Monday, August 29, 2011

Monday 29th of August 2011, more migrants

This morning I was, very early, at my spot in the la Estrella mountains (pasture forest scrubs streams little bit sun no wind) , have a great spot there and today it was for only two hours that I had, perfect for me. Brought my old Dog Mormel, she is a very nice birding dog and up we went together.
I bumped into a nice mixed flock with for this season the first black burnian Warbler, Tennessee Warbler and the black and white Warblers, I see them now also on our farm, they are everywhere.
My bird list of today:
Turkey Vulture
black Vulture
gray headed Chachalaca
ruddy ground Dove
white tipped Dove
rufous tailed Hummingbird
violet Sabrewing
paltry Tyrannulet
tropical Kingbirds
brown capped Vireo
lesser Greenlet
blue and white Swallow (picture)
house Wren
plain Wren
orange billed nightingale Thrush
white throated Thrush
Tennessee Warbler(male , still very pale on the breast and belly)
tropical Parula
black burnian Warbler (male, very orange still on throat)
yellow throated Vireo (very Early!!)
black and white Warbler
slate throated Redstart
rufous capped Warbler
rosy thrush Tanager
blue gray Tanager
silver throated Tanager
bay headed Tanager
streaked Saltator
yellow bellied Seedeater
yellow faced Grassquit
white naped brush Finch
rufous collared Sparrow
white winged Tanager
flame colored Tanager
yellow bellied Elaenia
buff rumped Warbler
three striped Warbler

Tuesday, August 23, 2011

the "Sjoerd bird"

My sister is sending me sometimes sounds or pictures  of birds from Holland , she ask then for an ID.
She knows I love that.
I did love this little movie of my Nephew Sjoerd...he is doing the "Sjoerd bird"



the black and white Warbler has landed!!

The 23th of August, this morning we did see the black and white Warbler for the first time this season, pretty early!!!(probably due bad weather in the States?)
I thought I heard him yesterday on the farm, but wasn't sure. Now we did see them op 2 different places , one (Female) nearby cloud forest and one (Male) in the cloud forest, around Boquete.

I get so excited then, almost jumped in the sky.

It's so nice to get that "spring" feeling back . I always had in Holland that sky jumping when I heard the first Thrush singing, the first "sneeuwklokje" what was coming out of the soil, the first  House Swallow, the first Swifts..... here in Panama it is the first black and white Warbler this season... and what is next...American Redstart is most of the time next or the Wilson's Warbler or the nice Swainson's Thrushes...I keep my eyes and ears open!.
It was a nice, sunny  birding morning , this morning , with nice bird watchers...:
Turkey Vulture
ruddy ground Dove
snowy bellied Hummingbirds
rufous tailed Hummingbird
green Hermit
stripe tailed Hummingbird
white throated Hummingbird

magnificent Hummingbird
green violet Ear
violet Sabrewing
scintillant Hummingbird
streak breasted Treehunter
red faced Spinetail
spotted Barbtail
red crowned Woodpecker
streak headed Woodcreeper
social Flycatcher
tropical Kingbird
boat billed Flycatcer
black Phoebe
yellow bellied Elaenia
lesser Elaenia
common tody Flycatcher

barred Becard
house Wren
plain Wren
Ochraceous Wren

gray breasted Wood Wren
ruddy capped nightingale Thrush
clay colored Thrush
white throated Thrush
brown capped Vireo
yellow winged Vireo
black and white Warbler!!!!
slate throated white start
flame throated Warbler
silver throated Tanager
spangle cheeked Tanager
blue gray Tanager
Cherrie's Tanager
common  bush Tanager
buff throated Saltator
yellow thighed Finch

white naped brush Finch
chestnut capped brush Finch in flight
variable Seedeater
yellow faced Grassquit
rufous collared Sparrow
lesser Goldfinch

American Dipper
blue and white Swallows
Heard very close by Collared Trogon, I only hear and see them around this time in the area that we went, 1700 M , we did not see a Quetzal , yesterday yes.Young male.


Sunday, August 21, 2011

no bird story this time

Now I know that I CAN download small movies, I cannot resist to put the movie of Spot the dog with the monkeys (white faced cappuccin) on the farm. They throw branches... sticks to him and he sees it as playing....l

and look here he or she is

just now (1.45pm)checking out on the bird feeder in front of the little Tinamou cottage, a gray necked Wood rail.

Sunday 21th of August

I was up early, because close to our house I heard the group immature gray necked Woodrails, we saw them yesterday walking in the garden , no camera of course. And I heard the spotted Woodquails, they are now since a few months very close by our house in the forest.Above a video with the garden en the sound of the spotted Woodquails...I hope it did download good,

Later I went with the dogs to a small lake in la Estrella, close by.
It's a part of the Fortuna dam, an in between station.
More and more it get's more nature there, more grass and water plants are growing on  the lake sides, since I think a few months I see now more northern Jacana's there and today even a immature. A nice spotted Sandpiper, see picture,ha ha far on the line...
And for the first time southern Lapwings, over there.
A few green Herons and least Grebes, but they are all the time there.See picture above.And down below for the green Heron...

Black Phoebe is also new there.
And a nice thing was also to see a black Hawk Eagle(high up in the sky) and of course he made his beautiful sound.

Friday, August 19, 2011

a new sign

We live on the farm now 12 years and we are so busy to make our farm really a nice reserve and it is really a succes.
Different areas > forest, little Kreeks, small river , meadow, coffee farm, brushes and a wild garden with flowers for the hummingbirds and seedeaters, areas with small hills with branches/garden waste, great for the Wrens, Thrushes and Sparrows, trees with mistletoe, good for Elegant Euphonias and various Euphonias, not so fantastic for the Tree, ah well...not too much people around.... that deserves  small signs "nature reserve" So I painted signs and it looks well...cute, I think...Put it in front of our farm entrances. MMMM the picture is a little bit small I think, well maybe in another post a better shot.

 A very nice Dutch family , Mum Dad and 2 boys 12 and 14 years old, this week , was hiking on the trails and they saw white face cappuccin Monkeys , Sloth, Nighthawk(probably Common Pauraque), Blue crowned MotMot, littleTinamou, gray necked Wood Rail... What a great place to live!

always interesting

always interesting to notice that in June and July no birds need extra food, like bananas and oranges from the feeder.
Probably enough food in the nature and  they feed their many baby's just with a lot of different  food, like bugs, berries, seeds.
But now it looks like a cafe, the whole day different birds, lot of young birds who visit the bird house. The picture that I took today, is through the window, not the best picture, but it give you an idea

Thursday, August 11, 2011

some bird trips in July/August 2011


 



Suddenly I was quite busy in July with bird trips. My experience is that birding in the months July August is a little bit slow(yes I am spoilt)...the birds have still baby's, they hide, they are silent....but still I had some good birding mornings, with great weather. Wanted to go a few days to Caldera and even more lower land , but it it was a lot of mornings very cloudy.
In this time of year, we have most of the time great sunny wheater higher up in the mountains...above the clouds!!! Great to have so much micro climats.
All the days it was even HOT in the cloud forest...blue skies and no clouds and the birds were even more silent very quickly, like around 10am

Here some bird lists, mostly cloud forest area around Boquete;
Bird list  Los Naranjos/Bajo Mono 10 Juli 2011

black Vulture
ruddy ground Dove
snowy bellied Hummingbird
rufous tailed Hummingbird
tropical Kingbird
social Flycatcher
boat billed Flycatcher
gray capped Flycatcher
piratic Flycatcher
mountain Elaenia
Yellow bellied Elaenia(Ter)
house Wren
orange billed nightingale Thrush
clay colored Thrush
white throated Thrush
red legged Honeycreeper (jong)
lesser Goldfinch
silver throated Tanager
blue gray Tanager
scarlet rumped Tanager(nieuwe naam..Cherrie's Tanager)
Streaked Saltator
buff throated Saltator(Ter)
yellow throated brush Finch
rufous collared Sparrow
yellow faced Grassquit
blue black Grassquit(vrouwtje)
bronzed Cowbird
black Phoebe
blue and white Swallow







Vogel lijst 27/7/11 Boquete> los Naranjos en Bajo Boquete....the bird watchers wanted to go 2 hours, because of the kids who stayed behind in the hotel. So we stayed close to town and it was not bad at all!
green backed Heron
black Vulture
Turkey Vulture
barred forest Falcon
ruddy ground Dove
brown throated Parakeets
snowy bellied Hummingbird
rufous tailed Hummingbird
red crowned Woodpecker
tropical Kingbird
black Phoebe
gray capped Flycatcher
Piratic Flycatcher
social Flycatcher
yellow bellied Elaenia
lesser Elaenia
mountain Elaenia
plain Wren
house Wren
clay colored Thrush
white throated Thrush(Ter)
red legged Honeycreeper(vrouwtje)
thick billed Euphonias( adult vrouwtje en jongen)
palm Tanager
scarlet rumped Tanager(cherrie's Tanager, nieuwe naam)
blue gray Tanager
buff throated Saltator
streaked Saltator
yellow throated brush Finch
yellow bellied Seedeater
rufous collared Sparrow
variable Seedeater
yellow faced Grassquit
tropical Mockingbird
yellow bellied Siskin
lesser Goldfinch



1 Augustus 2011 Los Naranjos en Culebra trail in Boquete
black Vulture
American Dipper
black Phoebe
torrent Tyrannulet
yellow headed Caracara
ruddy ground Dove
Squirell Cockoo
snowy bellied Hummingbird
rufous tailed Hummingbird
scintillant Hummingbird
white throated mountain Gem(
stripe tailed Hummingbird(Ter)
resplendent Quetzals (4 male, 3 female)
streak headed Woodcreeper
social Flycatcher
great Kiskadee
tropical Kingbird
gray capped Flycatcher
yellow bellied Elaenia
lesser elaenia
paltry Tyrannulet
tufted Flycatcher
house Wren
ochraceous Wren
white throated Thrush
orange billed nightingale Thrush
yellow winged Vireo
brown capped Vireo(Ter)
red legged Honeycreeper
slate throated Redstart(white start nieuwe naam)
thick billed Euphonia(vrouwtje)
palm Tanager
blue gray Tanager
Scarlet rumped Tanager(cherrie's Tanager nieuwe naam)
white lined Tanager
common bush Tanager
yellow thighed Finch
black thighed Grosbeak
chestnut capped brush Finch
buff throated Saltator
streaked Saltator
variable Seedeater
yellow faced Grassquit(vrouwtje)
rufous collared Sparrow
blue black Seedeater

3 Augustus 2011
Los Naranjos en Quetzal trail in Boquete
white tipped Dove
Squirrel Cuckoo
snowy bellied Hummingbird

baby van de magnificent Hummingbird
rufous tailed Hummingbird
scintillant Hummingbird
red faced Spinetail
spotted Barbtail
prong billed Barbet
dark Pewee
tufted Flycatcher
ochraceous Wren
house Wren
gray breasted Wood Wren
white throated Thrush
scarlet thighed Dacnis
red legged Honeycreeper
collared Redstart(white start, nieuwe naam)
slate throated Redstart(white start, nieuwe naam)
black cheeked Warbler
silver throated Tanager
spangle cheeked Tanager
blue gray Tanager
scarlet rumped Tanager
common bush Tanager
yellow throated brush Finch
chestnut capped brush Finch
streaked Saltator
yellow thighed Finch
black thighed Grossbeak
lesser Goldfinch
rufous collared Sparrow
black Phoebe


Bird list 5th of August 2011
los Naranjos and Culebra trail in Boquete
Turkey Vulture
black Vulture
ruddy ground Dove
snowy bellied Hummingbird
rufous tailed Hummingbird
white throated mountain Gem
stripe tailed Hummingbird
scintillant Hummingbird
resplendent Quetzal female and  a young Male.
streak headed Woodcreeper
tropical Kingbird
dark Pewee
black Phoebe
social Flycatcher
common tody Flycatcher
piratic Flycatcher
mountain Elaenia
great Kiskadee
gray breasted wood Wren (T)
house Wren
white throated Thrush
clay colored Thrush
brown capped Vireo
collared Redstart
slate throated Redstart
thick billed Euphonia
silver throated Tanager
spangle cheeked Tanager
cherrie's Tanager
blue gray Tanager
Palm Tanager
common bush Tanager
yellow thighed Finch
yellow throated brush Finch in flight
lesser Goldfinch
rufous collared Sparrow

a day out...

 
last week on the Sunday off we(Hans and I) went to the Pacific coast, explore.
Of course I brought my bird books and also my binoculars...now I did miss my scope....in the open field.
It was in the middle of know where, a lot of Mangroves and rice fields...nice birds, rainy day , not a lot of rain and for that area cool that day (26 C), for us ...not bad at all!
Here some picures

Woodstorks
white Ibis, lot of youngsters too
Love this place in the mangrove

beautiful view, Vulcan Baru far away, great Egret in the field and a Anhinga on top of the tree
a young common black Hawk
who is watching who? Northern Raccoon is taking advantage of the low tide.
red breasted Blackbird, a lot of them in that area
snowy Egrets and White Ibises
Amazon Kingfisher

Home again, time to do fun things

we have a nice quiet time, cottages so once in a while full with a lot of Dutch nature lovers.
Time to walk more on the farm, watch the birds, do some gardening and enjoy the rain.
A lot of young birds. A lot of new baby Wrens, red legged Honeycreepers, buff throated Saltator and this morning I saw a young rosy Ant Tanager.
It get's more busy at the bananas and fruit trees, the monkeys are coming in  so once in a while, we have to fix the roofs of the cottages  so once in a while , they love to play on the roofs. In the night we hear a lot of different animals eating the fruit..
The Wrens who had a nest in front of the great Tinamou cottage flew out 2 days ago, sooooo cute.
This morning I did not hear them around anymore...are they o.k.???
 The baby rufous and white wren of 2 days ago.....
PIEPPPP!!
PIEPPPP!!!










trip to Holland


For 2,5 weeks we were in Holland , in the meantime we are already back from Holland .
Next to visit family and friends, I had some time to see some birds.
In Holland  from 31th of May to 18th of June it is still a little bit spring , saw young birds, some birds making their second or even third nest, or maybe just their first nest.
The most birding I did was around Haarlem , west of Holland and a little bit in the center of Holland.
I am planning to bring more and more my camera, I forgot it a lot.
Fortunately I always have company of my Binoculars, those I never forget.
The highlights for me.... visit  the office of Audubon(vogelbescherming) Holland in Zeist. Finally , that was long time on my list. I am member again, I was that before Panama  a long time, I missed it.Also I tried out some scopes, as a lot of people know, I am not a scope person, they fall down...and break down. But I thought maybe a small
Then saw Storks nearby my old village Heesselt. Every year more and more.
Around our house boat that we rented,
http://www.bedandbreakfast.nl/bed-and-breakfast/6673 is a very nice nature reserve. I was up early almost every morning and was listening to and watching the birds, it's a really nice area.
http://vogelkijkhut.nl/vkh_info.php?id=385
I saw the blauwborst (Luscinia svecica) which is new in the area, never saw a sighting report of it .
Lepelaar - Platalea leucorodia
Slechtvalk-peregrine Falcon
And a lot of other great birds...another very nice one was (not a bird) a Fox (Vulpes Vulpes). He was staring at me and was sitting on his but. For 5 minutes more or less we were watching each other , 10 meters more or less in between.
Then I moved a little bit and there he went.
This Fox killed a lot of chickens in the neighbourhood, so the people there have mixed feelings, for me it was great!
We went a few times to different areas in the Dunes around Amsterdam/Haarlem.
A special place is the Dunes, was to hike in the area where Hans and I had long hikes and conversations when we were 18/20 years old.
http://www.waternet.nl/themas/amsterdamse-waterleidingduinen/tab3
Amazing was , that the area is changed, in those days in our minds only dunes sand and grass, now it was a lot of forest.
Saw Deer.
Amazing was how silent it was , so close to the airport and Amsterdam, it was nice to sit on benches and eat cherries!!
Not too much birds, but it was special.
A trip to our friends in Heesselt who live in our old house. We did build it(1986). The property is in total 4000m2 , for Holland quit big.
It is still very special for us and great to see that our friends are really thinking the same as we did, wild garden en forest. We planted everything from little tiny tree, Planted a lot of old varieties , they live  a long time , but grow slower and a lot of new once, who have a short life , grow fast and will disappear when the old varieties get bigger.
And that is now going to happen , great to see. We saw and heard a few young Owls and parent(strix Aluco)
I will add some pictures of my Holland trip.



our houseboat

feeding the Ducks

2011 was a good year for Ducks.
Warm and sunny days in the spring
 and a lot of food for the fish and other predators ,
 so a lot of little ducks survived

in the Kayak ,
picture taken out of the window of the houseboat

in the Dunes with cherries









Happy Terry in Audubon garden, trying out scopes
, will this be my new Nikon scope?
Nice and handy to take with me .....







on the grounds of the Audubon office in Zeist,
they have a great bird feeder


This is the area where we lived  in Holland before Panama
The bird: Ooievaar (Ciconia ciconia):





















This is the garden of our former house in Holland
,with the forest in the back






the telephone went at 9.30 am....

 

 

 Sunday 15th of May, the telephone was ringing, two birdwatchers wanted to go birdwatching.
It was rainy, 9.30am...not really fantastic to go out , but they wanted so badly and they knew it could be not great.
At 10am I picked them up and we went ...we had only at the Culebra trail a little bit rain, everytime we escaped from the rain...it was a great 4+ hours, not bad for a late day birding......
 bird list 15th of May 2011...los Naranjos, Culebra trail, bajo Boquete.
blue and white Swallow, gray breasted Martin, swallow tailed Kite(Terry), American Dipper(Terry), lesser Goldfinch, yellow bellied Siskin, yellow faced Grassquit, rufous collared Sparrow, variable Seed eater, yellow bellied Seedeater, black striped Sparrow, streaked Saltator, buff throated Saltator, yellow thighed Finch, common bush Tanager, flame colored Tanager, scarlet rumped Tanager(Passerini Tanager), blue gray Tanager(nest), palm Tanager, silver throated Tanager, bay headed Euphonia, thick billed Euphonia, blue hooded Euphonia(elegant), red legged Honeycreeper, scarlet thighed Dacnis, slate throated Redstart, yellow green Vireo, white throated Thrush, clay colored  Thrush, ruddy capped nightingale, Thrush orange billed nightingale Thrush, rufous and white Wren, house Wren, plain Wren, tufted Flycatcher(nest) ,tody Flycatcher(nest), mountain Elaenia, yellow bellied Elaenia, social Flycatcher(nest), great Kiskadee ,piratic Flycatcher ,tropical Kingbird, red crowned Woodpecker, prong billed Barbet(Nest), Squirrel Cuckoo ,ruddy ground Dove, white tipped Dove(Terry), bronzed Cowbird, great tailed Grackle ,black Vulture, green backed Heron  ,tropical Mockingbird

Blue gray Tanager out of the nest on Friday the 13th of May 2011

 

 
oeps is that a good day to fly out of your nest....

another poem today 12th of May 2011 from David the birdwatcher

 
    I BILL,  HAI KU


When the wind calls in
The redwoods, the trees
Dance without moving their feet

When the dew pools on

The redwoods, the drops
Fall without making a sound

When the birds perch in
The redwoods, the branch
Screens without moving around

When the fog rolls in

The redwoods, the sound
Damps without missing a beat           David E

a Dutch bird picture

 

 
a Thrush ...een merel
My brother in law, Sjaak van der Sel he is a great photographer and he took the picture of this singing Thrush this week. I try to convince him that he  has to take more bird pictures...I know he will like the challenge and he has the patience for it...this is a start......more pics...www.sjaakvandersel.nl

pictures of birds on the farm

 

 

Sometimes we sit on our terras and drinking coffee and then birds are in front of us...we are not big picture taking people. But well so once in a while.....
a rufous tailed Hummingbird, we have a lot of them
a flame colored Tanager
one of the last pictures of the beautiful Baltimore Oriole before he left  to the States and a flame colored Tanager
a red legged Honeycreeper male
a red legged Honeycreeper female
a female flame colored Tanager and down below to the left a new bird on the farm...a long billed Starthroat!, Can you find him?(foto I took 8th of May)
a nest with 2 blue gray Tanager baby's , at this moment...12th of May, in front of our balcony.

2th of May and the 12th of May nests nests nests and love in the air

 

 
Not too much trips anymore, which is o.k. , because now I can spent time on things like this  blog and go birding on the farm and other places . 2th of May I was birding on the same place as 12th of May(this morning).
It is really "spring" here. A lot of bird nests, everywhere fighting.. singing... making love ...shining.... flashing... flying with worms, insects...busy busy
I never saw so much nests together in one tree...Piratic Flycatcher , social Flycatcher, Tody Flycatcher, Tropical Kingbird,yellow bellied Siskin, variable Seedeater, white throated Thrush, clay colored Thrush.
A beautiful love scene of a couple of orange billed nightingale Thrush.
A nest of a Tufted Flycatcher and next to that nest a nest of a common Bush Tanager...sometimes not friendly neighbours.
2th of May 2011, los Naranjos and Culebra trail..bird list
 short tailed Hawk!
ruddy ground Dove
snowy bellied Hummingbird
rufous tailed Hummingbird
white throated  mountain Gem
long billed Starthroat
red faced Spinetail
prong billed Barbet
red crowned Woodpecker
tropical Kingbird
dark Pewee
great Kiskadee
gray capped Flycatcher
piratic Flycatcher
social Flycatcher
lesser Elaenia
mountain Elaenia
yellowish Flycatcher
common tody Flycatcher
tufted Flycatcher(nest)
paltry Tyrannulet
house Wren
rufous and white Wren
black faced Solitair(flight)
white throated Thrush
clay colored Thrush
red legged Honeycreeper
slate throated Redstart
scarlet thighed Dacnis
silver throated Tanager
spangled cheeked Tanager
blue gray Tanager
scarlet rumped Tanager
flame colored Tanager
common bush Tanager
yellow throated brush Finch
chestnut capped brush Finch
yellow faced Grassquit
rufous collared Sparrow
variable Seedeater
yellow bellied Siskin
lesser Goldfinch
bronzed Cowbird
torrent Tyrannulet


Los Naranjos and Culebra trail Boquete May 12th 2011

snowy bellied Hummingbird
long billed Starthroat
white throated mountain Gem
rufous tailed Hummingbird
red faced Spinetail
prong billed Barbet
tropical Kingbird
social Flycatcher
great Kiskadee
piratic Flycatcher
yellow bellied Eleania
lesser Elaenia
mountain Elaenia
tody Flycatcher
Tufted Flycatcher
house Wren
rufous and white Wren
plain Wren
ruddy capped nightingale Thrush in flight
orange billed nightingale Thrush
white throated Thrush
clay colored Thrush
yellow green Vireo
scarlet thighed Dacnis
red legged Honeycreeper
slate throated Redstart(whitestart)
silver throated Tanager
spangle cheeked Tanager
thick billed Euphonia
palm Tanager
blue gray Tanager
scarlet rumped Tanager
flame colored Tanager
common bush Tanager
buff throated Saltator(Terry)
yellow throated brush Finch
yellow thighed Finch(Terry)
variable Seedeater
yellow faced Grassquit
yellow bellied Siskin
black Vulture
black Phoebe
bronzed Cowbird

Down below two pictures, from the yellowish Flycatcher and torrent Tyrannulet taken in December on the Culebra trail , the bird watcher  did send it to me for ID


28th of April 2011....

 

 
I had an appointment with 2 birders on the 27th of April...but everywhere it rained cats and dogs , even in Caldera. I called them and canceled it , fortunately they were around the 28th.
So the 28th we went for the birds, it was cloudy , but much better then that day before.I think the migrants escaped  to the States...still until the 5th of May I still heard some Swainson's Thrushes on our farm, but the 6th ..not anymore. Also at the 7th of May , I saw a Traill's Flycatcher on the farm...but after the 7th of May no migrants anymore from the States ....
28th of April Los Naranjos, Jaramillo abajo and arriba

black Vulture
ruddy ground Dove
sulphur winged Parakeet (flight)
snowy bellied Hummingbird
rufous tailed Hummingbird
violet Sabrewing
white tailed Emerald
emerald Toucanet
red crowned Woodpecker
tropical Kingbird
gray capped Flycatcher
social Flycatcher
black Phoebe
torrent Tyrannulet
great Kiskadee
piratic Flycatcher
lesser Elaenia
mountain Elaenia
common tody Flycatcher
yellowish Flycatcher
house Wren
rufous and white Wren
gray breasted wood Wren(flight)
white throated Thrush
mountain Thrush
clay colored Thrush
orange billed nightingale Thrush(picture)
brown capped Vireo
black burnian Warbler
scarlet thighed Dacnis
red legged Honey creeper
golden crowned Warbler
slate throated Redstart
thick billed Euphonia
silver throated Tanager
bronzed Cowbird
palm Tanager
blue gray Tanager
flame colored Tanager
scarlet rumped Tanager
buff throated Saltator(flight)
chestnut capped brush Finch
yellow throated brush Finch
variable Seedeater
yellow faced Grassquit
rufous collared Sparrow
yellow bellied Siskin
blue black Grassquit

birdwatching on 25th of April 2011

 

 
Birdwatching on the 25th of April with two new birdwatchers out of Germany.
Never been birdwatching and they loved it , they really got the bug!!
Still some migrants around that day!
Los Naranjos and somewhere in the mountains, Boquete

American Swallow tailed Kite
ruddy ground Dove in flight
snowy bellied Hummingbird
rufous tailed Hummingbird
stripe tailed Hummingbird
white tailed Emerald
resplendent Quetzales, flying around and eating fruit
streak headed Woodcreeper
tropical Kingbird
gray capped Flycatcher
social Flycatcher
Black Phoebe
piratic Flycatcher
great Kiskadee
mountain Elaenia
lesser Elaenia
yellow bellied Elaenia
tody Flycatcher
house Wren
plain Wren
orange billed nightingale Thrush
clay colored Thrush
white throated Thrush
black burnian Warbler
Swainson's Thrush
Wilson's Warbler
Magnolia Warbler
Eastern Wood Pewee
scarlet thighed Dacnis
tropical Parula
golden winged Warbler
three striped Warbler
slate throated Redstart
red legged Honeycreeper(Female)
palm Tanager
blue gray Tanager
scarlet rumped Tanager
flame colored Tanager
common Bush Tanager
bronzed Cowbird
yellow throated brush Finch
rufous collared Sparrow
black Vulture
Turkey Vulture

15th of April..Bocas del Toro, Changinola dam. Hawk migration and tree cutting

 

 
15th of April we went (Hans and I)to Bocas del Toro , main land , to visit the new dam in Changinola.(we know people there who are working to built the dam)
Not really birdwatching . But as a birder I check the sky, hoping on  a Hawk migration.
And yes the sky was full with hawks and different Vultures. Pretty high up, but still  very nice to see.
Nearby Rambala it started and it went on and on and on....
On the new dam sight...I saw only black and Turkey Vultures, Crackles and some variable Seedeaters and some Flycatchers.... not too much opportunity to ID them.
It is a building sight in the jungle, the national park la Amistad.
Mixed feelings. We like to have electricity in our houses and Panama is selling electricity, so that is a good income for the country, but I saw again that when you put a road in the nature, you make it more accessible...people will build more houses, little villages are coming in and unfortunately the indigenous people were cutting trees out of the forest , I counted already 5 big open spots in the dam area.
I am curious , what the government is going to do to prevent more cutting of the trees in La Amistad  national park!!!
La Amistad International Park was inscribed on the World Heritage List in December 1990.

"The Amistad Friendship International Park is split between Panama and Costa Rica and covers 207,000 hectares It was created in 1979, by an initiative of the Panama and Costa Rica governments and stretches over the mountains of the Cordillera Central, between the provinces of Chiriquí and Bocas del Toro. There is a great bio-diversity of flora and fauna. Seven of the twelve life zones are located in it. The park is a World Heritage Site and protects the headwaters of several rivers that drain into both the Pacific and the Atlantic basin. The principle rivers that it protects are the Teribe and Changuinola
The Amistad Friendship International Park is 500 kilometers from Panama City.You get there by car from the towns of Cerro Punta, Piedra Candela, Rio Sereno and Boquete. There is an administrative office with a visitor’s center, a camping area and a guiding trail at Las Nubes (Chiriqui). Several natural trails lead into the inner areas of the park; of note are the La Cascada and Retoño Trails. There are shelters in Culebra and Cotito. There is another administrative office in Teribe (Bocas del Toro).
The park has a number of volcanic rock outcrops, steep valleys, and the highest mountains in Panama, including Cerro Fábrega (3,325 m), Cerro Itamul (3,279m) and Cerro Echandi (3,162 m). The average annual temperatures fluctuate between 15º C on its high peaks, to 24º C on the sedimentary plains of the Caribbean-facing slops. The average annual rainfall ranges between 2,500mm and 5.500mm making it extremely humid.
Very humid premontane forests grow in the lowest sedimentary plains. The climate becomes very humid tropical forests in the Cordillera Central . Above that there is premontane rainforest, low mountain rainforest, and montane rainforest. Finally, there is the sub-alpine pluvial paramo, which is found around Cerro Fabrega.
has been recorded, including the howler monkey, black-handed spider monkey, white-throated capuchin monkey, and the night monkey or jujaná (Aotus lemurinus). The park is also the home of populations of threatened species like Baird´s tapir, groove-toothed squirrel, olingo (Bassaricyon gabbil) and the shrew. The five species of cats found on the Isthmus are also present in this area.One hundred species of
one may find the mountain salamander, the letmal coral snake and the oropel snake.species recorded in the park, including the harlequin frog and the spiny toad.
Special birds recorded in the protected area are the harpy eagle, the endemic glow-throated hummingbird, the respendent Quetzal , the umbrella bird, the three-wattled bellbird and the crested eagle one of the biggest and most endangered birds of prey in the region.More than 400 different birdspieces"

4th of April a glorious bird day on the sendero los Quetzales with 3 bird watchers

 

 
The  picture of the spangle cheeked Tanager is taken by Mr.Paul Yorke. The bird was really hiding himself , I was amazed that he still could  take a picture of this bird.
We saw a couple of Indigo buntings that day , which is rare and not often seen! Stll a big Hawk migration. The open area in the beginning of the Quetzal trail is really a great spot to see  the Hawk migration. Also we saw the three wattled  Bell bird. Lately I see a lot of black Swifts in that area, two years ago I only saw them around the Fortuna area, in between continental divide and Willy Mazu.
We saw a nest of a tufted Flycatcher.(same nest I saw with Bill Elrick 23th of March)
I will ask Paul if he can send me the pics of the Tufted Flycatcher and  the indigo Buntings. The indigo Bunting picture is from the internet.
Sendero los Quetzales Boquete 4th of April
 white tailed Hawk(flight)
broad winged Hawk
Swallow tailed Kite(flight)
Osprey(flight)
barred Hawk(flight)

    great black Hawk(flight)

    yellow headed Caracara(flight)

    band tailed Pigeon(flight)

    sulphur winged Parakeets(flight)

    white throated mountain Gem

    green violet Ear(Lerida)

    slaty Flowerpiercer(Lerida)

    ruddy Treerunner

    prong billed Barbet

    emerald Toucanet(Terry)

    acorn Woodpecker

    spot crowned Woodcreeper

    streak headed Woodcreeper(Terry)

    dark Pewee

    mountain Elaenia

    tufted Flycatcher

    yellowish Flycatcher

    Three wattled Bellbird

    ochraceous Wren

    mountain Thrush

    clay colored Thrush

    Wilson's Warbler

    black throated green Warbler

    blackburnian Warbler

    Swainson's Thrush

    collared Redstart

    slate throated Redstart

    golden browed Chlorophonia

    silver throated Tanager

    spangle cheeked Tanager

    scarlet rumped Tanager(cherrie)(Bajo Mono)

    common  bush Tanager

    yellow thighed Finch

    black thighed Grosbeak

    yellow throated brush Finch

    yellow faced Grassquit

    rufous collared Sparrow

    yellow bellied Siskin

    lesser Goldfinch(Terry)

    black Vulture

    Turkey Vulture

    blue and white Swallow

    white collared Swift

    black Swift

    Indigo Bunting

birding on my mothers birthday, 29th of March 2011

 
 that was a special day, the first birthday of my mother...without my mother.
Good to have a birding trip, always a good distraction.
And it was a good birding day....

Bird list 29th of March 2011, pipa de agua and Culebra
American Kestrel

green violet Ear

snowy bellied Hummingbird

scintillant Hummingbird

red faced Spinetail

prong billed Barbet

red crowned Woodpecker

hairy Woodpecker

great Kiskadee

tropical Kingbird

lesser Elaenia

mountain Elaenia

yellow bellied Eleania

paltry Tyrannulet

tufted Flycatcher

house Wren

rufous and white Wren

black faced Solitair

mountain Thrush

clay colored Thrush

slaty backed nightingale Thrush

ruddy capped nightingale Thrush

yellow winged Vireo

black and white Warbler

blackburnian Warbler

summer Tanager

collared Redstart

slate throated Redstart

scarlet thighed Dacnis

red legged Honey creeper

silver throated Tanager

spangle cheeked Tanager

thick billed Euphonia

golden browed Chlorophonia

blue and gray Tanager

Palm Tanager

scarlet rumped Tanager

common  bush Tanager

yellow thighed Finch

yellow bellied Siskin

yellow faced Grassquit

rufous collared Sparrow

black Phoebe


bird watching with a very patient bird couple, wet Palm tanager

 
Two Dutch people , very passionate bird fotographer. It was fun to go with them. The picture of the Quetzal took a while, but he  got it quit good. More Panama pictures www.bosfoto.nl
The Quetzal probably lost is nice long tale probably in a fight....or stuck in a tree or,,,,
It was in the month March, cannot find the date or birdlist.
He did send me later some pics for ID, one is the Palm Tanager, I had to ask a bird pal out of the States for that ID , I was puzzeled....it was a WET Palm Tanager...grazy!
© Dick Bos 2011. All rights reserved.© Dick Bos 2011. All rights reserved.

silence of the birds... American Swallow tailed Kites

 on the 24th of March, I went with a family of three un experienced nature lovers.
Went to Jaramillo...it was  so silent!  Almost no birds to see....but we saw a show of American Swallow tailed Kites. They were busy  with hunting in the valley.
The birds were silent, which is logic and wise!.
Fortunately the family were really enjoying the Kites.
It was spectacular, they were also catching bugs from tree tops and were eating the bugs in the sky out of their claws.
They checked us out , once in  a while and really looked us in our eyes with their red eyes.
We did count 16 Kites! for at least 2,5 hours.
We saw later a Swainson's Thrush, dark Pewee and a white tailed Emerald and the good old Wilson's Warbler...that's it!
But we were happy, what a great morning!

A very memorable Bird trip 16th of March 2011...Quetzales and real Madame

 

 As I talked about in the note about Sally Bird, the trip on 16th of March was also very special, there was a very good Karma in Madame Brodie . She wanted to see the Quetzal. That was one of her last wishes, next to that another wish was to see the orang oetangs in Borneo, she was going after her Panama trip to Borneo.
Madame Brodie is 80 years old and alive and kicking. So a last wish...I think she will be 100 years old!
But as I learned from Sally, let them come to you.......Madame Brodie did ask for them...please come Quetzal, show yourself, with her nice French accent.....she again proved that it worked...
we saw a lot of Quetzales , it was great. She was so happy. They were in front of us , they flew around us, red white green blue flashes, tailes, sounds the whole thing.
Good evening,
> > > > I spoke to your husband today explaining my situation.
> I am
> > an 80 year old amateur birdwatcher and I contacted you
> last
> > year in January regarding birdwatching for quetzals.
> You
> > strongly suggested the month of March for this
> specific
> > birding. Unfortunately we had to leave Panama before
> that
> > time. > > I hope that this year, my dream can materialize and I
> can
> > see this marvellous bird since we, my husband and I,
> are
> > staying in Panama until March 21. > > > > We are presently living in Panama City and can be
> reached
> > by email or phone at:. I would
> appreciate
> > very much if you could let me know if you will be
> available
> > for me and when. I will then book a hotel. > > My husband will travel with me but will not do
> birding.
> > I must specify that I am a healthy 80 year old and a
> good
> > walker. I realize of course, that there is no
> "quetzal
> > guarantee" but I want to try anyway. Having seen the
> coq of
> > the rock - in very early morning- in Ecuador, the
> quetzal is
> > one of my few remaining ambitions. > > > > Thank you in advance. > > > > Best regards. > > Jacqueline Brodie

Birding with the birds


Had great birding times with the birds, that was their name! Sally and Bill Bird ...really her bird wish is amazing and his patience was great for a not really birdwatcher. I learned....let the birds come to you, spread out your arms and they will come....
Love to see a three wattled Bellbird , we stepped out of the car and there he was!
Ready for a ruddy Treerunner , oh yes there he is. Magic times, two very nice people with a good sence of humor!
We saw great maiding rituals of Quetzales on the Quetzal trail, it was grazy.
The picture was taken by Sally on our way back out of the car...a real nice picture of the scarlet rumped Tanager( Cherrie'sTanager)
We were fighting with the new names of a lot of birds....new bird book birds of Panama from Angher...
The bird lists...

Bird list 23th of February,
Bajo Mono Boquete

Black Vulture                     
White collared Swifts
cattle Egret

broad winged Hawk

white tipped Dove

ruddy ground Dove

brown throated Parakeets in flight(T)

rufous tailed Hummingbird

snowy bellied Hummingbird

scintillant Hummingbird

green violet Ear

garden Emerald

emerald Toucanet(T)

red crowned Woodpecker

gray capped Flycatcher

social Flycatcher

piratic Flycatcher

Great Kiskadee

boat billed Flycatcher

yellow bellied Elaenia

lesser Elaenia

mountain Elaenia

common tody Flycatcher

plain Wren

house Wren

clay colored Thrush

white throated Thrush

mountain Thrush

Wilson's Warbler

Tennesee Warbler

Summer Tanager in flight

northern Oriole(Baltimore)

rose breasted Grosbeak

red legged Honeycreepers

yellow throated Euphonia

silver throated Tanager

bay headed Tanager

Palm Tanager

blue gray Tanager

scarlet rumped Tanager (Cherrie Tanager)

buff throated Saltator

yellow throated brush Finch

yellow bellied Seedeater

lesser Goldfinch

yellow faced Grassquit

rufous collared Sparrow

great tailed Grackle

black Phoebe

american swallow tailed Kite

Bird list 24th of February
2011 Jaramillo area.
White throated mountain Gem

green violet Ear

scintillant Hummingbird

white tailed Emerald

resplendent Quetzal (fast)

emerald Toucanet(blue throated )

streak headed Woodcreeper

mountain Elaenia

yellowish Flycatcher

clay colored Thrush

white throated Thrush

black face Solitair

brown capped Vireo

Tennesee Warbler

Philadelphia Vireo

black burnian Warbler

Wilson's Warbler

Golden winged Warbler

black and white Warbler

slate throated Redstart

tropical Parula

golden crowned Warbler

three striped Warbler

blue hooded Euphonia (Elegant )

flame colored Tanager

white winged Tanager

black thighed Grosbeak

I am afraid I lost the bird list of the day on the Quetzal trail on the 26th of February 2011
This picture of a cherry Tanager is taken by Sally Bird