Xenornis

About a week ago, May 27, my friend Raúl Arias invited me to check out some spots he has been birding the past 6 months; but not just any spot, it was in Darién! Also invited were one of the top guides in Panama, Beny Wilson, and Hernando ‘Nando.’ Raúl had invited me on their previous trip, but I was swamped with other birding work at the Canopy Tower and Canopy Lodge and just could not pull myself away. Now I was free!  We agreed to bird the Darién area near Yaviza for at least 2 days, but at the last minute our plans changed. Instead of a two-day trip, we would have to cram it all in a 24-hour birding marathon! I was so mentally pumped that I was already daydreaming about finding a Black Oropendola, a lifer! I kept thinking, “Darién forest... NEW BIRDS... new birds... who knows what may pop up?” That is the exciting part, the not knowing!  We got to Metetí, one of the last major towns near the end of the paved part of the Inter-American Highway, around 3:30 p.m., dropped o...

During the first months of 2011 Raul Arias de Para, Daniel Arias, George Angher and I have been birding the patches of forest along the Pan-American Highway from Torti, in eastern Panama province, to Yaviza in Darien Province and here are some our the best sightings: Double-banded Graytail was found nesting in Fundacion Tierra Nueva, near El Salto town. This is possible the first confirmed nest of this specie only found in Eastern Panama, northern Colombia and Northwestern Ecuador. We have seen a total of 3 active nests in different spots of Darien Province and near Torti. White-fronted Nunbirds where seen for about 15 minutes in the headwaters of Torti River, above San Jose Town. Spot-breasted Woodpecker in Torti. The bird seems to be a common resident of Torti Abajo area Barred Forest-Falcon was seen in Cañazas mountain range Rufous-winged Antwren was seen in Arimae Yellow-breasted Flycatcher was seen near El Salto town This extends the range of this specie and confirm i...

Hoy domingo 5 de septiembre, junto a Euclides Campos y Rafael Luck, fui a Nusagandi y Bayano. En Nusagandi vimos Black-and-white Hawk-Eagle sobre la carretera principal después del Mirador y varias bandadas mixtas con Sulphur-rumped y Rufous-winged Tanagers a lo largo de la carretera. En Igar Nusagandi escuchamos Black-eared Wood-Quail, Stripe-throated Wren y vimos Russet Antshrike y una pareja de Speckled Antshrikes . En Bayano encontramos una hembra de Golden-green Woodpecker con una bandada mixta que también incluía Cinnamon y One-colored Becards, Orange-crowned Oriole y Black Antshrikes . En el puente sólo escuchamos Rufous-winged Antwren y vimos dos Barred Puffbirds .

Rosabel and Karl Kaufmann and Delicia and Darién Montañez spent their Sunday checking just how good the new and renewed El Llano-Cartí road was. And it was very good: all asphalt all the way to the Caribbean (except for the still unfinished bridge over the Cartí River, which should be done by August) The birding was good, too, as long as you don't mind no shoulders and cars zipping by at breakneck speed—but then we've all birded Achiote Road, right? The first stop, well before Burbayar, produced a few Sulphur-rumped Tanagers in the first of many tanager flocks, mostly of the Tawny-crested denomination. At Ina Igar we saw Striped Woodhaunter and an Olive-backed Quail Dove before being rained out. Back on the road, a culvert a few kilometers beyond the trailhead had an adult Fasciated Tiger-Heron, seen both on our way to Cartí and on our way back. Well in the lowlands we found plenty Blue Cotingas, a pair of calling Jet Antbirds and a fruiting shrub with four female Scarlet-...

Today, while birding in Bayano Forest, in company of Karalee Patel, Ebrahim Patel and Ariel Tenorio, we found a pair of Golden-green Woodpeckers . I believe is the same pair I found about 5 years ago since there where only 100 meters from the old spot. Both of them where foraging high in the canopy of a Ficus tree next to the first creek. We took these pictures with a Kowa TSN-771 and a little point and shoot Canon camera. Birding was great but the sound of bulldozers and other heavy equipment in the area was not a good sign for the survival of this forest. In the way back to “Bayano Adventure” we stoped at the Río Mono bridge to find a very unusual becard. We belive was a Cinereous Becard since it looked very much like a Rose-throated Becard which I am more familiar with [ later identified as One-colored Becard ]. It had a slaty gray top with pale buff underparts, rufous tail, light brown back with some darker fethers in the nape and neck, like an immature male molting to adult plum...

A calling Golden-green Woodpecker was heard on February 4th at Boca de Cupe trail, off the Cana airstrip. It responded to playback, and a male was seen by me and Daniel Gruneberg from England. And this male Viridian Dacnis male was photographed close to the Cana camp on February 2th.

This morning's Panama Audubon Society fieldtrip to the Bayano was a complete success. Top target Golden-green Woodpecker was seen within the first half hour of walking the trail. Other exciting eastern Panama specialties seen were One-colored Becard (a pair at a nest), a pair of White-eared Conebills, a few Rufous-winged Antwrens, and a male Black Antshrike (all around the bridge over Río Mono.)

The PAS fieldtrip to The Road to Darién (i.e. the Bayano area) was a complete success (i.e. they found and photographed a bird I have never seen). The following images of a male Golden-green Woodpecker were taken by Olmedo Miró. Bonus female Black Antshrike , also by Olmedo Miró.