Sunday, April 30, 2017

big flock of white collared Swifts

This morning 30th of April 2017, wow I never did see a such a huge flock of white collared Swifts before.

Greetings from Terry

http://coffeeadventures.net/tinamou.html

Saturday, April 29, 2017

Thursday, April 27, 2017

some migration, bird songs, nests and eggs....from 11th or April until 27th of April 2017

Hello all!
Well migration is almost done ... this morning only a couple of Eastern Wood Pewee's .. eating a lot of insects and still the Swainson's Thrushes are around..I expect maybe still tomorrow but then it will be over with their calls and songs around us.
Fingers crossed that the most of the migration birds  that I did see, will make it and that a lot of them are already sitting on eggs. This morning sad picture on Flap Facebook site ( http://www.flap.org/ ) of two dead scarlet Tanagers, male and female...because of hitting a building window in Toronto Canada. I did see the last pair scarlet Tanagers on 19th of April... male and female here in the garden.. I hope they did make it!!

These two pictures were taken in front of our house.. you can see that the Wood Pewee's can have so much "faces". This eastern Wood Pewee was singing in the early morning last week, on both pictures the same bird!!! :



This year the eastern and western Wood Pewee's were singing a lot in April..I never did experienced that, always the calls, sometimes song... but this year ..so different!!!

Oh another very nice sighting was in an early misty morning (850 meters) .. huge groups of eastern Kingbirds flew by. It felt almost that I was in Holland 3 years ago, when I did see big migration of Pipits, also in the mist. They flew by very low, probably to catch some insects in flight. This one was taking a break:


Also about "our" birds... not too much Quetzales this year. Did speak in the fields in different area's with some farmers, they did notice also less songs and less Quetzal sightings.
In some areas that was full with three wattled Bell Birds in former years, no Bell Birds...
Because it was a warmer Summer..different weather , maybe the berries were faster ripe and in a short time there was a lot of food , but also very short time it was gone... falling off the trees or dried out.. that is what I do and did see. Also the Bell birds are migrating with the food , like Quetzales and other birds..so maybe that is it. I think this can be also that there are problems with nests...

Oh oh...what did happen here , look like Quetzal feathers....:



I am not so worried about the Flycatchers and other insect eating birds...more insects then ever !

Fortunately I did see already just fledged immatures like this streaked Flycatcher, there were 2 immatures and both adults were giving them food. This one was taken on the coast nearby David city.


More crested Oropendula's , more trees with their nests, this picture was taken on a late evening nearby our farm.


Now it is the time to hear all kind of Thrushes singing and the black faced Solitairs in the cloud forest, are nesting now. During a hike around the 1800 meters...this nest was .."in my face"
I took a quick picture and walked further and behind a tree on a distance I did see that the Solitair came and continue with breeding. They are nesting along open areas, trails  in banks. 


About nests... this cuty is a nest of a lesser violet Ear ( former name :green violet Ear )(Hummingbird) 

And this one of a scintillant  Hummingbird...what was she thinking!!! On a coffee farm in the picking season! I did ask the men over there if she did have baby's, but they  did see the nest for the first time because I did point it out... :)


Up to the month of May!... sunny mornings... rain in the late afternoon, nice green, lush time. More nests, more songs...more mating (like this morning  two Crimson backed Tanagers on our other farm) Down below 2 bird list of this morning...
Greetings Terry
http://coffeeadventures.net/tinamou.html

😊



Tinamou Cottage Boquete, Chiriquí, PA
Apr 27, 2017 6:45 AM - 7:05 AM
Protocol: Stationary
Comments:     in front of house
39 species

Little Tinamou  1     HO
Gray-headed Chachalaca  8
Spotted Wood-Quail  1     HO
Roadside Hawk  1
White-tipped Dove  1
Snowy-bellied Hummingbird  1
Rufous-tailed Hummingbird  3
Lesson's Motmot  2
Red-crowned Woodpecker  2
Streak-headed Woodcreeper  1
Yellow-bellied Elaenia  1
Mountain Elaenia  1 making nest
Yellow-olive Flycatcher  1
Eastern Wood-Pewee  1     + call
Bright-rumped Attila  1     HO in forest
Lance-tailed Manakin  1
Yellow-green Vireo  3     chasing away snake
House Wren  2
Rufous-breasted Wren  1
Rufous-and-white Wren  2     upset by snake
Orange-billed Nightingale-Thrush  2
Swainson's Thrush  2
Clay-colored Thrush  3
White-throated Thrush  2
Buff-rumped Warbler  1     HO
Blue-gray Tanager  2
Bay-headed Tanager  2
Silver-throated Tanager  2
Scarlet-thighed Dacnis  1
Red-legged Honeycreeper  3
Rosy Thrush-Tanager  1     HO
Buff-throated Saltator  2
Streaked Saltator  1
Black-striped Sparrow  1
Rufous-collared Sparrow  1     HO
White-naped Brushfinch  2
White-winged Tanager  2
Red-crowned Ant-Tanager  1     HO song in forest
Thick-billed Euphonia  2


finca Potoo, Chiriquí, PA
Apr 27, 2017 8:30 AM - 10:00 AM
Protocol: Traveling
0.6 kilometer(s)
Comments:     sun
46 species

Little Tinamou  1     HO
Turkey Vulture  2
Scaled Pigeon  1     + song
White-tipped Dove  1
Squirrel Cuckoo  1
White-collared Swift  5
Stripe-throated Hermit  1
Snowy-bellied Hummingbird  2
Rufous-tailed Hummingbird  1
Lesson's Motmot  1
Red-crowned Woodpecker  2
Lineated Woodpecker  1
Blue-headed Parrot  1
Brown-throated Parakeet  6
Cocoa Woodcreeper  2     + song and call
Yellow-bellied Elaenia  1
Mountain Elaenia  1 carrying food
Common Tody-Flycatcher  1
Eye-ringed Flatbill  1     + call
Eastern Wood-Pewee  5
Bright-rumped Attila  1
Lance-tailed Manakin  1
Lesser Greenlet  2
Yellow-green Vireo  3
House Wren  2
Isthmian Wren  1     + song
Orange-billed Nightingale-Thrush  3     heard 2 seen 1
Swainson's Thrush  2     + call
Clay-colored Thrush  3
White-throated Thrush  2
Rufous-capped Warbler  2
Crimson-backed Tanager  2     copulation
Blue-gray Tanager  2
Bay-headed Tanager  2
Silver-throated Tanager  2
Yellow-faced Grassquit  2
Rosy Thrush-Tanager  1     HO
Buff-throated Saltator  1
Streaked Saltator  2     + song and call
Black-striped Sparrow  1
Rufous-collared Sparrow  1     HO
White-naped Brushfinch  2
Flame-colored Tanager  2
White-winged Tanager  2
Thick-billed Euphonia  2
Lesser Goldfinch  1

Sunday, April 9, 2017

what's happening...migration!... "spring" feelings

Hello all, finally some time to write... today was a great day, did go on my horse to the other farm(finca Potoo)
For her the first time that she went there. A lot of migrant birds today coming through.
All over you hear the Swainson's Thrushes and a lot of different Flycatchers. From horseback I did see and hear the eastern Wood Pewee the most. Also on our farm today they were all over.
Of course the beautiful chestnut sided Warblers, they look "smashing"
Last Wednesday I did hear for the first time in my life in Panama ..2 black throated green Warblers singing, what a great sound.
And I did see this:
Not the best picture.But it is a Northern Parula ! A new bird for me , 1800 meters , pretty high up for this transient.

Yes April gives surprises.
Of course "our birds" are having hormone issues. A lot of singing ... fighting and also nest building.
Very interesting sightings on two black throated Jays. They are having their rituals in front of windows. They almost behave as crazy Manakins... jumping , dancing , bowing.
All my plants in the planters are destroyed by them and I had to wash my windows of our house and the cottages a lot of times. In the early morning they sit in front of my face watching me through the bedroom window.
Hans took this picture... :

I did make a sneaky video from them in front of our window and I posted one on this blog earlier.
http://terryboquetebirdstory.blogspot.com/2017/03/a-pair-of-black-chested-jays-courtship.html

Last week I had two mornings a group of students for a birding morning.. they wanted  so badly see a Quetzal and also other birds of course. We had the luck to see a pair making a nest, that was great. Both days we did see them. The female was making the nest in an old trunk bigger and she was covered with sawdust, very cool.




What a  very cool people they were, they deserved to see that special sighting!
http://explore.fieldstudies.org/blog/sea-to-shining-sea-a-journey-across-panama?

Of course the three wattled Bellbirds are back, by the way not so active in all the areas where they normal are.
A great sighting of a nice Juvenile... his voice was already adult but his feathers and wattles...not :

And 2 weeks ago this prong billed Barbet on the Quetzal trail was busy making a nest...

And of course the American Dippers(see former post) they are breeding:
The long billed Starthroat has 2 baby's...

The coming week will be interesting, I keep my binoculars very close by!
Greetings Terry

an addition bird list of the farm  10th of April 2017: 
Tinamou Cottage Boquete, Chiriquí, PA
Apr 10, 2017 7:20 AM - 8:45 AM
Protocol: Stationary
Comments:     partly clouds around horse stable
52 species (+1 other taxa)

Gray-headed Chachalaca  6
Roadside Hawk  1
Scaled Pigeon  1     + song
White-tipped Dove  1
Stripe-throated Hermit  1
Magenta-throated Woodstar  1     + song
Snowy-bellied Hummingbird  1
Rufous-tailed Hummingbird  2
Lesson's Motmot  1
Red-crowned Woodpecker  2
Golden-olive Woodpecker  1     + song
Lineated Woodpecker  2
Blue-headed Parrot  2
Cocoa Woodcreeper  1     + song
Yellow-bellied Elaenia  2
Mountain Elaenia  4     feeding young
Pale-eyed Pygmy-Tyrant  1
Yellow-olive Flycatcher  1
Olive-sided Flycatcher  1
Eastern Wood-Pewee  2     + call
Bright-rumped Attila  1
Panama Flycatcher  1
Piratic Flycatcher  1
Lance-tailed Manakin  4
Red-eyed Vireo  1
Yellow-green Vireo  5
Black-chested Jay  2
swallow sp.  1     looked like a gray breasted Martin , too fast for ID
House Wren  2     singing
Rufous-breasted Wren  1
Rufous-and-white Wren  1     + song
Tropical Gnatcatcher  1
Orange-billed Nightingale-Thrush  1
Swainson's Thrush  2
Clay-colored Thrush  3
White-throated Thrush  1
Golden-winged Warbler  1
American Redstart  1
Blackburnian Warbler  2
Chestnut-sided Warbler  3
Rufous-capped Warbler  2
Blue-gray Tanager  2
Bay-headed Tanager  2
Silver-throated Tanager  2
Red-legged Honeycreeper  5
Rosy Thrush-Tanager  2
Buff-throated Saltator  2
Flame-colored Tanager  1     + song
White-winged Tanager  2     male singing
Baltimore Oriole  1
Thick-billed Euphonia  3
Elegant Euphonia  2
Lesser Goldfinch  2