Xenornis

It's the dry season in central Panama, which means Capped Herons popping up in unexpected places. Jacobo Ortega found this one in Gamboa yesterday afternoon, at the road out to the indigenous village beyond the Gamboa Resort.

José Manuel Luciani photographed the male Cape May Warbler  in Gamboa on Tuesday, at the same spot where he saw it last week . The bird frequents the patch of pine trees on Morrow Boulevard in Santa Cruz, which is the last street on the right as you exit Gamboa, right before the now demolished Santa Cruz High School.

2011 is proving to be the year of the Cape May Warbler . José Manuel Luciani found a male in some pine trees in Gamboa this morning.

Jacobo Ortega photographed this Cedar Waxwing on the morning of February 15 at the Ficus tree right at the entrance of Gamboa.

Enrique Rodríguez Álvarez sent in photos of a flock of Dickcissel photographed by the STRI dock in Gamboa on September 27.

I just wanted to share this pic of American Pygmy-Kingfisher that was observed by me and a group of birders from Oregon. The interesting thing is that this beautiful bird was around for about an hour and constantly feeding, taking the food away and coming back to three different spots over the water at Ammo Ponds. I could say that it probably has a nest nearby, but I couldn't work a lot on this bird since there was a lot going on at Ammo ponds.... We also got great views of male and female Olivaceous Piculet , Yellow-tailed Oriole, Southern Lapwing, Yellow-crowned Tyrannulet, Scrub Greenlet, Immature Rufescent Tiger-Heron, Great Blue Heron, Striated Heron, White-throated Crake etc... It was a nonstop birding afternoon...

Ariel Aguirre sends in this photo of an American Coot seen on the Chagres River in front of the Gamboa Marina restaurant on November 4. Last year was a good year for coots, with reports from all three Christmas counts. Whether this was a freak occurrence or represents a trend remains to be seen. Stay tuned.

Gwen Keller has been seeing a Great Tit at her sunflower seed feeder in Gamboa. The bird first showed up November 8, and has been showing up persistently, more often early or late in the day. It seems to be pretty shy, darting off into the nearby mango trees at the first sign of human presence. The feeder in question is at house #140, the last one on the left on Calle Humberto Zárate, in Gamboa. Obviously, this is the first time a Great Tit is reported in Panama, and our Records Committe is still deciding what to do with it, but you should try to go get a look at it just in case.

José E. Tejada saw and photographed a Nutmeg Mannikin (née Scaly-breasted Munia) feeding with a group of Variable Seedeaters in the grassy area in front of the Gamboa Ammo Dump.

Luis Paz reports seeing a pair of Orange-crowned orioles near the radio station out in Lake Gatún beyond Gamboa.