Xenornis

During yesterday's Pacific Christmas Bird Count, Celeste Paiva and Juan Pablo Ríos photographed this juvenile Ornate Hawk-Eagle  at Plantation Road, about 1.5 km from the entrance. They also saw an adult Plumbeous Hawk .

I just wanted to share a pic of a nesting Rufous Nightjar. As you notice on this pic it has two chicks. It's the first time I see a nightjar chick. About two years ago I found a nest on Old Gamboa Road with Jean Iron, a friend from Canada, but we were monitoring the bird and no chick wa seen. But this year we discovered this beautiful bird almost on the same spot! By the way Jean came back on March and Alexis found it with her too, so now Jean's nickname is the Nightjar. I took this photographs last Friday, April 17th while birding with the famous world traveler and blogger Charlie Moore. You can also check his report here. Early morning that same day we had also seen this Pheasant Cuckoo on Pipeline Road. This bird has been observed by our team of guides near Juan Grande creek and at the entrance of the road for the past month, even though it has not been very vocal this year! Finally, on March 30th while leading a birding trip with Sam Fried, we observed a Sunbittern ...

Last Sunday, December 14 saw a small number of brave birders spend hours and hours in the field looking for all the birds they could count in 24 hours. Yes, it's CBC time again. Some highlights: Plantation Road: Dull-mantled Antbird seen around the creek (Iván Hoyos). Old Gamboa Road south: Short-tailed Nighthawk seen flying above Summit Ponds at dawn. Rufous phase juvenile Tiny Hawk seen about 500 m from the Summit Golf Club entrance to Old Gamboa Road (50 meters before the first clearing) being mobbed by six or seven Purple-crowned Fairies. (Darién Montañez). More highlights and preliminary totals to come.

The Canopy Tower's Carlos Bethancourt sent in the following reports: I am just writing to report a couple of bird sighting that I had last week while leading a VENT tour with Kevin Zimmer. On Wednesday Feb 6 around 8:30 am we had a White-eyed Vireo that was very vocal. The bird was on the road to the spillway area in Gatún Locks; I was able to get a decent recording of it. In the same area we had about 6 females Indigo Bunting plus a pair of Dickcissel. On Friday Feb 8 in Tocumen marsh I had a nice Northern Shoveler. I was able to get a picture of this bird that was very far away as you can see a little bit of the white crescent that show on the side of the face. Also attached is a picture of that elusive bird, the Pheasant Cuckoo, that I saw on Plantation Trail this morning. They are getting into the season since they have been very vocal lately.

The Canopy Tower's Carlos Bethancourt found a good army ant swarm while leading a group into Plantation Road on November 22. Highlight was a Ruddy Woodcreeper (uniform brown overall, brighter on crown and wing coverts), but also present were the usual suspects: Ocellated, Bicolored, Spotted and Chestnut-backed Antbirds, Northern Barred- and Plain-brown Woodcreepers, White-whiskered Puffbirds, Rufous Motmot, etc.

Julie Tilden and Seth Ames report finding a Plumbeous Hawk at Plantation Road. It was around 250 meters in the forest before the large tree fall with an x macheted into it. They also saw a Jagurundi in the same area, and a perched Black Hawk-Eagle at about 150 meters from the gate leading up to the Canopy Tower.