Xenornis

On the PAS fieldtrip to Cerro Jefe, Bill Adsett's half of the group found a Stripe-headed (Black-headed) Brush-Finch to the west of Cerro Vistamares. The species, one of the Cerro Jefe specialties, had not been recorded in the area for many years.

On May 1st, 2002, I was birding at the Metropolitan Nature Park. I started my day at the Mono Tití trail and then continued at La Cienaguita trail. At 9:34:07 A.M., at the eleventh station, I saw a bird hanging almost upside down on a branch of a monkey ear tree (Enterolobium cyclocarpum). It was a Crane Hawk. It was slate colored, more grayish than blackish, with thin, long red-orange legs and two white bands on its tail. I stood there watching it for a while, and then another bird flew in and perched on another branch of the same tree, a second Crane Hawk. It was enough for me to see one, but I never thought that I would see two in the same place.

José Tejada, Luis Paz and Emilio Contreras saw a Black-whiskered Vireo at noon at about halfway up Semaphore Hill Road. Later in the day they went to Costa del Este, where they had a Yellow-rumped Warbler and a Western Wood-Pewee (ID'ed by voice).

On Sunday, March 31 at Finca Batipa, Chiriquí, at around 10:00 am, Luis Ríos, Janice Jorgensen and Loyda Sánchez saw a male and two female Vermillion Flycatchers. The male was seen briefly and its red plumage contrasted with the green foliage of the bushes where the females were perched. The females had whitish chests with dusky vertical streaks, white throats and yellow undertail coverts. The females were seen first, and were observed for about five minutes from a distance of about 10 meters. The birds we saw match the illustration of a first year female in The Sibley Guide to Birds (p. 331). The male, which was only seen for about five seconds, had its characteristic red-and-black plumage and was unmistakable. The facial pattern of the females was similar to that of the male, but in white and gray. (report sent in by Loyda Sánchez)

On March 16 visiting bird tour guides John Coons and John Rowlett birded the Xenornis Trail with Dave Kluber and myself. We saw and/or heard many of the specialities - Brown-billed Scythebill, Black-headed Antthrush, Crimson-bellied Woodpecker, Tawny-crowned Greenlet, Black-eared Wood-quail, Slaty-winged Foliage-Gleaner, Striped Woodhaunter, Plain Antvireo, a very tame Tawny-Throated Leaftosser etc., - but no Xenornis. However, there was a pair of Stripe-throated Wrens. As far as I know, the first record of this species in the area was two years ago on the north side of Cerro Vistamares, in rastrojo. Until then, the species had not been recorded west of Nusagandi. This new record is from the west side of Cerro Vistamares, in heavy forest. The birds were identified both by sight and by voice. There was again no sign of Black-headed Brush-finch. I have come to the reluctant conclusion that if nobody sees it soon in the Cerro Jefe-Cerro Vistamares area, we shall have to assume it has been...

Bill Adsett sent in t In case you're wondering, the Reddish Egret that was discovered in December on the Gatún spillway is still there. Darién Montañez, Laval Roy and a group of birders from Quebec saw it every time they crossed the bridge, always on the spillway side. Bill Adsett and Michael Castro saw it in the same place on Saturday, March 9. And Carmen Martino is pretty sure she saw a Reddish Egret near Portobelo on November 3-4 while staying at the cabins past the "El Cañón" restaurant.

Darién Montañez, Laval Roy and a group of birders from Quebec saw a an adult female Yellow-bellied Sapsucker at the base of Mono Tití Road at the Metropolitan Nature Park. The bird was high in a fruiting tree on the left side, across from the 'castillo'. and on the second week of February a VENT group led by David and Mimi Wolf had one from the parking lot of the visitor center.

On February 27 Mark Letzer and I did some birding beyond the Bayano bridge and on the lake. Amongst the birds seen were One-colored Becard (pair), White-eared Conebill, Black Antshrike and Red-billed Scythebill. The most birdy places were at and around the bridge 3-4 kms beyond the Bayano bridge, and in dried out stream beds which can be entered from the lake (Mateo, who hangs out on the boat ramp next to the Bayano bridge can take you around the lake). On the lake, Anhingas were everywhere. A Rufous-breasted Hermit was nesting in the most precarious circumstances, in a nest suspended from a split heliconia leaf over a trail which was being violently blown around by the wind. There were two white eggs. Contrary to the nesting habits mentioned in the book, this nest appeared to be on its own and not guarded by a male; nor was the nest over a stream. We also saw a group of Variable Seedeaters among which was one individual with a large white spot on the cheek. We are not going to claim i...

John Rowlett sent in the following report: On February 24, 2002, I and eight participants in a Field Guides tour group birding Metro Park in Panama City saw a male Hepatic Tanager near the entrance to the park. This bird, with which I am very familiar throughout its range in Latin America, was a representative of the testacea, or highland, group, showing a dark bill and dusky lores. The color was typical of Hepatic plumage, as well—a blood-red with no orange wash or element. Also, in keeping with testacea, our bird did not show any dark auricular patch. It seemed quite sedentary, sitting in one position for perhaps ten minutes. We were able to study it in the Leica scope I was carrying for exceptional viewing by every member of the group. I have seen Hepatic Tanagers many times in Panama, of course: in Chiriqui, in Darien, and on Cerro Jefe and Cerro Azul, the nearest foothill locations where this bird regularly occurs. However, this is the first time I have ever seen it in the ...

Guido Berguido spent ten days in the Fortuna/Chiriquí Grande area working on a Smithsonian course. The best sightings he reported were a Chestnut-colored Woodpecker and an adult Bicolored Hawk, both seen on the road to the Chiriquí Grande dump.

Luis Paz reports seeing a pair of Orange-crowned orioles near the radio station out in Lake Gatún beyond Gamboa.

José Tejada and Guido Berguido report that a flock of six Pomarine Jaegers in all sorts of different plumages and color phases spent all the morning flying around the port of Cristóbal in Colón.