Xenornis

Venicio Wilson sent in these photos taken during an Inside Panama tour led by Michael Carmody. The Buff-breasted Sandpipers, a group of seven, were at Gatún Dam, foraging in a patch of recently-mowed grass near the crest of the dam, about 500 yards past the spillway. Also seen was a kettle of about 1000 Mississippi Kites, and this Black Hawk-Eagle seen perched in a Cecropia.

The Canopy Tower's Carlos Bethancourt saw an immagure Reddish Egret on the rocks below the Gatún Spillway this morning. This is the same spot where one spent a couple of months in early 2002.

Bill Adsett sent in t In case you're wondering, the Reddish Egret that was discovered in December on the Gatún spillway is still there. Darién Montañez, Laval Roy and a group of birders from Quebec saw it every time they crossed the bridge, always on the spillway side. Bill Adsett and Michael Castro saw it in the same place on Saturday, March 9. And Carmen Martino is pretty sure she saw a Reddish Egret near Portobelo on November 3-4 while staying at the cabins past the "El Cañón" restaurant.

A juvenile Reddish Egret was seen at noon preening on the rocks below the Gatún Spillway by Gonzalo Horna, Darién Montañez and Guy Poisson. The bird was right next to an adult Tricolored Heron and was clearly larger than that (but smaller than a nearby Great Egret), pale grayish-cinnamon all over, browner on the head and neck and grayer on the rest of the body. The legs were dark gray, as was the bill, and it had pale yellow eyes surrounded by a bare patch of gray orbital skin. Upon approach by one of the observers it flew off to the other side of the Chagres River, but a few minutes later returned to the same rock on the right bank. Just as a reminder, this Reddish Egret was right by the Tarpon Club parking lot, where the participants of the upcoming Atlantic Christmas Bird Count are to meet at noon this sunday to do the traditional mid-day recap, and that would be a great chance to add this rare vagrant to all your Panama lists. This is only the fourth (or fifth, depending on your st...