Xenornis

On March 14, Siu Mae photographed this Mangrove Cuckoo at Costa del Este's Felipe E. Motta Park.

The Bonaparte's Gull that's been making the rounds at Costa del Este and Panamá Viejo  since late November is still around. Rosabel and Karl Kaufmann found it yesterday at 5 pm, conveniently standing at the edge of the flock of Laughing Gulls, and right in front of the mirador at Panamá Viejo.

The Bonaparte's Gull seen at Costa del Este last month is still around. Itzel Fong Gadea found it at Panamá Viejo on Saturday, December 28 , and got some great photos, including some of the upper wing that show the dark M-shaped pattern of a 1st winter bird. The gull was found again by Itzel on the morning of Sunday the 29th, who again took some great photos... ...and was seen later by Osvaldo Quintero, Rafael Luck and Jan Axel Cubilla, who also took some great photos. On related gull news, there's also a Lesser Black-backed Gull this season, also at Costa del Este/Panamá Viejo. It was first seen on December 22, the day of the Pacific Christmas Bird Count, by Rosabel Miró. And again by Itzel Fong Gadea on December 29. And there's lots of Franklin's Gulls, too.

Gwen Keller went shorebirding at Costa del Este yesterday afternoon and as the tide was coming in she spotted maybe 30+ Marbled Godwits, 9 American Avocets , some with rufous plumage, and a number of short billed dowitchers among the usual cast of characters.

While on a routine visit to Costa del Este this morning, Dr. Osvaldo Quintero discovered not one or two, but four American Avocets at the mouth of Río Matías Hernández. He checked a while ago and they are still in the area, so if any of you need this extremely rare winter visitor to Panama, go for it. Better photos to come, for sure.

As a preface, we have these photos of the Kelp Gull reported from Costa del Este by David Uit de Weerd and Lennaert Steen on December 1 . Then we have these photos of a mystery gull seen by Rosabel and Karl Kaufmann at Panamá Viejo during yesterday's Pacific Christmas Bird Count. This is clearly a different bird, with the solid mantle and darker streaks on the head that usually signal a third or fourth year bird and (gasp) pink legs —which would rule out pretty much anything known or from Panama. What do you think? A Western Gull with uncommonly streaky face? A very lost Slaty-backed Gull? Ring-billed Gull included for comparison.

Hoy domingo, como a eso de las 4:30 pm Karl y yo estábamos en los llanos de Costa del Este (los terrenos que no han sido vendidos y que tienen hierbas y acumulación de agua de lluvia). Nos salió una Sora y muy cerca, en un charco, estaban 3 Pectoral Sandpipers. No vimos a los otros 3-4 Solitary Sandpipers que han estado en el último mes en el área. Luego nos fuimos al Parque Ecológico lo único que vimos fue 2 grupos de 4-5 Whimbrels. Ambos sitios tienen bastante agua y están buenos para playeros que prefieren este tipo de hábitat.

It sometimes pays to rummage through the trash. Carlos Bethancourt photographed this American Golden-Plover at Costa del Este on August 28.

Yesterday afternoon's Audubon Panama fieldtrip to Costa del Este had, as expected at this date, most of the common migratory shorebirds and gulls, some already in alternate plumage. Highlights included over 50 Black Skimmers , most of which showed the gray underwings and all-black tails of the South American subspecies cinerascens , a handful of Franklin's Gulls still in basic plumage, an alternate-plumage Ring-billed Gull , a few young Herring Gulls , a first-year Lesser Black-backed Gull and what we originally called a third-year Lesser Black-backed but are now calling a Kelp Gull . The gull in question was pretty big, with a large yellow bill that had a large black tip. The head was mostly white with dusky specks all over, merging into a dark smudge around and behind the eyes. The back was dark slaty gray with some older brown feathers in the coverts. Legs were putty-colored. No white tips on the primaries, black band across the tail. There is a size difference between Kel...

Jan Axel Cubilla photographed the Costa del Este Kelp Gull at its usual haunts, near the mouth of Río Matías Hernández, at noon on Wednesday. More details here .

False alarm, folks. The supposed Belcher's Gull at Costa del Este is but a subadult Kelp Gull . Young Kelps, of course, have black on their tails. Euclides' photo of the bird shows it to be the same size as the adult Kelp Gull next to it, and that would not be right, as the average Belcher's is smaller than a Lesser Black-backed, and the average Kelp is larger than a Herring. That made us look at the Jan Axel photos more closely (and not just out of the envy of never seeing the bird after repeated tries). The bill looks too heavy and blunt for Belcher's, which would look "sharper", but just right for Kelp Gull. The final nail in this coffin is laid by Bob Ridgely: To me this looks like a subadult Kelp Gull, and not a Belcher’s (Band-tailed). Head shape and overall jizz is off, as is the leg color; Belcher’s typically has bright yellow legs when adult, which by plumage it would have to be. Also, no one would ever consider Belcher’s a “huge” gull. But I’ll...

This morning's high tide at Costa del Este produced a 2nd-winter Lesser Black-backed Gul l in addition to the 3rd-winter bird that's been around for a few weeks. Also seen was an all-dark juvenile/1st-winter bird that we're calling a Herring Gull , even though the size seemed to be similar to that of the Lesser Black-backeds. Photos TK. Again, no sign of the Kelp Gulls.

Costa del Este was visited both morning and dusk, yet no sign of the Kelp Gulls was seen. The 3rd-year Lesser Black-backed was seen both times, but the Herring Gulls were in just for the morning.

[The bird in question was proven to be but a subadult Kelp Gull . Apologies] Euclides Campos and Ramiro Duque visited Costa del Este today and found not only the Belcher's Gull [sic], but an adult Kelp Gull , plus the third-winter Lesser Black-backed Gull first photographed at the end of february and a Herring Gull . In the photo above, the gull in front shows a white mirror on what we presume is P10 and a white tail, which could show it to be an adult Kelp Gull, while the one in the back may show a black tail and no mirrors on the tips of the primaries, but they're roughly the same size. A Belcher's Gull should be noticeably smaller, so maybe it's another Kelp. More details to come. And now more photos, labeled for your convenience. (Belcher's Gull [sic]) (Kelp Gull) (Lesser Black-backed Gull) As a bonus, he sent this photo of an unfortunate Yellow-breasted Crak e being devoured at Las Macanas Marsh on March 3, where he also found a group of Long-billed Dowitche...

Rosabel and Karl Kaufmann and Darién Montañez went to Costa del Este this morning to look for large gulls. No Belcher's was seen, but the 3rd winter Lesser Black-backed Gull was around, plus three Herrings , a Ring-billed and a few Franklin's .

[This bird has been proven to be but a subadult Kelp Gull . Apologies] Jan Axel Cubilla uploaded the photos of the Belcher's Gull [sic] he found in Costa del Este on Sunday afternoon to his blog . What immediately caught my attention was a huge dark-backed gull standing alone in the shoreline. It was considerably larger than the Laughing Gulls and than the Ring-billed Gull present, with a bulkier shape and heavy yellow bill tipped in black, followed by red (wider in the lower mandible). Dark eye. Pale yellow(ish) legs. Head and breast completely white, with no streaking. Sides of neck, flanks, belly and upper back white with diffuse dark spots. Back and wings black... blacker in the wings and with a brownish tinge in the back (specially with the bright light). The secondaries had wide white tips. I didn't see the tail while the bird was standing. I thought first it was a Kelp Gull, but then the bird took flight, showing a white rump contrasting with the mostly dark tail! It als...

Jan Axel Cubilla visited Costa del Este for this afternoon's high high tide and found a strange gull with the thousands of Laughing Gulls just east of the bridge. Originally thought to be a Kelp Gull, when it took flight it showed a lot of black in the tail, which could mean he saw a Belcher's Gull. We'll have to wait for his photos to be sure, but it would be a good idea to visit the area tomorrow for an even higher tide at 4:26 pm. [The bird in question was proven to be but a subadult Kelp Gull . Apologies] We waited for the tide to recede and the gulls to reassemble, but could not find the one we were looking for. We did see two or three Herring Gulls , a few Ring-billeds and a young Lesser Black-backed . The beach at Panamá Viejo had two Elegant Terns and a Long-billed Curlew .

Sólo para reportar que el American Golden-Plover sigue en Veracruz, Osvaldo Quintero y yo lo encontramos junto a los Black-bellied Plovers cerca de río. También observamos un Blue-footed Booby solitario justo en la playa, aliméntandose y sobrevolando incluso sobre los bañistas y, en el extremo de la playa cercano al poblado, un Lesser Yellow-headed Vultur e el cual reporto porque no lo habia visto antes ahí. Por otro lado, esa misma mañana, en el PNM escuchamos el Slate-colored Seedeater en varios lugares (siempre cerca del bambú) y de hecho vimos y fotografiamos uno en el sendero La Cieneguita (de tal forma que persisten en el parque). En la tarde, esta vez junto a Gloriela, en Costa del Este, me llamó la atención la gran cantidad de Franklin's Gulls en el área y también vimos al menos 4 Black Skimmers que me parecen de la raza suramericana (colas grises).

Jan Axel Cubilla photographed this small gull in Costa del Este on Friday, November 20 . The bird was noticeably smaller than the Laughing Gulls around it, with a thinner bill and a more delicate shape, plus it was browner on the hind neck and back and whiter below. Based on these differences (and on the white skirt of the secondaries and the black primaries) we are calling this a juvenile Sabine's Gull . If we squint we can even see the scaly back.

Björn Anderson visited Costa del Este on Saturday afternoon. A first year American Herring Gull and 15 Black Skimmers were present. Alas, no Kelp Gull.