over the ants, but I couldn't get close enough to see it. I had to back off when the ants covered my boots and pant legs. Giant cockroach? As I watched it run, the Barred Woodcreeper came down and swooped it up. He took it up to a tree and banged it ferociously against the bark, tried to eat it, banged it again, repositioned it and banged it again before finally swallowing it.

The Gray-headed Tanagers were noisy and aggressive with each other. Several times, flying into each other in a flurry of wings before separating. I'm not sure if the displays were over food or pecking order or what. At least one of them appeared to be young because I could see yellow feathers on it;s head. I didn't get as good of views of the other two.

Spotted Sandpiper in the creek that runs into Playa Diablo.

Feathered Crew

2011-12-08T15:10:00.001-08:00

April, 2006

During our crossing of the Mediterranean from Port Suez to Marmaris, Turkey, we had a crew member join us. We didn't find somebody floating two hundred miles off-shore; this crew member flew in. Our crossing happened to coincide with the annual bird migration from Africa to Europe. It became obvious that we were not the only beings out there taking a beating. One night we had 25 to 30 knots blowing on the nose (why does it seem that the big winds are always on the nose?). We had several birds land on the boat, apparently exhausted by their attempts to reach land in such fierce winds. We tried hard not to scare them, but our frequent pop-ups to scan for ships spooked them. I wanted so much to offer them sanctuary, but one by one they left the safety of Peregrine when we had to scan. When they left their perches it seemed that the winds just blew them away into the darkness; it broke my heart to see that. The birds we had for a short time were: European Kestrel, Collared Dove, Barn Swallow, and a Semi-collared Flycatcher(?). We did have one bird stay. In fact, he stayed for three days. He was a Yellow Wagtail and was a huge source of enjoyment to us. He must have known that we were going the way of his migration route, because he was very content to stay on his two-star cruise ship. Wagtails are insectivores and I had no moths or worms, or other protein birdy snacks on hand, so I scrambled him eggs twice a day. He loved them. The first day, he flew down the hatch and landed on Gene's shoulder. He climbed onto my hands and he liked to sit on us while we were out in the cockpit.

On day three, we arrived in Marmaris, Turkey. About five miles out, Kato gave Gene a, "Cheep, Cheep", and flew towards land. I was below and missed the farewell. He had a cross breeze of about 20 knots, but it was no big deal; I know he made it safely. You should have seen what he ate that morning. We were still off-shore a way, but we had lots of moths flitting about and Kato would fly from Peregrine, grab a moth, and bring it back to de-wing it and eat it. He must have eaten eight of them, and then he finished his eggs. I couldn't believe anything so small could eat so much. He was strong and ready to finish his migration. It was a wonderful ushering into Turkey.

My second first: Clay-colored Sparrow

2011-12-04T19:54:00.001-08:00

December 3, 2011 Afternoon

Historic Fort San Lorenzo with the Chagres River in the background.

I wanted to take advantage of my time with a car and I knew I could drive the almost traffic free
San Lorenzo Road without having a nervous breakdown, so at 4:00 p.m., I left Gene to play cards and drove to Fort San Lorenzo. It's 9K from the marina. I have only walked it once and ridden a bike twice. If I had a good bike, I would do it more often, but it's not fun on the fold-up type. If I hadn't had the car, I wouldn't have been able to go at the end of the day and I wouldn't have seen the Clay-colored Sparrow at the ruins. A first for Panama, and my second first. I got confirmation on Surfbirds. Thank-you, again, Chris Benesh. It's a pretty distinctive bird and even though I had never seen one (#925), I knew I had identified it correctly, but I had to get confirmation; it's not supposed to be here. After confirmation, I emailed George Angehr of the Smithsonian Institute here and Darien Montanez of Xenornis. The Southern range of the bird is Chiapis, Mexico, so given our location, the idea that the bird might have been a stow-away on a ship was mentioned. I got four terrible shots. Here is the best one:

Clay-colored Sparrow

The Xenornis post:
http://www.xenornis.com/2011/12/clay-colored-sparrow-at-san-lorenzo.html

Boat-billed Herons

2011-12-03T21:34:00.001-08:00

December 3, 2011

Morning

Boat-billed Heron

Look at those beautiful 'night' eyes.

We had to go to Cuatros Altos today to get gas and we stopped at a marshy area on the right side of the road as we headed back to the Gatun Locks. Gene does the grocery shopping and I have only been to town twice since returning to Panama at the end of September. I was shocked to see the devastation of this area. It looks like they've mowed with bulldozers. Many big trees and lots of shrubs are gone, leaving red muddy banks with sparse vegetation. The bird viewing was good because many birds were concentrated in the areas where trees and shrubs still stood.

I got Lifer#924 with a Boat-billed Heron; a bird I was convinced I wasn't going to see before leaving Panama. I was thrilled to see them, but seeing them so exposed took away some of the joy. I felt sorry for them. They are nocturnal and sort of secretive and now their hiding spot was no longer dense. The place I was looking was like an island of trees and shrubs in the cleared area and it was teeming with easily seen life since so much vegetation around it was gone. A Coati-mundi ambled around and a two Red-tailed squirrels ran up and down trees as if looking for something. There were two Two-toed sloths. One was high in a tree and the other was low, caked with mud. It seemed to be hanging strangely on to a limb, but I don't know, the two-toed seem to hang differently from the three-toed which is the one I usually see. It didn't look like it was doing very well. I wondered if its tree had been toppled and it had fallen into the muddy water. The wildlife struck me as disaster victims.

Yellow-crowned Night Heron

Achiote Road, Panama

2011-12-03T06:51:00.001-08:00

Collared Aracari

click photos to enlarge

December 2, 2011

Gene and I plan to transit the canal in mid-January and last week it hit me that I only had about six weeks left in Panama and I still hadn't made it to Achiote or Pipeline Road! As luck would have it, I broke a tooth and had to see a dentist. The dentist is in Colon and I thought as long as we had to go to Colon, we could rent a car at the Budget rental at the cruise ship port. By the way, the dentist, Dr. Ida Herrera, was great and she's a birder! She has an eco-lodge. I haven't been there, but I will post the url for people checking out accomodations in Panama: http://www.sierrallorona.com/sierra/

We got the car for a week and I am birding with four wheels rather than two feet. What a luxury!

Ruddy-tailed Hummingbird

Yesterday we drove to Achiote Road, but I really didn't see much different than I see on San Lorenzo road. To be fair, we were driving and checking out the lay of the land and I didn't get out of the car enough. I told Gene I was coming back without him so I could park and walk!

Welcome to Achiote, an environmentally friendly community.

We did see a Green Kingfisher and I have only seen one once before, at the Linton anchorage. Oh, and I saw some Yellow-faced Grassquits at the Toucan Visitors Center. I haven't seen one in Fort Sherman, but I did see them at the Linton Anchorage.

Black-cheeked Woodpecker

We both went back today. I think Gene came mainly because I planned to stay late and he didn't want me out there alone. I wanted to be there at dusk in hopes that I might see a Potoo.

It was a great day! We walked some of the Trogon Trail and I finally nailed down a Song Wren. I have seen flashes of them twice in Fort Sherman, and I was pretty sure of the ID, but I didn't see them well enough to be positive. I had great views today and listed them as Lifer #921. It was too dark for a decent photo. I got a quick view of a Flycatcher who I heard way before seeing. I'm still working on the ID. As we came back out, I saw a bird fly up into a big tree next to the car and I got my bins on it-- Black-striped Woodcreeper! #922. I was whoo-hooing that when I heard some very vocal birds down the road. I saw some black birds going from tree to tree and I walked down the road keeping an eye on them. Achiote is very busy and the drivers drive like bats out of hell! I had to keep stepping on to the shoulder as big trucks and Red Devils roared by, honking as they passed to make sure I knew they were there. Anyway, I finally could get off the shoulder long enough to see #923 Purple-throated Fruit Crows very well.

I saw a few birds that I don't see too often: Ruddy Ground Dove, Collared Aracari, Black-cheeked Woody, and Golden-headed Tanager.

We drove home in the rain after dark. A night bird did fly right in front of the car, but I don't know what it was. Thank God we didn't hit it! No luck on the Montezuma Oropendola or a Potoo.

November 28, 2011 Species List Walk

2011-11-28T18:28:00.001-08:00

I know it's just a Tropical Kingbird, but I liked the photo, and I am the writer, editor and publisher.

Went out today from 1:00 to 5:00p.m. and only got rained on twice. I took the little recorder I bought years ago but couldn't figure out how to work to make notes of all the species I saw. It's too much to try and take out a notepad and pencil everytime I see a bird, but it's easy to push a button and say a word. I am not proficient with the recorder, but I muddled through. It was another slow day in the jungle. I don't understand why. You would think that with the rains, sometimes heavy, during the night and sporadically during the day, that the birds would be out feasting when it is clear.
Today's List:
Black Vulture
Short-tailed Swift
Turkey Vulture
Common Tody Flycatcher
Keel-billed Toucan
Social Flycatcher
Red-crowned Woodpecker
Orange-chinned Parakeet
Tropical Kingbird
Great Kiskadee
Palm Warbler-- First I've seen since last year. I expect that the lawns around the marina will soon be covered with them again.
Great-tailed Grackle
Yellow-headed Caracara
Clay-colored Thrush
Palm Tanager
Rusty Margined Flycatcher(heard)
Tropical Mockingbird
Blue-Gray Tanager
Streaked Flycatcher
Common Black-hawk
Cocoa Woodcreeper
wing snapping of Manakins
Plain-colored Tanager
Bay-breasted Warbler?
Summer Tanager
Boat-billed Flycatcher
Magnificent Frigatebird
White-tailed Trogan (heard)
Slaty Antshrike
Spotted Sandpiper
Indigo Bunting
Gray-breasted Martin
White-tipped Dove
Smooth-billed Ani
Greater Ani
Variable Seed-eater
Baltimore Oriole
Lineated Woodpecker
Lesser Elaenia
Royal Tern
Blue Grosbeak
American Kestrel
House Wren
Rose-breasted Grosbeak

The recorder worked pretty well once I got the hang of it. I hope to be part of the Christmas count this year and I will use the recorder rather than writing the list. Things happen too fast around here at times.

Broad-billed Motmot and Smooth-billed Ani

2011-11-25T08:09:00.001-08:00

Broad-billed Motmot

click photo to enlarge

Happy Thanksgiving!
The forest was very quiet today, it seemed everybody was dozing. The birds were farther into the forest and away from the edge of the road. The Howler monkeys were close to the road in several spots but they were quiet even when the San Lorenzo park motorcycle went by. Usually, when they hear cars and especially the motorcycle, they go into a howling frenzy. Today, they hardly twitched.

Howler monkey napping on a branch.

Below; Smooth-billed Ani dozing. The jungle beings were quiet and sleepy today.

I saw a Broad-billed Motmot near El Diablo creek and that was the highlight of a pretty dull day I didn't walk the Diablo path to the beach because two cars were parked on the shoulder of the road at the entrance. If there had been birds out on that trail, there probably wouldn't be now.

Broad-billed Motmot

The clearings near the marina were active with the usual Kisakadees, Social Flycatchers, Tanagers, Smooth-billed Anis, Tropical Mockingbirds, Varigated Seed eaters, Indigo buntings and Tropical Kingbirds. Overhead Black and Turkey Vultures, and Magnificent Frigate birds soared.

The Smooth-billed Ani has always struck me as sort of reptilian. Even the neck and nape feathers resemble scales. Maybe it's a shrunken version of what some prehistoric birds looked like? Anis are cuckoos, but are not brood-parasitic. They live in groups and build a large, communal nest. A nest can contain over 30 eggs. The eggs and nestlings are cared for by all members of the group. They have multiple broods in a year and the juvenile of previous broods help with caring for the nest. We have the Greater and and the Smooth-billed in Fort Sherman.

Laughing Falcon Again

2011-11-23T18:37:00.001-08:00

Went to Kennedy and Toro Point again today. I wanted to find the Laughing Falcon again and get some photos. I got some yesterday, but he was in the shadows and the photos were bad. I found him today and he was perched farther away, but the light was decent. I got a few ok shots. I posted one on yesterday's post and saved the good one for today's.

The fierce, snake killing raptor! Doesn't he look like he was painted by an Italian Renaissance artist? The scientific name for this bird is Herpetotheres cachinnans. I think Falco rafaelii or Falco cherubinii would be a better name. ;) My 'favorite' birds are the White and/or Sulfur-crested Cockatoos mainly because of their soulful eyes, but this guy is threatening the status-quo.

Laughing Falcons are 18-22 inches tall. Their feet and legs are heavily scaled to protect them against poisons snakes. They fall upon snakes or lizards and grab them from behind the neck, sometimes they bite the head off. They are not really very common in Panama and even less so in my area.

Beach on Toro Point

I also went to Toro Point today. I've only been there about half a dozen times, but since I saw the Peregrine I've been back a few times this month. The tide was out so I walked on the beach. I saw 3 or 4 Semi-palmated Sandpipers, a Spotted Sandpiper, 2 Willets, a Great Egret, the usual bunch of Royal Terns, a small flock of Black-bellied Plovers out on the reefs and an Osprey, Laughing Gull and Frigatebird over Limon Bay.

Black-bellied Plovers out on a reef.

Royal Terns

Tern photos were taken on a different day.

Laughing Falcon

2011-11-22T16:12:00.001-08:00

LAUGHING FALCON

Isn't he beautiful! This falcons main diet is snakes, but it also eats bats. I have only seen a Laughing Falcon once before; when I entered it on my life list on February 5, 2011. I was also in the Kennedy Loop area.

November 21, 2011

The Least Sandpiper was still around today and I saw two Black-bellied (Grey) Plovers in the flooded fields near the lighthouse at Toro Point. I went back to the breakwater to try and get a picture of the upper wings of the Zebra-striped Hairstreak Butterfly, but I couldn't find it. As I walked on the breakwater, three Whimbrel flew over, going from Toro Point into Limon Bay. Got caught in a downpour on the way back to the boat.

November 22, 2011 HAPPY BIRTHDAY, RHIANNON!

Went out about 10:00 to bird for a few hours. I just went to Kennedy Loop because I couldn't stay out long; I had to get laundry done. Not much happening today. There was a group of noisy Keel-billed Toucans, a pair of Black-chested Jays, a Cocoa Woodcreeper, White-tailed Trogons, male and female Blue Dacnis and the usual Tanagers. The highlight of the day was a Laughing Falcon. I love Raptors!

A Tale of Two Sandpipers

2011-11-21T15:43:00.001-08:00

On October 23, the same day I saw the Bay-breasted Warbler and Blackburnian Warbler grazing in the grass near Toro Point, I saw three peeps on the cement slab the molds for the breakwater 'rocks' stand on. I was standing on the slab watching the warblers in the grasses around it and when they flew away, I turned to walk off and saw the peeps. My first thought was plover, but that changed in a millisecond when I got the bins up and registered a whole bird. They were sandpipers. I thought how weird it was that sandpipers were standing in the shallow rain water pools on a parking area. I realize that many 'shore' birds are found in fields, but being a Californian and a sailor, I don't often see them like that. Well, there is the Spotted Sandpiper who lives here at the marina and often strolls the lawns, listening and picking as if he were a thrush. I've also seen Killdeer in Arkansas and a few peeps in Australia that were in flooded fields close to the beach--but I'm used to seeing peeps on the beach--where they belong.
These peeps had yellow legs. Ah, that would make ID easy, there are only a few with yellow legs. I thought I would get a few shots, then move around the leg of one of the molds and get a better look and better shots. I slowly lifted my camera and got a few shots but they took off with a call (which I couldn't define now) and headed toward Limon Bay.

Pectorals?

When I got back aboard, I pulled out my books and learned that Pectoral Sandpipers looked like big Least Sandpipers. Oh good, a lifer! Even if I only saw them for a few seconds, I saw them! Except.... the illustrations of the Pectoral Sandpipers had a two-toned bill. These appeared to be all dark. Still, these were big birds on longish legs, they were simply too big to be Leasts. I have seen lots of Leasts and these weren't Leasts. The words of a few of my cyber-space mentors came to mind, something like, "Size isn't a good indicator in the field." I looked at the lousy shots of the birds. They were fuzzy and the angles of the birds weren't good. They were fairly close when I saw them and I don't know why the shots aren't good. Well, yes, I do know why they're not good; it's because I really needed them to be good.

Pectoral?

The Pectoral is described to be upright all the time, and these weren't. They weren't slouched like some peeps, but they weren't exactly upright, and there was the bill. But, they were too big and tall! I saw them at the same time as the warblers and they were not warbler size, my first impression was plover...they had to be Pectorals. In the end, I didn't list them.

Today, I was doing laundry and while the washer spun, I thought I'd wander and bird. I hadn't even gotten to the fork to the loop when I saw the marina Spotted Sandpiper in the road ahead. Wait, that's not him! That's really little. A Least Sandpiper. I instantly knew what it was even though it was on a flooded road and not a beach. It was tiny and delicate. I also instantly knew that what I had seen before were Pectorals. It wandered around me, searching the flooded road for morsels of some kind. Sometimes it came as close as five feet of me. It wasn't at all skittish and I got really good photos and views. I had to leave and transfer the wash to the drier and it was still hunting.

Least Sandpipers Below

Back aboard, I went over the field guides again and went online again. I did find a few images of Pectorals with bills that appeared uniformly dark, but most showed two-toned. The bill on the Least was really dark, really black, and it wasn't that dark on the Oct. birds. If the birds hadn't flown off and I had been able to see them better, would I have seen a subtle two-tone to the bills? I wasn't able to find detailed information about the bills on Pectorals; specifically if they might show uniformity in some phases or cases.

Above and below, Least Sandpipers.

I am certain that the birds I saw in October were Pectorals, but I can't get that from my photos and the photos aren't good enough to use even if I could find measurements that distinguish Least from Pectorals. One of the photos does show the clear line between the breast and belly that is often mentioned in the description of Pectorals, but is that enough? Leasts can also show a line. I also think the knees and feet of the Oct. birds look big and clumsy next to the Least Sandpiper.

When I saw the Least today, I decided I could add Pectoral to my list, and yet, it still isn't there.

Gray-headed Kite and better photos for the Blackpoll Warbler

2011-11-19T14:57:00.001-08:00

Blackpoll Warbler

It's raining now, but it was a nice morning and I birded from 7:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m.

I refound the Blackpoll and took some better photos. It was still distant but the light was much better this morning. There was only one Blackpoll so I would guess that yesterday, whatever was jumping around on the other side of the creek was not another Blackpoll. The Yellow Warbler was still hanging out with the Blackpoll.

I walked to the little river at the entrance to San Lorenzo National Forest and saw most of the usual birds.

Yesterday and again today, I saw Black-throated Trogons. I don't see them as often as the Slaty-tailed and White-tailed.

Weird fungus on the shoulder of San Lorenzo road.

I walked down the Playa Diablo path to the beach. On the way back, the unmistakable whirr of a hummingbird came close from behind me. I turned to see a beautiful Hummer. It appeared to be slender and two-toned green and dark blue, with the normal white area around the feet. It visited some trumpet shaped flowers at the side of the path and was quickly gone. I'm sure was a Crowned Woodnymph, but I am not sure enough to put it on my Life List. I will go back and hopefully it will visit the flowers again.

Back out on San Lorenzo Road, I stopped at one of the many creeks and peered into the forest. I scanned the trees above the water for a Potoo. Actually, I'm always scanning for one, even if it's sub-consciously. ;) . Through the corner of my eye, I saw a bird land on a tree about 10 feet down the road and about 20 feet in. It was fairly high in the tree. I saw the underside of the tail first and thought it looked spotted and cuckoo-like (it was spread a little when I first saw it because the bird had just landed). I walked down the road a bit and tried to find it and couldn't. I walked back to the original spot, found it and took better markers---back down the road, and got a good view of the whole bird--a Raptor! A delicate Raptor. It almost looked dove-like except for the bill which was definitely a Kite. Back aboard Peregrine it was an easy ID--Gray-headed Kite. Lifer #920 I was able to get a photo, but it isn't very good. The bird was fairly far in the forest and it wasn't light enough to get a good shot. It was a great way to end a very nice day in paradise.

Gray-headed Kite

Blackpoll, A Rare Warbler for Panama

2011-11-18T17:06:00.001-08:00

Blackpoll Warbler

November 18, 2011
I was up all night last night reading, writing and playing on the internet. When 4:30 a.m. flashed on the digital clock I decided to have coffee, wait for the sun to come up and have an early morning walk. This is the second time this week I've done this. Insomnia stinks but I might as well make the best of it.

Unfortunately, it started to rain as the sky began to lighten. I changed back into my pajamas and had a coffee with Gene when he got up. The rain stopped after our coffee and I got re-dressed and went out. I only got to the old Handball Bldg.before the clouds let loose.

I ran for cover under the dilapidated covered carport. The area is a ghost town of the old American military complex. I stood under the metal roof for about 30 minutes and watched and heard birds from there: Plain wren, White-tipped doves, House Wren, Clay-colored Thrush, Great Kiskadee, Social Flycatchers, Eastern Pewee, Variable Seedeater, Crested Oropendola, Panama Flycatcher, Red-crowned Woodpecker, Female Violet-bellied Hummingbird(?), Plain Tanagers, Blue Grosbeak, Smooth-billed Anis, Black Vultures. When a break in the rain came, I headed home because it looked like more was on the way. As I passed the cut cane clearings where several fresh water creeks drain to the bay, I saw some warblers jumping around in the cut cane. There was a Yellow Warbler and something else. Another Bay-breasted? No. Well, maybe? It was still overcast and not the best light, but I took a few shots. There appeared to be two. The one closest to me finally flew to the other side of the creek and down into the grass and I couldn't see him anymore. I would have hung around or tried to get closer, but rain begain to fall and I hurried home. I had a coke and crashed.
After my nap, I down-loaded my grainy photos while Gene made Spagetti with Italian sausages in a tomato sauce.

Notice the feet.

I decided I had a Blackpoll Warbler and went the Fort Sherman bird list I use and it wasn't there. I got out Ridgely and he says the bird is a very rare, but probably over-looked, visitor to Panama. I've sure had my share of uncommon birds the last month and a half! Fall plumages of Blackpoll and Bay-breasted can be similar so I went back to my photos and went online to compare and make sure I wasn't mistaken. The legs and feet are a good way to distinguish. Blackpoll are yellow and Bay-breasted dark. Unfortunately, my photos had the bird sitting on his feet or not showing! Typical. Then I saw one photo of the bird in a face forward shot showing yellow feet! I remembered there was a least one Yellow Warbler in the mix, but Yellow Feet showed wing-bars and was clearly not a Yellow Warbler. I'm convinced I have a Blackpoll. It is rare enough that I will get confirmation before listing. Whoo-Hoo! Lifer #919.

(Photo at the top of this post was taken the next morning Nov. 19. It is better than the original--it shows the feet too!)

Edit: Thanks to the birders on Surfbirds for confirmation. Here is a link to the post:

http://surfbirds.com/forum/showthread.php?p=35835#post35835

Spectacled Owl!

2011-11-16T12:50:00.001-08:00

I got an Owl! I was walking on the path to Playa Diablo when I heard a bird call. I stopped to peer into the understory and this guy flushed from a tree near the edge of the path. I watched where he landed and went to check him out. What a beautiful bird! This is only my fifth owl and I was thrilled to see him. #918 Spectacled Owl.

Beautiful Day and a Mystery Bird

2011-11-15T22:44:00.001-08:00

Yellow-headed Caracara

November 14, 2011

It was an extraordinarily beautiful day in the rainforest today. We had a few days of torrential rains and it was so good to have blue skies and sunshine. The freshly rinsed leaves shimmered in the sunlight as a gentle breeze blew. Every breath took in the scent of flowers and damp leaves and barks of hundreds of species of plants and I felt elated. Have I ever mentioned how much I love this place? Some of the forest was flooded and I could hear a multitude of miniature waterfalls as the water sought the lowest ground and I could see water moving and shimmering as I peered into the forest from the road. The flooded shoulders brought out the Northern Waterthrushes I hadn’t seen the last few outings.

I got a video of a Three-toed Sloth as it transferred from one tree to another via a vine, and one of a Blue Morphos that had landed on a newly cut branches from a recent roadside trimming.

While I was investigating a very vocal bird, an Ovenbird popped up from the densely covered ground and perched at the top of the giant canes to find out what all the noise was about—Lifer #916. I caught only a half a second glimpse of the noisy bird because it stayed high behind leaves and branches. My impression was pale rufous/buffy breast, grayish head and a supercillium of light gray or white, didn’t get bill shape. I did take a video just to record the call so maybe I’ll be able to ID that way. I only have, what? 950 something bird calls to listen to. With my luck it will be the last bird on the list. No doubt it’s something I’ve heard and seen but forgot. The call sounds like, “I don’t get you.” Or, “Machu Pichu”. I seem to remember someone using Machu Picchu as a call sound, but I have read volumes of bird stuff and can’t place this right now. It will hit me at 3:00 in the morning one day.

On the Playa Diablo path I saw movement in the dense mangrove and palm covered strip between the path and the small river that runs to the beach. I focused and watched a Grey-Necked Wood-Rail pick its way around roots and stalks. Of course, it had to be that rail rather than any of the other possibilities because I saw it in Costa Rica on our Visa run trip. Even so, it’s great to see secretive birds. The Diablo path did give me a new bird though; #917 Little Hermit Hummingbird.

The biggest mystery of the day was a bird I call the ‘calico warbler’. I have seen it a couple of times, but never well. I thought it must be an American Redstart in blotchy plumage. Today it was more subdued than usual and it sat on the outer branches soaking up the sun for long enough to get a couple of photos. I haven’t got a clue! I kept going back to American Redstart, trying to make it fit because I don’t know where else to go to, but it doesn’t fit. I’ve been through the Panama book and Sibley’s Western and National Geographic North America and I am at a loss.

Click photo to enlarge.

The tail is fanned and shaped like a Redstart, and the held down wing position looks good, but the bill (at least in this photo) looks Tanager-like to me. The American Redstart would not have a black belly and it looks like the yellow is not just at the base of the secondaries, but covers all the secondaries and looks like the primaries as well. What about the yellow on the mantle? And the throat? Wouldn't a male Redstart at this stage show red rather than yellow?

Terribly blurry shot, but I post it because it shows the yellow primaries and throat. So what is it?

EDIT: November 18

I have decided it must be an American Redstart but I'm going to post it on Surfbirds to see what is said.

EDIT AGAIN:

Thanks to Alex Lees on Surfbirds for solving my mystery. The bird is a juvenile White-shouldered Tanager. My book doesn't show the juvenile phases and I would never have figured this out! A link to the ID post on Surfbirds forum:

http://surfbirds.com/forum/showthread.php?s=75d58329657b933eb1a455db97da3fec&p=35824#post35824

Juvenile Hawks at Fort Sherman Panama

2011-11-12T16:38:00.001-08:00

Juvenile Savanna Hawk

Juvenile Common Black-Hawk

So I go on BirdForum to post some migration stuff and the post meanders. One of the members posts a vacation report he wrote for Panama after I had asked some questions about Pipeline Road. In the report he mentions a Savanna Hawk he sighted between Colon and the Gatun Locks. What?

Last year, I saw what I thought was a juvenile Savanna Hawk on one of my walks. I got fairly good shots of it and after reading my field guide, went on line to see images of juveniles. They were similar in many ways to juvenile Common Black-hawks, a very common bird in my jungle yard. The Savanna would be unusual, so I conned myself into believing I had a Common Black-hawk. Now, someone says he saw one close to my neck of the woods. I go through my photos and find last November's photos.of the bird. I search images again and read the guide again and think I do have a Savanna! I wanted confirmation though, so I put some photos on the ID forum and got confirmation. Lifer#915 Many thanks to the knowledgeable birders on the site.

Common Yellowthroat

2011-11-08T20:55:00.000-08:00

It rained all day today so I went through pictures and caught up on some things I had questions about. One of those things was a bird I saw yesterday while watching a pair of Common Yellowthroats. It looked like a Common Yellowthroat, but I didn't see any white around the mask. I looked up Common Yellowthroats and was surprised to find that it is rare here. I have seen them three times that I remember; once last year and twice this year. Last year I saw a pair a Playa Diablo. I really didn't think much of it. They are common at home, and I just added it to my Panama list without looking anything up--Oh, that old thing? At the time, I thought they were building a nest. If memory serves, I think he had nesting material in his bill. I'm kicking myself now, but then, I was too interested in other things. I remember they were noisy and seemed to want to distract me. I don't even know what the date was. I did try to get a picture or two, but they were bad. I don't know if I deleted or not. I'll go through and hopefully I'll find them and I will get a date. EDIT: Found the photos--December 29, 2010.

Ridgely mentions that small numbers are regularly seen on both sides of the canal. My book is a 1984 edition so I thought maybe the Yellowthroats aren't so rare anymore? I went online and found a Panama bird list on Wikipedia. It lists them as A (accidental). That can't be right. I looked at the bottom of the page and it was updated April, 2011.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_birds_of_Panama

There is a Yellowthroat without white--Olive-crowned Yellowthroat, but it is only known in Bocas Del Toro. I wanted to go back today and see if I could find it again, but it rained all day. I saw it in the evening yesterday so most likely I just didn't see it well enough to see the white. I saw a male Common Yellowthroat at the same time a few feet away very well. The female was across the road near the other little run-off creek.

Cape May Warbler

2011-10-29T19:28:00.000-07:00

I got a bit of a rarity for Panama today with Lifer #911: Cape May Warbler. I have emailed the Panama Audubon Society and let them know. It was another of this week's high-flying warblers feeding low to the ground and allowing me good views!

I also got some good video of Chesnut-backed Antbirds calling back and forth. Well, the sound is good, the view of the bird is terrible.

A few other goodies today were: Plain Woodcreeper, Lineated Woody, Dot-winged Antwren, Bay Wren, a flock of Red-eyed Vireos in the trees over the little river, three Agouti and a couple of weird bugs.

close-up below

These funny looking flies were in a swarm around the San Lorenzo sign. I didn't see any others anywhere. I hung around thinking some birds might be interested, but no one sent hunting. I couldn't stay long though because the rain was starting.

Panama: A Few Wood-Warblers

2011-10-27T09:01:00.000-07:00

October 24, 2011

Bay-breasted Warbler in beach scrub.

Bay-breasted Warbler grazing in the grass near the hard-stand area of Shelter Bay Marina

The Empids continue to be seen and be silent and I have come to grips with the fact that I will probably not be able to add them to my life list. As if to compensate, the forest spirits have delivered up some easy warbler sightings. Most of the time the warblers are high in the canopy, behind leaves, buzzing around at light speed with the sun or an eye killing whited-out sky behind them. Today, they were foraging on the ground in the of best viewing conditions.

Blackburnian hunting on the ground near the beach.

I'm not sure Mother Nature felt sorry for me because I'm covered in Mozzie and chigger bites, or because I'm running on two pints less blood than I should have, or that I'm sluggish from the anti-histamines I'm taking to keep from clawing myself to death. Whatever the reason, I will gladly take the gift of the ground foraging Bay-breasted, Blackburnian and Mourning Warblers. Mourning is lifer #910 for me. I've only seen a Blackburnian once and that was a male in breeding plumage, so I didn't know what this was when I saw him foraging with a flock of Indigo Buntings. I did think it was strange to see a warbler like that on the ground, just like I thought is was weird to see the Bay-breasted on the ground about twenty minutes before.

One warbler that isn't weird to see on the ground; Northern Waterthrush.

On the 25th, I was on the beach and got a few better shots of the Bay-breasted. I don't know why, but it seemed strange to be standing on the sand and getting pictures of this Warbler. It went down to the vines in the sand and then up a few feet into the tangled shrubs. Also in the shrubs on the beach were a Yellow-billed cuckoo, and an Empid.

Panama: Hook-billed Kite, Orioles and a Ringed Kingfisher

2011-10-22T15:29:00.000-07:00

October 22, 2011
For the last couple of days, I've walked the road that heads out of Fort Sherman to the Gatun Locks. It goes through a low, flooded area of the forest. One side has only a thin band of trees lining the road and beyond them is a cleared grassy marshy area where the airstrip is located. The other side has streches of grassy areas and stretches of treed forest that is often flooded in the rainy season. I saw the silent Empids, of course, but I got a few other birds as well. One morning, in the cleared grassy area at my end of the runway, the swallows, martins and swifts were busy dining on their tiny prey. In the mix were Barn Swallows, Southern Rough-winged Swallows, Gray-breasted Martins and what I think were Band-rumped Swifts. I should mention that White-collared Swifts have been flying overhead on the San Lorenzo Road this month. I haven't seen too many this week.

I have seen an American Pygmy Kingfisher a few times on this road and I hoped to see it again and maybe be lucky enough to get a photo. The Yellow-backed Orioles and Yellow-tailed Orioles were out and the sound of the Yellow-backed 'off-key' calls overshadowed everybody.

YELLOW-BACKED ORIOLES

YELLOW-TAILED ORIOLE

When we were in Grenada, I went in search of the critically endangered Hook-billed Kite. I got lost, sunburned so bad I blistered, and attacked by wasps, but after several outings, I found it. Imagine my surprise today when I found one during a very comfortable morning walk. I knew I had a Kite, but I didn't know which kind until getting back and looking it up. I went online and found that the Genada Kite is an endemic race; Chondrohierax uncinatus mirus. So I got lifer # 909 with Chondrohierax u. uncinatus. I had much better views of this bird and got some nice photos.

I picked up lifer #908 today too: Plain Wren, but the photo is not worth posting. I was thrilled to finally get some good shots of a Ringed Kingfisher. This Kingfisher never lets me get close enough for a shot. There is one that hangs around Playa Diablo and nearly everytime I walk down the path to the beach, I hear him scold me and he continues to complain as he flys off across the bay. I have seen one several times in the mangroves at the marina, but again, fleeting views.

Panama: Playa Diablo

2011-10-21T18:41:00.001-07:00

March 2, 2011

The little river that runs to the beach.

It was a beautiful day yesterday and I was out for 6 hours. I walked the San Lorenzo road to Playa Diablo (Devil’s Beach). While I was on the San Lorenzo road, I heard a strange call and stopped to find who was making it. Some warblers flew in overhead, but the call was lower. I finally saw movement and picked up a Southern Bentbill. I’ve only seen this bird twice before, it was a lifer for me last March. As it flew from perch to perch, I saw some movement lower and got the bins on it—Magnolia Warbler-- sorry Dad, I still couldn't get a picture. Just as I was going to check out the higher branches, Glyns rode up on her bike. We talked a bit and when she rode off, the birds had gone. I went on toward the beach.

As soon as I stepped onto the path, I knew I was in for a good day. There was lots of noise. The first sound to greet me was large group of Crested Oropendolas. Their liquid calls echoed in the forest and I caught glimpses of quite a few as they flew on both sides of the path. They seemed to be picking things off the dried leaves in the middle height area of the forest. As I watched one looking for goodies, a Chestnut-mandibled Toucan landed close to it and the Oropendola flew off. The toucan was pretty close and I thought it was my chance to get a really good photo. Unfortunately, my camera refused to focus. I took ten or so shots and not one was good. The bird sat there are cocked his head at me, posing and investigating and the damn camera was worthless. I hate this camera! I never know when or why it will or will not work. Sometimes, the zoom lens gets stuck and the camera won’t do anything. It won’t take a picture in the ‘stuck’ mode, it won’t retract. It won’t even turn off. I just push buttons until it finally goes off and I can turn it back on again. If you are looking for a zoom camera, do yourself a favor and don’t buy a Nikon Coolpix p100.

It is only a short walk to the beach from the San Lorenzo road, but it can offer surprises because the path parallels a small river that empties into the bay. I have seen a caiman in the river and there is a good population of Common Basilisk lizards along the banks. This lizard is also known as the Jesus Christ lizard because it runs on top the water to evade predators. I have startled a few and watched them run for a short spurt to put distance between us. I saw a good sized basilik with most of his tail gone. It looked as though it had been bitten off. Caiman?

There is a resident Kingfisher who always chirrs loudly at me as it flies off. Today for some reason he flew away silently. The path was littered with leaves that seemed too fresh and healthy to have come off naturally. I looked up to see Howlers lazing in to top of the canopy. Some of the trees along the path are very high and the monkeys were hanging out higher than usual.
I heard the soft grating, chirring sound of a Southern Bentbill again and placed myself on the path next to the call. Weird, I haven’t heard it for so long I’d forgotten I’d heard it before and now twice in one day. I need to find out if they move elsewhere during the rainy season, or if I’ve just failed to notice them. I got good views and tried to get a photo. Ha!

A very bad photo of a Bentbill. I sharpened it in Picassa.

I heard manikins snapping their wings in about the same spot they did last year when I finally saw my first. Last year, I heard them multiple times in different areas of the forest, but this walk gave me my first view. Other lifers on this short path are Bi-colored Ant wren and Broad-billed Motmot. Today I added another; Streaked Antwren #853.

Somebody's baby.

Panama: Yellow-crowned Tyrannulet

2011-10-19T19:01:00.000-07:00

October 19, 2011
Birded 9:00-12:45
It was gorgeous this morning. It was a bit windy, but that blew the clouds away and the sky was clear blue and the sun was out. It was a perfect day for bird watching, and the birds were out to be seen. I picked up Lifer #907: Yellow-crowned Tyrannulet near the start of my walk. I knew what it was immediately because the name for it is perfect. I told you that I got a response on the video for the Alder/Willow ID and the responder named a bunch of other calls on the tape. One of the calls he/she named was a Yellow-crowned Tyrannulet. I said to Gene, "Yellow-crowned Tyrannulet? I don't even remember reading about that one." I've been over and over my Ridgely's guide, but if I haven't studied the bird as a suspect for an ID, I guess I'm glossing over. Funny that I saw it today in all it's tiny glory. It was sitting on the end of a branch in the sun and it had it's crown up while it called, "Play here!" It was so beautiful. It reminded me of the little Firecrest I saw in Italy. (I also saw a Goldcrest in Italy. There are Regulus, like our American Ruby-crowned Kinglet.) I could hear him calling as he flew away. If I hear the call from now on, I'll know it. It was around long enough to get pictures, but I blew it. I had the back-light mode on and I got these weird shots with shadows around a fuzzy bird. I guess I should stop trying to get fancy with the damn camera. I really hope to see him again.

Dickcissell. A pretty bird, too bad we don't have them in California. They are wary.

As usual, I saw Empids out the gazoo and none of them talked. For a short time, I had my hopes up. I got what looked like an empid on video singing away. "I got you!" I thought. On the walk home, I'm thinking, "That bird's wing bars weren't bold enough. That wasn't an Empid. I'll bet it's a Pewee." I hear Pewee's nearly every day though and it wasn't a Pewee call. My hopes went up briefly again; then I thought again. I knew it wasn't a Wilder. I am becoming more and more convinced that they will not make a good, clear call here. I see them all day long and have never seen one talk. I figured there must be a more complex song for the Pewee that I didn't know about.

I enjoyed another hour or so of birding before the cloud cover began to white-out the sky. A few of the birds seen today: Red-eyed Vireos (still a lot), Summer Tanagers, Bay Wrens, Golden-collared Manakins (male and female), Southern Bentbill, Ruddy-tailed Flycatcher, Olive-sided Flycatcher, Cocoa Woodcreepers, Dickcissells and what I think was a Peregrine flying high in the distance. I also saw Agouti, Two-toed sloth, Howlers and what looked like some kind of Skipper, only it behaved like a hummngbird moth. I was lucky enough to get a good shot and will try and find the ID and update the butterfly post.

When I got aboard, I downloaded the video. It was clear and the sound was great. Too bad it was a Western Wood-Pewee. My first in Panama. The other was at my place in California. I guess I didn't pay much attention to the call then or didn't hear it at home.

Panama: Wood-Warblers and a Woody

2011-10-18T14:28:00.000-07:00

Tennessee Warbler

October 18, 2011
I got a few responses on Birdforum regarding the Wilder, both were for POSSIBLE Willow. Not strong enough for me to list. Also, on the youtube video, someone left a message saying there was a Willow at 1:11. He/she also named the other birds on the tape. I was impressed and amazed by the skill of this person. Still, I'm leaving the bird off the list for now. I continue to look at them and listen, but there are other birds and wildlife to observe; some I can even ID!

Female Thick-billed Euphonia

On Sunday, I went for a walk on the San Lorenzo road, and it was jumpin'. I got three Lifers: Canada Warbler and Blue-winged x Golden-winged Hybrid and Black-cheeked Woodpecker. I have seen both wood-warblers before, but my views were too fleeting, or I had a white sky over the canopy blinding me as I looked up. I had great views today. They are both really stunning birds. It was good to finally get the little blighters. A first year Canada came down low and was fliting around a few feet from me. I kept trying to get shots, but the camera wouldn't focus. What the Hell?!! I should have been getting great shots! The bird finally left the roadside and went deeper into the woods. I looked at the camera and realized I had it set on 'food shot' setting rather than the low light setting I thought it was on. That's what I get for a joking around on the The Twitching Sailor about our cuisine compared to the floating epicureans on Jacana. I took pictures of our Chile Verde dinner. Oh well.
A few other nice birds out the last few days:

Black-striped Sparrow

Female White-tailed Trogon

Red-throated Ant-tanager

Female White-shoouldered Tanager

Female Red-capped Manakin

Confounding Empid III

2011-10-15T23:26:00.000-07:00

click photo to enlarge

October 14, 2011
I am not going to go into the painful details of the last few days about finding and observing Willow/Alder (Wilder) except to say that I have now seen several of them and another empid I believe was an Acadian! I only got a quick view of a yellowish breast and belly and yellowish eye-rings. I will also mention that I was surprised at how easy it is to see the Wilders. After the first sighting I thought I would be very lucky to find it again. Now I have seen mulitple birds multiple times.

Today I was out by 7:00. On my way to the parking lot, it occurred to me that I was missing the migration marvels on the San Lorenzo road by trying to identify a bird I probably never could. And...why wouldn't it be in other areas? Now that I knew there were a few around, who's to say it was only in the parking lot? If I were a bird, wouldn't I rather be away from the noise of a hardstand work area? Why listen to all that hammering echoing, metal clanking, horns honking and men yelling? As I'm thinking this I realize I haven't seen an Empid. The no-see-ums are feasting and as I get my spray from my bum-bag, I make an executive decision; I'll bird Kennedy Loop today. The migrants aren't going to be around much longer and I need to move out of the parking lot.. I even decide that tomorrow, I'll walk San Lorenzo road and try to ID the calico warblers going through.

In the reeds at the side of the road to the loop, a Wilder sits on a low clump of dead stalks. He looks at me and smiles, silently.

I go past the old church and head for the loop. I hear a Northern Waterthrush and sure enough, one comes out onto the road. As I begin to enter the loop, a machine-gunned guard is walking out. We recognize each other and he begins to talk. I know by his gestures that he is saying he has seen me walking around the forest, and I have run into him near the chruch a few times. He speaks no English and I still can't understand Spanish. I wish we had a little town nearby where I could go and practicar. If it is written, I don't do too badly, but I just can't follow when it's spoken. Anyway we manage to exchange as few niceties. As we're talking a couple of cruisers come up for their morning walk around the loop, and then a couple more. I realize that birding might not be too good, so I walk back to the old church/guard house with my uzi toting friend. (I don't really know if it's an uzi or a shotgun, they all look alike to me.) I say hasta luego and head for the old complex on the San Lorenzo road. As I turn onto the road, a Wilder lands on a reed stalk, looks at me and flys off. They are taunting me. When I come up to the buildings, I hear a call that sounds a lot like the calls I've been listening to on xeno-canto (a bird call site). I have played the Willow and Alder a few times in case I ever heard a call. I immediately turned on the camera for sound and start aiming at the source. I'm looking through the viewfinder, but I know I'm not going to see the bird that way, so I let the camera hang, still on, and get the bins ready. A bird flys low onto the chain link and I put the bins on it--a flycatcher! A Wilder! I put the bins down and swing the camera up. Got him! He's far, but it's obvious that it's a small flycatcher and you can see the tail lifts. I have the voice!
I get back to Pergrine and download the video. I listen and listen and go online and listen to the taped call posted there, and back to mine. I can't tell. I think it's an Alder, but I can't list it. I opened a youtube account and posted the video on Bird Forum hoping someone would be able to name the call. That was hours ago and I haven't got a response.
It's late. I'm going to bed. Here is a link to the video. If anybody reading can ID this, please leave a comment.
http://youtu.be/xqYbW0aM5sw

Confounding Empid II

2011-10-13T11:06:00.000-07:00

October 11, 2011

Although the Willow/Alder Flycatcher can't be safely identified in the field without vocalization, I have decided to keep notes on it when I am lucky enough to see it.

I got two views of a few seconds each. I was watching a group of a about a dozen Tennesee Warblers feasting on White-flies under the leaves of a Papaya when I noticed a movement near the ground through the corner of my eye. I slowly lowered my bins to look and there was the Flycatcher with a huge, mangled bug in its mouth. I think we both saw each other at the same time and the element of surprise made him take off. I think he may have even dropped his dinner. I felt pretty bad about that, but it wasn't as if I had seen him eating and kept encroaching. He didn't fly far, only a few feet and I saw him again through a tiny frame in the undergrowth. He saw me watching took off again. Rain kept me from an attempt to see him again that evening.

October 12, 2011

It rained all day today, but a break at the end of the day allowed me to get out for about an hour and a half before it got too dark. For the first 45 minutes he was nowhere to be seen. I was afraid he was gone for good; had migrated south.

I should explain the site. It appears to be an old parking area next to where the hardstand for boats is now. The circumference is the jungle slowly taking over. One area is mainly big grasses and it flows into a treed area. I really don't bird here much. I meant to walk the old Battery Trail and found it overgrown, so I wandered down to the edge of the hardstand. I didn't go on San Lorenzo road or Kennedy because rain was threatening and I wanted to stay close. Once I started walking around, I was amazed at all the action. It is so close to people and noise and yet I saw more going on here than I had the last walk on San Lorenzo! Gene has a theory about parking lots and I am beginning to think he is on to something. He is always telling me I bird the hard way and I shouldn't be out walking goat trails or marshes or barren, rocky hillsides getting scraped up, bug bitten, sun burned and par-boiled. He thinks that the best birding can be done in the parking lot of any birding destination. We have seen a lot of good birds that way, I will admit. Once, when were in Australia, we met some British birders on the Birthday Creek Falls trail. They were there to find a particular finch that was quite rare. After we walked the creek area, Gene and I drove to another area close by that I wanted to check out. We stopped the car at the end of a dirt road, and I got out to bird. Gene put down the tailgate, got out a camp chair, took a beer from the cooler and told me to have a good time. I came back a bit later and he told me that if I had stayed and birded with him, I would have had the finch. He watched it feed and fly around while he had his beer. But I digress..back to the Empid.

I saw low movement on the hardstand side and scanned. There he was! He flew onto the stalk of the big grasses in the area. I watched him flying from stalk to stalk, and then flew high into a tree. No sound.

Confounding Empidonax I

2011-10-11T17:51:00.000-07:00

I have been thinking of splitting my blog, The Twitching Sailor, for some time and it’s ironic that when I finally do, my first post is going to be on a difficult bird and a difficult call as to whether I should have included it on my Life List. I have not put a bird on my list if I wasn’t 100% sure of what it was, until now. There is room for error here and I wonder if that margin should keep me from listing. I began this sailing adventure with virtually no birding skills or knowledge so I have seen my share of birds that I could not list. In fact, I may have the biggest ‘not listed’ bird list in the world! My birding skills have improved greatly over the eleven years I’ve been out on Peregrine, but I am constantly being challenged, and I still come across birds that take me some time to ID. Maybe that is part of the reason so many get obsessed with this hobby; it challenges us on many different levels.

Here is my current dilemma:

The bird is an Empidonax and I believe it is an Alder Flycatcher. In my copy of Ridgely’s , Birds of Panama, he lumps the Alder and Willow together under Traill’s because they are ‘essentially indistinguishable in the field’, although he does say that Alder is said to show more of an eye-ring than Willow. The eye-ring thing is one of the points I have used to validate listing. It doesn’t really show well in the pictures I post here, but I when I saw the bird again this morning (unfortunately, I couldn’t get photos during my 2.5 second and 1.0 second encounters), I saw it in light that allowed me to clearly see an eye-ring. I have gone back several times since the original sighting hoping it would vocalize, but I’ve heard nothing.

I should point out that I have ruled out Eastern wood-Pewee for several reasons. The primary projection doesn’t appear long enough. I have never seen this bird perch higher than a few feet off the ground. It hunts at near ground level, it does not sally out and return to the same perch, and it isn’t vocal. I have encountered Eastern Wood-Pewees here on several occasions and I am confident this is not a Pewee.

Another reason for my going with Alder is the San Lorenzo/Fort Sherman list I often refer to. The list is part of a comprehensive natural resource list of the San Lorenzo Protected Area compiled by Peter L. Weaver and Gerald P. Bauer for the US Forest Service. A note at the end of the bird list says the table was compiled by George R. Angehr and W. Douglas robinson of the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute. It lists Alder, but not Willow. I know the list is missing things—I’ve found a few myself--Pale-vented Thrush, White-throated Thrush and Variegated Flycatcher, but on the whole the list is a great and reliable source.

I will continue to visit the site in hopes of getting a sound, but the bird is a passing migrant and I don’t know how long he will be around.

Any opinions or advice?

Update: Took off life list.

Sue

Panama: Yellow-billed Cuckoo and Ochre-bellied Flycatcher

2011-10-11T17:50:00.000-07:00

October 10, 2011

Yellow-billed Cuckoo

I may have decided not to list the Alder Flycatcher, but I had no problem listing two other the lifers on Oct. 9th. The Yellow-billed Cuckoo was especially sweet because I saw a glimpse of one in 2008 while on a guided bird walk in Arkansas. Three new birds were pointed out to me on the walk and I decided not to add them to my list. All were fleeting views pointed out by the guide. I didn't feel right about listing them. They were a Little Blue Heron, Prothonotary Warbler and the Yellow-billed Cuckoo. I have all three now. The heron and warbler many times over but first seen in St. Lucia and Panama, respectively.

Ochre-bellied Flycatcher

The other lifer was an Ochre-bellied Flycatcher. I had seen it on several occasions last week. Each time, I thought, "What was that?" I convinced myself it was a female White-shouldered Tanager, even though the little voice kept saying, 'That was not a Tanager." The last sighting, I had great views and enough time for a few lousy photos. I thought at first it was a thrush of some kind. Just when you start to feel cocky about your id skills with this hobby, you get a comeuppance. It really didn't take long to ID when I got back aboard Peregrine, but I was a bit confused about it for a short time.

A First For Panama

2011-10-10T19:41:00.000-07:00

Variegated Flycatcher

February 27, 2011
I was organizing my photographs and sending them to my Picassa Web site when I came across the photo a bird I saw here a year ago: January 18, 2010.
When I saw this bird, we had not been in Panama long and most birds were still new to me. I was confused by the bird and finally thought it must be a Streaked Flycatcher, but an insolens race, because of the unmarked undertail coverts. Maybe, it was a young bird? I didn’t have illustrations or images that allowed me a positive ID. I looked in on that photo quite often for a few months afterward and remained confused.
A year later, I am more comfortable with the Flycatchers and when I went to transfer this photo, I realized that the bill was not big enough for a Streaked. I went back to my Ridgley’s but could not stretch the illustration for the Piratic Flycatcher (Legatus leucophalus) into my bird; maybe the illustration was a little off? I was thinking it was too bad my Sibley’s didn’t have an illustration of this bird for comparison and I suddenly remembered seeing a Piratic Flycatcher illustration in my National Geographic Field Guide to the Birds of North America. I dug it out. I was even more convinced my bird was not a Piratic. The Piratic's bill was too small and the wing coverts were not edged. However, the bird illustrated next to the Piratic sure looked like my bird: Variegated Flycatcher (Empidonomus varius). I found the ID to my bird serendipitously. I got Ridgely out and looked in the index for both common and scientific names and it wasn’t there. I even looked in the ‘additional’ illustrations near the back for the fun of it.
I thought I must be wrong. The bird had to be a Piratic and I was just not seeing things right. I went on the net and searched. I read what I could find, and I looked at images. I read that the Variegated had a flesh colored base on the lower mandible, which my bird has, but I could not find text that told me the Piratic DIDN’T ever show that and I found images labeled as Piratic that did show a flesh color on the lower mandible. I know that images are often labeled wrong on the net and I wondered if what I saw in some instances of ‘Piratic’ were actually Variegated.
I have posted a few photos of my bird on Bird Forum for identification and am anxiously waiting for responses.

http://www.birdforum.net/showthread.php?t=193482

February 27, 2011 9:30 p.m.

The consensus on BirdForum is positive for a Variegated Flycatcher. I was advised to contact several Bird Organizations in Panama; which I did. I got a message back from one. The responder is passing my photos on to experts, but he did say that a Variegated Flycatcher has never been seen in Panama. Woo-Hoo!

Later...

I have heard back from the records committee in Panama and they have accepted my bird as a Variegated Flycatcher and a first for Panama.

An Afternoon Walk in Fort Sherman

2011-10-08T20:49:00.000-07:00

Blue-gray Tanager
click photo to enlarge

September 30, 2011 Fort Sherman, Panama

I had such a good morning walk that I went out again in the afternoon. I took a notebook for the afternoon walk and wrote a 'bird species seen' list:

Eastern Kingbird--one of the most numerous birds right now--it's migrating.
Magnificent Frigatebird
Grey-breasted Martin

Gray-breasted Martin

Great-tailed Grackle
Southern Lapwing
Black Vulture
Great Kiskadee
Social Flycatcher
Spotted Sandpiper
Lesser Kiskadee?
Tropical Mockingbird
Blue-gray Tanager
Turkey Vulture
Brown Pelican
Greater Ani
Black-chested Jay
Lesser Elaenia
Variable Seedeater
Tropical Kingbird
Short-tailed Swift
Blue-headed Parrot
Red-crowned Woodpecker
Northern Waterthrush
Clay Colored Thrush
Chachalaca
Lineated Woodpecker
Crested Oropendola
Sapphire-throated Hummingbird
Yellow Warbler
Yellow Mangrove Warbler
Palm Tanager
Prothonatory Warbler
Orange-chinned Parakeet
Gray Kingbird
Giant Cowbird
Keel-billed Toucan
Lesser Greenlet
Collared Aracari
Crimson-backed Tanager
Unidentified Hummingbird
Chestnut-mandibled Toucan
House Wren
Barn Swallow
Cliff Swallow

The Little Tyrants of Fort Sherman

2011-10-08T08:26:00.000-07:00

October 6, 20011

click on the photos to enlarge

It is not always easy to see the little guys in the forest. Many times they are up in the canopy and if there is cloud cover I often can't see anything but white glare. I have only knowingly seen the Paltry Tyrannulet (Zimmerius vilissimus) twice. The bird is also known as the Misletoe Tyrannulet, which I think is a much nicer name. It is only four inches long, has pale irises and no wing-bars so ID is not as difficult as many of the Tyrants can be. I think the MISTLETOE Tyrannulet is a beautiful little bird and I was so happy to get these shots. It was weird that so many of the flycatchers I saw on the day I got this shot (October 2, 2011) had their tail feathers spread, sure made a pretty picture.

Another tiny tyrant is the Ruddy-tailed Flycatcher. I was out fairly early this morning and got a few shots of one. This guy is only about three and a half inches long and his coloration makes for another easy ID. I got Lifer #900 today! It was another small flycatcher--Olivaceous Flatbill. At six inches he's a bit bigger. I saw him well but was unable to get a good shot due to lighting, sometimes it's just too dark in the forest for good shot.

Ruddy-tailed Flycatcher, an apt name.

All the birds mentioned in this post were found on the San Lorenzo Road in the Fort Sherman area of Central Panama.

There's A Big Moon On The Rise

2011-03-17T23:48:00.000-07:00

click on photo to enlarge
March 17, 2011
It was almost a full moon. Even better, it was almost a full ‘Supermoon’. Actually some even called it an “Extreme Supermoon”. On the 19th it will be full and it will be the closest to the Earth than it has been for 18 years.
For me, it meant a chance to find a Potoo. I warned Gene earlier in the day that I was going out so he could be prepared. He doesn’t want me to be out alone in the jungle at night so he goes with me. For Gene, the sun going down signals the end of activity. Oh, he’ll wander up the restaurant or a communal cocktail hour, but in general, he is ready for some wine and a book at the end of the day. It is a bit of a sacrifice on his part to go birding with me at any time, but creeping through a rainforest with a flashlight in hand when he could be having a cocktail or two is an imposition. As a compromise, I have restricted my nocturnal meanderings to full moons and we didn’t go out the last one at all because it was rainy.

I was feeling lucky. The Supermoon wasn’t the only one omen for a good hunt. It’s St. Patrick’s Day. How lucky is that? It’s lucky for me; 36 years ago on this day, I had my beautiful, complex, intelligent and exasperating son. Well, the exasperating aspect seems to be diminishing with age (his and mine?). Love You Miguelito. Happy Birthday!
So, after one martini for Gene, we set off for a thrilling walk in the jungle under an almost full Supermoon. We walked to the entrance of the National Park where there is a small river. Susan on Limerick had told me she heard there were Potoos in that area. It’s about 2Ks to the stream and the walk had been disappointingly quiet.

We saw a few sloths, but mostly it was a snapping branch here…a scurry in the underbrush there. A hard metallic ‘tink’ every so often (iguana?). Now and then, a quiet throat-clearing of a bird deep in the darkness. An occasional silent flutter-by of a bat.
No night birds calling. No glowing eyes. Finally, as we passed the path to the clearing where the little cinder-block buildings are, we heard a bird calling. To his credit, Gene didn’t say a word or let out an impatient sigh as I turned off the paved road and threaded my way through the over-grown path to the clearing. I heard, ‘Pareo’. “PaRAYoh” belted loudly over and over. He kept calling as we crept into the clearing, but when we walked closer to the center, he stopped. We stood and waited. Overhead the moon shone brightly but intermittently because it was windy and clouds scuttered across the sky. I could hear the wind playing in the leaves of the trees and unknown things moving in the dense jungle, but the bird was quiet. I knew Gene had had enough for the night and was ready for wine and reading so I reluctantly went back to the path. The light of the moon wasn’t much help here and Gene kept the flashlight on the path.
When we came out of the treed area to the clearing near the marina, we heard the call again. Only now it was softened around the edges and the volume was turned way down. It was the same though.
I went to Xeno Canto when we got aboard and identified the call of a Common Paraque.
Tomorrow is another night and tomorrow the moon will be one step farther to being super.

Chestnut-headed Oropendolas at Fort San Lorenzo

2011-02-18T21:46:00.000-08:00

The Chagres.

Friday, February 18, 2011
I rode my little fold up bike to the Chagres River today. It’s only about 18 K round-trip, but it was a rough with a bicycle with wheels the size of dinner plates. The road was slightly uphill both ways and I was whipped when I got home.

The vehicle for the great (or common)Potoo hunt.

I thought I might see a Potoo if I went into the National Park and I wanted to scope out Fort Lorenzo. It is cleared with good trees on the periphery and it is right next to the Charges. I thought it might be a good prospect but I didn’t see any Potoos. I did see a Yellow-rumped Warbler that looked very unlike the Yellow-rumps we get at home. At first I thought it was a Cape May Warbler, which would have been a lifer, but I suspected Yellow-rumped. I got help on Bird Forum to nail it down as a Yellow-rumped. Not a lifer, but not a common bird here. The Chestnut-headed Oropendolas were noisy and beautiful and had their nests made. They were in the same spot last year. The Crested Oropendolas that nested near the marina on the road to Kennedy Loop last year did not make their nests here again. I have heard them off the San Lorenzo road though, so maybe they just moved to a quieter spot?

Chestnut-headed Oropendola nests.

I really didn’t see much today which didn’t seem fair after peddling my arse off. One great sight was a Chestnut-mandibled Toucan, Keel-billed Toucan and two Red-Lored Parrots perched near each other in a tall, spreading tree that was just getting new leaves so the birds were easy to see. I got two new butterfly species; Crimson Patch and Thaos Swallowtail, and I saw a big walking stick bug at the park administrative building. I took a gazillion pictures of the stick bug and none of them turned out. I really wish I hadn’t broken my old Sony; I can’t seem to get sharp photos no matter what I do with the Nikon, and it has more pixels. I would have gotten another Sony, but, of course, they didn’t make the same kind anymore.

Playa Diablo was still closed and I asked the park guys about it again. This time I was told that two swimmers have died and that’s why it’s closed. I told them I only wanted to bird, and they said it would be ok.

Netherlands Antilles: A Birding Day In Bonaire

2009-06-06T11:12:00.000-07:00

Click photo to enlarge

June 6, 2009

Until yesterday, all the birding I have done on Bonaire has been within walking distance of downtown Kralendijk, where Peregrine is moored. Even without a car or bike or public transportation, I had most of the birds one could expect to find on Bonaire, but I was missing a few I really hoped to get. One was a Pearly-eyed Thrasher. I missed seeing it in the West Indies and I knew Bonaire was my last chance since it is not present on Curacao or Central America. Two other lifers I hoped for were the other resident Hummer: Blue-tailed Emerald (sounds like a fire-cracker) and Rufous-collared Sparrow. Of course I looked forward to seeing the island’s logo, a Flamingo, which would be a good one for my island and 2009 list.
Yesterday Gene and I rented a well used and very dusty Suzuki Jimny for $40.00US from Rento Fun Drive and headed north. A good chunk of the northern part of the island consists of the Washington Slabaii National Park. The rental agent told us we could not take the car into the park because there are no paved roads. I guess you’d have to get a jeep for that. At the northern end of the paved road was the Lagun Goto and we had a good stop there. Most of the birds hung out across the lagoon, but we could see Wilson’s Plovers, Snowy Plovers, Least Terns , Royal Terns, Black-winged Stilts and two Island firsts for me: Flamingo and Tricolored Heron. But best was an Olivaceous Cormorant because I’d forgotten I could see him here. I’m thrilled he reminded me. Lifer #667. The lagoon was quite large and we drove along it, stopping now and then to check things out. I yelled stop to Gene when I saw what I thought might be a grebe. Gene said, no, duck. We stopped and got good views of a White-cheeked Pintail. Lifer #668. We took a little loop drive in the Flamingo Sanctuary and had close up and personal encounters with the Flamingoes. Fantastic birds. My views in Egypt and Spain were nothing like this.

Pearly-eyed Thrasher click to enlargeAfter Lagun Goto we went to Dos Pos (Two Wells) where we saw a few Pearly-eyed Thrashers and a Blue-tailed Emerald. #669 &670. We were chastised by a feral donkey. It’s funny. When we first ‘met’ him, we were pulled to the side of the road in the car. He came up and stuck his head in the window and asked us with his eyes for a treat. When he didn’t get one, he wandered down the road. When I got out to look for birds, he was quite a distance. He saw me, Hee-Hawed and ran toward me as if he wanted to chase me off!! He didn't come close, he wasn't dangerous, he was just a bit afraid and wanted us off his path. He eventually did walk past us again while we were out. I was on the right side, so he went by on the left; then he crossed the road and passed Gene who was standing near the car on the left side. I get the impression some of the locals must have carrots or apples in their cars at all times. We saw four feral donkeys and there is a sanctuary on the island for them

We continued on to the only other town on the island; Rincon. We went into a funky little snack shop called the Fui Kee and had Nasi-Goreng and a beer and Coke. I got addicted to this rice dish in Indonesia and was almost as stoked to see it as I was the Pearly-eyed Thrasher.

Fui Kee SnackFrom there we drove back down south and around the Salt Works to the Lac. The Lac is a big lagoon protected by reefs. It is on the windward side of the island and the winds were fierce and the sea broke violently on the reefs, but the Lac was flat and wind kiters were having a great time. There were mangroves and I did a little exploring and got two more for my island list; Reddish Egrets and Black-bellied (Grey) Plovers. By this time we were ready for a swim, a beer and dinner so we headed home. On the way home we went through more mangroves where we saw Scrub Flycatchers, Caribbean Parakeets, Yellow Warblers and a Barn Swallow. I knew the Barn Swallows migrated through but was a bit surprised to see one in June. I guess he was too tired to move on, we know how that goes.

I was unable to id a few doves when we arrived here and was lucky to find a small book on the birds of Curacao, Aruba and Bonaire. It's called "Our Birds" and was written by Dr. Bart A De Boer. It's also called "Nos Paranan" and "Onze Vogels" because he has written it in the three major languages of the island; Papiamento, Dutch and English. A tri-lingual book. That reminds me of the old cruising joke: If a person speaks three languages, he's tri-lingual; if a person speaks two languages, he's bi-lingual; if a person speaks one language, he's American.

Dr. De Boer mentions that in October large flocks of swallows and martins arrive from North America and some are so exhausted from the journey they are too weak to eat and perish. Poor little things. If you find yourself in Bonaire and need this book, you can get it at Books and Toys in town.

Caribbean Parakeets
Bonaire Bird List
Bananaquit
Bare-eyed Pigeon
Barn Swallow
Black-Bellied (Grey) Plover
Black-faced Grassquit
Black-winged Stilt
Blue-tailed Emerald
Brown Booby
Brown Pelican
Caribbean Grackle
Caribbean or Brown-throated Parakeet
Common Ground Dove
Eared Dove
Flamingo
Gray Kingbird
Green Heron
House Sparrow
Laughing Gull
Least Tern
Lesser Yellowlegs
Magnificent Frigatebird
Olivaceous Cormorant
Osprey
Pearly-eyed Thrasher
Reddish Egret
Royal Tern
Ruby-topaz Hummingbird
Ruddy Turnstone
Saffron Finch
Scaly-naped Pigeon
Scrub Flycatcher
Snowy (Kentish) Plover
Snowy Egret
Tricolored Heron
Tropical Mockingbird
Troupial
White-cheeked Pintail
White-tipped Dove
Wilson’s Plover
Yellow Oriole
Yellow Warbler
Yellow-shouldered Parrot

Isla Grasiosa, Canary Islands

2008-09-18T11:28:00.000-07:00

Peregrine anchored off Isla Graciosa. The cliffs in the photo are Lanzarote.

September 18, 2008

I got up for the third and last time at 5:30am. That was about a half hour ago. Gene must have been up at least that many times, maybe more. My first wake up came when I thought I heard rain. I got up to shut the hatches but realized that the rain sound came from our plastic American flag flicking madly in the wind that had gathered while we slept. It sounded so much like rain that I stuck my hand out from under the dodger just to be sure—no rain. I crawled back into the v-berth and was asleep before my head hit the pillow. Later, the howling of the wind woke me. Gene was awake and said he had been up earlier to shut all the hatches because of the rain. He was up now because hadn’t tightened them down and the wind had blown so fiercely that it had driven the rain through the microscopic gap in the forward hatch and had soaked his bed. Maybe it was raining when I first got up after all; I must have been more tired than I thought. I was in the aft cabin. I chose to sleep back there because we both stink! We were going to take showers last night, but it was too cold. Neither one of use wanted to subject ourselves to a shower in a cold, windy cockpit. We went to bed stinky.

Later…

After our morning coffee, Gene removed the dinghy from its canvas bag and pumped it up while I dug out the oars and seat. I used a few baby wipes and cleaned off enough to go ashore and bird. I figured I’d wait till after birding for a real shower (if you can call a scrubbing with a soapy wash cloth followed by a rinse with a bug sprayer a shower). I cleaned my binoculars and put in new contacts in preparation for new birds. I knew I’d be out for a few hours so I threw an apple in the back pack along with the hat, water, field guide, camera and bins.

It was a calm morning and Gene dropped me off at the closest point on shore. He rowed on to the town to take in our trash. We arranged he would pick me up at the same spot in a few hours. Invariably, a few hours for me turns into four or five, so we set up the usual ‘look out every half hour’ system. He would read, drink beer and eat peanuts while I birded and pop his head out the hatch every half hour to see if I was ready to come back aboard.

Tidepool

I gave this Island a Peregrine’s Magical Spot award. I really thought about it before bestowing this rarely awarded honor. I questioned my feelings. I thought that maybe I was enthralled because I hadn’t been away from the madding crowds for so long, or that it was so good to finally finish another long passage that ANYTHING related to terra-firma would have been magical. The whole time my mind questioned, my soul whispered, “Stop rationalizing. Just look. Just listen. Just feel the uniqueness.” This Island is a very special place, and without doubt deserves the award.
We are about fifty miles from the African coast; seemingly separated from the rest of the world by vast amounts of Atlantic Ocean water. Then why does it look like we turned left at Albuquerque?

Yellow-legged Gulls and Sandwich Terns flew overhead and Gene spotted the first bird on the shore as we got close. I got out of the dink and he pointed me to the bird; even then I had a hard time seeing it. It was a Kentish Plover in a depression of the lava rock tide pool. I scanned the shore and noticed a few others camouflaged on the lava. A Ringed Plover, two Sanderlings and several more Kentish Plovers.

I followed a trail in the sand that led inland through the dunes. It wasn’t long before I heard and saw a Berthelot’s Pipit. I walked further in and stopped in a spot that was surrounded by low, scrubby dunes. The ground and scrub seemed to be alive with the pipits. I stood and watched them stretch to catch bugs that flew around the bases of the bushes, then quickly run to another and feast from it. Sometimes they’d fly to the top of a shrub and perch for a second or two. This was the first time in a long time that I had been birding and the birds let me look at them. I’ve found the birds in the Med. to be very leery of people; and rightly so, they are unbelievably persecuted in many Mediterranean countries. (I will address that subject in a separate post, eventually. Possibly. Much of it sickens me to the point where I don’t want to write or think about it, but it’s not an issue to be ignored.)

I walked to a small, walled-in cemetery and close to it was a hose with a leak. A tiny fountain sprang from it and a pipit was enjoying the spray off of it. Another bird flew out from under a shrub and I watched it land low in another bush. I got my bins on it and realized I had a new warbler, and I was pretty sure it was a Spectacled. I had studied this bird before because I thought I had one on Mallorca but had such a brief look that I couldn’t list it. I have had trouble with some of the warblers in the Med/Europe; they can be frustratingly similar and too fast to really see well enough to id for the first (or second or third) time. I lowered the bins and turned the camera on to full zoom. I have learned that I might not get another chance at some birds and getting an image is important. I clicked off a few distant shots and hoped I had more than a fuzzy blob. I stood in the bright sun and shaded the viewer with my hand. I could see a reddish brown on the wing and a ‘spectacled’ eye. “Yes, I get to add you to my list after all!” As I was basking in my success, I heard a very loud call. It was easy to tune in and find the source. Sitting atop the cross that graced the locked gates of the cemetery was a Great Grey Shrike. He was noisily expressing his disapproval of my being there. The one I saw in Cabo de Gata on the Costa del Sol, Spain, wouldn’t let me get within 100 yards of it but this guy allowed me a very good look. I snapped off a few shots before moving off.

I walked toward the little harbor town of Caleta del Sebo, and checked it out on my way to the shore. I saw Turnstones, more Yellow-legged Gulls (Canary Island race), Sanderlings, B. Pipits, and Collared Doves.

I decided to head back inland and walk across the island. As I went, the wind picked up and dark clouds began to blow over from Lanzarote. I needed to head back. I saw the Shrike again and more Hoopoes and pipits. Gene must have seen me walking because he was on his way as I reached our point. There was some wave action and I decided I needed to wade out to get past the waves. We were both a bit worried about getting off without a soaking, but my old, fat, arthritic body must have had an ancient memory of its athletic youth and I got in as gracefully as could be done.

I didn’t like having my birding day cut short, but I will go back tomorrow and get closer to the hills where I saw raptors. I am hoping for Barbary Falcons.

Berthelot's Pipit

Isla Graciosa:

Berthelot’s Pipit /Anthus bertholotii bertholotii

Hoopoe/Upupa epops

Kestrel/Falco tinnunculus dacotiae *

Southern Grey Shrike/Great Grey Shrike/Lanius excubitor koenigi or algeriensis *??--Whatever, it was a shrike!

Spectacled Warbler/Sylvia conspicillata orbitalis*

Collared Dove/Streptopelia decaocta

Sandwich Tern/Sterna sandvicensis

Turnstone/Arenaria interpres

Sanderling/Calidris alba

Kentish Plover/Charadrius alexandrinus

Ringed Plover/Charadrius hiaticula

Cory’s Shearwater/Calonectris diomedea borealis (Off-shore, as we sailed in.)

Gannet/Sula bassana (Off-shore, as we sailed in.)

Little Egret/Egretta garzetta

Raven/Corvus corax tingitanus *

*According to my Canary Island bird book, these would be the appropriate races for the birds I saw, but I don’t know for certain if I have the subspecies right. The shrike looked like the Lanius excubitor algeriensis illustration in my Collins guide and I had it down as that until I noticed the endemic subspecies listed in A Birdwatcher’s Guide to the Canary Islands by Tony Clarke and David Collin

Raptor Migration, Gibraltar

2008-09-07T14:37:00.000-07:00

September 7, 2008

The Barbary 'Ape' is really a monkey, albiet a tailess one.

Just when I thought I would have to leave Gibraltar without seeing a few migrating raptors, I saw some; hundreds and hundreds of them. I was going to go to the Botanical Gardens for a few hours of birding, but before I even got out of the marina, I looked up and saw several large flocks of raptors flying above the Top of the Rock. I went as fast as my old legs could go to the tram. The whole time, I kept willing them to stay soaring long enough for me to see them as something more than blobs. Since I am not familiar enough with the European raptors to ID by shape, I needed good views.

There was a group of five undecided people at the ticket counter asking about all the ticket options. It was all I could do to keep myself from yelling, “Just buy the damn tickets and move it!” I was anxious the whole way up; I just knew they would be in Africa by the time I got to the top. Someone said something about seeing the apes. Since I had been up a few times, I told them they would have no problem seeing them. I said I hoped the raptors would still be there. The tram operator assured me they would be and that more would be coming, mostly Honey Buzzards. Before we reached the top, most of the passengers were looking at the raptors and asking questions about them.

The operator was right, there were plenty of birds and the vast majority were Honey Buzzards. The top lookout area over near the restaurant was a great spot and often the birds came quite close. I saw light, dark and common phases. I like the ‘common’ morph the best, what a beautiful bird! A few Sparrowhawks were in the mix. I got lots of shots and when I viewed them later, I saw what I’m sure are Black Kites as well. The photos are not good, just blurry silhouettes, but you can just make out a tail starting to vee, or a few wings with long fingers.

Sometimes, there would be a short period when the sky emptied, but it wouldn’t be long before another Raptor Wave would hit. Some groups flew in a tornado shape, some were swirling cumulus clouds and others a long ribbon. Some flew over the top of the Rock and others flew lower, over Gibraltar Bay. It was an amazing sight and I’m glad we’ve been too content to hurry with our projects and lingered long enough to witness this migration. Both Honey Buzzard and Sparrowhawk are lifers for me.

There were more than birds to see on the Rock. I love this Moorish gecko.

People are warned to keep their bags and food concealed, but there are always the special people who don't follow the same rules as the hoi-poloi. One day when we were on the Rock, a special person had her tote snatched from her and her bag of chips was extracted before the tote went for a downhill flight. Gene and I heard the woman screaming and turned to see the monkey the action. About fifteen minutes later we saw this guy off the beaten path being a pig with his booty. He turned his back on his buddy while he ate and gave us a 'Don't even think about it.' look.

Italy: A Trip To The Po To Find A Pygmy Cormorant

2008-04-11T16:07:00.000-07:00

April 11, 2008

Yes, those are mozzies buzzing Gene's head; one of the reasons he loves to go birding with me.

I usually bird in the area where we are moored because I usually have only my feet for transportation, but there have been times when I have driven to distant locations to find a particular bird. In Australia, I had a car and I drove to find a Southern Cassowary, Chowchilla, Budgie, and Buff-breasted Paradise-Kingfisher. Last week, Gene and I went to the Po River Delta on the Adriatic coast of Italy to find a Pygmy cormorant. I have wanted to see one since learning of them while we were in Turkey. Apparently, there are lots of them in Thessalonika (Northern Greece), but we sailed though the Southern Islands instead of going north (had to see an Eleonora's Falcon and I thought Tilos was my best chance) .

I really thought that I had lost my chance to see a Pygmy until I browsed through Nigel Wheatly’s, Where to

Watch Birds in Europe and Russia. He mentioned that three pairs of Pygmy's bred in the Po River Delta in 1994**. I still had a chance to see them before setting sail for Spain! I did some googling of Pygmy’s in the Po and found a report by someone (sorry, can’t remember who it was) who saw them in the Punta Alberete area of the vast Parco Delta del Parco. More googling showed me where Punta Alberete was.

I talked Gene into going with me, and made a one night reservation at the Corrallo Hotel in the town of Marina Romea. I figured we could check things out once we were there and stay another night if necessary, or move to another location for another night if that was needed. Now all I had to do was get to Marina Romea using public transportation. We went into the termini in Rome and got tickets on a fast train to Bologna where we would then catch another train to Ravenna; from there it would be a short bus ride into Marina Romea.
It was 5:00 pm by the time we got checked in and I inhaled a few olives and a glass of wine before heading out for a little birding before the sun went down. There is a pine forest reserve directly across the street from the hotel and I went in there. I walked through it until I came to the next little town, Porto Corsini. I had a map that the hotel had given me and saw that if I crossed the road here, I could get on a trail that went along the marsh. This area was Pineta Staggioni, not Punta Alberete which was a few miles away.

I still had enough light, so I decided to walk back to the hotel via the marsh trail. I had gone a bit north of the trailhead so it took a bit of time to find it. Once I was on it, I soon saw a viewing tower. Instead of going up it right away, I walked past it a bit to the edge of the path and looked over the marsh. I could see four cormorants, very small cormorants; small cormorants with short bills. I hadn't been in town for two hours and I got my bird! It was dusk and my photos were silhouettes even with my setting on low light. I have had this bird on a ‘What I want to see in the Med’ list for quite awhile and I couldn’t believe I found it so quickly. As I walked back to the hotel I started to doubt myself. They were quite far, around 75 yards. Hard to judge. What if the distance was so great that I was seeing the bird as smaller than it really was? What if the bill really wasn’t that short? What if it was a shag?

By the time I got back to the hotel my mood was darkening faster than the sky. “You know what you saw. You knew immediately that it was a Pygmy,” said the little angel on my shoulder. “Yes, but when people really want to see something, they often develop selective vision,” said the evil, confidence killing devil on the other shoulder.

I asked Gene to go back with me in the morning. His eyes are really good, and he is very good at birding, much better than me, and I wanted confirmation.

We went right after breakfast and found the birds in the same spot. Pygmy Cormorants. Lifer #567.We walked along the trail till it ended and I saw another Pygmy there. The sky was whited out and the water was grey, but I tried some photos anyway.

When we got back to Peregrine, I loaded the photos onto the computer. They turned out to look like silhouettes, but they were good enough to show a pygmy cormorant.

click to enlarge

Slender-billed Gull

We stayed two nights at the Corallo. I can recommend it; the staff was excellent(I'm kicking myself for not getting the name of young lady at the front desk, she was great), the place was spotless, and the location was good. The only problem was the trickle of hot water in the shower. Unfortunately for us, the hotel no longer loaned bikes and the bike rental place was not open. Too early in the season? Anyway, you would need a bike or car to see the area well. There is no car rental in Marina Romea so if you want to check this area out by car, you need to rent in Ravenna. I also got lifer #568 on this trip--Common Tern. Here is a list of birds seen in walking distance from the hotel:
Black-necked Grebe
Great Crested Grebe
Little Grebe
Great Cormorant
Pygmy Cormorant
Little Egret (lots)
Grey Heron
Gadwall
Redshank
Greenshank
Curlew Sandpiper
Curlew
Black-headed Gull
Slender-billed Gull
Yellow-legged Gull
Common Tern
Whiskered Tern
Collared Dove
Scops Owls were heard in pine forest across from hotel
Barn Swallow
Hoopoe
Yellow Wagtail
Black Redstart
Stonechat
Blackbird
Sardinian Warblers heard
Cetti’s Warbler
Willow Warbler
Great Tit
Blue Tit
Magpie

Jay
Hooded Crow
Starling
Italian House Sparrows
Goldfinch
Greenfinch
Serin

**That book was published in 2000, and the bird was listed as endangered. After seeing my bird, I went to the IUCN site to see what the status was and was amazed to find that the species has been downgraded to Least Concern. It is good to see that some stories are not all doom and gloom.

Italy: Injured Nightjar

2007-10-02T20:12:00.000-07:00

October 2, 2007--Ostia, Italy
I’ve never really seen a nightjar. Sometimes when we were still living at Tar and Feathers, I would come home at night and see dark shapes flying away from the edge of the dirt road that leads to our house. I knew the shapes were nightjars but in those days I didn’t stop to see if I could get a closer view; if I were home now I would. I’ve wanted to see one for some time and yesterday I finally did. I was walking along the marina pontoon to go get clothes out of the dryer and through the corner of my eye saw something floating in the water between two large power boats. I didn’t have my glasses on, but I could see a mottled bird and striped tail. At first I thought it was a Kestrel, but a second later, even blind, I knew it was a Nightjar. I thought he was dead until I saw very slight movement. I dropped everything I was carrying and hurried back to Peregrine calling for Gene who was on the pontoon assembling a bike. He got on the transom of one of the boats and tried to bring the bird toward him by creating a current with his hand, but it was not enough and the bird was floating farther out into the channel. I ran and got a boat hook and Gene was able to push the bird back toward the transom and fish him out. I had a towel ready and carried the cold, wet, barely moving little guy back to our boat. The day before, I had just been to a bird reserve and had made an appointment for a tour. While I was there a man came in with an injured Peregrine falcon, so I knew where I could go for help. Unfortunately, we pulled Uccelli (Italian for bird) out of the water at 1:50, and the center closed at 1:00. I had an email address on the literature I picked up there so I sent an email asking if someone could meet me a the center. That was about all I could do at that point. I moved Uccelli to different sections of the large towel as each section got wet from absorbing salt water. I saw that his left wing was badly broken and he was bleeding. I wrapped him in a dry towel and kept him warm. A few hours later I unwrapped him and he was fairly dry. He was standing on his feet, which was great because they had been curled up and limp. I offered him water and soft scrambled eggs, but he wouldn’t eat or drink. I still hadn’t got a response from my email and figured that it probably wouldn’t be read until the following morning when the center opened. I made a hospital cage for birdy and used my computer transformer as a heater. I was able to get a stable 30 degrees. I checked on him several times during the night and he took water a few times but wouldn’t eat.

This morning I got him out to take him to the center and he was doing well. He managed a few ‘hisses’ at me and showed me his great frog mouth. Wow! That tiny little beak was hiding that cavern! He is such a beautiful thing. Anyway, he is now on his way to the doctor in Villa Borghessi. I will go tomorrow and ask about him. Now I’m worried that maybe there isn’t a place that cares for permanently injured birds, and I dread hearing that he had to be euthanized. Under the circumstances it’s hard to be happy about seeing my first nightjar so well.
The outcome to this story wasn’t very good. Uccelli didn’t make it, but the Peregrine did.