Xenornis

Euclides Campos sends in some noteworthy records from the first half of 2012. A White-eyed Vireo  was seen at Bayano Lake on February 16th. This bird was calling.  On February 25th, leading a group at Las Lajas Beach, Chiriqui; We saw a hundreds of Blue-winged Teal, three American Wigeon and my lifer, a male Cinnamon Tteal . This bird was seen through three scopes. We managed to take some shots but not so well. Yellow-bellied Tyrannulet : heard at Cuesta de Piedra on February 27th 2012. Sounds like the other Ornithion we have in Panama but slightly different. On June 1th, a pelagic trip using the hot spring trail of Coiba Island as a starting point, 32 miles SSE. We saw two Wedge-tailed Shearwaters , one Sooty Shearwater, two Black, three Least Storm Petrel, two Nazca Boobies , eight Parasitic Jaegers and plenty of Wedge-rumped Storm Petrels.

Kevin Easley and some other avid birders from Costa Rica visited the Western Azuero and Coiba with me. On 3 May we went to Changuale (East of las Flores) to try and find the Azuero parakeet. Wer did not find it, but saw many King Vultures circling above us while walking along the Pavo river.  We left for Coiba on 4 May. Between Santa Catalina and Coiba we saw Red-necked Phalaropes , Brown Noddies , a juvenile Red-billed Tropicbird and a Parasitic Jaeger . On the Las Pozos trail on Coiba we found the Coiba Spinetail and the Brown-backed Dove . There was also a male Indigo Bunting in breeding plumage (The Angehr guide does not mention that Indigo Buntings occur on Coiba). Furthermore, for the last three weeks, our hummingbird feeders are daily visited by a juvenile mango. I have attached a (small) picture of the bird. I think it is a Veraguan Mango .

On Saturday, September 11, Björn Anderson, Ken Allaire, Jan Axel Cubilla, Gonzalo Horna, Rafael Luck and Darién Montañez spent 11 hours out on the deep waters southeast of Punta Mala. The day started on a good leg at 6:30 am when the bird that was following our wake got close enough to show its white whiskers: an Inca Tern . The bird flew with us for five or so minutes, and eventually landed on the bow of our boat, where it hitched a ride for a while, allowing for great photos. Inca Terns invaded the Bay of Panama during the 1983 El Niño, and there may have been one in El Agallito during the 1998 El Niño, but has remained unreported since. At 7:10 we saw our first storm-petrels, which turned out to be Wilson's Storm-Petrel . Minutes later we saw our first first record for Panama of the day: a Band-rumped Storm-Petrel , identified by Björn based on its pointier wings and Leach's-like flight. Every other storm-petrel seen that day, and there were many, was a Wedge-rumped Storm-P...

Here are some of the pelagic birds we saw during a National Geographic/Lindblad Expeditions trip on board of the Sea Voyager from Costa Rica to Panama. Dec 31: During while sailing from Coiba Island to the Panama Canal, some 60 nautical miles west of Punta Mariato I spotted a "rare" tern. After closer observation we realize it was a juvenile Red-billed Tropicbird. It was together with some Laughing Gulls and Black Terns. [A rare bird anywhere away from Bocas del Toro—Ed.] Later during that same afternoon, while looking for whales, dolphins and marine life, we got 2, maybe 3, Pomarine Jeagers. Several pictures where made of these birds. They floated and flied around the boat for over and hour. Jan 2: During the ducking operation at Pier 6 in Cristobal Port we got an adult Parasitic jeager chasing a laughing gull. Also they were several Ring-billed Gulls and a Herring Gull. I am not very sure of this last 2 birds so I hope the pictures and your expertise help.

Lined Seedeater and Pomarine Jaeger at Ft. Sherman (Gilles Seutin), American Pygmy-Kingfisher, Parasitic Jaeger, and Ring-billed and Herring Gulls at Galeta Island (Karla Aparicio), Blackpoll Warbler on the road to the Brazos Golf Club and Black-throated Green Warbler at Skunk Hollow (Darién Montañez), Hooded Warbler at Rancho Ramos (Jan Axel Cubilla), Agami Heron, Hook-billed Kite, Barrred Hawk, Rufous-crested Coquette and Bare-crowned Antbird at Achiote Road (José Tejada), Montezuma Oropendola and Yellow-faced Grassquit also at Achiote (Loyda Sánchez)...

A non-breeding adult Parasitic Jaeger was seen harrasing a small flock of Royal Terns at Punta Chame. After a nice day of birding at El Valle (where we had crippling views of Brewster's Warbler), the Montañez family decided to relax at the beach, no birdwatching allowed. But once again our plans were ruined, this time by a Parasitic Jaeger that kept harrasing a small flock of Royal Terns. The Jaeger (that was only seen by Darién) was in winter plumage and was a little bulkier than the laughing gulls flying nerby. When flying, the short, pointed tail streamers and the white on the base of the primaries were very conspicuous. The vent was barred, but belly was distinctly pale, and it was separated from the pale throat by a dark collar. When not chasing a tern, it would float on the surface of the ocean. Don't let spring migration pass you by, get on the field NOW.