From The Canopy Tower, veteran guide José Soto weighed in with another trio of excellent sightings. First, on June 18th José and a group enjoyed outstanding looks at a Yellow-breasted Crake at the Ammo Dump Ponds. This tiny rail is a very difficult find anywhere in Panamá, and at Ammo Dump the reports are few and far between; the only records of which I am aware in recent years are of a family group found by Alexis Sanchez, myself, and others in August of 2003, and another individual located by José Perez in July of last year. José Soto's second A-list sighting of the week came on June 20th, when he found an Olivaceous Piculet near the Chagres River in the town of Gamboa. This tiny woodpecker is a tough find in the area, reported only a few times a year at best, most recently by José Perez earlier this month. Finally, Sr. Soto capped the week off with great looks at a pair of Rufous-vented Ground-Cuckoos on Pipeline Road; this enigmatic species is the bird-of-the-trip for any visiting birder lucky enough to catch a glimpse. Well done José!

Keep your eyes on these pages in the coming months; I'll be in Panamá for July and August, and, besides browbeating the local guides for information, I'll have a lot of firsthand sightings from central Panamá to share. The rainy season can be a fine time for birding in Panamá!

A handful of interesting reports came in from the Canopy Tower and Canopy Lodge the last few days, headlined by Carlos Bethancourt's lovely Green-and-rufous Kingfisher pictured at left. This female bird was found near La Seda Creek on Pipeline Road on May 28th, and was gracious enough to pose for photos; this shy species usually spooks quite easily, and Carlos says that of the four birds he has found (in about ten years of birding Pipeline!) this is the first that wasn't flying away from him. By the by, Ridgley's A Guide to the Birds of Panama does not illustrate the female Green-and-rufous Kingfisher, and fails to mention the white neck collar pictured on the bird at left, a good field mark for this gender, at least according to most other field guides and other images I've seen.

On May 30th José Soto and a pair of British birders enjoyed crippling views of a Slaty-backed Forest-Falcon on Pipeline; this species is often part of the dawn chorus as heard from atop the Canopy Tower, but is by far the hardest of the region's 3 species of forest-falcons to actually view. On June 1st José Perez found an Olivaceous Piculet at the Ammo Dump Ponds; this is Panamá's smallest woodpecker, and a very rare find in the Canal area, seen perhaps once a year. Congratulations to all the fellows at the Canopy Tower for their A-list finds!

At the Canopy Lodge, owner Raúl Arias de Para reports that two male Rufous-crested Coquettes were present in the gardens on May 25th. This stunning hummingbird arrives at the Lodge late in the dry season and leaves early in the rainy season, so should not be expected at the Lodge for much longer. On May 23rd Tino Sanchez found a Slaty Antwren in a mixed flock at Cerro Gaital; this species is quite rare and seldom-seen in the El Valle area, although a pair or two might breed locally. Finally, on May 21st Domi Alveo found a Spot-crowned Barbet on the Chorro Macho Trail near the Lodge; this "Caribbean-slope" species has been advancing farther into El Valle over the course of the last year-plus, to the point that Domi says sightings of this stunning bird on the Lodge grounds are quite regular.

The fine image above, of a Marbled Wood-Quail on Pipeline Road, was shared with me by Alan Brown of Scotland. The bird was found by Alan, fellow Scotsman Calum Scott, and José Soto of the Canopy Tower on May 10th. This extremely rare bird was found just past the Juan Grande bridge (the first river crossing one encounters on Pipeline, about 2 km in from the entrance), at a spot where the old pipeline first becomes visible. I particularly enjoy the fact that the wood-quail is actually sitting on the pipe in this shot! This photo provides the first documentation of this species on Pipeline Road in almost a decade (José Perez of the Tower first found this individual about a month before, but without photos), and offers hope that a small population of this species persists (or is reestablishing itself) in this heavily-birded area. Thanks to Alan for sharing this image, and congrats on the top-notch discovery!

From the Canopy Lodge very few reports have come in, perhaps in part because the guides and guests there have become accustomed to the unexpected! Danilo Rodríguez submitted two reports of Black-crowned Antpitta from La Mesa, above El Valle, on 5/4 and 5/12. A decade ago this species was considered a novelty in the region, but as of late sightings seem to occur on a rather regular basis. On the 12th Danilo also found an Emerald Tanager, another species that until recent years (months even!), was more associated with the moist Caribbean slope of central Panamá. On May 5th Raúl Arias de Para reported that the Rufous-crested Coquette was now being seen on an almost daily basis in the Lodge's gardens. For the last several years this species has been quite regular towards the end of the dry season, suggesting some manner of post-breeding dispersal.

I received the accompanying report and photos from Joel Rosenthal of Miami, FL, who visited the Canopy Tower and Lodge in the last couple of weeks of April. Joel had a specific wish-list that included Ocellated Antbird, Rufous-vented Ground-Cuckoo, and Rufous-crested Coquette, and was truly fortunate to find all three species. The Ocellated Antbird pictured at left was found on the Plantation Trail on 4/22. Joel found the Rufous-crested Coquette in the Canopy Lodge's gardens sometime during the last week of the month- apparently one person or another saw the bird every day, implying that this tiny hummingbird is once again a regular at the Lodge in the late dry season. The Rufous-vented Ground-Cuckoo was found on Pipeline Road on 4/23- Joel's account of the sighting is typical of the ground-cuckoo experience, and it is with pleasure that I share the account presented below (with photos):

The cuckoos(we saw a pair) were seen about a mile into Pipeline Road on a sunny dry day, 4/23, between approx. 11 a.m. and 12:15 p.m., when I finally got my photos of one of them. It is a long story, but the birds were seen as we prepared to return to the Tower, by the side of the road foraging- not near any antswarm. They absconded when we saw them from the truck, and Alexis and I jumped out to give chase- after a fruitless half-an-hour we were walking back to the car, only to see the two birds cross the road about 5 feet from the vehicle- I felt like I was in a Keystone Cops movie. Emily, who had wisely remained in the truck, had not seen the birds, and Alexis and I, as much a matter of principle as anything, headed into the bush to "get" the birds. I am six feet tall, 61 years old, 215 pounds, with a replaced knee, was carrying my binos and five pounds of camera and 100-400 mm lens and bulky flash attachment. In short, I lumber, and the vines, thickets, stumps, trees, thorns, and bushes were getting the best of me- additionally, it was 88 degrees, I sweat in cold weather, and my glasses were so fogged I could barely see through the viewfinder, plus the light was so poor the camera wouldn't acquire autofocus, so I had to approximate focus by hand. Alexis and I chased/tracked one of the birds for another 45 minutes- ultimately about a few thousand meters into the jungle- every now and then it would give us a look, or perch nearby in full view when we weren't looking in the right place--you know the drill. Finally, the bird had pity on me (and maybe Alexis, who had to put up with my stumbling about), and perched for some photos.

Congrats to Joel for his perseverence, and for a well-earned sighting of an outstanding bird!

Danilo Rodríguez of the Canopy Lodge reports that the Rufous-crested Coquette was seen in the Lodge gardens on April 12th; this dry-season visitor to El Valle has been somewhat scarce this year. More intriguing is Danilo's secondhand report of a Black-eared Wood-Quail found by Moyo Rodríguez the week before at La Mesa. This reclusive species of the western highlands has proved to be rare but somewhat regular in recent years at Altos del Maria, but this would be a first sighting for the El Valle area, and an unexpected incursion onto the edge of the Pacific slope. I eagerly await details regarding this exciting find.

Once again a smattering of reports have come in from various sources. Most exciting is the following report submitted by John Rowlett of Field Guides Inc., accompanied by some fine photos:

As you’ve heard from Tino, the last visit to Altos was an exciting one, with all the seedeaters and the Touit,—yes, the Blue-fronted Parrotlet! I was amazed to see it. I heard it, used playback (of Blue-fronted, incidentally; I didn’t have Red-fronted on my iPod) to turn it around and bring it tearing in. It settled in the canopy for fine viewing, as they are wont to do once they perch. Characteristically, it sat silently (for the most part) moving about a little on the limb and very occasionally uttering soft conversational notes. We set about to photograph it after the group had scoped it nicely, but the area was rather dark and it was late in the afternoon, so Tino and I didn’t have much light for digiscoping. My two photos aren’t much to look at, but they do confirm the ID. It was nice to be able to confirm Tino’s sighting of April 24, 2007. He told the group that he was “very happy”—because now I would believe him! That was cute. I can’t but think that the bird is a vagrant singleton that (like the Stripe-cheeked Woodpecker) somehow wound up in Altos del Maria. The situation with the parrotlet, however, is somewhat different in that there is another congener that lives in Altos del Maria with which it could conceivably hook up. We’ll have to watch for that. Tino saw only one bird the first time as well, so it would appear that it hasn’t joined any flocks of Red-fronteds or paired up with one (assuming our sighting was of the same bird; it was very close to where Tino saw his in 2007). So far, the woodpecker has not been seen again. BTW, I also got a fair recording of the Touit’s vocalization as it left the perch, but I don’t imagine the differences in dilectissimus and costaricencis are reliable for ID purposes. Playback of Blue-fronted certainly works on Red-fronteds along Fortuna Road.
We spent a good bit of the mid-day with the Slate-colored Seedeaters. I knew we were going to find fruiting bamboo when we saw the first couple of birds, but then we began hearing and seeing many more than that! A conservative estimate for the number of males we had (no females were seen) was 30+. There could have been a hundred. They do occupy fairly large territories for a seedeater, but we had them all along the road during one long stretch. I’ve attached my photo of a male that had a few mist drops on his back, as we encountered a light mist for perhaps an hour. I also got good recordings of the entire song, the first part of which, though short, is suggestive of a Catharus (Tino thought Solitaire); this is delivered before the bird segues into its well-known buzzy series of chugging and sputtering trills. I’ve never heard this species deliver such a long musical preamble to its insect-like song.
Attached also are photos of: one of the nine Spotted Rails (four adults, two subadults, and three fairly big chicks) that our group saw (with local guide, José Perez) on the morning of March 28 (photo at head of this paragraph); and a Rufous Nightjar (lifer for José) that we saw on the evening of March 28 along Old Gamboa Road (not far from Summit Pond). Carlos Bethancourt had alerted us to the presence of this bird which his group had seen earlier the same afternoon; but he wasn’t sure of the ID. He wanted me to check on it, and of course it was a lifer for José, so he was determined we find it. Carlos had left a nice arrow pointing right at the bird. I believe it was a female, but it could have been a male. We couldn’t see any white on the tail corners, but that isn’t visible on the closed tail. I have no doubt it was on and egg or two, or perhaps young chicks. We did not want to flush it to find out, but any time one sees a Rufous Nightjar on the ground, it is almost inevitably on a nest since these birds roost and sing off the ground. I haven’t been back in touch with Carlos or José to find out, but presumably they know more of the story by now since it’s been about two weeks. It’s reasonably clear from this photo (I have a close-up of the head that shows it clearly) that the rictal bristles are completely free of lateral filaments, meaning that this bird was no Chuck. Incidentally, the photos of the Nightjar are digiscoped. We didn’t want to get so close as to put the bird off the ground/nest.

Next up is a report of a Pheasant Cuckoo seen from the Canopy Tower on 4/8 by Carlos Bethancourt et. al.; this sedentary species is always a tough find, but best found in the Panamanian dry season, the end of which is rapidly approaching. On 4/5 Carlos and a Birding Ventures group led by Simon Thompson enjoyed a sort of daily double on Pipeline Road, with great looks at an elusive Little Tinamou, followed by a trio of Great Jacamars, 2 males and a female. The former species is always present in the area, but really hard to find; the latter is a true rarity anywhere in central Panamá, and I can't recall another occasion upon which more than two individuals of this species were seen.
On 3/29 Carlos Bethancourt and Terry Moore of Leica Sports Optics started the day at Tocumen Marsh, where they were successful in locating both Spotted Rail and Paint-billed Crake, at least a day after the most recent reports of these rare species. In the afternoon Carlos and Terry teamed up with Bill Maynard of the ABA to visit the Summit Ponds, and came up with a trio of excellent sightings. First they found the Agami Heron that has been lingering for the last few weeks, and then a Pale-eyed Pygmy-Tyrant, a very good find in the area. To top things off they viewed the previously-discovered nesting Rufous Nightjar; this very localized caprimulgid is most easily found in the region before dawn near the entrance of Pipeline Road, and I am unaware of previous records of nesting around Summit Ponds and Old Gamboa Road.
I recieved some nice photos and very general reports from Marcus Martin of New Mexico, who visited El Valle de Anton and Altos del Maria in March. Marcus found the Wedge-billed Woodcreeper pictured above at left in La Mesa on 3/29; this species is quite rare in the area, although sightings seem to have increased in recent months. On the same day Marcus was fortunate enough to find a Barred Forest-Falcon, a good bird anywhere in Panamá. On the Cara Iguana Trail outside El Valle on 3/28 Marcus found and photographed a Black-headed Tody-Flycatcher, here at the highest elevation in its range. Also noteworthy was his sighting of a Rusty-margined Flycatcher (pictured at right) in El Valle; any sighting of this species west of the Canal area is noteworthy, although it seems to be enjoying a range expansion, as reports from central-western Panamá have been on the rise in recent years. This photo is not quite conclusive in terms of identifying the species, but the very dark lores and barely-visible rusty margins of the primaries seem to confirm Marcus' diagnosis.

Reports regarding the rails at Tocumen Marsh continue to trickle in, with David Klauber, Karl Kaufmann, Bill Adsett, Jeremiah Trimble, and George Angehr weighing in with reports, commentary, and/or photos in the last week or two. Check out our own Tocumen Rails Page or the informative Xenornis website to see pictures and follow the discussion regarding these amazing discoveries.