Xenornis

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 ...

Last week Moyo Rodriguez and I (Venicio Wilson) guided a couple of dutch birdwatchers, Yvonne and Atze, into eastern Panama. We had and incredible luck finding birds we had not seen yet in the previous months of development of a new Canopy Tower tour to the Darien lowlands. Orange-breasted Falcon was seen near the ‘Mirador’ in Nusagandi, Guna Yala. A pair was spoted by the group and Moyo noticed the large size of the bird. Once we stopped the car we heard clearly the falcons' calling and realized the call was nothing similar to a Bat Falcon, which are much more common. After playing the Orange-breasted Falcon call the female flew some 40-50 meters above us allowing us to see her breast band! Later we saw the same couple perched and I made some crummy pictures that I still like to share with you. Nusagandi produced some great birds such as White-thighed Swallow , Rufous Piha, Crested Guan, Black-and-Yellow, Dusky-faced and Sulphur-rumped Tanagers . During our second day we b...

On the afternoon of April 8, 2008, Advantage Tours' Euclides Campos and Ariel Tenorio found an Orange-breasted Falcon at Birders' View in Cerro Azul while leading a group of british birders. The bird perched on a dead tree for 8–10 minutes, allowing for these photos (taken with a cellphone.) Orange-breasted Falcon is one of our rarest raptors (someone, quick, alert the Peregrine Fund) but this is not the first record from the area, as there is a 1970 report from near Cerro Jefe.