Peregrine in Panama (1 Viewer)

[SueO]

Peregrine in Panama
On October 31, 2000, we began our attempt to sail around the world aboard our 43 foot sailboat, Peregrine. It’s been a long nine years and I found myself wanting to really push this last stretch and get home as soon as possible. We only have to get through the canal and go north to Newport Beach, California (only!). I thought how ironic that just as we came upon some of the best birding areas of the world, I was too burnt out to want to linger and enjoy. Since making landfall in Panama I have gotten a second wind. I can easily linger here.
We are now safely at dock on the Caribbean side of the canal. We have very nice live-ashore amenities and the rain forest is our backyard. I saw my first wild Toucan yesterday; a Keel-billed Toucan—gorgeous!
Before arriving here, we made several stops in the Kuna Yala/San Blas Islands and I had some enjoyable days birding an island in the Holandes group. We spent some time in the Linton Island anchorage (about eight miles east of Portobello). I went ashore nearly every day there and collected quite a list.
I have run into a few snags, but overall I have done much better than I thought I would in the identification area. Most of the birds I’ve seen so far are quite distinctive and that makes ID fairly easy. I don’t know how many birds, especially flycatchers, I’ve missed, but relatively few and I am not frustrated yet. However, there are some birds I’m struggling with and would like to have some discussion about them. I have done some searching on the net, but still have questions. I will post them on the ID forum even though some of the images I got are really bad.
I’ve had a few surprises. I found a bird yesterday that confused me. I went through my huge Panama book and couldn’t find it. I kept thinking I knew the bird. My mind finally came around to buntings and I identified it as an Indigo Bunting. I’ve only seen one once before (in Arkansas) and it was in breeding plumage, so the non-breeding plumage threw me. The bird is not listed in the Panama book.
Also yesterday, I found a little bird that screamed “pipit” as soon as my bins landed on it. It doesn’t seem to fit any pipits though, and after reading a bit, I thought my bird must be a Northern Water-thrush. It flicked its tail and bobbed a bit like a Spotted Sandpiper (mentioned in the description), but it did not have a boldly streaked breast. Do the streaks ever fade? I only saw it for seconds—and not well. I have two horrible and distant shots because after I flushed it, I got it in my bins but it was distant and I wanted to try to creep up and get a better view. I figured I should try to get a few long distance photos before I moved in case it flew. It flew as soon as I had taken two steps, and I lost it. I will go back this evening and try to find it again.
I hope to have some photos and material on my blog in a few days. I have so much to write about, birding and otherwise that I am overwhelmed (and I would rather be out in the forest than typing). It’s going to take time to get organized. I haven’t even updated my electronic life list yet. It’s awful to have so many lifers each day that I can’t even get them listed. I LOVE this place!
Here is my Panama list so far:
American Pygmy Kingfisher #746
Bananaquit (Coereba flaveola Mexicana) #715
Barred Antshrike #736
Belted Kingfisher
Black Vulture
Black-bellied (Grey) Plover
Black-crowned Tityra #714
Blue-black Grassquit #713
Blue-chested Hummingbird #731
Blue-gray Tanager #699
Brown Pelican
Buff-breasted Wren #724
Buff-throated Woodcreeper (confirm—eyebrow not mentioned in book)
Cattle Egret
Clay-colored Thrush #741
Common Black Hawk #705
Common Tody-Flycatcher #739
Crested Guan #710
Crested Oropendola #742
Crimson-backed Tanager #718
Golden –hooded Tanager #726
Gray-breasted Martin #704
Great Blue Heron
Great Egret
Great Kiskadee #725
Greater Ani #730
Great-tailed Grackle
Green Heron
Green Kingfisher #732
House Wren (Troglodytes aedon inquietus) #711
Indigo Bunting
Keel-billed Toucan #747
Laughing Gull
Lesser Kiskadee #734
Lesser Seed Finch #729
Little Blue Heron
Magnificent Frigatebird
Mangrove Swallow #703
Neotropic Cormorant
Northern Scrub Flycatcher ?? (further research needed—not supposed to be in the San Blas? Could the Southern from the West Indies be here??)
Orange-chinned Parakeet #716
Osprey
Palm Tanager #728
Plain-colored Tanager #720
Pomarine Jaeger #697
Red and Green Macaw #722
Red-crowned Woodpecker #712
Red-legged Honeyeater #737
Rose-breasted Grosbeak #744
Royal Tern
Ruddy Ground Dove #708
Ruddy Turnstones
Rufous-breasted Hermit #723
Rusty-margined Flycatcher #748
Sapphire-throated Hummingbird #698
Smooth-billed Ani
Snowy Egret
Southern Lapwing #721
Southern Rough-winged Swallow #733
Spot-crowned Barbet #740
Spotted Sandpiper
Squirrel Cuckoo #717
Thick-billed Euphonia #727
Tropical Kingbird #706
Tropical Mockingbird
Turkey Vulture
Variable Seedeater #707
White-crowned Pigeon #701
White-tipped Dove
Willet
Yellow Mangrove Warbler #700
Yellow Warbler
Yellow-bellied Eleania (Eleania flavogaster pallidorsalis) #719
Yellow-crowned Euphonia #735
Yellow-crowned Night Heron
Yellow-faced Grassquit #709
Yellow-headed Caracara #702
Yellow-tailed Oriole #743
Streaked Flycatcher (Myiodynastes maculates insolens)???(confirm—bill seems small)


The Mangrove Swallows hang out on the boat, almost pets.
Sue

 

[halftwo]

Sue,

What a joy to wake up this morning and see your post. Not only that but it's clear you are enjoying yourself and ticking like mad, while birding in paradise.
Love the photos and look forward to much more.
Will be catching up on your Peregrine Blog soonest.

We've just come out of an extremely cold and snowy couple of weeks - so your tropical blast was very welcome.

Great stuff,

H

 

[SueO]

Thanks, H.
Peregrine in Panama
Yesterday I went back to the marshy area where I saw the ‘pipit’. No luck. In this area, the road is partially covered with water that seeps up from ground water. The birds bathe here, and at least one Pygmy Kingfisher fishes here. Just off the shoulder of the road are deeper pools and small fish abound. I saw the mystery bird on one side of the road and after I checked where I saw him, I crossed the road to check the other side out. I was hoping to see the Kingfisher again and get a photo. No kingfisher. I walked along the road, peering through the chain link fence and saw movement; a small bobbing bird. I got the bird in my bins. This time, the sun was behind me and I was between the bird and the sun. A Waterthrush! I knew it from going over the book last night. Ok, a lifer, but this bird was not the one I saw yesterday. Humm, still a mystery. I turned around and started heading toward the treed area that is beyond the cleared marsh site. Just as I was to go around a bend in the road, the Howler monkeys let out a great roar. If you have never heard these things you won’t understand why I was afraid to go on alone. The first time I heard them, Gene was with me, thank God. We were in the forest and heard this hair-raising howl. We looked at each other and said simultaneously, “What the Hell was that?” I said, “American Werewolf in Panama?” It is truly a frightening sound. It’s a bit like an angry bear facing an angrier lion and an eighteen wheeler slamming on its brakes to avoid hitting them. I think they are the reason mankind had to harness fire; they needed something to keep away the demons and give them light and comfort. It sounded like thirty or so of them just hanging out around the bend ready to tear me to shreds. At this point, I still had no idea what they looked like. I am getting cowardly in my old age and I turned around. I looked them up on the net today and some fellow cruisers told me they’re harmless. I think part of the reason I was so leery was that during out last visit home, I heard a horrible 911 call on a talk about some woman’s chimpanzee attacking her friend. This happened some time ago and the victim was going to appear on the Oprah show. Apparently, the chimp tore off her hands and face. Anyway, I chickened out. Before I get back on track with this post I have to mention I saw a Coatimundi in the mystery bird area. I heard a thud in dry leaves near me and when I turned he was just a few feet from me. I think he dropped from a large tree I was near. What an adorable thing—and he was quiet.
After I turned from the howling, I heard parrots down another fork in the road and followed the sound. Six or seven fly over and landed in a distant tree. I was a bit tired and it was getting late, but I decided to do the walk in hopes they wouldn’t fly off as soon as they got in viewing range. They stayed and I got #751.
When I got back to Peregrine, I confirmed that what I saw was a Northern Waterthrush and not a Louisiana Waterthrush. I pulled a couple of my North American field guides to view their illustrations and as I turned the pages I found the mystery bird—a Palm Warbler. I am confident that was my bird and counted it as #750. The Palm Warbler even pumps the tail. The bird is mentioned in the Panama book, but it is not illustrated. I am posting the two terrible photos I have of it. The things that bothered me about it being a possible Waterthrush were that it had a pale rump and only a mildly streaky breast.
Sue
Edit: I'm embarassed now that I wrote that I thought at first glance the bird was a pipit.

 

[Jos Stratford]

On October 31, 2000, we began our attempt to sail around the world aboard our 43 foot sailboat, Peregrine. It’s been a long nine years and I found myself wanting to really push this last stretch and get home as soon as possible.

Superb stuff Sue.

Naturally, in fashion with winners the world over, a celebratory lap is in order once the circumnavigation is complete :-O

 

[halftwo]

Sue,

Loved those howlers in Costa Rica - we'd be woken by them (no chance we wouldn't!) pre-dawn. And Coatamundis are brilliant! We watched a couple hand feed them by a roadside - I'll never forget it. Happy memories.

Palm warblers do appear rather pipit-like in behaviour - I remember they were quite common in Cuba.

Look forward to more when I return from London.

H

 

[SueO]

Superb stuff Sue.

Naturally, in fashion with winners the world over, a celebratory lap is in order once the circumnavigation is complete :-O

Guess I'll just stay in Panama.

 

[SueO]

Sue,

Palm warblers do appear rather pipit-like in behaviour - I remember they were quite common in Cuba.

H

Thanks, H, makes me feel less dopey.

 

[Chris D]

Hey Sue. Sierra Nevada has a new (bottled) beer. "Glissade". Springy-bock-ish. Really really good. If you're vessel can make it up the Sacramento river - then turn right - into Chico creek ------ we've got plenty.

 

[SueO]

Hi Chris,
When we were home last visit Gene was getting a new Sierra. It must have been 'Glissade'. It was very good and he was in Heaven. I'm sure he made a dent in the stock.
Sue

 

[SueO]

Bird Walks at Shelter Bay
I have had plenty of time to get comfortable with my new environment and I enjoy my daily walks immensely. The Howler monkeys whose terrible roaring scared me at first are now creatures I am in the midst of very often. There is a colony of them on the San Lorenzo Road and I bird while they jump in the trees around me. They are quiet while I am near and only seem to ‘go off’ when a car or motorcycle goes by. I am used to the crashings of small things (that sound big) in the dense green and the of the huge palm fronds that drop from eighty feet; the frog sound of the Keel-billed Toucans; liquid calls of the icterids; the Kookaburra-like chuckling of the Slaty Antshrikes; the constant calling of the Great Kiskadees and in general the great cacophony that is the rainforest. I am hearing and identifying new sounds daily and I am very happy to be here.
I would really like to have a bike. I have extremely good birding in the immediate area but I want to be able to get to the Chagres River which is about 10K away. Every other day or so I walk to the San Lorenzo National Park Headquarters, a few K away, but I would like to on for the remaining 8K and see the river. The problem is I can’t speed walk the road to get there at a decent time because there is a noise here, and a noise there, and a flutter in the leaves and so on and so on. Each stop to investigate results in another half hour gone. It would be dark before I got to the river and then I’d have to get back. I’m not that comfortable with my new environment! We plan on renting a car soon and I suppose I’ll just drive down and check things out. If it turns out that I wouldn’t want to spend time there every other day or so, I’ll pass on the bike and stick to walking. The bike would be a pain to stow for the canal transit; but I want one!
There are three places I habitually go and I have named them:
The Kennedy Loop walk, the Deserted base Walk, and the San Lorenzo Road walk. Images 1 and 2 give a google-eye view. Image 2 shows an x at one end being Peregrine and the x at the other being the San Lorenzo National Park Headquarters. The big red circle on the road is the ‘Deserted Base’ area.
On this post I’ll tell you about the ‘Deserted Base’ walk. The whole area around the marina is basically a deserted US base of some kind. The Kennedy Loop walk also has deserted buildings but they are off to the side and behind locked fencing, I think maybe they were housing. The Deserted Base walk goes though a cluster of low, utility buildings that are in the process of being reclaimed by Mother Nature. Corrugated metal roofs are in different stages of disrepair and some are only partially connected. They are at right angles to the rest of the roof and when the wind gusts, these large flaps swing on their rusty bends and make a racket. A few of the buildings are in fairly good shape and I wonder why they were allowed to deteriorate. Some of them are quite large and it seems they could have been put to some kind of use. One tall building has the fading word HANDBALL written on the side. It’s an eerie feeling walking in these modern ruins. I can almost feel the ghosts of past activities; men and machines moving with deliberation. Thank heaven it’s only the ghosts of past goings on at the base I imagine and not the ghosts of the nearly 30,000 people that died during the making of the Panama Canal.
Some of the area around the buildings has been cleared and ground water has come up. I found a pvc pipe end that releases fresh water, but I have to believe much of the wet areas are brackish. Grasses, reeds and low shrubs cover the ‘marshy’ site and the forest with its tall trees rim the buildings on one side of the road. Part of the road itself is covered by fresh water and the birds use it as a giant bird bath. I have found and continue to find great treats at the Deserted Base. Yesterday evening I found a pair of Collared Aricari, lifer #780.
Panama list continued from last post:

Baltimore Oriole
Yellow-rumped Cacique #752
Chestnut-headed Oropendola #753
Wattled Jacana #754
Purple Gallinule #755
Common Moorhen
Anhinga #756
Saffron Finch
Dot-winged Antwren #757
Dusky-capped Flycatcher #758
Blue Dacnis #759
White-necked Jacobin #760
White-fringed Antwren #761
Bay Wren #762
Yellow-backed Oriole #763
Summer Tanager
Lineated Woodpecker #764
Broad-winged Hawk
Slaty-tailed Trogon #765
Gray-headed Tanager #766
Chestnut-sided Warbler #767
Rufous Momot #768
White-shouldered Tanager (panamensis) #769
Plain Xenops #770
Black-chested Jay #771
Masked Tityra #772
Slaty Antshrike #773
Panama Flycatcher #774
Paltry Tyrannulet #775
Violaceous Trogon #776
Crimson-crested Woodpecker #777
Dusky Antbird #778
Tropical Pewee #779 (presuming confirmation on the ID forum)
Collared Aracari #780

 

[halftwo]

Love that ant-eater!

 

[Azzy]

Wow.... I love that anteater too! Your trip sounds so amazing, that's such an acheivement too, sailing for 9 years, that's got to be tough. It sounds like you're enjoying it though. What an exotic place to go birding. It sounds absolutely wonderful. Love reading about it

 

[SueO]

Love that ant-eater!

Aren’t they great! Well, not Great, but lesser (Tamandua). I have run into them twice. The first one seemed to have no sense of smell, sight, or hearing because he came out of the forest about 20 feet away and walked toward me without even a hint of alarm. When he got within four feet of me I spoke to him quietly, “Hello there.” He turned and went into the dense green. About a half hour later, he popped out of the jungle next to me again and walked like a dog with me for a way until he disappeared into the green on the other side of the road. It was wonderful! It was also the first time I’d ever seen an anteater (that I remember). The second meeting was similar. The Anteater seemed not to notice me at first, but when he did he moved fast (for an anteater) and climbed a tree. He was small and I think he was very young.

 

[SueO]

Wow.... I love that anteater too! Your trip sounds so amazing, that's such an acheivement too, sailing for 9 years, that's got to be tough. It sounds like you're enjoying it though. What an exotic place to go birding. It sounds absolutely wonderful. Love reading about it

Hi Azzy,
Almost as exotic as Oz. Australia still rates as overall favorite place on the Peregrinometer, but her crown is slipping lately. I whined/whinged for two years after leaving Australia. I love your country and will always have great memories. I hope to take the big silver bird when this circumnavigation if over and see your West. We were only in Oz for two years and didn't make it to the West coast.
Sue

 

[SueO]

Almost four weeks ago I had a great ‘sound’ day on the Kennedy Loop walk. First, I heard what sounded like water dripping into a basin, only it was deeper and more resonant and echo-like than that; more like a stalactite dropping a large drop of water into a deep cave pool. I followed the sound and eventually found a Chestnut-headed Oropendola. There seems to be no end to the stunning birds in this forest. The next distinctive sound I heard were tiny firecrackers going off. The firecrackers were deep inside dense shrubs just off the side of the road. The top of the shrubbery was green and the bottom was bare, twisted trunks. It was very difficult to see in and at first and I could only see fluttering at the speed of light through the branches. There was no shade and I was getting very warm, but I didn’t want to give up. It took about 20 minutes but I finally saw bits of the bird at separate times. A yellow belly, then an olive back, then bright orange legs! Surely I’d be able to id with those sounds and those legs! I was out of water and I decided to go. I was disappointed that I never saw the whole bird at one time and even if I identified, it wouldn’t be a well seen bird.
As I was leaving the loop, a car pulled up next to me and two Americans with Swarovski necklaces greeted me. They asked what I had seen and I told them. When I mentioned the partially seen firecrackers and they said, "Manakins." Well, that made things easier.
The guide book is too heavy to carry around so I wait till I am back aboard Peregrine to ID my batch of goodies for the day. I loved that the descriptions in the guide book for the vocalizations were described almost exactly as I had described them to myself. Of course, these were very distinctive sounds, but I hardly ever hear what the books have down as calls.
Unfortunately, I was unable to ID the manikins. Logically they would have been Golden-collared, but it’s possible they could have been Lance-tailed. I only saw the female and I didn’t see her well enough for a life list addition. I thought it was no big deal because we will be here for quite some time and I would find them again. Wrong.:-O
I had to back-pedal and write this post so the next post I'm putting up will make sense regarding the manakins.
Sue

 

[SueO]

February 13, 2010
My birding day started before I’d finished my first cup of coffee. Gene had poured his and was out in the cockpit. I had just had a sip when he put his head in the hatch and says, “Kingfisher…a big one”. I grabbed my binoculars and headed up. I was hoping it wasn't going to be another Belted. I couldn’t remember the name of the Panama’s largest Kingfisher, but I knew I’d recognize it because I have been on the illustrated pages of my bird book many times. There are too many new birds to remember all the names at this stage, but the images are pretty well imbedded in the old gray cells. I stood on the first step of the companionway and Gene pointed to a spot in the mangroves. I didn’t need the bins to tell me I had lifer #782. What a beauty. I thanked Gene for the alert and got out my book; Ringed Kingfisher. After coffee, I headed out for my morning walk. I had planned to walk to the San Lorenzo Park headquarters, but when I got to the fork in the road, I changed my mind. The Kennedy Loop road lured me with calls from a pair of Crested Oropendolas. A group of flashy Yellow-rumped Caciques added to the draw by calling while they flew from one side of the road to the other. Both of these birds are really spectacular.
I watched them until my neck hurt and continued on the Kennedy Loop walk rather than going to the San Lorenzo Road. I call this walk Kennedy Loop because a street sign on the road near the deserted old US base buildings says “Kennedy Loop Pl. The first part of the walk, before you get to the loop, is shady forest. The loop surrounds a low hill and with the exception of a few palm trees and shrubs, it is cleared and open and sunny. The jungle fringes the outside of the road. Flycatchers of all sorts like this area and a group of Yellow-headed Caracara have made it home.
As I walked around the loop and heard manakins. Finally! This was probably my sixth time back looking for them. I spent a half hour or so trying to see them but I could tell they were too far in to be seen so I gave up and started home. I was a bit disgusted with myself for quitting but I had been out for a few hours at this point and my two cups of coffee were long gone. Anyway, the manakins probably heard my stomach growling and decided to keep hidden from the large, hungry predator peering into their yard.
I went out again this evening and went to the San Lorenzo road. The birds were active and noisy and I saw or heard many of the usual suspects. As I got further down the road I began to hear the more secretive birds. I scanned the trees and spotted something. I got the bins up and saw the indigo blue back of a Trogon. What beautiful color, I love these birds. I could just see a glimpse of an orange-yellow breast. As I walked slowly under the tree to try and see the front of the bird, a car came by and I had to get out of the way and the bird flew off. I walked on and saw an Agouti cross the road ahead of me. I finally got a good view of one. I have seen their silhouettes in the forest twice. I heard a strange sound just off the shoulder and slowed, creeping up to where it was. There is a slope down into a gulley here and about halfway down, perched on a low branch was a Rufous Mot-Mot. On the branch above him and over a few feet was the same kind of Trogon I had just seen up high. I could see the breast and throat now and I knew I would be able to ID it. (White-tailed Trogon #783) He was fanning his tail; spreading his feathers and closing them rapidly. It was like he was displaying to the Mot-Mot. Just then a motor-cycle roared by and they both took off. I waved to the motorcyclist, recognizing him as one of the park employees. Nearly as soon as the sound of the engine faded, it grew close again and he was back. He said something quickly in Spanish and gestured to the road ahead. I couldn't hear and he turned off the bike. I understood 'Pato'--duck. With very broken sentences we communicated. He wanted to show me a duck up in a tree. A duck in a tree not in the water,I asked. He said at night the bird was in the trees. It was beginning to get dark and I suggested it was too late. He said no, it was just a short way. Ok, I said. I was curious about a duck in a tree. He stayed on the bike and propelled by foot. I starting thinking it really was getting too late to get back before dark and I wondered if the duck was all the way up the road by the small river that runs by the Park Headquarters. That would definitely be too far. I asked if the duck was at the river and he said no it was close; and it was, we were there. He pointed up into a tree and there was a Muscovy Duck! He was so sure I'd be thrilled with the find that I waxed enthusiastic, and thanked him profusely. I headed home feeling very good. I was laughing to myself about the Muscovy Duck and happy with my two lifers and two new words for the day: arbol, and bosque.

 

[halftwo]

Fire-cracker manakins exploding deep in the gloom - glimpses of birds zapping back & forth, never showing well - that takes me back - and just like you I'm sure most people have had frustratingly poor views of those birds like that!
And trogons, contrastingly, too! sitting still in their finery, allowing the observer chances to work their way around, until diagnostic, and fantastically beautiful, features can be seen. Wonderful stuff Sue...

 

[SueO]

February 21, 2010
I had a great birding day today, but it was a little too long, and a little too hot and humid. I left just before 8:00 am and returned at 2:00. I ran out of water long before I headed home which was stupid, but things kept popping up and I just wasn’t ready to quit. I felt micro-waved by the time I got home. I had a slight headache and stopped at the marina restaurant for apple juice and Gatorade. Couldn't make it down the dock without a drink. I got seven lifers today and two of them were especially sweet.
In May of 2006, I saw a Prothonotary Warbler while we were in Arkansas. We went to the Big Woods Festival and a bird tour was offered. Gene and I went and on the tour a Little Blue Heron, Prothonotary Warbler and Yellow-billed Cuckoo were pointed out to us. I didn’t put those birds on my life list. I entered the Little Blue Heron as lifer #619 on December 30, 2008 (have seen them very often since then), and today I finally added Prothonotary Warbler--#789.
Two of todays birds took some time for me to ID. One was a female Garden Emerald and the other a Southern Beardless Tyrannulet. The Hummingbird wasn’t too bad; I only spent an hour or so on her. I didn’t see the white streak behind the eye but I couldn’t find any other hummer that fit so well. I went on-line to find images and was disappointed to find there wasn’t much in the way of immature or females. My connection was so slow that time was eaten up just waiting for images. I came to the conclusion that the bird ‘had’ to be a Garden Emerald and listed as lifer #790.
The Southern Beardless Tyrannulet was literally a headache. I was so lost with this bird. I was tired from my walk and from looking up and/or googling the other birds I saw today and my head felt like it was par-boiled. I took a couple of aspirin. I had plenty of time with this bird in the field. It was quite happy to let me watch and get close enough to get some pretty good images. My first thought on seeing it was that it was the same bird I saw a few days previously and couldn’t ID; a small flycatcher that I thought might be a Lesser Elaenia. It didn’t take long to decide against that because a Lesser shouldn’t have all yellowish underparts. The bird perched on a bare branch at a reasonable height and I could see light yellow underparts, prominent wing-bars and a small crest. Then off he went to cruise around the branches in the same tree. I walked on a bit to get closer to the tree and when I got readjusted I got him in my sights again. Now I thought it must be a warbler. He held his wings down and several times posed with his tail cocked. I thought the ‘flycatcher’ must have flown off while I relocated. ‘But you kept an eye on him.’ Was this just another Chestnut-sided Warbler? No, the belly was too yellow. Where is the crest? Why is it eating ants(?) off the tree limbs? I clicked off a series of shots knowing I would have some reading to do with this one. I was right. I was really confused when I put up the photos. Surely this isn’t a warbler bill. It’s not a flycatcher bill either. I think I went through my Panama book four times. I couldn’t find the bird. I got out my North American bird books and thumbed through thinking other illustrations might help; nothing looked right. I decided to stop birding and take a break.
How many years and hours (and hours!) have I put into this hobby and I can’t tell the difference between a warbler and a flycatcher??
Later, I got out the book again and told myself to go through slowly and investigate all the smallish birds with prominent wing-bars. I started with the Flycatchers. There was a partial illustration of a Mouse-colored Tyrannulet that looked promising. It had a light supercilium and what appeared to be a stout, slightly decurved bill with a flesh colored lower mandible**. The problem was it said range was Pacific Western Panama. I went to the text anyway. Under similar species, I found Southern Beardless Tyrannulet. I went on-line and did some reading and looking. I also checked out the two other similar species listed. I was finally happy with my ID and added #791 to my life list: Southern Beardless Tyrannulet. I am posting both the Hummingbird and the Tyrannulet on the ID Forum for confirmation. If I’m wrong, I know I’ll get an education.
Good-night. (Actually it’s Good morning. I was too tired to proof-read and get pictures ready last night so I finished this morning.)
Panama Bird List Continued From Last Post:
Tropical Gnatcatcher #784
Gray-headed Chachalaca #785
Barred Woodcreeper #786
Social Flycatcher (finally) #787
Chestnut-backed Antbird #788
Prothonotary Warbler #789
Garden Emerald #790
Southern Beardless Tyrannulet #791
Oh! **Can someone please tell me why the upper part of a bird’s beak is called the upper mandible and the lower part is called a lower mandible? Isn’t lower mandible redundant? Why isn’t the upper called the maxilla and the lower called the mandible? Do birds not have a maxilla? Is the mandible split in some way to look like a maxilla and mandible? This has been bugging me for years and I’ve never bothered to ask. Probably the wrong place for this question.
Sue
Not the greatest shots, but this is the first of the Bay Wren I've gotten that looked like a bird. I just love this bird. I was on my knees to get the Antbird. I put up the I put up the Warbler/Flycatcher to see if I'm the only one who would be thrown off by this bird. Actually, when I was googling for info I ran into someone who was also confused by the crest disappearing the the bird 'changing':-O

 

[halftwo]

Hi Sue,

I see you got your confirmations!
I too was most confused with the flycatchers in Costa Rica - can relate to your frustrations. Also the joy of Prothonatary warbler - one I'd long wanted to see & found it myself while on an organised boat trip - which excited me alone amongst the boatees!
I feel a little warmer now having read your thread! Can't say I ever took any liquids out with me in the jungles - but I am quite camel-like!

H

 

[SueO]

Time flies and it hardly seems possible that we have been here two months. It's a great time to be here because the forest is buzzing with activity. Only a few weeks ago the birds were calling to each other, fluttering wings and other posturing and putting on aerial displays. Now many are finished with their nests and others are busy with theirs. The migrating warblers are in easier ID plumage and I’ll be here when they leave. I don’t know if I should expect to see more species coming from further south or not. More to read about and learn.
I have been lucky enough to find a few nests and will keep an unobtrusive eye on things. Two Crested Oropendola nests are very close by. One looks complete and strong and the other seems to have had the bottom come out or it is not completed. We had some windy days and I worried about the Oropendola nest, but it waved in the breeze without a problem.
I did find someone’s nest blown out of the base of a palm frond and hanging by a few threads of dried grasses. Poor things, it is such a process to get a nest made.
The epiphytes attract a lot of attention. I’m not sure in a few cases whether the birds are nesting in them or collecting from them. Some Euphonias are nesting in them and I saw a Social Flycatcher picking the spider web like roots of one epiphyte off a palm trunk and carrying it away.
A few nests or homes I’ve found are:
Lineated Woodpecker--not sure if the Lineated is nesting or just lives in its hole. I haven’t noticed a pair.
Several pairs Red-crowned Woodpeckers seem to be nesting.
Three Great Kiskadee pairs have their nests finished.
I have seen a Buff-throated Woodcreeper scraping out a hole and will keep an eye on him.
Masked Tityra’s way up at the top of a dead palm.
I found a pair of Squirrel Cuckoo’s who seemed to be trying to distract me but I thought they couldn’t be nest building. I did a minute bit of reading and discovered they are not parasitic so I may check their area again.
The Greater and Smooth-billed Anis have been very active, but they are way off the road and in tall grass. I will be able to observe activity but not see the nest.
Streaked Flycatcher
Bay Wren
Most exciting for me at the moment was a find yesterday. I not only finally ID’d a Golden-collared Manakin, but I watched him leap, and heard him snap around his small cleared spot on the forest floor. I had very good views and watched and listened for some time. It was in a different site from where I’ve been looking for weeks. Even the habitat was different. The site I heard them in first and have been checking out for what seems like forever was dry and very dense. This one was near the beach next to a tidal/fresh water mangrove creek. The growth is less dense. While I was watching I heard loud crashing noises and then a splash. I looked through the mangroves to the creek and saw a large triangle shape swimming away. I think it was the head of an alligator.
There are many more birds flying with nesting material, or chasing other birds away from a place or checking out epiphytes and I’m sure I’ll see more nesting sites in the future. It’s just so busy right now I can’t keep up. It’s a jungle out there! We are going to apply for more time in Panama.
An updated list:
Roadside Hawk lifer#792
Buff-throated Woodcreeper 793
Chestnut-mandibled Toucan 794
Bright-rumped Attila 795
Great Black Hawk 796
Mealy Amazon 797
Double-toothed Kite 798
Scarlet-rumped Cacique 799
White-collared Swift 800
Blue-crowned Motmot 801
Fulvous Vented Euphonia 802
Lesser Greenlet 803
Golden-collared Manakin 804
Ruddy-tailed Flycatcher 805