Xenornis

I'm a PhD student currently conducting my research on mechanisms of understory insectivorous bird declines on Barro Colorado Island. While I was driving a boat to the far side of the island on June 2, I observed a Waved Albatross (Phoebastria irrorata) sitting on one of the buoys marking the edge of the Canal. I didn't have a camera with me so I was unable to get any photos, but I was able to pull my boat right up next to the buoy and observe the bird for several minutes, and have no doubts about the identification. I was driving a small motorboat around to the far side of Barro Colorado Island from the field station on the morning of June 2nd. On my way back to the field station, driving along the main Canal side (Buena Vista Reach, on the NE side), I spotted a large seabird sitting on top of one of the large red channel-marking buoys close to the entrance to Laboratory Cove (specifically, the second tall red buoy out from Laboratory Cove). I pulled my boat right up to...

Gonzalo Horna photographed this drake Mallard (which was accompanied by a camera-shy female) on the morning of December 6 on the Gatún river, about 2 km downriver from the Transisthmian highway. His boatman, who lives in the area, says that he sees these birds almost every year from october to the end of the dry season. We think (at the risk of being called conservative skeptics) that these birds can't be safely called vagrant wild migrants. Wild Mallards winter south to central Mexico, even though some venture further south. Meanwhile, domestic Mallards are pretty common throughout Panama, and these birds were too close to houses and farms for comfort. Also, the chances of not just one but two adults overshooting their regular wintering location are pretty slight. Also seen that day were Cocoi Heron, which is rare away from the eastern Pacific slope of central Panama, plus a Lesser Scaup in Gatún Lake.

Ariel Aguirre, Bob & Happy Nettle found a Hook-billed Kite during a Gatún lake tour. The bird was at the radio station entrance by Gamboa.