Xenornis

This past weekend I had a complete deep immersion into eastern Panama, that part of the country that remained pure and untouched on it's vast majority until the mid-60's. On Friday 24 and Saturday 25 I was invited by Raúl Arias de Para, along with Carlos Bethancourt and Ismael Hernando Quiróz (the famous Nando from Cerro Azul) to birdwatch the area between Metetí and Yaviza. [ See Carlos' report here ].  On Saturday afternoon, after saying goodbye to my original team, I joined the group of birders from Panama Audubon Society that the next day would observe birds in the forests around Rio Bayano. Claudia and Bill Ahrens, Cindy and Leslie Lieurance, Rosabel and Karl Kaufmann ventured to visit places that we have recently discovered in the area of ​​Tortí.   Early Sunday morning we visited the Playa Chuzo forest where, thanks to an excellent recording played by Bill Ahrens (recorded by Ken Allaire) we saw a couple of Double-banded Graytails  up close, a life...

On Dec 28, 2008, I took my friends Debi Shearwater, Don, David, Helen, Cindy and Les, birding to the Bayano Lake, where we got some Darien specialties. Seen that morning were White-eared Conebill (a lifer for me, woooo!), Gray-cheeked Nunlet, Barred Puffbird, White-headed Wren, Red-rumped Woodpecker, Black Antshrike, Crane Hawks and Bare-crowned Antbird, just to mention a few!.... We all had a great time in Bayano plus a lifer for me, not bad... Then on Dec 28th (With Debi Shearwate, Don, Les, Cindy, David and Helen) 2008 and Jan 9, 2009 (with the VENT group, Lifer for my friend Jery Langham) I went up to Cerro Azul and both days I got great views of the endemic Stripe-cheeked Woodpecker.