I've received a few remarkable reports from Panama in the weeks leading up to the creation of this webpage. On September 17th, Carlos Bethancourt found a Gray-breasted Crake at Tocumen Marsh (a special trip to eastern Panamá province). This was the first report of this species in Panamá province since 1983 (at the same location) and one of very few for the country. An added bonus was that the group Carlos was leading included Robert Ridgley, author of the classic A Guide to the Birds of Panama, a 20 year-old and still indispensable guide to the region. Carlos was the only member of the group to actually see the bird, and briefly at that. I visited the same site with Carlos on September 25th, and although we did not see the bird, it responded briefly to playback, and I managed to record the vocalization. Late note: this species has been reported recently from Bocas del Toro Province and from the Gatún Drop Zone on the Xenornis website, a nice Panamanian rare bird site run by Darién Montañez. He also reports that Gray-breasted Crake has been found with some regularity at Lagunas de Volcán, in western Chiriqúi. I have not seen details regarding these reports, but given that the observers are known to be skilled birders, it is likely that this species is more common in Panama than previously known.
Dr. Ridgley was also present for the sighting of an Ornate Hawk-Eagle on Semaphore Hill on September 13th- this striking bird is extremely rare in central Panama (I've never seen it).
Some people have the gift of being in the right place at the right time! The hawk-eagle was feeding on a Central American Agouti that it had recently captured; this rodent is about the size
of a small pig, which should give you a sense of the massive nature of this raptor. Dr. Ridgley also visited the cloud forests
at Altos del Maria, where, among other birds, fine looks at Snowcap and Black-crowned Antpitta were enjoyed. Neither species was known from the area
at the publication of the most recent revision of Birds of Panama. Rumor has it that Dr. Ridgley is preparing a long-awaited
update of this valuable guide, in which case he has certainly acquired some helpful firsthand knowledge over the course of the last few weeks!
Another excellent sighting was that of a Yellow-eared Toucanet near the village of La Mesa on August 19th, found by Canopy Lodge
guide Tino Sanchez. Carlos Bethancourt and a group of British birders (one of whom collected an excellent photo)
found this species at Altos del Maria in May of 2006, only 1 day before I visited the same area (and struck out); this was an extremely rare
record for western Panamá province, although not unprecedented. Alexander Wetmore, in The Birds of the Republic of Panama, Volume 2 (1968) noted several
sightings of this species from Cerro Campana, in the same general area, in 1966. The bird found in La Mesa would likely represent the first record for
Coclé province.
