Xenornis

Jacobo Ortega photographed this Green Ibis from the bridge over Quebrada Juan Grande in Pipeline Road on the afternoon of May 23.

From June 23rd to 27th, Betsy Farah Morán, Julie Payne, Lider Sucre and Venicio Wilson visited the northern coast of Veraguas thanks to a very kind invitation by Alexander Risse who is developing an ecological resort by the small Estero Salado river, not far from Guázaro. According to some sources, the area is perhaps the rainiest lowland rainforest of Panama with over 7,000 mm of rain per square meter per year. This amount of rain and the lack of access points to it, had kept the forest and the area relatively isolated until recently. The Directory of Important Bird Areas in Panama mentions that “The area is poorly known ornithologically” and that “additional surveys are high priority”. The first surprise of this place was the evident presence of foothill plants and birds species at sea level, apparently enabled by the ever-wet conditions and perhaps milder temperatures. Here is a list of the most remarkable findings of this birding adventure: Wood Storks: At our arrival we saw 37 ...

Zeke Jakub photographed this pair of Green Ibis near the bridge over Río Cascajal at Nuevo Tonosí, near Portobelo.

Alfred Raab and I spent July 6-11 on El Real and Rancho Frío, joined the morning of the 10th by Björn Anderson and Gonzalo Horna (all photos included are Alfred's). The star of the show was a Sharp-tailed Streamcreeper seen by me and Isaac Pizarro (our local guide) on the 8th below Rancho Plástico, as noted in the Birdfinding Guide, and recently rediscovered by Euclides Campos (many thanks to Kilo for sharing this report). The bird vocalized at length (good recordings were captured) and generally put on a show. Isaac tells me that he has known of this bird for at least 3 years, but his previous reports were not believed because he does not have the means to document the sighting. Believe me, the bird is there. It is an extremely difficult climb down to the river, and I would recommend waiting until the dry season to look for this for all but the most fit (which I am not!). Other highlights from Rancho Frio were Crimson-bellied Woodpecker, Gray-cheeked Nunlet, Wing-banded Antbird, ...

Botanist Alicia Ibañez invited George Angehr, William Adsett and Venicio Wilson to join her expedition to Damani-Guariviara Ramsar Site in the Ño Kribo Region, Kusapin District in the Ngabe-Bugle Reservation. Before departing to Rio Cañas, we visited the trail to La Estrella community, next to the Rio Guarumo River in Punta Peña-Almirante Road looking for Melodious Blackbirds. Instead, we found 2 Grayish Saltators . This sighting extends the range of this recently reported species a bit more into the east. During our visit to Rio Caña and the Damani-Guariviara Wetlands we had some interesting findings. White-crowned Pigeons were seen 3 days in a row in the town of Rio Cañas, a new locality for this species in Panama. Three Crested Guans were spotted while navigating the Tiger Head River (Tagajed in the maps). Green Ibis were common, as was Olive-backed Euphonia . The most remarkable findings were the dark form of the Green Heron (described by Ridgely in his book), Least Bittern ...

From April 21 to 23 I led at trip to the Soposo Community Lodge on the Teribe River, Bocas del Toro, where we were able to see a group of three Green Ibises visiting the lodge grounds every morning.

Advantage Tours' Venicio Wilson led the Panama Audubon Society fieldtrip to Wekso and Río Teribe, on La Amistad International Park on the province of Bocas del Toro, from November 2-5. A full report will be published on the January issue of The Toucan, but in the meantime a list of highlights will have to do. Part of the group got a one-day head start, which they spent at Willie Mazu on Palo Seco Protection Forest. No monklet, but they did find a Sharpbill, also seen during the PAS trip to Fortuna earlier in the year. The following day, upon meeting the rest of the group at the Changuinola airport, they found a female Painted Bunting . The trails around Wekso provided Green Ibis and Snowy Cotinga , while a visit to the town of Bonyic produced a Rufous-winged Woodpecker right in the middle of town.

Rosabel Miró and I spent seven days (April 13-19) exploring Changuinola and environs thoroughly, scouting locations for the Birding Spots in Panama book and doing a little hunting for lifers on the side. Justo Camargo and Dinora López, two Univeristy of Panama students, tagged along, and Karl Kaufmann joined us for the second half of the trip. Highlighs follow: Green Ibis: Two pairs seen on the 19th, perched on trees at Chiriquí Grande's Two Tank Road, just before the road out to the dump. Crested Caracara: First Bocas record. A raggedy-looking adult seen on the old ricefields on the morning of the 16th. Gray-breasted Crake: Heard only. One on the 14th in a dry grassy field across from the banana plantation on the road to he Camino Ecológico through San San, about 500 m before the end. Another one heard on the old rice fields on the 15th and two heard at the same place on the 16. Rosabel mentioned hearing its characteristic tinkling call two weeks ago on the Ruddy Crake spot near t...