Thursday, May 31, 2018

30th of May 2018... highlights of the last two months



This is a present of my husband ... a month ago... yes I agree...I am a bit ,specially the last months...
Did go out birding a lot...with guests, with birding pals and with my husband and alone...
I like to mention my highlights in this post...of course I have a lot of great experiences, but the greatest was that I did see for the first time in my life  a female and male resplendent Quetzal mating... OMG !!! he flew above her, spread his wings and show the deep red breast... it was fast, but I will never forget it.
A great part also was...I was not alone! A Belgium family...Mum Dad 2 daughters and Hans my husband were also watching this!!! Too fast for a picture...but the day before I was in the same area and this male did an airshow..specially for a nice man who was very eager to see a Quetzal....and he landed above us... checking us out:


Another highlight was..also for the first time in my life.. I did see mating between a three wattled Bellbird female and male. Not so spectaculair, very fast..not too much romance...even worse.... he was "shouting " in her ear before the mating, well it probably was "hot" for her. Fortunately I was with my friend and so we shared that moment! Finally also a picture of a female three wattled Bellbird:
I had again four great groups of students biology, we did see loads of birds . Hans took a video when we did see and hear the Bellbirds... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sqFdW0JqMSw  to get an impression.

Another fun thing was the 5th of May..global big day ... it is a great feeling to know that a lot of birders are out and count the birds almost all over the world. A lot of birders join each other and make teams. My team was my husband and I... he drives.. I watch and listen. 
It is also our day out after a busy time working.
We did go to the mangrove area around David city and meadows/ rice fields.
Hans took a nice picture of this lesser yellow headed Vulture :

And I did fall in love with this beautiful brush full with Hummingbirds..mostly sapphire throated Hummingbirds:
in the mangrove we did see this nice, not often seen Muscovy Duck:
Later on our way back in the rice fields a nest with two immature Pearl Kites and adult feeding them:

We did eat something in David..checked out some birds in the city , headed home..I did make my lists, down loaded them... here one of the 9 lists, of course I did bird on our farm too... you can go to my ebird list to see them ( ebird.org)

May 5, 2018 6:45 AM - 11:15 AM
Protocol: Traveling
5.0 kilometer(s)
Comments:     3 different spots..ricefields and mangrove areas
76 species (+1 other taxa)

Black-bellied Whistling-Duck  7
Muscovy Duck  1     in Mangrove, pretty shy
Wood Stork  22
Anhinga  1
Great Egret  40     approx
Snowy Egret  2
Cattle Egret  27
Green Heron  3
White Ibis  1
Black Vulture  2
Turkey Vulture  16     approx
Lesser Yellow-headed Vulture  2
Pearl Kite  3     video later, adult was busy with prey
Common Black Hawk  1
Savanna Hawk  1
Roadside Hawk  2
White-throated Crake  1
Gray-cowled Wood-Rail  1     HO
Southern Lapwing  3
Northern Jacana  1
Spotted Sandpiper  1
Pale-vented Pigeon  3
Plain-breasted Ground-Dove  2
Ruddy Ground-Dove  15
White-tipped Dove  2
Mourning Dove  1
Smooth-billed Ani  5
Groove-billed Ani  3
Lesser Swallow-tailed Swift  3
Long-billed Starthroat  1
Garden Emerald  2
Scaly-breasted Hummingbird  3
Rufous-tailed Hummingbird  2
Sapphire-throated Hummingbird  10     approx, prob more in a blooming tree
Ringed Kingfisher  1
Keel-billed Toucan  1     HO
Red-crowned Woodpecker  8
Lineated Woodpecker  3
Crested Caracara  5
Yellow-headed Caracara  3
Orange-chinned Parakeet  16
Red-lored Parrot  34
Yellow-crowned Parrot  40     approx heard and fly over
Brown-throated Parakeet  15
Barred Antshrike  1
Streak-headed Woodcreeper  1
Sepia-capped Flycatcher  1
Northern Scrub-Flycatcher  1
Common Tody-Flycatcher  1
Western Wood-Pewee  1     + call
Eastern Wood-Pewee  2
Empidonax sp.  1     no ID yet  video  https://youtu.be/T_LmG7ubJrE
Bright-rumped Attila  1     HO
Great Kiskadee  4
Social Flycatcher  2
Streaked Flycatcher  1
Piratic Flycatcher  1
Tropical Kingbird  3
Fork-tailed Flycatcher  5
White-winged Becard  1
Scrub Greenlet  2
Lesser Greenlet  3
Red-eyed Vireo  1
Gray-breasted Martin  2
Mangrove Swallow  4
Barn Swallow  80     approx
House Wren  5
Clay-colored Thrush  2
Yellow Warbler  1
Blue-gray Tanager  2
Palm Tanager  6
Blue-black Grassquit  3
Variable Seedeater  2
Bananaquit  2
Eastern Meadowlark  2
Red-breasted Meadowlark  6
Great-tailed Grackle  100     approx, lot of nests

And so then I did check the other list of other birders, most of them download them in the field on their phone. I don't do that, I miss birds then...I am slow.
On this day it is also about how many species we see in 24 hours... important to put Panama more on the map... this year, this day was really very visible in the media in Panama..television, radio, newspapers,social media, very good to make people aware..means also even more protection of the nature here!
I did see on the other birders lists that the three wattled Bellbird was not spotted yet...or maybe somebody spotted this bird , but it was not on a list yet... so I looked at my husband and  he said ...okeeeeeeee, let's go... the result was a great late afternoon with of course the Bellbird on the list...

Jaramillo arriba, Chiriquí, PA
May 5, 2018 4:55 PM - 5:45 PM
Protocol: Historical
Comments:     clouds, before rain 1700 m alt. to 1800 m alt
41 species (+1 other taxa)

Chiriqui Quail-Dove  1
Vaux's Swift  3
Lesson's Motmot  1     HO
Northern Emerald-Toucanet  2     1 heard 1 seen
Silvery-fronted Tapaculo  1     HO
Spotted Barbtail  1
Mountain Elaenia  2
Eye-ringed Flatbill  3     1 seen 2 heard song
White-throated Spadebill  1     HO
Dark Pewee  1
Western/Eastern Wood-Pewee  2
Three-wattled Bellbird  3     HO
Barred Becard  1     HO
Rufous-browed Peppershrike  1     + song
Brown-capped Vireo  2     + song
Blue-and-white Swallow  2
Isthmian Wren  1     HO
Gray-breasted Wood-Wren  1     heard more songs
Black-faced Solitaire  1     HO song
Orange-billed Nightingale-Thrush  2
Ruddy-capped Nightingale-Thrush  1
Swainson's Thrush  3     1 seen 2 heard (call and song)
Mountain Thrush  3
Clay-colored Thrush  2
White-throated Thrush  1     HO call
Tropical Mockingbird  1
Northern Parula  1     very good view by the both of us, on this bird, 2 white wing  bars , broken  white eye ring.. whitish lower breast. Did see last week in the same area also a northern Parula
Tropical Parula  1     + song
Golden-crowned Warbler  2
Canada Warbler  1
Slate-throated Redstart  4
Cherrie's Tanager  2
Blue-gray Tanager  2
Yellow-faced Grassquit  2
Streaked Saltator  1
Chestnut-capped Brushfinch  3
Rufous-collared Sparrow  2
White-naped Brushfinch  2
Flame-colored Tanager  2
Golden-browed Chlorophonia  1     HO
Elegant Euphonia  2
Lesser Goldfinch  1     HO



The end results for Panama were great!! 

So that was an highlight 👍

The next day it was Holland time... this picture was taken in Schoonhoven (nest with Stork):
Yes 2 weeks vacation to Holland. Visiting family and friends but also the Dutch birds. I am not a target lister...but 3 birds that I never did see were the black Woodpecker (zwarte Specht) and  European  pied Flycatcher (bonte Vliegenvanger) and the Crane.(Kraanvogel) The second week we did stay in the province Drenthe, the chance to see those birds there was big! But the first sight  for the Woodpecker and Flycatcher was in the province Overijsel where we did visit Hans Anties. Also we did see there a pair of gray Wagtails on the river "Dinkel" 

When you visit Holland , these provinces are well worth going.. nice variation in nature and good and different birds. 
I did not take too much bird pictures...
Here an impression of the different areas and some birds......
Dwingelerveld  ( province Drenthe)

De Geelgors (Yellowhammer): 

Fochteloërveen (province of Friesland and Drenthe)
http://www.hetfochteloerveen.nl/
Where we did see the Crane!



Barn Swallow in the observation area  Fochteloërveen, Brunstingerplas.

Like last year we could not resist to visit  the province of  Groningen, the Onnerlanden. Unfortunately there was a lot of wind and so harder to see the birds, but still we did see plenty and also there is a tower that you can climb..gives a very nice impression of the area...:

We did stay for a week in an area in the province of Drenthe, Gietenveen.
Did rent a bike to explore the area, it was great to bike again in flat Holland.
In Gietenveen:
                                           Picture above, a Stonechat, male.
                                          Picture above, a common Buzzard in the early morning
and a very nice House with a bird friendly garden.

It was a great vacation. Now in Panama already a week and it is good to be here again, although hard to say goodbye to family and friends and the Dutch birdies.
Last Tuesday I was in the forest here next to our house and then I realize again what a very special country Panama is... birds everywhere, so green and clean air and a huge amount of insects! Fab!
Down below the bird list of last Tuesday and for now greetings from Terry

Tinamou Cottage Boquete, Chiriquí, PA
May 29, 2018 8:10 AM - 9:10 AM
Protocol: Historical
9.0 ha
Comments:     clouds came in
50 species (+1 other taxa)

Little Tinamou  1     HO
Gray-cowled Wood-Rail  1     HO song
Ruddy Quail-Dove  1
White-tipped Dove  2
Squirrel Cuckoo  1
nighthawk sp.  1     flew up fast
White-collared Swift  30     big group in valley
Stripe-throated Hermit  1
Violet Sabrewing  1
Snowy-bellied Hummingbird  1
Rufous-tailed Hummingbird  2
Lesson's Motmot  1
Red-crowned Woodpecker  1
Golden-olive Woodpecker  1     HO call
Cocoa Woodcreeper  1
Streak-headed Woodcreeper  2
Lesser Elaenia  1
Ochre-bellied Flycatcher  1
Yellow-olive Flycatcher  1
Boat-billed Flycatcher  2
Piratic Flycatcher  1
Lance-tailed Manakin  3     heard more, very active
Yellow-green Vireo  2     heard more
Blue-and-white Swallow  3
House Wren  1
Rufous-breasted Wren  3  nest
Rufous-and-white Wren  1
Orange-billed Nightingale-Thrush  3     heard more songs
Clay-colored Thrush  6     heard more
White-throated Thrush  4     heard more
Rosy Thrush-Tanager  3
Rufous-capped Warbler  2
Buff-rumped Warbler  2     + song
Gray-headed Tanager  1
Blue-gray Tanager  2
Palm Tanager  2
Bay-headed Tanager  3
Silver-throated Tanager  2
Scarlet-thighed Dacnis  1
Red-legged Honeycreeper  4
Yellow-faced Grassquit  2
Buff-throated Saltator  2
Streaked Saltator  1
Black-striped Sparrow  2
Orange-billed Sparrow  1
White-naped Brushfinch  2
Flame-colored Tanager  1
Red-crowned Ant-Tanager  2     HO
Yellow-crowned Euphonia  1
Thick-billed Euphonia  2
Lesser Goldfinch  3
http://coffeeadventures.net/tinamou.html