Xenornis

On the 7th of October, walking around Tranquilo Bay ecoadventure lodge, located on the south peninsula of the Bastimentos Island we observed a male  Blue-thoated Goldentail  perched and then fighting a Green-breasted Mango. Fortunately one of the guests, Christopher Ng, had a camera, and got some good pictures for identification.  The following day, in birding excursion to the Snyder canal, at the San San Pond Sak wetland, we observed a Black-collared Hawk. It was not afraid at all with our presence, and gave several opportunities to photograph it.  Also seen was an immature Bare-throated Tiger-Heron . In the same area were several hundreds small dead fishes, all of them where the same species and in a high grade of decomposition.

Alfred Raab and I spent July 6-11 on El Real and Rancho Frío, joined the morning of the 10th by Björn Anderson and Gonzalo Horna (all photos included are Alfred's). The star of the show was a Sharp-tailed Streamcreeper seen by me and Isaac Pizarro (our local guide) on the 8th below Rancho Plástico, as noted in the Birdfinding Guide, and recently rediscovered by Euclides Campos (many thanks to Kilo for sharing this report). The bird vocalized at length (good recordings were captured) and generally put on a show. Isaac tells me that he has known of this bird for at least 3 years, but his previous reports were not believed because he does not have the means to document the sighting. Believe me, the bird is there. It is an extremely difficult climb down to the river, and I would recommend waiting until the dry season to look for this for all but the most fit (which I am not!). Other highlights from Rancho Frio were Crimson-bellied Woodpecker, Gray-cheeked Nunlet, Wing-banded Antbird, ...

The first day included Cattle Tyrant seen after a thorough search of the Amador area. On our second day we birded Bayano Road and the trails described in the book “Where to find Birds in Panama”. We got a Pearl Kite to begin the morning and White-eared Conebill, Black Antshrike and Rufous-winged Antwren. During the afternoon we visited the trail across marker 7 km where we found the Golden-green Woodpecker reported previously . We later stoped at Río Mono bridge, where we got a odd looking bird that I called Cinerous Becard. Later during the trip we got better views and discovered the nest and reidentified the birds as One-colored Becards. 
Next Day we visited Birders' View in Cerro Azul. Nando, who takes care of the place and is an outstanding guide for the area, took us around the new trails and showed us briefly a Tawny-faced Quail . After our picnic lunch we saw an Ornate Hawk-Eagle gliding fast in front of back terrace. During our 5th day, from the veranda of our shelter ...

A group of hardy Panama Auduboners spent last weekend braving weather and lodging and birding around El Real, Darién. After waking up at an ungodly hour on June 12 we made a quick stop at the bridge over Río Mono in the Bayano, where we heard a Barred Puffbird and nothing more. The Pan-American Highway is in excellent condition, and most of the 260 km from the Riande Hotel to Yaviza are freshly-asphalted, thus making it a pleasant four-hour drive. A stop at the marsh just out of Yaviza that had Large-billed Seed-Finches last November was also futile. After a quick lunch at the always-sweltering Yaviza we hopped on our boat and headed for El Real under a light drizzle. Ten minutes later we were being pounded by the heaviest of rains, that didn't stop until we walked into our hotel. During a lull in the storm, about halfway from Yaviza to the point where the Chucunaque River meets the Tuira River, Jan Axel Cubilla looked up from under his raincoat and saw a Black-collared Hawk. Not ...

Sunday's PAS fieldtrip to the Bayano was an utter success by all counts. The crowd amounted to thirty participants, yet we didn't have any casualties. And if that weren't miracle enough, we saw many a good bird, and lifers for everyone. A first stop at the Bayano bridge produced the first of maaaany Cocoi Herons, a Bare-throated Tiger-Heron, Pied Water-Tyrant and great looks at a pair of Jet Antbirds. But the fun really started at the Río Mono bridge. Not five minutes after our horde arrived, Rosabel Miró spotted a raptor with a bright rufous back perched looking the other way in a distant tree. The head was buffy, whiter on the crown, and if you squinted you could even imagine some black in the chest. The back had sparse black streaking, and there was a slight dark eyeline, reminiscent of Yellow-headed Caracara. Even though the bird flew away before everybody saw it, we had no doubt we had a Black-collared Hawk (especially after seeing the better plate in Garrigues). Lu...