I just returned from a week in Panama, and was fortunate to be present (and/or witness to) a number of exceptional sightings. The bird of the year was an immature Jabiru found by José Soto on September 18th at Tocumen Marsh. The only official record of this species of which I am aware is that of a bird collected in Bocas del Toro province in 1927 (there are other uncomfirmed reports from this area, as well as one from Panamá province from the sixties). I visited Tocumen on September 25th in the company of Carlos Bethancourt, and we managed to relocate the bird despite having to work through heavy rain and deep mud (the harsh weather prevented me from collecting video). The Jabiru was standing next to a group of Wood Storks, compared to which it was significantly larger. It had a massive bill, and the black on the head extended well-down onto the neck (again, in the rain I could not see the red at the base of the neck). The body of the bird was somewhat mottled in appearance, implying that this individual was a juvenille. There is an excellent picture of this bird on the Xenornis website, collected by Panamanian birder Rosabel Miró on Sept. 19th. Congratulations to José for this outstanding find!
On September 20th, Carlos also found a roosting White-tailed Nightjar at Tocumen Marsh. The nice photo at left was contributed by Dustin Huntington of New Mexico, and shows the short wings, white underparts,
and buffy neck collar of this species. White-tailed Nightjar's Panama range probably includes most of the Pacific lowlands, but it is perhaps often overlooked, and is
nowhere particularly common, as evidenced by the fact that this was a life bird for Carlos.
Tino Sanchez found an intriguing seedeater in the genus sporophila on the Pacific coast at Santa Clara, Coclé, on September 28th, initially identified as a Lesson's Seedeater, which would represent the northernmost record of this species. I visited the site the next day, and we found the pair of birds nesting in a pine tree next to a beachside restaurant. I collected a minute or two of very backlit video of the birds, and must admit that the footage is inconclusive. The male is molting heavily, which complicates the identification. It shows some pale feathering on the cheek, which may indicate Lesson's, but I am troubled by the apparent thick black breast-band, which could indicate White-collared Seedeater (a southernmost record). Most intriguing was that we heard the birds vocalize upon our arrival, and the song seemed to match that of Lesson's, and was certainly not that of the common Variable Seedeater. Without better photographs or audio recordings I consider the evidence inconclusive, and I hope that more information will be sent my way. By the by, on the same trip Tino also found Northern Harrier and American Golden-Plover, both of which are somewhat rare in Panama.
On September 23rd, Carlos Bethancourt spotted a Great Curassow crossing the road deep on Pipeline Road; the bird was also seen by visiting birders Ron Demey (author of Birds of Western Africa) and his wife, Rita. This species has been hunted to near-extinction throughout its range, and this sighting on Pipeline Road is extremely unexpected.
I visited the western slope of Altos del Maria on September 27th,
and we found multiple Snowcaps (female pictured at right), two Black-crowned Antpittas, and a Brown-billed Scythebill. All of these species were little-known from western Panamá Provice until
the recent explorations at Altos del Maria. Most intriguing of the word-of-mouth reports are those of multiple sightings of
Elegant (Blue-hooded) Euphonia, which would represent a substantial range expansion to the east for this foothills species.
I await photographic evidence of this discovery.
