Quetzal trail 6th of August 2016... love or hate ...two buff fronted Quail Doves (also some information about the trail!)

And so I decided to go and hike the Quetzal trail . Hans did bring me to the trail head... alto Chiquero and this time I did bring one of my best friend.. Spot. He is going with me a lot when I am going alone to the forest. He knows now exactly how to behave when I am bird watching. He is 7 years now, older and wiser.
First time for him on the Quetzal trail and he behaved so well and even looked up very surprised when he did hear the group of silvery throated Jays (for him a new bird) ...my birding dog!!!

As I come on this trail already now for 20 years, every time I do experience that the start of the Quetzal trail on the Boquete side is the best to see the most different kind of birds. The times that I was early on the other side was always somewhat disappointing. The Boquete side is the area in my opinion that has the most biodiversity and so also the most different birds and plants.

Also better to start, when you like to hike this whole trail , try to start at the Boquete site, the reason is ..safety. When it starts to rain very heavy... it can be so that the river on the Boquete site is growing fast and that is the only part of the river without a bridge, so crossing can be tricky then.

Yesterday it was not a problem to start where ever...it was great weather!
Loads of mixed flocks ...of course I wanted to hike the whole trail this time so I could not spend a lot of time to check out all the birds in the mixed flocks. Hiking and birding together is not easy .. mostly I am very slow :)
But Hans  was driving  to the other trail head to pick me up and that is 1,5 hour drive from Boquete. So I needed to go to Respingo, the other ranger station.
Also a note for safety..the trail is in a good shape. The government put some nice signs , how far away the ranger stations are . But when you do see on the sign 5 km to go to the other ranger station...that is not (like in Holland) 1 hour hike!!! This will take you at least 6 hours to see also something!!! Some people do hike it as an excercise ...you can do it in 4 hours . From ranger to ranger!!! But in my opinion...you will miss a lot!

 My highlight of yesterday were 2 buff fronted Quail Doves  having a "thing" together. I was on the 2350 m eating an apple...we heard a sound as somebody was digging a hole in hard soil...boom...boom....

I waited , but nothing came out...I was at least thinking of a Peccary or so... (kind of Pig)
So slowly I did go to check it out... two buff fronted Quail Doves were having ..or a territory issue or a love thing going on... they were "running" in dense brush together...pointing their tails to each other, lifting up 1 wing and and then bumping against each other..that was the "boom".
Hans and I were watching the little movie that I took and we think it is a mating ritual. I cannot find too much about that on the internet...maybe I have a new thing to tell!!!
I took a bad picture, they were moving fast all the time.

And so I was home around 4pm, it was a great day!!!! Here some birds...and the list .

                                           Slaty Flowerpiercer...nice beak profile:

red tailed Hawk:

                                          flame throated Warbler:

                 And of course always to see at Respingo, the Volcano Hummingbird:

 

Greetings Terry
http://coffeeadventures.net/tinamou.html

PN Volcán Barú--Sendero los Quetzales, Chiriquí, PA
Aug 6, 2016 6:45 AM - 1:15 PM
Protocol: Traveling
8.0 kilometer(s)
Comments:     from alto Chiquero to Respingo sunny with some wind . Specially until 2350 m (Boquete side) most flocks and activity
57 species

Highland Tinamou  1
Black-breasted Wood-Quail  1     heard group
Black Vulture  4
Red-tailed Hawk  1     nearby Respingo
Buff-fronted Quail-Dove  2     was it display or territorial defense, I do not know. For all the time that I was around(half an hour) they were side a side, walking around lift up their 1 wing and bumb to each other what gave a sound of somebody digging a whole in the ground.
Chiriqui Quail-Dove  2     + sound
Magnificent Hummingbird  1
Fiery-throated Hummingbird  1
Purple-throated Mountain-gem  1
Volcano Hummingbird  1
Scintillant Hummingbird  1
Stripe-tailed Hummingbird  1
Orange-bellied Trogon  1
Prong-billed Barbet  2     2 x group heard
Hairy Woodpecker  1
Sulphur-winged Parakeet  6
Silvery-fronted Tapaculo  3     1 seen 2 heard
Streak-headed Woodcreeper  1
Spot-crowned Woodcreeper  2
Lineated Foliage-gleaner  1     + call
Streak-breasted Treehunter  2     + call and song
Ruddy Treerunner  3
Paltry Tyrannulet  2
Tufted Flycatcher  2
Dark Pewee  3
Yellowish Flycatcher  3
Golden-bellied Flycatcher  4     very noisy and active
Barred Becard  3     in mixed flocks
Yellow-winged Vireo  1
Brown-capped Vireo  1
Silvery-throated Jay  9     did see at least 9 ... group, maybe even more ...2350 m
Ochraceous Wren  3     + song
Gray-breasted Wood-Wren  3     did hear more
Black-faced Solitaire  2
Ruddy-capped Nightingale-Thrush  3
Mountain Thrush  4
Black-and-yellow Silky-flycatcher  2
Long-tailed Silky-flycatcher  3
Flame-throated Warbler  3     in mixed flocks
Black-cheeked Warbler  4     heard and did see more, not really counting
Slate-throated Redstart  3
Wrenthrush  1 ( afluente de  rio caldera )
Spangle-cheeked Tanager  3
Silver-throated Tanager  2
Slaty Flowerpiercer  1     +song
Yellow-bellied Seedeater  2
Yellow-faced Grassquit  2
Sooty-capped Chlorospingus  20     more in mixed flocks..did not count
Chestnut-capped Brushfinch  2
Rufous-collared Sparrow  7
Large-footed Finch  3
Yellow-thighed Finch  5
White-naped Brushfinch  4
Black-thighed Grosbeak  3     +song
Elegant Euphonia  2
Golden-browed Chlorophonia  20     in mixed flocks , did not count, a lot!
Yellow-bellied Siskin  2     + song

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