A few interesting sightings from the last few weeks in the El Valle area: on about July 4th Danilo Rodríguez found a Black-crowned Antpitta in La Mesa. Danilo is, of course, very familiar with the species from Altos del Maria, and when he heard it vocalizing he employed playback to draw the bird out into the open, much to the delight of the small group of birders Danilo was guiding. This is the first sighting from the El Valle area of which I am aware. I speculate that this sighting, and those of several other species seen quite infrequently at La Mesa (Yellow-eared Toucanet, Emerald Tanager, Tufted Flycatcher), indicates movement between breeding locations at El Copé to the west and Altos del Maria to the east (or even farther east to Cerro Azul/Jefe). This movement would also indicate the flow of genetic material between seemingly disjunct populations of these species, essential to the very definition of the term.
Danilo also found a Slaty Antwren at the base of Cerro Gaital on July 10th, and he and I both collected audio of a male Blue Seedeater on that same day. The antwren is probably resident in very small numbers here and at Altos del Maria, but it's a really tough find (I've yet to see it). On July 11th Carlos Bethancourt and I had a very brief look at a Sepia-capped Flycatcher at La Mesa, and on the 14th I had a great look at the same species (at the same spot), this time vocalizing. Carlos and I had both remarked that we had never heard the species' call, which makes it a very tough find. At about 2600' La Mesa is at the high end of this lowland species' range.
Also on the 11th Carlos and I and a group of eight birders from Florida enjoyed a point-blank look at the Bran-colored Flycatcher pictured at right, also in La Mesa.
This species is very local in its distribution, and at the writing of Birds of Panama was not known from the foothills of Coclé.
On the 14th I had a quick but close-range look at a Black Guan at Cerro Gaital; I've seen this species about once a week
this season, a good rate, probably because when working alone I have half a chance of sneaking up on this shy bird. On the same day at Gaital
I also found White-tipped Sicklebill, Orange-bellied Trogon, Olive-striped Flycatcher, and a pair of Ochraceous Wrens
in a mixed flock.
Tino Sanchez found a Rufous-vented Ground-Cuckoo on the trails above the Canopy Lodge on July 10th. Tino and I believe that there are two ant swarms around the Lodge, one on either side of the Rio Guayabo. The one to the north seems not to have ant-swarm specialists in attendance, but the one to the south, when found, almost always has a ground-cuckoo nearby. On July 11th Danilo Rodríguez and two American birders had a remarkable Spot-crowned Barbet around the Canopy Adventure; this is considered a "Caribbean-slope" species, but you might recall that a few months before a pair attempted to breed in the same general area. In more mundane news, I've been seeing (and hearing) Common Nighthawks at dusk over my home in El Valle, up to nine birds at time; this species is little-known in the area, although Canopy Lodge guides tell me they believe it breeds at nearby Piedra Pintada.
