I received the photo at right from Edie Israel of Colorado, who I met briefly at the tail end of my stay at the Canopy Lodge a month ago.
The image was sent without details, but the bird pictured looks to be a Fasciated Tiger-Heron, probably found at the Ammo Dump Ponds. If I remember Edie's schedule
correctly the date of the sighting would be on or about January 12th. Fasciated Tiger-Heron is quite rare in central Panama- the uniformly dark upperparts of the bird pictured look good for this species.
Edie also submitted a couple of distant but clear images of the Rufous-crested Coquette in the gardens of the Canopy Lodge. A gentle reminder that, although the amount of detail accompanying a photo is entirely
up to you, at a bare minimum the date, location, and name of the species sighted are generally required. Thanks for sending in this nice photo, Edie!
There have been a number of excellent sightings reported by Canopy Tower and Lodge guides in the last few weeks. From the Canopy Tower come reports of a Rufous-vented Ground-Cuckoo seen by three different birding groups near the Rio Juan Grande on Pipeline Road from January 25-26. This was likely the same individual; José Soto, José Perez, and Alexis Sanchez were the leaders of the three lucky sets of birders. Alexis Sanchez also found a Rufous-crested Coquette on Pipeline Road on 1/25; this species is extremely rare at this location (not that it is common anywhere in Panama, the regular sightings at the Canopy Lodge notwithstanding).
Another species has been added to the list for Altos del Maria; a Slaty Antwren was reported by Tino Sanchez on January 24th. This bird is the only Panamanian antwren that ventures up into the foothills and lower highlands; it is seldom reported from central Panama, although Ridgely does note records from Cerro Campana (this mountain itself lies to the east of the large area encompassed by Altos del Maria, but as the Altos area was formerly part of Cerro Campana National Park, it is uncertain as to the exact locale to which these records refer). Slaty Antwren is certainly quite rare in the region, but its presence at Altos del Maria documents a link between the greater numbers of this species in the eastern and western parts of Panama.
Yellow-eared Toucanet has been reported at Altos del Maria by Danilo Rodríguez (1/15) and Tino Sanchez (1/24); this splendid bird was virtually unknown in the region until about a year ago, but the frequency of reports has increased as the guides become more familiar with its voice and habits. The next step is evidence of breeding! Danilo also reported (on 1/15) Elegant (Blue-hooded) Euphonia, Purple-throated Mountain-Gem, Snowcap, Black-crowned Antpitta, and White-throated Spadebill. The first two species are of particular interest; they both are generally known from the western highlands, and were total surprises when found at Altos within the last year or two. To the best of my knowledge, photographic evidence of their presence in western Panamá Province has not been submitted to the proper authorities; I would be grateful if any visitors to this area who might have captured images of these species would send them my direction (remember that photos need not be crystal-clear to serve as documentation).
The recent discoveries by Canopy Lodge-led groups in the Pacific lowlands around El Chirú are only marginally less amazing than those at Altos del Maria. Tino Sanchez found Veraguan Mango again on January 26th, at the western edge of the area covered by El Chirú tours, close to the town of Antón. I have been pestering Tino for the exact location, and for some photographic evidence; these sightings would represent a significant range expansion to the east for this very localized Panamanian endemic. Other excellent sightings on this date included Aplomado Falcon and Yellow-crowned Amazon (Parrot).
By the by, Carlos Bethancourt and a VENT tour group found male and female Blue Seedeaters on Cerro Gaital on January 14th. This sighting illustrates the considerable importance of the increased frequency of birders' visits to El Valle's hotspots; I did not find Blue Seedeaters on my visit to the same locale only a week before, but Carlos missed a couple of birds that I found. Only regular study gives a true indication of the relative abundance of the rarer species of the region.
