Soras galore at Santa María, a report by Jacobo Ortega

Today our birding group observed 15 Soras in a rice field being harvested near El Rincón de Santa María. The field had a number of Savanna Hawks and Aplomado Falcons which caught 5 Soras (and a Yellow-breasted Crake) as they flew away from the harvesting equipment. We observed the  birds and activity for 35 minutes. The  birding group members were Pete and Sue McCalmont, member Rhode Island Audbon Society, Guy and Sandra Wapple, members Nature Saskatchewan and provincial editor CBC Bird Studies Canada, Marion Schlender, active birder, and Julie and Ron Jensen, life members of Nature Saskatchewan.

White-eyed Vireo at the Gamboa dock

Ioana Chiver reports a singing White-eyed Vireo around the STRI dock at Gamboa, on the way to Pipeline Road. She's seen the bird twice, most recently on Thursday, February 27.

MacGillivray's Warbler still at Parque Metropolitano

The MacGillivray's Warbler discovered by Osvaldo Quintero last weekend and re-photographed on Friday is still in the Metropolitan Park pond area. Jan Axel Cubilla found it again on Sunday afternoon:

I took advantage of a tiny gap in my agenda and went to the park around 1:00 pm. In spite of the hour and the heat of our dry season, the place was alive with tons of birds attending a flowering Erythrina tree. [...]
Then, I saw a bird skulking in the understore exactly where Osvaldo described. Soon I noticed it was a female Geothlypis (formerly Oporornis) warbler, but most importantly, in the dark of the forest, the broken arcs above and below the eyes were quite conspicuous.
The call was different to the sweet chip note I'm used to for Mourning Warbler: it was harsher and rougher, but still a chip note. The yellowish throat made me doubt... but then I saw that this is quite variable (and some photos in the web show this feature in immature males MacGillivray's Warblers). The broken eye-ring was definitively more prominent than those of the female and immature Mourning Warblers, and the gray surrounding the throat made a complete breast band above the yellow belly, all consistent with MacGillivray's Warbler... my life MacGillivray's Warbler!

Pied Water-Tyrant near Portobelo, a report by Jennifer Wolcott

Not the greatest picture (didn't have my Nikon with me), but I had a a definite ID of a Pied Water-Tyrant to the east of Portobelo, 200 meters east of Don Quixote Pizzeria in a very productive tree near a water hole or pond near the road. This is an expansion of the range for this bird [formerly known mainly from the eastern Pacific slope.]

MacGillivray's Warbler still at Metropolitan Nature Park

Osvaldo Quintero returned to the pond at Metropolitan Nature Park on February 8, and not only did he find the MacGillivray's Warbler again, but he got these two new photos.

MacGillivray's Warbler is a rare winter resident in the western highlands, and there are just a few records from the Canal Area.

MacGillivray's Warbler at Metropolitan Nature Park

Osvaldo Quintero photographed this MacGillivray's Warbler on Sunday, February 2 near the pond at Metropolitan Nature Park. He returned to the site this morning and may have photographed it again. More details to come.

Harpy Eagle in Los Santos

Tedd Tennis sends these photos of an adult Harpy Eagle taken in Búcaro, Los Santos (just west of Isla Cañas), on July 9th, 2013 at approximately 4pm:

I took this picture on my friend Jon Kryzmanich's property in Bucaro.  Jon was with me at the time and also got a very good look at the eagle.  Jon has about 70 hectares and we were walking the back of the property and came upon this bird sitting on a fence post.  We were very close when it flew off and the noise of its flight was so loud that I knew immediately that it wasn't a "normal" bird.  It flew into a nearby tree and Jon and I were able to get right below it.  It took off after about 10 minutes.  Unfortunately I only had a point and shoot camera so this is the best picture I got.

This is the first record of Harpy Eagle from the whole of the Pacific Slope of Panama west of Pacora, and it's not like they're common on the Costa Rica side, either: the closest population in the Osa Peninsula.

Tody Motmot in Cerro Azul

On the morning of Wednesday, January 29, Kent Livezy found a Tody Motmot at Calle Maipo. Since then, it has been seen at the same area a number of times. It has been about 75-100 m down from the trailhead, on both sides of the trail.

Bill Adsett took these great photos on Saturday:

Found the bird! I waited for ages at the right place but apparently at the wrong time. Walked the rest of Calle Maipo, walked back and heard it call at the right place just once! It flew briefly from its normal habitat of dank undergrowth up into a small tree, and I got photos. Thanks again. This only the second time I have seen this bird — ever. The first was in Cana, where it sat stolidly in a dark corner and we could not even see the colour on it. 

On the morning of Sunday February 2, Cindy and Les Lieurance and Judy Miller (visiting from US) photographed it at the same area, in the first steep section on the left side of Maipo. The bird called once in response to a single playback.

In related Cerro Azul news, Bill and Claudia Ahrens advise that Slate-colored Seedeaters are around the area. Bill Adsett:

We have an extensive patch of bamboo at our house and upon investigation I found a pair there today, and got photos of the male. The bamboo is at the far end of the clearing down the slope from the terrace on the left of the house. The male responded to my tape from the Damani Wetlands, and made another call which I recorded and shall put on Xeno-Canto. I took photos and made a very shaky hand-held video of the male calling, to go on the Internet Bird Collection.

Odd Lance-tailed Manakin in Coiba, a report by Kees Groenendijk

On 30 December 2013 Stephane Neron photographed the bird shown on the photo. It is a juvenile male lance-tailed manakin, but with a difference: it has two clear yellow lines along the red cap. The bird was seen along the first part of the Los Pozos trail on Coiba. The bird was seen again on 6 January 2014 in the same area.
I have never seen this before in a lance-tailed manakin. Anyone any idea or suggestion?

Nicaraguan Seed-Finch and Bare-throated Tiger Heron in Boca del Drago

Pat and Katherine Wade and birding pal Brian Hempstead cruised the old banana canal in Bocas del Toro. He was able to get these photos of the rare Nicaraguan Seed-Finch and what's probably the first Bocas record (and second Caribbean slope record) of Bare-throated Tiger Heron.