Xenornis

Oct. 2nd: Hook-billed Kite , soaring at early morning seen by Ariel Aguirre and Dominciano Alveo. Oct 3rd: Veery seen by Ariel Aguirre on the street from Mi Pueblito. The bird was seen again on Oct. 9th on the road leading to the National Police communications antenna in the hill upper section, and for the third time around our station where it was photographed by Ariel Aguirre and Domiciano Alveo. Also Oct. 9th a Black-billed Cuckoo was seen by Ariel Aguirre. Oct. 31st: Great Black Hawk ; two individuals in flight were seen by Ariel Aguirre and Beny Wilson. Nov. 5th: a Gray-cheeked Thrush was seen by Beny Wilson on the stairway next to the security checkpoint at the base of the hill Nov. 8th: Shinning Honeycreeper (female) first sighting ever for Ancón Hill seen by Domiciano Alveo and photographed by Ariel Aguirre.

On the early afternoon of Sunday, October 17th, the hawk counters and volunteers of the ongoing Panama Audubon Raptors Ocean to Ocean Count 2010 saw a Cooper's Hawk. First seen by Venicio Wilson, photographed by Juan Pablo Ríos. Panama Records Committee chair George Angehr sums up the fieldmarks thusly: The large head, projecting well in front of the leading edge of the wings, and the proportionately long tail with a rounded tip appear to indicate the bird is a Cooper's Hawk rather than a Sharp-shinned, which would have a proportionately smaller head and a relatively shorter tail with a square tip. There are two previous sight reports of Cooper's from Chiriqui; this would be the first photographic documentation. This is only the third record of this rare boreal migrant in Panama, and the first from the Canal Area (previous sightings are from the road to Fortuna and the road to Boquete in Chiriquí.) Cooper's Hawk normally winters to Costa Rica, but there's a record...

The Panama Audubon Society has concluded its 5th annual Raptors Ocean to Ocean Count. The results for Cerro Ancon are as follows: Turkey Vulture 1195027 Osprey 183 Swallow-tailed Kite 12 Mississippi Kite 4957 Plumbeous Kite 0 Sharp-shinned Hawk 2 Broad-winged Hawk 213550 Swainson's Hawk 344889 American Kestrel 0 Merlin 10 Peregrine Falcon 199 Unknown Accipiter 1 Unknown Buteo 4 Unknown Falcon 1 Unknown Raptor 4561 Totals 1763396 The results of previous counts are available on the Publications section of the Panama Audubon Society website.

For the fourth year in a row, the Panama Audubon Society is holding its Raptors Ocean to Ocean count from Cerro Ancón. Last Thursday, October 23, they counted 158,766 migratory raptors, of which 106,659 were Swainson's Hawks. It so happens that October 23 seems to always be the date when we get the highest numbers, so mark your calendars for 2009. The results of previous counts are available on the Publications section of the Panama Audubon Society website.

Migratory raptor counters Jacobo Ortega and Euclides Campos had Veery and a female Cerulean Warbler at Cerro Ancón today.

Last Thursday near the Pipeline Road gate, Jacobo Ortega discovered this female Fasciated Antshrike in flagrante delicto , impersonating a Secretary Bird. Then this morning on their way to the Cerro Ancón raptor count site with Ramiro Duque, Celeste Paiva, Lorena Garcia, Enrique Sánchez and Laura Reyes he photographed this juvenile Black-billed Cuckoo and, more interestingly, a Wilson's Warbler: a common winter resident in the western highlands but a very rare vagrant in central Panama. This is possibly the first record from the lowlands, as the three records in Ridgely are from foothills. The bird was an adult male that spent all morning in the bushes on the canal side of the mirador and was seen by all present.

The Panama Audubon Society, with generous sponsorship from Advantage Tours , is conducting its 4th annual migratory raptor count at Cerro Ancon. The cumulative number of hawks and vultures counted as of Wednesday, October 31 are: 95084 Turkey Vulture 96496 Broad-winged Hawk 55918 Swainson's Hawk 419 Missisippi Kite 5 Swallow-tailed Kite 2 American Kestrel 1 Merlin 176 Peregrine Falcon 135 Osprey 62063 Unidentified Raptor 3730 Undientified Buteo 314025 Total

The Panama Audubon Society is conducting its 4th annual migratory raptor count at Cerro Ancón. The cumulative number of hawks and vultures counted as of Thursday, October 25 are: 71109 Turkey Vulture 93243 Broad-winged Hawk 49706 Swainson's Hawk 403 Missisippi Kite 5 Swallow-tailed Kite 2 American Kestrel 1 Merlin 144 Peregrine Falcon 106 Osprey 61753 Unidentified Raptor 276472 Total

The Panama Audubon Society is conducting its 4th annual migratory raptor count at Cerro Ancón. The cumulative number of hawks and vultures counted as of Thursday, October 18 are: 8698 Turkey Vulture 902 Broad-winged Hawk 601 Swainson's Hawk 387 Missisippi Kite 5 Swallow-tailed Kite 2 American Kestrel 91 Perigrine Falcon 60 Osprey 153 Unidentified Raptor 10905 Total

The Panama Audubon Society is conducting its 4th annual migratory raptor count at Cerro Ancón. The total number of hawks and vultures counted as of Friday, October 5 are: 153 Turkey Vulture 260 Broad-winged Hawk 0 Swainson's Hawk 222 Missisippi Kite 3 Swallow-tailed Kite 11 Perigrine Falcon 21 Osprey 670 Total