Xenornis

About a week ago, May 27, my friend Raúl Arias invited me to check out some spots he has been birding the past 6 months; but not just any spot, it was in Darién! Also invited were one of the top guides in Panama, Beny Wilson, and Hernando ‘Nando.’ Raúl had invited me on their previous trip, but I was swamped with other birding work at the Canopy Tower and Canopy Lodge and just could not pull myself away. Now I was free!  We agreed to bird the Darién area near Yaviza for at least 2 days, but at the last minute our plans changed. Instead of a two-day trip, we would have to cram it all in a 24-hour birding marathon! I was so mentally pumped that I was already daydreaming about finding a Black Oropendola, a lifer! I kept thinking, “Darién forest... NEW BIRDS... new birds... who knows what may pop up?” That is the exciting part, the not knowing!  We got to Metetí, one of the last major towns near the end of the paved part of the Inter-American Highway, around 3:30 p.m., dropped o...

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.