Xenornis

Dr. Osvaldo Quintero photographed this Brown Noddy on the mudflats at Panamá Viejo on the afternoon of Saturday May 13.

The PAS fieldtrip to Los Frailes was a success. While waiting for the boats to come pick us up, Bill Porteous spotted a group of Humpback Whales among the fishing boats around Las Monjas (a.k.a. Frailes del Norte). A few Killer Whales were also seen jumping out of the water by part of the group. Bird-wise, we also had interesting sightings. Las Monjas was full of Bridled Terns and Brown Noddies, one of which was chasing an Audubon's Shearwater which circled our boat a few times. A few juvenile Bridled Terns were flying around, and an unfledged chick seen standing near a cairn on top of the rock was probably also a Bridled. Los Frailes (a.k.a. Frailes del Sur) had Brown and Blue-footed Boobies, and was full of Sooty Terns: a flock of about a thousand birds (including a few birds in juvenile plumage) took flight at once as we were approaching the island. While watching the terns, what was probably the same Audubon's Shearwater circled our boat a few more times. We were not able t...