3th of April 2026....Oops 3 months later, helloooo!
Time flies in these times, we had a busy high season, which is okay. Tomorrow the last guests are checking out and then we have vacation. So I thought now it is time for a update!
The highlights of the last 3 months... well of course every day there is a highlight in this country, in our lives. Never a boring moment. Positive and negative, but let me stay with positive...the negative, well just watch the world news.... :(
First of all, a new bird for me in this province, which is of course quite special after being here for 28 years. I had searched for this bird for a long time, and I really wasn't looking for it this time, but there it was... an ochraceous Pewee. I was absolutely delighted, and so were the birders who were with me, because it was a new one for them too.
We saw the bird at an altitude of 2,650 meters, in the cloud forest here in Boquete.
And a new bird on our farm... a White-vented Euphonia. I heard him singing and couldn't place the song at first—well, did recognize the song—but anyway, when it clicked and I saw the bird, it was clear. It is actually a female and a male. Besides his song, he also put on a beautiful courtship display. Unfortunately, they have left, probably to their natural habitat, but all in all, they were here for over two weeks. That was fun!
male above , female below
A week before I saw them, a guest said to me, "Could it be that I saw a white-vented Euphonia in the meadow...?" So he was right. My answer was, "Oh, that would be nice."
The last 3 months were busy. I was with a lot of beginner birders and they did all use binoculars for the first time .
And actually, they were all, without exception, very enthusiastic and many are going to continue with it. There is one I will never forget, a Brazilian who stayed in Boquete for two nights, traveling from Brazil via Panama City and went birdwatching with me one morning. For this occasion, he had bought a somewhat simple pair of binoculars that were difficult to use for birdwatching. So he really wanted to borrow a pair of binoculars from me. We first went to an open field to practice finding a bird with binoculars, but after fifteen minutes he got the hang of it and could even find the small "sneaky" birds, giving a description of what he saw. Okay! We went to a dense cloud forest and no problem, we saw all the birds and... as the "icing on the cake," a resplendent Quetzal male performing his courtship display in the air. The man said... wow, that one has a long tail... what is it? Loved it!!!!
Lot of big birds sightings this season, as some of you know... I love more the tiny ..sneaky, hard to find birds, but I had some great Quetzal, Bellbird, ornate Hawk Eagle sightings.
The Quetzal view that will stick in my mind was the one with a friend of ours. He was visiting with his wife and really wanted to go out with me one more time. Preferably to see a Quetzal. They were only here for a few days and I had time one afternoon. Wouldn't you know it, the clouds gave us a heavy downpour too. A shame for my friend, not so many birds... but it was rain after a long period of drought. We were soaking wet, it was wonderful!!!!! Then I heard a Quetzal and more than that! The rain stopped, I saw one and another and yet another one... a display. We stood there, still dripping from the rain and saw males in the air, performing beautiful loops; the females were watching. I made a short video; sometimes it is just nice to simply enjoy yourself without the urge of the camera. And some things stay in your head and heart and remain there.
Today it is also cloudy and the first rains of the wet season are falling.
The birds are singing and I do say everyday good bye to migration birds, who are going to the north...see you next season!
Enjoying all the nesting singin birds around us!
Like this cute thick billed Euphonia male building a nest in the hanging basket on our balcony....
Summer in Panama is over, up to one of my favorite month(s) to come!
Okay...one picture of the hot Panama summer..a Panama Flycatcher taking a sun bath.
For most of the readers "have a great spring!!"
Greetings from Terry
When you like to see more videos , I am going to update my Youtube Channel.(That is the plan:)
