Live from Cerro Punta

All week we will be on location in Cerro Punta an environs investigating the reports of seeding bamboo and hoping to run into those pesky seeding bamboo followers: Peg-billed Finch, Barred Parakeet, and Maroon-chested Ground-Dove. Since blogger's iPhone interface sucks (i.e. It doesn't have one), we will be posting mostly on Twitter. @xenornis. Go ahead, follow us.
But here's what we have so far: yesterday morning I walked up to the grounds of Los Quetzales cabins and found two big patches of bamboo. The first one was completely devoid of birds, but the second had a flock of at least four Peg-billed Finches, foraging and calling. No adult males were seen, just female-plumaged birds. Also seen were Green-fronted Lancebill and Scaly-throated Foliage-Gleaner (shamebird no more). Today I went with Jan Axel Cubilla and Gloriela Archbold to PILA Las Nubes, where we found lots of bamboo but no bamboo followers. After lunch, and after Jan Axel and Gloriela had headed back to civilization, I walked up towards the waterfall, where the only noteworthy event was a flock of Barred Parakeets calling from the mist above the canopy (heard only, sadly enough). The town of Las Nubes had a flock of about 50 Crimson-fronted Parakeets, which may or may not be noteworthy.

Xenornis on the twitter

Our ever-growing media empire expands. From this point on, posts will be mirrored on Twitter (which seems to be all the rage, our savvier sources say). Join in the fun. #follow@xenornis

Slate-colored Seedeaters galore, a report by Jan Axel Cubilla

Hoy domingo 25, junto a Osvaldo Quintero, observamos por lo menos dos machos y una hembra de Slate-colored Seedeater mientras cantaban en la sección de bambúes del Old Gamboa road south (aka Summit Ponds). Respondían a las grabaciones y los observamos por espacio de unos 15 minutos antes de partir. Al regreso aún estaban allí. Decidimos ir al Parque Natural Metropolitano a ver si nos encontrábamos con los gavilanes migratorios. Eran como las 10 am y no vimos nada por lo cual nos regresamos por el sendro de la Cienaguita. A mitad de camino (justo donde está el hormiguero gigante de Hormigas Corta-hojas y el Ficus con el letrero de "higuerón") volvimos a escuchar los seedeaters; esta vez observamos dos machos cantando sobre el bambú (como era de esperarse). A éstos no le pudimos tomar fotos.

[Full account in english at Jan Axel's blog. —Ed.]

Black-crowned Tityra visits Panama Audubon office

Panama Audubon Society executive director Rosabel Miró photographed this male Black-crowned Tityra from the PAS office in Curundu Flats this morning. Black-crowneds are uncommon at the nearby Metropolitan Nature Park.

Cave Swallow at Punta Chame

On Friday, October 16, Euclides Campos noticed an odd, light-throated swallow in a flock of Cliff Swallows perched on a wire at Punta Chame. The bird in question is the fifth from the bottom. Adult Cliff Swallows are dark-throated birds (as in the third bird from the bottom), and even the pale-throated juveniles shouldn't be this buffy. Euclides identified this bird as a Cave Swallow, a rare vagrant to Panama with an old record from Tocumen and a recent one from nearby Playa Corona. Upon close scrutiny of the photographs, we see a buffy throat on the seventh bird, too.

UPDATE: That seventh bird is but a Barn Swallow, fide Euclides. Our apologies.

Sunbittern at Pipeline Road

Osvaldo Quintero photographed this Sunbittern at Pipeline Road yesterday. The bird was on a small creek on the left side of the road, a few meters beyond the bridge over quebrada Juan Grande, and was observed from the road for 15 minutes while it preened.

Green-and-rufous Kingfisher at Pipeline Road, a report by Jan Axel Cubilla

El día de ayer (domingo 11 de octubre), junto a Osvaldo Quintero, observamos un Martín Pescador Verdirrufo macho en el puente sobre la quebrada Juan Grande en Pipeline road. Se mantuvo sólo unos segundos para luego alejarse quebrada arriba posándose al descubierto sobre el agua por un instante y luego desapareció en el bosque. Caminamos por las riberas y lo reubicamos posado tranquilamente en una maraña (al mejor estilo de un hormiguero u otra ave similar por lo elusivo). Incluyo una foto en donde se ve de frente (nada de blanco en las partes ventrales inferiores).

Peg-billed Finch, etc. in PILA

Euclides Campos spent a couple of days birding La Amistad International Park. The highlight for October 7 was a pair of Green-fronted Lancebills seen at El Retoño trail. Things turned for the best on October 8, with Ochraceous Pewee, a male Peg-billed Finch (feeding on the seeding bamboo two meters overhead), and a few Slaty Finches. Also recorded were Ornate Hawk-Eagle and a few Purple-throated Mountain-Gems and Barred Parakeets.

Dickcissels in Gamboa

Enrique Rodríguez Álvarez sent in photos of a flock of Dickcissel photographed by the STRI dock in Gamboa on September 27.

Terning at Aguadulce

While in Coclé, Rosabel and Karl Kaufmann and Delicia and Darién Montañez decided to swing by Aguadulce Salinas to try for the Yellow-billed Tern seen there on September 20. Even though the tide was very high, there weren't many shorebirds anywhere, but we did find a flock of terns by the restaurant at the end of the road (Mar Nathy; great pescado frito): at least 18 Black Terns, about the same number Gull-billeds, a few Sandwiches and fewer Royals. No Least Terns nor Yellow-billed Terns were seen.