in Mei....in May....

 "In Mei leggen alle vogels een ei"

In May, all birds lay an egg... a Dutch saying about May... which rhymes in Dutch but not in English. But just as in Panama as in the Netherlands, it does work that way. All birds sing, too. May is always a busy time for the birds and high season for the insects as well... because they sing and mate with each other too. That means a lot of food for the birds, because they need protein.

It also means there is a lot of work for me in the garden and on the farm, because everything is growing fast. But I have to be very careful, because there are nests everywhere... on the ground, in clumps, in the trees. This morning I was transplanting some plants and putting them next to our creek, and immediately a "cocoa woodcreeper" was calling out behind me; it had a nest in a crevice in a tree. So for me, that means getting out of there quickly.

I’ve been scrolling through my photos from the past 2 months a bit and collected the cutest photos and videos. The winner of the cutest moment was in the Netherlands, in the Kennemerduinen. A Blue Tit was collecting nesting material there I will add them on my Youtube channel, because he is too long for Blogger.  But here is the picture:

Three times I have seen a nest that I had never seen before.

In our meadow, a nest of the "black-chested Jays." As with this type of bird, they are usually not the neatest nests; it survived, but when the immatures had fledged, the next day the nest fell apart with a bit of wind. It was also nice that the parents were being helped by another jay, probably one from a previous nest. I had seen them flying together for well over 3 months; I had a feeling.

The second nest was from a pair "buff rumped Warblers", never did see a nest of them, it was in the bank of the river on the ground on our farm and they were pretty upset when I passed by(singing and calling) I took a fast picture, but not a good one and walked very fast away... It was round , made from grass and the entrance was on the side. Went back 2 weeks later ..to take a better picture of the nest, the immatures fledged, the family was gone and the nest unfortunately flat and wet.

I always feel bad when I am in their space... as birdwatchers  we are indruders😐

Speaking of intruders... right now there is already a second nest in my plant hanger on the terrace; quite bold thick-billed Euphonias have taken them over... :)

I can even just water the plant, no problem!

Then the third nest that I had never seen before was at the Global Big Day on May 9th, and that was a nest of the Golden-browed Chlorophonia, never seen before; that was definitely one of the highlights of that day... I had to zoom in, because it was high up in a bare dead tree, so the light was a bit poor.

This was in the cloud forest at an altitude of 2020 meters.

Of course, I saw a lot more young ones and nests... here are some more photos.

A  just fledged Istmian Wren in Fortuna forest reserve

nest of a clay colored Thrush, next to our balcony.

And also in the Fortuna forest reserve a very cute just fledged scaly crested Pygmy-Tyrant.

When you see an adult ...they are already very tiny birds:

Did see two adults around the nest.

Only in case of the Chlorophonia...I did see only the female feeding, no males in the area.

Anyway, June will give more immatures and nests. I did hear this morning the blue ground Dove singing and also the ruddy Quail Doves are really very active.

I will update my youtube channel and you can check out more videos :)

Have a good month June!

Greetings Terry

https://www.youtube.com/@terryvanniekerktinamoucott7548

April 2026

 Dear all, here I am at last; it is already May and May is almost over. But let me just stick to April. April is one of my favorite months, bird-wise. Migratory birds pass through and head north, and "our" birds start singing and courting. The first rains start to fall, and everything turns green and lush again. Although that didn't really happen in April, which was a shame. I was still irrigating during the first weeks of April. Different weather has to do with "El Niño," and because we are dealing with climate change, "El Niño" is stronger. And so, a very different weather picture than we are used to.

                       We decided to go to the Netherlands earlier than usual, for 2 weeks.

I actually liked the idea of ​​going earlier, because the birds in the Netherlands are singing and active then too. And there is a good chance I will see some migratory birds passing through. And it had been a while since that happened. We stayed in a nice old farmworker's cottage from 1859; it is located 2 minutes from the entrance to the Kennemer Dunes National Park. 

                                          And we even had bicycles. So we did that regularly. 

A beautiful dune area on the North Sea

I grew up by the dunes, so for me it was wonderful to hear and see all those birds again. What was really weird, though, was that I was a bit confused about the names of the birds during the first week. I recognized them, recognized the song and calls... but because I naturally make my lists in English for E-bird, I had forgotten some names of "my" Dutch birds. That was SO weird. But anyway, by the last week I had it all back in my head. And well here some pictures of my Dutch cuties!

long-tailed Tit   Staartmees

northern Wheatear   Tapuit

the first Cuckoo   Koekoek

Bluethroat  Blauwborst

Redstart   gekraagde Roodstaart

Dunnock    Heggenmus

                                         cute eurasian blue Tit  with nest material  Pimpelmees

My goal for the dune birds was to see one new bird....and that was the Black-necked Grebe (geoorde Fuut) ; strangely enough, I had never seen one before, and yes, I did see one. 

                                            Had to zoom in, so not the best pictures...

When I was visiting my friend, who lives in the far north of the Netherlands, we did see a group of Redwings (Koperwiek)... that was really a while ago, those were migrating to Scandinavia, Iceland, Siberia, Finland. Such a beautiful bird.

We also went to our former village in the middle of the country on the river Waal. A friend of ours who lives in our old house had told us that a White-tailed Eagle (Visarend) was nesting there. We are going to see these Eagles more and more in the Netherlands; they are doing well. And I had seen them before, but not on a nest.

                                                                 That was special!

The weeks  did go fast and before we knew  we were home in Boquete, Panama. And that was wonderful again. Back to work immediately, because we had guests right away. But anyway, that helps to get over the jet lag... and the day after arrival I was already birdwatching in the Cloud Forest, which was lovely again too.

And so May had already begun... this week I will make the story of the month May...

Greetings from Terry

Highlights the first three months of 2026

 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:)

                              https://www.youtube.com/@terryvanniekerktinamoucott7548

highlights November and December 2025

 Hello all, 2025 is almost over. I wanted to share my highlights of the past two months with you. In November, birders discovered a white-crowned Sparrow on the Caribbean coast. It was a vagrant and this bird had last been seen in Panama in 1982, making it the second record. I thought it was quite special to find this bird, which I did with Patricia and yes, we found it. Not a new bird for me, having seen it once in the USA, but a new bird for Panama.

We were lucky because the next day it was not there anymore.

Another highlight... a Potoo on the farm. They've been living on our farm for quite some time, and I've seen them in the dark, seen them fly by a few times and of course, heard them a lot. But this time I saw the Potoo sitting on a branch above my head while I was birdwatching. I showed the bird to Hans, as you see in the video. 

 And that day I was waiting for it to open its eyes and fly.

 Fun to do that. I took a picture... after that, it wasn't possible anymore, too dark.

During these two months, I often went birdwatching, including a few days with Hans. Now I had the time and besides all the work at home, took advantage of it. I also decided to participate in the Christmas Bird Count (CBC). That was quite a while ago. Here in Boquete on December 14th and in Volcan on December 21st. In Boquete, we went out with quite a few people and we did quite well. It's not an official circle yet but I think that will happen, judging by the results. 

Lots of new faces and very enthusiastic people. The group I was in was fun...all people from healthcare, like me in the Netherlands. It was mentioned that there were two people there who were beginners, well, truly superb birders...they're passionate about it!

 What I found a real highlight was when one birder explained to the two "beginners" that it's absolutely unwise to use recording to attract birds. My birding heart leaped... finally, someone who sees and understands... because now that many more young people want to be... or become... bird guides, I'm increasingly seeing recordings being used. Unfortunately, even by experienced guides/birders. I understand that they often feel pressured by their clients or employers, but also because they don't want to "fail." I'm not going to explain why you shouldn't use it. Anyone can Google that and if you think wise  about it, you don't even need Google. 

Below is a video of the sound of a Costa Rican Pygmy-Owl. I was birdwatching in the forest and heard it. It was supposed to be a new bird in that forest, so I quickly went there to confirm it. (Then I'll pass it on to the owner of the forest, because it's private property and the owner always likes to hear when a new bird has been spotted on their properties.)

Long story short... it was a tape, an experienced guide was playing for clients who were with him. I was a bit shaken up afterward.

Well on a happier note.... this was our Christmas Boquete group...I really enjoyed it and we counted a lot of birds:

December 21st was fun in Volcan and the surrounding area. I was with Patricia and we visited two private farms. We counted quite a few birds. We had more or less the same weather conditions on both count days. In Boquete Circle, we saw and counted a total of 258 different species, and in Volcan Circle, 213. You can find the trip lists on E-bird.

Here's one good photo from the Christmas count... I didn't take many because I was too busy counting :)

It is the red faced Barbet..I think it is really a Christmas bird.

Just a few more days and then a new year with new stories and adventures!

Happy New Year!!

Greetings from Terry

October 2025

 Hello! 

It was a wet October, but still good moments for good birding. The highlights I will mentioning in this story. Of course 11th of October was global big day and of course I did go out the whole day. Did start around 6 am and ended the day at 6pm.  The last years I did go to same places in Boquete, but there were birdwatchers who did go to those places. And important is to spread out and so I did. Of course I did start on our farm and then I did go up to higher elevations..there was one place in Boquete where it looked like the most "light" place...in the sence of the weather. A lot of places in Boquete were rainy and cloudy. I kept it dry and was birding  mostly in the clouds, but bird wise it was a great morning. Of course I know the place there very well, that helps. Then you know where the birds are. I was there 2 times before  in that week. A lot of  berries! The black faced Solitairs were singing and very active (in the fog)...

Also that day a HUGE amount of Swainsons Thrushes!

 After this morning ..I went home and Hans cooked already...so I ate , checked some lists from other birders and yes best was to go to the place what I already was planning to go...  even had a short time sun. Did see clouds coming in and out. Did use for 5 minutes my umbrella. Fortunately I could add the wedge-tailed grass-Finch to the Panama list! I was not expecting this bird...she flew in front of me up and landed down in long grass and then that rain did start. What a moment!

It was a great afternoon! 145 different birds I did mostly see and hear this day. Here the link... https://ebird.org/lifelist?r=world&yr=BIGDAY_2025b&sortKey=obs_dt&o=asc  you can see the list.

In May big day, Panama did really good, now a little bit less because it was bad weather in most areas. Many more people went birdwatching on the big day. I think it's also because the Minister of the Environment is trying to get people excited. A great stimulance.

I also see that many more young Panamanians are starting to enjoy birdwatching. Great !

A few times I did go to the coast area. In the Netherlands I was a coast/ river birder...but since I live in Panama, I love the highlands and not a big fan of going to the hot coast. So that is why mostly lately I do see new birds (lifers) when I go to the coast/rice fields.  We did go to find the Cattle Tyrant. Ann my friend she did see him/her first. Thank you Ann!!!   (mmmm why is this an other letter type ..😓)

So the goal was reached! Another goal was to eat a nice fish on the beach!

mission completed :)

Hans and I always celebrate our anniversary on October 31th. This year we've been together for 49 years and we always celebrate  with an outing. Hans and I wanted to eat that fish again and ...of course, I brought my binoculars. We walked a bit on the beach and also explored the wetlands on the other side of the beach. I saw a Tern hunting for fish in a small lake in the distance and managed to take a picture of the bird. Later it turned out that it was a Caspian Tern.

A new bird for me in Panama. Then it was absolutely bizarre when I did see a northern Shoveler among three blue-winged Teals. I did not realize that that was also a new Panama bird for me. I've seen those ducks a lot in the Netherlands of course. Maybe I should brave the heat more often and go to the coast!I am by the way amazed that I do see more and more Eurasian collared Doves along the coast. Love their songs , reminds me of ..yes..the Netherlands.

Well we are going into the November month, the weather is changing into dry season. A lot of migration birds did arrive or are still migrating. Crazy busy on the farm here, a lot of fun!

While gardening, painting and doing jobs around and in the house..my ears and eyes are wide open!

Until de next story!!

greetings from Terry

what happend with September 2025?

Hello, hello... yes where is that month September 2025... it flew by and when I am writing this story... it is already 2th of October...

Anyway it was a good month, almost no guests..a lot of work done in our farm and on the cottages and our house. And of course some trips to different areas, with friend, alone and with Hans. The migrants are coming through, so I am as always up early and walk in town, in restaurants, in city with my binoculars...because you will never know what shows up.

Did go to the beach and rice fields with my birding friend and did see good birds and always traditional eating fish on the beach. Loads of roseate Spoonbills:

I love all birds..but my passion is "the little hard to find birds"

Wetland birds...sea birds... in the Netherlands I was pretty good in it...living next to the wetlands.

But since I live in Panama(27 years), I have to admit, I get a bit slow with the wetland/ seabirds.

Next coming week we go again and I promised myself to prepare myself more.

I had a talk with Hans this morning, he loves the idea of the fish:), so we go also more together.

What was very cool is the immature bare necked Tiger Heron with adult, I think I even get my hubby happy with that...next to the fish:)

Love to check  the birds on the beach...

Did see a juvenile northern Jacana eaten by a great Egret, unfortunately the picture is not fantastic, but here the Egrets...brutal, but well that is nature...

Another animal what stick his head out was a Coyote, always pretty cool to see...

Yes the area on the coasts with all the rice fields beach and wetland is pretty cool there and  the road gets better and better, so in the nearby future we will be in an hour on the beach. They work hard on the road.

You can also find a Eurasian Dove there , I have the idea that they spread out..well that is what Doves do right?

I did do some nice trips  with...myself.

To a lot of areas. Here 10 minutes in the cloud forest this nice buff fronted Quail Dove flew up in front of me and he did let me take this picture and even a video...on my you tube channel to see. 

Such a pretty Dove, mostly hidden in the forest. 

Well and of course in this time  the migration.

Two pretty good pics of these very active Warblers:

Wilsons Warbler male:

Chestnut sided Warbler female:

They will meet this fiery-billed Aracari

or this nice road side Hawk:

hope for the Warblers a friendly one...

I always wonder, when those Warblers and Vireos..on their first trip to the south... are they freaking out? when they see all those  new birds, insects and other dangers. Just a thought.

Well I think this is it, in 9 days I will be busy with the big day (11th of May) you will find a story in my blog next time.

In the meantime..maybe I have to buy a new book, the duck tape is getting old :)

Greetings  from Terry.