Friday, April 18, 2025

baby Great Fruit-eating Bat fell to the ground

 Hello...another story in exciting April!

A day ago I walked to our laundry. When I walked down the stairs I saw a bat lying on the floor.



I honestly thought it was dead. But when I put on my gloves, I saw that the ears were moving and when I wanted to pick it up, it stretched out. A baby fruit bat.. so cute.


 Above the bat was the colony and so she had fallen out. I thought maybe I should hang it somewhere nearby..then the mother will find her. At that moment I thought, just show that I am her to the rest.


So I raised my arm and suddenly 1 bat from the group flies to my hand... the mother!!! Flies on my hand on the little one and made a trembling movement and a trembling sweet soft movement. I tried to take a picture...but I was one hand short..that was "occupied" with 2 bats. After about 30 seconds, the mother and child flew into the forest. What an experience again!!

Greetings from Terry

By the way I thought it was a Jamaican fruit eating Bat, but it is the great fruit eating Bat

I did post a short video  from the colony on Youtube

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aAwwmrv2qpE

https://coffeeadventures.net/tinamou.html


Tuesday, April 15, 2025

A vermilion Flycatcher in a nest of pair of fork tailed Flycatchers.......

 

This morning I was with Ann in the park in Boquete ... for Ann it was the first time that she would see a female Vermilion Flycatcher (that was the goal), she had just like me only seen the male abroad. So for her a new bird just like I did last Saturday, for Panama. On Sunday another group had seen the female vermilion flycatcher female (still there) and strangely enough she was at one point in a nest of a fork tailed Flycatcher? As far as I know she does not breed here in Panama and is a rare migrant. And then sharing the nest with another kind of Flycatcher? We saw quite a few special things this morning. The first thing we saw was that she was flycatching ... a normal thing huh? Then she sat on the ground and took a twig in her beak (luckily Ann had her camera at that moment, see down below :)) and flew with it into the tree. She was attacked by a pair of fork tailed Flycatchers that have a nest there. Then she went back to catch flies for a while and after about an hour she flew back into the tree, this time with a white feather. Towards the nest. The male fork tailed Flycatcher was sitting on the nest breeding, the female fork tailed Flycatcher was trying to get the Vermilion Flycatcher away.. the Vermilion Flycatcher did join the fork tailed Flycatcher male on the nest.. (see video and of course Ann and I were talking about this phenomenon... are her hormones at a peak? She is totally out of sorts? Will she leave at some point? We are going to study this bird a bit more and read about it.
Greetings from Terry

to the right you see the female Fork tailed Flycatcher 
try to chase away the Vermilion Flycatcher from her
"husband" and nest and the Vermilion Flycatcher is 
already almost on the nest:)

                                            This picture shows the bird with the twig that she
                                             took with her in the tree



We had a great morning: 















Saturday, April 12, 2025

Vermilion Flycatcher..female, a new bird for me in Panama


Hello! a Vermilion Flycatcher was spotted in the park of Boquete. For the third time I went there to find her. I have seen a male in Quito (Ecuador), but no female and besides it would be a new bird for me... for Panama. So I was motivated.
After a few hours in the park, I gave up and I thought ... let me go to the area where she was seen last time and then home...I met another birder there who had also been there a few times to look for her, we had met each other coincidentally the afternoon before.
Just when I was telling him that usually when I look for a bird that I want to see... I often don't succeed... But as soon as you are not so focused anymore, they come... When I told them that, I did see a smaller Flycatcher catching a fly right behind him... "heee I said, huhhhh... I looked behind him and at the same time we said ... that's her!!!" Wonderful bird moments!
My day can't be spoiled anymore!
Greetings Terry