Xenornis

On the afternoon of Friday, October 25, Domiciano Alveo found a Spot-breasted Woodpecker  at the Ammo Ponds in Gamboa. The bird was calling and responded well to his whistling.

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...

During the first months of 2011 Raul Arias de Para, Daniel Arias, George Angher and I have been birding the patches of forest along the Pan-American Highway from Torti, in eastern Panama province, to Yaviza in Darien Province and here are some our the best sightings: Double-banded Graytail was found nesting in Fundacion Tierra Nueva, near El Salto town. This is possible the first confirmed nest of this specie only found in Eastern Panama, northern Colombia and Northwestern Ecuador. We have seen a total of 3 active nests in different spots of Darien Province and near Torti. White-fronted Nunbirds where seen for about 15 minutes in the headwaters of Torti River, above San Jose Town. Spot-breasted Woodpecker in Torti. The bird seems to be a common resident of Torti Abajo area Barred Forest-Falcon was seen in Cañazas mountain range Rufous-winged Antwren was seen in Arimae Yellow-breasted Flycatcher was seen near El Salto town This extends the range of this specie and confirm i...

During a recent Advantage Tours birding trip in Central and Eastern Panama along with Bruce Cohen and Dale Dillavou, we had some interesting observations. On April 7th, while birding at the San Francisco Reserve near Tortí, we managed to record a few noteworthy hummingbirds like the Band-tailed Barbthroat, Blue-throated Goldentai l , Scaly-breasted Hummingbird, and Long-billed Starthroat. Walking along the forest edge we found Red-rumped Woodpecker, Spot-breasted Woodpecker , Sulphur-rumped Tanager and a flock of Dusky-faced Tanagers by the steam. Also a year-bird for me: a Red-billed Scythebill . Additionally, we noticed a pair of Orange-crowned Orioles nesting under a Banana leaf. Other interesting sightings were Black Antshrike , Bare-crowned Antbirds, Sooty-headed Tyrannulet , and no fewer than 5 different individuals of Royal Flycatcher, including a displaying female. Five species of puffbird were recorded: Pied, Black-breasted, White-whiskered, and Barred, as well as White-f...

The PAS fieldtrip to Costa del Este had some remarkable sightings, like the return of the Spot-breasted Woodpecker and the Pied Water-Tyrant , which had not been seen in the area in recent times. They also had good looks at the Gray Gull , this time with a flock of Laughing Gulls at Panamá Viejo.